The Grand Farce of F1 - 2005 US GP - Backstory + Formation Lap and First Lap

The event is one of the most controversial Formula One motor races in modern history. Out of the 20 cars that entered the race, only the six cars from the teams using Bridgestone tyres (Ferrari, Jordan and Minardi) competed. The remaining fourteen entrants, all using Michelin tyres, completed the parade lap, but retired to the pits before the race started.
Following several tyre failures before the race, which caused major accidents for Ralf Schumacher's Toyota during Friday practice and Ricardo Zonta in the other Toyota, Michelin advised its seven customer teams that without a reduction in speed in Turn 13, the tyres provided for the race would only be safe for 10 laps. Michelin had been providing working tyres for the race since 2001. The situation was worsened by the 2005 Formula One rules, which forbade tyre changes during the race, and a repave of the oval portion of the course after the 2004 Brickyard 400.
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the sport's governing body, refused a compromise proposal from Michelin to allow a chicane to be installed, maintaining that such rule changes would be grossly unfair to the Bridgestone-shod teams, who had come prepared with properly working tyres, and that a last-minute change to the track layout would be dangerous in case of crashes. The Michelin teams, unable to come to a compromise with the FIA, decided not to participate. It was later stated that the Michelin-shod teams could have potentially exposed themselves to criminal liability under Indiana state law had they competed. It was also thought that since Bridgestone also provided tyres to the two Indy Racing League series (IndyCar Series and Infiniti Pro Series) via its Firestone brand, and had encountered issues during testing that caused them to return with different IndyCar tyres, it understood better the loads the Formula One tyres would be under. Thus, Bridgestone was able to provide a proper tyre.
Of the six competitors, Ferrari's Michael Schumacher was the eventual winner, with his teammate Rubens Barrichello finishing second. The result significantly boosted Schumacher's championship standing, placing him third overall-no driver above him in driver championship points took part in the race. The final race result was the lowest number of finishing entries ever seen in a major open-wheel motorsports event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since the institution of the 500-Mile Race (surpassing the previous record low of seven finishers in 1966, a race marred by a major first lap accident that eliminated a full third of the starting field). The situation created enormous negative publicity for the sport of Formula One, especially in the United States, a market in which Formula One had struggled to establish itself over the preceding twenty years; some even called the race "Indygate".

[@TheJokerit19]

I'm here for a single-car start a la Lewis Hamilton in the 2021 Hungarian GP.

[@zanemarte9877]

The race that should never have happened in the first place. The moment Ralf crashed and not cleared by medical personnel to race should have been a red flag. If that chicane was put in BEFORE qualifying the race could've gone according to plan. IF the weekend went on with the chicane implemented for qualifying and the race; who might have won will remain a mystery, my opinion on the winner Jarno Trulli for Toyota's first ever Grand Prix victory, or Jenson Button for B.A.R.- Honda (for B.A.R.'s only Grand Prix victory just ahead of the full buyout of B.A.R. to become the full on works Honda team for 2006 and beyond), or even a Renault 1-2 finish with Alonso and Fisichella.

[@simonkevnorris]

A track has to be homologated. If there are any changes those have to pass various safety checks. If they had raced with a chicane and there was an accident there that involved injuries to spectators the one country you would not want that to happen is the USA.

[@zanemarte9877]

​@@simonkevnorris BUT none of those procedures mattered and they shouldn't have because they completely ignored the bigger issue, and that was the safety of EVERYONE. That SHOULD HAVE allowed an exception to occur because had those teams on Michelin tires raced without the chicane EVERYBODY involved would've been on the hook of U.S. law enforcement. What that means is EVERYONE from the Michelin tire company, teams, drivers, F1 Management Group, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, AND the FIA ALL could've faced criminal charges as by U.S. law it is ILLEGAL under Gross Negligence to use DEFECTIVE UNSAFE products as the tires were known to cause harm, injury, or even DEATH towards the users and general public. If you look at the beginning of the video and my original comment again about what happened to Ralf Schumacher I said "... SHOULD HAVE been a red flag" to begin with. But obviously the FIA under cold Max Mosley didn't see it that way and only wanted a proper race to be run and money in his pockets. I despise him to this day because had those cars on Michelin tires not withdrawn, not only that U.S. law enforcement would've pressed criminal charges for Gross Negligence but another person could've gotten hurt or worse killed by a DEFECTIVE UNSAFE race tire, and by another person it could've been another driver, a track worker, or even way worse a spectator. That's why in a hearing several weeks later the FIA's plans to punish the teams and Michelin tire company were dropped like nothing happened.
Not to mention a similar problem happened 18 years later at Qatar 2023 when Pirelli (today's F1 tire supplier as of 2024) had faced similar issues with their race tires and as a result the FIA made changes to the track layout and replaced a practice session with a familiaration session and then go straight to qualifying. Which is what they (again) SHOULD HAVE done in the first place instead of forcing teams to have to make a decision to not race or face criminal charges in a jurisdiction that doesn't take safety lightly.

[@rodclark5831]

LH we RACE as ONE 1:44 check out the diamond cut surface in 2005 @ 1:44 coincidence you decide