US Grand Prix 2002, Indianapolis: A Ferrari Fix

In the run up to the return to the US for F1 racing, I’m looking for good stories that maybe veteran F1 fans want to relive and new ones can read for the first time. Most people with any vague knowledge of F1 racing in the US will know of the tyre debacle at Indianapolis in 2005 where only 6 teams ran.

Yesterday, thejudge13 published a review and some video footage from Dallas 1984, another farcical event where the track disintegrated before the drivers eys. So much so the Pole Position fastest time was set on Friday some 2.5 seconds quicker than anything possible on the Saturday – and there was no rain. (LINK)

Controversy has not been far from the US Grand Prix it seems in recent years. This race at 2002, I remember watching live and listening to the incredulous voice of the commentator who wailed in disbelief at the finish as it unfolded before his eyes. The article is from Grandprix.com but is abridged due a great level of detail some may find dull. The link to the full article is at the end for those wanting the 10th’s of seconds etc…  suffice to say the race was a fairly dull Ferrari domination (as was much of 1999-2004).

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HRT Engineers worried about safety, Villenueve: ‘Vettel’s a child’, COTA wins Global award, Partially sighted driver wins Indy 500, Rosberg on Schumacher, Alonso/Vettel title permutations, RB to join elite club, US GP record: F1’s smallest winning margin

HRT price tag 40m euros: Thesan Capital (who we think are Banco Popular in disguise – see news yesterday) have most reasonably come clean today and suggested they would be happy to receive back their original investment of 40m euro’s. I bet they would, these are the last desperate scrabbling to realise some cash back on what was a ridiculous venture destined to fail.

If someone pays Thesan 40m euro then there is still 10’s of millions more for the new owners to find to get the team back on its feet again after paying off the debt. Of course there is the prize money from coming last this year, and whilst prize money in F1 is a closely guarded secret, I believe 12th is worth only about 7.5m euro ($10m). The likelihood is HRT will just cease to exist.

The reason I say this, is because there has been for 3 years agreement among the teams for a 13th team to race. This has never happened due to the inability of anyone to get the required funding for an F1 start up. Buying HRT is worse than starting a new team as there will be debts, unpaid wages, a factory in Madrid that would be better located in the UK – why pay anything for them? The prize money is insignificant compared to the rest of the costs.

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