I can never in the past remember a grand prix winner ever get booed on the podium as much as Sebastian Vettel. He has been booed at victories in Canada, Belgium and Italy and I cant imagine he would get a positive response at the British, Spanish, Indian or Australian Grand Prixs. He has revealed his true colours this year after his treatment of his team mate Webber in Malaysia but a few comments he has made recently have been a bit sickly and arrogant. He also seems to enjoy winding up his opponents at every chance which seems a bit childish. So has Vettel lost touch with the fans?
I think Vettel is just suffering from his own success, a lot of people love the underdog and Vettel couldn't be further from that. He has many personal flaws but so do many drivers, its just the fact that he's winning and people are looking to put him down that these flaws seem so great. How long before someone claims he's unliked because he's German?
Agreed with BLS, everyone loves an Underdog.. As long as the driver(s) I like don't part take in anything illegal, I couldn't give a damn about their personal flaws. I see nothing wrong in being a driven individual, which Vettel is, he appears to be motivated to become the best and then remain there for as long as possible, whether or not he wins a popularity contest whilst getting to his goals I think it matters not a jot to him! It may become an issue in the future if he starts to do more endorsements, but that's when the clever marketing people start to earn their bucks..
Vettel wasn't booed at Belgium, was greenpeace getting in the way. The British booed him just like the Germans booed Lewis when he drove past
Vettel is doing a great job but I think real F1 fans think its about these super Newey Machines more than Vettel. But I remember the Tifosi booing Lewis last year. Im not a fan of Italian sports fans whether it be in F1 or Seria.
I agree. This is amplified by his success. But some winners do it with grace and give a bit of respect to their competitors. Does he want to be remembered as a legend or a villain of the sport?
His success has become predictable now. While many fans wish for another winner and more of a race for the win, too often they are disappointed. It's not his fault but he is making the sport very dull unless you're a Seb fan.
It's not a case of just Vettel though because both Hamilton and Alonso have been booed at various races over the last few years (Hamilton to a sickening extent). I think it's just because we have drivers that people can fanboy over again. I don't understand the need for such negativity myself but I suppose tensions can run high.
I think that some people have only just recovered from the Schumacher era, and we're potentially heading in to a period of dominance that dwarfs what Schumacher did... so fans (other than Vettel fans) are beginning to become weary of it. As for boos... those will always occur at the more partisan events unfortunately. Not much can change that.
my point was Seb being unpopular at a growing amount of venues. I know first hand how unpopular Alonso was in 2008 sitting all alone @ silverstone with my Fernando cap surrounded by Hamilton caps.
Surely you mean 'fanboys of other drivers think it's about these super Newey Machines', As Newey has been around for years and not been able to produce a WDC winning car since Hakinnen drove for McLaren, and his team-mate hasn't won a race, as to his 'treatment of Webber' **** Webber, how many times has Webber tried to screw Vettel over? the biter got bitten and cried, as usual, sadly too many people are still living in the 1940's when a German is concerned.
I knew you'd come in and just complain about Webber Miggins I don't think it's anything to do with racism, I think it's more to do with the fundamental human jealousy of success.
Gary Andersons view: Vettel deserves respect, not boos http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/24024226
In short "Yes" he is an unpopular winner, whether it is justified is still a debatable subject - rightly or wrongly. I think unless your an utter fanboy (and even then it must be boring seeing your hero win - mostly unchallenged), F1 supporters 'can' feel short changed when watching what tends to seem a pre dertimned result. Its potentially akin to watching your prem football team hammer a lower league team in a cup match and as a result tends to result in lower gates - which reflects the lack of value certain fans see in paying to watch an inevitable result - reflected in the betting odds. Even Schumacher - who won in the Benetton prior to the domintaion years at Ferrari - seems to have been granted more respect for his achievments than Vettel does at present, and I think this is down to the fact that there were drivers and machinery that were able (on most occassions) to give him an element of competition. The question is, who is better and why? Until Vettel breaks free of his comfort zone (in both machinery and team mate (current and future)) it will be difficult to judge. Who knows he may partner Alonso at Ferrari or Lewis at Merc in 2016 and wipe the floor with them - but I suspect we will never know while he hunts the records that Schumacher set. Plus he is German which always clouds the issue further!
