73 replies to this topic

[Rumblestrip]

I've been surprised recently in several team threads where I've seen a real fear that 'the other driver who I don't support' will do well for the team, and it's made me wonder how many fans on here primarily  support teams as opposed to specific drivers.

 

My background is as a driver fan (Mansell/Hill/Button), but maybe I've mellowed in some way over the years and become more team-centric with McLaren being my focus now. Is this a familiar story to other posters? Or have you reached that point in other ways?

[PlatenGlass]

While I'm not a fan of anyone in particular, I'm more interested in drivers than teams, which are just businesses and aren't really much to get excited about.

[Claymore25]

Driver first.

[Button4life]

I started supporting McLaren as a team after Button retired. I turned into a Lando fan around 2020. I'm not sure if I'll keep supporting McLaren when Lando leaves the team. I'm also not sure if I'll support Lando if he leaves. I think I'm both a fan of the team and driver.

[Sterzo]

No.

 

Or:

 

Yes.

All of them.

[messy]

Neither. I don’t have a driver and I don’t have a team, I just like motor racing.

I mean, I have drivers I like and teams I like, but they change season by season, depending on circumstances etc and are never set in stone. When I first started watching in the late 90s it was Schumacher and Ferrari, then it was Benetton and Fisichella, then Alonso and Renault. Then I think it was just a general acceptance that I wasn’t really partisan. I’m like that with football too, I guess. I have a team I’ve always supported, but I’ll enjoy the bigger picture too and have particular teams, managers, storylines that I follow through the season. I enjoy it better that way.

[revmeister]

I enjoy human drama, in particular the climb from underdog to the top. Few things offer a more compelling narratives than F1 racing. So I’d say that drivers are ‘my skin in the race’. I have a favourite, but there are others I support as well.

[pdac]

Not complicated ... I just don't single out any particular team or driver - a fan of the sport.

Edited by pdac, 03 September 2022 - 22:57.

[BoDarvelle]

Haas fan.

 

I don't care who's driving as long as they improve the team.

[Planetdune]

Driver... I migrated once when my driver stopped racing, but not sure if I have anyone else to jump to when Hamilton calls it a day... I might, after 25 years, stop watching F1 as if I have no one to root for, my interest in sport drops a lot.

[Roadhouse]

Fan of Max, lesser fan of other drivers. Don't think I'd follow F1 if there wasn't a driver to root for, I have other racing categories for that.

[mclarensmps]

Always the team. Drivers come and go, team is forever. I definitely have football fan mentality here. It's an ailment. 

[Zmeej]

After some time of being relatively lukewarm, am now strongly rooting for Lewis.

 

As per my profile, team: Montreal Canadiens.

Edited by Zmeej, 04 September 2022 - 04:03.

[aray]

I was mostly fan of a driver and supported Micheal during Hakkinen battle, Montoya and then Alonso afterwards. Nowadays I support Alonso and Mclaren. So,my situation is bit mixed now.

[BertoC]

Team. My love for Mclaren and dislike for Ferrari is too ingrained in me since my childhood to a point theres nothing else in F1 for me. I dont really like the sport anymore at its current artifitial state. Drivers come and go.

Edited by BertoC, 04 September 2022 - 05:55.

[pacificquay]

Started out supporting Senna when I got into F1 and he drove for McLaren.

 

Since then I’ve stayed with the team, and backed anyone who drives for them.

 

For example when Alonso was there in 2007 I celebrated every win of his, but when he was driving for Ferrari I wished him no success whatsoever.

 

When he returned to McLaren he was welcomed back with open arms by me.

 

Favourites down the years have been Mika, Kimi, Lewis and Lando, with Mika the number one choice.

[Aaaarrgghh]

I voted "team," but quickly realised that's not strictly true. More than anything I want variety in who wins. Despite this, I usually support one team more than the others, namely Ferrari. Though, since 2012, I suppose I support Alonso slightly more than Ferrari. But he is a relic of my youth, when I was slightly more driver-oriented in my support. When he retires again, I guess it will primarily be Ferrari that I support most again. However, I'm not entirely certain that I would be happy with Ferrari dominating year in and year out. So it may well be that my support of them is just me rooting for the underdog. Therefore, I suppose, I like variety more than anything else.

[Nova]

Engine manufacturer.

[NewYorkF1]

Team. Have a love for Ferarri. It is 100% romanticized nostalgia, but as a boy it was the Ferarri Testarossa which proudly covered the walls of my room. My childhood dream. That never changed.

Of course I have an opinion on all drivers, some I like more than others. But in the end if they drive for Ferarri. I hope they do well. And if they don’t drive for Ferarri, I hope they do less well 😉

[Dhillon]

Supported Michael when he was driving.

Initially didn't like Max but sometime in the last few years became a fan.

