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Started supporting Nelson Piquet initially, around 1981. Had a very smooth driving style and at the time was touted as the fastest man in F1. I loved the fact he was flamboyant and a practical joker, too (there were a few like that, then and we don't really get "characters" like that anymore, sadly). Some of his driving was amazing and his overtake of Senna at Hungary in 1986 still ranks as my all time favourite for the sheer car control and on-the edge driving it displayed. I was sad when he left at the end of 1991 and was in a bit of a vacuum, but Senna gradually won me over, particularly with his 1993 season, which I would rank as one of his best ever. IMO he dragged that car to places it shouldn't have been and was something special to see. I started following McLaren around then, too. I think Formula 1 definitely lost more than just a driver when Senna passed away and after his death I didn't really support any particular driver for a while, but rooted for whoever was driving for McLaren. I supported Hakkinen, although I was never an ardent fan of his, and that transferred to Kimi after Hakkininen left. Truth be told, it took me a while to take to Kimi as I didn't like his surly attitude (and even now I find some of his interviews cringeworthy), but some of his driving in the early days was something special and I also liked the fact that he was fairly apolitical, something which was becoming rarer by the day in F1. No games, just went out there and drove.

When Kimi left McLaren I followed him as, although I still wanted McLaren to do well, I didn't take to either of the drivers they had at the time. So although I wasn't a "Red" I began rooting for Ferrari because Kimi drove for them. In my heart, though, McLaren is still my favourite team and their current situation is fairly gut-wrenching. I really want them to be back at the front where they belong (IMO).

I still support Kimi but I have to say I'm disappointed that he appears to need the Michelins to truly shine. Makes supporting him a frustrating experience! I like Vettel, too, although like Hakkinnen it's more of an association thing. I do like his personality out of the car quite a lot (although in the car he can be a bit of an idiot sometimes!), as he seems to be quite a nice guy, and I really like the fact that he rarely plays the overt mind games that some of his competitors do, similar to Kimi. He's also blindingly quick, which helps.

Other than that, I find myself really wanting Alonso to do well, although that's a little strange because I don't actually like him that much! All this constant self promotion and silly mind games is a huge turn off for me, as is his arrogant attitude. I just really want McLaren to rediscover their mojo and I think his talent is second to none so is best placed to bring home the rewards if they do.

oh, and it's definitely not down to nationalistic pride, unless my mother's hiding something from me

A question I think is appropriate for this thread - For those who support teams, do you find yourselves supporting drivers who used to race for your team?

I’ve been asked before whether I was happy that Rosberg and Bottas did well, because they moved from Williams to a better team, and if I still support them. Personally, I didn’t find myself cheering for them post-Williams. What about the rest of the PF1ers?

bradtheboywonder wrote:A question I think is appropriate for this thread - For those who support teams, do you find yourselves supporting drivers who used to race for your team?

I’ve been asked before whether I was happy that Rosberg and Bottas did well, because they moved from Williams to a better team, and if I still support them. Personally, I didn’t find myself cheering for them post-Williams. What about the rest of the PF1ers?

For me, partly. I followed Senna from McLaren to Williams (although still retained my McLaren allegiance) and Kimi from McLaren to Ferrari (and Lotus and back to Ferrari). Although there have been drivers who have been at McLaren who I do not support or have followed, so it's definitely not an automatic thing

For me, I support Hamilton as he is a British driver. But to be honest, I don't have a driver I dislike so when he leaves, assuming we don't have another Brit I'll probably follow whoever I find exciting.

I own a DR 'Shoey' t-shirt so maybe I'll support him... Or at least just cheer when he does well.

