#1D to 5SOS to BTS to F1

[blablayes]

this tumblr account has seen every fangirl phase I have ever had since I was 12.

[unhinged-jackles]

Dearest mutual. I know nothing of formula 1. Why are the ferrari and red bull brands fighting???

oh frosty i am so so so glad you asked bc now i get to be insane.

(this got super long so I essentially have an essay below the cut. if you're curious about formula 1, give it a read!)

Ok so first let me get into a few key people in this. Lewis Hamilton is a 7 time F1 World Drivers Champion and he has the most race wins of anyone in F1 history. He is regarded as one the best if not THE best F1 driver of all time. He has been on the Mercedes team since 2013 and has won 6 of his WDCs with them.

However, in 2021, he lost the championship to Max Verstappen of team Red Bull in a controversial final race in Abu Dhabi. Max Verstappen has been the WDC since 2021, winning in both the the 2022 and 2023 season. His 2023 season broke records I believe, winning 19 out of 22 races. Not only is Verstappen an incredible driver, just a real force to be reckoned with on the race track, but Red Bull's F1 cars are just fucking insane, especially in 2022 and 2023 because of new regulations leading to a new designs. It literally sounds like a fucking rocket and he wins by large margins.

On the other hand, the Mercedes cars that dominate from 2013 to 2020 took a huge dip in 2022 due to the new designs because of new regulations, and Hamilton has been very vocal about these cars not being up to par. Hamilton has always been very loyal to Mercedes, so it came as an extreme shock when it was announced on Feb 1st that he would be moving to team Ferrari in the 2025 season. Like imagine if when Zayn left 1D he went to 5SOS. Or if a member of Stray Kids joined BTS. Idk what else to compare it to but it was fucking insane, which is why I got into F1 because I was like "ok idk what's going on but I do want to know." However, with Hamilton moving to Ferrari in 2025, this means that Carlos Sainz is essentially fired from Ferrari (also I should have mentioned this before, there are 10 F1 teams and each team has two drivers). Charles Leclerc is Ferrari's favorite, I've seen him being referenced as the 'Prince of Ferrari' by fans. So it came as no surprise that soon after Hamilton announced he's joined Ferrari in 2025, Sainz issued a statement that he and Ferrari would be parting ways at the end of 2024.

So now the definite line up for Ferrari in 2025 is Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. Max Verstappen is also staying with Red Bull but the future of Sergio "Checo" Perez is uncertain. His contract is up at the end of 2024 and there have been rumors that he might be replaced.

Carlos Sainz has not signed with another team for 2025, at least not publicaly, so there is a lot of speculation on where he may go next. He is the only driver not from Red Bull who won a Grand Prix in 2023. Verstappen won 19, Perez won 2, and Sainz won 1. While everybody else I mentioned in this post did have a higher standing in the final rankings of the 2023 season, Sainz did get a trophy, and that's a result that matters.

2025 is going to be an incredible season to see the fight between Hamilton and Verstappen. Hamilton signing with Ferrari after finished 12 years with Mercedes shows he's really doing whatever is takes to get that 8th WDC, because that would make him the F1 driver with the most world championships of all time. Verstappen is a favorite to be the 2024 Champion, so he will probably be defending the title.

Now let's say that Perez doesn't renew his contract and Sainz has a good season this year. There is a non-zero chance that he could sign with Red Bull. Sainz was in their F1 academy, and he was beat out for the Red Bull F1 seat by Verstappen at the beginning of their F1 careers. I would literally do anything to see real hard racing between Carlos Sainz for Red Bull and Charles Leclerc for Ferrari, because frankly Ferrari keeps prioritizing Leclerc over Sainz, even if Sainz has a better pace. So to have the the 2025 lineup for Red Bull be Max Verstappen AND Carlos Sainz, while the fucking FERRARI team is Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc would be so insanely awesome.

If you read this far, thank you for coming to my ted talk 💋