[Hans V]

Hardcore Williams fan from i read about this struggling but headstrong bloke called Frank Williams until he retired, then it faded. Frustrating to be a Williams fan at times, as they were too stubborn for their own good and made a number of strategic mistakes, most notably with Newey and BMW respectively (imagine a Newey deigned Williams FW19 BMW…). Supported Lewis since I’ve read about him as a twelve year old and still does. Absolutely a great driver and a class act.

Edited by Hans V, 04 September 2022 - 07:26.

[baddog]

I'm mostly interested in the cars and circuits. I enjoy watching the driving and racing and excellence is very much to be admired, but I'm less interested in any individual driver than I am in the 'formula'.

[Gemini]

Teams/Cars all the way.

 

If I was into horse racing it would also be horse/stable rather then jockey... OK I know it's  not the right comparison, as jockey cannot change horse's DNA while driver can change the team and car quality, but I was just always into teams and technology more. That's why over the years my preference drifted towards endurarance racing and F1 taking second place

[dreamerBiH]

My passion for F1 started when I was seven (1991) and I almost always seemed to be a driver fan.

I think GP Monaco was the first GP on a TV I saw and I what I couldnt figure out during the quali is seeing Mansell racing Mansell (as if there were two of them). Somehow I didnt like that Mansell guy but the other one, Patrese, an underdog, caught my attention.

So Patrese was the first driver I cheered for. Then the war came and we couldnt watch F1 in Bosnia until 1995.

When the war ended, I started cheering for Berger and followed him until he finished his career. After he retired, I looked for another promising Austrian driver (not knowing that many years later I will become an Austrian citizen), and then Wurz popped out. So I followed him.

After Wurz lost his place, I stuck with Benetton and as Alonso came to Benetton he became my new favourite. since then I am following him. Didnt miss a race during his career. But boy, it will be hard to find another driver/team once he is gone, because I know what it felt like in the years when he was gone.

Piastri, maybe...

Edited by dreamerBiH, 04 September 2022 - 11:23.

[HerbieMcQueen]

Neither. I support the sport's health and competitiveness. Must do better, for me.

[Rob G]

For me it's a bit of both. There are certain teams and certain drivers I cheer for, and sometimes that leads to me supporting teams or drivers that I usually don't support. I also tend to cheer for underdogs, which occasionally means I find myself rooting for them instead of my usual top team or driver if they've been dominating and have a huge points lead.

[dissident]

Sport > team >>>> driver

[Beri]

Been a Williams fan ever since I've started watching. Never warmed up to drivers in particular.

[Burtros]

Exactly like the OP

I started out a Hill/Coulthard/Button fan, but these days I’m a McLaren fan. That won’t change now.

[macjim]

McLaren fan from the early 80s, but I do follow the British drivers also, gets a bit complicated when it’s a Brit versus a McLaren.

[cpbell]

Neither, though I do have preferences.

[Marklar]

While it's teams that I commit to long-term rather than drivers (if you would ask me if I'd rather want Williams to win titles or any of the drivers I ever supported I would go with Williams) I find it very hard in F1 to get invested into teams because the narrative is always about drivers. Other than Ferrari and maybe McLaren there are just not enough genuine team fans for this.

[P123]

I suspect the vast majority follow drivers.  It wasn't Ferrari that filled the stands at Barcelona, that was Alonso.  It was Max and his following that brought back the Dutch GP.  It was Schumacher that gave us two German GP.

 

When I started watching it was the cars that attracted me at first- the McLaren and the Williams, and that yellow camel Lotus.  Drivers followed afterwards, and since Senna and Mansell I've been more swayed by drivers, but cheering one on isn't a requirement for watching.

[jacdaniel]

I think it's a combination. I am a fan of Max but I always wanted him to win with Red Bull.

If he ever changes team, I guess I'd find it hard to stop supporting him but it wouldn't be the same I don't think.

There have been periods were I watched and had no real skin in the game. Less exciting.

[Werbank]

The teams today are led by greedy, terrifying, disgusting individuals who, despite F1 being business more than sport for decades, managed to kill all minuscule remains of sport in it.
I like the cars as the engineering achievements (but dislike a lot one particular designer) and follow some drivers. I don’t care about the championships, I watch it race by race.

Edited by Werbank, 04 September 2022 - 12:15.

[Makingtime]

Drivers, as in plural and not singular. Teams are just a necessary evil that too often make or break a driver.

Edited by Makingtime, 23 October 2022 - 14:18.

[ConsiderAndGo]

Team, and only team. Once a Ferrari driver moves to another team, I have no care for their results.

[Albaforever]

For me both. I supported the Lotus team because I liked the colour of the car with the John Player Special sponsorship. When Mansell went to Williams I supported both team and driver.

