F1: To boo, or not to boo? Opinion roundup

[Dave Fox]

I don't exactly be overjoyed when vettel and redbull win race after race.....but you gotta give credit were it's due, has F1 got to a stage of trying to shame the top driver and team just because they are so good ?

the best way RBR could deal with this would be to poke fun at it.

 

[Roger Snead]

Twenty one out of twenty one people here agreed that the Booing is wrong. Consensus is always extremely accurate, so it is very surprising that it exists at all. Very strange.

 

[kelaroost]

SV did not want raikkonen for his to much of a handful and will show the truth so they employ someone who has never won.. BOO
SV enjoys his place in the team and gets webbers car parts BOO
SV ignores team orders,BOO
SV gets what ever he wants BOO
SV Cries if some one has overtaken him BOO,
SV would most likely do a prost if he could.

 

[Rob]

I dont agree with the booing its a bad thing but it was bound to happen ...

i see F1 is a bit like football these days , the richest win all the time and fans of one team or another will jeer ... occasionally there will be a shock but other than that the same faces will be there on the podium more or less each time

For me F1 should be the pinnacle of motorsport but its fallen off its own podium ; its failed to be a sport now and is a piece of theatre or closer to pantomime

As for Vettle , i think he and redbull shot themselves in the foot a while ago and in public opinion they have been limping ever since ,
Kudos to Redbull and Adrian Newey ... brilliant car , kudos to Vettle he is good ... but its the sport or the politics that have changed this sport that is leading us down this path ...

Personally , hope Bernie pops his clogs soon and there is a seed change in F1 and one that thinks of the future of this series and not the size of the bank accounts of the few ....

GT racing anyone

Andi

I'm not sure about this. How is Ferrari or Mercedes not "rich"?

 

[Rob]

I can't stand Ferrari, by the way, but I love Kimi. I think if they can get their act together, that team will be quite formidable. Red Bull need be worried.

 

[Mark Gormley]

gets webbers car parts

When did this happen?

 

[Andi Goodwin]

I'm not sure about this. How is Ferrari or Mercedes not "rich"?

i didnt say they weren't but f1 is a 3 division league at the moment , and it doesn't make for great racing really .. each season for me there are less races were the racing was the talking point , its the politics , the personality's the gossip ... and i want to see cars battling out there and this playing field is so uneven these days that its a farce ..; love to see it simplified with a fixed budget , throw kers out the window , stop making crap tyres and get back to racing ... if we have to keep drs then keep it but id much prefer to see a regulation on how much dirty air a car can throw out the back ... or a push to pass button ...added fuel or x amount of boost extra from a turbo (much cheaper than kers) and no team orders ... (thats just bet fixing at the end of the day)

So i suppose what im trying to say are people solely booing vettle or are they booing the person stood on the top run of a ladder of a sport that they are no longer happy with ...;


Andi

 

[Rob]

F1 is enjoying record popularity. Compare NASCAR at Texas or IndyCar at same with F1 at Austin. Sure some are imports, but its growth is phenomenal.

Last year, Alonso was up by some 20 odd points Mid Europe and Vettel still caught him. That was some good stuff.

I would take a different view of "boring" I guess. Part of F1's appeal is the technology and that takes money, for sure. So, to dumb it down just to try and even it up, you run into being like NASCAR...an utter disaster after killing the golden goose. F1 is now, when we look back, in its golden years. Sure, Vettel happens to be winning at the moment, but there are so many good drivers and so many good ideas and technology and world travel and flair and Euro-sheek, that it's just the greatest spectacle, bar none. Even if that German does drive away with it, that alone is impressive to watch. Someone needs to step up. They will. Be patient. But don't kill the sport. A lot is changing next year.

 

[Andi Goodwin]

the thing thats changing next year is the engine package which will increase the costs even more its not about dumbing it down its being realistic , many teams are struggling there are 3 teams holding there head above water , the rest arent .. its just my take .. and i dont think these are the golden years at all .. but once again my take ...i just think half are the boos at least are general displeasure but as i said they get pointed at the guy who stands at the top .;;

Andi

 

[Tristan Clark]

There's something often talked about in Australia called "Tall poppy syndrome". Basically, it's a social attitude whereby people feel the need to cut down the high achiever for whatever reason. Certainly not an enviable trait, but unfortunately I think it's part of human nature.

Unfortunately, I think that Sebastian Vettel has fallen victim to this. People can't accept that this guy is just too good, regardless of the car he has underneath him. The bottom line is that he is the fastest driver in the field and he doesn't make mistakes. Consequently, we are always looking to peg him pack, or "cut down the tall poppy" as the saying goes.

Don't get me wrong, like most other people I groaned when Rosberg overshot T1 at Singapore and Vettel disappeared down the road. I've always supported the historic/traditional teams in Ferrari/McLaren/Williams and disliked Red Bull, but would never feel compelled to actually boo the best driver in the field for excelling at his job.

 

[Emerson Meyer]

It was a ridiculous behavior.

 

[Warren Dawes]

There's something often talked about in Australia called "Tall poppy syndrome". Basically, it's a social attitude whereby people feel the need to cut down the high achiever for whatever reason. Certainly not an enviable trait, but unfortunately I think it's part of human nature.

