56 replies to this topic

[Peter Perfect]

Spawned from the favourite driver/team poll thread someone failed to understand why Marcus Ericsson should have any fans as he wasn't regarded as being talented on track.

 

For me, I'm a fan of Button for his personality and driving style. I believe that he's talented (as all F1 drivers are) but not for a minute do I believe he's the fastest on the grid. I understand there are fans who gravitate to those seen as the fastest, and obviously there are also fans who happen to support drivers who are top of the tree for reasons other than their winning ability, but I'm curious to see what the split is. 

 

So... a poll to see what drives you to support a driver. Is it his driving ability (i.e. speed) or something else?

 

[Edit: Added apostrophe to poll question. I'm sure someone would've pointed it out  ]

Edited by Peter Perfect, 07 March 2015 - 18:26.

[kimster89]

Kimi is perfect talent+personality combo so im his fan.

[hollowstar]

I like his dogs. Otherwise I wouldn't care.

[TomNokoe]

Intangible. I liked him one day. You go through experiences together, highs, lows, they are just your driver.

[Nonesuch]

I used to be a big fan - supporter seems too active a word - of Michael Schumacher. I think the reason behind this irrational support for one driver over all others is that in his first years at Ferrari he was always talked up to be the best driver when the raindrops started falling.

 

Best in the rain? That seemed pretty cool to me as a kid, and seeing that confirmed during the 1996-1998 seasons made me support him right up to his first last race in 2006. For reasons I do not understand myself, I cared very little about his comeback in 2010 and barely paid any attention to what he was up to at Mercedes.

 

I suppose that somewhere along the way I had become more of a Ferrari fan, as even in 2007 I barely missed Schumacher in the red car.

[P123]

I became a fan of Montoya after his F3000 race at Monaco in '98.

[Amin]

I think I've posted about this on this forum before but my support for Kimi and my general interest in F1 started with the official 2002 season review book that my brother got as a present for Eid Al-Adha (an Islamic celebration) in 2003. Neither of us really cared about F1 before that (I was 10, he was 8). We read the book together and my brother pointed out to me that a young driver called Kimi Raikkonen seemed to have a lot of bad luck but when he finished, he finished well. From there we started watching F1 and quickly became Kimi fanatics.

[JHSingo]

As I've said before, I'm not really a supporter of any of the current drivers. So I'll have to go back to when I was.

 

I was a fan of Michael Schumacher, partly because I grew up watching F1 in the height of his dominance. My dad was a Ferrari/Schumacher fan, so I guess it was natural I started cheering for him. He left an impression on me at that age that is still hard to describe. While he was often ruthless on track, I just admired how normal he came across, how he was a private person and didn't covert fame...

 

I became a fan of Montoya shortly after for different reasons. His driving style was just so exciting, and he had a very different personality too. There never seemed to be a dull moment with Juan Pablo, and I'd often end up cheering for him in a race, particularly as he was something of an underdog to Schumacher.

I think there's a certain age when you kind of grow out of being, for want of a better word, a fanboy. These days, my enjoyment of a race doesn't hinge on how a particular driver did, but how exciting the race has been. That said, I did enjoy seeing Ricciardo do so well last year, as he was the underdog like Montoya once was.

[Nathan]

I didn't like either Schumacher or Alonso when they first started F1, but I became big fans once their approach and determination to racing came obvious to me.  Thus flicked those switches.

 

I like good racers with smarts.  How they come off personality wise plays a part.

[anneomoly]

When you're a child, it's very easy to believe that next year could possibly, truly, be Coulthard's year. The aspiration of a perceived underdog with a slim glimpse of hope was very powerful to me then, as presumably it was earlier with Berger and would be later with Webber. (And as it turns out, as Coulthard has moved to commentating, I actually like his opinions as well.)

 

And obviously, something terrible happened to me between then and now because my favourite driver at the minute is Vettel. And I'll only blame public opinion for that - the more people insisted he lucked into his WDCs and was an out and out arsehole with Teutonic evil in his soul which manifested through his finger, the more I thought "hang on, but I'm seeing a fast driver who doesn't seem up himself, genuinely loves the history of the sport and has a sense of humour (with bonus points for intermittently unleashing it on DC)".

