F1 drivers that you think get too much hate

[darkapprentice77]

Jacques Villeneuve.

Pretty much every car he drove after '97 was crap, and most of the time he either beat or matched his team mate. The only years I think he doesn't have an excuse for being crap in was 2003 where he was thrased by Button and 2006 where he was thrashed by Heidfeld.

The hatred he gets is probably because he didn't get the chance to live up to his famous surname.

[pasta_maldonado]

Jacques Villeneuve.

Pretty much every car he drove after '97 was crap, and most of the time he either beat or matched his team mate. The only years I think he doesn't have an excuse for being crap in was 2003 where he was thrased by Button and 2006 where he was thrashed by Heidfeld.

The hatred he gets is probably because he didn't get the chance to live up to his famous surname.

It can be argued that he was only good in 96/97 because the Williams was the best in field. The way he stormed out of BAR at Japan because they wasn't going to sign him for next year was just disgraceful

[darkapprentice77]

Jacques Villeneuve.

Pretty much every car he drove after '97 was crap, and most of the time he either beat or matched his team mate. The only years I think he doesn't have an excuse for being crap in was 2003 where he was thrased by Button and 2006 where he was thrashed by Heidfeld.

The hatred he gets is probably because he didn't get the chance to live up to his famous surname.

It can be argued that he was only good in 96/97 because the Williams was the best in field. The way he stormed out of BAR at Japan because they wasn't going to sign him for next year was just disgraceful

For 97 you might be right, but for 96:

It was his first year
He had a near world champion as his team mate
He had the pressure of his surname

And yet:
He qualified on pole and led most of his first ever race
And was almost the world champion

[Wizzie]

Jacques Villeneuve.

Pretty much every car he drove after '97 was crap, and most of the time he either beat or matched his team mate. The only years I think he doesn't have an excuse for being crap in was 2003 where he was thrased by Button and 2006 where he was thrashed by Heidfeld.

The hatred he gets is probably because he didn't get the chance to live up to his famous surname.

It can be argued that he was only good in 96/97 because the Williams was the best in field. The way he stormed out of BAR at Japan because they wasn't going to sign him for next year was just disgraceful

For 97 you might be right, but for 96:

It was his first year
He had a near world champion as his team mate
He had the pressure of his surname

And yet:
He qualified on pole and led most of his first ever race
And was almost the world champion

One could argue however that Villeneuve was relatively experienced for a rookie, having come off the back of winning the (at the time) incredibly competitive IndyCar Championship and the Indy 500 to boot so he did have form on his side.

[Captain Hammer]

Pastor Maldonado. Everyone judged him for replacing Nico Hulkenberg, even though Hulkenberg was given every opportunity to retain his seat. Then they attacked him over Spa 2011, which was a fair call, but that episode reared its ugly little head again last night when he hit Perez. A lot of people thought it was deliberate, even though there was no reason for Maldonado to do it deliberately. They're not really judging him on it - they're just mad about Spa 2011.

[darkapprentice77]

It can be argued that he was only good in 96/97 because the Williams was the best in field. The way he stormed out of BAR at Japan because they wasn't going to sign him for next year was just disgraceful

For 97 you might be right, but for 96:

It was his first year
He had a near world champion as his team mate
He had the pressure of his surname

And yet:
He qualified on pole and led most of his first ever race
And was almost the world champion

One could argue however that Villeneuve was relatively experienced for a rookie, having come off the back of winning the (at the time) incredibly competitive IndyCar Championship and the Indy 500 to boot so he did have form on his side.

Michael Andretti was also an IndyCar champ but he didn't do too well in F1...

[eurobrun]

Bruno Senna. That is all.

[JeremyMcClean]

To be fair to Jacques, his career was dumbfounded by horrific cars. However, BAR's 2003 car was decent for once, and what did Jacques do? Get trounced by Jenson Button. And his performance with Renault was awful as well. He wasn't too bad with Sauber, but in 2005 Villeneuve was anonymous and made Massa a #1 driver for the only time in his career ( Sorry, Felipe ) and in 2006, like all of Heidfeld's teammates, he was worse and was sacked.

The two reasons I don't like Jacques are that he can be completely anonymous and that he has an annoying (and an egotistical) personality. He has a restaurant which is loosely named after himself. End of discussion.

