Thumbs Down @ FIA...

Fans await with bated breath as the cars line up at the starting grid. A promising race is ahead of them. The cars slowly gather pace as they do a warmup lap around the circuit cheered on by a crowd of 130,000.
As the parade lap is coming to a close, most of the cars start moving towards the pits. Only six of the twenty cars line up for the start of the race.

This is what happened in the ridiculous US grand prix last night. A farcical event in which 70% of the cars didn't even bother to compete.
The cause of all the drama was the tyre supplied by Michelin which was unable to take the stress of the banked curve (turn 13) and was the cause of a major accident during Friday's free practice.
Their statement acknowledged the flaw:
Given the combination of oval exit speed of the F1 cars and the subsequent down forces experienced by the tyres, Michelin is not able to guarantee that such incidents would not reoccur during race conditions, and therefore Michelin is not able to guarantee the total safety of the drivers.


The problems were not insurmountable and a little compromise and understanding would have saved the day for the race fans of America and fans like me around the world. But the arrogant governing body showed utter disregard for the spectators and ruined the weekend for 130,000 fans all of whom had payed atleast US$100 to come to the event.
All sport governing bodies are so preoccupied with their own selfish concerns that interest of the spectator and the sport itself is lost on them. What is a sport without the adoring fans? I wonder why the officials forget this? Is it because they themseleves are no longer fans of the sports but mere officials?

Whatever be the case, yesterday's race marked a new low in the history of Formula 1 and raises new questions w.r.t the level of commitment of the officials running different sports.