Vettel

[Rag_It]

so why do you all hate him?

I was about to ask exactly the same question.....

[j2 lot]

Dont think anyone has said they hate him ( not in so many words anyway) but his dominance has lessened interest in the sport because it is so predictable and constant and probably more noteably he has achieved it with apparent ease.
Schumacher also dominated but needed to work for it, and wasnt above throwing the odd dirty tactic in to achieve the desired result.

[robin]

I quite like him, actually - since he did his TG interview where he came across well.

He's motivated to win at all costs, as any racing driver at that level should be. He is smart, plays the strategic game not just for the race but the season as a whole - he overtook Webber to take the win - IMHO he did that so that Webber would know to stay the fcuk out of his way or be prepared to take it to the tyre wall if required. He's had what appears to be an easy season of it but I think he'll still be at the front somewhere when another team finally combines the cash + talent required to make a better car.

It's a shame they elected to promote Ricardio (sp?) - he'll perhaps be quick but he's never going to push Vettel around like say Alonso would.

Of course he's done plenty of overtaking but as his car is so much faster per lap I guess he had a speed advantage somewhere on the circuit for every circuit they visited - that plus DRS means that it was always going to be "easy" to return to the front after the pit stops.


Cheers,
Robin

[BiggestNizzy]

F1 is as dull as dishwater now, The partial move to sky hasn't helped but that's not the reason.

Red bull do what they do and do it well the change of tyres pretty much gifted it to them. But the other teams and drivers need to get their finger out and stop playing at being an F1 team for the appearance money.

I also blame the FIA and the comercial partner. If at any point in the season you have a technical advantage you will win a string of races and win the championship before anyone can catch up.

Vettels character will come out when he starts getting beat. A bit like Hamilton who was a bit of a nob when he was winning turned into an unsuferable bell end when he wasn't but now appears to be alright.

[sendmyusername]

I don't dislike vettel.
I agree, he came across very well on top gear, relaxed, pleasant, and intelligent, unlike some of the PR'd drivers.
I just rate him alongside damon hill.
Great when in front, suspect when overtaking.
What annoys me the most about f1 now isn't vettel, it's the entire premise that to win ypu need to go as slow as possible whilst staying in the front.
No one will ever know just how good the red bull of this and last year was, as they never went full pelt for any length of time

[dlogan]

Maybe it was picked as my post has the word "hate" but I didnt say I hated him and I dont hate him. I think what I was trying to get at is people generally hate to see such one sided "dominance".

[hendeg]

He's motivated to win at all costs, as any racing driver at that level should be.

I think that's the reason people don't like him. I don't agree with the 'win at costs' mentality. For me, it's about the manner of winning - the old-school sportsmanship. There's nothing wrong with pushing yourself to be better than everyone else but when it essentially comes down to being prepared to cheat then you're crossing the line.

It's not just because he's winning all the time. You could look at Rossi as an example - most people loved him when he was winning all the time.

[greyrigg]

The results are the results, no point arguing.

Comparing drivers of any previous era is pointless. More races per season, different points structures better reliability.

Besides, a lot of the midgets we have racing now probably couldn't last over 2 hours in a pre war auto union or merc

Much preferred it when the drivers were fat and the tyres were skinny…………………..

Malcolm

[Mikie711]

The results are the results, no point arguing.

Comparing drivers of any previous era is pointless. More races per season, different points structures better reliability.

Besides, a lot of the midgets we have racing now probably couldn't last over 2 hours in a pre war auto union or merc

Much preferred it when the drivers were fat and the tyres were skinny…………………..

Malcolm

There is an indie film that follows Jackie Stewart through a race weekend called, oddly enough, Weekend of a Champion. Filmed by Roman Polanski over the weekend of the 1971 Monaco Grand Prix and has them meet 40 years later to discuss the weekend as a post script. Haven't watched it yet but will let you know if it is worth watching.

[Gareth]

You could look at Rossi as an example - most people loved him when he was winning all the time.

Charisma!

[jason]

I cannot remember being so disengaged during an F1 season since I started religiously following it around 1981/82, though the 'stopwatch time trial' era (early 00s) came close.

I don't think we have seen any of the cars driven flat out anymore.
....
That's a marathon, not the sprints of old

It depends on how you define 'of old' Apart from the refuelling and crossover tyre war era of late 90s to early 00s, IMHO grands prix have been all about some form of nursing; be it fuel limit, differing (freedom of choice!) tyre strategies, mechanical sympathy, etc, etc. We had some great racing 80s, for example, when drivers couldn't be flat out all the time. And some dull stopwatch time-trials when Schumacher could drive every lap like a qually lap in the early 00s... I'm very much in favour of grand prix drivers being grand prix drivers (Prost, Lauda and others were great champions, yet all won with guile and intelligence, not just raw flat out pace).

DRS and compulsory tyre use would arguably have prevented many classic races from the past, eg: Villeneuve winning the Spanish (1981? -the train would have all simply passed him with DRS), Mansell winning at Silverstone in 1987 (Piquet's no-stop tyres fading) ...and I'm sure many, many more examples if you put your mind to it.

Do we really want to see Vettel dominate even more with tyres that his higher-downforce car cannot destroy? It's a simplification, but look how the fragile tyres at least gave us some competition pre-summer this year. I hate the artificiality tyres (and DRS) have created, but that's the Catch 22 we face now

It's a shame they elected to promote Ricardio (sp?) - he'll perhaps be quick but he's never going to push Vettel around like say Alonso would.

I'd be more positive looking forward to 2014 if RB had contracted someone who has at least once set the world alight...

I'm sure I'm not the only person frustrated mostly by the fact Vettel has not fought a sustained intra-team battle. We have had other seasons where one car has been dominant (to varying degrees), yet still had some gripping/engaging competition. '84, '86, '87, '88, '89, '96 are years that spring to my mind.

[tut]

Vettel + RB = Season's best package.

tut

[Mikie711]

Vettel + RB = Season's best package.

tut

Of that there is no doubt but how much was car and how much was driver is the discussion. I think everybody agrees that with out that car he wouldn't appear to be nearly as good as he does.

[Dominic]

For a few years I have not been a fan of Vettel at all. His personality has put me off. However, I have my respect for him has grown recently, in acknowledgment of his achievements. Even if he does have the best car on the grid, he has still managed to perform and get the results. Is he the best on the grid?- I don't think so. Top 5 or 6 maybe.

His recent doughnutting antics have also improved my opinion of him - shows a slightly rebellious side which I quite like.

[GregR]

You could look at Rossi as an example - most people loved him when he was winning all the time.

Charisma!

Rossi did more than just have charisma. When he won on Honda everyone said it was the bike. He left. He won again on a Yamaha.

What you can't take away from Schumacher is that he won with Benetton, he left, then he won with Ferrari - not exactly a tour de force when he joined them.