Race Reactions - United States Grand Prix.

Michael Schumacher:

"This was a strange grand prix and it was odd seeing the other cars go into pit-lane at the start."

"Rubens and I had a close race - there was only the two of us really. I lost the lead to Rubens because we had long pit-stops to check the tyres and mine was longer than his and he was pushing very hard."

"I suppose it was not the best way to take my first win of the season and it was sad for the fans. But I am glad so many of the Ferrari supporters stayed to the end to see how this strange race would end. It is just a shame we could not fight in a normal way, because I think that, even with the other cars, we could have won as we had a strong car."

"The situation we had today was out of our hands, and I don't know all the details of the problems the others had. But I do know that we left at home tyres that had more performance and less durability, but we and Bridgestone made our choice knowing how much stress there is here on the tyres."

Rubens Barrichello:

"This was a sad day for the race fans and it was also sad to see the other cars pull into the pits, but I guess their problem must have been a serious one. Formula One has never looked very strong in the States, and I think it is worse now."

"I am also disappointed that I missed out on getting ten points today. Once I got in the lead, I pushed quite hard and I managed to open a gap to Michael. I also had a tremendous out lap. I tried to stay ahead. but it did not go my way."

"Bridgestone and Ferrari had worked so hard that I think we could have won here anyway. We had the quickest car and I was quicker than Michael at the start, but I could not find a way past him."

Tiago Monteiro:

"I have mixed feelings today as it was a strange race with no-one being there. However, for me, it was still a race. I had to fight with my team-mate and competitors at the beginning and push as hard as in a normal race."

"The most important thing today was to finish. I am very happy for the team because they have been working very hard the whole time. This is my ninth consecutive race finish this season and now I have scored some points, so I am very pleased with that."

"I know these were weird conditions, but nobody can take this away from me. Having raced in America in the past, I am sorry for the fans, but the decision had nothing to do with us."

Narain Karthikeyan:

"These are my first championship points in Formula One and it does not really matter how they come. Points are points. This is the first time an Indian driver has scored points in Formula One, so I am happy. Due to the circumstances, our main job was not to make any mistakes and finish the race. My car was very reliable this weekend, and I am very pleased with that."

Christijan Albers:

"Of course, it is not really good for Formula One. Also you have to be fair in life. Michelin has always had some advantages to Bridgestone. I think they were always a little bit maybe on the limit. I don't know. I have no clue. The Michelins were not strong enough for here, and the Bridgestones were strong enough, so you have to give Bridgestone the advantage. This is the result."

Patrick Friesacher:

"It was quite bad because only six cars were on the grid. It's a shame for the sport, I think, and really not good for Formula One. At then end it was bad, really bad for the sport."

"[We knew about the Michelin teams] early this morning because they wanted to put the chicane in the last corner, and I guess nine teams agreed to it and one team didn't agree, and it was decided. We knew the Michelin tires, they already said, that they can not do more than ten laps."

Jarno Trulli:

"It's a shame for Formula One, in general, but we couldn't avoid this situation. We all knew all Michelin teams to run and finish the race was too dangerous. I think that, today, Formula One and the sport as one somehow we didn't give the show to the USA people and supporters. But that's life. Sometimes, these things can happen."

"It's not a question if to feel safe or not to make a decision. We have analysed data, and Michelin
has analysed data. They felt we were in danger today. So it was as simple as that."

"I feel that the decision for us not to race is sad. But it had to happen here in Formula One as we all knew we were in danger for us as a team, as a driver, and for the spectators and was too dangerous to race. So we had to stop. It is very unfortunate in front of the USA people, but these things happen. We were in danger. It's so clear, it's also written in the rules, when it is not safe you cannot compete in a competition. It's very unfortunate that it has happened here in the USA and really sorry for all fans and supporters. But we tried to avoid this situation, but unfortunately other teams regularly stand up and say 'no, we cannot accept anything else rather than the normal rules', and this is how it ended up."

