Are today's drivers really that bland?

[Yoong Montoya]

Ok, they may not show much personality, but that doesn't mean that they don't have personality does it? They probably have just as much as the drivers from the past, but it is hidden due to sponsorship reasons. I bet that if sponsors weren't so concerned with their 'image', we would all be hailing Schumacher as a great, charismatic driver. Well, maybe, maybe not, but you get the idea.

[JohnSSC]

Bland? If today's drivers were water, you could run through them and not get wet!

They remind me of the cardboard stand up cutouts of movie characters that you can buy. Just stand it up and let it look pretty.

Ask yourself this: "How many seconds would James Hunt last at a 'meet and greet' with some mega-sponsor?" A fellow like that, talented as he was, is just not the type! And that is a crime.

[KC]

The problem comes from the fact that they are under a constant leash because of their sponsors. Don't say anything bad about the engine or the tires or whatever or you could get fired. Don't say what you realy think about the FIA or you'll get called up on the carpet and your career can be damaged. Its the same plague that most commercially driven major sports all suffer from.

[Russfeld]

They're not the most exciting guys in person either. They all come from very similar backrounds and have been in the cocoon of racing since an early age, they have little if any relationship with the 'real world'

[Valve Bounce]

I think the incident that really worried me was when Jacques was threatened with suspension for mouthing off in 1997. Yet it does go to show an unfair bias towards SchM who, after trying to ram Jacques off the track, escaped any punishment except to have his points for the season deducted (big woop). It was the same after the 2002 Austrian podium debacle - the guilty driver was fined a pittance; any other teams' drivers would have been suspended. The clout of Ferrari over Bermax cannot be underestimated.

[Mattracer]

Valve, I couldn't agree with you more. The problem with motorsport nowadays is that it is SO commercially driven that anybody is afraid to speak out about anything for fear of "losing" something be that money, points, disreputing the sport, a job/seat or a reputation. It's business and a sport as Frank Williams (I think) once said. Most of the drivers are pretty bland but they don't want to be.

[Russfeld]

Most of them arent contained though, your average racing driver isnt the personality they used to be. The backround and upbrining is so different now.

[JonesF1]

Whats really scary is that Bernie says he wants "personalities" but his actions are against them. Perhaps a cardboard cutout with a speaker that spews 5 random jokes instead of 5 random quotes is what hes looking for.

[f1manoz]

I think they are all boring. Even though Irvine is considered a character by today's standards, compared to guys such as Hunt and Graham Hill, he's got nothin'!

[Mr V]

But are they boring because that is their character or because of the way F1 is today? Abit like saying that drivers of today aren't as good as drivers of yesteryear because they have electronic gizmo's. IMO, todays drivers (or some at least) would be as colourful as the drivers of yesteryear if F1 wasn't as professional as it is and if they were allowed to be.

[strad]

They go to classes anymore that TEACH them how to give personable but totally non-offending, sponsor endorsing, generic interviews.
I have read articles about drivers that were fairly equal in ability, but the nod going to the one the camera liked better, and how corporate image is so important that now looks count as much as skill.

[neilap]

Living in the US we are used to sports stars with character, be it racing or American football. F1 drivers are just so prim and proper in the public eye. I suppose its to uphold the image of F1 as the pinnacle of motorsport.
Also I think it is a cultural difference. Americans tend to mouth off more than other people. Our athletes are very outspoken and entertaining.

This is part of the reason that I am not a fan of the drivers. I mean Alesi was the closest thing to having personality and now JPM and JV are the only other choices. No offense, but how does someone become a Nick Heidfeld fan? I don't get it. Button had some life in him but everyone from the press to his team made sure he was tamed.
When the sport becomes that again, and less political then personalities will emerge. There is just no room for individuality in the sport now. It is sad but true.

