Here's a look back at the race that caused the damage to Formula 1's relationship with America that took a long, long time to heal. F1
F1’s most controversial races: The 2005 United States Grand PrixThe 2005 United States Grand Prix will live long in the memory for all the wrong reasons, as the race started with just six cars on the grid…
At the time, F1 struggled for popularity in the United States – it was a series that simply had failed to capture the interest of a nation that were still more interested in NASCAR. This wasn’t helped by the dominance of Ferrari in the early 2000s, but the damage done by their relentless victories was nothing compared to the self-inflected wound F1 inflicted upon itself in 2005.
The first inkling that something was wrong was when Ralf Schumacher suffered a huge crash at the banked final corner during Friday practice. He had suffered a catastrophic left-rear tyre failure, slamming hard into the outside wall as a result. Sidelined as a result, Ricardo Zonta took over his Toyota – only for the team to find extensive cuts to his tyres after practice as well.
A meeting on the morning of race day saw Michelin executive and technical bosses meet with F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, Indianapolis Speedway president Tony George, and nine of the 10 team bosses – Jean Todt having failed to show as the Ferrari boss maintained a stance that the issue was one for the FIA and Michelin, and none of the Scuderia’s concern.
The nine teams, together with Ecclestone, continued to try coming up with ideas, including that of a non-championship event, or barring the Michelin teams from scoring points, or even have the Michelin-shod teams using a makeshift chicane while the Bridgestone runners ran the banked corner. The momentum behind hosting a non-championship race seemed to be the winning choice, with the nine teams agreeing to go ahead without Ferrari if needed.
Last minute negotiations in Ecclestone’s office revealed Mosley had rejected all the proposals put before him and had issued a threat on the matter: “If any kind of non-championship race was run, or any alteration made to the circuit, the US Grand Prix, and indeed, all FIA-regulated motorsport in the US, would be under threat”. However, a later statement from the FIA denied that any such statement had been made by Mosley.
Astonishingly, the Grand Prix then proceeded to run as normal – the Ferraris only having to worry about having to negotiate the occasional beer can or errant debris on the racing line as the fans tossed rubbish over the catch fencing onto the track. “This is f**king crazy. The FIA needs to get a grip with itself and sort this sport out before there’s no f**king sport to sort out. This today is bulls**t.
– Wrongfully refused to allow cars to race subject to speed restrictions at one corner, which was safe for such tyres available.
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