For the most part I'm more a fan of the sport than drivers or teams. I find the ingenuity behind the tech and working the rules to their nth degree fascinating. Of course it also drives me nuts when they ignore simple solutions to problems just to stick to some legacy ideal. ::cough::ground effects::cough::

But the drivers and their personalities do bring a lot to the value of the sport. For the most part if you take Zoue's post and replace Piquet with Andretti and liking Vettel a little more and Alonso a little less my feelings on drivers and teams pretty much line up.

bradtheboywonder wrote:A question I think is appropriate for this thread - For those who support teams, do you find yourselves supporting drivers who used to race for your team?

I’ve been asked before whether I was happy that Rosberg and Bottas did well, because they moved from Williams to a better team, and if I still support them. Personally, I didn’t find myself cheering for them post-Williams. What about the rest of the PF1ers?

I generally do. I wished Rubens, Filipe, and Mando well... Just not at the expense of the current Ferrari drivers.

bradtheboywonder wrote:A question I think is appropriate for this thread - For those who support teams, do you find yourselves supporting drivers who used to race for your team?

I’ve been asked before whether I was happy that Rosberg and Bottas did well, because they moved from Williams to a better team, and if I still support them. Personally, I didn’t find myself cheering for them post-Williams. What about the rest of the PF1ers?

It's a mixed bag, so no real pattern. I supported Kimi after he left Macca, and I would have supported Jenson if he'd raced anywhere else. However I was quite angry with Fernando at the time (that changed over time), and I thought Lewis left the team for selfish reasons. I don't have any particular liking for Checo or KMag because of their time with McLaren, either.

So basically the answer is no. Once a driver isn't racing for McLaren anymore, I go back to evaluating them based on whether I would have supported them anyway. The only thing is that if someone puts in enough years for Macca I will generally look favorably on them for the rest of their career.

Exediron wrote:

bradtheboywonder wrote:A question I think is appropriate for this thread - For those who support teams, do you find yourselves supporting drivers who used to race for your team?

I’ve been asked before whether I was happy that Rosberg and Bottas did well, because they moved from Williams to a better team, and if I still support them. Personally, I didn’t find myself cheering for them post-Williams. What about the rest of the PF1ers?

It's a mixed bag, so no real pattern. I supported Kimi after he left Macca, and I would have supported Jenson if he'd raced anywhere else. However I was quite angry with Fernando at the time (that changed over time), and I thought Lewis left the team for selfish reasons. I don't have any particular liking for Checo or KMag because of their time with McLaren, either.

So basically the answer is no. Once a driver isn't racing for McLaren anymore, I go back to evaluating them based on whether I would have supported them anyway. The only thing is that if someone puts in enough years for Macca I will generally look favorably on them for the rest of their career.

Yeah I think you summed up my thoughts exactly. Once Nico and Bottas left, they became subject to the personality test. Hence why I still loved Montoya when he went to Macca

I'm a team first sort of person. Why exactly Ferrari turned out to be my favourite team isn't entirely clear to me; some of it is certainly the history, some of it is probably that red has always been my favourite colour and I thought the red cars looked so cool as a kid (still do, obviously), and some of it is something less easy to define about the spirit of the team. I have my disagreements with the way the team is managed from time to time, of course, but I'll always support Ferrari first, the other long-running teams second (McLaren, then Williams).

There are drivers I support more than others. I'm not sure what the pattern is; perhaps it's the people I find more relatable, which also tend to be the ones who keep to themselves more. Certainly speed is a factor, and good clean driving, but if those were the only criteria I'd have more favourite drivers than I do.

bradtheboywonder wrote:A question I think is appropriate for this thread - For those who support teams, do you find yourselves supporting drivers who used to race for your team?

I’ve been asked before whether I was happy that Rosberg and Bottas did well, because they moved from Williams to a better team, and if I still support them. Personally, I didn’t find myself cheering for them post-Williams. What about the rest of the PF1ers?

Sometimes. I pay more attention to the drivers who race for Ferrari, and if I determine that I like one of them I'll keep supporting them if they go somewhere else. If they've been there long enough I'll certainly keep a thought for them at their new team, but beyond that, it's all back to whether or not I would support them individually once they leave.