#Alex Bono

[chaos-and-recover]

It’s Pride Month and I’ve had this dumb post in my drafts for 5 years, please accept this collection of photos of my sports boo Alex Bono in all the colours of the Pride Flag. He doesn’t even play for Toronto anymore but I miss him.

[yoursistheonlyocean]

I'm wheezing, what is this????? 😂😂😂😂😂

[xxalexislost19xx]

"Veiw similar products" Bitch yes please!

[sinceileftyoublog]

Steve Wynn Interview: A Working Musician

Photo by Guy Kokken

BY JORDAN MAINZER

Make It Right (Fire) isn't your standard issue singer-songwriter record, even given the history of its creator, Steve Wynn, best known as the leader of legendary neo-psychedelic band The Dream Syndicate. Each song references, lyrically and/or aesthetically, something about Wynn's past, moments in his life and sounds he dived into throughout his long career. Peppy album opener "Santa Monica" is named after the city and boulevard where he was born. The drum machine-addled, deadpanned "What Were You Expecting" and slinky slow burn "Cherry Avenue" loosely connect with a time in his life where he was no longer bright-eyed and idealistic, learning the rules of a cynical world. The jangly "You're Halfway There" and proto-punk-funk of "Making Good On My Promises" soundtrack a perspective shift, where Wynn realizes that conquering antagonism can breed strength. "Scars, scars / I've got them pickled in a jar / Fables and warnings / I eat them for breakfast," he cheekily sings. The album ends with a strummed, yet distorted track named after where Wynn lives today: "Roosevelt Avenue". You can pick apart Wynn's life and point to exact moments where these songs might have taken place, but Wynn would rather you do something else. "You can just put on Make It Right and use it as the catalyst to create your own life story, dig into your own past," Wynn wrote in the album's bio. "It belongs to you now. Let it tell your own tale while I tell mine."

Really, if you want to know about Wynn's past, just pick up I Wouldn’t Say It If It Wasn’t True (Jawbone Press), his debut memoir, released in tandem with Make It Right. Though, according to Wynn, one is not needed to understand the other, it does make the exercise of not just breaking down Make It Right, but applying its lessons to your own life, a little easier. We might not all have grown up in Santa Monica, gone to a high school that produced members of Germs, had our band signed to a record label in our early 20's, and had said rapidly successful band break up in our late 20's. (That's where the book ends.) But we can all identify with having periods of our life that feel like a whole lifetime, followed by times of languishing. Really, it's not just Make It Right but Wynn's life, too, where we see ourselves.

Sunday, at the Hideout, Wynn will make a tour stop--that's a book and album tour--where he will play on acoustic guitar some tunes from Make It Right, Dream Syndicate songs, and other covers. He'll intersperse the performance with passages from I Wouldn’t Say It If It Wasn’t True. And he'll be joined by Eleventh Dream Day guitarist and vocalist Rick Rizzo, who will open the show, sometimes join Wynn in playing, and sometimes lead a Q&A session. Or, as Wynn put it to me over the phone last month, "asking me questions, calling my bullshit." Wynn's "foil for the evening" Rizzo was there for a lot of Wynn's stories, playing on the very song that inspired the book's name; he sounds like he'll be a proper, but friendly, antithesis.

Below, read my wide-ranging conversation with Wynn about his new album and book, his artistic process, and the difference between then and now when it comes to the music industry, scenes, and touring. One difference, according to Wynn, is that people plan far ahead now; Wynn let me know that the band's sophomore album Medicine Show will be reissued next summer! For now, immerse yourself in the world of Make It Right and I Wouldn’t Say It If It Wasn’t True. It won't feel like a lifetime.

Since I Left You: You released I Wouldn’t Say It If It Wasn’t True and Make It Right in tandem. You mentioned in the epilogue of the memoir that you got some external encouragement to write a book because Alex Abramovich liked what you had given him about The Velvet Underground for The New Yorker. The pandemic was as good as a time as any to start writing, but at what point did you realize you wanted to make a record alongside your memoir?

Steve Wynn: The whole time I was writing the book, which was over about 5 concentrated years, 10 years in total, I kept writing songs and recording material. When it came time to release the book, I thought it would be nice to have a solo record come out at the same time, just because I was gonna be touring the book. As much as I enjoy being an author, I'm primarily a musician. When I [looked at the songs] I had been working on, I realized they all completely reflected the memoir. Of course: I had been so immersed in writing about my life and things I had long since not thought about, the songs I was writing fit that same subject matter. I put [them] all together for a record that really fit the book. I contacted my label, Fire Records, and said, "Hey, I'm probably gonna press about 500 copies to have at shows," and they said, "It works as a cohesive, standalone record. We want to put it out."

SILY: When people read that the two are coming out at the same time, they might at first ask themselves to what extent the record is autobiographical. I like that you very much clarify that it's instead a parallel to your life, a collection of feelings rather than a collection of events.

SW: I always put my own feelings and emotions and judgements and takes on life in all of my songs, even if I'm writing about a baseball player or a killer or a character I read about somewhere. I still put my own stamp on it. On this record, most of the songs are about looking back on things that happened in your life, moments where you might have done something different, things you might regret. Time and time again, with all 10 songs, that's what's going on: "That's where I was, here's where I am now." That little path in between, would I change anything or just say, "Yep, that's what went down." That's me in all of the songs.

SILY: Sonically, the record seems to touch on different moments of your career, both with The Dream Syndicate and solo, and your different aesthetic inspirations. Was that a conscious decision?

SW: I don't think I thought about that much. The record [was made] in different sessions in different countries and with different musicians, [some songs] with longtime collaborators and some with people I had just met and said, "Let's try a song together." Like with every record, I went in and followed the other people in the studio, the songs, the mood at that point in my life, and what I was listening to, what it all pointed to. Even when I go into a record saying, "It's gonna be this kind of record," I roll with whatever happens.

There's a section in the book about jamming and how a lot of what I do is just respond to what's around me. That's my favorite thing and why I love new places on tour. I went on tour with The Dream Syndicate to play new songs [in preparation for] a record that became These Times, about six years ago. I was very influenced at the time by Donuts by J Dilla, which seemed very unlikely because of what I do. But I don't think it really was, because it's a record that has a psychedelic dream state collection of sampled music. It's someone saying, "This is my record collection processed through me." I thought it would be a fun thing to do in the studio, but by the time I got down to Virginia to do the record, with the other members of The Dream Syndicate, not only did it become a very different record, but they were the sessions that produced The Universe Inside. The surprises often outweigh what's premeditated. I'm fine with that.

SILY: In the book, you're very open about what songs in the past you've tried to rip off, because you think there's no way you'll get sued since the inspiration and your final product end up sounding nothing alike.

SW: [laughs] It's so true. If somebody says, "I love the reverb on that Yardbirds record," people now know how to get it. It used to be you didn't have a lot of choices or tools at your disposal to try to recreate something, so you'd get close to it. Now, you hear a record on Underground Garage on Sirius XM, and people have figured out how to do it. In my case, I loved this record by The English Beat, and [the song I made that was inspired by it] sounded nothing like that, becoming "Tell Me When It's Over". Before this book, I'd give $100 to any given audience member who could have [correctly] told me where I got the song from. I'd be saving my $100.

SILY: The book offers a window into your process without getting bogged down in it too much.

SW: I love stuff like that. A lot of books don't do that. I really try to do a fair amount of that in this book, and I could have done more. I really enjoy books where people talk about how they made the music. Not just, "I used this EQ setting," but where their mind was while they were getting there, why their favorite album became the way it was. Richard Hell writes about his sex life and psychological challenges: all great stuff. I chose to write about how I connected with music from age 4 as a fan to age 21 as a kid making his first record all the way through to the end of the book at age 28 when I became disenchanted and then regained the love for it once more. If I had to say the book is about something, it's about someone who loves music, embraces it, and gets lucky enough to make a career out of it.

SILY: Because a lot of the book takes place in and around L.A., every stranger you run into seems like a future star. One person turned out to be a young Hope Sandoval, and another "new band" you rejected for your label turned out to be the Pixies. Each reference one-ups the previous ones, and you can't help it, because that was the environment in which you grew up, and the time period seemed to be conducive to things like that happening.

SW: I think you're right. Most people who write a memoir who have "made it," you're going to run into people [in the book]. Most of my friends at this point in my life are other touring musicians. We can get together for dinner, like we did last night, and you're not trying to drop names, but the conversation is, "I ran into this guy." or "You know who I met last night?" It was a time where things were very innocent. You could meet Hope Sandoval as a 14-year-old kid star-struck at soundcheck who would later become frontperson of a great band. Even encountering Bono on that tour [where we opened for U2], we were all in our early 20's or younger, trying to figure it out. At the time, there wasn't as much of a developed scene for so many things that are taken for granted now. Before The Dream Syndicate, if you wanted to be a musician, if you wanted to pick up a guitar and make records, your goal was to be a star, to play the arena in town. There wasn't the idea, "All I want to do is make records and sell 2,000 copies, get some reviews, and be the coolest kid on the block." A lot of bands did that, like Big Star and The Modern Lovers, but that wasn't their goal. Even those bands thought, "Well, I'm on my way." Our generation, The Dream Syndicate and The Paisley Underground bands, was the first generation to say, "We'd like to make it, and it'd be fun, but we're emulating our other failed heroes." Some, despite that, made their way out of that. We did, kind of.

