I want you to listen. Don’t scroll away because of the buzz word ‘Lando’.
This has gone beyond hate for Lando. This about all the drivers.
This is about treating drivers respectfully. This is about your parasocial relationships with the drivers. This is about you reading into everything they say.
This is about the F1 media taking clips out of context because they don’t want a race they want a drama.
This is about you taking those clips and not bothering to find the original source, and taking it to fuel a hatred for someone you don’t know.
This is about you hating on a new driver because you miss the old one.
This is about you sending hate to fans of a driver you don’t like.
When I dislike something I scroll- I ignore, because it’s not worth my time. Why should I let the social media algorithm think I like the video because I watch it? I block a person I dislike. I don’t go onto their account and spend time out of my life to comment.
But unfortunately the amount of hate I’m seeing it’s getting hard to ignore it.
Haters and fans. Opposite end of the spectrum, still on the same spectrum.
You’re still thinking about the guy you supposedly hate. You talk about him under other driver related posts, you make it your entire personality.
The difference in drivers is what makes the sport fun. I’m friends with people who have other favourite drivers. What we do is we talk about the race. We talk about how their driver did really well and what mine could’ve done better. We have fun.
Because it’s the sport that bonds us.
I don’t send death threats to them. People have become so obsessed with other peoples lives and it shows.
A driver can’t say he feels lonely without getting jumped on for it. A driver gets asked his opinion after a high adrenaline race, one he feels he didn’t do well and he sounds a little bitter. Of course he’s going to. Yet you read into it.
He celebrates and you read into it.
And then dislike them when they decide not to do anything anymore.
You criticise them for the mistakes they’ve already owned up to and refuse to even acknowledge the good they’ve achieved.
New fans get scared to join because they worry everyone will hate them. Which kills the sport in turn.
Lando. Max. Every single driver on the grid do not know you. And you do not know them. You know of them. You do not know them.
You do not know what they do or who they are the moment they’re away from the cameras.
You do not need to like a driver. Nor do you need to dislike them. I don’t dislike drivers, I just have drivers I favour a bit more than others. Because why would I hate them?
I dislike some of the things they do- during the race. Of course. I’m bitter after a race doesn’t go well. I’m a fan of the sport.
But that’s as far as it goes.
I do not care for their personal life as it’s theirs, nor do I care for what minuscule thing they’ve done.
If you don’t feel called out, then good- I’m not talking about you. You’re the good ones. If you are feeling ‘attacked’ then perhaps it’s time to rethink what you want to spend limited time, that is your life, on.
We only have so many minutes in our lives to actually live. So live it. Don’t spend it on hating on others.