Not enough attention has been paid to the withdrawal of Bridgestone. Toyota goes and Sauber, perhaps, steps in, but nobody can replace Bridgestone because nobody else has the data and, because of the FIA's restriction on testing, nobody else can acquire the data.

If you need reminding what a lack of data can lead to, cast your mind back to the 2005 United States GP and its field of six. It was one of the most dismal days in motor racing history. Tens of thousands of fans were robbed at the Speedway and it was not just the price of a ticket, it was the travel, accommodation and the sheer disappointment. You cannot put a price on the disappointment.

The FIA likes to boast about its safety record in F1 and the post-Ayrton Senna period is quoted. The careers of other drivers have come to an end as well. Ralf Schumacher survived a horrendous accident, due to a tyre failure in Friday practice at Indianapolis, but he was never the same driver again. No matter how safely you are secured, the human brain cannot cope with being squished around in the skull.

A tyre failure ended Ralf Schumacher's career. The man had won Grands Prix and you do not do that by being someone's kid brother. Ralf, in his pomp, was special, but he was not the same after the crash.

Two things led to the catastrophe at Indianapolis: a ruling by the FIA which forbade tyre changes and the resurfacing of the Speedway which caused greater tyre wear. Actually, there was a third, which was the cussedness of teams and their refusal to cooperate. They bleat about the importance of the North American market, but when push came to shove, self-interest ruled. I seem to recall someone called Todt (aka Our Great And Glorious Leader) being intractable.

Michelin had supplied tyres for Indianapolis since 2001 and there had been no problems. Michelin has a magnificent history, but it was unable to test on the resurfaced Speedway and the FIA did not demand that it should do so. Nobody at the FIA was able to grasp how marginal F1 tyres are. On many circuits a new set is not up to doing a second qualifying lap, that is how fine the margin is.

Apparently. nobody in the FIA knew this though we lumpen mass of couch potatoes do. We who watch qualifying on TV hear about tyre wear all the time. Martin and Ted keep us informed about tyre wear and tyre behaviour. We proles are informed. We know that Indianapolis was not a Michelin cock-up, it was an FIA cock-up, but Michelin got the blame.