Lauda adds to criticism of Vettel booing

2013 Singapore Grand Prix

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Niki Lauda has joined the criticism of the booing targeted at Sebastian Vettel following his recent race victories.

Some booing was directed at Vettel following his victory at Singapore today, though not as loudly as in Italy two weeks ago.

Lauda, a non-executive chairman of Red Bull’s rivals Mercedes, said the booing was “ridiculous”.

“These people don’t understand what the guy is doing,” said Lauda. “I honestly take my hat off at his performance because the guy was leading the race from the first lap on, out-drove everybody, he could have lapped everybody.”

“And if I could choose I would give him the world championship today for this drive because he is for me outstanding.”

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has also criticised the booing, as has Vettel’s team mate Mark Webber.

Vettel said he took the booing as “a compliment, that’s the way I take it, because they are jealous because we win in front of whoever they support”.

“I think it’s not worth thinking about it that much, in the end,” he added. “We love winning and we achieved that today, we can be very proud of that.”

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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...

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267 comments on “Lauda adds to criticism of Vettel booing”

  1. *I love you Niki* and kudos to Mercedes for tweeting congratulations to RBR. People who boo and people who defend the booing have no place in any sport not only in F1

    1. Could not agree more

    2. +1

      And +1 to Lauda as well.

    3. “People who boo and people who defend the booing have no place in any sport not only in F1”
      Or any field of life in a perfect world.

      However, as I have always maintained: animals are not intelligent, and humans are not to be excluded from that category.

      1. Is not intelligence what I’m asking for, I’m asking for good manners and even dogs and monkeys can learn some to respect and not to bark or scream.

      2. Chris (@tophercheese21)
        23rd September 2013, 0:12

        animals are not intelligent

        My border collie is pretty dam intelligent haha. Sometimes more so than me!

        1. Lazzziiiiiiieeee ;)

    4. It is clear that there are 2 outstanding drivers today: Vettel and Alonso. If they were given exactly the same car, I think we would have seen the battle of the century.

      However, Vettel does have the advantage of a better car / team. If this is the case, why is it that he is not enjoying his super hero status?

      If he was driving a Ferrari, he would certainly get the same response from the public a Schummi did just because the prancing horse has the biggest fan crowd in the world.

      Given the fact he is not, I think that Red Bull has certainly missed the opportunity to become a Team that many fans would love. You can certainly be the best, but like everybody has said here, there are emotions involved.
      Yes, Red Bull has built one of the best racing teams ever, and they work their butts for it. What I think is missing is a lot of PR work to make the world love the team and Vettel.

      Presidents, rock stars, football stars, and F1 drivers too, need PR counseling to make sure they are not only seen as the best option, but “perceived” as guiding stars.
      If you were a kid that grew up with Vettel and Red Bull winning streak, you would easily start to buy posters and become a fan, but you would expect the rest of the world to cheer him not to boo him. There is something wrong with the picture, but this is a fact.

      Vettel and Red Bull have won championships but not the heart of the fans. This clearly has been a lost for them. Win the race in the tarmac and the hearts and souls in the interviews and TV shows. It is part of their duty, and I believe that both Vettel and Horner, should work with a PR organization, or switch to another, to capitalize on this huge opportunity to become a team that wins races and hearts.

      1. “Vettel and Red Bull have won championships but not the heart of the fans.”
        Well-said.
        Sadly, it seems hard for Germans to display charisma or spontaneity. Micheal was likable, but largely because he was so coldly calculating on the track and so goofy off of it.
        Germans don’t do popular. I mean think of it: What German pop act is popular? Kraftwerk?
        Horner seems a likable guy and at least you can love to hate Newey. But how many times can you listen to Vettel say “Yes, Baby! That’s what I’m talking about!” ????
        But when you get right down to it, the problem is Red Bull. It’s a sugar water scam, for crying out loud, not a marque. Who can cheer for a fizzy drink?

        1. You can cheer for Infinity if that makes you feel better. They are not much different from Lotus that only have the name of the original Lotus team and are sponsored by Burn which is another energy drink and Mercedes are sponsored by Monster, another energy drink.

      2. @f1karting I´m sorry last time I checked I turned in a race to see good drives and that´s what Vettel and Red Bull did.

        Nobody is asking anyone to love and kiss the floor that Vettel walks in, but as a “sport fan” to apreciete how difficult is to do what ot RBR and Vettel is doing.

        PR has nothing to do with this. Fans complaint that the sport “is to much image and pr” so why force Vettel or any driver for that matter in to a mold.

        All this is a silly excuse to said Vettel deserve the booes

        1. F1 racing is not only a sport. Is a professional sport. That means there are investments and they should pursue economic returns beyond the honor and glory. I don’t think there is an owner of ANY professional team that would not cherish to get the biggest fan crowd they could, unless we should discuss common sense.

          It is obvious that RB has done everything they had to do as a winning team, but they have failed to win more supporters. More support means higher revenue when they sell the brand and more companies willing to sponsor your team.

          Please tell me when was the last time another driver was booed? It’s different not to cheer if your team didn’t win. So, someone has to rethink what is going wrong with RB and SV.

          Yes, when your business is watched by hundreds of millions, and is also about fan base building, you have to work both in the track and off the track. Ask Messi and Maradona, Hans Solo or Darth Vader? RB though they had Knight Vettel and they end up with Darth Vettel instead?

      3. I think Red Bull and Vettel enjoy some popularity, at least I see lots of Red Bull shirts and flags among fans at every venue, not as much as Ferrari or McLaren but more than Williams…

        I know booing is wrong but pretend that we do not know why they boo Seb is as ridiculous as booing.

        Seb is dominating driving a car dubbed as superior by many and his form is taking battles for P1 away from fans, add a bit of pure hating (derived from ones success) you will see why the boos happen.

      4. @f1karting
        Very well said Sir! I feel the same way. They might be winning or dominating but not everybody loves them and that means their championships mean squat.
        And with regards to Vettel, even if he moved to Ferrari, he still wouldn´t be loved. There is something about him that just uts off a lt of people including me.
        That´s just how it goes…

    5. Are you so quick to condem everybody who doesn’t share your same views and beliefs? This booing gate is trivial at best, and it’s really a non-issue.

    6. I think it’s good that people speak out against it but at the same time you have to consider that it’s the same people booing that came up with a theory that he can’t overtake because he wins races from the front. They also keep saying it’s all to Newey and that he still needs to proof something, while they ignore his performances in the Torro Rosso or the BMW.
      It’s the same people who come up with a conspiracy that RBR is sabotaging Mark’s car because it can’t be that Vettel beats him so decisively or that they fake problems during the end of a race for PR reasons. etc etc.

      1. @tmf42 So people who will made excuses to dislike or to minimize his accomplishments :)

    7. @celeste

      Kudos to Mercedes for tweeting congratulations to RBR.

      Hear, hear. An education in sportsmanship for those beneath the podium who needed it.

    8. People need to stop blaming ferrari fans of booing thats their job you support and cheer for your team/driver, and you boo and make uncomfortable for anyone else..+ you have +32 sec advantage and still you say it was a hard race ********…

      1. that’s their job

        No it’s not. Cheering for your favourite doesn’t mean you also have to pick someone you hate and howl at him like an animal.

  2. OmarR-Pepper (@)
    22nd September 2013, 17:16

    Looks like the boo, if it has any effect on him, is just making him stronger. Was it Grand Chelem today? (pole, fastest lap and led every lap)

    1. @omarr-pepper – Yes, I believe he did get his third grand chelem.

    2. does the grand chelem require to lead the end of every lap or every part of every lap?

      1. lead every lap – and it is counted when the driver crosses the finish line

      2. End of every lap.

    3. Was really his the fastest lap of the race? Because at some point it belonged to Sutil and I never saw an update on it again.

      1. No, Vettel had by far the fastest lap (one second faster than Webber and Sutil), it was the second or third lap of his last stint, after putting on the super soft tyres, when creating a gap to Alonso. I am sure he could have gone a lot faster after that but was told to look after the brakes. Alonso was way slower anyway.

  3. I don’t buy when people say “it’s common in football to hear supoorters boo other teams”. Yeah, in football. They also punch each other (and kill others too in cases)…

    F1 isn’t football. You don’t see people booing Nadal, Federer, Messi, Bolt either. So why boo a guy that completely dominated the opposition in such an outstanding way?

    1. I don’t like the booing either but find all this critics are going a bit too far. People have the right to express themselves after spending a fortune to view a show that due to the ability of a team/ driver gets boring in many ocassions. Fair? Probably not and that’s it.
      Btw. Go and watch a Madrid-Barça and you will hear thousands screaming simultaneously about Messi’s mum or a French Open final to see how the french crowd treats Nadal.

      1. @chemakal people love the underdog winning, but you got to respect if the usual guy storms with the win.

        Also, why spending a fortune for a ticket is a reason to boo? a boring race is a possibility. And in this era, it’s a strong one. Same in the early part of last decade. You didn’t hear people booing Ferrari and Schumacher over yet another win…

        If people think that buying an expensive ticket means having the best race they can get, well, sorry, but you better spend your money differently.

      2. @chemakal

        I hate the ‘motto’ “F1 is not football” because it sounds arrogant. But I gotta admit, apart from racist attacks against Hamilton, I don’t recall anything close to ‘el clasico’ Barça vs Madrid in Barcelona in the days Figo was playing for Madrid. Barça fans threw everything to the pitch, from lighters to pig heads!

        My theory is: some people consider Seb’s “3.5” WDC are undeserving and seeing him winning generates even more hate, the way they find to show their feelings is booing, it’s a shame because the winner should be applauded.

        1. @jcost
          I certainly have no problem with people thinking I sound arrogant when I say F1 is not football. I live in a very football heavy city and I constantly run into some of the people that the sport attracts and much more importantly, the way they behave.
          I have never in my life seen people at motorsport events wreck the town they’re guests in, get drunk all over the place, puke all over the place, randomly start fights with everyone because they’re in groups, destroy property (incl. my car), and require police forces to close roads so they can get from the train station to the event.

          Again, if it sounds arrogant that I prefer a sport without all that… I’m gladly sounding arrogant. I’m well aware not every football fan is like that. But the sheer amount is what gets me every time. Look at what happened in Istanbul this weekend… It’s disgusting.

          1. @dennis

            I too think that many football fans go beyond the acceptable too often, as you you can notice from my comment, and even though I feel it, I just don’t like saying it.

