Does anyone actually like Vettel?

[Cold]

Kinky Kylie, Hungry Heidi, Luscious Liz and Kate’s Dirty Sister etc.

He's alright by me.

[oyster]

Graveworm said:

Vaud said:

I don't understand this point? Do you mean personal sponsorships?

He earns less in endorsements than any other sportsman in Forbes top 50. He has lost many of them. Hamilton is looking at 20-30 times as much.

That's right - the richer someone is, the nicer they are.



You carry on believing that.

[KarlMac]

Vettel the person seems like a really nice bloke.

Vettel the F1 driver is a petulant spoilt prick.

It's a fair point that you probably need a bit of that to win as many WDC as he has.

[TwentyFive]

Yes, because without competition we do not have a sport and as a Hamilton fan i enjoy seeing him being challenged by Seb. That is what racing is all about!

Whilst i do not really think of him in the same bracket as other 4 x champions Prost or Hamilton, you have to respect his achievements and the fact that he is up there every single year.

I think many people are negative toward him due to the Red Bull dominance although now he is having a bit of a teflon period where nothing seems to stick so maybe what goes around comes around in the end.

I like the way he comes over as genuinely loving the sport and its history, and you sense he appreciates how lucky he is to do what he does.

Is he one of the greats? No.

Would the sport be poorer without him? Yes.

[Tyre Smoke]

He's personable, driven and happy to be interviewed. I'm a big Seb fan.

He's not Lewis who dresses questionably, has too many effeminate piercings and tats and is spoiled and petulant win or lose. Lewis is as bent as a hairgrip, but that's another thread.

Ricciardo smiles far to much for me. I don't like him.
Verstappen I'm ambivalent about, but probably leaning towards the like.
Fred I like. He calls it like it is.
The Iceman I like for the same reason.

Should there be a which F1 drivers do you like and why, thread?

[Munter]

KarlMac said:

Vettel the person seems like a really nice bloke.

Vettel the F1 driver is a petulant spoilt prick.

It's a fair point that you probably need a bit of that to win as many WDC as he has.

Oh no. Sorry. On this website you are only allowed to consider the person as a whole, and you must either fully support or totally hate the person.

No, I know. I don't create the mob that enforces the rules. They just exist here.

Now pick a side and defend it to the death. Or have both sides turn on you. Clocks ticking...

[Graveworm]

oyster said:

That's right - the richer someone is, the nicer they are.



You carry on believing that.

I said I liked him. I said that his endorsements were low so it appears others don't think he is likeable. Those 2 are often linked.
Nothing to do with how rich they are.

[TonyF]

Both drivers are great drivers but whilst Hamilton is enjoying his red bull moment in the Merc and vettel is trying to chase him down, I think that if they ( Hamilton & vettel ) were both in the mercedes then Hamilton wouldn’t see which way vettel went.

[Vaud]

Graveworm said:

I said I liked him. I said that his endorsements were low so it appears others don't think he is likeable. Those 2 are often linked.
Nothing to do with how rich they are.

He may be restricted by his Ferrari contract, not least Philip Morris. Sponsors will actually pay for blank space to reduce brand dilution.

But I guess we could both be right, or both be wrong, etc.

[London424]

TonyF said:

Both drivers are great drivers but whilst Hamilton is enjoying his red bull moment in the Merc and vettel is trying to chase him down, I think that if they ( Hamilton & vettel ) were both in the mercedes then Hamilton wouldn’t see which way vettel went.

So by that logic Danny Ric is the best driver in the sport?

[Exige77]

TonyF said:

Both drivers are great drivers but whilst Hamilton is enjoying his red bull moment in the Merc and vettel is trying to chase him down, I think that if they ( Hamilton & vettel ) were both in the mercedes then Hamilton wouldn’t see which way vettel went.

Hilarious

[Graveworm]

TonyF said:

Both drivers are great drivers but whilst Hamilton is enjoying his red bull moment in the Merc and vettel is trying to chase him down, I think that if they ( Hamilton & vettel ) were both in the mercedes then Hamilton wouldn’t see which way vettel went.

Like when they were both in pretty much the same machines with identical Mercedes engines in F3??
Whatever you take from this video they are both really talented drivers and I doubt we will see anything this exciting in F1 in terms of straight racing.
https://youtu.be/kDkK8a4jHZ8

[Teddy Lop]

I've never understood the obsession people have in wanting to see others being gracious in defeat, i mean we all like to see good sportsmanship, but the criticism of the loser not being mr-PR in the immediate aftermath strikes me as slightly mean, and perhaps not respecting of what these drivers put themselves through. What I find more objectionable is a lack of humility in victory, and some of vettels victory stuff really does grate, it's an utter embarrassment and often quite unclcassy.

The other reason is I don't really respect him as a driver, his racecraft has always been lacking and thats shown him up this last couple of years. Sure he's quick as you like but his victories were running at the front, in the best car with little to challenge him, helped along by a flattering weight advantage when half the grid looked like famine victims, and while there's no race winner who can say he didn't have luck on his side, I think vettels record flatters the man.