SILY: I always have to remind myself that a band's ascent and descent happens these days more gradually. Back then--and you give Creedence Clearwater Revival as an example in the book--not only were bands putting out multiple records a year, they were putting out multiple records a year we now consider all-time greats. The way the industry works now, with record release cycles, it seems like labels want to milk as much as they can out of one piece of music. A band that's been around for 20 years might only have 4 records.

SW: I find that to be not the case now. What you're describing was very much the case in the 80s, which I and so many musicians found frustrating. You'd make a record, and you were not expected to make one for another two years. What you're describing is probably true for the biggest artists, but what I really love these days is you can make 10 records a year if you feel like it, under different names and expectations. A band like Wilco can release albums, and Jeff Tweedy can make solo records and records with his sons at the same time. You can have your big label release and a record you put on Bandcamp. If somebody wanted to be the new Creedence, they could. They may not sell a million records, but who does these days? It's kind of come full circle to what it was before I was born, where the records are just something you use to get attention for your tour. That's okay, too, because I like touring. But yes, you do raise a good point: There were times when you were discouraged to be prolific. Now, if you want to be [prolific], knock yourself out.

SILY: Touring-wise, nowadays, you can still be the scrappy band coming up and playing for not a ton of money but touring cheaply. You can be an arena rock band, too, of course. But it seems like that mid-sized band, who might be signed to a major indie label, seems to have trouble staying afloat when it comes to touring, balancing their expenses with their revenue. In the book, you mentioned some touring struggles, too, playing to half-capacity crowds in rooms you sold out the prior year, perhaps due to oversaturation. What do you feel are the differences between touring then and now?

SW: There's a lot of truth to everything to you just said. We just had this meteoric rise, and before we knew it, we were on tour buses opening for two of the biggest rock bands in the world. I was staying in nice hotels and had a four-man crew catering my every need. I thought, "I guess this is how the world works." Luckily for us--even though it seemed unlucky at the time--we had a quick comedown after that. By age 25, I thought, "All I am is a working musician," and not in the way an arena rocker is. I learned early on that what I do is not that different from what John Lee Hooker did or what Dexter Gordon did, or all of these people who were not rock stars but jazz, blues, and folk stars. John Fahey went from gig to gig. Where it's all leading is two hours down the road where somebody is paying me $375 to play to 40 people, and I'm pretty damn happy about that, because that's the next stop. It's very rock and roll to say, "I'm building this," but we're working musicians. You hear people say, "Why is Bob Dylan touring? Doesn't he have enough money? Doesn't he want to take it easy?" No, because Bob Dylan is cut from the cloth of, "This is what I do. I play music for people and keep moving on. I'm a troubadour." I play in the band The Baseball Project with two people who don't need to tour, Mike Mills and Peter Buck, who have done very well for themselves with all the success they've gotten with R.E.M. They could live out their lives on some beach, but they love playing music. They love their friends and being on the road and having adventures. That's why they do it. For a lot of musicians like myself, that's more important than the end goal. My end goal is to continue to do it for the next 10 or 20 years. [That's] more important than strategizing.

SILY: I wanted to ask, since The Dream Syndicate and them seemed to have similar ascent and descent paths: Did you ever cross paths with Pylon?

SW: I was a big fan. In the days before The Dream Syndicate, I loved their first album and saw them at a club in Hollywood. I'm still a huge fan. I've met [vocalist] Vanessa [Briscoe Hay]; I wouldn't say I'm a friend. It's funny: These people were our heroes two years before we started, which at the time it seemed like they were so much older, like they'd been around. "We can only dream of some day living a life like Pylon or The Soft Boys." The next thing you know, you're playing the same clubs and talking about the same things in the bar after the shows. All roads lead to the same place.

SILY: In the book, you tell the story of when your 5th grade teacher told your class everyone was free to do whatever they wanted for 15 minutes, so you decided to mess with a classmate who was painting. Your teacher scolded you for using your freedom to stop your classmate from expressing his freedom. You write about how that interaction informed your philosophy on playing music, that there is a language and, if not a structure, a ways of working to jamming. Is that something you take in to every recording session, even on a record like Make It Right that's comprised of short pop songs?

SW: I try to. That [section on improvising] was the last thing I wrote for the book. I [included it] because it says a lot about what we did and still do. [The teacher's lesson] was a good lesson. As a bandleader, and I'm a bandleader to different extents, because The Baseball Project has 5 bandleaders and I'm kind of the bandleader of The Dream Syndicate--I get a lot of welcome pushback from my bandmates. I try to be energetic and excited about the idea I have and what I'm doing while realizing the people around me are musicians getting excited about what they're doing, too. If somebody's playing a beat or a riff or sound that rankles me, when is the right point to say, "That's not what I'm going for," or, "Maybe they have something going here I'm not quite understanding. I should give it a second."? Believe me, my wife and drummer, who is two rooms away right now, would say, "Steve, you do not [do that.]" It's such a hard thing and one of the hardest things in life, if you're in a relationship, in a band, or President of the United States, to say, "Thank you for all of the advice, but I've gotta do it my way." There's no right answer. You can point to 10 different instances in your life where you should have taken more control, and 10 more where you should have let up the control. We're always trying to figure that out.

SILY: In the bio for Make It Right, you encourage folks to use it as a launching point to tell their own story. In the book, you mention how much you loved Once Upon a Time in Hollywood... and felt it very much captured the essence of where you grew up. I know people who have seen that movie, who remember Sharon Tate's grisly murder and hate the liberties Quentin Tarantino took with the ending. Are you one who pays more attention to narrative in terms of a feel that a linear story?

SW: Sometimes, yes, sometimes, no. I like when a record or a song or a movie leaves a little room for you to find your way in. Sometimes, you can spell it out too much, and [as a member of the audience,] you think, "You did all the work, I have no place in this." Randy Newman writes minimal words to make his point, and you come out thinking, "Is that irony? Is that what he believes? Do I really understand this character?" I like a little mystery in the writing. I don't like fluffy nonsense impressionistic stuff from all of the people who thought they could be Bob Dylan in the 60's but are just [making] word salad of psychedelic terms. If you write something that makes just enough sense to give you an image but doesn't quite take you all the way there, that's exciting for me. My favorite things I've done are like that as well.

SILY: Your memoir doubles as a story of how a scene was born. Do you find yourself wanting to explore scenes of music these days?

SW: I don't think about it as much. It's really different now than the days of the Paisley Underground, British Invasion, or even punk rock. Even far into the grunge scene, we were still working separately. In the pre-Internet days, Seattle was one scene and New York was another scene. Now, in a city, there might be a bunch of bands who hang out, but we're all unified. You know everything and connect with everything. You can be Facebook friends with someone in Slovenia who shares your taste, start collaborating, and find out what's going on over there. I don't think "scene" means [what] it used to. If I hear a band I like today, if it's current, sometimes that's enough. The great thing about streaming or blogs or YouTube is you can keep digging as deep as you want. That's exciting.

It's easy to say things were better then for this reason, or 50 years ago, 30 years ago, 5 years ago. It's just different [now]. I wonder whether we'll talk about bands who have come up in the past 10 years, 50 years from now, the same way we talk about the bands from the 60's like the Kinks, or Television and The Clash. Will it have the same longevity? Maybe, maybe not. Even the big ones, like Taylor Swift. Will we in 50 years say, "She's 85, better than ever, singing all the great hits!"? Things seem a little more disposable now, but I shy away from saying that. [After all,] "Tell Me When It's Over" is a song about a 23-year-old saying to someone, "I don't need you to tell me how it was or how it is. I'll figure it out myself."

SILY: It can make you feel straight-up existential when you think about how today's bands will hold up in the future. The only sure answer is, ironically, that we don't know. Certain things can shift the cultural consciousness to the point where something you never thought would be long-lasting or influential turns out to be so. Anyone who says, "I always knew this band would get its flowers," is probably exaggerating.

SW: Big Star and The Velvet Underground are so fascinating. They weren't utter failures--they were more successful than people realize, as a touring band making records that didn't top the charts--but 50 years later, their music travels the world and is so beloved. If you're in your basement making music for 10 people on Bandcamp, you can say, "That will be me in 50 years," and maybe you will be. It's so hard to say, but it's great it can happen.

The one thing that's different is a certain type of music fan grew up in the glorious era of the 70's, 80's, and 90's where albums reigned supreme. The album was a great art form. This 45-minute thing, give or take a minute or two, was how we gauged great artistic achievement. We look at the Mount Rushmore records, the Exile on Main St.s, the Revolvers, the Blonde on Blondes, the Neverminds, the cherished great albums. [Like] before the 60s, [over] the last 10 years, albums [haven't mattered] as much. I wish they did, because it's a great art form, expressing a collection of songs. But I think we're back to the world where it's just a bunch of songs that show up on Spotify that make you happy for a few weeks. Maybe the next Jimi Hendrix will be a blogger. That's fine, too.

