153 replies to this topic

[H0R]

It just occurred to me that in almost every case I can think of my dislike of a particular  driver has nothing to do with his driving skills or antics. With just two exceptions from that rule in the last four decades.

 

Usually my aversion is completely irrational, because I can not relate to him, find his behaviour annoying or even find him to have an "Ohrfeigengesicht", as we call it in german. Which could be translated as "a face begging to get slapped".

 

Are you guys more rational than me?

Edited by H0R, 22 September 2020 - 17:36.

[Risil]

I dislike the drivers who act as if their job and succeeding at it is the most important thing in life. Which is unfortunately most of them. Why do I like sport again?

[ATM]

Well no, not really, I can sympathize. I for one am very fond to the old image of “gentleman driver” so not a big fan of the current generation.
Friendly warning: the thread has the potential of a major hailstorm, so we should keep our dislikes amicable, I think.

[Cornholio]

Are you guys more rational than me?

 

I don't think I am. Often I don't like a driver just because I don't like the sound of his name. A certain driver (who went on to annoy me for other reasons) I never warmed to initially simply because he was the first (successful) F1 driver to be younger than me.

[Risil]

Friendly warning: the thread has the potential of a major hailstorm, so we should keep our dislikes amicable, I think.

 

As my Mum used to say to her teacher colleagues when they were gossiping about work at the pub: "No names, please."

[Cliff]

Insincerity, and in the process being fake. It makes me dislike them as a person, but i’ll Still respect their skills as a driver.

Edited by Cliff, 22 September 2020 - 17:49.

[smitten]

I don't think liking or disliking drivers is often a rational response - some drivers just wind me up, but others like them for the same traits.

[PayasYouRace]

I dislike drivers who think they can do whatever they want on track with no regard for their competitors. I also dislike those who display a certain arrogance off track. A bit of humility or sense of humour goes a long way in my book.

 

I'd like to point out that I sometimes get bored of the same drivers winning over and over again. But don't confuse my boredom with dislike of the driver in question.

[Anja]

Rational (or even just ones that I can pinpoint and name) reasons can have an influence, but only to certain extent - usually they just deepen the like or dislike I already had. It all starts at a much more emotional level that I have no explanation for. 

[SophieB]

Well, obviously I recognise that the drivers I like on TV might be ones I’d dislike if I met them and vice versa, so I tend to view all the drivers like they are characters in a long running show and on that basis, I’ve long concluded it’s all a bit irrational. If pressed for why I dislike certain drivers (and there really aren’t many), I’d also admit those characteristics are in drivers I really like, for instance. I suspect they remind me of people from real life that I’m projecting on, for good or ill.

 

The vast majority of the modern drivers I’m pretty neutral on, though.

[Squeed]

1. Drivers whose egos dwarf their abilities.

2. Drivers who accept no accountability for their mistakes.

3. Drivers who use money to bypass meritocracy to keep their seats.

4. Drivers who cut their jibs in an unacceptable manner.

[William Hunt]

a driver who behaves arrogant, is a bad loser and goes in a rant on the radio if his car brakes down

[dissident]

a driver who behaves arrogant, is a bad loser and goes in a rant on the radio if his car brakes down

 

Could be worse, say... Punting a rival on purpose. 

 

 

On topic: I don't really care about drivers, I'm pretty neutral towards all of them. 

[Lights]

An excessive amount of entitlement resulting in swearing at the race director, deliberately driving into another car under SC conditions, and disrespecting FIA protocols and decisions.

[aliefbielefeld]

A driver who brought unnecessary political statements to the sport

[Marklar]

Tbh my dislike for any public person usually is a result of how they are perceived by the majority in a positive way, but then I usually have the opposite opinion about it. For example pretty much every driver that has been perceived as cool because they are "funny" or rude (!) is pretty way down on my list.

Beyond that entitlement and unfairness ticks me off.

Edited by Marklar, 22 September 2020 - 18:27.

[FirstnameLastname]

Big chins

[Jovanotti]

Chopping on straights and moving under braking, eroding driving standards in the process.

Edited by Jovanotti, 22 September 2020 - 18:39.

[jjcale]

I hate when a driver's dad owns the team and kicks out my 2nd favourite driver even though my second favourite driver has a contract and helped save the team from going under ...

 

Other than that I dont hate any driver - the are all special people to get to such a stage in their sport  .... and even then I hate the dad and not so much the driver.... the driver looks like a hostage half the time.   

Edited by jjcale, 22 September 2020 - 18:40.

[TomNokoe]

Sneaky and political, whether they are good at it or not.

[Atreiu]

1. Slow and talked too much, had one chance and ruined it.
2. Clumsiest champion I ever watched, benefitted from the right passport.
3. A combination of unsporting behaviour with a long standing protection by the stewards.
4. Overrated and with a reputation of toxicity.

