Michelin and Michelin Teams : Disgrace to Formula One

The United States Grand Prix began with all Michelin shod cars pulling off after the warm up lap into pits, and only the six Bridgestone tyre-based cars lined up for the race start. Michelin clearly failed in providing tyres that would be safe enough to race on in the race, and its a shame that the Michelin based teams indulged in the kind of gamesmanship that seemed to shift blame to the Bridgestone based cars for wanting to race on the track as it was.

The Michelin teams wanted a chicane put in on the final, banked, turn on the track. My opinion is, the Michelin folks, not having taken into account the unique demands imposed by the turn, unlike any other on Formula One tracks anywhere else, wanted to penalize the Bridgestone cars as well for Michelin's fault by putting in that chicane which would slow down all cars.

The Michelin tyre based teams could have raced, and just ensured that they ran slower on Turn 13. Obviously, this would have given the Bridgestone teams the edge, but that is how the cookie crumbles. If Michelin has failed to assess the demands of the turn as effectively as Bridgestone has, Michelin has to pay the price in terms of race results.

Michelin has no one to blame but themselves, and the Michelin based teams deserve to be pilloried for choosing, not only to avoid a race that they would have struggled in, but also to try and hobble the Bridgestone teams with a chicane that wasn't necessary.

Update : The Indianapolis Star features a telling cartoon on this sorry episode.

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