The Hindu : Sport / Racing : Motor : Tyre fiasco overshadows Schumacher's victory

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 21, 2005

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Sport - Racing : Motor

Tyre fiasco overshadows Schumacher's victory

INDIANAPOLIS: Michael Schumacher climbed from his car to a chorus of boos, the die-hard Formula One fans unable to accept his first victory of the season after more than two-thirds of the field quit in protest over tyre safety.

Sparking off a fiasco at the United States Grand Prix on Sunday, Michelin advised the 14 cars it supplies that the tyres were unsafe for the final banked turn at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Unable to reach a compromise, the 14 cars ducked off the track after the warm-up lap, leaving Schumacher and five other drivers who use Bridgestone tyres to race.

Fans headed for the exits in disgust, drivers were left bewildered, and track officials joined team members in debating about the future of the United States GP.

Schumacher returned to the podium, but there was no champagne toast for the Ferrari team.

Fans react

The crowd was stunned. Some booed. Others threw water bottles on the track in disgust.

``If I was a fan out there I would do the same,'' said driver Jacques Villeneuve.

Among those refusing to race were world championship points leader Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen, who trails him in the standings by 22 points.

Alonso is the biggest threat to end Schumacher's five-year reign as world champion. But when he and the other contenders pulled out of the event, it opened the door for the seven-time world champion to climb back.

Schumacher entered the event 35 points behind Alonso, but cut the deficit to 25 with the victory — well within striking distance with 10 races to go.

Teams apologise

Michelin's seven Formula One teams apologised for the boycott that turned the U.S. Grand Prix into a six-car farce, insisting that safety was paramount.

``The Michelin teams deeply regret the position that they have been put in today and would like to apologise to all the spectators, TV viewers, Formula One fans and sponsors for not being able to take part,'' they said in a joint statement.

``All the teams are confident in Michelin and trust their advice as we know they are competent and responsible, and their written instruction to us not to race unless changes to the circuit were made was accepted,'' the statement said.

Points are points: Narain

Even if fans derided the U.S. Grand Prix as a farce and fiasco, Narain Karthikeyan had something to celebrate.

Narain's fourth place finish behind Portuguese team-mate Tiago Monteiro made him the first Indian to score Formula One points.

``These are my first championship points in Formula One and it does not really matter how they come,'' said Narain. ``Points are points. This is the first time an Indian driver has scored points in Formula One so I'm happy.''

Monteiro, who became the first Portuguese to finish on the podium, said: ``It was a weird race, a strange one as no one was there. You had to finish, you had to be there.

``I wasn't joking, no one on the track was kidding around. It was just fewer cars. Even if it was a weird situation, it's still a podium finish.''

Asked whether he had ever thought of standing on the podium this season, Monteiro replied: ``Are you kidding? Of course not.'' — Agencies

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