 

I mean, I'm not a 'fan' fan to the point of only enjoying the race if 'my' team or 'my' driver do well, but I do have my preferences.

[Peter Perfect]

As I've said before, I'm not really a supporter of any of the current drivers. So I'll have to go back to when I was.

 

I was a fan of Michael Schumacher, partly because I grew up watching F1 in the height of his dominance. My dad was a Ferrari/Schumacher fan, so I guess it was natural I started cheering for him. He left an impression on me at that age that is still hard to describe. While he was often ruthless on track, I just admired how normal he came across, how he was a private person and didn't covert fame...

 

I became a fan of Montoya shortly after for different reasons. His driving style was just so exciting, and he had a very different personality too. There never seemed to be a dull moment with Juan Pablo, and I'd often end up cheering for him in a race, particularly as he was something of an underdog to Schumacher.

I think there's a certain age when you kind of grow out of being, for want of a better word, a fanboy. These days, my enjoyment of a race doesn't hinge on how a particular driver did, but how exciting the race has been. That said, I did enjoy seeing Ricciardo do so well last year, as he was the underdog like Montoya once was.

 

It's interesting that you say you followed MS from your Dad. I was the same with Mansell, I think my dad enjoyed his never-say-die attitude (and not his constant whining) so it rubbed off on me. Again I didn't believe he was the best on the grid (at least not while Prost/Senna were there!) but it was his driving attitude that made me a fan.

 

Like you, I enjoyed Ricciardo last year partly for his underdog status but again mostly for his attitude out of the car (and of course the better you do the more airtime you get). Seems like a friendly and likeable guy.

[turssi]

Nationality + talent.

[redreni]

As I said on the team supporter / driver supporter thread, although I'm interested in all elements of the sport, I'm mostly only partisan when it comes to teams.

 

There are drivers who I like and follow, but for me it's not really a question of working out which driver is best and then supporting him because he is best. For a start, I think it's incredibly difficult to do that in F1 because opportunities for direct, meaningful comparison of drivers in like-for-like conditions is so rare that all you can ever really say for certain is that driver A is performing better than driver B this season (assuming the two drivers are team mates). Often even that sort of comparison is complicated by variables over the season that affect the outcome, but even if driver A is clearly better over a season, as soon as one of the drivers moves to another team, we're back to knowing nothing again, because we don't then know what driver B could have done with the car driver A is now driving and vice versa. You can tell if a driver is too inconsistent or too error-prone, or if he's just hopeless like Badoer in his last spell in F1, but other than that the basis for the perceived pecking order amongst the top drivers is, in my view, highly questionable.

 

And even in a sport where the playing field is level and you can tell who the world's best competitor is at any given time, like in sprinting, for example (assuming nobody's doped), for me the fact that somebody is the best at something isn't enough to make me hope he wins a particular event. But, having given a long explanation of why I don't base it on ability as such, I have to confess I don't really know exactly what I do base my choice of drivers to follow on.

 

I've always liked drivers who are perceived as unglamorous or dull or otherwise underrated - I always thought Heidfeld got a lot less credit than he deserved for his consistency and speed and impressive points hauls in often not very good cars, for example, and I liked his calm and methodical approach to things, so I would watch out for him and hope he would do well. Other times a driver will catch my eye with a good performance in a junior formula race I've attended, and I will then keep an eye on their results in whatever category they're in - Ralf Schumacher or Nico Hulkenberg or Paul Di Resta, for example, and then I will tend to hope they get into F1 and do well once they're there (those are examples of drivers who made it, of course, but there are plenty of others who have caught my eye and then disappeared e.g. Rupert Svendsen-Cook). I also like drivers who are wily enough to get a result out of a race where they maybe haven't got as much pace as some of the other guys, but they can think their way ahead of them.

 

EDIT: and bravery, of course. Mustn't forget that.

Edited by redreni, 07 March 2015 - 22:57.

[pusko]

Prost, Alesi, Schumacher, Fisichella, Alonso.....i don't have a clue.
They "grew" on me.