SILY: Recently, I interviewed a blues musician who said the sequencing of her records is not that important to her. She said, “But it’s important to me that they hear all the songs. They all fit on the record in some shape or form.” Pitchfork does a video feature where they ask musicians to name their Perfect 10 album, and a lot of them say, "It's great front to back, no skips!" Perhaps I'm an anomaly as a millennial, but I don't really skip songs on albums I don't like that much! I just listen through! It's what's intended. Even if I'm listening digitally, I think about it as if it's a record, where you can't just push a button to skip to the next song.

SW: Personally, when I hear an album, I still think about it in terms of side A and side B. I don't just think about sequencing, but I think about the spacing between the songs. When I go in to master a record, I don't want there to be a millimeter of a second too long. The space between song 1 and song 2 matters. If you're hearing an album as an album, that stuff matters. I'm a big movie fan. You know they're thinking about that stuff when they're making a movie. They cut the last 3 seconds off of a scene [to make it flow more.] That stuff matters. Whether it matters to a new generation, it may or may not, but it does to me. I'm making records for myself at this point, and luckily, enough people are along for the ride.

SILY: As much as I don't like to talk shit about Gen Z, because in many ways, they're the most tolerant, respectful generation yet, I saw the trend that some of them watch films sped up because their attention spans can't hold up.

SW: Wow. That's the first I've heard of that. The multi-tasking thing, "I'm gonna check my email, watch a movie, look at my phone every 10 seconds." It's just different. I don't want to make a judgement. When people get cynical or disdainful of a 7-year-old looking at the games on their iPad, I think, "Maybe we're just training a new era of humanity for what's next." Our great-grandparents had horses and buggies. We evolve. Maybe the way things are now is just part of the evolution. That's okay! Maybe there will be something fabulous. Maybe this is the next step to transporting into a new level of consciousness that will put us to shame. How do I know? It will be long after my time. I'm 64 now, and I think I've got hopefully a lot of years left of making records and not standing still. That's exciting. Maybe I'll make a record that will blow my current mind. That'll thrill me.

[superheroesfordoaareport]

Thank You, Bono, For “Saving My Life” (And Doa’a’s Too)!

Photos from back in the day of (from left to right) Joe Hoffman, aka “Cowtown Joe” and Bono when they both were sporting mullets By Joe Hoffman, aka “Cowtown Joe”, Program Director of Super Heroes for Doa’a Recently, while I was working from home doing my regular job, I was listening to U2’s incredible X-Radio station on Sirius XM. And after a few moments of rocking out to the killer tunes…

[swagging-back-to]

started outlining that one angsty fic ive had floating in my head for like a year now.

[diogoatjota]

No comment.

[5sospenguinqueen]

Little League Karting | George Russell x Reader

Summary: Fighting against Lando's big mouth and fans' speculations, George and Yn somehow managed to keep a special moment hidden from the private eye.

Requested: Yes by anon

Warnings: Pregnancy. Swearing, Fluff. Suggestive comments

2023 season. Pinterest pics

F1 Masterlist

━━━━ ༻𖥸༺ ━━━━

yn_ln just posted

liked by alexandrasaintmleux, alex_albon and others

yn_ln happy anniversary, georgie. here’s to 5 years together. i can’t wait to have at least 50 more with you 

2,992 comments

georgerussell63 happy anniversary, my darling. i’d spend forever with you on that beach 

alex_albon still can’t believe he went on holiday without me

→ landonorris he stopped loving us 5 years ago 

→ georgerussell63 you know you’re always in my heart

�� yn_ln and this is why @/lilymhe and i are running away together 

→ georgerussell63 but, i thought you loved me

user1 another day, another shirtless george pic

mercedesamgf1 the cutest grid couple 

→ landonorris actually that would be me and carlos

→ danielricciardo no it’s me and max

→ yn_ln stop stealing my moment 

charlesleclerc @/georgerussell63 as director of the gpda, i would like you to hear my complaint against your girlfriend posting shirtless pics of you. it has blinded me, thus hindering my ability to drive on sunday

→ yn_ln maybe if you looked at the track more than yourself in the mirror, you would see better

→ charlesleclerc now i’m complaining that she’s hurted my feelings

pierregasly it wouldn’t be a photo dump without shirtless george

user2 so no ring?

━━━━ ༻𖥸༺ ━━━━

yn_ln just posted

liked by mercedesamgf1, roscoelovescoco and others

yn_ln my weekend boys

3,850 comments

user3 who’s your favourite

→ yn_ln bono and roscoe 

→ georgerussell63 whoa now. i’ll remember this energy when you want me to stroke your back as you fall asleep

→ mercedesamgf1 toto said he would like to talk to you on thursday

→ yn_ln the boss man knows he has a special place in my heart?

→ mercedesamgf1 the question mark makes that doubtful - toto

lilymhe okay but the fit is serving 

→ yn_ln had to squeeze myself into those jeans. think i need to stop sneaking a macca’s when george isn’t around

→ lilymhe so long as we can keep our cheeky waffle sundays 

→ yn_ln always ;)

→ georgerussell63 excuse me

landonorris fake caption, alex and i aren’t here

→ danielricciardo i think you’ll find i’m her favourite

→ yn_ln my favourite doesn’t race anymore :( 

→ georgerussell63 sweetheart, kimi hasn’t raced for over a year

mercedesamgf1 lewis isn’t happy that you chose the photo that makes him look small

→ yn_ln i haven’t yet mastered photoshop. please pass my condolences to lewis for showing him his actual height 

user4 my favourite thing about yn’s race weekend posts is seeing how hot she looks in her race day fits 

→ user5 yes because she spends fri and sat in Mercedes merch and then SERVES on sundays 

━━━━ ༻𖥸༺ ━━━━

formula1 have added a new YouTube video

user6 not them still being referred to as 2019 rookies like it’s not their 5th year on the grid 

user7 did anyone catch what alex said at the end that made george and lando laugh?

→ user8 no i swear it was edited so we couldn’t hear 

user9 did you guys see the way alex and george looked at each other? they know something! 

→ user10 and the way lando giggled after like he’d done something wrong

user11 not george trying to save himself by saying she’s always in his heart 

→ user12 if i was yn, i’d be messaging him saying i caught the ick

→ user13 no because even george looked weirded out after saying it

→ user14 lando and alex immediately taking the piss out of him

→ user15 didn’t he say that to alex and lando once?

user16 lando definitely said something he wasn’t supposed to

→ user17 the fear in george and alex’s eyes before they tried to play it off

→ user18 and we can all tell that little league line was bullshit he made up on the spot 

user20 okay so we’re all thinking that one of the grid are having a baby right?

→ user21 the only question is who?

user22 but aside from his brief blunder, the way george spoke about yn in this 

→ user23 honestly my goal in life is to have a love like theirs

━━━━ ༻𖥸༺ ━━━━

yn_ln just posted

liked by carlossainz55, lewishamilton and others

yn_ln don’t mind me, just showing off my extensive hoodie collection

3,002 comments 

user1 everyone relax, she’s alive

user2 girl, you can’t vanish for 3 months and then show up just to post hoodies?

user3 i love yn but i cannot pretend that this is acceptable. she abandoned us for months and no apology

user4 no babe, we need you back in the paddock serving face and body 

landonorris oi, i’ve given you like five and you can’t be bothered- the audacity 

danielricciardo DR3 dominance, baby! 

carlossainz55 smooth operator

user5 love that she posts a lewis one, not a george one

→ user6 i find it odd. she hasn’t posted him in a while and he’s not liked the post 

→ user7 she only posted it 5 hours ago, give the man time

→ user8 but he’s usually always first and no comment?

charlesleclerc wait, i didn’t realise you were taking options from other drivers. can i add to the collection?

→ yn_ln only if it has ‘just an incident’ on it

maxverstappen1 i’ve got one with giant pockets so you can put all your snacks in it

→ yn_ln ladies and gentleman we have a winner! 

→ alex_albon i can’t believe he won

→ yn_ln yeah well he tempted me with pickles and peanut butter

→ oscarpiastri together?

→ yn_ln is that a judging tone! 

→ oscarpiastri no! please don’t cry again

━━━━ ༻𖥸༺ ━━━━

user9 um why is this hashtag trending. let’s not speak this into existence

user10 okay some of you calling us crazy but george and yn are one of the more public couples and now we get nothing?

→ user11 i need an interviewer to ask him about her because the way his eyes light up when he talks about her can’t lie to us

→ user12 yes! if the eyes are sad then we know they’re over

albonooo lily asked me to tell you to stop licking the screen

→ lightningmclerc oh so THOSE hormones have kicked in

→ letsgolando they never left, how do you think she ended up in this situation 

→ ynoncrack i am not a horndog! 

→ princessgeorge well…

chili55 please don’t have another child if this is what we have to deal with 

→ ynoncrack have i really been that bad 🥺 george said i haven’t been that hormonal

→ kiksgomes what is wrong with you, carlos! we just got her to stop crying

→ princessgeorge oh no, what’s up, honey?

