Yesterday’s article seems to have caused some extreme reactions. Not for the argument put forward but for the manner in which I did so and in particular for a reference made in the first paragraph.
I want to apologise to anyone who was offended by it and furthermore to explain that it was in no way levelled towards the wonderful fans of this sport nor to the majority of fan blog sites who do such a fine job of promoting interest and sparking debate on F1.
I had become frustrated after the race with a small minority of blogs which claim insider knowledge, who had been spreading a rumour which I believed to be closer to an outright lie. Because these minority of bloggers have an avid readership who take what they write to be fact, the suggestion of underhand tactics then itself became cemented in the mind of the readers who trust those sites to provide the truth. And that annoyed me.
It annoyed me to the point where my own professionalism dipped. I should have sat on what I had written, thought about it and made an edit. But I didn’t. I hit the send button. Hindsight is always 20:20. But for me, the Internet is written in ink. I will not go back and edit what has been posted just as I could not if it had been published in a newspaper.
Of course by lowering my own tone I naturally damaged any authority my words might have hoped to carry. It made me look like the pontificating wanker. Hands held up. Guilty as charged.
So, again folks, my apologies. My words were in no way aimed at you. We’re all fans after all, and sometimes our emotions get the better of us.
The Buxton Blog 
C’mon, Will, you nailed it the first time and imo no need for any apology. Only harsh commentary will quell the conspiracy theorists who, besides being rife in F1, still insist the WTC Towers were brought down by “controlled demolition” and the lunar landings were faked.
I agree with you, seth1066.
Mr Buxton, I completely understand that with your position you cannot irritate people too much but you had it completely spot on and the onus is on the conspiracy theorists whose delicate sensibilities were offended by someone pointing out how ludicrous the whole scenario they envisioned really was to sit and think critically.
Please keep writing and expressing your views without worrying about those people. They’re not worth anyone’s time.
It read as though you were pissed off at someone! Not bloggers in general, just a couple of them. But also a great of example of the ‘never blog when annoyed’ theory, because you’ll always upset someone. Loved the piece though
Will
I don’t think you had anything to apologies for, you wrote what was in your heart and that’s just fine with me. I often get annoyed at poor lazy reporting and often tell those bloggers how I feel about it.
Keep up the good work.
Will, dance the dance and do what you think is right but I will tell you that if your feelings drive your writing stand by what you say. You defended a new up and coming driver, you wanted to give an honest opinion about what you saw, run the risk of pissing people off, perhaps or speak the truth. I felt your article/blog to be just that. The Truth. Typically people are offended because they get called out on the truth, it cuts so deep the only way they can get around it is to take offense. Your statements didn’t mention any names or pointed the finger at anyone in particular and if it did then good cause what they wrote didn’t reflect the truth. I’m tired of the petty bs in F1, yea Masa didn’t run well and yes his time may be up but where is the grace of it all. Barrichello is now in Indy and is getting the love he didn’t get on the way out of F1. Don’t ever stop expressing your passion for the sport, especially if you feel strong enough to state the Truth. I had respect for you to begin with and now through your eyes appreciate the sport even more.
I was not offended. I do look to you and a select few other sources for the news about the sport I love. Not the rumor mongers!
Keep doing what you do.
Difficult thing to apologize for something you feel strongly about.
To be honest Will, I don’t understand what was so offending in yesterday’s post. I’ve found that after the Singapore 2008 controversy and the Hockenheim 2010 team orders, people just don’t like to credit Alonso with what he deserves. Everyone knows that Pastor Maldonado threw away a point scoring position at the last lap at Melbourne. So Sauber were obviously cautious. They did not want to throw away a podium in an attempt to score a win.
Your anger can be fully understood.
Another thing Will, the extent to which you apologize significantly brings down your sense of authority as a journalist – you become more like a casual fan. There will always be extreme comments to any blog post. I saw the comments – most were in favour of what you said. There were a few who felt otherwise and probably expressed in a rough manner. But that shouldn’t ruffle you. There was nothing wrong in what you said and the anger in which you expressed it was fully justified. So why the apology?
You’re an established journalist and commentator and I hear your commentary on every GP2 broadcast. When a journalist of your stature says something, it carries authority, particularly in an issue like this. Unfortunately you’ve come down from that position and submitted to whims of a few readers who were saddened by what you wrote. In fact it is this apology that does harm to your credibility, and not what you rightly stated yesterday.
I’m saying this because I appreciate your work, your posts and particularly what you posted yesterday.
Hey Praveen.
I’m not apologising for writing what I did about Sergio and the situation, I stand by that. But those who were upset by the piece did have a valid point that I should perhaps have chosen slightly different words in certain instances.
It is a criticism I accept, thus the apology.
Will
Keep up the good work Will. You have proved that you are a transparent and honest journalist – with no prejudice – by your post yesterday. I also got that feeling when in the GP2 Race 1 highlights you honestly expressed your displeasure about pay drivers of low quality entering the GP2 field.
And from your post today you also proved that you are concerned about your readers’ feelings, which no one can complain about. Just see to it that your care for the emotions of readers is balanced with your right to say some things in a certain way because of your authority as a journalist who’s there in the thick of things.
To me the only sour note was that you did not include the SpeedTV guys who raised the very same argument during the broadcast….or the whole of the UK TV media for that matter.
Underduvet bloggers have the same right to spout bs as the “real” journalists like …er, Martin Brundle?. But your points about Perez are spot on.
cheers
dont drink and write william, no go sit on the naughty step
I wish you would apologize for not having a new posting for us to read each and every day and guarantee us that you will do everything in your power to remedy that situation.
Blog on
Raise some hackles
Stir the pot
Just moved you to the top of My Favorites
I was more than pleased with your opinion. No offence whatsoever!!! Actually, I think you were very brave. Good job, Buxton!!
There are very few F1 websites who actually have a journalist at the races. You are there, so I trust what you say, and ignore the rubbish and cut-and-paste of all the wannabees.
Good of you to apologise.
Whilst not offended, as you state, your professionalism dropped in the heat of the moment and it turned you briefly into one of those bloggers. We are all human.
I don’t tend to read F1 material, I make my own mind up, so I found this by accident when looking for info on Perez.
All the best
Luca