How do McLaren fans feel about Hamilton?

[Bill_Kar]

I ask this question (well, because it's off-season, so I have nothing better to do) because today I was rejected from a McLaren's fans Group solely on the basis that I support Hamilton.
So I checked on the people that are members and they were many friends of mine that I know they support the likes of Button, Verstappen, even Kimi.
When I asked what my favourite driver has to do with anything, the answer was that we don't accept people that support other drivers, apart from those who drive for the team.
It's a funny criteria,isn't it? Someone who supports Alonso for example, he shouldn't be considered McLaren fan as well.

Maybe my rejection has nothing to with bad feelings over Hamilton specifically, I honestly don't know.

But My question is how do McLaren fans feel about Hamilton nowadays? Do you cheer for him to win the title against Ferrari&Red Bull?Do you respect him? YOu don't care? Do you still feel acrimonious?

Personally, I'm a die-hard fan (no more than other people) of McLaren and I literally grew up with Hamilton behind the wheel for McL, so after 2012 split, it was really hard to just not support him. The fact that they never antagonised for the championship helped a little bit, but anyway if it happened one day I would totally support McLaren.

[ian_s]

as Hamilton is the only British drive on the grid I will always support him, but if McLaren were fighting with Hamilton for the championship, i'd side with McLaren the same as you.
Sometimes Hamiltons off track exploits overshadow his driving, and that's a shame as it stops me putting my full support behind him.

[bauc]

I cheered for him like no other, I loved Hakkinen, Raikkonen as well but Lewis was on another level when he joined Mclaren. However, the moment he left the team he become a nemesis... and I will always support Mclaren first no matter the drivers so now I don't feel anything when I see him win, I respect him a lot, he is one of the best ever but that's it.

[mrluke]

In a similar boat I supported Ham and Mclaren and when they split I followed Hamilton but tbh im still more interested in Mclaren's performance as a team than Mercedes.

[Jolle]

I've been a McLaren fan since I started watching F1 as a young lad, with Prost vs Lauda. Apart from one year with Peugeot and Mansell, it was a great team with focus. For some reason, I lost interest in the team when Hamilton left for Mercedes. For me, the McLaren DNA, the innovation, the eye for detail, doing everything one step further then everybody else, is taken over by other teams. So after 30-ish years, I don't consider myself a McLaren fan anymore. Too many hopes, too many excuses, etc etc.

The manic McLaren (Dennis) focus is more Mercedes' game now.

[Just_a_fan]

Life's too short to worry about the whims of F1 fanatics, be they team or driver oriented. If they don't want to talk to you, take that as a sign that there are better things to do in life. Sadly, some people take their support to truly obsessional levels and it's unhealthy.

[dans79]

For me, the McLaren DNA, the innovation, the eye for detail, doing everything one step further then everybody else, is taken over by other teams.

Personally I think this is down to Dennis himself. To me it seemed like at the end he was putting all his energy into maintaining control or at-least the allusion of it, and that had a negative impact on the team.

[NathanOlder]

I've been a McLaren fan since I started watching F1 as a young lad, with Prost vs Lauda. Apart from one year with Peugeot and Mansell, it was a great team with focus. For some reason, I lost interest in the team when Hamilton left for Mercedes. For me, the McLaren DNA, the innovation, the eye for detail, doing everything one step further then everybody else, is taken over by other teams. So after 30-ish years, I don't consider myself a McLaren fan anymore. Too many hopes, too many excuses, etc etc.

The manic McLaren (Dennis) focus is more Mercedes' game now.

Couldnt agree more. Same story for me , minus about 5 years.
The Teams i have supported in my life are

91 Mclaren A.S --- 2001 Mclaren M.H --- 2011 Mclaren L.H
92 Mclaren A.S --- 2002 Mclaren K.R --- 2012 Mclaren L.H
93 Mclaren A.S --- 2003 Mclaren K.R --- 2013 Mercedes L.H
94 Williams then Mclaren. A.S - M.H --- 2004 Mclaren K.R --- 2014 Mercedes L.H
95 Mclaren M.H --- 2005 Mclaren K.R/J-P.M --- 2015 Mercedes L.H
96 Mclaren M.H --- 2006 Mclaren K.R/J-P.M --- 2016 Mercedes L.H
97 Mclaren M.H ---2007 Mclaren L.H ---2017 Mercedes L.H
98 Mclaren M.H --- 2008 Mclaren L.H ---2018 Mercedes L.H
99 Mclaren M.H --- 2009 Mclaren L.H
00 Mclaren M.H --- 2010 Mclaren L.H