    2. @fer-no65 Multi-21 Seb, Multi-21

      1. You don’t even know what “Multi 21” means.

        1. @jonsan Seb only understands Multi-12

        2. Schumaker told me himself, It means “Win at all costs”, like when he took out Hill to win the world championship with no sanction what so ever!.

      2. @noob
        Mark ignored the same order to hold station in Silverstone 2011. Worse even, he ignored the order in Brazil 2012 not to push Vettel on start when he was fighting for the championship in the last race.

        It is a disgraceful hypocrisy to blame Vettel for not accepting an order NOT to race, something fans should actually like, whereas others can do the same thing and no jeer would come out.

        It is jealousy and desperateness, pure and simple. And frankly the more such jerks act like that and I see how mature. 26 year old handles it I like him more.

        1. It is a disgraceful hypocrisy to blame Vettel for not accepting an order NOT to race, something fans should actually like, whereas others can do the same thing and no jeer would come out.

          Valid point, if Felipe had ignored the ‘Fernando is faster than you’, he would have had a win after his crash back in 2009 and everybody would have cheered because he ignored team orders …

        2. Yep, it is hypocrisy of the highest order by this so called Formula 1 “fans”.
          If Webber ignores or Massa would ignore a team-order against them, they get hailed as heroes who stick it to the team and their currently dominant driver.

          But if Vettel ignores a team-order against him in the second race of the season where the challenge for the championship is still open to anyone, he gets treated like the personification of evil itself.

      3. People forget everything within a couple months… Webber ignoring team orders on several occasions, Alonso lying about team orders in Hockenheim… But that Malaysia incident will always be remembered.

    3. It is not thrilling or entertaining, whereas Nadal, Federer, Messi & Bolt at their best are. Vettel’s performances are clinical, cold and emotionless.
      I have to say I thought that the booing would stop now we are at the Asian leg of the season. It is a bit harsh on Seb but I’m sure his march to his 4th WDC will more than make up for it.

      1. @brum55 maybe this SPORT is cold and emotionless… I’ve not seen Senna while he was racing, but I doubt he was that much entertainting while dominating a Grand Prix in the dry, miles ahead of the rest… which he did quite often, I think.

        1. Couldn’t agree more on your Senna comment :)

          When Vettel is two seconds faster than his team on every single lap of the race, people should treat him as a god …

        2. I didn’t watch Senna either but Senna was involved in one of the most fascinating rivalries in the sport, mainly when both were in similarly paced cars or when they were team-mates. When he did dominate it was given more credit because it meant dominating Prost in a similarly paced car. Webber is good, but he is no Prost.

        3. @fer-no65

          I have seen Schumacher dominating GPs, I have seen Mansell dominating GPs, Senna, Prost… And all of them in cars that were miles ahead of everyone else. And it was all literally the same as it is today. With one exception, back then there wasn’t nearly as much smack-talk about these drivers.

      2. @brum55

        It is not thrilling or entertaining, whereas Nadal, Federer, Messi & Bolt at their best are. Vettel’s performances are clinical, cold and emotionless.

        I think that attitude only highlights the problem with modern F1 fans, in comparison to other sports. Take the athletics example. Surely most fans watch Bolt knowing he will win? But seeing someone run fast is still “thrilling”. In F1, fans just can’t be satisfied with the thrill of watching some of the world’s best drivers in some of the world’s fastest cars. They just moan about how the fastest driver, who like Bolt, just destroyed a world class field, is supposedly killing the sport.

        I guess that two factors explain that. First, the impression that “it’s the car”. To an extent, the car makes a difference. But Vettel’s teammate Webber, who is one of the best non-WDC on the grid wasn’t close on pace today. We’ve seen in the past, drivers be seconds in front of the teammates on raw pace (Senna over even Prost), but for some reason people suddenly find this unbelievable.

        The second may have something to do with the current state of the sport. In athletics, Bolt holds world records for his speed. F1 not only introduces rules to slow the cars down, but we have the tyres that discourage most drivers (especially the fastest, like Vettel and Hamilton) from pushing. Then again, Schumacher holds a lot of speed based (lap) records, and people whinged about those days too. So maybe as @fer-no65 said, the sport may just be cold and emotionless. In another way, the stewards reprimanding drivers for giving each other lifts fits that description as well.

        1. Disregard, see edited version below.

      3. @brum55

        It is not thrilling or entertaining, whereas Nadal, Federer, Messi & Bolt at their best are. Vettel’s performances are clinical, cold and emotionless.

        I think that attitude only highlights the problem with modern F1 fans, in comparison to other sports. Take the athletics example. Surely most fans watch Bolt knowing he will win? But seeing someone run fast is still “thrilling”. In F1, fans just can’t be satisfied with the thrill of watching some of the world’s best drivers in some of the world’s fastest cars. They just moan about how the fastest driver, who like Bolt, just destroyed a world class field, is supposedly killing the sport.

        I guess that two factors explain that. First, the impression that “it’s the car”. To an extent, the car makes a difference. But nowadays, the cars are far more restricted than they used to be, yet the complaints about the car seem to rise. Look at the bans on driver aids, restricted aero and spec tyres for example. Vettel’s teammate Webber, who is one of the best non-WDC on the grid wasn’t close on pace today. We’ve seen in the past, drivers be seconds in front of the teammates on raw pace (Senna over even Prost), but for some reason people suddenly find this unbelievable.

        The second may have something to do with the current state of the sport. In athletics, Bolt holds world records for his speed. F1 not only introduces rules to slow the cars down, but we have the tyres that discourage most drivers (especially the fastest, like Vettel and Hamilton) from pushing. Then again, Schumacher holds a lot of speed based (lap) records, and people whinged about those days too. So maybe as @fer-no65 said, the sport may just be cold and emotionless. In another way, the stewards reprimanding drivers for giving each other lifts fits that description as well.

        1. It is all about the car. Vettel is better than Webber, he was in 2009 and still is today. However his greatness will forever be questioned when he is in a car that the likes of Alonso, Kimi and Hamilton cannot lap even within a second of.

          F1 is full of drivers of very similar abilities. You cannot tell me that Alonso after leading the championship for so long last year in a slower car than Vettel, is now seconds slower a lap.

          The reason Vettel is booed is because domination in F1 was bad for the sport. I firmly believe if there were podium interviews in the early 00s Schumacher would have got the same treatment despite being in a Ferrari.

          1. @brum55

            It is all about the car.

            You’ve made that statement while ignoring the fact that a) F1 cars are far more restrcited than they used to be, as I pointed out already, and b) that not always does Vettel dominate races to this extent, with the other driver seeming so ordinary.

            F1 is full of drivers of very similar abilities. You cannot tell me that Alonso after leading the championship for so long last year in a slower car than Vettel, is now seconds slower a lap.

            As I said, the car makes a difference to an extent. Alonso made part of the difference last year through his strength- consistency- while a bunch of people were inconsistently near the front in the opening rounds. It helped that the car improved considerably post-Spain and was more reliable than Mclaren and Red Bull (otherwise Vettel and Hamilton would have led the title race). The car wasn’t good enough for Massa to do anything.

            Vettel is making part of the difference this year through his strength- raw pace- which is why he wins so convincingly. It helped that the car was fast enough, but not fast enough for Webber to do anything with it.

            The reason Vettel is booed is because domination in F1 was bad for the sport.

            The perception that it’s bad for the sport is because of the negative attitude of modern F1 fans. Bolt’s domination isn’t considered “bad” for sprinting

          2. It is all about the car.

            Forgot to mention, that if this were true, the drivers would be indistinguishable. Hamilton, Alonso and Raikkonen would be considered no better than Taki Inoue or Narain Karthikeyan.

          3. Regarding Vettel’s domination of F1. Yes he is miles better than Webber this year, but he is not miles better than Alonso, Hamilton, Rosberg, Kimi to the extent seen in the last few races. His raw pace is not 1-2 seconds faster a lap. If that is the case how has anyone else ever been able to get a pole in the last 3-4 years?

            F1 lasts for 1.5 – 2 hours, 100m sprints last 10 seconds. It is a poor comparison.

            Compare it to Spanish football, which is dominated by the same two teams and despite the high level of technical quality, it is seen as an utter joke and attendances continue to dwindle. But who cares as long as the big two are happy.

            Or Pete Sampras’s domination of tennis, which was also damaging to the sport. Men’s tennis was less popular than women’s which is the opposite now. They had to slow down the courts to the point where Hard courts and grass courts are barely recognisable from 10-15 years ago.

            I think you will be surprised at the number of people who watch sport for entertainment, mainly due to a competitive high level battle. F1 is sadly lacking that right now.

          4. @brum55
            Vettel has been miles better than Webber, but if it was all down to the car, then would that make Webber miles worse than all the drivers you mentioned? The answer lies somewhere in the middle- Vettel faster than any other driver out there, Red Bull were faster than any other car out there. Compared even to Spa and Monza, this was a dominant display by Vettel, on one of his best circuits. You even have Lauda in awe of his drive.

            Spanish football is a joke, and is considered boring? Doesn’t Messi, the entertaining and not “cold, emotionless” sportsman play there, winning almost everything (both team and individually) in sight? And whether Bolt runs for 10 seconds or 10 days is neither here nor there. F1 fans know that they’re getting themselves into, investing approx. 2 hours to watch the fastest drivers in the fastest cars in the world. The other drivers and teams being unable to match Vettel and Red Bull’s brilliance doesn’t make the best boring. It makes the others not good enough.

          5. @david-a

            Vettel has been miles better than Webber, but if it was all down to the car, then would that make Webber miles worse than all the drivers you mentioned?

            I think that is the case this year, I’m afraid.

            Doesn’t Messi, the entertaining and not “cold, emotionless” sportsman play there, winning almost everything (both team and individually) in sight?

            I watch El Classico but the gap between the Barca and the rest is too much for me to devote 90 mins. I generally watch his goals in awe but there are too many mismatches in La Liga.

            The other drivers and teams being unable to match Vettel and Red Bull’s brilliance doesn’t make the best boring. It makes the others not good enough.

            I think its both.

          6. @brum55

            Webber has been worse than some of the other top drivers this year, Vettel has been the best driver this year, hands down. Even without the car, his pace in Singapore would have still been superior to the rest (and Webber’s pace would have been worse than the other top guys).

            I think its both.

