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Pretty simple question. Is it nationalist pride, or for their fiesty or calculated nature on track or in the garage? Perhaps a bit of both. What makes your preferred team and/or driver?

I support Williams first and foremost, regardless of drivers.

I started watching F1 in the early/mid 80's. My cousin was mad on F1 and supported Williams as he lived in Abingdon, only a few miles from the Williams factory in Didcot at the time.

I started supporting Williams when Mansell started driving for them and have done ever since. First GP I went to was the 1987 British GP that Mansell won. I was stood on Stowe corner that day and have been hooked on F1 ever since!

It pains me to see the team struggling at the back of the grid, but I live in hope (every year to be honest) that they will make it back to the front one day!

With regard to drivers, I don't really support a specific driver, although I do tend to root for any former Williams drivers when they move on to a different team. I can't say I've really had a favourite driver since Jenson retired though.

I began supporting Ferrari when I was six because I thought their red cars looked cool, and that’s just stuck with me ever since.

I couldn’t stand Alonso when he was at Renault and fighting Schumacher, then I loved him when he was at Ferrari fighting Vettel. Now at McLaren I just find him annoying when he holds up Vettel when being lapped.

I used to hate Vettel when he was at Red Bull, but now I love him at Ferrari.

Schumacher will always be number one though.

Ferrari

Although 100% English myself, I have Italian family. I was incredibly close to an Italian cousin just one year younger than me. Through our childhood, he would visit every summer for a month or so. We were both obsessed with cars of any kind and knew every technical detail of cars from the
80's Testarossa to the Austin Metro.

To start with I rebelled against his passion for all Italian cars a liked Lotus and Porsche cars. That ended around the age of 10, the mid 80's when I gave up the pretence and realised how amazing Ferrari cars were. That's when I got interested in F1 and it's been Ferrari ever since.

That said, I do have a love of Williams. I just like what the team have always stood for and the fact they they always seem more friendly compared to McLaren.

Although I was aware of F1 in the late 70s and early early 80s I really started following F1 with Mansell at Williams. When he left my loyalties switched to Hill, again with Williams. After Hill retired I still closely followerd F1 and then when Button came along I thought I would be cheering for him. For some reason however I just never warmed to Button and ultimaterly continued watching as a neutral.

I fell out of love with F1 during the Ferrari/Schumacher domination years, and although I kept up to date with results, I no longer religioulsy watched all the races etc. Then in 2007 Hamilton appeared on the scene and he managed to completely invigorate my love for the sport. I liked everything about his story, his youth, his exciting style, the rags to riches story, it really got me back to a sport I had lost faith in. Roll on to present times and I still cheer for Hamilton, though I also like a few of the other drivers as well.

I would also like to say something about Vettel, I driver I do not actually support, but probably should. There is a lot about Vettel that I admire. I think he is absolutely one of the best in the business. I really like the way he conducts himself away from the sport keeping his private life simple and, well private. I think he has a great sense of humour and at times a sharp wit. As with all the drivers, I really don't care about his occassional tantrums and outburts, these guys are all competative monsters and would steal the last toffee from their Grandma's purses if they thought it would help them win. Yet despite all this and when compared to Hamilton, who's out of car antics and habits often leave me with my head in my hands, I just cannot bring myself to cheer for Vettel.

Ultimately it is likely my own petty national predjudices that preclude me from supporting Vettel. It's almost impossible for "most" Brits to cheer for ze Germans, we have suffered so much sporting hurt at their hands.

Lewis Hamilton. Not out of blind nationalism, I've been watching from the mid-90s and wouldn't say I've ever supported any of the other British drivers in that time. Nor is it because I think he's the best, because Alonso is.

I find him to be an intriguing character and I like how he wears his emotions so openly. Whether he's happy, frustrated or a bit down you can see it both in his interviews and his driving. Not that this is particularly a good thing as it leads to some pretty bizarre behaviour off-track, as well some quite silly errors and the occasional subdued, disinterested performances on-track, but it also means he can do some truly amazing things with a racing car on a good day. Ultimately, it's the slightly flawed characters that I find more endearing.

As for supporting teams, I've never really felt any particular affinity towards any of them, they're all just faceless engineering companies to me. I've always seen the drivers as the stars of the show as they are much easier to relate to than a corporation.