[KavB]

I always found Kimi to be funny. He shares a similar laid back persona to me so it is probably because of that. I also thought he was the best driver around 2006/7 and until last year I thought he was the third best driver behind Alonso and Vettel.

[SKL]

Early on, my fav was Jo Siffert... his attitude, his driving style, loved his helmet design, the fact he was usually in a Porsche (except when in F1). Luckily enough saw him once live in the Can-Am 917.  Crushed when he died.  Then Mark Donohue, because I'd been lucky enough to meet him on several occassions.  His perfection, and the perfect Penske machines.  Felt like I lost  a member of my family after that weekend in Austria.

 

Hard not to appreciate Senna...     Indycar wise, hard not to like Al Jr. back in the day, or Mario.   Lately,  I just like Jenson.  Being a racing dad, I always loved seeing him celebrate with his dad.  Glad to see Mac kept him for this year,  just hope Mac and Honda can pull it together.   

 

Always appreciated Prost, even more so after the Senna movie...

 

Like Vettel for his passion, and great sense of humor-   really wonder how he'll do in a red car.  

 

Can't wait for next weekend!!

[Button4life]

I love Button as a person and Max Verstappen is Dutch like me

[Smile17]

Fernando Alonso Diaz. Because this whole show is nothing without him ;)

[MikeV1987]

I really only started to get into F1 in 2008, back then Kubica and Vettel were the two drivers I supported. I initially started to support Kubica mostly because he drove for BMW, but he turned out to be a really great driver as well so I supported him for the rest of his career.

 

As for Vettel I started supporting him because we were born in the same year and back then I was really impressed/jealous on how a guy my age (20 at the time) could be racing in F1. 

 

Now a days Kimi has replaced the void that Kubica left. I have always liked him though, as said in the 2nd post, talent+personality.

[DinosaursRoarForHugs]

I used to follow Alonso, then when Hamilton was in GP2 I became aware of him and as soon as he was in F1 I supported him

 

Both were because I consider them the best, i.e. most naturally talented and fastest

 

I don't tend to let out-of-car stuff dictate my support at all, which with Lewis I think is good. I just hope that he was an advocate for same-sex marriage   otherwise the love story would end, definitely

[Exb]

Well as I'm a team supporter I will support the McLaren drivers regardless.

I then have other favourite drivers I tend to follow, for a variety of (usually daft) reasons.
For instance the 1st time I watched a race I was cheering for Coulthard as he was pretty much the only driver I had heard of (one of my friends at uni was a huge F1/Coulthard fan and would often tell me about the races before I followed F1). In that race (Brazil 2003) the 2 other drivers I remembered were Fernando and Mark due to both having a really bad crash at the end - next time I watched they were the drivers I immediately looked for, and as a result then followed their careers. I also followed Jenson with him being British (so to have both Jenson and Fernando in McLaren at the moment is pretty good, as they were my original favourites back from 2003 when I first watched). Any ex-McLaren driver I tend to wish them well and of course Lewis, again the British and ex-McLaren links mean I'm always happy to see him do well.

Then we get really daft reasons (2 recent examples are)- Felipe Nasr who I mistakenly thought the commentator was saying Felipe Massa when watching him race in an F3 race several years ago (and got very confused as to how and why Massa could possibly be driving in F3) as a result I remembered him and when he started driving in GP2 I followed how he was doing and hoped he would do well, which I will do the same for F1.
- Kvyat - he really stood out to me in GP3 as being the most talented of the bunch but it was him giving Will Buxton a pronunciation lesson on his surname whilst on the podium that made him one of my favourites - why? I have no idea - it just did

Daniel Ricciardo - he was very impressive last year and just seems so nice and likeable and always cheerful. I will definitely be hoping he does well this year.

Occasionally Seb, I kind of find myself thinking a bit like anneomoly, the more that people seemed to hate him, the more I found myself sticking up for him and actually wanting him to do well (despite actually preferring Mark) - similar to Red Bull really, I have a huge soft spot for them, initially due to Coulthard moving there but mainly due to the fact 99% of people seem to hate them.


There are actually very few drivers over my time following F1 that I dislike (and even that seems a too strong word, maybe I should use the words am not interested by).

