When Greeks start watching F1 there are several ways to choose which team or driver they prefer. Usually the choice depends on their favorite football club.
Each football club in Greece has its “favorite number”, which is usually the number of the gate that the most dedicated fans of the team prefer when going to the stadium.
There are 2 major football and basketball teams in Greece, Panathinaikos (which is my favorite) and Olympiakos (which has also participated in Superleague Formula). The jerseys of Panathinaikos are green and the “favorite number” of its fans is 13, whereas the players of Olympiakos wear red and the “favorite number” is 7.
Because of the colors, most fans of Olympiakos support Ferrari in Formula 1, while the green fans usually prefer McLaren. But there are many exceptions, for example, some fans of Olympiakos are in favor of McLaren because the British team used to have red and white livery during the 80’s and early 90’s (just like their favorite football team). There is also a rare case of an enthusiast of Panathinaikos who was a follower of Eddie Irvine (!) at the late 90’s, because the Irish driver of Ferrari had a clover at the back of his helmet, which is also the logo of Panathinaikos.
This year, the drivers of Formula 1 have chosen their own numbers and not the ones that were given to them based on last year’s Constructors’ table. So, there is another way for a Greek fan to choose which team he will support. Raikkonen not only returned to Ferrari, but also chose the number 7, making him probably the ultimate idol for the friends of Olympiakos. On the other hand, the number 13 will be on Maldonado’s car. There’s a chance that the driver of the Lotus team will drag the attention of some fans of Panathinaikos, moreover the number 13 will be used for the first time in Formula 1 (as far as I know)…
Another interesting number for the Greek fans is the number 21, which is connected to the football (and basketball) team AEK. This number was chosen by Gutierrez who will be driving again for Sauber. AEK is the third most historic team in Greece (based on titles), its players wear black and yellow jerseys, but this period the team is suffering great difficulties. So perhaps the fans who watch Formula 1 would support the Mexican driver, who might give them more joy than the struggling AEK!
The number 3 (used by Ricciardo) is the favorite number of the fans of Aris and Panionios among other teams. PAOK, a great club too with many fans in Greece, is represented by the number 4, but no driver has chosen it yet.
Every fan has his own reasons to start supporting one F1 team over the other, or one driver instead of another. How did you end up with your choice? (leave a comment…)
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