Oh, and Vettel in my opinion gets too much hate. I can't understand why he gets any hate at all, 22 wins in four and a 1/4 seasons isn't that bad!

[Wizzie]

...in 2006, like all of Heidfeld's teammates, he was worse and was sacked.

That was mostly down to sheer dumb luck alone. Ironically enough, 2006 was probably the first time in a long time that Villeneuve didn't deserve the sack.

[JeremyMcClean]

...in 2006, like all of Heidfeld's teammates, he was worse and was sacked.

That was mostly down to sheer dumb luck alone. Ironically enough, 2006 was probably the first time in a long time that Villeneuve didn't deserve the sack.

Still, it was bad enough to get BMW to plan a shootout between him and Kubica... but Jacques IMO did the honourable thing. Probably the only honourable thing he did

Also about Jacques: He made probably one of the dumbest team switches in F1. Scratch that, the dumbest team switch. True, Williams was floundering about in the midfield, but that's better than retiring every race! OK, so the dumbest team switch claim is debatable. And he can't sing. (But that's another story.)

[Stramala]

Romain Grosjean.

He has the talent. He always had it. He just got thrown in the shark tank with no preparation the first time, no wonder it all went wrong. He gets way too much flak as being an 'average' driver, it's nonsense, he has destroyed Raikkonen in qualifying all year so far, once he can start translating that into results he'll turn out to be a good driver.

[Ataxia]

Nick Heidfeld...on here, anyway.

A driver who will always show where the car is in terms of pace. The way the 2011 Renault dropped through the pack is testament to his developmental skills, and probably should have been hired at Sauber in 2010 instead of de la Rosa. Peter Sauber realised what he was missing...just far too late.

[David AGS]

Mikel Shumaker.

Used to hate him and his ego on the podium race after race in the 2000s.

[mario]

Pastor Maldonado. Everyone judged him for replacing Nico Hulkenberg, even though Hulkenberg was given every opportunity to retain his seat. Then they attacked him over Spa 2011, which was a fair call, but that episode reared its ugly little head again last night when he hit Perez. A lot of people thought it was deliberate, even though there was no reason for Maldonado to do it deliberately. They're not really judging him on it - they're just mad about Spa 2011.

I guess that further evidence may emerge in the future, but the indication is that the stewards believe that Maldonado deliberate steered into Perez rather than just accidentally sliding across into him. As to why, at the time Maldonado had just bolted on a fresh set of the super soft tyres and was attempting to do a qualifying style hot lap, and given that Perez was on an in lap and therefore going slower than normal, Maldonado was presumably aggrieved at being blocked on his hot lap.

Oh, and Vettel in my opinion gets too much hate. I can't understand why he gets any hate at all, 22 wins in four and a 1/4 seasons isn't that bad!

Possibly because there were those that were frustrated at the bias within certain parts of Red Bull's management towards Vettel, and have directed their frustration towards him as a result.

[Waris]

I agree with Heidfeld. Also Barrichello, Massa, Trulli, Fisichella.
EDIT: Oh, and I agree with Villeneuve as well, but I've always been sympathetic to him.

[QuickYoda41]

I'd say Raikkonen. He gets much more comments on not caring, eating, drinking than on his brilliant driving abilities.

[FMecha]

Jacques Villeneuve.

Pretty much every car he drove after '97 was crap, and most of the time he either beat or matched his team mate. The only years I think he doesn't have an excuse for being crap in was 2003 where he was thrased by Button and 2006 where he was thrashed by Heidfeld.

The hatred he gets is probably because he didn't get the chance to live up to his famous surname.

Agreed. See my sig. And his hypocritical comments against Raikkonen sums it all.

Nick Heidfeld...on here, anyway.

A driver who will always show where the car is in terms of pace. The way the 2011 Renault dropped through the pack is testament to his developmental skills, and probably should have been hired at Sauber in 2010 instead of de la Rosa. Peter Sauber realised what he was missing...just far too late.

I think that made him very boring driver, right?

[LellaLombardi]

Nelson Piquet Junior

Granted, he wasn't the best driver out there, although he had his moments and given the right support could have gone on to do a lot more.