→ golflils she was upset because your curls looked amazing and she couldn't run her hands through them

→ ynoncrack oh my god, i am a horndog! 

letsgolando all i’m saying, baby russell better be mega adorable after all this

━━━━ ༻𖥸༺ ━━━━

georgerussell63 and yn_ln just posted

liked by alex_albon, landonorris and others

georgerussel63 baby russell was born happy and healthy two weeks ago. whilst we settle into life as new parents, please enjoy some baby bump pictures to tide you over

10,499 comments

alex_albon i’m so happy for the two of you and can’t wait to meet mini russell

→ lilymhe you’re just glad yn won’t be crying on facetime anymore

→ alex_albon that too 

user1 okay but the hand placement wow

→ user2 we all know how they ended up here then lol

lewishamilton much love to the new parents ❤️

user3 oh so the complete opposite of a breakup then 

user4 hang on a second. so not only was yn pregnant but they've had the baby? parents for real?

user5 how did gossip girl george russell keep this from us

→ user6 especially when he saw us all theorising his breakup

→ georgerussell63 trust me, it was hard

→ yn_ln he wrote a bunch of tweets defending us on a fake account

charles_leclerc congratulations george and yn. i cannot wait to meet the little one

→ alexandrasaintmleux he's already had a bunch of baby ferrari onesies made

→ alex_albon over my dead body will my godbaby wear those!

williamsracing congratulations. what happy news

→ mercedesamgf1 you can’t have him back

→ yn_ln neither of you can have him over the next month. he’s all mine and bean’s

francisca.cgomes free my girl! those boobs belong to me

→ yn_ln always

→ georgerussell63 @/pierregasly please come get your girl. she's trying to steal mine 

→ pierregasly she’s right though. you don’t need to be groping her like that on main

→ georgerussell63 oh no one asked you, “tripod” 

landonorris oh, thank god. took you long enough to tell the world he was here. keeping it to myself these past few months was giving me wrinkles

→ user7 they’ve had a boy!!!

→ landonorris crap

→ alex_albon well done mate

→ landonorris but i did so well! 

→ user8 omg so it was george and yn who were expecting when lando made up that bullshit about little league karting

→ landonorris hey! i want to see their kid in a go kart so it wasn’t a total lie

━━━━ ༻𖥸༺ ━━━━

Tag list

@peachiicherries @rosecentury @leclercsluvs (you mentioned wanting to read this on an ask WEEKS ago and it's taken me forever to write it so i am so sorry!)

[no-144444]

the grid: time for a hot lap!

Day 22 of fic-tober! fic-tober masterlist

Featuring: Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Alex Albon, Daniel Riccardo, Charles LeClerc, Max Verstappen

୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ

Oscar Piastri: 

When Oscar told you that Mclaren wanted you to do a hot lap with him at the Austin GP, you were pretty shocked. Both you and Oscar were pretty against putting your entire relationship on blast, and you were usually too busy with your own job to make it to the GP’s, but you’d promised you’d do the triple header with him this time. 

“It’ll be fun,” he smiled, rubbing your back as you both lay in bed together. “I promise I won’t go too fast.”

You rolled your eyes. “I don’t care about the ‘going fast’ part. I care about the questions they’ll make me ask you.”

He chuckled. “It’ll be alright, I’ll ask them to not make it too inappropriate.” 

You sighed, knowing he really wanted you to do this. “Let’s do it.” 

“Thank you baby,” he pressed a kiss to your cheek and finally, you both got up for the day. 

⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ

The Texas sun was setting over the Circuit of the Americas, casting a golden glow on the iconic track. You sat in the car, Oscar revving it up as your heart dropped when you looked at the first question. “Holy shit Osc,” you mumbled, flipping through all of the cue cards. 

“What?” he asked, looking over. 

“These are all from, like, a horny question game!” you whispered. He immediately started laughing as he flipped through the cards, each one getting more ridiculous. 

“What are these? ‘Kiss me for 5 whole minutes’? What is this shit?” He laughed. 

“That’s one of the more tame ones,” you whispered. 

“This one is the worst,” he chuckled, showing you a card that says ‘Do you have any fetishes I don't know about?’ and you both bursted out laughing. 

“What do we do?” You asked, not knowing if you were meant to actually ask such personal questions. 

“Throw them out the window,” he instructed with a cheeky smile. 

You rolled your eyes. “Oscar, we can’t do that-!”

He grabbed them out of your hand and threw them out his window, then started speeding down the main straight. 

Oops. 

୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ

Lando Norris: 

“It’ll be funny!” You begged. “Come on, I promise I won’t scream- that much.” 

He rolled his eyes. “You barely let me drive anyways, what’s different about this, huh?”

“That’s so not true! I let you drive when I’m drunk.”

“Exactly!” He giggled. 

“Please Lan, let’s just do it, I promise it’ll be fun,” you poured, and he knew he had no defence now. 

“Fine,” he sighed. “But you owe me something in return,” he lifted an eyebrow and you chuckled. 

“You’re such a child,” you teased before placing your lips on his. 

⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ

He was pleasantly surprised at how much you enjoyed it. He sped along the circuit, and every time it came to the last corner, he obliged your begs to his again until you eventually did 6 whole laps going top speed. As you both got out of the car, while you spoke animatedly to the camera, he stood shyly behind you. As you two walked off ‘set’ (the pitlane) you turned to him. 

“What’s wrong?” You asked, taking his hand. “You alright? I didn’t push you too hard, did I?”

He chuckled, blushing. “It’s not that,” he mumbled and you understood. 

“That made you hard!?” You asked, shocked. 

“Shut up!” He whined. “I have a hot girlfriend, sue me!” 

୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ

Lewis Hamilton: 

It wasn’t the first time Lewis had asked you to do a hot lap with him, and you were sure it wouldn’t be the last. You had agreed, of course, and this would be the first time it was filmed for the general public's viewing pleasure. 

“Ready?” he asked, turning the car on. 

“Ready,” you nodded. As you two sped off, you looked down at the questions. “Alright, Bono or Toto for a night out?”

“Easy, Bono and Toto, both of them are great fun,” he smirked. 

“What’s the best advice you’ve gotten about love?” 

“When my dad told me to marry you,” he answered, not really thinking as he almost sent the two of you into a gravel trap.

“Fucking hell Lewis, at least pretend to still be good at your job,” you scolded as he laughed. “If you weren’t an F1 driver what would you be?”

“Probably a stay-at-home dad,” he shrugged. 

“What superpower would you want?”

“Teleportation.”

“Who do you miss more when you’re away, me, or Roscoe?” 

“Oh shit, that’s hard,” he smirked, thinking. As you two weaved around the final corner, you had no reaction, even when he drifted you barely batted an eye. It was impressive to say the least. “You, obviously.”

Actually, you hadn’t had a reaction to any of the driving, no gasps or sighs, no grabbing the safety handle, nothing.

As you two pulled back into the pit lane he looked over at you with a smirk. “Seriously? No reaction?”

You shrugged. “It’s not that thrilling.” 

He shook his head with a smirk. “You are something else baby.”

୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ

George Russell:

“You alright?” He asked and you shook your head.

“I would not have agreed to come out of the garage if it means that this shit is happening,” you gritted out. 

He just laughed and pressed a kiss to your hand. “You’ll be fine, don’t worry, you’re in good hands.”

“Babe- BABE!” you screamed as he shot off down the main straight and began the hot lap. “FUCK!” 

George just laughed as he weaved through the corners, you screaming the whole time. 

“Ask me the questions!” he instructed. 

“FUCK! LIFT GEORGE, FUCKING LIFT!” you screamed. There was a certain hilarity to your relationship, especially considering that you were his lead engineer. “THIS IS ALWAYS YOUR PROBLEM!”

“Ask the questions!” he laughed. 

“FUCK- a-alright, Lando or Alex- GEORGE PICK A FUCKING BREAKING ZONE!” 

He was laughing too hard to answer for a moment, but he composed himself as you gasped at every twist and turn. “Albono and I probably see each other more,” he chuckled. 

“Alright, next questi- GEORGE LIFT!”

“I know what I’m doing!” he shouted back, laughing. Just then, he iver shot it and brought you both straight into a gravel trap, stuck there. 

“You ‘know what you're doing’, do you?” you scoffed. “I am never doing this shit again, I sit in the garage for a reason-”

He leaned over and kissed you, a bright smile on his face. 

୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ

Alex Albon:

As a sky presenter, you’d been forced to do many strange things. For example, try and give Jenson Button a piggy back for 3 hours (you’d lasted about 40 minutes, which was pretty good), try to reconcile Brocedes (it kind of worked?), made many fans days, and had a great impact on the sport. 

“So you want me to do a hot lap with Alex?” you questioned Ted. He nodded. 

One thing you didn’t talk about often was the fact that in your 2 years at SkyF1, you’d started dating one of the F1 driver’s, Alex Albon. Neither of you were particularly keen on telling the public, because it just never felt like the right time. 

“Alright,” You shrugged. “I’ll do it.”

That’s how you ended up in the strangest position yet, driving your F1 boyfriend around the COTA track in a Ferrari. 

“So Alex, any advice for me?” you asked, turning to him.

“There’s no grip, don’t try to drift,” he chuckled. Honestly, he was enjoying this. He had taught you some of his drifting tactics and such, and he was really enjoying shooting with you. SkyF1 usually kept you two separate out of fear that you’d expose your relationship, so despite you being there every weekend, he rarely saw you during the day. 

“Got it,” you nodded, speeding down the main straight. Immediately, he started barking orders at you of when to lift and when to not, and he was screaming and gasping at every corner, while you just laughed. Honestly, you loved driving as fast as you could with no repercussions. 