"It's really bad and hope we can recover from it and try to do something. We have done it not only for us as a team, as a driver, but also for them. For the fans, because they don't want to see drivers crashing into the walls or taking too many risks. It's already enough risk in Formula One, in motorsport in general, and the reason was calculated: We had a problem with the tyres."

"In general, as a driver, I'm frustrated not to be driving today. But we have to understand the situation, that there was a danger."

"I think we cannot claim Ferrari as the guilty party. Ferrari was right where they expect the rules were clear from the race director. That's the rules. If you cannot race, you do not race."

"I think Formula One has sent the message that there more sensible priority to be safe, and today we prove that we're sensible people. Someone has made a mistake, and we are sorry it every and all fans that we couldn't race."

"The team managers just took the decision with all things together. It was very clear that it was unsafe and that we couldn't race. But I am really sorry for the USA fans because they came to support us and see our show. But it was a very important situation."

"It was just too late. Unfortunately, we tried very hard but didn't succeed. The rules are very clear and just respected the rules."

Jenson Button:

"It's disappointing that we can't race, but we're not going to race if it's not safe. It's very disappointing for the fans, but they have to realise that, if it's not safe to drive, we have to be careful because we're travelling at high speed. There's not much we can do about it. We can't do much. We have to think about our safety first."

Takuma Sato:

"I feel very bad for the people who came here to support today. Sorry. Everybody wanted to race."

Mark Webber:

"The long and short of it is that we are not prepared to do the race from a safety point of view. We are drivers, and we want to go, but it is not safe for us. There is no grey area with this situation. It is either working or it's not. That's the problem with us. There is so much unchartered water that we don't know where the tyre is. Hopefully, we can come out the other side of it. We have seen bad days before, and we have come out the other side. We have to move on."

Felipe Massa:

"It's not my decision, it's the decision from Michelin and from FIA. So I don't have anything to say."

"It's very bad, but I feel like every Michelin driver. This is very bad for the sport. I feel also safe because I know that, with these tyres, they maybe could have been even worse in the whole race, maybe worse even - dangerous."

"I would have felt more comfortable with a chicane, but they need to give us at least some laps to learn the track with the new chicane."

Jacques Villeneuve:

"We have no choice. The tyres are dangerous. Probably every car would have blown their tyres, which is also dangerous for the crowd. So, it was a Michelin decision, and that was the only decision they could make. We could have raced with a chicane, if a chicane had been put before the banking, but Ferrari didn't accept."

"It's extremely disappointing [for the fans], but there are three teams still racing, and one of them didn't agree to the chicane. It could have helped the sport, but I understand their position. It's not their fault that our tyres aren't working."

"It's terrible [for F1 in the USA], but there's nothing we can do about the tyres. We arrive here, and there's something wrong. There are rules and, right now, the race is going on according to the rules."

"It is embarrassing [for F1] but, if you had 14 cars in the wall within 20 laps with tyres blown and the risk of hurting the public, then that would have been more embarrassing."

"A chicane could have been built in that short timeframe, definitely. That would have been very easy, but Ferrari didn't want to, I think. With the chicane, the tyre would have been safe. We were just hoping a chicane would have been put in, because then we could have raced."

"There's nothing I could do. It's not in my hands. But if the tyres are judged too not be safe, then it is the right decision."

Ricardo Zonta:

"Of course, I would have liked to race but, in the conditions we had today, it was really, really risky. Any car could crash on lap two, lap five or lap 70, so it was very dangerous, and nobody wants to damage himself. All Michelin teams decided it was better not racing, of course, for safety."

Christian Klien:

"I think it is sad for everyone. We are all very disappointed for the racers, especially the spectators. They all came here to see a good race, but if [the drivers] crash going around the track, it is definitely not good for the sport here in America. There was a safety issue, and we were advised by Michelin to not race. Safety is first."

"For sure, the tyres wouldn't have lasted. That's for sure. It would have worked out with a chicane in the last corner, but it didn't, so we couldn't race. That's Michelin and all the politics of Formula One for why we didn't race."

