Disbelief silenced the crowd when only six cars took their places on the grid. When people realised what was happening, that silence turned to anger. Fingers were raised and boos rang out. One fan showed his displeasure by throwing a can on to the track.
Before the cars had completed a lap the first of those to leave had left their seats and begun walking through the tunnel and out into the car parks.
-- the Telegraph
Only 6 cars raced in the F1 U.S. Grand Prix at Indianapolis. Michelin said their tires were not safe to run on, and so all 14 cars that were on Michelins withdrew from the race. Michael Schumacher won, but track officials did not even show up for the trophy ceremony, and many fans booed it.
The Michelin teams offered a compromise: they would run if a new chicane were put into the track. F1 did not allow this, and I don't blame them, because where would it end? Would tracks get changed every time somebody's equipment wasn't up to snuff? Michelin knew what the track was going to be like ahead of time, and they failed to show up with suitable tires.
Sadly, this is probably the beginning of the end for F1 in the United States. U.S. racing these days is all about NASCAR, and instead of attracting new fans to F1, this race just made a lot of people feel cheated.
1 comment:
Putting a chicano before turn 13 would have distracted the drivers and possibly brought harm to the chicano. And where would it end? Soon other teams would be demanding their own minority options, a mulatto on the main drag, basques on bend 5... where would it end?
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