Should Formula 1 Fans Boo Drivers for Their Actions on the Race Track?

Formula One, it seems, is the only professional sport where it is not acceptable for fans to express themselves with boos.

After last Sunday's British Grand Prix, some fans jeered Nico Rosberg during the podium celebrations, presumably in response to his crash with home favourite Lewis Hamilton at the previous race in Austria.

"You have to understand that they're mad, passionate fans, and they feel like something wasn't right in the last race," Hamilton said, per the Independent's Jack de Menezes. "I imagine maybe when we get to Germany we will have the same thing, but I hope not because in sport it is not the done thing."

Really? Not the done thing?

Perhaps Hamilton missed the recent display from English fans after their country lost to Iceland at Euro 2016. The boos at Silverstone were a relatively tame response.

When fans pay hundreds or thousands of pounds to attend a grand prix (or any other sporting event), they have the right to express their reactions to what they see on the track or pitch or arena. Those expressions should not include throwing objects at the athletes, but a few boos are within the bounds of reason.

If F1 fans don't want to interact with the drivers in some way, it is much cheaper and more comfortable to stay home and watch the race on high-definition TV, where it is much easier to follow what is happening on the track.

This is not the first time F1 fans have been scolded for booing drivers. Back in 2013, after Sebastian Vettel famously stole a victory at the Malaysian Grand Prix from his team-mate, the affable and popular Mark Webber, he faced hecklers at several races later in the year.

"It's ridiculous, these people don't understand what the guy is doing," Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda told Sky Sports when Vettel was booed after the Singapore Grand Prix (h/t ESPN F1).

While interviewing Vettel on the podium, Sky Sports pundit Martin Brundle asked the fans to stop booing, saying, "that's not correct."

Lauda and Brundle might have been confused, since the incident in Malaysia took place six months before the Singapore race. For those living in the F1 bubble every day, it was ancient history. But most fans have one chance each year to attend a race, if that. For those booing fans in Singapore, it was probably their first chance since the Multi-21 controversy to express their feelings about Vettel's tactics.

Paul Gilham/Getty Images

Again, this is not unique to F1. At New York Rangers hockey games, for example, fans still regularly chant, "Potvin sucks," a reference to Denis Potvin, a star defenseman for rivals New York Islanders—in the 1970s and '80s.

That is a long memory.

One argument against heckling F1 drivers is that they are risking their lives and racing to put on a show for the fans, so the fans should be appreciative.

Really, though, the drivers are racing to win, and they are paid a lot of money to do it. Professional athletes (and anyone else in the public eye) need to be able to handle public criticism, along with public praise. If they can't, they should get a less visible job.

And why should F1 fans have to pretend they are happy with everything that happens in the sport? Booing a driver after a race is a pretty docile response compared to what some other sports are dealing with.

One suspects many football teams, both club and national, would be quite pleased if their fans were content just booing the opposition.

F1 fans are not generally heckling drivers indiscriminately. The incidents with Vettel and Rosberg were responses to specific, on-track events that fans found offensive.

If you are an F1 fan complaining about the jeers, ask yourself this: Are you upset that fans are booing or are you upset they are booing your favourite driver or team?

For anyone who works in F1: Don't try to silence the fans, whose interest is the only reason those jobs exist.

F1 fans, in general, are a passionate group. Often that passion is expressed with cheering for their favourite teams and drivers, but there is also a flip side—particularly when something unsporting happens on the track. In those cases, fans should not be discouraged from expressing their displeasure.

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