Pundit blasts F1 fanbase for ‘moronic partisan good guy/bad guy takes’ instead of being ‘fascinated by the human, technological, and sporting aspects’

Fans watch the action during practice ahead of the 2024 F1 Italian Grand Prix. (Photo by Bryn Lennon – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)

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F1 pundit Mark Hughes recently criticized the sport’s fanbase and the toxicity some of them allegedly bring. He talked about how everyone should praise the technological marvel and appreciate human capabilities rather than taking sides and blaming others.

The 2024 F1 season began with the usual Red Bull dominance with other teams trying to close the gap to the defending world champions. As the season progressed, however, the top half of the grid became extremely tight, with Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes drastically improving their pace while Red Bull struggled to find it.

Since 2024 could be marked as a transition phase from Red Bull’s dominance, there has been a lot of debate about drivers and teams competing against each other.

The sport has a massive fanbase that constantly discusses their opinions on races and the sport on various social media platforms. However, many have strong opinions or allegiances to certain drivers or teams, so much so that they negatively talk about others on the grid.

This issue was recently addressed by Hughes through his official X account. Hughes said it would be great if F1 fans appreciated the current state of the sport, where the battle in the top half of the grid is tight and interesting, rather than taking sides and negatively criticizing other drivers and teams.

“It would be so fantastic if current F1 was appreciated by fans who were just fascinated by the human, technological, driving and sporting aspects of it rather than the moronic partisan good guy/bad guy take. I just do not get it,” Hughes said.

Lewis Hamilton on F1 losing popularity due to Red Bull’s dominance

In October 2023, Lewis Hamilton talked about how F1 fans were losing interest due to less intense battles at the top of the grid.

As quoted by “MARCA”, the seven-time world champion claimed how interest in the sport has noticeably dropped on various social media platforms. He further urged the sport’s governing body, FIA, to make the right changes to keep the grid closer and more exciting.

“Within our sport we need to continue to work to ensure we have closer races, because I think we’ve seen that the social engagement has decreased enormously this year,” Hamilton said.

“Obviously this has a big impact on the competition. People want to see that. So we have to make sure we are making the right decisions, or that the governing body is making the right decisions, to keep us close and in a big battle all the way to the end,” he added.

In the 2024 F1 season, Max Verstappen continues to lead the championship with 295 points. However, he is now being chased by second-placed Lando Norris who has 225 points, and third-placed Charles Leclerc, who has 192 points.