Edited by Exb, 08 March 2015 - 00:24.

[as65p]

Like other said, it usually just happens, it's no conscious choice. Though I think I discovered one or two necessary criteria for me personally, I have to get the impression that "my man" never gives up, and he has to be among the very best defending. For some reason that's even more important to me than overtaking skills, although nowadays defending has become kind of a lost art since all the overtaking gimmicks were introduced.

[Scuderia312]

I cheered for Schumacher when started following F1 since being 11, he impressed be by keeping much-faster Alonso at bay at Imola 2006 (I thought "no way the Ferrari's going to win) and that provided the platform for me cheering Ferrari all the time. Michael was fantastic behind the wheel, chasing perfection and I know that I can rely on him that he will bring the results (not like Perez in 2012). Then when he retired I was behind the Ferrari overall and my countryman Kubica (we're missing him in Poland hugely, the audience has dropped significantly), my sympathy to Massa rose significantly when he was suffering a lot of heartbreaking moments in 2008 to that point that I wasn't able to sleep a night after his accident.

 

I love Ferrari from the beginning and overall Felipe is probably my favourite driver, but it was Alonso who impressed me with his on-track intelligence, maximising the performances (while Massa was half a lap down) and keeping the Ferrari in respectable state.

 

Overall - I support Massa, because I like his attitude and personality etc but the best definition for me support a driver is whether he is a Ferrari driver or not (Hamilton probably excluded, I can't like him).

Edited by Scuderia312, 08 March 2015 - 00:38.

[Rob]

I became a fan of Montoya after his F3000 race at Monaco in '98.

 

I remembered Nick Heidfeld winning that one but I'd forgotten what happened so I had to go and look it up.

 

 And of course Montoya lapped the entire field at Pau that year as well.

[RealRacing]

Would have been more informative if some of the "other reasons" had been included.

 

In any case, I support a driver because of his talent mainly but also his attitude. Talent with bad attitude is probably the most annoying thing in a driver, or anyone for that matter.  Also, some are not that talented but are gung-ho like, sometimes, Kamui and Mansell before, although I think Mansell was more talented than Kamui anyway. A driver's approach to driving and F1 are also interesting, like Senna for example who saw it almost as a religion, a chance to go past the limits and enter a kind of transcendent zone. But then again, Senna was in another dimension talent-wise as well. Talking about attitude, Kimi has to come up as well of course as his against-the-establishment personality has brought him many fans as well. 

[Blackmamba]

i like the win or bin it type drivers. Senna, Hamilton and Kobayashi would go for the overtake rather than play it safe and be satisfied with a decent points haul like Button who waits for others to make mistakes without taking any risks of his own.  i have never disliked any driver but I am largely indifferent to some obvious talents like Vettel and Rosberg who just cant impress when fighting wheel to wheel.

[aramos]

Don't you think this poll needs a few more options to be worth posting?

[Jimisgod]

Ricciardo, because he's the only one of the top guys who wouldn't be insufferable as a friend (or "mate")

[paulogman]

I support bottas and massa because they sat in a Williams

[Peter Perfect]

Don't you think this poll needs a few more options to be worth posting?

 

The point of the poll wasn't to record everyones individual reasons (that's what the comments section is for) but to see how many fans were driven more by admiration of pure speed as opposed to anything else. The results so far certainly show why the top drivers have the most fans (and why fan numbers dip/climb as drivers have bad/good seasons). I guess I find it surprising because I think of fan support being steadfast and immovable, as opposed to being driven by whoever happens to be flavour of the month. 

[SophieB]

When I gave it some thought, I realised most of my favourite drivers were/are seen as unpredictable, even inconsistent but with a relentlessly attacking style and flashes of genius. Though not having against the 'Mr consistents' of this world, the drivers who calmly pick up the points, I've rarely found them to be of much personal interest. And that's okay, I know there's plenty of people who do appreciate them.

But I like the drivers who give the sense of giving it their absolute all and just might be about to do something magic...

[jonpollak]

Or disastrous ...

 

me too.

 

Jp

[Sheepmachine]

Can I vote for a bit of both? My favourite Is Ricciardo because
a) I have followed him since british F3 and always thought he would be quick in F1.
B) he is such a cheerful character, I mean how can you not smile when you see this?