As you finally slowed down to the end of the hot lap, he finally started breathing again and sighed. “I’m dating a lunatic!” 

You just laughed at him as he stood up from the car, legs shaking. 

୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ

Daniel Riccardo: 

You were terrified of what Daniel would do when he was given the chance to drive a very fast car, very fast, with no repercussions, and you as his passenger. 

“Not too fast, yeah? I already know you’re a great driver,” you smiled, trying to make him slow down. 

He just smirked. “Baby, y’know I’m a racecar driver, right?”

You grimaced. He accelerated. You screamed. 

“Isn’t this fun?!” he asked, doing doughnuts on the track. 

“FUCK NO!” you screamed. “Daniel slow down! Slow down!”

“Nothing is making me slow down now-”

“I’M PREGNANT!” You shouted. 

He brought the car to a startling halt and turned to you with wide eyes.

You took out your phone, ready with a photo of the positive pregnancy test. He gasped. 

“I’m going to be a dad?” he asked, eyes clouding with tears. 

You nodded. 

He pressed his lips to yours quickly, stealing a kiss, then another. 

୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ

Charles LeClerc:

“Mon coeur, please! It will be fun,” he begged. 

“No, no way,” you chuckled, trying desperately to get away from him in the Ferrari garage. 

“Rebecca is doing it with Carlos,” he told you. 

“So she doesn’t value her life? Ok, that’s fine with me,” you argued. 

“Please my love,” he asked, taking your hands. “One lap, I’ll slow down, I promise.”

You stared at him for a second. “One lap?”

“One lap,” he nodded. 

“And you’ll be gentle?”

“So gentle,” he nodded. 

“Fine.”

⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ

He was not gentle, nor was it one lap. He ended up taking you around 3 times, while you basically begged him to stop or slow down. 

When you both got out, you immediately ran to his driver’s room and tried to calm down, while he was interviewed. 

“Is she alright?” Ted asked. 

Charles smiled. “She’s not a big fan of stuff like this, so probably not,” he chuckled. “I might be sleeping in the guest room tonight.”

Ted chuckled. “Well, we understand why, you did drift the entire circuit 3 times and you almost went off 4 times.”

Charles sighed. “Thank you Ted.”

୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ

Max Verstappen: 

You’d sat in the passenger seat of his valkyrie aston martin a hundred times before, what would be so different about this?

A lot.

As Max drove and you screamed, he put his hand on your lap trying to calm you down. 

“MAX! BOTH HANDS ON THE WHEEL!” you screamed as he chuckled. “YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE A GOOD DRIVER!”

“I am a good driver!” he shouted back, over the sound of the engine. 

“Evidently not!” You screamed as he went straight over a curb.

“Do you want to see bad driving?” He smirked.

“No! No! That’s ok, just- MAX!” You screamed as he immediately sped up and started to drive even more recklessly. 

“FUCKING HELL MAX!” you screamed. “I’LL DIVORCE YOU!” 

He just laughed. 

What a way to announce your marriage, right?

୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ

navigation for my blog :) (masterlist)

fic-tober masterlist

taglist: @anotherapollokid @theseerbetweenus @simbaaas-stuff @5sospenguinqueen @yootvi

[cleolinda]

Satirical news publication The Onion has bought Infowars, the media organisation headed by right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, for an undisclosed price at a court-ordered auction.

The Onion said that the bid was secured with the backing of families of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, who won a $1.5bn (£1.18bn) defamation lawsuit against Jones for spreading false rumours about the massacre.

[…] The Onion plans to rebuild the website and feature well-known internet humour writers and content creators.

“We are planning on making it a very funny, very stupid website,” said Ben Collins, a former NBC News journalist who is chief executive of The Onion’s parent company, in a statement.

The website also posted a jokey article, saying that Infowars “has shown an unswerving commitment to manufacturing anger and radicalizing the most vulnerable members of society".

[…] No price would be too high for such a cornucopia of malleable assets and minds. And yet, in a stroke of good fortune, a formidable special interest group has outwitted the hapless owner of InfoWars (a forgettable man with an already-forgotten name) and forced him to sell it at a steep bargain: less than one trillion dollars.

Make no mistake: This is a coup for our company and a well-deserved victory for multinational elites the world over.

What’s next for InfoWars remains a live issue. The excess funds initially allocated for the purchase will be reinvested into our philanthropic efforts that include business school scholarships for promising cult leaders, a charity that donates elections to at-risk third world dictators, and a new pro bono program pairing orphans with stable factory jobs at no cost to the factories.

As for the vitamins and supplements, we are halting their sale immediately. Utilitarian logic dictates that if we can extend even one CEO’s life by 10 minutes, diluting these miracle elixirs for public consumption is an unethical waste. Instead, we plan to collect the entire stock of the InfoWars warehouses into a large vat and boil the contents down into a single candy bar–sized omnivitamin that one executive (I will not name names) may eat in order to increase his power and perhaps become immortal.

[alltoolewis]

The Paddocks angel- Lewis Hamilton

Slowly getting back into the swing of writing after finally finishing nursing school 💜 I obviously had to return with my favourite!!! Hope you all enjoy & feel free to send requests in xx

Summary- When (y/n) spots Alex struggling with press and 'fans' she makes sure that your boyfriends future teammates girlfriend has someone in her corner... leaving Lewis to watch in awe! Requested :)

Words- 1.6K

**requests are back open however please be patient as I have started a new job a nurse :) **

The atmosphere mirrored a typical race weekend in Italy, complete with passionate fans gathering along the metal barriers and media professionals prepared with their microphones and cameras, anticipating photo opportunities of the drivers and their partners. But to you there was something lurking in the air that you couldn’t seem to put your finger on.

"You okay, love?" your boyfriend asked sweetly breaking your gaze as you sat in his blacked out car, ready to put a start to the busy weekend to come. "I think so..." hesitation laced in your voice as your eyebrows furrowed together in confusion, matching Lewis's as he listened to you contently "I just have this feeling like something is going to go wrong, not with you or the car but something else... I just don't know what"

Lewis gave a gentle smile as he placed his hand reassuringly on your thigh. You both had grown accustomed to these intuitive feelings since you started accompanying him to the paddock two years ago. Surprisingly, your instincts had been quite accurate so far. "Nothing is going to happen, angel," Lewis said with a loving sigh, planting a kiss on your temple. "I'll be by your side the entire weekend, and when I can't, someone will take my place."

"It's not the same though.." Even after two years of dating the renowned F1 driver, you still grappled with anxiety over his hectic lifestyle. Though you wanted to make it work for him, you couldn't envision his fame-filled world ever feeling "normal." Deep down, Lewis sensed your discomfort with the spotlight that had consumed you since your relationship began, and he was plagued by guilt for involving you in it. Despite any doubts, he was certain of your mutual love and devotion. As long as you had each other's backs, there was no challenge you couldn't overcome together.

He cradled your face, his hand moving from your thigh. "We're a team, remember? What do I always say to you?" A fond smile spread across your face as the familiar words echoed in your mind - a sentiment he had expressed to you many times in the early days of your relationship: "No matter where you are, you are always with me."

He pushed closer, eliciting a soft, giggled sigh from you. "Because you have my whole heart," he murmured, closing the distance between you. His lips brushed against yours as he reassured, "You're never alone, my angel. You have my heart always." Emotion choked back your words, as tears welled in your eyes. Instead, you squeezed his hand three times - a silent gesture conveying the feelings you couldn't express. "C'mon, psychic Sally, we're running late. You ready?" He gripped your hand tighter, by feeling his strong grip you nodded. "With you always."

The moment you stepped out, the usual clamour of screams and shouts erupted, signalling the end of your private time with your boyfriend. Yet, your comfortable bubble remained unbroken. True to his promise, he remained by your side throughout the walk, breaking away only to briefly hug patient fans.

As Lewis moved throughout the morning, you followed closely by his side. "You can leave me on my own, you know? I'll be fine," you said, smiling as he pulled you onto his lap. Ignoring Bono's curious stare, Lewis continued discussing race strategies. "I know, I just don't want to..." Your mind drifted from the serious conversation, focusing instead on your boyfriend's hand tracing shapes on your thigh and your head resting gently on his shoulder.

Suddenly, another wave of worry washed over you, causing you to tense up in Lewis's arms. Sensing your discomfort, he immediately asked, "You okay, darling?" Not wanting to further disrupt the meeting, you cautiously nodded "Yeah, I think I just need some fresh air." As you carefully tried to stand up from his knee, his hand instantly followed your movement, and before you knew it, he had risen to his feet alongside you. "I'll come with you. This is almost finished anyway, right Bono?"

"Not really, we still have to discuss..." Bono's voice stopped as he noticed his friends narrowed stare. You gently placed your hands on your boyfriend's shoulders and pushed him back into his chair. "Stay here," you giggled, planting a reassuring kiss on his cheek. "I'll be right back - you won't even know I've left!" He sulked, his posture drooping as he sank into the chair, worry still etched on his face. "I will!" he declared, then added pleadingly, "Promise me you'll phone if you need me?" Holding up his pinky, he waited for you to securely wrap your own around it. "I promise," you smiled, gently pecking his lips. "Enjoy your meeting, handsome." As you walked away, you couldn't help but laugh at the groan you heard behind you. From the start of your relationship, fans had always pointed out the clinginess between you two, though you bore the brunt of the blame. If only they could see moments like this, instead of just the snapshots.

