Results from the 2005 American Grand Prix
If you didn't see the race but saw the race results of the US Grand Prix, you would be extremely confused. Ferrari enjoying their fourth 1-2 finish in six years, with Michael Schumacher in first place, followed by team mate Rubens Barrichello. Third place went to rookie driver Tiago Monteiro, 1 lap behind Michael Schumacher, and the first Jordan podium this season. Furthermore, the other Jordan and two Minardis also finished in the points. What? And where were all the other teams? In a bizarre turn of events, all seven teams running Michelin tyres - Williams-BMW, Renault, McLaren-Mercedes, Sauber-Petronas, BAR-Honda, Red Bull Racing and Toyota - withdrew from the US Grand Prix, with the drivers pulling into the pit lane from the grid, right after start. This meant that only the three teams running Bridgestone tyres competed the race, a paltry six drivers!
This didn't go down well with the 130,000 crowd, some of whom began throwing objects onto the track and endangering drivers. Michael Schumacher ran over a beer can, but luckily no harm was done. During his pit stop, crew checked his tyres over very carefully and found no damage. The dissatisfaction wasn't only during the race, but at podium as well. There was a lot of booing and yelling from fans, who, frankly, didn't get to see the top-notch F1 race they paid money to see. Even if Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello drove a tight race, Barrichello finishing only 1.5 seconds behind Schumacher, it was somewhat of a charade with no other contending drivers in the race. Both drivers were clear to point out their disappointment at the post-race press conference as well.
The problems with the Michelin tyres started on Friday afternoon's practice session, when Ralf Schumacher crashed with a left rear tyre failure. After that, Michelin announced that they could not guarantee their tyres for the entirety of the race. Suggestions were thrown around, like erecting another chicane in turn 13, but this was rejected as too dangerous and that the track lay-out could not be tampered with. Running the race slower or pitting every few laps were also thrown around as possible solutions. FIA stated that Michelin could make tyre changes for safety reasons and teams could even run other tyres, but would be subject to penalties for breaking FIA rules. In the end, the Michelin teams decided to withdraw from the race. After the race, Michelin stated in a press release that their utmost concern was the safety of the drivers and that was something that they would not compromise on.
It was a bizarre and disappointing day for F1 racing which some commentators feel have left permanent damage to future of F1 in the USA. It also left drivers and teams disappointed, upsetting the season's point rankings and worst of all angering F1 fans around the world. However, the race did set some new records. It was the first race since the Dutch Grand Prix in 1961, when all drivers who started the race finished and Tiago Monteiro become the first ever Portuguese driver to stand on the podium.
Renault and McLaren-Mercedes must be reeling in anger, as the point standings have been put into serious disarray. Michael Schumacher's 10 point haul put him all the way up to third place with 36 points, behind Fernando Alonso (59 points) and Kimi Raikkonen (37 points) for the Drivers'Championship. Ferrari with their 1-2 finish, crawl up to joint second place with McLaren-Mercedes, with 63 points. Only 13 points behind first place team, Renault.
Full race result from the US (2005)
- Michael Schumacher - Ferrari 1h 29m 43.181s
- Rubens Barrichello - Ferrari +1.5s
- Tiago Monteiro - Jordan-Toyota +1 lap
- Narain Karthikeyan - Jordan-Toyota +1 lap
- Christijan Albers - Minardi-Cosworth +2 laps
- Patrick Friesacher - Minardi-Cosworth +2 laps