Nick Heidfeld:

"Basically, Michelin took the decision that it was too dangerous. It is very unfortunate for all of us, especially for the spectators. I am sorry, but we didn't have a choice. This decision was made on the grounds of safety. They do not want to hurt any drivers, and they do not want to hurt any spectators. It is very bad, but at least we do not try to kill anybody."

"There was a problem on one of our tyres. Only a small one, but we didn't know how it would be if we were to continue. There were a lot of problems on the other cars. We have seen last year how bad it can be. In the end, it was simply Michelin's decision. They are our partners, and they advised all the teams that it would not be safe to run and asked us not to do it. To be honest, I think this is a disaster for Formula One in the United States. As drivers, we would have liked to drive, but there is nothing we could have done from the driver's side."

David Coulthard:

"We have been acting under instruction on the grounds of safety from Michelin that there was no choice to go race."

"I can't [say why the chicane wasn't built]. I believe there was a disagreement for Ferrari to accept, and that would be the case. And obviously Charlie [Whiting] made his position on behalf of the FIA quite clear that he didn't feel that they should have to alter the track. I think this is a unique situation. I think it was one time, on the grounds of safety, that they could have taken that stance. I know it is going to be one of these scenarios now: 'Who should have done?' and 'Who could have done?' The reality is that mature adults were not able to come to a resolution that would have allowed us to put on the show that everybody wants to see in Formula One. We wanted to go racing. It is a very sad day for this sport, I would have to say. I am so, so sorry for what we've done, because there was a way out. There was a way to create a solution to let us go racing. Yes, it wasn't the fault of Bridgestone that Michelin had a problem here, but we are all travelling in the same circus together and we are all working together, and there has to be a compromise that allows a way of penalising the Michelin runners and benefiting the Bridgestone runners because of the fault that Michelin had. But this extreme of not having cars on the racetrack, there are going to be a lot of people in Formula One turned away from the sport because of this."

"I feel terrible. I have a sick feeling in my stomach. I am embarrassed to be a part of this. I wish we could have found a solution that had us out here on the racetrack."

"I absolutely respect the instructions of Michelin. They are our technical tyre partner. They understand how their product operates. Do I feel fear about running on this circuit with our tyre? No, not at all. I am a racer. If I had fear in my body, then I wouldn't be out on a racetrack for starts. FIA said to me on the formation lap 'let's go racing'. I said, when we pulled away from the grid, 'if it is turned to me to make a decision, then let's go racing'. But we have to respect Michelin. We have to respect the other teams for all standing by with their instructions, as well. What we have to be disappointed at is that we couldn't come to an agreement for the good of the sport. Forget whether Ferrari are getting 16 points here or not. And they may both blow up, and then you may see two Jordans getting first and second, so it's by no means guaranteed that they will get the points. It is just terrible that we ended up with this situation."

"This just sets a precedent that I guess we are going to see at other times in the future. It's unfortunate. There only are ten teams. If we can't find a solution that is good for the sport. The crowd there is wondering what in the hell is going on. It is embarrassing."

"Michelin just produced a tyre that wasn't capable of running on this track, and they held their hands up and acknowledged that. Then what we tried to do is find a solution and go racing. And despite all of Michelin's efforts to find a solution with the Speedway, FIA and the Bridgestone runners, the selfishness of some has been the cost of the majority. That's why the fans are showing their disgust by throwing things on the track, and I am very sorry for them."

"Ferrari's position has been very clear. They wouldn't accept the change. And I can understand their position. They've done a good job, had a good tyre, and they come here and said 'why should we be penalised when others have screwed up?' But I think it is such an unusual scenario to have so many cars not able to go grand prix racing. If the next race only had six cars, would the same crowd turn up? No. You want 20 cars on the grid. So sometimes you put your own selfish interest to one side for the greater good. Not to just bash on Ferrari, but to not have FIA find a solution to mediate the sport in a way that could have happy people out there is very disappointing. Even if we do come back, half the crowd in the stands today won't be back. That's for sure. Terrible, terrible situations can be recovered and now, having the mistake take place, it will be a question of what actions will be taken to do damage limitation."