            It’s the latter. Vettel isn’t actually boring to watch, especially in qualifying. It’s when the others can’t match him in some races, that leads to the dominant races.

    4. @fer-no65
      Because he is already dominating for third season in a row and is likely to get the 4th title while their favorites are scrapping for the lower places. Basically they are tired of seeing the same thing over and over again

      1. They should boo Webber instead then, McLarens dominance in the period 1988-1991 is seen as a golden age of F1. If the domination of Red Bull over 2010-2013 is boring, it’s because Vettels team mate can’t challenge him …

        When Vettel is two seconds ahead of his team mate – which isn’t a slow driver – we should praise him for that.

        1. Amen to that. Years from now people will wax poetic about having witnessed one of the greatest legends of the sport in his prime. I can’t imagine Fangio or Clark having gotten the same treatment when they were dominating the sport! and they certainly always had significantly superior cars to the other legends of the sport they were beating regularly.

      2. **.
        He only dominated one out of the three seasons he won the WDC in (2011 if I have to spell it out for you).
        The other two were only decided in the last race.

    5. “…F1 isn’t football. You don’t see people booing Nadal, Federer, Messi, Bolt either. So why boo a guy that completely dominated the opposition in such an outstanding way?…”

      The truth is: media, FIA/FOM and the teams themselves always pushed F1 to be a driver oriented sport, when in fact should be a team oriented sport.

      What is happening is that those booing are, subconsciously, a protesting for what F1 in general (including media) sold for them for years: a Drivers Championship.

      Instead, we are seeing a outstanding team efforts to put him 2 seconds faster per lap than anyone else.

      So, don´t blame the uneducated crowd for felling frustrated, but those ones who always manipulated the fans’ perception of the sport.

      As an aside, I´d like to remember Seb on the Autosport Awards telling some good and funny jokes and, I have to confess: it is hard not to like him, or not to think he is a great kid with a well liked character.

      So, I feel for him, mainly for him be the target of fans’ frustration towards F1 and for the incompetence of the teams that those fans support.

    6. @fer-no65 – They’re not booing Vettel because he won. They’re booing him because they think he’s a poor ambassador for the sport, who just happened to win the race.

      For some reason, a lot of people seem to think that Vettel should be applauded for his achievements. And of course, he should. But it’s very difficult to show respect for someone’s achievements when you feel that you can’t respect the person getting those achievements.

      It’s the same reason why Bernie got a backlash when he said he admired Adolf Hitler for his leadership. However strong a leader Hitler was, the atrocitices he committed mean that respect is the last thing he deserves.

      That’s an extreme example, of course, but the logic still applies: no matter how many race wins and drivers titles he has, there is a perception that Vettel’s success has come at the deliberate expense of others’.

      Both Vettel and Red Bull have said that they don’t care about the booing, but maybe they should pay attention. Otherwise, they’re likely to be remembered as some of the most-hated champions in the sport.

      1. I don’t care what Vettel says, the booing will affect him. Nobody likes to be disliked.

        I do think the booing is harsh, and didn’t expect it in Singapore but I also can’t help but groan a little every time I see his pull away 2 seconds on the first lap. Comparing him to Hitler on the other hand? That seems a little OTT.

      2. @prisoner-monkeys then again, they are just wrong…

        I don’t see how he’s a bad ambassador for this sport. No one can beat Schumi at that, with all he got away with and the way Ferrari seemed to land at the perfect place year after year. And we didn’t hear booing appart from Austria 2002.

        1. There is no connection in what you saying about Vettel and Schumi, unless you underlining what PM said.

          Vettel is not as charismatic or considerate or humble as some of the drivers. Especially Schumi. He might have achieved the success of his idol on track, but he must become a much greater human being to win the crowd. He is young he got plenty of time, if that’s some thing he wants.

      3. But it’s very difficult to show respect for someone’s achievements when you feel that you can’t respect the person getting those achievements.

        Why Vettel can’t be respected as person?

        1. Vettel’s dedication in the pits makes me respect him. I think this is something that is not brought up enough. His ability to articulate a cars behavior to his engineers is currently unsurpassed. I do not believe there is a coincidence that Toro Roso performed so well in 08 and Red Bulls performance since 09. One of Newey’s best assets is having Vettel in his car.

      4. I can’t see how Vettel’s domination is at the deliberate expense of the others. He proved many times that he’s faster than Weber and Turkey or Malaysia can’t be really counted for his dominance. Also he’s never been involved in a scandal that would make him a bad “ambassador for the sport” like Alonso for example.

      5. What on earth are you talking about? Comparing Vettel to Hitler? You are on crack, and the obvious implication about the nationality is disgusting.

        F1 is a sport, the drivers are supposed to win to the best of their ability. You don’t let others win to help them feel better. Mark Webber is a loser, let’s face it, nice guy, fast driver, sulks a bit too much, lost 4 championships in a row.

    7. Any athlete who is unpopular will get booed and that’s just how it is. People aren’t booing Vettel’s dominance and they aren’t booing RB, they are booing Vettel the man. He is apparently unlikable and the people are letting him know it. Unlike Schumacher, Vettel hasn’t seen fit to hire PR people to either make his public statements or to shape and frame his statements before he utters them. The result is what we see now. If after trying to run Villeneuve off the road, Schumacher was unapologetic he would have been booed everywhere he went, however he knew enough to apologize and humble himself in public even if he didn’t mean it. Vettel needs to learn how to play the game and I wouldn’t be surprised if Red Bull start work to repair his image as they can’t maximize their investment if he can’t effectively market their products and those of their sponsors.

      1. People are assigning too much importance to the boos. Everybody knows it’s not “all people” who are booing Vettel under the podium. It’s a specific subset of the crowd at the races. There is no way to take this booing as some sort of intelligent commentary to be reasoned with. It’s just simple hooligan/tribal howling by sore losers.

        1. Thank you for saying this – I totally agree. So a few people shout at an athlete, who cares? There is booing in every sport on the planet, especially for anyone who dominates for a long period of time and makes championships boring. Why is F1 suddenly expected to be above all of this? And where was the entire paddock rushing to Hamilton’s defense when he was taking this kind of actual abuse instead of everyone just trying to sweep it under the rug?

  4. Glad to see Lauda speak out against the childish booing displays. These people should be booing their own teams and drivers for underperforming. Not a Vettel or Red Bull fan, but I applaud the way they are showing the rest of F1 how to drive a race and run a team.It is the job of the rest of the field to catch up. If Red Bull were cheating or Vettel purposely crashing opponents off the track to win championships, I could almost understand the sentiment. Since that is not what’s happening, the disrespectful folks can be considered nothing more than F1 booligans.

    1. Very well said.

    2. Vettel purposely crashing opponents off the track to win championships,

      @bullmello No body does those things nowadays.. Please dont rake up the past

      1. @noob – Well, Crashgate was not all that long ago, although not so much what I was referring to. My point was only that in the past when things like that did happen, I don’t remember a lot of booing. That and the fact Vettel is racing clean and not deserving of the booing.

        1. @bullmello As I said before, I feel it is all because of the Multi-21 incident… If Vettel admits that yes he was wrong and apologizes to Mark, then I think the booing will stop.. See one race and Vettels image took a big blow, if he would have let Mark win, people would have appreciated it much more…

          Anyways that is what I feel…

          1. Had Mark apologised for Silverstone 2011 and Brazil 2012? No!

          2. @noob
            Why should he apologise? For doing what we all wanted Massa to do at the German GP in 2010? Or for doing the same thing that Webber did TWICE before?
            He has nothing to apologise for.
            Honestly? I don’t think it has anything to do with the “Multi 2-1”.
            I think it is entirely because a lot of people hate him, and is running out of reasons to do so.
            So they resort to make up a moral codex, which surprisingly, ONLY Vettel is judged by.

          3. @noob – So it’s Vettel forcing the fans to behave badly, they have no choice in the matter?

      2. Alonso did that, and he is no booing and he deserves it.

        1. @jorge-lardone
          Funny how you’re gassing on about respecting all the drivers and then you go and say Alonso deserves boo’s. Way to make a complete fool of yourself.

    3. we r booing our teams for underperforming of course..

      1. Well that would make sense in fact … Ferrari – who sells cars for 300000+ £ – by some soft drink producer, that’s awful for every car manufacturer in F1 …

  5. It is a pity that some formula 1 public are so disrespectful and unsportsmanlike. If you do not like Vettel, just do not applaud. Actually, this people seem football supporters.
    Vettel is a great driver, perhaps the better one after Schumacher. He deserves respect, as all of formula 1 drivers.

    1. I’m going to stand up for football supporters here They don’t behave as badly as F1 supporters. If Lionel Messi goes to Old Trafford and puts on a clinic, the Man U fans applaud him. Vettel had a grand chelem today, and was booed for it. It’s an embarrassment to the sport.

    2. @jorge-lardone I still believe its the Multi-21 incident… The way Vettel was on the podium of Malaysia or the way Lewis was, saying that the other person deserved to win, that would have been the right things.. The u-turn by Vettel after the break was what lost the respect people had for him…

      1. Really? I’m not sure it really is.

        I’ll take you back to the end of last season: Brazil 2012. I remember someone/some (media?) organisation being so unhappy with Vettel being crowned champion they raked through the copious amount of onboard footage to find anything they could to disqualify Vettel. Do you remember this? They thought they found a video of Vettel illegally passing under yellows. This went viral. “Ferrari… protest the result” everyone pleaded, even when it’d been slowed down frame-by-frame showing that he had indeed passed legally. But no. I remember, even on here, and even in the face of all the evidence, Vettel was a dirty cheat and that championship was rightfully Alonso’s.

        I remember that. There was pages and pages of the stuff. So, really, “Multi-21” is a bit of an excuse (unless some fans had the gift of time-travel, that is). This kind of stuff is just a perpetuation of something that’s been going on for a while. Don’t forget this is the first full season of podium interviews.

        1. @yellowsapphire Fair enough, but Vettel had a similar run of dominance at the end of 2012 and wasn’t booed then … Something has obviously changed between then and now. Certainly my opinion of him worsened with what happened in Malaysia, so it’s not unreasonable to assume that the same has happened for others.

          My main memory of the yellow flag incident in Brazil is that most people were fairly level-headed about the incident. Sure, there are a few people who will never be satisfied whatever the evidence, but then there are still those who think Glock pulled over for Hamilton in 2008, or that the BMWs and Rosberg should have been DQ’d from Brazil 2007 to give Hamilton the title, when the rest of us have long since moved on. There will always be those who believe their favourites are in the right 100% of the time but they shouldn’t be thought of as representative.

