Why boo that? Strong rating for suspenseful Austrian GP

2016 Austrian Grand Prix Rate the Race result

Posted on

| Written by

The third Austrian Grand Prix since F1 returned to the Red Bull Ring was undoubtedly the best so far, thanks largely due to an edge-of-the-seat contest between the two Mercedes drivers.

F1 Fanatic readers rated it the second-best race of the year so far, and gave the race a big thumbs up:

What a race, Manor scoring points, a battle for the lead and a last lap battle for the lead. Loads of strategy variety and loads of incidents. Fantastic advert for F1.

That race is why I watch F1, just had it all.
@geemac

The position-swapping began early
So many times we bemoan the fact that a race ‘was great except for no battles up front’. Or we might get a tease for a lead battle that goes nowhere once dirty air gets factored in (see Verstappen-Raikkonen in Spain). For once we not only got that tease but did it ever deliver… a genuine last lap battle! Plus it turns the Hamilton-Rosberg rivalry up yet another notch: no complaints here!

Throw in the ‘Verstappen very old tyres’, ‘Overachieving McLaren/Haas’, and ‘Points for Manor!’ stories and I was thoroughly entertained.
@Nerrticus

Actually watched the TV more than live timing, for a change!
Jonathan Chalk (@jonchalk)

Though not everyone was impressed:

One of the worst races this season. Apart from possibly a last lap race winner change the rest was anti-climatic, stale and DRS-driven.
Pennyroyal tea (@Peartree)

The outcome looked more settled until the mid-race Safety Car period which came about as a result of Sebastian Vettel’s misfortune:

I thought we are in for a rather boring second half but thankfully it wasn’t to be. It was also fun seeing Kimi Raikkonen battle with the Red Bulls.

There was of course a lot of strategy going on, maybe a bit too much sometimes, but I think it haven’t had a bad impact on the race. Though it wasn’t looking great when Mercedes stretched their legs in the second stint. They are still clearly ahead.
Michal (@michal2009b)

The first half of the race was OK, but the second half was very exciting especially the last few laps, so overall a decent race. A lot better than last year’s race for sure.
Jerejj

Stands were closed to make the crowd look bigger
Looking beyond the race, one of the biggest disappointments of the race was the obvious drop in spectator numbers compared to last year. And some of those who did attend behaved unacceptably:

I liked the race, it was a fantastic scrap for the win. Sad DRS ruined a lot of it: the few laps we didn’t have it enabled were great.

Great strategic variations, a good result.

Really annoyed by the booing and the post race interviews. The interviewer was rubbish, and the disrespectful crowd made it even more awkward.
@Fer-no65

Only thing that was really distasteful was the booing, I don’t care what happened, that’s, just disgusting. I am ashamed that the fans did that to Hamilton.
@Mike

2016 Rate the Race Results

RaceAverage score
2016 Spanish Grand Prix8.706
2016 Austrian Grand Prix8.097
2016 Chinese Grand Prix7.853
2016 Australian Grand Prix7.757
2016 Monaco Grand Prix7.747
2016 Bahrain Grand Prix7.382
2016 Canadian Grand Prix6.583
2016 Russian Grand Prix5.396
2016 European Grand Prix4.728

Rate the Race

View more Rate the Race results:

Rate the Race appears immediately after every grand prix finishes. To join in simply register a free F1 Fanatic account. If you do not have one, register an account here or read more about registering here.

2016 Austrian Grand Prix

Browse all 2016 Austrian Grand Prix articles

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

49 comments on “Why boo that? Strong rating for suspenseful Austrian GP”

  1. Well, according to British fans who practice booing regularly (ex. Vettel) it is a sign of freedom of expression. Maybe other countries are picking up on it. It is what it is.

    1. British or not, you aren’t a fan if you boo you’re a moron. True fans hated it when it was done to Vettel no matter how much we yearned for him to stop winning as you had to admire what he was achieving even if you didn’t personally support him.

    2. petebaldwin (@)
      7th July 2016, 12:14

      It is. People pay money to go to an event and they can cheer or boo as they please. Hamilton can say whatever he wants as can all of us on here… That’s how it works.

      Booing always seems slightly out of place in F1 but if you look at any other sports, it’s fairly standard. Referees get booed, the opposition gets booed… Even your own team get booed if they don’t perform to the level some expect!