"The team principals were all issued a statement, or instruction, from Michelin that the tyres are unsafe to compete in this race and therefore they would not accept any responsibility for any team competing if there wasn't an introduction of a chicane. So the team principals, armed with our letter, could not ask their drivers to go out and race with a known fault because of all of the legal issues of the car crashes, if a car goes into the crowd. So that's why there was a move to go and find a solution from FIA to allow a safe scenario. Give Bridgestone and Ferrari all of the points because they deserve it. They've done a better job this weekend, but once they give them all of the points, let's go and put on a show. It doesn't have to be an absolute wheel-to-wheel battle because WWF survives quite well out here with an element of show business involved. But what you have here is a joke. I'm disappointed, but I respect the team's decision, and I respect Michelin's position. All I was clarifying with the team is don't take a decision on my behalf if I can be part of the process. If you want me to be part of the process, I am going racing. If it's not a decision that is influential in that, then I will respect what they have decided. It's a credit to all of the Michelin teams that they stuck together."

Jean Todt [Team manager - Ferrari]:

"This was our first win and our first one-two finish of the season, obtained under very unusual circumstances. To be put this result in boxing terms, we and Bridgestone won with a technical knock-out."

"We witnessed a very close race between our two drivers, even if today's main aim was to bring the cars home without any problems, whatever the finishing order. I am particularly happy that this is the hundredth win for a car produced under the technical direction of Rory Byrne, that coincides with the 80th victory for the Scuderia since I have been running it."

"For Ferrari, this is an important win, coming as it does in a country that is our number one market. It was pleasing to see that, even in these circumstances there were so many of our fans, and so many Prancing Horse banners, in the grandstands right to the end of the race."

"I am very surprised by the situation that arose today, but would prefer not to comment on things that are not directly my responsibility. Bridgestone is doing an extraordinary job. There are now ten races to go to the end of the season and, as usual, we will do our utmost to reach our targets."

Ross Brawn [Technical director - Ferrari]:

"We had no problems during the race and the tyre performance was consistent throughout. Our drivers were pushing one another quite hard and it got exciting after the second pit-stop. We tried to put on the best show we could under these circumstances. During the pit-stops, we were being cautious simply because we had time to spare."

Adrian Burgess [Sporting director - Jordan GP]:

"Today was an unusual race for Jordan Grand Prix. With the extraordinary circumstances, we did our best to bring both cars to the finish and we were there to get the points. We have done the same job as we normally do in a race and made sure we did not make any mistakes or take any useless risks. Now our main focus is on our test next week in Barcelona and to keep on improving the cars."

Paul Stoddart [Team principal - Minardi Cosworth]:

"First of all, our sincere apologies go out to the race fans, both here at Indianapolis and indeed, around the world, for the farce that took place at Indianapolis this afternoon. This really was a time when Formula One needed to put sport above politics, but sadly, this did not occur."

"Earlier on today, nine of the ten competing teams had agreed that, in the interests of safety, a temporary chicane needed to be placed before the final turn, and that unless that took place, the nine teams would not compete. This idea was rejected by FIA President Max Mosley, and in no uncertain terms, the teams were told that, should this occur, there would be no race. This, in my opinion, is clearly not in the interests of the sport, the American public, or Formula One fans around the world."

"I have complete sympathy with the Michelin teams, and can take neither satisfaction from, nor interest in, this afternoon's race, if you can call it that. For the avoidance of doubt, Minardi only participated when it became clear that Jordan had changed its decision to compete from this morning."

"I sincerely hope that valuable lessons are taken away from here today before we destroy the sport we love with politics. A solution, which would have allowed the United States Grand Prix to have proceeded unaffected today existed, but was resisted by the FIA and not supported by Ferrari, who claimed it was not their problem."

