Seven F1 Teams Used Loophole to Escape FIA Penalty at US Grand Prix

Seven Formula One teams cleverly used a loophole to avoid FIA penalties during the United States Grand Prix.

On Friday, the Circuit of the Americas in Texas will host the first of three Grand Prix weekends to take place in America this season as the United States Grand Prix gets underway.

With just six race weekends left in the 2025 Formula One race calendar, tensions across the grid are higher than ever as drivers look to secure some much needed points in the final quarter of the season.

As he chases down McLaren teammate and title favourite Oscar Piastri in the Drivers Championship standings, Lando Norris will be hoping for a better race than the 2024 US Grand Prix that saw him miss out on a podium finish after getting a five-second penalty.

But the 2024 race wasn't the most dramatic race United States Grand Prix as the 2005 race saw seven different teams cleverly exploit a loophole in the rules to avoid being handed a penalty.

McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri and favourites for the 2025 title. (Image: Getty)

In what has been described by some as one of the lowest points of modern Formula 1, all but six of the 20 cars competing at the US Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway decided to head into the pits after the formation lap, where they stayed for the whole race.

This essentially ended any potential excitement in the race as Ferrari's Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello comfortably completed the 73 laps before crossing the line.

But why did so many cars abandon the race before it had even began?

The issue began during the practice and qualifying sessions for the race as several cars running on Michelin tyres were involved in dangerous high-speed blow-outs.

With so many cars using the tyres suddenly crashing, Michelin investigated what could be causing the issue and discovered that the rough surface of the banked speedway section of the circuit was the cause.

Therefore, the tyre manufacturer asked for a chicane be added to the circuit layout to reduce speeds in turn 13, a suggestion that the FIA quickly rejected as they suggested it would be unfair to unaffected teams using Bridgestone tyres.

Fans at the 2005 US Grand Prix were not happy when 14 cars retired early. (Image: Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Despite Michelin expressing concerns that the tyres would not be safe after more than ten laps, official rules meant that the manufacturer couldn't make an changes to tyre compounds as the race weekend was already underway.

Therefore, all Michelin teams- McLaren, Toyota, BAR, Renault, Sauber, Williams and Red Bull - decided that the risk of criminal liability following a fatal crash, wasn't worth it and decided to withdraw from the race.

However, doing so would mean that they would be handed a penalty by the FIA, Formula One's governing body, but they figured out a clever way to avoid this, starting the race but not finishing it.

For that reason, the two drivers for each of the 14 teams, lined up on the grid for the race and completed the formation lap before pulling into the pits and retiring, avoiding any form of punishment.