      1. @petebaldwin Did you ever see booing at tennis or golf? People are estranged by booing at F1 mostly because F1 was a gentleman´s sport once, which e.g. football wasn´t.

        1. I’m no gentleman, I like F1 though because it’s a sport that involves thinking, and booing is not thinking, it’s mob mentality. People relinquishing rational thought in the hope of fitting in with clannish behaviour.

          1. @@philipgb
            “booing is not thinking, it’s mob mentality.”
            So is cheering. Both are mob mentalities. When a crowd is happy they cheer, when unhappy they boo. Both should be acceptable if the reasons are just.

            I hope you never go to a pantomime.

          2. …I can’t fault your logic you’re right cheering on is also engaging in crowd behaviour.

      2. @petebaldwin

        I agree, it’s just how it works. Personally I’d never boo another driver and I don’t think Hamilton deserves the reception he got in Austria but at the end of the day it’s something extremely trivial and I have no real issue if people want to it. I guess being a football fan, it’s something I consider ‘normal’ in huge sporting events.

  2. I liked LH’s response though, “I am here to win!”.

    1. Great response too. He has his own ambitions to achieve. He is not an elected public official!

  3. Hamilton didn’t seem to mind when fans booed Rosberg and Vettel in the past. In fact, you could say he encouraged it given his not so subtle digs at them (‘Vettel’s not the same level as Alonso and by extension, me’ etc). At least Vettel keeps it classy and actually tried to stop the booing at Monza last year – a genuinely likeable and relatable sportsman.

    1. What makes you think you have any Idea what LH thinks?

      You dont know him.

    2. “Hamilton didn’t seem to mind when fans booed Rosberg and Vettel in the past”

      Really? I mean really?

      On Nico:
      “When I was up there it was awkward for me to hear them booing Nico because l just don’t like that in sport”
      “Away from the pitch and once we come away from the race, we should be nice to everyone”
      http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/24181/9460931

      On Vettel:
      “Booing is such a negative thing, especially when someone has worked so hard to be successful.”
      “No one should ever be booed or put down for their success, however hard or easy it’s been for them to get where they are”
      “However, it’s not a positive thing to hear that he’s been booed. He’s on his way to his fourth world championship and he needs all the credit given to him”
      https://www.thesun.co.uk/archives/news/1028618/lew-jumps-to-vettels-defence/

      “In fact, you could say he encouraged it given his not so subtle digs at them (‘Vettel’s not the same level as Alonso and by extension, me’ etc)”

      How you got from that comment to ‘he encourages people to boo him’ is beyond the reasoning of any sane individual

      1. Great response.

      2. Funny how you easily found all these evidence of Hamilton discussing this subject and disagreeing with the fans for the boo’s, some people’s agenda against Hamilton just blinds them to any sort of reasonable discussion.

      3. That nonsense up there is exactly the kind of brainless drivel Hamilton has had to endure all through his F1 career.
        The point is Martin and his ilk know they are lying but why they keep on lying boggles the mind.

        1. * Sorry Martin
          @He man and his ilk.. is what I meant to say

          1. No problem :)

      4. I love the response by Martin … there are too many so called fans out there with very short memories … or is it just selective forgetfulness when Hamilton is involved. Very well said Martin.

    3. As far as I know, Vettel is the only one who spoke out against booing during a podium interview.

      1. Well, @paeschli, now you know Vettel isn’t the only one. As @Martin has just pointed out Hamilton has spoken ip on behalf of Rosberg and Vettel!

        1. Please read my comment again @blackmamba

          “During a podium interview.” is the important part.

      2. It’s not just what is said on the podium.

      3. Respect, then, for the sentiments expressed by Hamilton and Vettel both at and away from the track.

  4. @keithcollantine, what is the average rating this year compared to this stage last year? I guess it’s a marked increase, I’m just curious about the exact data.

    This is shaping up to be an excellent season – though Vettel’s Austria DNF means he subtly exited the real championship fight (he’s now much more than two wins’ worth of points behind) and Rosberg is so slow (Austria was the first time he actually had way better pace than Hamilton under normal circumstances and he even blew that one) that we need luck to go Rosberg’s favour in the second half of the season, else Hamilton may still run away with it Vettel 2013-style.

    1. Thank you…

  5. petebaldwin (@)
    7th July 2016, 12:17

    @Fer-no65 – Having read your comment about the “disrespectful crowd”, it got me thinking.