[Inigo Montoya]

Hilarious. This thread is about lack of personality in F1, and how noone "mouths off" or states their opinion? Yet many around here are pretty quick to jump all over a quote and start a bashing thread when, say, TGF, EI, Ralf, or JPM open their mouths.

[neilap]

That is true, RS does have personality, albeit that of an A$$!!

[Liz]

Most of today's drivers are little boys who haven't lived long enough to have anything to say, and who are hired for the fact that they look good in the sponsor's branded line of clothing. Since they are forbidden to interact with fans, they have no need of a personality, and since Max has often said that people come only to see the cars, no effort is made to find any lingering shred of humanity in the little PR machines.

Even little Kimi had a personality before being hired by McLaren and put through the Ronspeak homogenizer. Occasionally you still see a flash of that old Kimi but most of the time he's a wooden image.

The bottom line I think is a quote from Sir Frank Williams who said that TGF was the champion because "Other drivers are human beings. Michael Schumacher is a machine." And he meant that sincerely as a compliment.

[ss_collins]

answer to the auestion - yes they are, apart from Irvine who seems to be an averagely not bland person - shame he isnt an F1 driver anymore.

[Down F0rce]

i think they just want to keep themselves to themselves. their paid to race, not be stand up comics.

[Mr V]

Originally posted by Liz
Most of today's drivers are little boys who haven't lived long enough to have anything to say, and who are hired for the fact that they look good in the sponsor's branded line of clothing.

Liz, the main difference imo is the ammount of money and professionalism in F1. Not saying it's right as i'd like nothing more than the drivers to have ago at one another in public, all adds to the show, But these "little boys" are paid a hell of alot of money to "front" their sponsers. I'm sure that there are quite a few people who would willingly take £5mill to do the job they love and keep quiet.

[Russfeld]

This isnt NASCAR. Very very few road racing drivers are hired because of their marketability, except in extreme ride buying cases, and its more the driver bringing the sponsor instead of the sponsor asking for the driver

[Liz]

Originally posted by Down F0rce
i think they just want to keep themselves to themselves. their paid to race, not be stand up comics.

But the drivers in years past were paid a lot of money too, and they still managed to have personalities. But again, they were MEN. These are kids.... still, Irvine had a personality when he was a kid. So did Jacques until the FIA squashed him.

[Russfeld]

JV really only has a personality compared to the other bland drivers. I wouldnt call him cool by 'normal' standards, just sloppy and annoying.

Originally posted by Liz
But the drivers in years past were paid a lot of money too, and they still managed to have personalities. But again, they were MEN. These are kids.... still, Irvine had a personality when he was a kid. So did Jacques until the FIA squashed him.

Why are they only 'kids' now?

I don't think it's entirely fair to say that drivers today are boring. Things have changed (at least in the real world) in F1 and today it is much more sponsor inclined.

Who cares anyway? Isn't the main reason we watch these guys is because of their driving and not their personal lives?

[JohnSSC]

Aussiefan, the world has indeed changed. 40 years ago, there were "patrons" in F1, people who bankrolled an operation and there were others who actually made their living constructing race cars and racing.

Now, a team may sell last year's engines but that income is nothing compared to what is attracted in "sponsorship." A sponsor by definition wants to sell their product. That "sale" entails an image that they want to project. I am sure that today's drivers have personalities, it is just that they would have to be goofy to be anything but little automotons - put the sponsor in a bad light and those $$ could disappear quickly. Simple enough equation: No Money = No Ride.

The whole "boys/men" thing has nothing to do with it. This group is no younger than it ever has been. I can't support this statistically, but I wonder if the average age of drivers in 1960 was not actually lower than in 2002. My supposition is that 2002 is "older."

[429CJ]

Drivers look bland, too. Where are moustaches, beards(goatees), longer or bald heads, mohawks, tattoos, piercings, etc.

[R]

Your perception of what is old and what is young inevitably changes as you grow older yourself. Liz has a point though, and we see the same in football - what happened to the bald, almost toothless football players?!