Double points “isn’t really a big change,” says FIA prez Todt

1 Comment

Judging from the reaction it’s generated, the FIA’s decision to award double points at Formula One season finales starting next season would appear to be kind of a big deal.

FIA president Jean Todt, however, thinks it isn’t much of a big deal at all.

The former Ferrari general manager has told a Spanish publication that he believes more talk should be centered on how to reduce the cost of racing in F1 and the new 2014 technical rules, not on what’s been called by some as the “Abu Double” in reference to the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

“A lot has been said about the new point rules but it isn’t really a big change to be honest,” Todt told Spanish sports paper AS. “I believe it is far more important to talk about the reduction of costs in Formula 1.

“We will be saving 40% fuel because of the new [V-6, turbo] engine. A new point system is a very small change in the rules, but nothing more than that so I really do not understand why all these people are talking so much about such a little change in the sport.”

Upon first hearing these comments, I had two thoughts. Either Todt is, 1) blissfully unaware of the hornet’s nest his organization kicked over with double points; or 2) the comments are his way of telling everybody, ‘It’s happening. You’re wasting your time squawking about it. Deal with it.’

But if Todt believes that double points is “a very small change in the rules,” doesn’t that naturally lead the fans to ask why the FIA carried it out in the first place? And also, why they chose that instead of another, less artificial way to spice up the World Championship?

In any case, all the talk could be for nothing in the end. F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone recently remarked that the double points rule may be scrapped next month during a meeting of F1’s Strategy Group. We’ll see if that comes to pass.

Roger Penske discusses flying tire at Indy 500 with Dallara executives: ‘We’ve got to fix that’

0 Comments

INDIANAPOLIS – Roger Penske spoke with Dallara executives Monday morning about the loose tire that went flying over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway catchfence and into a Turn 2 parking lot.

The left-rear wheel from Kyle Kirkwood’s No. 27 Dallara-Honda was sheared off in a collision at speed as Kirkwood tried to avoid the skidding No. 6 Dallara-Chevrolet of Felix Rosenqvist on Lap 183 of the 107th Indianapolis 500.

No one seriously was hurt in the incident (including Kirkwood, whose car went upside down and slid for several hundred feet), though an Indianapolis woman’s Chevy Cruze was struck by the tire. The Indy Star reported a fan was seen and released from the care center after sustaining minor injuries from flying debris in the crash.

During a photo shoot Monday morning with Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden at the IMS Yard of Bricks, Penske met with Dallara founder and owner Gian Paolo Dallara and Dallara USA CEO Stefano dePonti. The Italian company has been the exclusive supplier of the current DW12 chassis to the NTT IndyCar series for 11 years.

“The good news is we didn’t have real trouble with that tire going out (of the track),” Penske, who bought Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2020, told a few reporters shortly afterward. “I saw it hit. When it went out, I saw we were OK. I talked to the Dallara guys today. We’re going to look at that, but I guess the shear (force) from when (Rosenqvist’s) car was sitting, (Kirkwood’s car) went over and just that shear force tore that tether. Because we have tethers on there, and I’ve never seen a wheel come off.

“That to me was probably the scariest thing. We’ve got to fix that. We’ve got to fix that so that doesn’t happen again.”

Asked by NBC Sports if IndyCar would be able to address it before Sunday’s Detroit Grand Prix or before the next oval race at Iowa Speedway, Penske said, “The technical guys should look at it. I think the speed here, a couple of hundred (mph) when you hit it vs. 80 or 90 or whatever it might be, but that was a pinch point on the race.”

In a statement released Monday to WTHR and other media outlets, IndyCar said that it was “in possession of the tire in Sunday’s incident and found that the tether did not fail. This is an isolated incident, and the series is reviewing to make sure it does not happen again. IndyCar takes the safety of the drivers and fans very seriously. We are pleased and thankful that no one was hurt.”

IndyCar provided no further explanation for how the wheel was separated from the car without the tether failing.

IndyCar began mandating wheel suspension tethers using high-performance Zylon material after a flying tire killed three fans at Charlotte Motor Speedway during a May 1, 1999 race. Three fans also were struck and killed by a tire at Michigan International Speedway during a July 26, 1998 race.

The IndyCar tethers can withstand a force of more than 22,000 pounds, and the rear wheel tethers were strengthened before the 2023 season.