I had a minor interest in F1 from a young age and used to watch the odd race. However Hamilton's debut season in 2007 is what got me properly into F1 and I guess that is partly down to a bit of nationalism (I do also always want to see British drivers do well). If Hamilton wasn't British then I'm not sure I would have had the same interest that I did.

I also quite like Vettel. I remember him being on Top Gear just after he won his first WDC in 2010 and he came across as a really nice guy, and still does! Also a fan of Ricciardo, he's a cool guy and probably the driver on the grid I would most like to go on a night out with.

I don't really support any one driver. There are drivers like Lewis Hamilton that I like better than some others but I also like Sebastian Vettel and very much enjoy when the two have a well matched race. Between the two I will sometimes defend the driver who I feel is being given short shrift in a particular discussion.

To me a driver who has something to prove and is still pushing for results is worth paying attention to. For me Kimi and Fernando are somewhat losing their luster as F1 drivers. Both are drivers with great skills, but seem to be marking time before either retirement or finding the next challenge.

I generally like most of the drivers that show good driving skills and drive with enthusiasm. There are a number of drivers like Sirotkin, Vandoorne, Stroll, and Ericsson that I have never found a reason to like. Seems to me that they are just passing through F1 and will soon take their place with all the also rans that spent a few years in F1 without making any real mark.

I support F1 as a whole because I find excitement in every nook & cranny of the sport, and the deeper you look, the more interesting stuff you come to love.
I support teams and drivers alike and I look for little things they do and can become a supporter of a driver or team because of something they do, how they carry themselves and how they perform.

I also support teams with innovative ideas like Sauber and Toro Rosso and the most recent incarnation of Lotus for pushing limits and trying new concepts, many of which got banned after teams protested even though they'd previously passed FIA inspection & scrutineering. Both Lotus and Toro Rosso had designed and developed floors that cost a hefty sum that were deemed legal by the FIA, only to have them banned after teams protested. Sauber's contributions to the sport have been immense in both the talent they introduced to the word and their innovative developments, with their 2 most recent ones being making the overall design more compact and tidy upon inspecting Sergio Perez's car very closely after his huge shunt in Monaco, and then the Coanda exhaust. Though they are the smallest team, their staff is supremely clever in figuring out these little things that prove so effective everyone else follows suit. Toro Rosso still has a Minardi heart beating in its chest and they brought in so much top talent on their minuscule budgets it's ridiculous. And they still make the best coffee in all of F1.

As such, I will ALWAYS support Sauber, and Force India I support because year after year, that other little team is in the mix and outdoes some of the bigger, well funded teams. Then there is Ferrari… I might not agree with their politics and some of the people there now, but I will always support them, as well as McLaren and Williams, as all 3 have contributed immensely to and supported the sport longer than anyone and have shone a light unlike anyone else. The teams I support the least are Mercedes because of How Brawn was ousted and everyone took credit for his work, and then red Bull for how disloyal and whiny they've been when things don't go their way.

As for drivers, I look to what guys do that leaves me wondering how on earth was he able to do that, pull off that pole position, that overtake, keep the car from snapping all the way around, how he saved it, or how he set himself up to get around a guy or group of guys. That's why I will always support Hamilton, Vettel, Alonso, Raikkonen, Massa, Perez, Ricciardo, Verstappen, and a few others.

Then there are the guys who leave indelible marks and made a significant impact on our lives as fans and racers. For me Michael Schumacher is still the greatest F1 driver of all time, now followed by Hamilton and Vettel and possibly Alonso, but the Professor and Senna as well, both for their feud which has to be the most volatile in the history of all motorsport, as well as their uncanny ability to be at their best when facing one another. For that those 2 will forever garner my support.

And the guy whom I consider to be the greatest race car driver of all time is Mario Andretti and after meeting him several times, he is on a level all his own and I doubt he'll ever be eclipsed.
Honorable mention Robby Gordon… That guy drove well in so many disciplines and series all at once it was incredible, and his first major teammate was none other than The Ironman Ivan Stewart, whom he learned a great deal from.