        2. Absolutely right. Malaysia is just an alibi; supporters of Alosno and Hamilton are eating their heart out that another driver is winning left and right.

        3. @yellowsapphire
          They are doing that because in 2012 we had a tight fight for the championship and nobody booed Vettel post race but now he is dominating almost like in 2011 and in places where he is not the most popular driver people will boo him because they want to see a change and that is why they go for the more universally popular guys like Webber or Alonso and why they are pulling that multi 21 thing.

          1. No, they’re doing it because they now have the ability to. Drivers are only booed in the podium interviews, and they’ve only been happening since Silverstone ’12. And Vettel wasn’t even on the podium in Brazil. It’s a perpetuation of something that’s gone on for a while, with the added bonus of being given the vehicle in which to do so (Pardon the pun).

      2. Probably to a certain degree, but I do not think it is totally due to the multi-21 “show”. I think people (well I least I do) think it is unfair and no sport what is going on. One guy gets a car that is more often than not .5-1 sec per lap faster than closest rival (including his team mate as well), and everyone has to “compete” with him on that base.
        Do not get me wrong – all credit to the designers of the package as they are obviously doing a much better job than the other teams’ designers – but on driver level it is NOT fair. I believe people do not value his achievements as a driver very highly – some will just not applaud him but applaud a driver they feel is better (e g ALO), while others will feel boooing is “appropriate”. Take 2012 for example – I believe the majority of the (knowledgeable) F1 fans believed ALO was the rightful champion. Many probably hoped VET really committed that illegal pass at BRA and would be punished for it for the title to go to ALO. They did not feel that way because they HATE VET – rather because they thought another drivers raced better, put on a better show and deserved it more. Ironically, VET crashed at first lap in BRA doing that ridiculous overtake, but the dominant package enabled him to go from last to enough good position and saved the driverstitle for him.

        1. It was Bruno Senna “doing that ridiculous overtake” and crashing into Vettel, not Vettel himself.

        2. In Brazil 2012, the RedBull was no “dominant package”. McLaren was. And regarding 2012: From Spain onwards the Ferrari was a complete different car allowing podium finishes at almost every race. People tend to forget that.

          Take England/Germany 2012 as example, no one pulls away from the pseudo “0.5s-1s faster RedBulls” without having an equal car that allows to you to fight for wins. Alonso is no superhuman who defies the laws of physics. Ferrari was the better race car on many occasions.

        3. I believe the majority of the (knowledgeable) F1 fans believed ALO was the rightful champion

          I believe that the knowledgeable F1 fans know who was the rightful champion

          1. The rightful champion is the one who has the most points at the end of the last race.

            I think Kimi said something like that in 2012, I couldn’t agree more with him :)

      3. If Hamilton was so concerned that he was there instead of Rosberg why he didn’t let Rosberg pass him. The podium is too sweet to miss it. He should’ve been booed as much as Vettel.

    3. “Vettel is a great driver, perhaps the better one after Schumacher”

      I do not rate SCH that high, but he was certainly a big time fighter and could do great stuff with soso packages. Just out of curiosity – How do you arrive at your conclusion above?

      Most often than not VET has started from first row (if not pole), opened a massive gap using a massive package-advantage (see todays race for my definition of massive package-advantage) and cruised to victory from there – literally. That is a great result no question for him and the team, but I would not see that as great driving. Too many of VETs wins/success have come in exactly this way, to agree with the statement of yours.

      1. It rather shows his qualifying is better than other higher rated drivers – 13:0 against the team mate speaks for itself I guess. What shall he show then? Drop back and overtake everyone again?

        He just does what every top driver does – using every chance he can get. Alonso hasn’t done that this season. He showed he can race in Belgium 2012, Abu Dhabi 2012 and Brazil 2012. Alonso couldn’t overtake Di Resta even when he had fresher tyres and should have done so – where was his great driving?

    4. IMO the big issue for those people is that Vettel has won every championship in a Newey’s car. Schumacher’s 2004 was even worse in terms of domination and I don’t think anybody booed him, because in their eyes Schumacher earned that superiority spending 4 years (1996-1999) not winning a WDC at Ferrari, and also 1992 and 1993. For some pleople Vettel found the jackpot and didn’t “earn” his right to be champion. I don’t like the booing and I think is wrong but I certainly don’t thing is right that F1 has a 4 times WDC that is 26 years old.

      1. Schumacher’s 2004 was even worse in terms of domination and I don’t think anybody booed him, because in their eyes Schumacher earned that superiority spending 4 years (1996-1999) not winning a WDC at Ferrari, and also 1992 and 1993. For some pleople Vettel found the jackpot and didn’t “earn” his right to be champion.

        And their eyes need to be tested. Vettel “earned” his right to be a champion by dragging his machinery up the grid in 2007 and 2008. He didn’t start his career in a top car.

        I certainly don’t thing is right that F1 has a 4 times WDC that is 26 years old.

        It makes no sense to say it isn’t “right”. Is there an exact age limit for achievement in sport?

  6. i think in my opinion the fans are love “kimi” and “Fernando “the fans always cheer for them i also cheer for them when they race better then others but they don’t understand what the sportsman spirit means the fans please understand…. i love the way vettel driving and he is the world champion and i cheer when he came in India

  7. This whole booing saga has made me see a different side to booing. I love to watch football and growing up I loved professional wrestling. In football booing is widely accepted, sometimes you will even get pundits talking about how the hostile reception of the home fans towards the away team will affect that team. In pro wrestling booing the heels (the bay guys) is vital to the whole experience.

    Now because I’ve never seen anything wrong with booing for all of my life, I do find it hard to view the booing towards Vettel as extremely as some people do, but I am beginning to think that it is incorrect. I do respect Vettel and I have for many years, however earlier on during this whole affair I felt that I would still boo him if I was there at scene of some of the booing, but I have now reconsidered my thoughts on this.

    I think what I have said applies to many of the booers themselves. I think many of them don’t hate him and do indeed respect Vettel, but because I think many of them are so used to it in other sports, it just feels natural to boo the opposition even if they put on a masterclass and have done nothing to deserve it.

    1. In pro wrestling booing the heels (the bad guys) is vital to the whole experience.

    2. Good open mind attitude, congratulations man, I do not dwell to much on the booing, most of the people do not boo, I think its a new fad and is making some fans nervous that it may take hold, as it is as you just realized, wrong to punish the winner for a job well done. And is not the first time a team dominates the field (ask Frank Williams about his famous fw14b and 15c domination) and I do not recall people booing Mansell or Prost later on when they clearly had “the car”, Schumacher was also unpopular in many places and still fans were civil about it, only recently some fans feel they are entitled to be considered a part of the process by approving or disaproving the result in a childish offensive manner. I can understand some of them thought, they hoped they came to witness a leveled field of competition only to find the same team crushing every other oponent, but again, that is formula 1 more often than not, mechanical features and skills must converge for a team to dominate the season so nor Vettel or red bull staff are a chance event, as they consistently show us.
      I am not a fan of red bull or Vettel for that matter, but I must suck it up every time they win and take my hat off in respect to their show of force, while wishing my cursed team raises to the ocasion or my driver pulls an occasional rabbit from his helmet as Senna did with Toleman, or Hunt with Hesketh, and while that does not look like it, I keep watching for the love of the sport, not the pleasing of the masses, with out wich, there would be no sport to watch.

  8. Like I said in the rate the race comments; I really can’t imagine spending a ton of money on going to a GP, knowing Vettel’s form, knowing Red Bull’s form, watching a race for 90-120 minutes and become so frustrated you boo Vettel. If you really somehow believe it is unjust, maybe you should not be spending that money on F1, but on therapy, because you obviously have some (anger/jealousy) issues.

    I started watching F1 when I was 7. I hatedHill, Villeneuve and Hakkinen because they had the audacity to beat my favorite Schumacher. Heck, at 15 I disliked Alonso because he did the same. I can’t imagine the people who go to Grand Prix’ have the same mentality about their favorites being beaten as a child?

  9. Yeah well – under Bernie’s stewardship sport has grown, right? Grown, in this case meaning it’s been dumbed down to make it more of a show in order to attract larger audiences. Those audiences have been convinced to shell out big bucks with the promise of an exciting show. Well, they’re not getting much of a one and now they’re not happy.

    Many people have been getting indignant about the booing, but the plain and simple truth is that these are Formula 1 fans in 2013, whether you identify with them or not. Formula 1 could have been managed differently. But Bernie decided a long time ago that bigger and more means better, that instead of finding the right audience it was more profitable to sell excitement. Thing is you can’t have it all. You can’t promise global audiences drama and suspense and then not deliver and expect people to be happy.

    It’s a bit like if you promised people an action blockbuster and gave them Fellini. You want to put on a flashy show – well you’ll get audiences who expect a flashy show. Simple as that. They’re not the ones who come in through the turnstiles under false pretenses. The marketers of what remains of F1 as a sport are the ones who actively sought these people out and got them to cough up a week’s worth of salary for two hours of ‘excitement’. Now they’re booing because the races are one-man processions? Well duh.

    1. +100. The big boo goes to Bernie

    2. You nailed it. Anyone who follows racing knows that Red Bull are going to walk away with both the titles this year after the mid season tyre changes. The day the changes were announced I cancelled my plans of going to the Indian GP. Why spend all that money when I can watch a procession from home?

      A lot of people go to an F1 weekend as it is billed as an exciting premier event that is the new ‘in’ thing to do but the reality is disappointing. They don’t know what the hell a multi-21 is but do recognize a snooze fest. Cue the booing.

      Let hope the shift to V6 changes the dynamic enough that we get years like 2007 and 2008 and things go down to the wire again.

    3. Why don’t you blame Alonso for the boring races. Apart from the start he didn’t show much and he ended too far in front for anyone to challenge his second place. There are 20 cars in the race and people should go to cheer their favorite driver and team. they shouldn’t think that the race is boring if their driver doesn’t win. After all majority of people who go to the races have seen one on the TV and should know what to expect. I don’t think anybody is fooled by the flashy commercials. McDonalds looks great on TV too.

  10. If you like Vettel, cheer all you like.

    If you don’t like him, tough, you should at least applaud. I remember watching a masterclass from him at Silverstone in ’09 and couldn’t help but be impressed. I actually predicted his WC in 2010 that day, just from watching him drive around Stowe, it was simply a joy to watch.

