By Jamie Makin
July 3 2005

My Saturday at the US Grand Prix started with the same picture perfect weather as the first two days. It was unbelievable to think we had been so blessed this year. But what I didn't see right away were the storm clouds on the horizon in F1's own crazy world.
I rejoined my tifosi friends early for practice and we found yet another vantage point I had somehow missed over the years. We took to the spectator mounds at the end of Hulman Boulevard, right about at the 100m mark in the braking zone. It was truly an amazing spot. For the first time ever I saw with my own eyes the glowing of the brake rotors. It was yet another prime opportunity to see how cars and drivers stacked up against each other. For all the fuss that has been made over Jacques Villeneuve's issues with the C24's brakes, I had to admit that he was braking later into that turn than most other drivers in the field. He looked totally comfortable with the car this weekend.

But we got the sense early on that all was not right in the world. The PA system's commentator kept talking about how Michelin teams were driving down pitlane to avoid the troublesome turn thirteen. The group of us follow F1 very avidly and as such are more tuned into the sport's politics than many of the spectators around us. By the end of practice it was clear that a major controversy was brewing and it was now starting to encroach on our otherwise fun day.

We temporarily parted ways after practice as my sister had text-messaged me with a rather last minute souvenir request. My friends headed off in search of good seats for qualifying while I fought my way through a nightmarish crowd to obtain the Minardi shirt that she had decided she couldn't live without. Of course to make it worth my while I indulged in a few more things for myself but I reminded myself one more time why I always make a point of doing my shopping much earlier in the weekend.

With that mission accomplished, I called my friends up to see where they had found seats. It turned out they were in the very top of the grandstand across from the pagoda. It was quite a climb up all those stairs but worth it. I'd never gone quite that high up before and once I did I realized you could even see parts of the infield from there.

By now news had spread that a new batch of Michelin tyres were in the air en route to the Speedway, but would not arrive in time for qualifying. We wondered if the Michelin teams would even run as our fears over Sunday's race continued to mount. Despite those fears it was a perfectly normal qualifying session making us wonder if we were all getting just a bit paranoid about the whole thing. We were as shocked as anyone to see Jarno Trulli give Toyota their first ever F1 pole. It would be a few days until our suspicions that he was running on fumes were confirmed though.

I was happy to see the Saubers in 10th and 12th but my pals were clearly disappointed with Ferrari's 5th and 7th. We debated a bit whether it had to do with their race strategy but then decided it didn't matter much if this Michelin saga played out to its full potential. We then parted ways for the weekend. They were going downtown for the evening while I wanted to catch the three support races.

As I exited the stands I had a brief encounter with Speed TV's Steve Matchett, whom I had missed seeing at last night's party. He was with their statistician, Sean Kelley, who did have a chance to chat with me earlier. Steve recognized me but we only had time for a quick hello before the Speed crew were whisked away on their golf cart to whatever was in store for them next.

I made my way to Stand H, which is near turn one, for the races. Formula BMW came first followed by Porsche Supercup. I don't really know the drivers in those series very well so I tend to enjoy the races on a more basic level. One of my Sauber forum friends showed up during the Porsche race and it was great to finally meet him in person. We chatted through the whole thing and a bit afterwards. But he had to leave before the final race of the day.

That final race was the one I was really anxious for; the Infiniti Pro Series. For those of you not familiar with it, this is a support series for the Indy Racing League. It's a predominantly oval series but this year has added road courses for the first time. The race at Indy was only their second road race but made history in making it THE only series in the world to have competed on both the oval and the road course at IMS.

But my main reason for wanting to see it had nothing to do with the historical aspect of it. I was anxious to see Marco Andretti, the son of Michael Andretti, race in person. The Andrettis are the "local" heros where I live. Their homes are in Nazareth which is just a few minutes from where I work. There's been a lot of local buzz about Marco lately, billing him as one of several potential Americans to reach F1. I wasn't sure how much was hype and how much was raw talent but I was about to find out.

Marco had the pole for the race but he lost the lead going into turn one after the rolling start. However, the guy who overtook him then went off onto the grass handing the lead back to Marco. There was no turning back for Marco after that point. He drove a solid and mistake-free race extending his lead on every lap. He eventually won by a considerable margin. In watching him it was clear that he was taking the best lines for every turn and driving a lot smoother than his rivals. I was thrilled. It wasn't hype after all. Marco is clearly the "real deal".

What I didn't realise as I left the track that evening was that I had just seen the best race the weekend would have to offer. I had successfully forgotten the brewing controversy during the support races but returning to my hotel and logging onto the 'net brought the harsh reality back to me. The race was under threat, just as we feared it would be. And it just seemed to get uglier by the moment. I did not get a lot of sleep that night wondering what would happen the next day.

To be continued . . . .