My thoughts post working a shocking race weekend.

I have have just arrived home after working trackside security/intervention. I'd like to share my experience.

The protesters were the least stressful part of the weekend. We knew about them and expected them, they gained access via a fence which was not able to be manned, the teams did their jobs and no access was gained at any point the security team had control of. Now on to the stressful part.

Pre and during race was pretty calm, as you'd expect. However, that all went to **** as soon as the flag dropped. I've never in my life experienced anything like it. We were told by race control that nobody was allowed on track post race until they had confirmed all heavy machinery was removed; fans (no, dickheads) were not having it. Each point was manned by one security person and we had to deal with hundreds of people. A colleague of mine was assaulted by seven men as he tried to do his job, broken nose and bust open lip which required stitches. Another two of my colleagues had to retreat from their post as people were trying to break the fence to gain access; my position was a low fence and I had tens of people threatening me with violence if I didn't let them on track immediately, they then decided to climb the fence and run onto a live track. To the cheers of hundreds of fans.

We had people drive cars onto a track with thousands of members of the public, literally driving at some speed and ignoring all instructions (INCLUDING FOM PERSONNEL) who refused to leave, track signage personnel also. All driving in different directions and at speed.

The fans literally ripped a slam gate off its pretty solid steel hinges to get on track, people climbing a barbed wire fence and wondering why they were injured, my supervisor being surrounded on gate by multiple men.

And i can say, hand on heart and with complete honesty, that it was almost exclusively fans wearing red bull gear.

I've returned home angry and sad, it was like being at a football game. We should not have to go to work and fear for our safety because some fans are complete pricks. We were literally trying to secure the track in order to ensure public safety, yet we were verbally abused, surrounded and intimidated and physically assaulted.

There was an incident where a customer was set on by a group of men and had half his ear bitten off, one man in intensive care and barely survived the night.

What are F1 fans becoming?

Silverstone has changed and for the worse.

Sorry about your experience, alframsey.

Sorry to hear that. I've been lucky to attend Grand Prix all around the world, including Silverstone and I've always commented to friends and family that the atmosphere between fans is fantastic, even on opposite sides of a sporting/national rivalry.

 

The track invasions are the only part that have made me uncomfortable in the past. Oh, and the 50+ degrees portaloos in the Budapest heat 

I have have just arrived home after working trackside security
/intervention. I'd like to share my experience.

The protesters were the least stressful part of the weekend. We knew about them and expected them, they gained access via a fence which was not able to be manned, the teams did their jobs and no access was gained at any point the security team had control of. Now on to the stressful part.

Pre and during race was pretty calm, as you'd expect. However, that all went to **** as soon as the flag dropped. I've never in my life experienced anything like it. We were told by race control that nobody was allowed on track post race until they had confirmed all heavy machinery was removed; fans (no, dickheads) were not having it. Each point was manned by one security person and we had to deal with hundreds of people. A colleague of mine was assaulted by seven men as he tried to do his job, broken nose and bust open lip which required stitches. Another two of my colleagues had to retreat from their post as people were trying to break the fence to gain access; my position was a low fence and I had tens of people threatening me with violence if I didn't let them on track immediately, they then decided to climb the fence and run onto a live track. To the cheers of hundreds of fans.

We had people drive cars onto a track with thousands of members of the public, literally driving at some speed and ignoring all instructions (INCLUDING FOM PERSONNEL) who refused to leave, track signage personnel also. All driving in different directions and at speed.

The fans literally ripped a slam gate off its pretty solid steel hinges to get on track, people climbing a barbed wire fence and wondering why they were injured, my supervisor being surrounded on gate by multiple men.

And i can say, hand on heart and with complete honesty, that it was almost exclusively fans wearing red bull gear.

I've returned home angry and sad, it was like being at a football game. We should not have to go to work and fear for our safety because some fans are complete pricks. We were literally trying to secure the track in order to ensure public safety, yet we were verbally abused, surrounded and intimidated and physically assaulted.

There was an incident where a customer was set on by a group of men and had half his ear bitten off, one man in intensive care and barely survived the night.

What are F1 fans becoming?

Silverstone has changed and for the worse.

Absolutely disgraceful!  I'm sorry you and other staff members were confronted and affected by such appalling behaviour and hope a full investigation is carried out, with necessary changes implemented.

Edited by OO7, 04 July 2022 - 13:44.

That is a sad picture in so many ways.

