Have you ever heard of a race so heavily boycotted that only six out of ten cars lined up on the starting grid? That’s exactly what happened at the United States Grand Prix in 2005.
The United States Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway marked one of the most infamous races in history, with more than half the grid backing out. The six cars that competed were from Ferrari, Jordan, and Minardi: teams using Bridgestone tyres.
The Controversy
The boycott occurred after Michelin informed teams that their tyres could not sustain a full race, only withstanding ten laps (from 73) due to safety concerns following several crashes during the race weekend. A notable incident was Ralf Schumacher’s crash at the practice session that left him unable to continue for the rest of the weekend.
Michelin had even flown in a different tyre specification that had been used earlier in the 2005 Grand Prix season. However, the same issue persisted on all the cars at Turn 13, which had been newly paved and proved too harsh on the tyres. At the time, mid-race tyre changes were not allowed, making the problem even more critical. Even if they did manage to lift the one-change rule, there wouldn’t be enough tyres for all the cars to switch six to seven times.
After plenty of heated arguments, emails and scrambling around over the weekend, the only possible solution was to install a chicane to slow down the cars at Turn 13, so it would not damage the tyre and also make it more fair (as again, majority of the cars would benefit from this).
However, the FIA shut down the request, deeming it unfair to teams using Bridgestone tyres, as they had adapted to the circuit’s demands without issue. The FIA was also concerned about the risk of larger accidents resulting from last-minute changes to the track. This decision was influenced by the fact that the circuit had already been modified in 2004, leaving little time for drivers to adjust to any further alterations.
The Starting Grid
On race day, all teams took their positions as per the rules and completed the Formation Lap. However, after the lap, the Michelin equipped teams collectively moved to the pit lane, leaving only the three Bridgestone equipped teams to remain on the grid. Only these cars went on to complete the race.
The Podium
Michael Schumacher won the race in the U.S., joined by Rubens Barrichello and Tiago Monteiro, who secured his first and only podium finish. This also made Monteiro the first Portuguese driver to stand on the podium.
While Schumacher and Barrichello weren’t as enthusiastic about the podium as usual, seemingly subdued by the chaotic events of the weekend, Monteiro celebrated his achievement that day.
Monteiro’s stance on the tyre situation (to not let Michelin have the advantage) favoured him in the end as he had mentioned amongst the chaos, “…we (Jordan) had our share of problems with tyres at other tracks. We had issues at Monza with the Bridgestones – we could hardly finish the race because of the tyres delaminating. So we had lots of issues ourselves, and we always tried to finish, and always tried to put on a show. We could not accept the fact that Michelin arrived in Indianapolis with a risky tyre, and the best solution they could find was just to stop racing. That was not acceptable to us.”
Written by Isha.
Featured Image Credit: sports.stackexchange.com
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