RB's loosing the popularity contest

[Andy B]

According to Planet F1 Red Bull are not as popular as they were but is this true?
For me personally I used to quite like them but they now have an attitude about them and I have never been a MV fan again its all about attitude.
2021 was probably the nail in the coffin after hearing how the Race Director was pressurised into making a poor decision.
But what are you thoughts?

[lkjohnson1950]

Didn't ever like Red Bull. Didn't like the way they favored Vettel over Mark Webber. Don't like Max period. Horner has become obnoxious and Marko is an arrogant ass.

[John S]

I wasn't a Red Bull fan in the Vettel days & beyond, I liked Danny Ric showing Vettel the way home but then it became Webber - Vettel revisited   

I was squarely behind Lewis & Merc up to his 7th title, before that it was Jenson in Honda & McLaren.

At first I thought Max was just an upstart chancer, however he has developed into a driver of real quality, IMHO anyway, as good as - or better than any of the ugly winning greats like Senna, Piquet & Schumi.
He still can redeem himself into a worthy great like JYS, Prost or Lewis if he now continues to show displays like last year and keeps some of his dive bomb tendencies in check.

I watch and follow F1 for the cars, the drivers & the competition so having a change at the front end of the grid after so many Merc dominated seasons has warmed me to both RBR & Max. Oh and their success is more than just the Adrian Newey effect, although many pundits want to paint it as simply as that. 

For me the 21 season ender is simply history, someone had to win it & like in Footy(soccer to US members) the ref's decision - right or wrong - is final. No blame to anyone going forward it's all done 'n dusted.

I feel part of the drift away from RBR will be a dominance effect, I'm sure plenty got fed up with Merc winning easily year after year. Teams can go from plucky challengers to boring repeat winners for a lot of fans. 

[rmassart]

I never really warmed to red bull. I think probably because they used team orders excessively. I think Mercedes at least let there drivers race each other until it was clear who was going be the title contender.  I never got that impression with red bull, even when they were as dominant as Mercedes.

[cosworth151]

The first few seasons they were fun. The Unas, The Red Bulletin, the swimming pool, it was all a light hearted counterpoint to the grim seriousness of some teams. It's sad that they've become the epitome of the type of teams they used to lampoon.

[Monty]

At first there was only one thing wrong with RBR; it was such a big thing that I couldn’t allow myself to support them but I still had quiet respect for the team. The problem? Helmet Marko! A failed driver with an overinflated opinion of his own talents and importance. However, it seems that, like a cancer, his influence has spread through the team. He ‘made’ drivers and completely destroyed drivers. Max Verstappen completely fitted Marko’s arrogant, unsportsmanlike behaviour and somehow it seems to have dragged Horner into the same league.
Max is a cheat - not an opinion; it’s a fact.
Based on many incidents he did not deserve to win the 2021 WDC. The whole team played a part in the final miscarriage of justice at the last race. However, it was undeniably that the championship was awarded to him but Max and the RBR team could have won much more support if they been more gracious when the true result was stolen from Hamilton.
The situation is so bad that I literally cheer when something untoward happens to RBR - especially if it has an adverse affect on Verstappen. I have never been like this at any time in my life!

[Jericoke]

I never cared for Red Bull.  The drink only recently came to Canada, would I have had a different opinion if I could have mixed it with vodka in my youth?  Maybe.  By the time I could buy it though, it was just yucky go juice that may or may not have health side effects.

I do appreciate that Red Bull's approach to advertising is to sponsor 'fun', from Crashed Ice to the Flugtag to Baumgartner's jump, they've made the world quite enjoyable for me.

However in F1 I hated that they abandoned Sauber, I hated that they represented Ford's failure in F1 by buying Jaguar, and I hate that the reason they only created their F1 team out of spite because they felt Peter Sauber was wrong and Kimi had no place in F1.

What sort of F1 fan cheers for the anti Kimi team?!

[Andy B]

Well!
I'm pleased that not only am I not alone but the F1 press are correct but I doubt it'll change RB's attitude or arrogance so I shall continue hoping that Mercedes and Ferrari can beat them!

[Willy]

I also dislike RD and always have.
The reasons are extremely well stated in what Monty said, Helmet Marko!
I could go on but if you read Monty's post, you know where I stand