Thats awful. Sadly F1 is losing the friendliness that exist between fans, across whichever team or driver you support.
…and I’m not too surprised to read that Red Bull-dressed fans were over represented, ‘cause what’s approaching hooliganism came with, IMO, Verstappen becoming a front-runner.

That is awful and disgraceful. I’ve only been to a few F1 races but have been to many different types of races, and I’ve never seen anything like that. I hope this remains a rare occurrence across all racing.

Edited by BarryinIN, 04 July 2022 - 13:48.

That is absolutely horrific Alf, to say the least.

…and I’m not too surprised to read that Red Bull-dressed fans were over represented

 

Me neither.

 

But that's more because I feel there are way more Red Bull-dressed fans no matter where you are outside Italy.

Thats awful. Sadly F1 is losing the friendliness that exist between fans, across whichever team or driver you support.
…and I’m not too surprised to read that Red Bull-dressed fans were over represented, ‘cause what’s approaching hooliganism came with, IMO, Verstappen becoming a front-runner.

I don't think it has anything to do with Max, I think it has a lot more to do with the Red Bull Vodka lads culture that Red Bull built up over the past 25 years in clubs while selling their product.  It's not the sports marketing, it's the other side of things.

Sorry to hear about your experience

 

Track invasion happens at Silverstone at the end of the GP. It also happens at other GPs like Monza and Spa.

 

There is no real way to stop it. Everyone has seen photos of Lewis crowd surfing on the main straight after his GP wins here and the fans want a part of that, no steward is going to tell them otherwise.

This really needs proper coverage.  Bet it won't get it.

I'm saddened to hear of this disgraceful behaviour. 

Describing them as dickheads is still being nice. I hope they are caught on camera and the police can arrest them.

We had people drive cars onto a track with thousands of members of the public, literally driving at some speed and ignoring all instructions (INCLUDING FOM PERSONNEL) who refused to leave, track signage personnel also. All driving in different directions and at speed.
 

 

Could you elaborate on that? Who was driving onto the track?

Thank you OP for sharing. Those particular fans have done our sport a disservice. Unacceptable behaviour.

I have have just arrived home after working trackside security/intervention. I'd like to share my experience.
The protesters were the least stressful part of the weekend. We knew about them and expected them, they gained access via a fence which was not able to be manned, the teams did their jobs and no access was gained at any point the security team had control of. Now on to the stressful part.
Pre and during race was pretty calm, as you'd expect. However, that all went to **** as soon as the flag dropped. I've never in my life experienced anything like it. We were told by race control that nobody was allowed on track post race until they had confirmed all heavy machinery was removed; fans (no, dickheads) were not having it. Each point was manned by one security person and we had to deal with hundreds of people. A colleague of mine was assaulted by seven men as he tried to do his job, broken nose and bust open lip which required stitches. Another two of my colleagues had to retreat from their post as people were trying to break the fence to gain access; my position was a low fence and I had tens of people threatening me with violence if I didn't let them on track immediately, they then decided to climb the fence and run onto a live track. To the cheers of hundreds of fans.
We had people drive cars onto a track with thousands of members of the public, literally driving at some speed and ignoring all instructions (INCLUDING FOM PERSONNEL) who refused to leave, track signage personnel also. All driving in different directions and at speed.
The fans literally ripped a slam gate off its pretty solid steel hinges to get on track, people climbing a barbed wire fence and wondering why they were injured, my supervisor being surrounded on gate by multiple men.
And i can say, hand on heart and with complete honesty, that it was almost exclusively fans wearing red bull gear.
I've returned home angry and sad, it was like being at a football game. We should not have to go to work and fear for our safety because some fans are complete pricks. We were literally trying to secure the track in order to ensure public safety, yet we were verbally abused, surrounded and intimidated and physically assaulted.
There was an incident where a customer was set on by a group of men and had half his ear bitten off, one man in intensive care and barely survived the night.
What are F1 fans becoming?
Silverstone has changed and for the worse.

that sounds horrible. I'm glad you're okay.

I have have just arrived home after working trackside security/intervention. I'd like to share my experience.

The protesters were the least stressful part of the weekend. We knew about them and expected them, they gained access via a fence which was not able to be manned, the teams did their jobs and no access was gained at any point the security team had control of. Now on to the stressful part.

