Well, one thing is for sure, at least. He has quite a few haters.
He's not perfect. He has made mistakes. He undeniably pushes the rules to the limits at certain times (think track limits, moves in the braking areas etc). I have criticized him over some of his maneuvers in the past.
However there is no disputing one thing. He is box office. He has star quality. F1 needs him just like it needs Hamilton, Alonso and Vettel. Without pure thoroughbred racers the sport will die.