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[Martin]

I think that there is a case for F1 only being a team championship. Drivers are, after all, only part of the team. Other team members do not get recognised so much, but make an equal contribution to the success / failure of the team.
Commercially of course, the drivers championship is important because, probably, the vast majority of semi fans, support a driver more than a team, because of the current obsession with celebrity and shallow glamour etc.
What do you think?

[Jabberwocky]

I wounder how many Soccer fans follow a player from team to team compared to F1 fans?

[Martin]

I wounder how many Soccer fans follow a player from team to team compared to F1 fans?

That's a good point jabberwoky. All football fans I know support a team. They may like a particular player but if he moves on they just stay with their team. Its the same if a manager moves on or if the team is bought by a new owner, the loyalty stays with the team.

[al4x]

as you may have gathered i support a team, i wonder which

tho i did want alonso to beat hamilton, being ex renault, and how well those 2 years went!

[Jabberwocky]

So by that out look you could say that you want Button to win the championship if Renault does not

[texasmr2]

Above all F1 is a constructor's championship since it's inception and is the overall basis of which a team is judged. There are so many implication's stemming back to the Senna, Prost era that the WDC has become just as important as the WCC to sponsor's.

A BIG can of worm's has been opened now .

[al4x]

no, i was just particularly fond on alonso when he was at renault, tho i do prefer button to hamilton for example

[McLaren Fan]

Above all F1 is a constructor's championship since it's inception and is the overall basis of which a team is judged. There are so many implication's stemming back to the Senna, Prost era that the WDC has become just as important as the WCC to sponsor's.

Hmm. The first constructors' championship wasn't held until 1958 and I think that casual fans were still most interested in the drivers' championship.

As I was just saying on the other thread, it's a surprise and slightly farcical that the constructors' championship is held in such low regard by many day-to-day Formula One fans. The fact is the driver is only one part of a very big equation: everybody from the sponsors, to the management, to the engineers, those making the parts, and even the cleaners and dinner ladies play all play a big role in the fortunes of the team. As a result, it is the biggest marker in terms of how good teams are. The driver's championship, whilst nice, is flawed as there are so many good drivers who didn't get rewarded and so many averages ones who did thanks to the constructor for whom they drove.

[al4x]

a team will do better with a good car and 2 poor drivers than 2 great drivers and a poor car,

the wdc gets so much more attention than the wcc, just look at hamilton and uk popularity increase in f1, alonso in spain etc

[7UpJordan]

I wounder how many Soccer fans follow a player from team to team compared to F1 fans?

When that happens, they turn on the player when he returns with the team he joined, especially a rival team. When Brian Deane (my favourite football player of all time) left Sheffield United back in 1993 to Leeds United (scum, scum, scum and even bigger scum) I didn't jump ship, it made me dislike Leeds.

However when Damon Hill left Williams thanks to Frank's prematurely signed deal with Frentzen back in 1995, I went off Williams (I hated Jacques Villeneuve, fortunately he and HHF were gone by 1999 and I got back into supporting them when Ralf - who was decent back then - and Zanardi - who I quite liked - joined) and supported Arrows, only because Hill was there. But the best part was when Hill joined Jordan for 1998 and won THAT race at Spa.

So really it differs between sports.

[texasmr2]

Hmm. The first constructors' championship wasn't held until 1958 for whom they drove.

The whole basis goes all the way back to the very first Le Man's even the very first car race, it was based on the manufaturer of said vehicle.

[AKR]

Jabberwoky wrote : I wounder how many Soccer fans follow a player from team to team compared to F1 fans?

I follow the team and not the player. If a player I like leaves my football club then I forget him and move on. The same goes with F1. It's Ferrari or nothing for me.

[bud]

Wonder what the answer would be on a Spanish forum haha hmmm

But this day and age the driver cant really out drive the car so its abit hard for people to follow a driver unless he is in a top car, its unfortunate but people only really like winners and youre not going to have many fans if you only finish 16th every race. But there are some people out there that are true fans of drivers and will follow them whether they make it or not is another question.

this season though the driver skill is being brought back in so hopefully we will see the drivers mix it up abit and not being based so much on the car and maybe the fans of guys in lower teams can have something to cheer about.