Pre and during race was pretty calm, as you'd expect. However, that all went to **** as soon as the flag dropped. I've never in my life experienced anything like it. We were told by race control that nobody was allowed on track post race until they had confirmed all heavy machinery was removed; fans (no, dickheads) were not having it. Each point was manned by one security person and we had to deal with hundreds of people. A colleague of mine was assaulted by seven men as he tried to do his job, broken nose and bust open lip which required stitches. Another two of my colleagues had to retreat from their post as people were trying to break the fence to gain access; my position was a low fence and I had tens of people threatening me with violence if I didn't let them on track immediately, they then decided to climb the fence and run onto a live track. To the cheers of hundreds of fans.

We had people drive cars onto a track with thousands of members of the public, literally driving at some speed and ignoring all instructions (INCLUDING FOM PERSONNEL) who refused to leave, track signage personnel also. All driving in different directions and at speed.

The fans literally ripped a slam gate off its pretty solid steel hinges to get on track, people climbing a barbed wire fence and wondering why they were injured, my supervisor being surrounded on gate by multiple men.

And i can say, hand on heart and with complete honesty, that it was almost exclusively fans wearing red bull gear.

I've returned home angry and sad, it was like being at a football game. We should not have to go to work and fear for our safety because some fans are complete pricks. We were literally trying to secure the track in order to ensure public safety, yet we were verbally abused, surrounded and intimidated and physically assaulted.

There was an incident where a customer was set on by a group of men and had half his ear bitten off, one man in intensive care and barely survived the night.

What are F1 fans becoming?

Silverstone has changed and for the worse.

So in a majority crowd that wasn't there to support RedBull, most of the fans invading the track were RedBull fans desperate to get to see ... Checo? Ok. I'm sorry for the experience you went through but making this specific mention to me shows a bit of an agenda. 

This really needs proper coverage.  Bet it won't get it.

This is worse than the protesters if you ask me.

This really needs proper coverage.  Bet it won't get it.

OP should post it to reddit. It has a much better chance of getting proper coverage if its posted there. 

making this specific mention to me shows a bit of an agenda.

Knew that wouldn't take long.

There have been pitch invasions at the end of soccer matches in the UK* last season also, where this had not been a feature for a long time. Pundits seem concerned about it too. It is difficult to know what cues or changes would cause this to suddenly happen again but it seems to be viewed as acceptable again.

 

* Possibly elsewhere also, but I don't follow those leagues.

…and I’m not too surprised to read that Red Bull-dressed fans were over represented, ‘cause what’s approaching hooliganism came with, IMO, Verstappen becoming a front-runner.

That also explains all the hooliganism at Zandvoort and Austria each year, right?

 

There where 150.000 camera's in the audience Sunday. Someone must have caught something?

Sorry to hear about your experience

Track invasion happens at Silverstone at the end of the GP. It also happens at other GPs like Monza and Spa.

There is no real way to stop it. Everyone has seen photos of Lewis crowd surfing on the main straight after his GP wins here and the fans want a part of that, no steward is going to tell them otherwise.

Fans were allowed on track immediately post race just b Vale, the issue wasn't them getting on track.it was them gaining access on a safe section of track. The bahavoiour of a lot of fans over the weekend was nothing short of disgraceful. There were times that we, as those responsible for public safety and track security, were very very close to losing control and being overwhelmed. I understand the vast majority didn't behave like this but I did not expect this kind of aggression and violence at any motorsport event. I've worked football games which were nowhere near as concerning as yesterday was.

Thank you all for the concern and well wishes, I was lucky that nothing got completely out of hand. I can't say the same for my colleague who has to go home to his kids with a scar and a broken nose. All for the sake of getting on track when they wanted with no regard for others and those trying to make sure the event happens with public safety as number 1 priority.

Edited by alframsey, 04 July 2022 - 14:06.

Thats awful. Sadly F1 is losing the friendliness that exist between fans, across whichever team or driver you support.
…and I’m not too surprised to read that Red Bull-dressed fans were over represented, ‘cause what’s approaching hooliganism came with, IMO, Verstappen becoming a front-runner.

 

 

I'm very sorry to hear your experience alfaramsey. It paints a very ugly picture of motorsport fans in the year 2022 when they are seemingly willing to physically assault innocent officials to get their way and endanger their own lives in the process.

 

I'm also saddened by the non-sensical reaction above. The Verstappen fans I have seen and heard over the past few years have brought a carnivalesque atmosphere (that I personally don't like), but where have they acted like hooligans and physically assaulted people before? I will take alfaramsey's word for it that people in Red Bull attire were overrepresented in the group of people acting like idiots, but I don't think it's fair to broadly tar Verstappen fans with this brush of yours especially in a weekend where the same Verstappen got booed on Saturday for no apparent reason. The people that misbehaved are complete idiots regardless of their allegiance, age or nationality.