 

I did struggle to support Mansell at Ferrari because I never liked Ferrari.  I was glad when Nigel went back home to rejoin the Williams team though.  

 

 

I'm now a McLaren fan and went down to Alexandra Palace - London many years ago for their car launch, but I still have a soft spot for the Williams Team.  

Edited by Albaforever, 23 October 2022 - 15:16.

[smitten]

Driver - but that tends to translate to also supporting the team they currently drive for.  Although I always seem to have a soft spot for Mclaren and their drivers.  Maybe it's the other way round and I don't realise it.......

[man]

Was a huge Ferrari fan through the 1980's, Gilles, Didier, Tambay, Arnoux, Johansson and especially Alboreto. Things changed with the arrival of Nige in 1989 (much to my disappointment), hence I was perhaps one of the few at Silverstone 1989 that cheered for number 28. The arrival of Prost at Maranello compounded matters (Prost, Senna and Nige were the three drivers I really didn't like) meant that I followed Berger to McLaren. Continued to follow Berger with his return to Ferrari. Had absolutely no time for Schumacher's dirty driving and really lost the love for Ferrari until Charles and Carlos. In between, I would root for the likes of Jacques, Ralph Firman and JPM. Have never been a fan of Lewis but have enjoyed the impact that his success has had on those that can't stand a black guy winning.

[Brian60]

I'm awkward, I may prefer one team but then a driver from a different one! The amazing thing I've found here is that from topic watching, I can safely assume that certain posters are fans of one driver or another - yet none of the usual suspects have chosen to share their preferences here..................so far

[Dutchrudder]

I like the vast majority of them, both drivers and teams, I’m a huge fan of the sport as a whole.

One thing that bugs me a little is that it does tend to lead to really liking whichever driver is winning at a given time. I’ve been a huge Lewis fan but also enjoying watching Max develop into what he’s become over the last few years.

I was a massive fan of Schumi growing up, since his first retirement I’ve been much more open with liking all the drivers. A few stand out that I wasn’t a fan of, most of them pay drivers who were also moaners.

[Mark521]

Started out a driver fan, then switch to more of a team fan.

[RekF1]

I was maybe the opposite to OP. I supported Maclaren and Williams, but probably it was because of a driver or drivers at the time. Hill, Mika, Montoya and then Lewis. No team stays the same, but if Schumacher had a genuine threat for a teammate I think some of his fans or detractors would have had lots to argue about. Prost and Senna still divide opinion.

[jjcale]

To say driver, team or sport is too simple .... skilled drivers with attractive personalities makes watching more fun - but its the sport/tech/the cars that are the real draw..... and the cars are made by the teams..... but as Latifi and many others over the years showed - these great cars dont drive themselves - you need great drivers too .... so cant really separate them. 

 

If I had to pick, I would say the cars .... not any particular team - just the amazing tech on show.

 

How can you beat this .... how can any motorsport beat this?

 

 

 

This is ****ing porn .....

[alframsey]

I don't think its complicated as such - I support Lewis Hamilton first and foremost, above everyone and all else, but I am also a McLaren fan and have been for longer than I've been a Lewis fan. Not only that, I also support other drivers after Lewis such a Leclerc, Perez, Norris, Ocon.I even enjoy watching Max even though I am absolutely not a fan. I only support one team though and one team only, I love McLaren in a way In don't Lewis. Even in their current guise which is one I don't fully recognise as 'McLaren'. Its a long term love, I can and will always have a dog in the race with the team but when Lewis retires my support also retires with him. Actually, when he retires I guess I'll be supporting a Ferrari driver... I can't quite believe that.

Edited by alframsey, 23 October 2022 - 15:26.

[Makingtime]

When it comes to Haas, I am a bit indifferent as to the drivers.  I cannot call myself a current "fan" of the team.  But as the only American or American-Italian team, I want them to be great, be successful and make us proud.  

 

Alas, I might have to wait to see team of Andretti in F1  before that happens (if that team ever materializes and gains entry). 

[Ruusperi]

Always support the teams where my drivers are currently.

McLaren for Mika.

Sauber and Toyota for other Mika.

Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus and Alfa for Kimi.

Renault, McLaren and Caterham for Kovalainen.

Williams, Mercedes and Alfa for Bottas.

[Henri Greuter]

For a long time I rated myself a fan of a team but when they he hired a driver for who I could not overcome my disgust despite fact that he now drove for `my` team I gave up on them.

Being a fan of F1 had never been the same since then anymore

[uzsjgb]

As a kid I was a fan of GIlles Villeneuve. After he died Elio de Angelis was my favorite, then Senna. After that I stopped being a fan of any one driver.

 

I am a fan of the sport, I don't really care who wins or loses, I want to see good racing. I don't care if that good racing is for the win or last place. I most definitely do not have a particular preference for my country's drivers or teams.