    I don’t understand how anybody can watch a performance like that, or the one today and Boo? It’s like buying tickets to the opera, being moved by the performance and then booing because it made you cry, madness! (and disgusting).

  11. I swear if I read the words ”We’re not football fans” once more I’ll go mad!

    Yes, yes…we’re not football fans. Anyone wish to come up with something original on the matter or am I going to read 70 comments that say ”We’re not football fans”?

    1. But we’re not football fans, how dare F1 be associated with knuckle-dragging Neanderthals who know nothing better than to drink, fight and spread violence. We F1 fans are much better than that as we’re clearly classy, upstanding members of society that respect everyone.

    2. We are not football fans, because we are not the ones booing :D
      Though even football fans don’t boo during podium ceremonies as far as I know? These are the WWE fans, the people looking for a Russian roulette, a quick adrenalin fix with a happy end, ignorant to what racing and F1 in particular stands for.

  12. people should know, since 2011, we already knew this would be happening, it’s simple as that, no one is matching redbull in aerodynamics, in managing the team, in consistency of the car performance, tyre management, i’m not bashing vettel, he’s good, but anyone in his shoes would be doing the same thing, this is the best team witnessed since mclaren 1987-1991, so the fault is on other top teams to manage and better themselves the same as redbull is doing.

  13. I think, the booing is more on F1 as a sport which has been too not F1 since past few years now. One winner. No competition. Worst, things like DRS, which is not encouraging ‘true’ driving skills based racing. The tyre issues. The list is pretty big. All of it together.

    P.S.: After watching the movie “Rush”, it all the more not feels F1 at all now.

  14. I actually think all the Europeans crying about booing is worse then people booing.

    Booing or Cheering as long as they’re making noise you are doing something right because they are recognizing that you exist, it’s when they make no noise that you have to worry. That is something it seems an entire continent needs to realize.

    Question(s) for the people that find the Booing disrespectful. Is saying “well I give that movie only 2 stars our of 5” because you didn’t think it was a good movie disrespectful? Is saying “I don’t like that type of music” disrespectful to the millions of people around that world that are involved with that type of music? Is saying “I like Pizza but not Stromboli” disrespectful to the guy who created Stromboli?

    1. @fisha695 We’re not talking about generalisations though, this is all directed at one guy. To use one of your analogies, it’s like going to a classical concert as a hip hop fan then booing as they take a bow at the end of a virtuoso performance.

      As much as anything it ruins the atmosphere and affects the enjoyment of other people.

    2. @fisha695 You boo at pizza, movies, music? lol

      1. I bet he also boos in the ears of people who are watching the movie he hates, and goes in restaurants and boos at the people who eating the wrong food.

  15. Taking nothing away from Vettel today after a very impressive performance, but I find it hard to criticise the boo-folk.

    Watching the race highlights today, I turned it off. I can’t remember exactly the time I last did that, but it was during a similar period of domination by another chap of Germanic persuasion (disclaimer: I love Germany as a nation and a people, it’s just an interesting coincidence). Those who decry Vettel at the circuit don’t have the luxury that I had of not having spent hundreds of monies to watch processions like these, and to walk away before the end would be like dropping those monies in the nearest bin. They are only expressing the frustration that such poor competition engenders in them, albeit rather crassly, and these edicts to respect the drivers by the gods of F1 come across as patronising to me. The best reaction in all of these has been from the man himself, who takes up the best possible position in response.

    Still, I’m pretty sad today, as I’m probably not going to watch for a while and just check the results, at least until someone can mount a reasonable challenge to Vettel, so maybe my sympathy for the boohaviour is just a product of my own frustration.

    1. Then maybe they should boo the other teams/ drivers no the one that is doing a excellent job

  16. Is saying “I don’t like that type of music” disrespectful to the millions of people around that world that are involved with that type of music?

    Is going to a rap concert and booing the performer and saying “I don’t like that type of music” the behavior of a sane person? if you don’t like rap music, don’t go to a rap concert. if you don’t like Formula One drivers doing Formula One things, don’t go to a Formula One race. This isn’t that complicated.

    1. I’ve been to plenty of concerts where performers have been booed. People showing expression is actually a rather common thing here.

      1. Not the same, in a concert you boo because the act was below expectation, the artist was late, atc.

        Tell me one thing Vettel did wrong in this race?

        1. “He won and my favorite team/driver didn’t”

        2. What did Vettel do wrong? He won, he dominated.

          1. “Insert facepalm here”

  17. for a very long time, F1 fans used to be peaceful guys, supporting their drivers and respecting the others, and that made a difference compared to other sportfans. Vettel is just doing his job without mistakes. I believe that 80% of the drivers are doing their job without mistakes, too, they are as fast and efficient as they can be, however down in the traffic it’s not that obvious or transparent. You don’t need a superior car to drive flawless, but if you have one, you’ll end up front.

    – Vettel can’t be blamed for driving without mistakes.
    – Vettel can’t be blamed that the only driver in the same car is lagging way behind him.
    – Vettel can’t be blamed that Red Bull has the upper hand. Technically, mechanically, aerodinamically, every way.
    – Vettel can’t be blamed that the competition is so weak for a number of reasons.
    – Vettel can’t be blamed for capitalizing on the current F1 rules that might benefit Red Bull a bit, and undermine the image of F1.

    I’m not a Vettel fan. I don’t care too much about the attitude of the fans towards him. Maybe I would rather see a couple other guys winning races too. But all of us have to accept, that if a driver has the fastest car and makes no mistakes, then worth to earn victories. And some manifestation of the frustrated fans doesn’t solve anything. The casue of the frustration is not Vettel, he is just capitalizing the best on the current state of F1.

  18. When the speaker in the Spanish channel that broadcasts the races wishes that Vettel has a DNF or a crash and acts like the worst hooligan and when the first sports diary writes like hooligans doesn’t surprise me that there is people booing him.

    Haters gonna hate

  19. Lots of outcry against all this booing. I wonder if the same people criticising this booing were the very people booing in Austria 2002 or Indy 2005….

    1. I could be wrong, but I don’t think a dominant driver winning a race by a large margin and extending his championship lead is quiiiiite as farcial or brought the sport into as much disrepute as an overt and cynical display of team orders or a race starting with six cars out of twenty entrants.

  20. Everyone has a right to be vocal and voice their opinion.

    Sebastian Vettel is making F1 boring. By lap 2-3 of today’s race the Twitter majority was “4 second lead in 2 laps Zzzz”

    If the spectators at the race want to voice their opinion by booing then they should do so.

    Vettel’s dominance can be blamed on Red Bull for flouting any Resource restrictions, the combination of best driver and best car OR on the other teams for not getting it right. I would hope the booing either spurs the FIA to improve the show & other teams to try harder.

    Either way, I have no problems with the booing, in the same way I would have no problem with football fans booing the opposition (Messi, Ronaldo or whoever) or any other sports fan booing the opposition.

    1. Sebastian Vettel is making F1 boring

      That’s your problem right there. Vettel is not making F1 boring. The other teams and other drivers are doing that.

      If the spectators at the race want to voice their opinion by booing then they should do so.

      If they hold the feelings … sorry, “opinions”… you say they do, then they should have booed Alonso and Rakkonen for failing to make a better race of it.

      1. RAI & ALO made the race interesting as did the rest of the field mostly.

        Vettel was the one running off. The rest of the field was relatively close together.

        1. @f1matt
          You have got that back to front.
          It is Vettel’s job to win the race. It is all the other drivers’ job to do the same. They failed at even putting up a fight.
          No driver is going to drive slower because it will make the race more exciting. That just isn’t happening.

        2. You don’t seem to really “get” the whole idea of sports. The objective is to win. If in the process of winning you personally find the process interesting, that’s all fine. But it’s not the actual objective.

          Real Madrid beat Getafe 4-1 today without breaking a sweat. As strange is it may seem, football fans do not consider this to be a suitable reason to boo Real Madrid.

          1. I “get” it just fine thank you.

            The job of everyone in the field is to win or do their very best.

            I am not saying Vettel should slow down etc.

            I am saying that him running away with the races is boring. He is doing what all the drivers are aiming to do but it is boring week after week, race after race.

            As I put in my initial post, I believe the general consensus agree with that.

            The rest of the field were relatively close together which although they were not battling for the lead, was still mildly interesting (I say mildly interesting as more of today’s race was a bore)

            Now, if the spectators were not happy with the show today they are within their right to boo.

        3. It’s the goal of every sport competition to win. Vettel did that. Discussion over.

          If you want faked opinions, drama and entertainment – watch wrestling or politics.

          1. @xenomorph91 But F1 entertainment. Sports are inherently entertainment, because we watch the games/races to see who’s best because we are entertained by it.

          2. F1 is entertainment, didn’t know how the italics worked on this site.

          3. @mcmerctn – And sports are inherently entertainment because they showcase the best people in the world doing their job, which is to aim to win.

          4. F1 is entertainment. Booing may be annoying for Vettel fans and more traditionalists but the next thing will be dwindling attendances and poor ratings. Sponsors will pull out and that will lead to manufacturers pulling out or going into liquidation.
            Basically it is important for F1 to be entertaining, very important.

          5. @brum55 Having the common decency not to jeer at people and preferring to see entertaining races are not mutually exclusive.

      2. Well said

    2. FIA is already doing a lot of things to make the racing better by introduction of DRS, KERS, Pirelli tires that fall apart and banning all of the areas of development that RB was doing better than the rest. So only thing left is for the others to pick up their game.

  21. Has it occurred to anyone that it might not be booing, but just a bunch of people chanting Red Bull! Red Bull! Red Bull!. I know from watching plenty of hockey in that past that sometimes it sounds like the crowd is booing, but that’s because the are chanting a certain player’s name.
    Admittedly it probably is idiots booing, but that type of idiot would stop if they thought it was heard as cheering for Red Bull. :)

  22. I honestly thought the booing would have stopped when we got in the Asian races due to lack of dedicated fan bases and the politeness of the Japanese.

    I think at this point it might have just gone beyond booing Vettel because he dominated but booing Vettel because other fans at other grand prix booed him when he won so now it is the norm. People say they boo because when he wins he pulls away immediately and stays in first but it just feels like an excuse at this point.

    1. Loads of Brits and Australians in Singpaore.

      1. This is not related to nationality.. British and Australian people are polite and appreciate success.. I think it is related to fans seeing their drivers get humiliated by Vettel’s dominance..