As you exited, an unexpected impulse led you to turn left towards the entrance, rather than your usual path to the paddock. Noticing your change in direction, Lewis watched you curiously, equally unsure of your reason for going that way. Though he tried to concentrate on what his team was telling him, he found himself unable to do so.

"Sorry guys I will be right back" He spoke calmly despite the panic filling him. Ignoring his team, he carefully tracked behind you keeping his distance as he watched your steps.

As you rounded the corner, the familiar cacophony of cameras and frenzied fans caught your attention. Despite the usual chaos, this sounded more manic. Approaching closer, you noticed a large crowd gathered around someone. Your initial instinct was that it was just one of the drivers, but upon closer inspection, you recognized the flowing brown hair and panicked brown eyes of Alex, your boyfriend's future teammate's girlfriend. You wouldn't say you were close with her yet, as she had only recently started joining Charles in the paddock and you hadn't had a chance to connect. However, as you saw the crowd and screams continue to escalate, you knew, despite your own anxiety, that you had to intervene and help. Little did you know that Lewis was also watching closely, ready to intervene if needs be.

As you approached the scene, you realized the younger girl, Alex, was in distress and needed help. "Excuse me! Coming through," you called out politely, gently guiding people aside until you reached Alex. "Alex, there you are!" you said, wrapping your arm around her. Noticing the puppy in her arms and the worried look on her face, you said, "We've all been waiting for you. Let's get Leo to Charles, and then we can grab a bite to eat." Winking at her to play along, you guided Alex out of the busy area.

"C'mon, guys, I think you got enough pictures now. Can we please have some girly time?" you smiled as you neared Ferrari's garage. "I promise if you go, we'll get the boys to come out later," you added. This seemed to work, as the crowd dispersed, excited to see next year's Ferrari drivers.

"Thank you so much, (y/n)," Alex sighed, her grip tightening on the puppy. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come. I still don't know my way around here, and I got a little lost." Smiling sweetly, you wrapped your arms around her, realizing now that you had been shaking too. "You don't have to thank me. Us girlfriends have to stick together - we're a team!" Patting little Leo on the head, you continued towards the Ferrari garage. "C'mon, let's get you to Charles. He'll be worried sick!"

As you approached with Leo safely in Alex's arms, Charles was already waiting nearby, head in hands. His eyes went wide with relief when he saw you. "Oh my gosh, amour, where have you been?" he exclaimed. You stepped back to give the couple some privacy as Alex explained what had happened.

Charles then turned to you, releasing his girlfriend to wrap his arms around you. "Thank you so much, (y/n)," he said. "Lewis is right - you really are the paddock's angel!"

Your brow furrowed at the unfamiliar phrase. "He said that?" you asked. Charles laughed. "He says a lot of things, love. Speaking of the devil..."

Your head whipped around to find your boyfriend 'hiding' behind the door. "You've been caught, mate," Charles chuckled as he rejoined Alex. "Maybe try not to hide behind an open door next time."

After Alex and Charles thanked you again, you were left alone with your curious and smitten boyfriend. "Only be a minute, eh?" Lewis smirked, taking your hand and kissing the back of it. "Pretty sure you were gone longer than that! What happened to not realizing you were gone?"

You quipped back with a raised eyebrow, "What happened to staying in your meeting?" He watched you with amusement and smiled proudly as he replied, "I had a gut feeling that something was going to happen, but I didn't know what."

"Oh, did you figure out what it was?"

"Just my girlfriend making me proud as usual," he said, his lips ghosting closer to yours as he whispered his favorite words, "I love you so much, you know?"

"I know," you said, closing the gap between you once more. You smiled as you continued, "I love you too, although we may have to walk through the entrance again." Curious, he looked at you, his expression puzzled. "Why?" he asked.

"Don't ask..."

[28ms28]

Okay lights out and away we go!

Franco Colapinto emotional radio during formation lap

Vb thanking Ferrari engine(1st time anyone has ever done that)

Max "Turn 1" verstappen going for it and channelling his inner Ferrari boy and taking Oscar out(my favourite Ferrari boy mr max verstappen)

Vb and Sergio Perez making contact and Checo retires from what could be his last race for Redbull or last race in f1 ever

Pierre Gasly is somehow 3rd on the road

and Charles is umm *checks notes* P12 SOMEHOW MAKING UP 7 POSITIONS IN HALF A LAP

yuki had a shit start some clutch problem

And *checks notes again* oh and Charles Leclerc is p8 now lap 2 is not even over yet and he's p8 now he's gained 11 places. ELEVEN

KMAG has gained 7 places. Goat behaviour

Oscar is p19 and last(oof)

Alpine fighting and winning against mercedes(what the hell, sure)

Lando timing the vsc perfectly and running away from Carlos

Oscar hitting Franco and puncturing Franco's tyres(another oof moment for Oscar)(he'll get a pen for that)

Max and Oscar and Vb all get a 10 sec penalty

"move of a wdc that one"(Oscar you funny man)

"We are p8""woohoohoo"(charles you funny man)

It's so over for Mercedes(loosing against alpine)

"G.O.O.D."(Oscar stop)

Fernando Alonso makes his own track up for a while(that was so foul from Martin lmao)

Lewis making up a heap of places not so slowly but surely

Charles Leclerc 3rd track limit strike in span of 12 laps(bro was pushing hard i applaud)(kept in under control for the rest of the race)(i applaud again)

Kmag slow pitstop ruining his race(why does this always happen with Haas)

Alex Albon and Zhou Guanyu apparently being investigated for a false start

Zhou getting a 5sec penalty. Alex is freeee.

Yukierre having beautiful w2w

Charles undercuts George and Pierre and is effectively p3 now

It's a bird it's a plane it's Charles Leclerc overtaking everybody(wtf did he have for breakfast)

Vcarb going a vcarb and forgetting how to properly bolt a tyre and messing up Liam's race(it gets way worse later)

Forget that, it gets worse NOW they get 10 sec stop go for unsafe release on track. That's like 30 seconds.(Wdym it still gets worse later wdym)

Ferrari pitting Carlos and it's a fast stop(2.2). Wonderful

Mclaren pit Lando and holy shit that's even faster(2.0).

Franco retires from the race (goodbye Franco may heaven for Williams tortured drivers welcome you with open arms)

Carlos is pushing his tyres to get closer to Lando (gee I wonder if this will have future consequences on his fight with Lando for the wcc)

Alonso not putting up much of a fight with Max but doing so with Oscar(cinema)

Bono apparently has a plan that can result in Lewis being p3 (Gaslight gatekeep girlboss Bono)(they came close to p3 I'll give him that)

"Stupid idiots" lmao Max and Oscar being their own version of aggressive on the radio lol

Oh my god Valtteri and Kmag making contact. Unfortunate for both of them. One of those contacts you can't really blame on either of the drivers but yeah sucks.

Valtteri retires from the race he had too much damage(the lesson here is don't make emotional radios on the starting grid or you have a high likelihood of not finishing the race)

Kmag sets a fastest lap with a damaged car(goat behaviour)

Both Aston Martin cars committing war crimes against Oscar piastri's race all throughout their race(lol cannot make this shit up)

Ferrari are p2-p3 and both of their tyres are hanging on by thoughts and prayers

"Dou kan do dat": Toto wolff(idk why I put this here I just like making fun of him sometimes)

Martin bringing up Fernando's dark times around the abu dhabi circuit(what did nando do to you Martin let the man be omg)

Oscar almost binned it into the wall cause yuki's car upset his own(nice save tho)

"This😭is😭the😭rhythm": Charles Leclerc(says while barely hanging on to his tyres said rhythm)

Anthony:Carlos has a potential puncture and something has flown into his cockpit apparently. Crofty: ah ok 👍(the skyf1 comms are so unserious my god)

Liam's car realizes that it doesn't want to finish the race and decides to ends itself

Lewis gets that P4 on the last possible moment making a fantastic overtake

Lando wins the race and Oscar got P10 so McLaren win the constructors!!!(They have 666 points.)(This was just in spite against their rival catholic team)

Ferrari 2-3.(Next year will be out year guys Forza Ferrari)(*Shakes violently*)(also this next year will be our year can be heard on lando radio as well lol)

Alpine finished above Haas in the constructors (which a/c to me is baffling that these two teams were even fighting for p6 considering the start of their season)(but no all 4 drivers were on it the whole season)(such a shame for Haas tho at one point it looked like it was surely going to be them)

Max verstappen somehow made it to p6 WHICH IS HIS LOWEST FINISHING POSTION THIS SEASON.I REPEAT P6 IS HIS LOWEST FINISHING POSTION P6.(Goat behaviour).

