Jovitalk - Bon Jovi Fan Community - Fia Rejects Chicane Suggestion!!

The FIA has rejected Michelin’s suggestion that a temporary chicane should be constructed at Indianapolis’ Turn 13 to alleviate the company’s tyre problems.

FIA technical delegate Charlie Whiting wrote to Michelin this morning effectively informing the tyre manufacturer that its Indianapolis dramas were down to the shortcomings of its tyre design, and that fixing the problem was not, therefore, the responsibility of the governing body.

Michelin has advised its seven teams not to take part in the US Grand Prix unless either the cause of Ralf Schumacher’s Friday accident is found and rectified, or the FIA allows it to bring in an alternative Barcelona-spec tyre.

The flat-out, banked, Turn 13 places the critical stress on tyres at Indianapolis, and it was suggested that inserting a chicane at this spot would solve the crisis.

But Whiting rejected this idea outright.

“It has been suggested that a chicane should be laid out in Turn 13," he said.

"I am sure you will appreciate that this is out of the question.

“To change the course in order to help some of the teams with a performance problem caused by their failure to bring suitable equipment to the race would be a breach of the rules and grossly unfair to those teams which have come to Indianapolis with the correct tyres."

Whiting’s letter places the burden of responsibility entirely on Michelin and its teams.

He said that if Michelin introduced a new tyre for the race, its teams would be breaking the rules, but he was ambiguous about the nature of the penalty that would be applied.

“Some of the teams have raised with us the possibility of running a tyre which was not used in qualifying," Whiting wrote.

"We have told them this would be a breach of the rules to be considered by the stewards.

“We believe the penalty would not be exclusion but would have to be heavy enough to ensure that no team was tempted to use qualifying tyres in the future.”

Formula 1’s new rules allow tyres to be changed in the race only if they are ‘damaged’.

Whiting’s letter suggested that Michelin’s teams could make pit stops on safety grounds without being penalised provided they could prove their tyres were unsafe.

He also hinted that Michelin’s problems are so severe that teams affected would have to pit every 10 laps.

“Another possibility would be for the relevant teams repeatedly to change the affected tyre during the race (we understand you have told your teams the left rear is safe for a maximum of 10 laps at full speed),” said Whiting.

“If the technical delegate and the stewards were satisfied that each change was made because the tyre would otherwise fail (thus for genuine safety reasons) and that the relevant team were not gaining an advantage, there would be no penalty.”

The FIA’s stance appears to be that as Michelin is responsible for its own crisis, it is up to the tyre company to decide how far it is willing to bend the rules in order to resolve the problem.

The present situation has the potential to result in a large number of post-race protests.

UPDATE: Michelin has sent a second letter to the FIA reiterating its request for a chicane at turn 13, but the FIA has responded firmly.

"Your teams have a choice of running more slowly in Turn 12/13, running a tyre not used in qualifying (which would attract a penalty) or repeatedly changing a tyre (subject to valid safety reasons)," Whiting replied.

"It is for them to decide. We have nothing to add."