        1. Yes it’s not nationality, it’s the Ferrari fans.

  23. Michael Brown (@)
    22nd September 2013, 20:06

    Is it because Vettel is winning and the other teams/drivers can’t bring the challenge to Red Bull and Vettel? Should they slow down and let the others catch up to make the season artificially exciting? I know the season is dull, but Red Bull and Vettel are playing the sport the way it is meant to be played.

    1. Well said …

  24. Booing is not acceptable, that’s a given. However, to assume the current dislike of Vettel is just because he’s winning all the time is insulting the intelligence of some genuine fans. I can only speak for myself, but I can honest say that I used to like him but over the years things have gradually changed. I think its the broadcasting of the radio messages and the condescending tone of his voice that do not do him any favours.

    The “get him out of the way” radio message is the classic example. Not even Alonso has sounds that condescending when he wants Massa to move over.

    The Webber stuff after Turkey and Malaysia just adds to this. As well as “What is Daniel doing”, “These stupid overtakes”, etc… I don’t doubt his talents, and his amazing attitude off track, but I just don’t like the arrogant way he conducts himself when in race mode. I should add that no other driver sounds like this on the radio. That’s only my personal viewpoint however, but I felt I should mention it in order to stress that the current mass dislike is not all because he is winning. Its a combination of things.

      1. @zantkiller He hits the nail on the head. However it is much tougher to show personality in a cockpit with a helmet covering your face.

    1. You don’t have the faintest idea what Alonso sounds like on the radio, because none of us ever hear him.

      the current mass dislike is not all because he is winning.

      Since the current mass dislike predates the winning, that’s one thing you say I can agree with.

      1. You don’t have the faintest idea what Alonso sounds like on the radio

        I know @jonsan. I go off what FOM feed me. Unfortunately, that’s all I’ve got.

        Put it this way, the day FOM broadcast Hulkenberg saying “get him out of the way” to Gutierrez, I’ll probably change my mind. I’m guessing they don’t broadcast it because he doesn’t say it.

        1. Ah, come on, You don’t even need to hear Alonso’s radio transmissions to know the sort of person he is. He has a long track record in F1, and Vettels alleged personality flaws are nothing in comparison.

          1. @jonsan you are probably right. to be honest I’m not a big fan of Alonso either! I knew when I posted my comment there would be a reaction, but I’m just attempting to rationalise why I dislike Vettel these days…I’m not even completely sure myself so you can view my comment as an exploration of my own mind, attempting to figure it out!

            Booing is not acceptable at all..let me make that clear. But I also think its good we have feelings about the drivers, good and bad.

    2. To be honest, I think many drivers sound like him on the radio. It’s perfectly normal, too. They are under a lot of pressure, sometimes you say something you shouldn’t. A couple of weeks ago we were hearing Alonso calling his team “idiots”, so I don’t think that Vettel is any worse.

      My opinion is that people don’t like Seb because he is winning and they are trying to justify this feeling by saying: “I don’t like his finger gesture, that’s a sign of arrogance”, “His qualifying in Singapore was disrespectful and arrogant”, “multi 21” and so on. If Vettel had not won three WDC no one would care about those episodes and no one would boo him, I’m quite sure about that.

    3. @mazdachris No problem. We all get carried away now and again on here, myself included (far too often)! Thanks for the apology :)

    4. Yea, Alonso doesn’t asks his team to get Masa out of the way, that is in his contract. He just calls his team idiots.

  25. People need to show a bit more class.

    I’m a RBR fan and enjoy seeing Vet win but I don’t ever boo if Fred or Lewis top the podium.

    I respect all the drivers for their skill and ability.

  26. Trenthamfolk (@)
    22nd September 2013, 20:13

    people boo because, after multi-21, Vettel said he would ignore team orders again if he wanted to demonstrating that he doesn’t respect his team, his team mate, or the sport. He may be the best driver, but I’m not going to invest my efforts in supporting someone with an attitude like that. I think he’ll come to regret his choices, and perhaps already is doing so, but you reap what you sow. Hey ho, boooooooo!!!!!

    1. On that basis, Webber doesn’t respect his team, his teammate or the sport either.

    2. On that basis, Alonso should be booed and pelted with rotten fruit at every GP. Remind me again why he isn’t?

      1. Trenthamfolk (@)
        23rd September 2013, 8:04

        Because, here and now, people don’t like Vettel. End. Of.

  27. we understand perfectly what Vettel is doing. we r booing him cuz its too easy for him and boring for us.

  28. Someone please stop Vettel from winning and poles, its becoming boring.

    1. A lot of F1 fans don’t see F1 as a sport at all, they see it as a movie, or theater. So you get this attitude of “I’ve seen this exact same movie before! Boooo!! I want my money back”

      You don’t see this in other sports, in real sports. It’s unique to F1. If Man United win the league again this year some people will be happy and some will be unhappy. But you will not see any significant number of fans demanding that the FA step in and stop United from winning, on the grounds that “We’ve already seen United win and now we want to see a different outcome”.

  29. People are booing vettel simply because of his dominance. A lot of people want to see a new champion winning the wdc and the wcc

    1. Maybe they could go and start up their own ‘championship’ where the result of each race is decided and scripted before the start. You can have good guys and bad guys and sometimes the bad guys would win and you’d be al angry, and they’d come on the podium and start talking trash, but then their rivals would show up and all of a sudden there’d be an impromptu race because these guys are just so awesome and all want to race each other so bad, and in the end the good guys will win and everyone will be happy. And you’ll never be bored because they’ll make sure that in the script you have a certain number of overtakes and there’ll always be a battle for the win right to the last corner. We can call it the World Racing Federation.

      Or, y’know, if you think that sport is boring just go and do something else with your life. I’m so sick of reading week after week how so many people really think that the sport is being killed or whatever. Or that it’s too boring or that they weren’t entertained. Really surprising to see so many people saying how much they dislike F1 really on a site called ‘f1fanatic’ because you’d have thought that the site would generally be populated by, y’know, f1 fanatics. Who actually enjoy the racing, rather than just sitting there like Simon Cowell judging what he sees based on how entertaining he found it. Maybe a new site needs to be set up called f1whingers where all these people can just go and honk endlessly using phrases like “killing the sport”, at each other, getting worked up into a sad, impotent rage while those of us who really do love F1 can just look on, bemused as to why people who claim to hate F1 so much still bother tuning in week after week.

      1. You are talking about NASCAR, that is exactly what they do. And that is where to go to see “action”, forget about competition, its all choreographed for ratings.

      2. Exactly right

  30. The booing is ridiculous. I think everyone agrees on that.
    I think people just don’t want to see another Schumacher era. The problem is the way that they are showing this.

  31. I can’t see any reason other than the fact that he’s winning and dominating. But they’re making noise, so he’s doing something right. And if that doing something right is winning, then for hopefully for him, long may it continue.

  32. Is there anyone who has been at these races and can shed any light on who is actually doing the booing? And if there has been any reaction (negative or otherwise) from nearby fans?

  33. It’s more the Alonso fans that does the booing (or Ferrari fans) — one of those two as they wear red.

    1. I saw you on tv asking for id’s over there so I am sure your opinion is accurate.

  34. Vettel is unlikeable – it doesn’t surprise me at all that people boo him.

    1. I don’t mind being unlikeable if I am the youngest driver ever to get 4 F1 championships :D

  35. Vettel’s doing a great job – it’s just so dreafully boring. Give me 20 weekends of BTCC instead.

  36. At least the good thing for Vettel is that the Australian GP was last March, imagine Albert Park right now.

    1. The louder the boos are the better Vettel gets :D

      1. So… It is good for everybody, fans should keep booing then.

  37. I think most of you guys are totaly wrong when you think that people booing at vettel’s dominance… There are so many dominant drivers that are love and hated, but never booing to them…

    Valentino Rosso did the biggest dominance ever in MotoGP, and everybody loves them… The biggest party in MotoGP would happen if Rossi would win every single race…

    People Booo Vettel because of his personality, because his imaturity, because his favoured against Webber (especialy when webber is seen as a cool dude), because of his finger that a lot of people hate, because he is a PR robot, because he has no personality… that’s the main reason, but of course, being very sucessfull adds up to the hate…

    A lot of people dislike schumacher, he won more than double of championships that vettel won… but you didn’t hear the booing vettel does…

    Get in your head… People don’t like Vettel because who he is, not because of his performance…
    Alonso, Schumacher, Hamilton, Kimmi can won 5 straight titles and not get a single boo…

    The boo got especialy noticeable after malasya this year…. when you get in the podium and say that mark should win, and after that say’s he didn’t know anything about the radio orders, then he have heard the orders, then he says that he would have done the same thing…. well… a mess… like I said, PR robot…

    1. With this… I agree that Booing is a very dirty thing in a noble sport like F1… But like me, I also don’t feel any love for him, and even if he doesn’t win any race or sason at all from now on, people will still hate on him…

      1. There is something very seriously wrong with people who love or hate any F1 driver. (Their immediate friends and family excepted) I don’t love or hate any driver. Or any sports figure. Or any public person. People who imagine that they do have such emotions for somebody they have never met need to get a life.

        1. I agree with you, there is something very seriously wrong with people who love or hate. I tell myself every night, We should be vulcans!

          But I must confess I love Alonso, Nico and Button, I like Hamilton and I hate Vettel’s finger, I also love Nadal and Federer but I hate Djokovic, I really like Valentino Rossi and Marquez but I hate Lorenzo and his “lorenzo’s land” flag.

          I must admit I will never ever be Vulcan, I will remain Human for a while and I will support free spech for everyone to cheer or critisize anyone.

          1. I must admit I will never ever be Vulcan, I will remain Human for a while and I will support free spech for everyone to cheer or critisize anyone.

            Waaay to miss the point. Human feel, indeed. But they also think. And the point was, that logically, it’s nonsense to have strong feelings (love or hate) for people we don’t know at all or don’t affect our lives in any way. That was the point, and a very valid one.

            Talking about human/vulcan nature (bringing ST references into this, seriously?) or bringing free speech into this is missing the point.

    2. You just hit the nail on the head. The booing I believe started in Australia this year. I thought that would be an isolated incident, with him being so unpopular with Aussie fans, because of how he is treated better within the team than Webber, his general attitude etc. I guess things like multi 21 set the rest of the world off.