[pitlanepalpatine]

I don't really dislike drivers as much as I dislike some of the fanbases. Some of the stuff fans have done over the last couple of decades is just really unpallatable so when their day gets ruined it brings a smile to my face.

[Dmitriy_Guller]

I tried to think of all the drivers that I dislike or have disliked in the past, not counting the ones that I didn't root for temporarily while they were fighting my favorite driver.  In each case I could think of, it boiled down to one of two reasons:  the driver did something incredibly dirty, like deliberately taking another driver out of the race (or sim race), or the driver is known to be two-faced.

[Nathan]

I don't like whining, excuse makers, arrogance and the aforementioned toxic types.  As above the fan base can sway me as well.

[Marklar]

oh yeah, two-faced characters is also a major turn-off, but the problem with that is that you cant tell unless somebody that actually knows/interacted with them points it out.

[ATM]

Fanbase, yeah, I forgot that one. Anyway, the concept of losing graciously is very dilluted in the recent years.

[H0R]

Got to admit: I find certain football clubs fans more annoying than most drivers fans.

[Fisico54]

Having a social conscience and being anti racism

[Kalmake]

Whinging.

[Neno]

I always disliked  certain german driver who won couple of titles in drinking car company. Because that guy was always being touted as next big thing and put on pedestal with guys like Schumi, Alonso and Lewis.  And ever since he won first title I had let say gut in me to say he isnt even close skill wise to be good as them. So i was always viewed during those years as hater. Yet here we are. Guy is today viewed as literal spinning joke. And I am not really laughing or let's say feel validated. I really dont.  

 

On other hand for guy I viewed as my idol and one of greatest ones ever has only 2 and never won another since mid 00's. It just puts in perspective how life is not fair and that skill and being competent really have nothing with success really, it's just pure dumb luck. I want to say what makes me disliked that driver is his fans and F1 fans who actually believed in something so average most of decade. 

Edited by Neno, 22 September 2020 - 19:26.

[garoidb]

I always disliked  certain german driver who won couple of titles in drinking car company. Because that guy was always being touted as next big thing and put on pedestal with guys like Schumi, Alonso and Lewis.  And ever since he won first title I had let say gut in me to say he isnt even close skill wise to be good as them. So i was always viewed during those years as hater. Yet here we are. Guy is today viewed as literal spinning joke. And I am not really laughing or let's say feel validated. I really dont.  

 

On other hand for guy I viewed as my idol and one of greatest ones ever has only 2 and never won another since mid 00's. It just puts in perspective how life is not fair and that skill and being competent really have nothing with success really, it's just pure dumb luck. I want to say what makes me disliked that driver is his fans and F1 fans who actually believed in something so average most of decade. 

 

Your subtle attempts to conceal the identity of the driver in question may have failed ...

[Muppetmad]

Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I can't say I "dislike" any of the drivers on the F1 grid right now. I'm more fond of some than others, but for the most part, I remind myself often that what we see and hear from the drivers on track is not what we would see and hear from them off it. On the other hand, I find a few drivers elsewhere dislikeable: using your own car as a weapon and being unfathomably rude even after the chequered flag has fallen won't endear you to me.

[NixxxoN]

I dislike drivers who stop talking about motor racing and start talking about politics

[noikeee]

Arrogance.

"I'm above the rules" or "I'm going to try to bend the rules as much as I can as long as I get away with it" attitude.

Bullying other drivers on track and playing with the element of danger to get a psychological advantage on others. Example, squeezing drivers into a wall at high speed.

Crashing on purpose when it's an advantage.

Lack of self awareness or unable to take on blame.

[pdac]

In Formula 1, the competition is to design a car, build it and drive it to victory. I dislike drivers (and there are many) who think that THEY won the race (forgetting about the effort that went into providing them with a car underneath them that was capable of winning the race).

[Stephane]

I just don't like those that beat or are trying to beat those that like. 

[FTB]

Their fans massively overrating him and saying that 'He's the best driver since X' when they win titles with the best car and a weak teammate ( almost losing some of them in process ), and most importantly their fans disrespecting the achievements of other drivers that beat them as teammates by saying 'He didn't like the car', 'The team sabotaged him', 'He's the fastest driver since X if he likes the car' 'He is unbeatable on a car that suits his driving style' etc. 

 

Also, acting rude to journalists or other drivers and being defended as 'OMG he is so cool!'

Edited by FTB, 22 September 2020 - 19:57.

[cpbell]

I can't think of many Formula 1 drivers over the years of following the sport that I actively disliked.  Some stayed in the sport past the point at which they'd passed their best; some, like the only current driver I think ought not be in F1, seem nice enough but don't have the ability to drive quickly and sensibly.

