F1 Fans - Fickle or Fair?

[BeansBeansBeans]

This thread is inspired by the strong criticism of Felipe Massa following his lacklustre performance in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday. It seems that one poor performance is all it takes to turn a potential World Champion into a chump, even if they qualified on pole just a day earlier.

Are F1 fans fickle? Should drivers at the pinnacle of the sport expect to be strongly criticised when they don’t deliver the goods? Does the old maxim of “You’re only as good as your last race” still apply?

What are your thoughts?

[Mark]

Considering how much most of these guys are paid, I would say that expectations of them are rightly sky high. When you are being paid that much and have that much depending on you, having an off day is no excuse.

[ioan]

I would answer "fickle".

[BDunnell]

This thread is inspired by the strong criticism of Felipe Massa following his lacklustre performance in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday. It seems that one poor performance is all it takes to turn a potential World Champion into a chump, even if they qualified on pole just a day earlier.

Are F1 fans fickle? Should drivers at the pinnacle of the sport expect to be strongly criticised when they don’t deliver the goods? Does the old maxim of “You’re only as good as your last race” still apply?

What are your thoughts?

I think that anyone who goes off on one about a driver (or a team or car) on the basis of one performance isn't a true F1 enthusiast — I prefer that word to 'fan'. I also find the very strong allegiances some people have to particular drivers bizarre. Personally, I watch all forms of motorsport for the races themselves, rather than because I follow one particular driver or team in each series. I get much more enjoyment out of them that way than I would if I was constantly rooting for Kimi Raikkonen, or Sebastian Loeb, or whoever.

The other thing I'd say is that it doesn't matter what F1 drivers get paid. By that reckoning, I ought to be working half as hard as someone who gets paid twice as much as I do.

[ArrowsFA1]

By and large F1 fans stick by the drivers they support or like through thick and thin. Fickle fans are likely to have no more than a passing interest in F1 and tend to support whoever is doing well at that particular time.

Should drivers be criticised when they don't deliver? That's difficult to answer without referring to specifics, and without covering ground that is being covered in other threads.

[wedge]

I think we're both fair and fickle - we call it as we see it, though fans who have favourite drivers are certainly more fickle! :P

'You're only as good as your last race' is very true in F1 because its a cut-throat business, but you should be prepared to give drivers the benefit of the doubt - this seems to be the case with Nico Rosberg.

People easily remember the great feats of Gilles Villeneuve yet many forget that he was nicknamed 'Air Canada' in his rookie year because of his habit of crashing and going airborne.

The thing with Massa is that it took him an extraordinarily few years to get to where he is and quite naturally at this moment in time it has been difficult not to describe Massa as 'inconsistent' and 'erratic'.

[BeansBeansBeans]

By and large F1 fans stick by the drivers they support or like through thick and thin. Fickle fans are likely to have no more than a passing interest in F1 and tend to support whoever is doing well at that particular time.

I'd disagree with that. I don't support a particular driver or team, yet I'd consider myself to have much more than a passing interest in F1. Nor would I say I was fickle.

[ArrowsFA1]

I'd disagree with that. I don't support a particular driver or team, yet I'd consider myself to have much more than a passing interest in F1. Nor would I say I was fickle.

Perhaps I didn't word it well!

By and large regular F1 fans, if they support a driver at all, stick by the drivers they support through thick and thin. Those who have a mere passing interest in the sport are likely to be more fickle and tend to support whoever is doing well at that particular time.

But we are talking about the criticism of drivers here, and fans of those drivers are likely to defend 'their' man, whether the criticism is justified or not.

[ioan]

Perhaps I didn't word it well!

By and large regular F1 fans, if they support a driver at all, stick by the drivers they support through thick and thin. Those who have a mere passing interest in the sport are likely to be more fickle and tend to support whoever is doing well at that particular time.

But we are talking about the criticism of drivers here, and fans of those drivers are likely to defend 'their' man, whether the criticism is justified or not.

Very good point.
Couldn't put it any better.

[janneppi]

Not every fan* have strong opinions about all the drivers, i'm not that bothered by midfield and backwards, same with new drivers. I'm not a fair weather fan, but reserve the right to be fickle.