[Risil]

I pretend to like the ones who might do something spectacular; really I like the ones who won't let me down.

Edited by Risil, 08 March 2015 - 20:03.

[RubberKubrick]

Senna because he was THE man.
JVilleneuve because he was this anti-establishment Randle P. McMurphy kinda guy.
Montoya because he sometimes made some impossible things look easy.
Alonso & Hamilton because, nowadays, they are the best ones around.

[Raikkonen94]

I support Kimi mainly because of his great talent, excellent race craft, overtaking skills and also because of his no-nonsense approach. He just wants to get on with the races and he's not interested in trying to please people or pretend to be someone he's not. While I don't rate Kimi as the fastest or most complete driver (like Alonso, Hamilton and maybe Vettel), he's still my favourite. Although Max Verstappen is coming close too, as potential Dutch superstar from my country.

[SophieB]

I pretend to like the ones who might do something spectacular; really I like the ones who won't let me down.

How you must miss Quick(ish) Nick Heidfeld in F1.

[GoldenColt]

I support Lewis because it's never boring doing so. There's either rotten luck which makes me doubt the goodwill of the racing god or petulant people on forums who are trying to find a little something to have a dig at or yet another break-up with Nicole. It's like a rollercoaster-ride and just when you think there are great times ahead of this guy, experts start spewing the same nonsense about him not being as cerebral as his teammate, etc.

 

I support Lewis because sometimes I feel that by doing the things he's doing outside the track he's flipping the bird at people I wouldn't probably like myself if I ever got to meet them.

 

I support Lewis because of his driving-style. It's fascinating and on the edge, even though this has changed quite a bit since Pirelli came back. His racing-craft has remained excellent though.

 

And he sometimes comes across as someone who wants to be a kid forever which I find extremely likeable myself.

Edited by GoldenColt, 08 March 2015 - 20:37.

[Risil]

How you must miss Quick(ish) Nick Heidfeld in F1.

 

I miss him a little bit but finishing fourth every race is sort of like letting you down every time.

 

As a subsection of this I find that drivers you expect very little from are quite profitable to support. You're not going to feel bad or upset if Maldonado crashes, but if he qualifies on the front row, wow! Or Kobayashi, tries very hard, good at overtaking, unlikely to survive being Alonso's teammate. Thankfully he's not going to be Alonso's teammate. Or Giancarlo Fisichella -- quicker than Wurz but both in a team that's going nowhere, the Force India of the late 1990s. Leading a race but crashing out under no pressure? Oh well done for having a go. Meekly accepting second place behind Schumacher or Hakkinen? Good effort. Second place in a Benetton!

Edited by Risil, 08 March 2015 - 20:40.

[Paincake]

I support Lewis because he is not afraid to express his true feelings and doesn't act pretentious like some do. But most important of all, I support Lewis because of his ability to deliver absolutely epic and entertaining racing skills.

[The Passenger]

Ricciardo is the first driver I feel I can say is "my" driver.  All the other years apart from last year, I just was happy to see the Brits/Aussies/quick/underdog drivers win.

 

I like Ricciardo because:

 

*He's seriously talented

*He's such a happy chappy

*He lets me patriotic when it's purely for fun

*He's beaten Vettel who wiped the floor with the former Aussie "patriotic" pick, poor dear Webber

*How about his performance on Top Gear?!!!

 

[makroncommander]

because he drives for my team

[jjcale]

Driving style - kick out out the back end on the slow corners and give us a show... but still go fast

 

LH, RG, FM, DR ... Bianchi , and of course Koba who was   behind the wheel.