I seem to be the only one who feels sorry for him for the treatment he got from Renault. Yes, he should never have agreed to his involvement in crashgate. But his statement to the FIA suggests that unless he went along with it, Briatore would have kicked him out of the drive and seen to it that he never raced in F1 again. When you're young, have probably had a slightly, lets say, sheltered life and distorted upbringing with a father like Nelson and you're desperate to keep your drive it is tempting to make the easy decision rather than the right one.

When I was his age I was put in a similar position by my employer and asked to keep schtum over something that shouldn't be kept schtum about. I knew what the right thing to do was, but at the same time I was buying a house and getting married soon. Blowing the whistle and losing my job - fairly or not - would have brought all of that crashing down too. In the end someone else blew the whistle and circumstances went my way and I was able to give my evidence while safely in another job. I don't think NPJ had that option so I do sympathise with him.

And of course Schumi. I know he is a divisive figure, but his biggest crimes seem to be not having been killed while racing and being German rather than Brazilian.

[CoopsII]

And of course Schumi. I know he is a divisive figure, but his biggest crimes seem to be not having been killed while racing and being German rather than Brazilian.

I agree although I dont think the reasonings are as simple as you make out. Had MSC been killed at the same point in his career as Senna did despite the awfulness of the event and the very real grief it wouldve caused I think the legacy left wouldve been quite different. MSC is justifiably a huge star across the globe but I dont believe he has ever reached people the way Senna did. I was thinking recently, checking my own memories, to see if my memories of Senna have been given a rose tinted glow since he died and I even went as far as reading some old copies of F1 News from the early nineties. Even back then before his death people wrote of Senna in a way that makes clear he was, to many, something extraordinary and leafing through older copies its clear that the MSC legacy is remembered somewhat less reverentially. I think, unlike Senna, MSC has never really shown how he feels about anything outside of F1 and because of that he doesnt really transcend it. I know he got involved with some Road Safety Awareness stuff but so what? We all know that being safe on the road is the right thing to do, thats why its called 'Safety'. Senna highlighted issues around poverty in his homeland and elsewhere, perhaps he couldve done more or perhaps not.

[LellaLombardi]

I have to agree with you there Coops II. This is why I think Perez could be the new Senna, inasmuch as the effect he is having on Mexico is reminiscent of Senna in Brazil, and the German and Brazilian cultures are just poles apart. Let's see how he progresses though. Schumacher is a very private person and has gone to great lengths to keep his family and personal life out of the media which may make him seem very closed off to some, but don't forget the work he has done with UNESCO, and he gives to charities on a vast scale (his donation following the 2004 Tsunami was greater than that of most large corporations and even some countries). He is just very discreet about that sort of thing.

[Davidellias]

Sebastian Vettel.

I like him as a driver, I can understand why people hate him. But as far as drivers go he seems to have a likeable personality.

[CoopsII]

his donation following the 2004 Tsunami was greater than that of most large corporations and even some countries.

I hadnt forgotten about that, its one of the reasons I feel he's unfairly judged. And fair play to him for wanting to keep things private, I probably would too but it all adds to why he's not held in the same sense of awe as Senna.

The elephant in the room is, of course, Schueys many, many questionable antics over the years but, as angry as he's made me in the past, he's a bit like a friend who constantly lets you down but you keep forgiving because its just such good fun in his company.

Damon Hill may disagree with me.....

[AdrianSutil]

his donation following the 2004 Tsunami was greater than that of most large corporations and even some countries.

I hadnt forgotten about that, its one of the reasons I feel he's unfairly judged. And fair play to him for wanting to keep things private, I probably would too but it all adds to why he's not held in the same sense of awe as Senna.

The elephant in the room is, of course, Schueys many, many questionable antics over the years but, as angry as he's made me in the past, he's a bit like a friend who constantly lets you down but you keep forgiving because its just such good fun in his company.

Damon Hill may disagree with me.....

I wouldn't put it like that, but I do know what you mean.That move on Hill at Adelaide was seen as the worst thing anyone has ever done in Formula 1, with many people completely forgetting what Senna did to Prost at Suzuka in 1990. Then what he did at jerez on Villeneuve caught him out, he was DSQ'd from the entire Championship and made to do road safety talks by the FIA. He took his punishment and did it. Moved on.