Whilst this is partly true, I don't believe all dominant sports people suffer the open booing that Vettel seems to be getting. I suspect it is a combination of his dominance in F1 combined with his past history and blatant arrogance when he was winning earlier. Audiences will quickly turn against a superior performer if he displays a total lack of respect to those around him (or her). Whilst Vettel's recent behaviour has been an attempt to change his image, he did a lot of damage to it over the past couple of years.
I could give plenty of examples of dominant sports people who were shown great respect, despite winning excessively. Sebastien Loeb, Roger Federer, Pete Sampras, Tiger Woods (before his extra-marital downfall), Jack Nicklaus, etc etc.

Elite sportspeople don't earn total respect by just winning, it's how they conduct themselves when they win (or even lose). Vettel may have now realised that shoving his finger up everyone's nose (including his teammates) and the lack of respect to those around him wasn't earning him a popular reputation. I think he is slowly maturing in this regard but it may take some time to shake off his past history and earn the reputation of a true champion (not just a regular winner).

 

[Jeremy Sheppard]

It just goes to show you can never please everyone no matter what you do. People complain about the lack of action and overtaking, so they change the rules to make that possible.

Now, it's one man or one team is at the top of their game while the other teams and drivers lag behind and they don't like it? Personally, I think it's laughable what these "fans" are doing but thinking about it, it has happened in every era of F1 racing to some degree so I guess we might as well get used to it.

We live in a world of entitlement and I suppose these fans expect their driver to win just because it's their driver although the driver and team hasn't done a good job. I'm not a Vettel fan by any means but I recognize his talent as I'm sure any unbiased person would have recognized Shumacher's talent while in his prime or Senna's or any other driver that more or less dominated the sport in their time regardless if they are a fan or not.

All in all, it's pathetic how these people act

 

[InsaneOzzie]

I'm sick of seeing the same faces on the podium, sure Vettel has an amazing talent, but so are the other F1 drivers otherwise they wouldn't be there.
Boo-ing is a spectators way of voicing their displeasure at the mary-go-round circus that has developed in F1, and I don't blame them, they pay BIG BUCKS to see these events live and they get the same guys on the podium each race, it's gonna get ugly.

The sport of motor racing like ALL other sports is all about the DOLLAR now, gone are the days when the elite played their chosen sport because they loved it, you only need to look at the amounts they get payed to see that BIG MONEY is the basis to ALL SPORTS now. Even V8 Supercars has become a farce with Whincup/RedBull/888Racing winning almost every race for the past 3 yrs and the only rivals is FPR another factory team with a larger budget than the mainstream opposition.
I would like to see fixed budgets in the elite motorsports, at least it would potentially level the playing field somewhat, also why not bring in a weight penalty in F1, this would also help to bring the field back together and enhance the racing experience for spectators and the drivers.

 

[Deleted member 140946]

In this case booing is definetely wrong, he deserved these victories, it's ture he has also a lot of luck, his car works perfectly without filures, but that's what it is and we have to accept that.
Fans do not hate Vettel because of his dominance, they hate him because of his behaviour, his jelaous face when he is not on pole or not on 1st place, his finger, his talking, multi 21, his team radios, his selfishness, and that Red Bull team favors him more than Webber.
As of Michael in this article, 2005 Usa were not political reasons, it was reasons because he won the race with 6 cars on grid, 4 of them were tottaly uncompeitive, from back of grid, Jordan and Minardi, also he got these 10 points in that race unfiar to others, but that was not only booing to Michael, it was also to this tyre issue.
Booing to Michael in Austria 2002 was also right, Barrichello let him win the race because of team orders, Barrichello deserved this race win, but Michael let him in Indianapolis later as a favour, also this show was unecessary because Ferrari had so much constructors points like all other teams together, if you not believe, then count.

 

[kelaroost]

Only way to stop the critics are.
1 for him to have a team mate that's won a world championship and defeat him.
2 for him to win a world tittle within a different team.

Untill this happens those in the know will never see him the way his fans see him.
It has nothing to do with his race or him as a human but all to do with equal terms against a X world champion team mate

This is no argument its just simple fact.

 

[Tom]

I think F1Pulse.com has put it nicely.

• Not his fault he's got the best car
• Not his fault that he can drive so well
• Not his fault Webber can't match him for pace
• Not his fault Red Bull has Adrian Newey
• Not his fault rival teams don't have better cars

 

[Deleted member 140946]

I think F1Pulse.com has put it nicely.

• Not his fault he's got the best car
• Not his fault that he can drive so well
• Not his fault Webber can't match him for pace
• Not his fault Red Bull has Adrian Newey
• Not his fault rival teams don't have better cars

The last one from f1 pulse.com is good argument, Mclaren had in 2012 great car, but this year is total failure, if Mclaren had so good car as they had the last year, they would be huge factor and Vettel would not be near dominant.

 

[Nox]

When did this happen?

I remember Silverstone 2010 I think that was the case, leading to Webbers now famous "nod bad for a number two driver." Perhaps this is what kelaroost is talking about. There may be other occasions, but I can't remember off the top of my head.

 

[Dux]

Only way to stop the critics are.
1 for him to have a team mate that's won a world championship and defeat him.
2 for him to win a world tittle within a different team.

Untill this happens those in the know will never see him the way his fans see him.
It has nothing to do with his race or him as a human but all to do with equal terms against a X world champion team mate

This is no argument its just simple fact.

U name me one today who proved that he doesnt need to prove anything.

Schumacher was never driving with a champion alongside him, he is the most successful driver in the world and arguably the best ever, i hope you dont deny him either