Lewis and Zhou do donuts(different locations)

Charles leclerc got dod(deserved)

Max went to apologise to Oscar after that turn 1 incident(yes max verstappen apologised)(apparently he does that to the Leclercs)

Lando and team were celebrating very nice to see and then mbs showed up and ruined it(zak brown was there so it already was kind of ruined)(and then the two evils hugged each other...astronomical amounts of evilness was achieved)(the only thing that kind of saved that frame of them hugging was that Lando was hugging his dad in the background)

Charles was sulking even after that masterclass race and then mbs showed up and ruined it even more

Also Jannik Sinner was supposed to wave the chequered flag and he looked absolutely devastated to do that(it's okay Italian boy next year will be our year come back next year)

Cooldown room was carlando+homophobic charles(charles really said RPF is not fine)

Cooldown room was also where zak brown and mbs were(who let them in man)(justice for Andrea Stella)(Andrea left Ferrari for McLaren and when McLaren win he doesn't even get to be on the podium smh)(plus he's cooler than zak brown)

Charles the absolute evil man hehe'ed at Max and Oscar spinning (the only time he smiled after during all of this btw)(lestappies rise)

Podium was nice if you were anyone other than charles leclerc. You have zak brown being borderline animalistic and overjoyus being more happy than the entire team combined lol. Also Carlos's last podium in red♥️

pray for george russell and charles leclerc nothing wrong with them they had to stand on the podium with brad pitt and act like they weren't just sulking.

You also have the Ferrari and McLaren crew hugging each other in the pitlane.(No...fight fight!)(Jk jk no but it's really nice to see those two teams not hold toxic grudges)(The season is over focus on next year if you're a Ferrari fan) (this season is over focus on next year if you're a McLaren fan but celebrate first)

Oh also nico rosberg has been saying Lewis Hamilton is his friend and also the greatest driver of all time(idk what implications this has but I don't think the goat part should surprise you he has always put lewis above others)

We saw 24 drivers this season and 5 of them have not made it past 2024 with a full time race seat. Thank you for your services Kmag, Valtteri, Zhou, Logan and Daniel. History will not forget you and we might see you some other time in f1 nobody knows how this circus works! (also checo could be a part of this club pray for him i suppose)

[russilton]

Huh crocheter George... I can see him doing it and he seems like a person that would make stuff for his friends?

Someone gave Carlos a crochet chili? So something like that

Obviously first to like Alex and Lando etc and now I want Lewis to be a bit jealous and offended that everyone seems to be getting something self made from George from him (except of course, it's fine to give something with potential mistakes to your best friend and other friends but to someone like Lewis? It would have to be perfect which means improving a lot before you dare present something....)

(Anon I have been working on this for months now- since you sent it, but you can’t complain it’s late or that I made it knitting instead of crochet since you got what is in essence, fic) (un-edited because my wife is sick, there was no planning, just vibes)

word count: 4679

It started as a stupid way to prove to Alex he did in fact have artistic skills. Somewhere between grainy YouTube videos and detangling knots it became a way to decompress between sessions, it made for good practice with repetitive actions and not making mistakes, something in following stitch patterns that isn't that different from memorising turns and breaking points.

Incorporating new colours and designs teaches him to build patterns in his head that help with race planning. It's surprising how much the skills intersect. The only problem that arose was just how many scarves he ended up with.

So, George makes everyone scarves. Everyone gets a scarf. It’s a straight line and easy to follow. He has to get rid of the results of his labour somehow.

Aleix? Scarf. Bono? Scarf. Marcus’ scarf has extra fancy tassels. Riki’s has his first ever pole time embedded in it in little pixelated number shaped stitches. Mike’s scarf is almost as long as he is tall, George finally conceding it was long enough when he ran out of yarn at that weekends race. Shov’s scarf is connected in a loop, when asked, George teases ‘it’s because you’ve been here forever, Andrew.’ and has to duck out of the room and set off running before it gets pelted at his head. Shov does keep it though, along with one George manages to slyly pay Anthony to slip into his bag for Jenson. Toto gets sent home with scarves for Susie and each of his children. His is hidden at the bottom, so George doesn’t have to look him in the eyes when he finds it.

George only has to squint at Fred with red ears and nose, on a chilly Silverstone test day huddled up beside Mick in their boyband style white puffers, before he’s handed a black and silver scarf a week later. It doesn’t matter how much he protests being from a northern circle country, if Valtteri got a scarf so does Fred.

The fact Valtteri’s attempt was one of his earlier ones and has a finger sized hole in it is of no consequence. After all, Alex’s scarf has more holes than it has clean runs, but George just tells him it’s to get him used to the Williams style of living. If James Vowles' scarf is a lot neater, George challenges Alex to go and fight him for it.

Charles gets one in a red so vibrant it almost glows, though it’s not until after a summer break, George wouldn’t be caught dead working with Ferrari red in his garage, even now. Mick’s is a similar red, if paler, patterned with a grid of white stitches, and he looks surprised when George drops it in his lap, but it morphs into his wide bright smile when George just nods at him. Even Nicky receives a scarf in Williams blue with little wonky maple leaves patterned in white down the length of it mailed to him after a particularly stressful season opening. Nicky's girlfriend sends him a photo of him wearing it while they stand in snow up to their ankles. It feels good to know he's doing alright.

Eventually George’s scarves get more and more complicated, new patterns and shapes appearing as he pushes the boundary of his easy little plans, and finds new ways to occupy his mind during the hardest parts of the season. Eventually even drivers George knows a little less well find themselves with an unlabelled gift George gets snuck to them— Yuki and Guanyu both have the good sense to not question it too hard. Esteban texts him a middle finger, but he doesn’t get it back.

Even Roscoe gets a scarf, perfectly shrunk in size for his boxy head, rows interwoven with yellow and purple that he wears proudly as a bulldog can for a modelling photo in his home in LA alongside Angela who’d been more than excited to partake in George’s unspoken mission. The Bulldog looks stylish and comfortable despite it not being even close to the right season for it. He’s a professional after all.

—

Lewis gets nothing, which, y’know, he’s fine with. Roscoe got one so that kind of counts, and he’s been told he’s hard to buy for with his eccentric fashion sense, doubled by the fact he has enough money that even he doesn’t know what to do with it all sometimes. He’s worn more scarves than most people have ever owned, the majority of them handed to him by his stylists and then neatly returned that same week, their loan period from the brands vying for his attention ending without much fanfare.

He’s only kept one or two that particularly held his interest, and while Lewis doesn’t know their exact price, he knows that they probably cost more than one of the team's laptops. While Lewis has long been comfortable with his wealth, every now and then it still catches him, like a missed tag in a shirt, itchy and distracting.

This was one of those times.

When he’d first seen the scarves popping up around the garage, in the early part of that season when they’re still racing in deserts and countries close to the equator, he assumed its a new fashion trend he just isn’t aware of yet. It doesn’t make sense to him the way trends usually do; the heat of the climate combined with the way all of them are so varied and different. The only connecting factor is the handmade air to them, holes and sloppy loops peppered across the lengths. He even starts to wonder if one of the mechanics partners was sending them to races with gifts.

Lewis is used to purposefully distressed fabrics, so it takes him longer than he’d care to admit to realise what’s going on. He really should have noticed when Bono got one, as notoriously intolerant to modern trends as he usually is, but it isn’t until Valtteri of all people texts him a photo of himself with one tucked around his neck and newly trimmed mullet on a cycling trip between races that he finally cracks.

———

[VB sent an image]

LH: Where the hell did you get that thing, I keep seeing them everywhere

VB: This is a moustache Lewis, you should be familiar with the concept

LH: Har har

LH: wise ass.

LH: I meant the scarf

VB: Ask your boytoy

VB: it was him who threw it at my head in Spa last week

LH: George???

VB: who else

LH: don’t call him that- since when is he buying everyone scarves?

VB: but you knew who I meant didn’t you

LH: answer the question

VB: I’m pretty sure he made it, there’s a lot of holes

LH: Since when does George knit?????

VB: these sound like questions for YOUR teammate, I have pedalling to do

VB: 👋➡️🚴‍♂️

LH: what the hell man

LH: did you seriously just ghost me rather than answer

LH: fuck you

LH: and your secrets

LH: I hope tiff beats you

LH: 🖕🏾

[Valtteri BottASS liked a message]

——

The conversation with Valtteri leaves him even more confused than he was before. Despite the fact he now has even more questions swirling around his head, he does not ask George what’s going on. The last thing he wants to do is find out why he’s been excluded from the man himself. Lewis chooses not to question exactly why that is.

He’s also glad he hadn’t asked his stylist to find it for him like he’d planned to, containing his mild embarrassment down to just Valtteri, who he’s reasonably sure won’t tell George he asked about it. Valtteri may deeply enjoy fucking with Lewis, but not enough to have a conversation with George about it. If there’s one thing Valtteri objects to on all levels it’s being involved in… whatever is going on between Lewis and George.

Lewis isn’t quite sure what it is either. They’ve been dancing around each other for years now, Lewis isn’t quite sure when George turned from colleage to friend, and he really doesn’t know where they stand now they’re teammates who spend almost every week together in some form. The formality of clear labels was lost somewhere in the late night strategy sessions and food shared at different tables across the world at every hour of the day, from late breakfasts in Qatar to eyes-barely-open meals at 3am in Singapore. He wouldn’t call George his best friend… but he’s not sure he would call George just his teammate anymore either. He’s George. Whatever that means.

That lack of definition bites him in the ass sometimes, such as cases like this one where he has no idea what he is to George in return.