I can see where people like Kostas come from, but since he's returned to Formula 1 he's become more media-friendly (for those that don't remember, in his Ferrari days he ONLY spoke to the German media on the grid), more open to talks with other people and drivers and more importantly, has come across as someone who is a genuinely nice person with a good sense of humour. As my sig suggests, I really want him to grab a podium this year, because he does deserve it, whether your a fan or not...

[Dj_bereta]

Barrichello is too much hated in your home country (especially after Austria team orders).

[Cynon]

Anyone from the United States except Scott Speed.

[Davidellias]

Also, Takuma Sato


He did pretty decently in his first few years at Jordan and BAR but then he let his superstitions get the best of him when he got the #4 (Unlucky number for Japanese) at BAR and did horribly afterwards. At least he has been pretty decent in Indy Cars.

[East Londoner]

Also, Takuma Sato


He did pretty decently in his first few years at Jordan and BAR but then he let his superstitions get the best of him when he got the #4 (Unlucky number for Japanese) at BAR and did horribly afterwards. At least he has been pretty decent in Indy Cars.

The Autosport forum is destroying poor Takuma after his do or die move against Franchitti.

[AdrianSutil]

It's Autosport. It doesn't count.

[Wizzie]

Nelson Piquet Junior

Granted, he wasn't the best driver out there, although he had his moments and given the right support could have gone on to do a lot more.

I seem to be the only one who feels sorry for him for the treatment he got from Renault. Yes, he should never have agreed to his involvement in crashgate. But his statement to the FIA suggests that unless he went along with it, Briatore would have kicked him out of the drive and seen to it that he never raced in F1 again. When you're young, have probably had a slightly, lets say, sheltered life and distorted upbringing with a father like Nelson and you're desperate to keep your drive it is tempting to make the easy decision rather than the right one.

Problem was, when he wasn't doing well, which was most of the time, he was too busy being an arrogent prat to the point where he would have for ROTY in 2009 on that alone

[CoopsII]

Anyone from the United States except Scott Speed.

I dont think Michael Andretti was hated, just a bit poor and theres no hate for Mario.

I cant think of any other US drivers.

[tommykl]

Eddie Cheever was a bit boring, but never hated, and I can't think of anyone more likeable than Richie Ginther, Dan Gurney and Phil Hill

[Stramala]

I don't think anyone hates Peter Revson either?

[Ferrim]

To be fair to Jacques, his career was dumbfounded by horrific cars. However, BAR's 2003 car was decent for once, and what did Jacques do? Get trounced by Jenson Button. And his performance with Renault was awful as well. He wasn't too bad with Sauber, but in 2005 Villeneuve was anonymous and made Massa a #1 driver for the only time in his career ( Sorry, Felipe )

A certain Kimi Mathias Räikkönen disagrees.

I also think Villeneuve gets too much trash, but that also heavily depends on when someone started following F1. He's reverencied by people who watched him drove the '96 and '97 Williams and hated by those who watched him from '98-'99 onwards.

Another one I feel was unfairly treated was Pedro de la Rosa back in 2010. If you go and compare his speed you'll find he wasn't slower than Kobayashi, and in turn Heidfeld wasn't faster than the Japanese. But Pedro has the ability, or rather the inability, to run into trouble whenever he's in a good place to score a decent result for his equipment: yesterday was the most recent one! The closest he's been all year long, and starting with the harder compound so he would have stayed out for +40 laps in the first stint. Given that Karthikeyan, slower than him all the season so far and this weekend as well, stayed relatively close to the midfield during the early part of the race, I'm sure he would have hanged behind the Kovalainen train, pretty close to Glock and Pic, and would have run close to the points for some laps before his pitstop. In the end, with Pic out, Glock pitting twice, Kovalainen hitting trouble and Vergne on intermediate tyres, I'm not going to dare to say that he would have finished 12th (giving HRT 10th in the Constructors), but he would have been right in the mix.

But what happened? Maldonado came, rammed him and destroyed his race before it had even begun.

[Davidellias]

I don't think anyone hates Peter Revson either?

For a time Sam Posey didn't

[tommykl]

I don't think anyone hates Peter Revson either?

The fact that he was the perfect definition of a pay-driver when he first came into F1 could have been a drawback, but most critics were probably silenced after 1973.