(hope that all makes sense, the year followed by the team and driver i supported in that year)

In the future, I predict Hamilton retiring after 2020/21. I also see Lando Norris coming in to F1 in 2019/20 so If both those things happen in 2020 I will probably go back to being a Mclaren fan if thats where Norris ends up.

[McHonda]

The car's more important but I think he's one of the best on the grid along with Alonso so I've always liked him and I'd happily have him back too. Certainly cheered for him to win last year rather than Seb for Ferrari but if he was fighting Dan or Max I think I'd like to see someone new win for a change.

No idea why they wouldn't let you in but it sounds like your better off out of it tbh.

[bidong]

I have been a McLaren fan since 1999 and I think Lewis Hamilton is one of the best to ever drive a formula one car. I'm a team fan first then a driver fan second. To be honest, I've never been a big Alonso fan but seeing him drive currently for McLaren, I think I'd have to cheer him on.

I can also be fans for drivers from other teams. And most of the time, they are drivers I'd want to drive for McLaren somewhere down their career.
Listed below are the drivers I have a huge amount of respect for. (Alonso and Vandoorne are obvious since they are the current McLaren drivers... but Lando Norris looks really good in his previous outing in Daytona.)

Previous McLaren drivers: (active)
Kimi
Lewis
Sergio Perez (but not really... i hated him when he was in McLaren and now in Force India, I see him doing the same whiny things to Force India and unsportsmanlike behavior to Ocon)
Magnussen (for the same reason why I don't like Perez, I seem to like this guy... I don't know why. hahaha)

Guys I like in the grid who have not been in McLaren who I'd like to see some day in McLaren:
Red bull boys (Max and DRic)
Esteban Ocon
ROBERT KUBICA (imagine him with Alonso 2019)
Nico Hulkenburg (the evasive podium should be won in McLaren)

That's it... my two cents

[adrianjordan]

Have been a Mclaren fan since the Hakkinen and Coulthard years.

Was a fan of Hamilton when he left, can't deny he's a phenomenal driver and potentially the best British driver there has ever been, certainly one of the best.

But after his comments over the off-season about how boys should dress I'm going to be putting my support behind someone else this season.

Will still be backing Mclaren as well though!!

[NathanOlder]

Fair enough, but you are aware he was joking with his nephew about that right ? he wasn't actually shaming his nephew like all the morons in the media were suggesting ?

[adrianjordan]

Don't care. He may have been joking, but he did it on a public platform and that gives out the wrong message to people who may not realise that he was joking.

And the cynic in me says that the "joking" explanation only came out after it blew up in his face.

Besides, being a Riciardo fan will be easier on my frayed nerves lol..!!

[Xero]

My first interest in F1 started in 1995 when I met fellow Scot David Coulthard at a signing for Williams sponsor, Elf. He signed for McLaren the following year, and although I kept tabs on him, it wasn't until 1997 where I started watching properly. He won the opening race at Melbourne, and that was me invested. At that point it was 100% driver over team, but then as 1998 unfolded I found myself supporting Hakkinen more and more. From there on it has always been team over driver. I'm a huge football fan, so perhaps that's where my team loyalty came from.

I was gutted when DC left McLaren, not so much for Hakkinen and Raikkonen, but Hamilton leaving left me angry. You can read that as extra gutted. Took me a couple of years to get over it, and although I wouldn't call myself a Hamilton fan, I'd still like to see him win the championship over others while McLaren remain out of reach. His change in attitude annoyed me, he seemed to lose that pure racer vibe you once got from him, although there are signs of it coming back. I wouldn't say I'm a Hamilton fan, but I am a huge admirer of his talent and accomplishments.

[Jolle]

Another way to look at it, Hamilton has been a Mercedes driver since the age of 14-ish, and McLaren was part of Daimler (well, 40% was) at the time. he just left together with the mothership.