      I’m sure as he grows up his attitude will change, and with time so will my attitude of him. But he’s not a child any more, he’s 26! Who knows, maybe that’s how he will be the rest of his life.

      1. I don’t like vettel very much (almost a hater), but you know? honestly I think he’s not that bad as it actualy shows… I think he’s a bit of a spoiled driver that had a team that fell in love with him… There was a bunch of factors that contributed to his “not so good image” including some outside factors like his team that tends to favour him, and the fact that webber’s car is breakind down all the time…

        In malasya I saw the vettel that everybody hates, but in a way I felt sorry for him, because I saw a kid that was “lost” in his atitudes and mind, a kid that actualy wants to make people like him and be a enjoyable person, but seems to somehow put his foot in the wrong places…

        I think more than anyone, Vettel is on of the drivers in the field that would suffer more from booing, I bet he suffers a lot from this, because unlike a lot of drivers, he’s a driver that loves F1 ands is fully focused on it…

        1. @oliveiraz33

          the fact that Webber’s car is breaking down all the time

          Which isn’t a fact.

  38. @keithcollantine I did say I thought the boos were harsh for Vettel. But F1 does need to be more competitive than it is at the moment. Not even Schumi in the 00s was able to lap over 2 seconds a lap faster than the rest.

    1. it is related to having fresh supersoft compared to old medium.. Pirelli reported that the difference between two compounds is 2 seconds

  39. The New York Yankees, the Detroit Red Wings, the New England Patriots, Red Bull Racing. All teams that have had dynasties in the past 20 years, and all of them have been hated to a certain degree by the fans of their sports. It is the nature of sports and something that we should all get used to. I am not saying that I agree with the booing, because I don’t. I am a Red Bull fan, and there are times that I don’t like Vettel, but he is delivering wins to my favorite team, and to me that is all that matters. One day he will leave and I hope they will find someone else to replace him that will deliver as many wins.
    When it comes right down to it though, when one team dominates, it is frustrating for the fans of other teams, but it also becomes more meaningful when someone finally beats them, especially if it is an underdog.
    People are going to boo, but like another commenter said, years from now those same people who are booing will end up telling their kids how they watched a legend.

  40. Marc Porras (@)
    23rd September 2013, 1:54

    No doubt that SV is the quickest and most talented driver, I feel that he lacks modesty, when he wins and he wins often…he shoves his fore finger in everyone’s face and F1 fans don’t appreciate that l. We watched you win Seb and already know you’re #1. Nothing wrong with celebrating vigorously just have a bit more class and the booing will stop…he’s learning that the hard way.

    1. The celebration excuse is right up there when it comes to stupid reasons for disliking vettel.

      1. +1, for a moment i thought Porras was joking.

  41. Chris (@tophercheese21)
    23rd September 2013, 2:19

    I’m sure there are many different reasons as to why people would boo Sebastian.
    Whether it be because of the Malaysia incident, or the fact that he doesn’t drive a red car.

    My opinion is that he’s not looked on favourably because he has the best car.
    I found myself wondering in last nights grand prix whether or not he could amass this amazing lead after a safety (and before it as well!) in a car that isn’t as good.

    I have no problem with him winning, if he wins then he completely deserves it. But winning by 32 seconds isn’t exciting for the sport.
    I really do want him to go to Ferrari in 2015, just so we can see if he really is this impressive.

    This is the problem with Formula 1, the cars probably account for 70-80% of the performance, while the driver can make up the rest, but because there are no equal cars, there’s no way of telling who is the best driver.

    I hope he is really this good, because he’s achieving something truly special.

  42. I don’t think Vettel cares all that much. He’s more machine than human anyway ….

    1. I think that vettel is one of the drivers that lives the F1 the most, and that is more focused in the sport… and saying that I believe that he try to not show, but deep in, he’s living a nightmare despite all the winning

  43. Boo thing is related to the stupid idea of interviewing drivers on podium.. Bring back post race press conference and the matter will get resolved…

    1. booing or cheering, a press conference room is about as sanitized and dull a way to get the emotions of the top 3 finishers as I could imagine. Booing is just noise, just like cheering or any other sound.

  44. If domination was damaging the sport, F1 would have perished during the Schumacher years of dominance. Fact is, F1, and motor racing in general, has an advantage over many sports because even if the leader is pasting the field, there are almost always compelling dices going on throughout the field. Today’s race had plenty and that’s why I watch the entire event.

  45. For what it’s worth, where I was at Stamford Grandstand (between Turns 7 and 8), there was nothing but applause for Vettel. The cheers for Alonso and Raikkonen were more fervent and rapturous, but Vettel was applauded heartily too, fitting for someone who won the race.

    I think there are plenty of fans who appreciate and respect his greatness (although we may not think it’s the best thing to be happening as a spectator), just that a very small percentage of extreme-minded fans are branding everyone in this light, giving the impression that there are lots of boos.

    Of course, the comments both here and everywhere else online seem to indicate that there are plenty of them around, but I do think that they’re just a very vocal minority. Unfortunately, they’re also the ones most likely to be rushing in from the gates after the race to be there at the podium ceremonies, so that’s what we have now.

    1. I think there are plenty of fans who appreciate and respect his greatness (although we may not think it’s the best thing to be happening as a spectator), just that a very small percentage of extreme-minded fans are branding everyone in this light, giving the impression that there are lots of boos.

      @czhihong Spot on.

  46. I really don’t get the boos. Vettel is no “villain”. He’s not the type of driver to reveal team secrets in “revenge” for not having number 1 status on a team, or a driver that parks his car on a turn in qualifying or slams opponents who are outpacing him out of contention. Vettel is no Saint, but its a true competitor.

    He truly deserves this championship. However, I would love to see him accept a challenge- move to Mclaren, for example, with the Honda partnership. I’m a Mclaren fan. Would love to see him in a Mclaren and seeing him do what Senna did in the team.

    I am liking Vettel more and more as a racing driver. And the booing is helping. You can see that the booing hurts him. But he is a great sports and jokes at it on the podiums. Keep it up Sebastien.

    1. Mclaren robbery is coming back! By “secrets” you mean “cheating” don’t you? My god a “McLaren fan” defending his team Robbing and using Ferrari technical specs.

      1. Where the heck has he defended that?

        1. He says “team secrets” instead of “team cheating”. It is not exactly the same thing is it?

          1. I repeat, where did he defended that cheating?

  47. Fórmula 1 should be like tea time at Buckingham Palace.

    1. Spare us the passive-agressiveness. Showing proper manners, basic human decency and sportmanship are simple things to expect.

  48. Spot on comment by Martin Brundle past race yesterday : “F1 is not about looking for the lowest common denominator”. People can dislike Vettel, and loathe the fact that he is dominating, but it’s up to the others to give him competition, not up to him to lower his performance.

    1. That s fantastic, now all the booing thing it is aimed to force Vettel to lower his performance. Come on! People are booing at him because he is being arrogant, prepotent, presumptuous, pretentious… While he is driving a far far more superior car. people just do not like arrogant winners (and even less being arrogant wining with so many technical adventages).

      It has nothing to do with lower his performance, it has to do with his actitude.

      1. People are booing at him because he is being arrogant, prepotent, presumptuous, pretentious

        The exact same thing can be said about Alonso, Button, Hamilton, Senna, Prost, Schumacher, etc etc.

        1. No, Vettel has been disloyal with his team mate and obviously australians do not like that arrogant with all his rivals, from different nationalities and teams, in the past you could find rivals / Team mates competing and or argueing each other (Prost / Senna, Schumi / Alonso, Hamilton /Alonso, Button / Hamilton etc.) But all of them had more class winning.

          And none of them being arrogant with everybody else, finger pointing, lying about his actions regarding his team mate… No this guy ‘s been disrespectfull with everybody, rivals, public, his team mate everyone.

          1. Webber has disobeyed team orders before. Twice actually.

            And you have seen very little to believe very little to believe Alonso would have obeyed such an order. Remember, he left McLaren because he wasn’t treated better than his team mate. Hell, last race they called them idiots (or “geniuses” sarcastically, either way, it doesn’t help).

            Button has been extremely vocal about Sergio Perez on the radio, demanding the team to get him out of his way.

            Everything you fault Vettel of doing are actually common traits of F1 drivers. So give me a break, and start posting some actual argument instead of repeating empty cliches.

          2. What? Alonso sabotaged Hamilton’s qualifying in Hungary on purpose, how is this better than not respecting team orders once?

            Vettel has done some questionable things in the past, I agree, but there are drivers who have done much worse than him, and they are cheered every time they are on the podium. Why is that?

          3. Vettel has been disloyal with his team mate

            And Webber was disloyal yo him, and?

            in the past you could find rivals / Team mates competing and or argueing each other (Prost / Senna, Schumi / Alonso, Hamilton /Alonso, Button / Hamilton etc.) But all of them had more class winning.

            And none of them being arrogant with everybody else
            You must be joking or you don’t have watched Formula 1.

      2. Come on! People are booing at him because he is being arrogant, prepotent, presumptuous, pretentious

        Yap, because Schumacher, Alonso, Prost or Senna were examples of humble human beings and modesty

    2. You are right, when Vettel wins he smiles and celebrates. This ****** me off, it’s so arrogant! What about the hurt feelings of the other drivers? Why is he so heartless to take 4 championships while Alonso gets 0, surely he could be a nice guy and let Alonso win for a change, maybe let Webber have a race win some time, at least a pole position. Heck Vettel should probably just sit out a few races to let some others have some fun. But no, he has to be an arrogant ******* and continue to race.

  49. I’m probably repeating what many others have said but everyone is in the sport to win, and achieving world championship status. We follow this sport because it it is the pinnacle of motorsport where not only the talent of the drive,r but the whole team contributes to the spectacle and the enjoyment. Whether it is jealousy or bad sportmanship from the competitors fans it has no place in formula 1. When they boo Vettel they are disrespecting everyone at Red Bull for their contribution to the win. At the end of the day it is the lack of progress in the team they support that they are frustrated about. Vettel is an amazing talent which should be celebrated not denigrated.

  50. Redbull before vettel: mid table team which he beat in the junior team. Redbull after vettel: three time world champions, after nearly ten years without a championship Newey is a god again? If anyone follows rallying look whats happened to citroen without Loeb, never under estimate the impact a driver can have on a team

  51. The way Red Bull dominates is cause of the booing. After you moan about current tyres and in the next GP you get the tyres you want that left room for booing.

