Schumacher's leading role in grand farce

MOTOR SPORT/United States Grand Prix: Two Ferraris on the grid, two Jordans, two Minardis. That was it. The lights went out and so too did the lights on Formula One in America and any ambition the sport has harboured of cracking the huge US market imploded in a storm of the kind of in-fighting, disagreement and point-scoring that only Formula One can generate.USGrandPrix

All weekend here, the talk had been whether the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the right home for Formula One. Rumours had been rife that the so-called king of Las Vegas, Steve Wynn, had been in Montreal a week ago discussing the possibility of taking F1 to the gambling capital of the world.

At one minutes past two yesterday afternoon, 100,000 US fans were left asking whether the sport deserved any home in the US. If it had any then, after yesterday's debacle in Indianpolis, Sin City might be the right place to go.

Two Ferraris racing alone, almost as if it was a test day at Maranello. In the garages of the teams running on Michelin tyres, the drivers sat in their cars, watching the six cars race. The monitors in the media centre flashed the outcome. Michael Schumacher leading from team-mate Rubens Barrichello, the Brazilian followed by the Jordan of Tiago Monteiro, the Minardi of Christijan Albers, the second Jordan of Narain Karthikeyan and finally Patrick's Friesacher of Minardi.

Thereafter, the list of pre-start retirements flowed: pole-sitter Jarno Trulli, McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya, the twin Renaults of Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella. Michelin runners all.

And as Schumacher and Barrichello went through the motions on track, in the stands the fans began to pack up and leave, dismayed, appalled and disgusted by the temerity of a sport that would turn up, fleece them of their cash and then refuse to deliver the goods. In a country used to the mummery of snake-oil merchants, they had been comprehensively hoodwinked.

It didn't sit well. A fan in the stands stood resolute, unmoving, his thumbs both turned downward as the cameras closed in on him.

Elsewhere, like at a soccer match, the missiles began to rain onto the track. Marshals scrambled to remove cups and other debris hurled onto the track in disgust. The fans who opted to stay and watch slack-jawed as the farce unfolded. A hastily drawn sign went up, scrawled across it was the simple message: "$ Back."

Most had arrived in the early morning unaware of the chaos unfolding in the paddock. After Toyota's Ralf Schumacher had ploughed into the Turn 13 wall for the second year running in Friday's practice session, his team's tyre supplier Michelin examined the carcasses of his wrecked tyres.

No conclusion could be drawn from the tests and after qualifying on Saturday the company confessed it could not guarantee the safety of its Indianapolis spec rubber and pleaded to be allowed to bring new tyres from France, a specification it had raced in Barcelona. After further tests it ruled it could not vouch for either type and, in the interests of drivers' safety, it said, the team asked that a chicane be built at Turn 13 to slow the cars down. By race day morning the storm was in full swing. Shuttle diplomacy.

Negotiations. Bernie Ecclestone deep in discussion with circuit owner Tony George and FIA race director Charlie Whiting. Team principals scuttling in and out of the ring-master's office. Michelin boss Pierre Duspasquier refusing to comment. And to what end? None. In the end, nine of the 10 signed an agreement pleading with the FIA to install the chicane at Turn 13. The FIA refused. Ferrari, the most powerful of Michelin's rivals maintained silence. The Scuderia's press officer said it was up to the FIA to rule on the matter. "We are just focused on putting out cars on the grid and racing," he added.

Ecclestone ran from Michelin-shod team to team imploring that Renault, McLaren, BAR, Williams, Toyota, Red Bull Racing and Sauber start the race. Standing firm on the grounds of driver safety, they said they would take the formation lap and no more.

So as Schumacher and Barrichello sat lonely at the head of the grid, the Michelin-shod cars snaked into pit lane, retiring in the order they had riskily claimed grid positions the day before. The debate as to the correctness of the Michelin teams' decision to withdraw their drivers will go on and on.

In the end there were no winners. Not even on the track. Michael Schumacher, threatened only by his team-mate, plodded through 73 laps to take his first victory of the year. No fault of his, but it was a dispiriting way to reclaim the top step on the podium.

He was followed home by Barrichello and then Tiago Monteiro, who earned Jordan their best result since another strange day in Brazil with Giancarlo Fisichella in 2003. The second Jordan of Narain Karthikeyan was fourth with Minardi's Christijan Albers and Patrick Friesacher completing the field.FINISHING POSITION

73 Laps: 1 M Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari 1hr 29mins 43.181secs, 2 R Barrichello (Bra) Ferrari 1:29:44.703, 3 T Monteiro (Por) Jordan at 1 lap, 4 N Karthikeyan (Ind) Jordan at 1 lap, 5 C Albers (Ned) Minardi at 2 laps, 6 P Freisacher (Aut) Minardi at 2 laps.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Drivers' Championship: 1 F Alonso (Spa) Renault 59pts, 2 K Raikkonen (Fin) McLaren 37, 3 M Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari 34, 4 R Barrichello (Bra) Ferrari 29, 5 J Trulli (Ita) Toyota 27, 6 N Heidfeld (Ger) Williams 25, 7 M Webber (Aus) Williams 22, 8 R Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 20, 9 G Fisichella (Ita) Renault 17 MANUFACTURERS' CHAMPIONSHIP

1 Renault 76pts, 2 McLaren 63, 3 Ferrari 63, 4 Toyota 47, 5 Williams 47, 6 Red Bull 22, 7 Sauber 12, 8 Jordan 11, 9 Minardi 7, 10 Red Bull 0