Tsutomo Tomita [Team principal - Toyota F1]:

"First, we would like to apologise to all the race fans and sponsors watching, both here and around the world. We are sorry to have to take this decision, particularly in the light of Jarno Trulli's pole position here yesterday. But the safety of our drivers always has to come first."

"After a detailed explanation of the tyre problems encountered this weekend, we could not legitimately send our drivers out for a race distance. Therefore, we did not race either car this afternoon. We look forward to returning to the track at the French Grand Prix in a fortnight."

Ron Dennis [Team principal - McLaren]:

"We had a detailed written confirmation from Michelin that the tyres were unsafe to run unless there was a chicane put in to slow the speed into [turn 13]. This was confirmed again [at] five o'clock this morning and, since that time, we've been trying with other teams to convince FIA to put a chicane in the circuit - and they refused."

"Our primary responsibility is to the safety of my drivers, and I fully understand the consequences for Formula One are severe, and certainly enjoyment for the spectators here. But we gave many hours' notice that we had severe problems, and the explicit - absolute explicit - documented information from Michelin prohibited us from racing on these tyres unless we were able to reduce to corner speed of the corner leading onto the pit straights. The teams had no alternative. We were for this to be a non-championship race; we were prepared to race later; we were prepared to do virtually anything other than to race through that corner at high speed. And that's an unacceptable risk."

"We're not pointing any fingers whatsoever; I'm saying we did everything we could along with nine other teams to find a solution to this problem and, as you can see, a solution wasn't found."

"I sincerely hope [this isn't the last time that Formula One comes to the United States]. It's a bad day for Formula One, but a clear demonstration of the difficulties the teams constantly have with finding solutions to problems. We initially were informed by Michelin on Friday, and the data coming to us has become more severe. The final tests in Europe were found to clearly demonstrate that we were unable to run on our tyres and subject them to the forces leading to the turn onto the straight. Michelin has not hidden from their responsibilities, but their only solution was to put a chicane prior to this corner to reduce cornering speed, and this was rejected by the governing body."

Norbert Haug [Motorsport director - Mercedes-Benz]:

"We took the decision. We offered a compromise that was not possible. We would have liked to have raced for the spectators especially, but this is not the case which said. We just followed the advice of our tyre partner, Michelin, and if they had safety concerns we cannot race. We offered a compromise that was not possible. That is why we have a race with six cars right now."

"Everyone will understand if there are safety concerns. We cannot influence that. We have a partnership with Michelin, and I find it very brave of them to say we have some concerns and react accordingly."

"We cannot race if we have tyre problems. That is quite obvious. It is sad. We offered a compromise, which wasn't taken. I understand the rules are the rules, but at least we tried to find a way to do it."

Nick Fry [CEO - BAR]:

"We tried until five minutes before the pit-lane closed to find a solution to this. We've been advised by our tyre supplier that the tyres are not safe to run, and we have to respect that. We can't put our drivers in a situation that we're told by a major company that it is not safe."

"I think it's the worst possible advert for Formula One at the moment. To only have six cars running, and none of them in contention for the championship. It's a great shame. Unfortunately, in the interest of safety, this decision was made."

"We all wanted to race, the drivers, the teams, that's what we came here to do. Unfortunately, a solution couldn't be found. We had to take the advice of our tyre supplier."

Flavio Briatore [Managing director - Renault F1]:

"We said we didn't want to race with this situation like this. We wanted a chicane, and it would take less than one hour to put that in and make everybody happy."

"I'm sorry for the fans, but there was no question for us to race here."

"Sometimes you have a problem with a car, you break the suspension, and you tell the driver come back to the garage. This was a technical problem, and we needed to sure the problem was cured, but all we asked for was a different configuration this year, that was possible to change."

"We are sad, our mechanics are sad, the drivers are sad we want to race, we want to race. We don't care if Ferrari started up front. We wanted to race for no points."

Sam Michael [Chief operations engineer - BMW.WilliamsF1]:

"We are extremely sorry to all the fans that turned up today to see a race. We are all racers as well, but unfortunately we could not deliver today. It was too much risk to us."