[Steve99]

Interesting topic! This will be my 40th year of watching F1 as an avid fan, and I have never really been a 'one driver' man except in the 79-84 period, during which time Rene Arnoux was, absolutely, the many for me. I liked him because he was exciting to watch, sometimes breathtakingly fast (a one lap expert if ever there was one) and was a simple soul. A quiet, reserved man not prone to exhibitionism, I also admired his stance on his almost completely plain white helmet design - despite the Renault management's attempts to get him to 'jazz it up' he steadfastly refused. Of course, Dijon '79 sealed it for me - as it did with my 'second favourite driver' Gilles Villeneuve - with that legendary exhibition of actual racing - and poor JP Jabouille ran out the forgotten winner. Then the Ferrari years - or year, really, which was '83, '84 being a disappointment largely. It's the only time I've actively supported Ferrari - I've either been Williams/McLaren/Minardi through and through - and he was mighty on occasions that year. He was less impressive in '84 and then came the mysterious parting of ways from Ferrari in early '85. I still remember his return with Ligier the next year (after a highly pulicised incident that got them out of a contract with Alfa Romeo - he called the engine '****' I seem to remember) when he put the 4th on the grid in his first race back.

 

Of course, back in those days there was not the instant news coverage we have now; half hour highlights broadcasts were the norm, and a trip to the shop on Thursday morning to pick up Autosport. No disrespect for the staff working for Autosport today, but the writers back then HAS to do a more complete job, and did superbly in helping me and others 'get to now' the drivers of the day, despite the fact they were completely distant in reality. Perhaps it's this that means I find today's drivers, with a few exceptions (Kimi, Vettel, Button notably) less interesting than those in the 'good old days' - rose tintrespecs applied admittedly - although I'm still moved by spectacular driving, and watching a Hamilton or Alonso on the limit is still a thrill. For the record, despite my nationality (English) I have never been inspired to support a driver because of nationality.

[tifosiMac]

I support drivers who are exciting to watch in the car. Simple as that. I support Hamilton and Alonso because I feel they display the best talent on the grid and I get enjoyment out of watching them compete. I think Alonso is a pretty humble guy away from the circuit and has simple pleasures with his mates. I say that after watching a Spanish documentary about his last race at Ferrari. He came across as a normal bloke and one most of us can relate to. That is secondary to his driving skill of course in my support. Hamilton is the polar opposite. I have had to stop following him on Facebook and Instagram because I can't handle the cringe worthy posts with his attempts at philosophical quotes and heavily posed photographs. I like Lewis the driver and continue to support him on the track but his private life is something I have lost interest in over the past 2 years. Having said that I would love to see him as WDC in 2015 again. Forza Lewis!

[BRK]

I saw Michael Schumacher as the most talented, fastest, quickest, absolute best etc on the grid. I view Sebastian Vettel as Michael Schumacher's true and only successor, as the fastest and most talented in F1, today. Easy choice for me.

[thuGG]

1. Robert Kubica - first I was interested in him because he is a Pole. Then I started to like him even more because he is seriously talented, he is down to earth guy, hard working, determined, never gives up, no bullshit attitude, no celebrity like and also with a bit of sense of humor.

2. Kimi Raikkonen - similar to Robert but more of a don't give a **** guy ;)

3. Mark Webber - similar as the two above 

 

 

So all in all it's all about personality in my case.

Edited by thuGG, 09 March 2015 - 09:10.

[jcbc3]

I guess I am a bit of an outlier in my taste in drivers. To me the favourites are (in no particular order): Lauda, Prost D.Hill, Heidfeld, Kobayashi.

Of the present ones, I like Lewis though.

[Lazy]

I tend to like drivers with pace, aesthetic driving style and mechanical sympathy.

 

I dislike drivers who "cheat", I don't enjoy Touring cars because so many of the overtakes are achieved by nudging someone from behind to put them into oversteer. That is cheating, or by taking a line that your are not entitled to and effectively saying "concede or we crash", that is also cheating.

 

Therefore I couldn't support Senna or Schumacher despite their obvious talent, because they brought that sort of behaviour into F1 where it was generally absent before. Their championships have little worth to me because of this.

 

To me it has to be about racing, not ruthlessness. Sport, not winning at all cost.

[Paincake]

I saw Michael Schumacher as the most talented, fastest, quickest, absolute best etc on the grid. I view Sebastian Vettel as Michael Schumacher's true and only successor, as the fastest and most talented in F1, today. Easy choice for me.

Just out of pure nostalgia, I'd love to see Vettel raising Ferrari into new heights. Vettel has matured after 2014, at least to me it seems that way.