Lojik wrote:Although I was aware of F1 in the late 70s and early early 80s I really started following F1 with Mansell at Williams. When he left my loyalties switched to Hill, again with Williams. After Hill retired I still closely followerd F1 and then when Button came along I thought I would be cheering for him. For some reason however I just never warmed to Button and ultimaterly continued watching as a neutral.

I fell out of love with F1 during the Ferrari/Schumacher domination years, and although I kept up to date with results, I no longer religioulsy watched all the races etc. Then in 2007 Hamilton appeared on the scene and he managed to completely invigorate my love for the sport. I liked everything about his story, his youth, his exciting style, the rags to riches story, it really got me back to a sport I had lost faith in. Roll on to present times and I still cheer for Hamilton, though I also like a few of the other drivers as well.

I would also like to say something about Vettel, I driver I do not actually support, but probably should. There is a lot about Vettel that I admire. I think he is absolutely one of the best in the business. I really like the way he conducts himself away from the sport keeping his private life simple and, well private. I think he has a great sense of humour and at times a sharp wit. As with all the drivers, I really don't care about his occassional tantrums and outburts, these guys are all competative monsters and would steal the last toffee from their Grandma's purses if they thought it would help them win. Yet despite all this and when compared to Hamilton, who's out of car antics and habits often leave me with my head in my hands, I just cannot bring myself to cheer for Vettel.

Ultimately it is likely my own petty national predjudices that preclude me from supporting Vettel. It's almost impossible for "most" Brits to cheer for ze Germans, we have suffered so much sporting hurt at their hands.

Go back and watch the 2005 & 2006 seasons because they were electrifyingly superb!I'd love to know what you mean by the underlined bit. Hamilton does vastly more than ANYONE else in promoting the sport Globally and outside of F1 he is just a young man enjoying his life, while also tending to his business obligations, both for his team and personal sponsors. He also does plenty of charity work and seems to have an excellent attitudes towards supporting all the causes he champions. The only negative thing I can think of was his tax issues this past year really, and even then he's not doing anything in that situation that anyone else in his position wouldn't do, which is try and minimize the amount of green that governments feel entitled to just because you're getting paid! His tax bracket is ridiculously much higher than us regular folks and tons more of HIS money is taken than you can imagine.

I have been a Ferrari fan since I got a Strombecker slot car set back in the 50s. The Pontoon fendered Ferrari was my favorite, though, I also had an affinity for it's game track competition, the "D" Jag. To be fair though, I was more of a sportscar fan (LeMans, Targa Florio, Sebring) then as opposed to F1. My real "hero" however, didn't drive for Ferrari... Stirling Moss. I followed as much racing as the limited TV coverage allowed, and read every Road & Track Rob Walker race summary... for about every race in any series run.

My love for F1 mostly came to the front when Phil Hill won the WDC in '61... think of it, an American F1 champion and in a Ferrari, the best of both worlds. from that point on, I have been a Ferrari fan, with a big dose of support for Dan Gurney and his team/cars. Through all the years... 57 of them, I have supported Ferrari, even when there was 22 years of no championships. Like everybody, I have had drivers that liked more than others, but while I always supported the Ferrari drivers, my favorite F1 drivers over the years, many/most have come from any team... Ie Moss, Jimmy Clark, Dan Gurney, Hakkinen, Mark Donohue, Ickx, & Ronnie Peterson. I think that had I not been a Ferrari follower, I probably would have been a Lotus fan... especially with Stirling, Jimmy & Ronnie driving for them during those years. My favorite Ferrari drivers over the years have been Ascari, Phil, Bandini, Gilles, Prost, Schumi, Alonso, Rubens, and Massa... the last two due in large part to the extensive coverage and this forum.

To this day, I am much more of a team supporter than a driver supporter... which is much cheaper BTW, no need for new promotional stuff as drivers change teams! I can accept the rough periods, and fully enjoy the successful ones and obviously have had "opportunities" for both! At least I have had 13 championships this century and close in many others.

F1 MERCENARY wrote:
And the guy whom I consider to be the greatest race car driver of all time is Mario Andretti and after meeting him several times, he is on a level all his own and I doubt he'll ever be eclipsed.
Honorable mention Robby Gordon… That guy drove well in so many disciplines and series all at once it was incredible, and his first major teammate was none other than The Ironman Ivan Stewart, whom he learned a great deal from.

