Mat Coch writes:

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has hit out at race goers after Sebastian Vettel was booed during the podium ceremony following the Singapore Grand Prix. Vettel felt the wrath of the Italian tifosi two weeks ago after claiming victory at Monza, an experience which was repeated in Singapore.

"I think it's so unfair," said Horner. "It's not sporting and it's not fair not to recognise when a sportsman has delivered in the way that he has, not to see that recognised."

"It's not nice but I think you should look around the grandstands," Vettel agreed. "Most of the fans are dressed in red, Ferrari has a very strong fan base for a reason: they have a lot of tradition in Formula One, they've been around longer and won, and they've been more successful than any other team.

"It's not people from Singapore or from one country only," he added. "It's normal if some people support one driver then they don't like another driver winning."

Vettel was the class of the field in Singapore, dominating the race with a fifteen lap stint during which he opened a thirty second lead. He had stopped on lap seventeen before the safety car was deployed on lap twenty-four, leaving him no option but to carry on.

"The pace car came at arguably the worst possible time for us as we weren't in a window where we could go to the end of the race," Horner admitted. "We gave Sebastian a target to say basically you've got fifteen laps, do what you can.

"His pace during that period of the race was phenomenal. To build up what turned out to be thirty seconds to Fernando that gave him a clear stop was absolutely remarkable."

However it was the reception from the crowd, or a vocal minority of it, which clearly angered the Red Bull boss. "What you have witnessed today is I think one of the best drives I've seen him produce in terms of raw pace and what he's been able to deliver.

"I think the problem is standing up on the podium all you see is there's a small collective group and then it's like a pantomime.

"I can remember when I first came in to the sport Fernando, in the years that he was winning continually with Renault, was booed everywhere he went," Horner continued. "When he raced against Lewis Hamilton at McLaren he was hugely unpopular. Now he's the most popular driver in the pit lane."

"Sebastian, I think, is delivering at a level that is a pleasure to see. I think that this won't affect him but for sure when you're standing up there it's not a pleasant experience to beg booed when you've put in what is an outstanding performance."

Editor's note: We refer to this boorish minority as race goers because that is what they are, they are not fans of the sport, certainly not in the traditional sense.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by JackTheCat, 24/09/2013 23:53

"@sjo328ci: I doubt they spend any more than Ferrari.... they are just better at F1 than them. Maybe Ferrari should move into the soft drinks market!"

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2. Posted by sjo328ci, 24/09/2013 22:53

"What Horner doesn't understand is that the booing is not directed just at Vettel, but at Red Bull Racing as well, specifically Didi Mateschitz's shameless purchase of multiple F1 championships by grossly outspending the other teams and refusing to participate in spending limits of any sort."

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3. Posted by The Rumble Strip, 23/09/2013 19:28

"It beggars belief that people would choose to attend a live F1 race, spending a great deal of their own money and not to mention time, only to opt to boo the deserved winner.

Although the old adage of you pays your money and you makes your choice can ring true, perhaps race goers should also give respect to the best drivers of this, or any other, generation.

Whilst the pantomime of booing drivers on the podium is nothing new and perhaps it is understandable, given some earlier incidents that they have been involved in, it does seem strange that they don’t also recognise dominant race performances where the driver has done nothing wrong.

Drivers appreciate the support they get from the fans so let’s not let them down.
"

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4. Posted by professorfate, 23/09/2013 15:36

"These fans aren't the same as Barcelona. The Barcelona fans were racist, the fans booing Vettel just don't like his win at all cost attitude. Sort of reminds you of the Michael Schumacher era. "

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5. Posted by Maria, 23/09/2013 11:21

"These fans must be the same class of gutter fans who were there at Barcelona testing in 2008 where some came in to the grandstand painted all black marking themselves as "hamilton family"

The police should be involved arresting these minority groups for hooliganism.

These people are not racing fans. They are just jealous zealots and groupies of certain a whiny driver."

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6. Posted by mrevilbreakfast, 23/09/2013 9:14

"Just watched the footage again; Vettel's comments about "most of the fans wearing red" just aren't right... and he's going to make no friends by announcing publicly that he's being victimised by the Tifosi.

It's the less-than-wholesome side of F1; not everyone's going to like their dominance but am sure that it's within their capacity to ignore the few idiots, man up and seek solace in the vast amounts of money they get paid to do this.

Total non-story that wouldn't have been worth discussing if it had been Grosjean or Charles Pic at the receiving end."

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7. Posted by JackTheCat, 23/09/2013 8:27

"It has got to stop, they aren't true sports fans if they are going to boo someone who is currently outperforming his closest rivals by a huge margin. Rewarding such excellence by booing is moronic frankly!

What these 'people' probably do not realise is that it will likely only spur Vettel on as sportsmen of that calibre will find the positives in anything! "

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8. Posted by Kkiirmki, 23/09/2013 7:51

"The thing that impresses me the most is how casually Vettel takes this totally disgraceful behaviour in his stride, laughing and making jokes about it. The one person who should care the most is the one who it affects the least. Well done Sebastian, class act on and off the track. "

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Horner angry at podium booing

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