[Muzzer79]

Firstly, I am not a Hamilton fan. He's just annoying (although talented)

However Vettel, in terms of his F1 driver persona (I'm sure he's a perfectly nice chap) is the one I am willing to lose.

I guess the dislike comes from

• Petulance - Baku the other year being an example, also his opinion that he should be numero uno at RBR.

• Whilst I love Ferraris, the F1 team are arrogant and distant

• His personality seems a little.....conceited. A bit false.

• Nationality. Nothing against Germans, but we'd rather the chap from good old blighty won wouldn't we?

Note, he is not unique amongst F1 drivers in many of these faults - notably point 3.

Also, Schumacher shared many of these traits and I think some of the perception of MS has rubbed off on Vettel in the public's eyes.

[Vaud]

Muzzer79 said:

• Nationality. Nothing against Germans, but we'd rather the chap from good old blighty won wouldn't we?

Why? This isn't a Brit only forum...

[Munter]

Teddy Lop said:

The other reason is I don't really respect him as a driver, his racecraft has always been lacking and thats shown him up this last couple of years. Sure he's quick as you like but his victories were running at the front, in the best car with little to challenge him, helped along by a flattering weight advantage when half the grid looked like famine victims, and while there's no race winner who can say he didn't have luck on his side, I think vettels record flatters the man.

That ^^

Vettel benefited from the cheaty/bendy body/aero of the Red Bull to run mostly at the front for a lot of his wins. He has a few good moves occasionally. But wheel to wheel, I'd pick many other drivers over Vettel. (Hamilton, Max, Raikkonen)

He's a top level fast driver no doubt. But is he a top level racer? I think he's mid pack on that front. And that's the exciting front.

[Muzzer79]

Vaud said:

Muzzer79 said:

• Nationality. Nothing against Germans, but we'd rather the chap from good old blighty won wouldn't we?

Why? This isn't a Brit only forum...

I was using the term "we" as in me and people in my life, not referring to PH.

[skinny]

Graveworm said:

I said I liked him. I said that his endorsements were low so it appears others don't think he is likeable.

Maybe he doesn't want them? Probably a pain in the ass with all the commitments, and its not like he needs the money. Maybe he'd rather spend his time not racing with his family and friends.

[DamnKraut]

Interesting answers so far. Removing the whole nationality bias from the equation (I’d expect asking the OP’s question in a German F1 forum would basically result in him getting told to fk off and then some more), there are quite a few aspects about SV that makes him a truly likeable person IMO:

- He’s been with his high school girl friend since they first met as teenagers. She doesn’t want or embrace the publicity that comes with his work and he is not interested in affairs with supermodels and those things. Polar opposite to that plastic lady (Scherzinger) LH is (or was - don’t know or care about their current issues or non-issues) with and all the ridiculous drama between those two girls. Call me old fashioned but the partner at a man’s side speaks volumes about his personality IMO.

- He’s a modest guy, no social media attention seeking wh*re like LH with his Floyd Mayweather bling bling lifestyle, plastic girls, big yachts, tax evading private jet planes, pimped up supercars and comparable other tasteless ste/ nonsense that bears witness to everyone that money can’t buy class or style.

- He’s an honest guy telling it how it is, similar to Alonso and Kimi. He admits to making mistakes and sometimes being a dick, does not blame his team when something didn’t go his way or they made mistakes- knowing quite well that he fked up quite a few times this year. Fully agree that he has annoying habits (finger) but who hasn’t got any? I think SV’s bad traits come mostly from being a dedicated racer who wants to win above all. Remember him crying when he screwed up his race at his home Grand Prix this year - seems quite human and likeable to me given Hockenheim is 50 kms from his home town and he wanted to win for his local fans from the region.

- He’s on very good terms with Kimi (afaik not following F1 in detail), which says a lot already. Kimi doesn’t need to be friends with anyone as he’s the Iceman and cool as fk. Anyone who gets along with Kimi can’t be a bad guy.

Do I consider SV a great driver? Probably not one of the greatest, but definitely one of the best 4 to 5 of the current bunch next to LH, FA and MV.

Is LH a better driver? I would say yes, but difficult to compare at the moment as the Merc just works like a Swiss clockwork, has the speed to boot as well and Merc as a team are better organized than Ferrari.

Is LH overall a more likeable guy? No way IMO. I am probably biased being a Kraut and having liked MS (not however his brother RS) and NR quite well. But all of the above are positives for me about SV which I quite often miss about LH.

Now, everyone in opposition to SV: if you see through your dislike of us damn Krauts, is SV truly such an unlikeable guy?

[Graveworm]

skinny said:

Maybe he doesn't want them? Probably a pain in the ass with all the commitments, and its not like he needs the money. Maybe he'd rather spend his time not racing with his family and friends.

Except a few have dropped him over the years, of course that could still be for the reasons you suggest.