So in a majority crowd that wasn't there to support RedBull, most of the fans invading the track were RedBull fans desperate to get to see ... Checo? Ok. I'm sorry for the experience you went through but making this specific mention to me shows a bit of an agenda. 

 

You're incredible.

Sorry to hear about this. I was in the grandstands (I did not go onto the track at the end) and really enjoyed myself, so I'm verey grateful to you and your colleague for all your hard work. Thank you.

Really sorry to hear that alframsey, that sounds horrific.

 

Not to doubt that it happened, but I didn't see anything like this where I was over the course of the weekend. Took my mum (in her 60's) to her first ever race and she loved it, with lots of comments about what a nice safe crowd/atmosphere F1 provides for a sporting event.

 

The sort of behavior you experienced absolutely needs to be stamped out. It's not what F1 is or should become.

 

EDIT: and as Spillage says - thanks loads to you and your team for the hard work that provided such a great experience for so many.

So in a majority crowd that wasn't there to support RedBull, most of the fans invading the track were RedBull fans desperate to get to see ... Checo? Ok. I'm sorry for the experience you went through but making this specific mention to me shows a bit of an agenda.

There is absolutely zero agenda, I'm describing my experience as I had it. The weekends incidents were dominated by young men (I'd say 35 and under) wearing red bull gear being wrecked/lagging/sniffed out of their minds and causing problems. That is the fact of the matter as I and many of my colleagues experienced it. I'm not saying that fans of other allegiances didn't behave badly, some did, but from Friday to Sunday many many of the problems arose from or involved fans with a red bull leaning.

If you choose to disbelieve that then that is your prerogative, I am also able to give an account of what we experienced

To reiterate, the problem wasn't to do with podium celebrations, it was general track access before we were permitted to let them on at out positions.

Edited by alframsey, 04 July 2022 - 17:07.

There must be an eerie void between the legions of fans either running towards the track (podium track invasion) and away from it to the car parks trying to beat the traffic home.

 

EDIT: Ah, so you (OP) weren't anywhere near the Vale area? Odd that people would want access to the track that badly elsewhere. 

Edited by Peat, 04 July 2022 - 14:16.

You're incredible.

 

No, he's right.  The story did not need that little editorial.  It sucks what the OP went through but he was not privy to all the issues around the track, even if his witnessed sample size seemed to have been Red Bull fans, there's no guarantee that was the same 200m further down.

 

All that line was ever going to do was cause in fighting in this thread.  But I guess it's a way of saying 'British GP but it wasn't the British fans'

 

Sorry if I'm being harsh, I don't mean to be, but I'm pretty sure that if he had to go to court to testify about what happened saying it was mostly Red Bull fans would get a big fat 'Objection your Honour'

 

...though since I posted this I read alframseys rebuttal and I also think 'fair enough, you're calling it as you see it, fair call' but still, I expect Max fans to maybe get a bit defensive about it....

Edited by Gambelli, 04 July 2022 - 14:16.

Could you elaborate on that? Who was driving onto the track?

Do you mean in relations to FOM personnel? If you do then they were on track retrieving camera equipment, Silverstone track control asked us to get them removed until the track was clear of the public but they flat out refused and continued to drive around in different directions. Other cars on track were people collecting signage, people just in a transit van, somebody in a blue Ford. It was chaotic.

Sorry to hear about your unfortunate and I suspect unpaid experience. It seems that more security and track workers will be needed next year?

 

 

Sorry to hear this indeed. 

I was expecting that you will note about the first lap accident. It was not about the racing and the danger, but the human - group - behavior.

 

Long time a go when I was at SPA, there were these personnel with police dogs defending the fences. The dogs are like wolves.

 

Terrible to know that RedBull fans were the most prominent. It need serious rethink.

No, he's right. The story did not need that little editorial. It sucks what the OP went through but he was not privy to all the issues around the track, even if his witnessed sample size seemed to have been Red Bull fans, there's no guarantee that was the same 200m further down.

All that line was ever going to do was cause in fighting in this thread. But I guess it's a way of saying 'British GP but it wasn't the British fans'

Sorry if I'm being harsh, I don't mean to be, but I'm pretty sure that if he had to go to court to testify about what happened saying it was mostly Red Bull fans would get a big fat 'Objection your Honour'

I'm not saying that, most f the problems I experienced were British fans. I guess I could have left that out but I felt that from the experience of myself and many colleagues it was that fan group. There is no way denying it and I did have a clue what was happening 200m away as we were in constant radio comms and I was camping as debriefing with much of the security team. In fact the whole trackside security team only consists of around 35 people and we all camped together afterward. We shares out experiences of the day and what happened.