[Ivanhoe]

Nice thread to rant about certain obvious drivers without calling their names (but not hard to guess). 
I don’t dislike any of them, it’s a nice bunch of different characters, as it should be. I judge them mainly by how they come across at interviews and how they get along with other drivers and most of them seem to be friendly sympathetic guys, maybe with the exception of Stroll who can sound a bit uninterested at times. 

Off topic, but I dislike posters who are judging driver skills on whether they like a driver or not.

Edited by Ivanhoe, 22 September 2020 - 20:00.

[OvDrone]

Immaturity, lack of sportsmanship, no respect for fellow competitors, creating an aura of tense separation in the team/garage, absence of basic human social skills, jealousy, losing without grace, over-aggression, inability to own up, gross irresponsibility.

Edited by OvDrone, 22 September 2020 - 20:01.

[KWSN - DSM]

More or less my own failings as a human being make me dislike drivers, some for more obvious (to me) reasons than others.

 

My like and dislike of drivers and all other athletes appear to me as being more of an issue now than in the Olden Days, thus a clearcut case of rose tinted 20/20 vision in the rear view mirror, or the proliferation of look at me across the world have infected the sporting world to it's detriment as well.

 

But mostly I blame my own failings for disliking them.

[messy]

What puts me off a driver, or any sportsman, is immaturity, and chasing celebrity. I like ‘em earnest and driven. I can accept a touch of arrogance and belief in their abilities because that’s what made me idolize Schumacher as a kid and see him as some kind of higher being. I could even forgive him Adelaide and Jerez because that’s got to tip over at some point hasn’t it. But I don’t like rich kids who swan straight in thinking they can rule the roost, I don’t like attempts to break across into the celebrity world and I don’t like ham fisted attempts to tackle social and political issues.

I REALLY don’t like a lack of respect for rivals, entitlement and bullying.

Edited by messy, 22 September 2020 - 20:20.

[Lights]

I don’t like ham

 

Do driver abbreviations count as mentioning names? 

[LucaP]

Annoying faces, annoying names.   

[Sterzo]

Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I can't say I "dislike" any of the drivers on the F1 grid right now. I'm more fond of some than others, but for the most part, I remind myself often that what we see and hear from the drivers on track is not what we would see and hear from them off it. On the other hand, I find a few drivers elsewhere dislikeable: using your own car as a weapon and being unfathomably rude even after the chequered flag has fallen won't endear you to me.

This exactly. No-one goes into racing to be a "personality"; they're there to race and (irrationally?) I find it a bit crass to pretend we know these characters, and then choose to dislike them. There are reality TV shows that cater for that kind of nonsense.

[noikeee]

Oh and I thought of more to add, since I'm feeling feisty today. Grrrrrrr.

Drivers who just looooove to push the "poor me, I've had it so hard" narrative. Look I understand being a racing driver isn't just sunshine and rainbows, maybe you had to drag your arse all over Europe through your childhood to unglamorous karting meets, maybe you had to move to a far away country as a teenager, then there's the constant danger element too. I get that. But you're not the only precious arse in the paddock for whom that's true, yet you act like god's precious little center of the universe. Special mention to those who can't stop mentioning, even when not asked, on just how crap their car is and how it's only getting results thanks to his own personal genius. Must be great to hear that in the garage.

Drivers who were matched or beaten by other drivers in junior categories who then got 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th chances that were not remotely available to others, or any other kind of major special privilege, only because of their personal fortune, or the fortune of a sponsor that's not too interested in their results. Now, I don't quite dislike as directly these drivers, because, I get why they do it, why wouldn't they, they're just doing the best for themselves. Sometimes they even get so much vitriol that they ironically become underrated and overblown as villains. But, drivers like this are still really, really hard to root for...

[Lights]

This exactly. No-one goes into racing to be a "personality"; they're there to race and (irrationally?) I find it a bit crass to pretend we know these characters, and then choose to dislike them. There are reality TV shows that cater for that kind of nonsense.

 

That's not how that works though, at least not for me. I wouldn't deliberately choose to dislike a driver. I'd rather save me the frustration and do without such negativity in my life.

 

It's unintentional. Or perhaps, like KWSN - DSM mentioned, I could classify it as my own failings. 

[Spyker]

Not the driver per se but when people overhype them without merit.

And nepotism - I prefer drivers that come up the hard way winning everything they can along the way.

[MargaretM37]

A driver who is a bad loser, often sulking instead of genuinely congratulating the victor. The same driver who plays to the crowd to get attention when other drivers are being interviewed. And finally, claiming that they feel pressured when their equipment makes it a walk in the park for them. 

[Afterburner]

There are few drivers I dislike; being inauthentic is generally the reason for this. As a track marshal from time to time I can’t say I’m crazy about the ones who disrespect the enormous number of volunteers essential in organising a race weekend, either.

Fan culture definitely makes it harder for me to like some drivers, but this goes for anything, not just racing–particularly when for some fans it’s not enough to play up what they like and they have to put down what others like, too.