Mercenary,

I singled out these two paragraphs because, 1.) I agree that Mario is right at the top for best race car drivers of all time, though I might have Stirling Moss as 1b. Like you, I have a great deal of respect for drivers who have the courage to challenge themselves in multiple racing disciplines. It is very important to me in assessing driver ratings.

Interesting that you mention Robby Gordon as I have a little story to share that I think you will appreciate. Several years ago, I was invited to sit in the executive suite for Home Depot at Talladega. At the time, Tony Stewart was their sponsored driver and he came up to the suite to meet with us and take questions. At the time, I was also a NASCAR fan of the Aussie, Marcos Ambrose who was finally in the cup series, so my question to Tony was, "what are your thoughts on having foreign drivers now coming to F1 (Montoya was there too). He responded that he thought it was great and then he said that Ambrose and Robby Gordon were the greatest natural drivers he had seen in his entire racing career which included sprint cars, sports cars, Indy cars and of course, NASCAR. I thought you might enjoy that story.

Was a Minardi fan, really loved Damon Hill (he was a childhood hero) and then supported Jenson Button as his successor. Now I don't really support anyone aside from the sport itself.

I am a sucker for an underdog, always like to see the dominant parties deposed and love the fact that what goes up always comes down (eventually.) I do miss the days of varied and interesting backmarkers.

I am Dutch and I think this is an interesting queation as regards to the support of Max Verstappen. If you look at other Dutch F1 drivers: Zandvoort is still the centre of Dutch racing and it is the realm of the posh boys and the new money. Albers, Doornbos, Van der Garde; they were rich or married well. The Verstappens were from another area and from humbler background and that really makes a difference. Max is a southerner and is really popular with people from the south of the Netherlands who would never take to him as much if he would be from Amsterdam/Zandvoort. It is also important for his attitude; the fighter/rebel attitude would be different if he was from the “Randstad'” (that is the Amsterdam/Rotterdam/The Hague/Utrecht part of the country)

Gilles Villeneuve and Ronnie Peterson - because they were so fantastic to watch.

Although I never witnessed them driving, I love reading about Tazio Nuvolari and Rudolf Carraciola.

Schumi forever. Which basically now means Vettel forever.
Also, was completely against Alonso 2005-2006. However, came around to supporting him during his Ferrari years. Think he's still the best driver - the only one on current grid who beat schumi at his prime.
Kimi cuz he's Kimi.
Charles cuz he's going to be the party pooper for the orange army for years to come.

F1 MERCENARY wrote: I'd love to know what you mean by the underlined bit. Hamilton does vastly more than ANYONE else in promoting the sport Globally and outside of F1 he is just a young man enjoying his life, while also tending to his business obligations, both for his team and personal sponsors. He also does plenty of charity work and seems to have an excellent attitudes towards supporting all the causes he champions. The only negative thing I can think of was his tax issues this past year really, and even then he's not doing anything in that situation that anyone else in his position wouldn't do, which is try and minimize the amount of green that governments feel entitled to just because you're getting paid! His tax bracket is ridiculously much higher than us regular folks and tons more of HIS money is taken than you can imagine.

Please remember that I am speaking as someone who both likes and supports Hamilton. Firstly I have no problem with his tax affairs. At the level some of these people earn they would be fools not to seek legitamate means to minimise their taxes. I also acknowledge and respect his charitable work and what I believe to be a genuine appreciation of his fans.

I guess what I am less enamoured of can be put down to generational differences that are frankly, for the most part very trivial indeed, his "comedy" fashion tastes or recent veganism for instance (though to his credit he hasn't been particularly preachy about that). I think he can sometimes come across quite badly in interviews and even when having the best of intentions the wording can be a little odd or easily misconstrued. I do find his increasingly shonky spiritualism a little disconcerting and perhaps even a touch worrying of late. I find him to be a complex and facinating character, with a great many positives, and yes a few flaws, and maybe in the best tradition of English sporting greats a dash of eccentricity.

My interest is more with drivers than teams, although I support Hamilton now it's not nationalistic, the driver I supported before was Senna, I wanted Senna to beat Mansell likewise I favoured Schumacher over Hill simply because he was better than Hill, however I could never really take to Schumacher, so it's a combination of the driver being exceptionally good and then having empathy for that driver.