    F1 have not forgotten about these moanings:
    https://www.racefans.net/2013/05/12/fourstop-races-horner/

    1. Because Ferrari have never complained about things that don’t suit them, right? Or McLaren? Or almost every team for that matter.

      I know it hurts that RBR is dominating the way they are, but let’s not blind ourselves.

      1. Haven’t heard that complains from Ferrari and/or McLaren after the tyres changes during the season even if there was a team (Ferrari) that was dominating GPs with 2013 tyres while others (…) were struggling to make them working.

        Season 2013 has finished the day Horner has pubicly moaned about tyres and Pirelli switched back to 2012 construction. That’s a fact.
        Here’s more revealing details: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/107432

        About ‘dominations’: same words used by Benetton fans some years ago. Are they all supporting Red Bull now? who are they going to support in a few years?

        1. Haven’t heard that complains from Ferrari and/or McLaren after the tyres changes during the season even if there was a team (Ferrari) that was dominating GPs with 2013 tyres while others (…) were struggling to make them working.

          Read my comment again. More carefully this time. I mentioned how Ferrari and McLaren have also complained about things that don’t suit them, not necessarily this year. That’s not “moaning”, is what all teams do. Welcome to F1.

          Season 2013 has finished the day Horner has pubicly moaned about tyres and Pirelli switched back to 2012 construction. That’s a fact.
          Here’s more revealing details: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/107432

          https://www.racefans.net/2013/05/29/no-change-to-canada-race-tyres/

          The tyres weren’t changed after Horner’s coplaints, but after they exploded in Silverstone, and ALL teams (Ferrari, Lotus and Force India included) agreed to that.

          About ‘dominations’: same words used by Benetton fans some years ago. Are they all supporting Red Bull now? who are they going to support in a few years?

          Pointless thing to post.

          1. this is the explanation I gave for the booing. If you don’t agree ok my friend, boos remain the same ;)

          2. Yes. Two months before. But you implied those comment were the reason why they were changed, and also said they were changed “the next race”, both statements being wrong :-)

        2. @palmerstoneroad

          Horner has pubicly moaned about tyres and Pirelli switched back to 2012 construction.

          That is entirely untrue. The changes that were made to the tyres after the British Grand Prix were a direct result of the potentially dangerous high-speed failures which happened during the race. As described here:

          Kevlar belt tyres for Germany, new tyres for Hungary

          1. Sorry Keith it cannot be denied that Red Bull has complained about tyre management after Barcelona (I have linked to your own alticles after all)

            Then security issues came out and swich to another tyre structure have become necessary

            That switch “helped” some teams more than others, surely not teams that have been developing cars with 2013 structure and till then were performing better than RedBulls

          2. @keithcollantine

            I am sorry but it is just NOT true, tyres were not changed due to safety issues, NOT EVERY CAR had issues, just RDB and Mercedes so they were changed due to safety issues of 2 teams, and instead of asking those teams to adapt their cars to the rules of the competition they decided to CHANGE THE RULES.

            If two teams had safety problems they should not be allowed to race till they do adpat their cars. But instead of doing so FIA decided to change the rules damaging the interest of FORCE INDIA, LOTUS AND FERRARI, etc. the ones that did prepare their car for the rules and specs of the championship.

          3. @palmerstoneroad I did not deny that Red Bull raised complaints about the tyres before they were changed.

            I pointed out the only reason they were changed was because of what happened at Silverstone, as the link I posted in my previous comment makes clear.

            just RDB and Mercedes so they were changed due to safety issues of 2 teams

            The Silverstone failures were not confined to just two teams: Mercedes, McLaren, Ferrari and Toro Rosso all had failures. Vettel’s tyres were on the point of failure before his first pit stop.

          4. @keithcollatine

            looks like other people share the same “impression”…
            http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/red-bull-tyre-change-lobbying-unfair-force-india/

            that was not that difficult to spot ;)

          5. Just because he shares the same impression, it doesn’t make it any less wrong. Two people mistaken don’t become right just because they’re together. Either that or he’s trying to bring the opinion of people less informed to his side to justify the bad results.

            The tyre were changes after they were deemed too unsafe to use, and that was agreed by Ferrari and Force India. Those are not impressions, those are facts. Anything other than that is just plain wrong.

          6. @palmerstoneroad I’d like to see those Force India quotes in their original form as I don’t trust that site to get the facts right (they have purposefully distorted and misrepresented stories in the past, and suppressed criticism from those who call them out on it).

            For the sake of argument I’ll assume the quotes are accurate. Nevertheless if more than one person holds an incorrect view that does not convince me it is correct.

            Red Bull had complained about the tyres before but those complaints had repeatedly failed to lead to any change in the compounds. Without the Silverstone punctures the tyres would have remained unchanged.

            Furthermore your original point was that “tyres were not changed due to safety issues, not every car had issues, just Red Bull and Mercedes” – as I stated in my previous comment it was clearly more than just those teams who had problems, as seen at Silverstone.

            At Silverstone we had tyres exploding without warning and strips of steel-belted rubber flying lethally close to drivers’ heads. This was incredibly dangerous and following that changing the tyres was absolutely the right thing to do.

    2. I was neither agreeing nor disagreeing. I was pointing out how it isn’t “moaning” but something that all F1 teams do (and when you think about it, it’s their job), and correcting you about the timing and reason of the tyre change.

      It had little to do with booing, I was simply correcting your mistakes :-)

      1. MY mistakes sure :D

        It’s F1 politics sure, but if you complain about something and then you get it if people boo you you can’t complain – you have done your job sure but people can still judge

        1. Yes, your mistakes :-) But I’m happy to correct them, so no biggie ;D

          Indeed, people can still judge; it’s a shame that they don’t judge using some reason and common sense, because if they did they would realize we can’t have exploding tyres in F1.

          1. oh welcome back Messiah were all waiting for you :D

            you are keeping mistaking yourself at not being able to distinguish between Pirelli announcing changes to tyre structure after Barcelona and tyre explosions occurred at Silverstone

            I let you infer consequences for these 2 distincts events so you can correct yourself before considering correcting other people

          2. Yes, Pirelli announced tyre changes for Canada (and then Silverstone), but they didn’t actually changed because not all teams were on board:

            http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/todd-mccandless/pirelli-woes-continue_b_3354919.html

            http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/108020

            Only after the explosions, and Ferrari, Lotus and Force India accepting, were the tyres changed.

            It’s good to have the facts clear ;-)

  52. There is so much analysis going on about Vettel’s booing that even Freud’s head would start spinning. I think things are much simpler. It’s not the Multy 21 (who still remembers that?), it’s not his dominance (we had this in the past too many times) and the boring races (this too).
    Look at the picture and it’ll become clear:

    https://www.racefans.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/fans-sing-2013-9.jpg

    It started at Montreal by the Ferrari fans and the thing just stuck. Even at Singapore, it was mostly the Ferrari fans that came from Europe or Australia.

    1. Hamiton and Raikkonen are two extremely popular drivers, too, that’s the FOUR (HAM, RAI, Alonso and Ferrari) biggest fanbases of F1 angry at him.

      Kinda a shame RBR doesn’t have its own solid fanbase. Difficult to be loved by motorheads when you represent an energy drink.

      1. As I said somewhere else, the teams is called Infinity – Red Bull so for the motor-heads there is a car connection almost as valid as it is with the Lotus which just carry the name of the original Lotus team and have nothing in common with it, and are sponsored by Burn, which is energy drink (coca Cola brand) and Mercedes are sponsored by Monster.

  53. im not a vettel fan, but booing is wrong. congratulations to him for an excellent win!

  54. all the people booing are jealous, insecure cowards. booing wont help their favourite driver beat vettel or their favourite team beat redbull, its disappointing their mental state leads them to release their emothions in such a pathetic negative way. if they cant take it, they should just switch off and watch soccer, there is enough idiots they could mingle with in soccer crowds.

  55. Think you are all missing the point of why Vettel is being booed.
    It started after he ignored team orders in Malaysia and took the win from Mark Webber.
    Both drivers received team orders to back off the fuel, back off the gas and remain in the order they were in and defend their position to the finish the race in the order they were in. that is with Mark in the lead, they are to come home with Mark in 1st and Vettel in second.
    Mark wound back his gas, which leads to lessening horse power. Vettel did not. His radio conversations with the pit where very clear he wanted to pass and was continually told NO!
    But he broke team orders and with Mark on reduced horsepower and both unable and not expecting the challenge, Vettel stole the win.
    And remember he tried to do the same in Hungary last year which resulted in Vettel crashing them both out.
    He does not deserve or get my admiration right now.

    1. he ignored team orders in Malaysia and took the win from Mark Webber

      Webber tried to do the same to him at Silverstone in 2011. The only difference is Vettel was successful, Webber wasn’t. Seizing on that as a reason and use it to boo Vettel but not Webber is hypocrisy.

      Besides which booing anyone in this fashion is contemptible, loutish behaviour.

  56. It is NOT just a Ferrari Alonso thing. Fans cheer everyone else on the podium such as Weber, Kimi, etc. Vettel gets booed because he is so unlikeable because of his history of actions. And Vettel will continue to get booed. Sorry spinners…admit the truth…so many F1 fans at sick of the arrogant Vettel. I know I am.

    1. Please, Vettel’s “arrogance” is minimal in comparison to other drivers. I mean, we just saw Alonso calling his teams “idiots” (or sarcastically “geniuses”, which isn’t really much better”.

    2. Yeah, how dare he drive a car faster than everyone else, pass a teammate or celebrate a win.

  57. I’m very late to the party on this one, but I see absolutely no problem with fans booing Seb.

    At the end of the day fan is short for fanatic. Fanatics are usually irrational followers of something,- a driver, a team etc. If a fan of one of Seb’s rivals dislikes the way in which he’s walked away with the last 4 WDCs and any real competition, then go ahead and boo.

    Or should booing be censored? We can only celebrate things, but not voice our displeasure? Cheer or keep quiet? Haha F1 isn’t a communist state, let the fans do what they want as long as no-one gets hurt.

    Seb is a great great driver, and if I were ever at a race win of his, I wouldn’t applaud because I’m not a fan of his, but I wouldn’t boo because I do not dislike him. I’m indifferent, but I wouldn’t have a go at people voicing their opinions with boos. Let them cheer or boo, hell, it even adds to the “show” which is all the powers that be care about nowadays.

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