AUGUST 2, 2008

Something to think about

Last weekend was an embarrassing one for the NASCAR world. The Allstate 400 at the Brickyard was disrupted by tyre problems, which were not dissimilar to what happened to Formula 1 in 2005. Goodyear said that that the combination of the Indy track surface and NASCAR's new Car of Tomorrow resulted in excessive tyre wear which meant that no-one could make the tyres last more than 10 laps. Rather than getting into the mess that Formula 1 did, NASCAR responded by using "competition cautions", slowing the cars down to allow them to change tyres around every 10 laps. This meant that the race was in effect 18 10-lap sprints which kept the fans amused. They went home happy.

Formula 1 may like to think of itself superior to other form of motorsport but there is no doubt that it can learn lessons from other championships.