[CoopsII]

Actually, I think any driver that gets hate is getting too much. I guess when you're a kid hating things and people isnt a big deal but none of us should be giving out 'hate' to drivers (or anybody else for that matter). The aformentioned MSC has given me grief in the past and I hoped Vettel would slip up last year but in both examples Ive had a grudging respect for the extraordinary abilities both men have(had?).

[dr-baker]

Actually, I think any driver that gets hate is getting too much. I guess when you're a kid hating things and people isnt a big deal but none of us should be giving out 'hate' to drivers (or anybody else for that matter). The aformentioned MSC has given me grief in the past and I hoped Vettel would slip up last year but in both examples Ive had a grudging respect for the extraordinary abilities both men have(had?).

I may seriously dislike MSC and will always recall Adelaide 1994, Jerez 1997, etc., but hate is always a strong word. Dislike would be a better word for how I feel about MSC. I definitely had more satisfaction from him announcing his retirement at Monza 2006 than when he broke his legs at Silverstone 1999 (leading to him no longer able to win that championship and missing a number of races) - ie I don't wish him ill but I would like to see him out of the sport.

[DanielPT]

Actually, I think any driver that gets hate is getting too much. I guess when you're a kid hating things and people isnt a big deal but none of us should be giving out 'hate' to drivers (or anybody else for that matter). The aformentioned MSC has given me grief in the past and I hoped Vettel would slip up last year but in both examples Ive had a grudging respect for the extraordinary abilities both men have(had?).

I may seriously dislike MSC and will always recall Adelaide 1994, Jerez 1997, etc., but hate is always a strong word. Dislike would be a better word for how I feel about MSC. I definitely had more satisfaction from him announcing his retirement at Monza 2006 than when he broke his legs at Silverstone 1999 (leading to him no longer able to win that championship and missing a number of races) - ie I don't wish him ill but I would like to see him out of the sport.

I am embarrassed to say that I put my fist in the air out of joy when MSC crashed at Silverstone 1999. But, to my honour, I quickly realised that something was wrong and then felt bad when I found out he had broke his legs. You see, I was happy because he had retired but I never intended to see him hurt. After that, when he won the first championship for Ferrari in a long time I was genuinely happy for him. I also endured MSC utter domination but that doesn't make me hate. I don't hate anyone in F1 really although I seriously dislike several individuals and none of them are drivers. Yes, there are drivers that I support and those who I don't like to see winning on a frequent basis but that is the farthest I will go. And even in this cases it depends on the situation. For instance, I don't really like much to see Hamilton winning these days, but I would completely support a Williams-Hamilton combination and would actually be very happy if this happened. This shows that while not really fond of Lewis I still rate him as a great driver. Not in the top 20 of all time yet, unlike BBC, but I might at the end of his career.

EDIT: Also, Ferrim is right about Jacques Villeneuve. I saw him race in 96 and 97 and I still have the utmost respect for him despite the rest of his career. I just wished that the whole BAR thing had worked for him.

[pasta_maldonado]

I wouldn't even try to deny for a second that I don't like Vettel. His arrogance and the way everyone kisses his arse, proclaiming he is the best driver the world has ever seen, really gets to me. But, I would never wish harm on him, and if he was to tragically die while racing, my dislike for him wouldn't stop me from being sad.

[Sunshine_Baby_[IT]]

There are some drivers (as Alonso) and former drivers (as Montoya and Villeneuve) that I really don't like, but absolutly I don't hate any driver. Sometimes I've been happy if some of these drivers retired from a race, but naturally I always hope that no one had big crashes.
Here in Italy at present I think that Hamilton gets too much hate... but here most of the F1 fans that are Ferrari supporters use to hate everyone who can win without driving a Ferrari. Almost no one liked Schumacher in the mid '90s and criticized the fact he was signed by Ferrari, but started to like him when they saw him fighting for the championship every season in the late 90s and really loved him during the Ferrari domination era. Now he's really hated again because most of Ferrari fans says that he betrayed Ferrari in coming back to races with another team.
Raikkonen wasn't very hated before becoming a Ferrari driver, probably due to the fact he had not won a championship with McLaren. In that period the driver who got the much hate was Alonso and most of the ones who strongly criticized (primarly during the Ferrari-McLaren spy gate) are the same that now love him.
Hamilton at now is still hated by Italian F1 fans, but I suppose that everyone of them will change their mind if he will drive for Ferrari one day.