"We had an instruction from Michelin, our tyre supplier, this morning to say that the tyres in the current circuit layout were not safe to race. They would not condone us racing on them. At that point, the only way they would condone it would be if turn 13 was slowed down through the use of some sort of chicane. That did not happen."

"We took the grid and the formation lap for the fans, so they could at least see the cars and the drivers on the grid. After the formation lap, we had to come into the pits. We could not put the cars in a racing situation. Unfortunately, we can't risk the drivers' lives."

"It is a mistake for Michelin. We've tried everything over the last 18 hours, since last night, to try and get some sort of compromise where we could race for the fans. It did not happen, so we had to withdraw the cars after the formation lap. We are extremely sorry to all the fans that turned up here to see a grand prix. We are all racers. We want to race, but we could not do it today. I'm sorry."

"The compromise that we suggested was to put a chicane at the entry to the pit-lane. It has been done before. It was done in Barcelona, in '94, with no problems at all to run with the chicane. That was the compromise we offered. We also offered, because it was a Michelin problem, and not a problem for Bridgestone, we offered that all six Bridgestone cars would take the top six grid positions and Michelin drivers would form up in their qualifying order from seventh place down. That was the offer that we made, and it was rejected."

Christian Horner [Sporting director - Red Bull Racing]:

"Obviously, it was a very difficult decision to take. We acted on the advice of Michelin who, as you can see, instructed all teams that the tyres were unsafe to race here this weekend without the introduction of a chicane prior to turn 13. Unfortunately, we were unable, in the interest of safety for both our drivers, teams, and spectators, to start the race today. Obviously, we've come here to race. We are extremely embarrassed about the situation, especially for all the guys who have paid to come here this afternoon to watch the race. I can only apologise on our behalf, and I'm sure of all the teams that we haven't put on the show that we wanted to this afternoon."

"I think, if we could have been able to slow the cars before turn 13, then there wouldn't have been a problem."

"The problem is they are all racing drivers at the end of the day. How do you tell them to slow down? When they are racing, they are pushing, they are defending, and they're attacking. It would be an impossible situation to police."

"David Coulthard says he is a racer, and he would have taken the risks. But, you know, it is my responsibility as a team principal to act in the best interest of safety. And, on the instruction from Michelin, the decision was very straightforward. We have seen several big accidents here due to tyre failures. Michelin were adamant that they didn't want the cars to run this afternoon, so we have really operated on their response."

In addition to their individual quotes, the seven team bosses using Michelin tyres also issued a joint statement:

"The Michelin teams deeply regret the position that they have been put in today and would like to apologize to all the spectators, TV viewers, Formula One fans and sponsors for not being able to take part in today's USA Grand Prix."

"Following Ralf Schumacher's accident on Friday morning, we were advised by Michelin that none of the tyres that were available to the teams could be used unless the vehicle speed in turn 13 was reduced. Without this, Michelin did not consider the tyre to be safe to be used for the race. All the teams are confident in Michelin and trust their advice as we know they are competent and responsible and their written instruction to us not to race unless changes to the circuit were made was accepted."

"All final data from Michelin became available at 0630 on Sunday morning, and it became clear that Michelin were not able to guarantee the safety of the drivers. Numerous discussions and meetings took place to find a safe solution to the problem. Every possibility for the race to go ahead in a safe manner was explored. The only practical solution was for a chicane to be installed prior to turn 13 and nine of the teams were prepared to run under these conditions - even forgoing championship points or by allowing non-Michelin teams to take top positions on the grid. Unfortunately, all proposals were rejected by the FIA."

"Safety is always the first concern of any team and the FIA. Regrettably, the teams were obliged to follow Michelin's requirements not to race. We are totally aware that the USA is an important market for Formula One, and there is an obligation for Formula One to promote itself in a positive and professional manner. It is sad that we couldn't showcase Formula One in the manner we would have liked today."