So I've basically supported 2 drivers in the last 34 years, in between that I just revert to being a general fan of F1.

I'm a team person, so it's McLaren for me first, any driver second. Drivers come and go, but the teams define the sport.

It's hard for me to say why I'm a McLaren fan, because I've always been one for as long as I've known anything about F1. Possibly it's because my favorite driver (Prost) was a McLaren driver. Possibly it's because for so long they were the greatest innovators in the sport, always coming up with something new and different. I don't know exactly what it is, but McLaren is my team and always will be.

As for the drivers, I like clean, fast drivers who are preferably team players. My current favorite driver is Alonso, and it's been a strange journey to get there: ten years ago, I would have told you that I hated Alonso for stabbing McLaren in the back. But over the course of his struggles in weaker cars against first the Red Bull juggernaut and then the Mercedes juggernaut, I came to respect him above any other current driver, and when he rejoined McLaren and made it clear he was back to win another title and finish his business with them I was won over. His forays into other motorsport since then have only seen my respect for him grow, and I now believe he is the most complete driver on the grid, as well as the one most unfairly treated by fortune.

I don't know who will replace Alonso when he retires. My favorite driver hasn't always been a McLaren driver, although I do like what I see from Norris. Ricciardo is a driver I like a good deal, as is Charles Leclerc - he seems to have it all, being fast, clean, and genuinely nice and respectful to his fellow drivers. Although I'm sure he's going to end up driving the red car, I could easily see him taking over from Alonso as my favorite driver in a year or two.

First race I ever watched start to finish was Adelaide '94 (caught a bit of Brazil that year, never really dawned on me till I was older just how lucky I probably am to have to have had one glance at Senna as it was happening), and as a Brit, was rooting for Damon. The events that happened in that race shaped my dislike of Schumacher Mk 1 for a lifetime in a racing sense, though I ostensibly warmed to him in his Mk 2 phase at Mercedes. Post Hill sliding into obscurity at Arrows, I kinda picked McLaren as my favourite team, then they got pretty good in '98 and found themselves with a common foe to me (the aformentioned Schumacher) but I never really warmed to either driver at the time. Jordan were in the height of their great liveries so I always had a bit of a spot for them, though the continued theme was tending to favour the British drivers/teams. With the advent of Hamilton at McLaren, it was kind of a perfect storm for me, British driver in a team I had liked before taking the world by storm. I dont think ill ever forget 'that' race in Brazil for as long as I live (it was the first race I convinced my girlfriend of the time to watch, now married to her with 2 kids).

Button was always a good laugh too, cheered him on when he won the WDC, though admittedly it felt a bit hollow given the advantage at the start of the season (not as hollow as deciding not to lump on him at 80/1 to be WDC after the first test as 'surely' Brawn were glory running for sponsors).

Since then, i've followed Hamilton to a point; I find him utterly insufferable out of the car, but in it, the boy does magic, moreso for me than any other driver i've properly watched in F1. If I had to pick a team right now though, it'd probably be FI; always loved the little guy who can consistently stick it to the big boys despite any shortcomings.

I don't support or follow any driver or team. For me, the fascination lies in the sport, the different driving styles and abilities, the relative strengths and weaknesses of the cars... and of the teams and finally, the never ending machinations and politics.
I had a hero when I was a kid; Stirling Moss, but since April 23 1962, it's simply been the sport.

It was my first year at university and the first F1 race I watched was 1 May 1994, lying on the couch suffering an unimaginable hungover. I only got off the couch at around 7pm that day. Caught up by the events of that day, I loosely followed F1 missing many races but always picking up Schumacher winning....That's where I became a big Schumacher fan...

His move to Ferrari did not impress me at all and I endured a few seasons of pain as the unreliability of the Ferrari from 1997-1999 was unbearable to watch. So, as soon as Schumacher retired in those years during the races I would stop watch the race.