If we ignore the experience of those on the ground dealing with this then those who need to address their behaviour will have change, all in the name of 'not causing a...' a what? A discussion? I'm still immensely angry at what we had to deal with.

There have been pitch invasions at the end of soccer matches in the UK* last season also, where this had not been a feature for a long time. Pundits seem concerned about it too. It is difficult to know what cues or changes would cause this to suddenly happen again but it seems to be viewed as acceptable again.

 

* Possibly elsewhere also, but I don't follow those leagues.

 

Yes I attended quite a few football matches last season, and at a few of them there was definitely an increased level of aggression between the supporters compared to previous seasons. I don't know whether this is related to covid, and people having not been in stadiums for over a year but it does spoil the experience when you see it up close. My team (Huddersfield) was one of those who had a pitch invasion (although I wasn't at that match). Pitch invasions have always been a thing, but the violence that happened this year has not really been seen before, so something definitely seems to have changed. 

 

I was at Silverstone last year and it was honestly one of, if not the best sporting events I have ever been to. Sorry to hear it was like that this year.

That also explains all the hooliganism at Zandvoort and Austria each year, right?

There where 150.000 camera's in the audience Sunday. Someone must have caught something?

As I said in my ok, this was all post race.

Thanks for sharing alf- wish it had been a better experience for you.  And whilst Sky and C4 are singing the praises of the fans, along with the rest of the F1 media, I hope that this is highlighted in the media.  We've seen a lot of pitch invasions at football matches recently, as if the mentality has spread that it is the right of the spectator to invade the playing field.  In a crowd so large there will always be some scum, but seems from teh experience of you and the rest of your team that the behaviour of a fair few too many went far beyond what is acceptable.  This is the sort of thing that is straight up hooliganism.

Do you mean in relations to FOM personnel? If you do then they were on track retrieving camera equipment, Silverstone track control asked us to get them removed until the track was clear of the public but they flat out refused and continued to drive around in different directions. Other cars on track were people collecting signage, people just in a transit van, somebody in a blue Ford. It was chaotic.

Sounds like Silverstone and FOM put you in an invidious position as a security team there.

 

They should know the crowd will be chomping at the bit to get on the circuit. Once they see all race cars are back in the pits, they're going to get frustrated. Vans on the circuit shouldn't prevent people from going on track, as Silverstone has vans, hospitality shuttles, refuse collection etc all around the parts of the circuit that the fans have full access to - they just drive very slowly, knowing there will be loads of people kicking about. Do the same on the track!

 

None of this excuses the behavior at all, to be clear.

All that line was ever going to do was cause in fighting in this thread

And if the thread does descend into a cesspit of mud slinging it will pretty much confirm the worries about there being a new kind of F1 fan, more tribal in nature.

And anyway he just said the majority were in Red Bull gear, no mention of Max or of their nationality. If he had been deliberately trying to stir a pot he would have made assumptions that others are now doing for him.

This really needs proper coverage.  Bet it won't get it.

 

why not?

 

The BBC reported something already, was mentioned here:

 

 

Two men in hospital after fight at Silverstone circuit

https://www.bbc.com/...nshire-62020516

Reaction of the fans seeing the 2021 race reply in the fan zone, in the moment Hamilton takes Verstappen out

https://streamable.com/owzrb4

I am so sorry to hear this. It was a great race and I was there in person with my family and sorry to hear that's how you were treated. It was clear as day on the screens that it said not to go onto the track at that point, but then when I saw people going onto it I assumed this was now clear so apologies if this was not the case. but sad to hear that this was not followed. Everyone from Marshall to security were top class and very thankful for yours and all thier help and friendliness.

Edited by Amz964, 04 July 2022 - 14:33.

There must be an eerie void between the legions of fans either running towards the track (podium track invasion) and away from it to the car parks trying to beat the traffic home.

EDIT: Ah, so you (OP) weren't anywhere near the Vale area? Odd that people would want access to the track that badly elsewhere.

I wasn't near vale, it was the only accessible point immediately after the race. People just refused to walk around the track, lots of them were lagging drunk. We also had loads of respectful fans who just wanted to get on track and take a photo and were willing to wait for what was supposed to be 1 hour until the track opened. Mostly they were the middle aged to older fans.

