I didn’t like the way Ferrari operated back in the day, left a sour taste in my mouth after watching the races at times. There was one race (my memory is a bit vague now), I think it was Suzuka ’97, when Eddie Irvine was blocking Jacques to the point that he was clearly willing to take then both out should Jacques go for the overtake. Slowing a car down was one thing, but this was another, the fun went out of it, I guess this just wasn’t Formula One in my book.
Though the record books see the success of Ferrari and Schumacher during this early 2000’s period, it was a dreadful period for Formula One as a whole. The viewing audience fell, the field unable to compete. As for the boo’ing, this is all part of the Tifosi, it’s part of the Ferrari culture you love about them. I remember watching Monza on TV when I was young and it felt terrifying hearing the passion and aggression of the crowd at that time but being there I love it, it was all pantomime.
As for Mercedes, I have found that Valtteri’s attitude has changed this year. His driving becoming sloppy and desperate, his attitude becoming more cocky than confident, overall more erratic and less consistent. He’s just not a contender any more and given some of his recent driving conduct at Hungary and Spa that makes him dangerous to overtake, again adding to that negative feeling when watching.
I accept team tactics, but if there was one move I didn’t like, it was calling the mechanics into the pits when they clearly had no intention of stopping. Not to fool the other car, as used to be the case, but to use the mechanics as a human wall to alter the course of the Ferrari entering the pits. This was supposed to be banned, I don’t like it, I don’t respect it.
