7 Teams found guilty on 2 charges
The seven Michelin teams must wait until September to discover their punishment after they were found guilty on Wednesday of two charges relating to their failure to race in the US Grand Prix. 6 of those teams have immediately reported that they are likely to appeal the decision. RedBull however has not reacted so far...
The verdict Following a meeting of the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council attended by the teams in Paris, President Max Mosley revealed that they were deemed guilty of not being in possession of suitable tyres for the event, but with strong mitigating circumstances, and of wrongfully refusing to allow their cars to start the race.
The teams were cleared of three other charges of refusing to race subject to a speed limit, of combining to make a demonstration damaging to the image of the sport by stopping after the parade lap and of not informing the race stewards of their plans to withdraw.
However, the Council decided to delay a decision on what punishment the teams will receive until a further extraordinary meeting on September 14. Before then Mosley said they would be considering the steps taken by Michelin and/or the seven teams to compensate fans who attended the US race and to ensure nothing similar happens again.
Speaking in a press conference following the Council meeting, Mosley hinted that if the situation has been satisfactorily resolved by then, penalties were likely to be financial, rather than extending to points deductions or race bans. He stressed that the FIA’s primary concern was the American fans and the image of Formula One racing in the United States.
Mosley added that he held Michelin responsible for the affair, but pointed out that the FIA is powerless to punish the tyre company directly, as they are a supplier and not a competitor, hence their teams were held accountable.
The teams concerned are BAR, McLaren, Sauber, Williams, Toyota, Red Bull and Renault. They refused to race at Indianapolis after Michelin said they could not guarantee the safety of their tyres over a Grand Prix distance through the banked turn 13. Numerous options for slowing the cars were proposed by Michelin, the FIA and the teams, but none could be agreed.
Michelin's view Michelin subsequently apologised for failing to bring suitable tyres to the event and admitted they had simply miscalculated the demands created by the banking with cars in 2005 configuration. They have since offered to refund the tickets of the Indianapolis fans, but have stood by their claims that inflexibility on the part of the FIA prevented the race going ahead.
Joint press release from 6 teams Six of the Michelin teams (excluding RedBull) are very disappointed by the decision of the World Motor Sport Council to find them guilty of two of the five charges brought against them by the FIA in relation to the 2005 U.S. Grand Prix at Indianapolis.
1) In relation to the finding that they failed to ensure that they were in possession of suitable tyres, the Teams point out that they reasonably relied on Michelin, an approved FIA tyre supplier and a highly reputable manufacturer of tyres worldwide, to provide suitable tyres for that race. As Michelin have already acknowledged, they were responsible for the supply of unsuitable tyres for the Indianapolis circuit. The FIA's decision accepts that there were "strong mitigating circumstances" for the Teams. In truth, those circumstances provided a complete answer to the charge, given that the Teams cannot be held responsible for what occurred.
2) In relation to the finding that the Teams wrongfully refused to allow their cars to start the race having regard to their right to use the pit lane on each lap, the Teams respond as follows. The charges suggested only one means by which the Teams could safely have raced (the use of a speed restriction). On that charge, the Teams were found not guilty. The Teams cannot understand how they can be found guilty by reference to another proposed solution, which was not part of the charges brought against them, which was not suggested by the FIA at Indianapolis, which was considered unsafe and which, in any event, would not have achieved a satisfactory race for the fans.
The Teams therefore will be lodging an appeal against each of these findings.
The Teams explained to the World Motor Sport Council that, in the light of the clear and written advice from Michelin that it was unsafe to race at Indianapolis on the tyres supplied by that company, the Teams had no choice but to decline to race. Any other decision would have been irresponsible. Nineteen of the current Formula One drivers have expressed their agreement with the decision of the Teams.
The Teams much regret that the American public were unable to enjoy a race involving all ten Formula One teams, and are pleased that Michelin have agreed to compensate fans who attended the race.