    Why should fans respect F1 and it’s drivers when F1 doesn’t respect it’s fans?

    1. how is that the drivers fault? they are just as unhappy with the situation as the fans, or did you already forget about the Letter? ??

    2. You want to boo Bernie and Todt, go for it.

      Booing the drivers is just poor aim, and bad sportsmanship.

    3. @petebaldwin Boo Bernie and the lot, not the drivers that gave such a good show. Sunday’s race was very, very good, even with the controversy surrounding Hamilton and Rosberg. it’s what we want, drama until the end.

      Besides, unless it’s Barrichello-Schumacher team orders or something similar, the winner of the Grand Prix deserves respect, because if the winner isn’t respected, what’s left for the other that have been beaten by him? I hated when they booed Vettel too: it wasn’t his fault that he was so good and he happened to be driving the strongest car…

      1. I agree. While I didn’t like the way Hamilton got to be first, it was obviously within the rules otherwise the stewards would have called Hamilton in for an explanation. Maybe that was what some people were booing at, but the fact remains it was within the rules.
        The impression I got is it was only a minority of those present the booed, the majority were cheering, and the majority were right: it was an excellent race with an unexpected outcome!

  6. “Why boo that? Strong rating for suspenseful Austrian GP” It wasn’t that it was him!.

    1. the track commentator told the crowd that hamilton crashed into rosberg and not that it was actually the other way round

  7. DRS has been in the sports for years now, people have been complaining since day one and every rating article has one or two comments from people who don’t like it.

    It is becoming tiring to constantly hear about it and how it is ruining races.

    1. Morningview66
      7th July 2016, 13:19

      Probably about time they got rid of it then!

      In all seriousness I don’t mind DRS if it’s done right. Much like BoP in sportscars.

      It’s fine until people are zipping past on the straight and the other driver can’t do a thing.

    2. You won’t get far with that opinion on this site.

      Keith is one of the most vocal opponents of DRS.

  8. I really am not a Lewis Fan, but even if He said how He didn’t care, i think it was a horrible feeling to be booed for this, kmowing it wasnt his fault

    1. Why would he care? He won, now just 9 points behind, is a 3 time champion and multi millionaire, the people that booed are poor peasants. He should of wound them up.

      1. as a woman i guess i am more sensitive, i would feel very hurt, no matter how much money you have. ..

        1. Well there just maybe we it! Ain’t that grand even the Austrian track sees the world in a anti Hamilton way. I dont mind booing as long as it is n’t wrongly directed. In this case because of a not overly bright circuit commentator.

  9. Small point but it would be great if we could have the score at the top of these articles, instead of having to hunt down to the table all the way at the bottom

  10. ILuvSoundtracks (@)
    7th July 2016, 17:30

    The rating’s higher than the “insane” Turkish GP 2010, where a team-mate collision happened like this but laps earlier instead.

  11. Andy (@andybantam)
    7th July 2016, 17:32

    I’m not so sure they were booing Lewis…

    It could just be a reaction to the state the sport is in that has made them angry.

    I thought this when Seb was booed. I think the fans on that occasion were booing the predictability of the results, not Seb per se.

    How else do you make a sport that doesn’t listen to its fans hear your frustration? Crap regulations, commercial mismanagement, rising cost to watch the sport… These are things worth booing. The drivers? Not so much…

    1. Really? Kimi walks out, they cheer. Verstappen walks out, the crowd goes wild. Hamilton walks out, it’s wall-to-wall boos.

      They should have been booing the interview, but it was pretty obvious it was aimed at Hamilton (and apparently an announcer had blamed Hamilton for ramming Rosberg off track).

      1. Andy (@andybantam)
        7th July 2016, 19:12

        “and apparently an announcer had blamed Hamilton for ramming Rosberg off the track”…

        … I think that might be your answer then…

        They also did the same for Seb and Seb is a great sportsman. Certainly more likeable than Hamilton.

  12. I love this venue!! Awesome race. As far as booing goes…haters gonna hate. Some people just have no respect so, we just have to deal with (or ignore) them. Not everyone has as much class as F1fanatic members.

  13. I really am odd. I voted Baku far higher than 4. something, and Austria far lower than 8, I generally vote 7 or 8. Had it not have been a last lap crash I would’ve still not voted 10 or 9 probably 8, in the end the pole sitter did win and nothing else really happened.

Comments are closed.