The 2005 United States Grand Prix was one of the most controversial Formula One motor races in modern history. It was held on June 19, 2005 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was the ninth race of the 2005 Formula One Season. Following several tyre failures before the race, most spectacularly on Ralf Schumacher's Toyota during Friday practice, Michelin advised its seven customer teams that the tyres provided for the race were not safe to use for the entire race, even though they had been providing working tyres for the race since 2001. The FIA, the sport's governing body, refused a compromise proposal from Michelin to allow a chicane to be installed, maintaining that such rule changes would be grossly unfair to the Bridgestone-shod teams (Ferrari, Minardi and Jordan), who had come prepared with properly working tyres. The Michelin teams, unable to come to a compromise with the FIA, decided not to participate. Of the six competitors, Ferrari's Michael Schumacher was the eventual winner. The situation created enormous negative publicity for the sport of Formula One, especially in the United States, a market in which Formula One had struggled to establish itself over the preceding 20 years, leading some to label the race as Indygate'.
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