I’ve just started getting into F1 after watching the Netflix show/documentary for the past 2 seasons. Even knowing nothing about the sport, that show looked so amazing in 4K I was hooked. It helps that ESPN has the rights now as I’ve been watching the races through the app on Sunday nights.
Am I supposed to be rooting for a driver or a team? It seems there has been a ton of driver turnover the past couple of years. I imagine most international fans follow the driver from their home country regardless of the team? But their must be some team fandom/loyalty.
I was a fan of Sainz in the show so I’ve been pulling for him. With Haas a mess, is rooting for Zak Brown the closest thing for an American fan? I saw Sainz is moving to Ferrari next year anyway.
As a new spectator it also seems that Mercedes has been utterly dominant for several years now to the point where race outcomes are almost boring. Is this what international fans felt like with the Patriots? At least they were only 16-0 once. Here on the other hand the real completion looks to be who is competing for 4-12th place. Maybe it’s a difference between American and international sports but it’s odd how excited teams look because they secured 7th place in a race.
The show also made it seem that larger budgets equal better cars equal more podiums. While that may be unfair, I’m trying to look at it like baseball where the highest payroll doesn’t always win, but I’m not sure how true that is.
Finally I haven’t quite figured out how much teamwork is involved. I don’t know much about NASCAR but my understanding is it is very team oriented with coordinated drafting. F1 seems like sometimes teammates will compete and other times lay off. Again, the show made it seem nuts that teammates would compete against each other as it led to some costly crashes, but perhaps that is actually a rare event.
I think everyone does F1 fandom their own way. There is no right or wrong way to pick who to root for. I always have a few teams and a few individual drivers who I pull for. There is a ton of turnover, so getting attached to one driver with one team is tricky. For my own reasons, I root for Ferrari and Haas, but this season find McLaren intriguing too. Always liked Danny Ric as a driver (I know I am not alone there) and to watch Charles LeClerc going back to his Sauber days. It works that he drives for Ferrari now, but I like watching him drive regardless. Likewise I have teams and drivers I root against.
Mercedes have been dominant for a while now. This year is obscene though. Their car is just so superior to everyone else. The last few years Ferrari seemed to have the pace (by breaking some rules it appears) and RB had a puncher's chance.
The more you watch F1, the more you appreciate those middle-of-the-race battles. That's where the real driving is. This season especially so. Anytime a car does better than expected is a reason for celebration because the entire team did something to make it outperform expectations.
As refreshing as the McLaren team can seem, drivers on teams usually vary from grudging respect to outright disdain for one another. The reason is mostly competitive. There are only 20 F1 drivers in the world. How good is each individual driver? It's hard to tell because there are ten teams with ten different depths of pockets and ten different cars. The only apples-to-apples comparison is the two drivers on the same team. As a result, teammates tend to battle because they are measuring themselves against each other. One who consistently loses to his teammate will likely be replaced, and possibly be the one left standing at the end of the game of musical F1 cars.