I apologise if I have upset people with how I described what went on, I was very wound up when I got home today and seeing colleagues injured affected me. It really felt like we were close to a loss of control at a point. People working positions abandoned their post because they feel unsafe. That very rarely happens in the security industry and, for myself,that says a lot

Edited by alframsey, 04 July 2022 - 15:50.

So in a majority crowd that wasn't there to support RedBull, most of the fans invading the track were RedBull fans desperate to get to see ... Checo? Ok. I'm sorry for the experience you went through but making this specific mention to me shows a bit of an agenda.

It does seem strange that in a venue where most fans would mainly support Ham, Rus or Nor, so Mercedes and McLaren, fans dressed in Red Bull where the majority of the ones trying to violently enter the track. I don’t have statistics but it would seem to me that RBR as a team would not have a big following in England either so there does seem to be a piece missing here. A large group of rabid Dutch fans who came all the way to boo Ham on the podium? A Mexican group that crossed the pond to force their way onto the track to cheer for Checo? Over caffeinated Red Bull junkies just wanting to see the world burn?

I'm not saying that, most f the problems I experienced were British fans. I guess I could have left that out but I felt that from the experience of myself and many colleagues it was that fan group. There is no way denying it and I did have a clue what was happening 200m away as we were in constant radio comms and I was camping as debriefing with much of the security team. In fact the whole trackside security team only consists of around 35 people and we all camped together afterward. We shares out experiences of the day and what happened.

If we ignore the experience of those on the ground dealing with this then those who need to address their behaviour will have change, all in the name of 'not causing a...' a what? A discussion? I'm still immensely angry at what we had to deal with.

 

No I soften my POV after reading your rebuttal, I get what you mean, maybe better to have left that out, but you are upset with the treatment you and your peers received and that's fair enough.

 

I've done my share of packing up after Australian GP races as International TV Compound Technical Manager and it was bloody hard work, hats off to you.

We also had loads of respectful fans who just wanted to get on track and take a photo and were willing to wait for what was supposed to be 1 hour until the track opened.

I don't remember it ever being this long before, and this absolutely was not communicated around the circuit. If this was the plan they should have broadcast this load and clear through the weekend to manage crowd expectations.

 

Again, not at all to excuse the behavior. Just things that the track ought to do to in future to manage this situation better.

Sorry to hear about your unfortunate and I suspect unpaid experience. It seems that more security and track workers will be needed next year?

I did at least get paid. 100% more security staff will be needed next year, in fact our operations team told us multiple times that they barely had the staff to cover positions, let alone double up when problems occurred.

My son came home from the race last night and was showing me pictures of people ripping signs and advertising hoardings to take away as souvenirs. Said all sorts of stuff was being taken. I was shocked as ive never seen anything like that in all the years I used to go.

The point about the increase in pitch invasions at football is a very good one.

I agree with PhilArny80, last year's race had a tremendous atmosphere and it absolutely did not feel the same this year. I think there are some easy factors behind this, namely the grim weather and last year being the first non-COVID event, but nonetheless it felt different.

Silverstone has increasingly become a festival event, with loads of additional entertainment on the big stage and fans encouraged to arrive early, leave late and drink to their hearts content. Combined with F1 becoming increasingly trendy then I am not surprised to see the hostile parts of society seep in to what would otherwise have been a largely enthusiast crowd.

The Red Bull correlation I can only assume is because if you are a newer fan they are usually the default team to support if you are an adult (the younger new fans seem to lean more McLaren/Norris). Combined with the aforementioned, some of this new crowd will simply be the trendy, rowdy part of society who have "come to the F1" for a good time, but the RB link is tenuous at best (although I do believe OP insofar as he didn't make it up).

We attended the Bastille concert on Saturday evening that was noticeably rowdy, and I had heard about the ear-biting incident the night before, but to read about your experiences alframsey is truly shocking. I really feel for you.

Edited by TomNokoe, 04 July 2022 - 14:40.

And if the thread does descend into a cesspit of mud slinging it will pretty much confirm the worries about there being a new kind of F1 fan, more tribal in nature.

And anyway he just said the majority were in Red Bull gear, no mention of Max or of their nationality. If he had been deliberately trying to stir a pot he would have made assumptions that others are now doing for him.

Makes you wonder why you liked this post.

 

Thats awful. Sadly F1 is losing the friendliness that exist between fans, across whichever team or driver you support.
…and I’m not too surprised to read that Red Bull-dressed fans were over represented, ‘cause what’s approaching hooliganism came with, IMO, Verstappen becoming a front-runner.