So, I've pretty much been supporting Schumacher and Ferrari all the time.....In 2003, Kimi in the McLaren was simply brilliant and the fight between himself and Schumacher was incredibly tense during the whole season. I was happy Schumacher won the title, but I still believe that Kimi lost the title because of an unreliable car.....same thing in 2005....the unreliable McLaren that Kimi was challenging Alonso with lost Kimi that 2005 WDC.....then in 2006, the engine failure in Japan lost Schumacher the 8th title....that was such a low point for me as I could not stand Alonso....So, naturally, when Schumacher retired and Kimi moved to Ferrari, I was overjoyed! So, Ferrari and McLaren were the two teams that I liked the most......the came 2007 when Alonso and Hamilton stepped into the McLaren....since then, I cannot stand McLaren.

2007, was the best season for me with Kimi taking the 2007 WDC. I think that it should have been his third title...after 2003 and 2005. In 2008, I was sure he would win the WDC, but something strange happened in Ferrari following his second place at the 2008 French Grand Prix. Kimi was dominating Massa at all races before that race, but afterwards Kimi had not pace in the Ferrari. 2009, was just an aweful Ferrari and the politics around Alonso join Ferrari and Kimi having to make was, made me sick fo the Ferrari team to be honest...so, I am not supporting the team 100% but Kimi for sure 100%...

As said above 'Kimi', watched his first race and was hooked. Yes if it hadn't been for the Mercedes engines failing he would have had three titles (even Norbut admitted they owed him a championship), also he fought with Schumacher and beat him just as well as Alonso did. Didn't want to see him at Ferrari as I didn't and don't trust them, but at least he did get the championship with them so am grateful for that. Have been re-watching some of his old races recently and watching him come through after having to drop back 10 places due to engine problems was equal to anything Hamilton did in the last race.

Looking at my track record, I tend to support good drivers and poor teams. I love Williams, McLaren and Force India (RIP) but don’t have one team that I root for above all others, though I guess Williams are possibly my favourite.

Driver wise, I think Alonso is a genius and it’s a tragedy that he won’t win another championship. Ricciardo is amazing and he easily beat Vettel, so has little left to prove (to me) so I always root for him. I acknowledge that Hamilton is a driving genius whilst simultaneously being unable to like him because of all the stupid things that come out of his mouth.

In reality, I spend my Sundays half heartedly shouting “Oh come on Lance!!” before finally shouting “Oh FFS! AGAIN?”

klevispin wrote:Looking at my track record, I tend to support good drivers and poor teams. I love Williams, McLaren and Force India (RIP) but don’t have one team that I root for above all others, though I guess Williams are possibly my favourite.

Driver wise, I think Alonso is a genius and it’s a tragedy that he won’t win another championship. Ricciardo is amazing and he easily beat Vettel, so has little left to prove (to me) so I always root for him. I acknowledge that Hamilton is a driving genius whilst simultaneously being unable to like him because of all the stupid things that come out of his mouth.

In reality, I spend my Sundays half heartedly shouting “Oh come on Lance!!” before finally shouting “Oh FFS! AGAIN?”

A bit harsh to call them poor teams, Williams and McLaren may not be doing well now but are both great teams and FI punches well above it's weight and always did from it's Jordan days.

Firstly nationalist, but it's Scottish rather than British so I'm kinda lacking in people to support right now.

Outside of that I find myself chopping and changing based on feel. When someone says I don't support a team I just like football I think they're a weirdo, but I really am just an F1 fan. Certain people I inexplicably take to more than others -

Always preferred Perez over Hulk. Hamilton's preachy stuff annoys me but I often find myself wanting him to win. I find the Kimi act tiresome but I really want him to win. I love aggressive drivers but I can't bring myself to support Max.

I'm a Williams supporter because as kid Nigel Mansell was the driver that I supported back then in the 80s and 90s.

I support Lewis Hamilton because he is from the British Isles, but if there was a Scot in F1 then I would support them first and foremost.

Lewis because I was born in England.

Hamilton because I only really became properly interested in F1 when I heard there was this new British driver in F1 called Lewis Hamilton and he had finished 3rd in his first race. Previous to that, my perception of F1 was that Schumacher always won and it was boring. Now, I wish I had been interested in F1 before 2007 because I think I could have coped with Schumacher's dominance by following other drivers and teams. There are drivers I would like to see being successful now (Ricciardo, Bottas) and there are drivers I only like when they're not winning (Vettel and Alonso).

