F1 Iceberg

2005 US Grand Prix

In 2005 the US Grand Prix was held on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.It could've been an epic race,but a controversy caused only 6 cars starting the race.It all started on Friday when Toyota's Ralf Schumacher crashed badly at turn 13 due to a left rear tyre puncture.He was replaced by reserve driver Ricardo Zonta who also crashed at the same turn.Michelin made a statement saying that their tires would last only 10 laps in the actual conditions.The FIA refused the proposal from Michelin,which said that the FIA should put a chicane in turn 13 to reduce the pressure in the tires and also reduce the chance to punctures and bad crashes,but it was refused as Ecclestone,at that time FIA boss,said that it was hardly unfair for teams that were using Bridgestone tires who were perfectly good and did not have any problems during the weekend.Another idea was to make the race a separate event from the World Championships,so basically no points were being awarded,but this also had been refused.As we go on Sunday,all the 22 cars started the formation lap,but before the start all the teams that were using Michelin tires pulled onto the pits meaning that only the Bridgestone using teams were left to start (3 teams).As money was more important,the race went on even with just 6 drivers.It wasn't a spectacular race whatsoever and Michael Schumacher won comfortably from his team mate Rubens Barrichello,completing another Ferrari 1-2.A lot of fans were angry that time and even left the track during the race,and Formula 1 worked hard to bring back American fans to watch and come to races after the unpleasant incident