APRIL 18, 2005

A warning sign for the future

As Formula 1 forges on towards a potential split with the big teams on one side and the FIA and Ferrari on the other, there is no better advertisement for the stupidity of such a move than what is happening in the United States of America where over the weekend the bosses of Champ Car and the Indy Racing League met for a discussion about whether or not they could somehow stop the split which has blighted American open-wheeler racing since 1997. Neither Champ Car nor the IRL is doing particularly well but neither side intends to give up the fight and with billionaire Tony George pouring millions into IRL and billionaires Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerry Forsythe pouring millions into Champ Car, there is no end in sight to the conflict. Both Champ Car's Dick Eidswick and IRL's Tony George agreed that the sport would be much better off if they had only one series but both admitted after the meeting that they are no closer to finding a solution to the problem.

And while everyone talks about philosophy and other such airy issues, the main problem, as always, appears to be ego.