Tifosi all the way and always the lead driver whoever it is that the team decides.
I may not always agree with the calls or strategy but always pull for the #1.
Have since early 70's and always will.
I like other drivers and have no problem with them coming in second
Remember it's the constructors trophy that means the most.
When Vettle leaves who ever slides in the seat will be who I pull for.

I used to support Tyrrell until they 'went West' then sort of fell into Mclaren.
Since the Ron Dennis saga I really do not feel the same about Mclaren and sort of 'Freelance' from weekend to weekend.
I usually end up with some bias to Hamilton Bottas and Mercedes, Mad Max is always worth watching, for which ever reason, but I find myself now getting more into Toro Rosso and sometimes get a warm glow from the Sauber Alfa doing well. My view from the rocking chair is somewhat blurred unless I concentrate though, and I suspect I will follow Russel and Norris from next year.

Reason? Don't know. I did not like Schuie for many years but in the end I was all behind him. Never liked Senna at all always hoped he would DNF.

Suppose its like asking which flavour ice cream do you like. Some people love coconut and curry, other hate it.

Renault.

I started watching in the 2000s and they were competative and their cars always stood out.

I like watching them now because they are making strides towards respectability

Underviewer wrote:Hamilton because I only really became properly interested in F1 when I heard there was this new British driver in F1 called Lewis Hamilton and he had finished 3rd in his first race. Previous to that, my perception of F1 was that Schumacher always won and it was boring. Now, I wish I had been interested in F1 before 2007 because I think I could have coped with Schumacher's dominance by following other drivers and teams. There are drivers I would like to see being successful now (Ricciardo, Bottas) and there are drivers I only like when they're not winning (Vettel and Alonso).

Sadly, you are not alone in feeling that way, but to not watch during that time is to deny oneself of simply BRILLIANT racing all-around. Just as today you can take great enjoyment from watching midfield battles and battles throughout the field, that has been the case every season. And on top of that, to watch Michael was to watch a damn near machine! Today's guys are sure as hell look every bit as superb most of the time, but the difference between them and Michael can only be truly known by watching his drives. So many rush out to champion Senna as the GOAT, but I watched them both and Michael was simply just a wee bit more than even the great Senna was. While Senna was dedicated to the sport he so loved, Michael was outright obsessed at being the best and ALWAYS worked on improving himself to the point he literally isolated himself for a long period of time and put in vastly more practice laps than anyone by a long shot. So while many people run out and declare his car was simply too superior or he had special tires, that's not entirely true. The man put in DILIGENTLY HARD WORK and was ALWAYS prepared come Saturday and even more so on Sundays. And while I say that, that also speaks to the quality driver Rubens was as well. Of all of Michael's teammates, he was consistently the one closest to his level and at times was outright better.

I suggest you go back and watch all the way from 1992 all the way through 2006 and tell me F1 wasn't every bit as good, fun and fast as it is today.

I don't support a single driver, but I prefer some drivers to others. The ones I prefer? The ones that come across as intelligent and calm/well-grounded, mature. That is pretty much it really. It's not that I don't value natural talent/speed, but if I see a driver make a choice that is not obvious at the time and then that choice pays off, that is my driver. To give an example, Button's tyre change choices in rain affected races made me root for him at quite a few races. (It helped a lot that he is a generally likable character).

As secondary traits, I also appreciate drivers who are good at race starts and anyone who is good in the rain.

Ferrari. As a kid I was given a little 1:18 Ferrari car, while my brother was given a Macca. Wild guess who became fan of which team! I got the red car as it was my favourite colour.

I do like other teams, I loved Jordan and the liveries, Arrows and even paid a bit attention to Macca, the big rival through the years.

Drivers come and go, I am a Schumie fan and now the one I like the most is probably Vettel, though he is letting himself down. I also have a soft spot for Massa, Ricciardo, Button, Rosberg, Jarno, Fisico and a few others.

Mine has been a transition. Damon Hill, then he retired and it was Hakkinen for a few years. Then he retired and it was Kimi as I was happy he was going to Mclaren, and finally Lewis.

I've never supported a specific team, mostly drivers that excited me on track.

I'm going to be totally honest here and I don't have an allegiance to a certain team.

Growing up it used to be Williams / Damon Hill then McLaren / Coulthard and then Hamilton / McLaren followed by Hamilton / Mercedes. All British based.

However, when Lewis retires I think I'll support Russell or Norris (being British) but most likely Leclerc and Ocon as I think they're brilliant. I cannot warm to Max despite acknowledging what a driver he is!

So as you see, I've always gone for British based but have been fortunate to always have a decent British driver driving (predominately) for a British team.

Frenk Biber wrote:I am Dutch and I think this is an interesting queation as regards to the support of Max Verstappen. If you look at other Dutch F1 drivers: Zandvoort is still the centre of Dutch racing and it is the realm of the posh boys and the new money. Albers, Doornbos, Van der Garde; they were rich or married well. The Verstappens were from another area and from humbler background and that really makes a difference. Max is a southerner and is really popular with people from the south of the Netherlands who would never take to him as much if he would be from Amsterdam/Zandvoort. It is also important for his attitude; the fighter/rebel attitude would be different if he was from the “Randstad'” (that is the Amsterdam/Rotterdam/The Hague/Utrecht part of the country)

Very interesting and very true. I am from the Netherlands too (Maastricht) and the way people talk about him is most of the times very positive. It would indeed be different if he had been growing up with money and would buy a seat to race. Jos had money but put mostly all of that in the training of Max. Every day they trained and trained. His first concern wad to get sponsors because it's very expensive to give him all this training an racing gear etc. It's a rich mans world and Jos didn't came from money himself so that migjt have helped him in making good solid financially decisions and really planning Max his career step by step in advanve. Sponsors were the big thing he needed to have otherwise it would fail.

My girlfriend visited their home when they needed some interior advice a few years ago. This was just before Max got promoted to Red Bull's first team. Max is just a down to earth guy. Very humble and easy going and nothing posh about him. Dirty clothes in the room, bed not made etc. like any teanager. Max his focus is pure racing, racing and racing. Lives and breaths racing. Others might have that too but not like that. Some need to unwind after some intense training but he goes on and on and on.
That migjt be a big part why he is liked by a lot of different people. They can sonehow relate a bit to him.

I've read that is is arrogant here on the forum. Hardly the case when I hear other people speak about him. I met him briefly a few years ago when he was driving for TR and of course you don't really know a person but you could tell he was really just being himself. Friendly and curious, interested.

He has a great sense of humour that doesn't come acros well all the time on tv but that is also great.
He just is himself an people like that. No perfect answers all the time. No fake "you are the best crowd ever" every race. People like that in a driver and it might be the reason why a loy of people can relate to him somehow.


To answer the question in this topic. People can choose for a driver because of nationality but can stay because of personality. The other Dutch drivers weren't really interesting to me personally. You could feel seats were "bought" to finance the team and you didn't see the same commitment as you can clearly see in Max.

I am not born in Finland but I really like the Finish drivers. Kimi is fantastic. Where he drives. It's the personality that makes me stay with a driver.

Team wise, Ive supported Williams through their connection to CART. I was a fan of CART before I ever got into F1. Villeneuve going over was the beginning of a casual following, but once they signed my 2 favourite driver of all time (Zanardi then Montoya) I was on board the Williams fan train.

Driver wise, as an Aussie, I always have a natural bias to my countrymen. Like the poster above me said, you stay as a fan because of the personality, so I’m glad Danny Ric is one of the best personalities out there.
Outside of Australian drivers, I lean towards drivers who tend to have an aggressive driving style. So your Zanardis, Montoyas, Verstappens etc. I’ve always loved Hakkinen and Raikkonen, purely for their personalities. I just love their directness

Driver - Sebastian Vettel. I'm born in the US so no country connection. His talent is obvious, but it was really his kind and patient behavior with fans back in 2007 that caught my notice. I was a dedicated fan when he got the seat in STRF. I met him again years later in Austin and he was as casually nice and patient as he'd been at Indy, although much older and a two time champ by then. I support other drivers as well, but he's the top.

I am more a driver fan, but I have a great amount of liking and respect for Red Bull. I like their spirit and their kick and what they have achieved in so short a time is pretty phenomenal.