In his final year with Mercedes it had only gotten harder to figure out where they stood. In the years prior it had been a little easier at least, they'd had their ups and downs as they fought the car and worked hard not to fight with each other, but they'd always settled somewhere level. George's warmth toward him had felt unshakable.

Now it feels like they're both in some kind of pendulum motion, sliding from a desire to keep some distance, to make it hurt less, to an almost clingy need to soak up the time they have remaining together. It feels silly really, it's not like Lewis is retiring, he'll still be there, a couple doors down from George...but he can't escape the reality of knowing it'll be different.

Coupling that with his already complicated and grief heavy emotions about the entire team, and the fact their needs don't exactly line up most weekends, it's been a hard year. Lewis is pretty sure he's pulled George into more hugs this season than he has any other teammate before, but that didn't stop the sting of weeks where George seemed to catch a glance at him and turn tail and run for his drivers room. He doesn't feel particularly emotionally intelligent, but the slip of pain and something pinched in George's too clear eyes had been plain as day.

He knows there's nothing he can really do about it other than let George feel what he feels, but it still felt like a balm when George would grab his hand after a good race with that crazed joy in his eyes he always got, sweat practically flicking off every strand of his hair, and smile so bright it shone reserved just for Lewis, rubbing away any awkward moments from that weekend, like when George had winced when Lewis as squeezed his hand in greeting in Silverstone, mumbling something about sore fingers that Lewis hadn't understood.

Coming into their final races together as they do now, every movement feels amplified, every gesture and discussion hangs with the weight of being potentially his last with his team the team. Thoughts about George and scarves get lost in the heat of desert tracks and a cloying grief he finally has to face head on without the facade of getting through the year. He's not sure he's ever felt this emotional in his life. Leaving Mclaren had been a breath of fresh air and a weight lifted even if he'd loved what they had achieved together. Leaving Mercedes feels like moving away from England for the first time, unsure of what will be on the other side, or if he'll be able to make somewhere foreign and so different feel like his home again. Unsure if he wants to.

George seems to almost disappear behind that. Lewis figures he's giving him time to say goodbye to his team uninterrupted. Despite the fact George had been part of the Mercedes family in a way almost as long as Lewis has driven for them, they both know there's something different about it, and he's thankful for the space. He can press down the guilty, aching and confusing emotions he has about George into a box in the back of his mind to be handled late. He doesn't have time to unpack Georges furtive, almost nervous peeking at him between monitors when he's listening to Shov present their debrief for what might be the last time.

That's does however leave him ultimately unprepared for when George does finally demand his attention, by appearing on the doorstep of his drivers room after they're wrapped up for the evening, qualifying finished and preparations for the race day concluded, with what appears to be a colourfully wrapped lump in his arms.

Lewis is still blinking at the shiny obstacle between them, overhead lights glinting off the chrome coloured paper, when George speaks.

'Sorry mate, I hope I didn't interrupt anything did I?' His voice is oddly high pitched, sounding a little like when Lewis knows he's trying to lie to Toto about how much sleep he's had.

'No man I was just packing up for the night'

'Mind if I come in before you leave? It won't take long I promise,'

Lewis murmurs a quiet uh sure as he steps back, gesturing George inside and then shutting the door behind them as he see's curious eyes in the engineering bay start glancing over toward them. Even Bono, Mike, and Marcus, still clustered in the corner as normal poking away at their laptops seem to be looking over, trying and failing to seem subtle as if Lewis hasn't had over a decade to pick up on what Bono looks like when he's trying to listen to gossip.

In the privacy of Lewis' drivers room George spins around to face him and before he can even ask what's going on, George is pushing the thing he brought with him into Lewis' grasp

The parcel isn't too dense, but there's a weight to it that feels like it has to be good deal heavier than the wrapped scarves Lewis had watched George pass out in the past, and it looks at least three times the size them. Lewis barely has a second to try and figure out what it is before George’s fingers twitch toward him, like he’s itching to pull it from Lewis’ hands and unwrap it himself because Lewis is being too slow. Wordlessly, Lewis holds the package back out, gesturing for George to go ahead, and rather than steal it back out of his hands, George crowds up into his space to start unpicking the paper.

George’s wrapping handiwork has never been strong, but Lewis can’t really pay attention to that when George is this close, towering above him but seeming almost small in his nervousness. The moment feels strangely intimate as George slips those long fingers between his own crumpled tape job, tugging the attached parts free until he pulls back the final fold to reveal his signature woven handiwork.

George steps back then, leaving Lewis holding his presented gift in a cradle of paper. Out of the corner of his eye Lewis sees him twist and wring his fingers together as he watches, but Lewis can barely focus on how George might be feeling as a wave of... something hot and warm rushes over him.

The lump turns out to be a jumper. It's a bright mustard yellow, rich and bold. Or at least, part of it is, the arms and chest in one continuous colour that ends abruptly partway down the torso when one line stops and continues in a slightly paler shade. The difference is almost imperceptible, and likely would hidden entirely if the colours weren’t butted up against each other like this, juxtaposed the way they are. Towards the hem of the thing, the colour shifts again, one step lighter for the last handful of rows falling at the waistline, the changes creating a gradient down the body. When Lewis traces it with his eyes, he can spot small areas in the neck and wrists where the pattern falters, warped patches that correct quickly but don’t quite line up with those around them. Rather than make the whole item look bad, there’s an odd personality to it, a touch of handmade individuality compared to a lot of the pristine items Lewis gets handed by his stylist, not a spec of lint in sight despite the fact they aren’t headed to a closed catwalk, but a dusty paddock.

As his fingers lift the folded bulk of it he spots a little detail along the neckline, a tiny, almost unnoticeable LH in a dark gold colour that would settle in line with his ear. Surely enough on the right side, there's a tiny 44 in the same font, the pair crowning his shoulders. Twisting the woollen form again, he sees there are tiny stars stitched into the cuffed sleeves in the same colour. There's seven by his count, and an eighth peeking out from the inner band where it would press against his wrist.

He's not sure how long they've been stood together now, silent but for the rustling of paper and the jumper as Lewis studies George's work. As he finishes his inspection he becomes aware of the anxious energy practically radiating off George in the silence that the same man finally snaps and breaks.

'I know its uh, pretty hot where we are but I figured, when you get back home- I mean when you get back to England you can- I tried to finish it earlier but-' George stumbles, words sounding unsure and faux light before Lewis interrupts him

'Did you make this?' He breaths, fingers pressing into the stitches as if it might tell him instead.

'Yeah, I wanted to make something... bigger. I know it's not quite what you're used to with the fashion stuff but I thought...well I don't know what I thought' George explains, words trailing into a lilting mumble. When Lewis' eyes dart up to meet his face, George's cheeks are glowing even in the low light of the one lamp he'd left on, face twisted as if braced for a blow. Like he thinks Lewis is going to be mad at him for this, somehow.

'George...man...'

'Sorry- It's stupid I know, if you don't like it I'll take it back, I won't be mad, I swear-' George isn't looking at him anymore, eyes darting around at his feet and his hands that he shoves into his pockets only to yank them out and wring them together again, fidgeting so he doesn't have to meet Lewis' gaze. His uncertainty makes Lewis' stomach hurt.

'It's perfect'

'I can even save the yarn, it's not actually that hard to unravel- what?'

'It's perfect, George, I really like it' He repeats, grabbing Georges arm with the hand he isn't cradling the jumper with, forcing George to stop trying to climb the walls with his eyes and look at him properly.

'You do?'

'Of course? Did you think I wouldn't like it?'

'I dunno I just- I wanted to make something special.' George rasps, surprisingly wet looking eyes boring into his. That stumps Lewis, and he has to drop his eyes back down to the gorgeous golden knit work, so undeniably a labour of care. It must have taken months, When Lewis was so deep in his own head trying to figure out if George felt anything or was just waiting for him to leave, the man himself was working in secret on something just for Lewis.

'How long did this take you?' He whispers into the space between them, not sure he even wants to know the answer, fingers still wrapped almost too firmly around Georges arm, a little worried George might run for the gates of the paddock if he lets go.

'You don't want to know- since before Imola at least. I normally just do scarves cause uh, they're just straight lines y'know.' George starts tentatively, before the dam seems to burst and he begins rambling 'I had to unpick half of it in October cause I'd counted wrong and it was shaped like a pear- there's still some wrong bits I couldn't fix, sorry about that- and I hope its the right size I had to ask Angela for them and she said they're a couple years old and-'

He continues but now it's Lewis' turn to freeze up, puzzle pieces clicking together in his head as he realises George has been working on something just for him since at least May. For over 7 months while Lewis was absorbed in fighting the car and his own emotions George was working away at something specifically for him, without even being sure if he would like it.

George has started to go off into a tangent about getting knitting needles through airport security when Lewis finally stops him, squeezing his arm.

'Why... why'd you do all that just for me?' He grits out, voice scratching against his raw throat, trying to make eye contact with George so he might read it in his face why the hell George put more effort in for him than anyone else.

'Just for you- Blimey, Lewis, cause I had to say thank you somehow, didn't I?'

'Cause I'm leaving?'

'No! No- 'cause you stayed. 'Cause you made me feel like this is my home too. 'Cause you listened to me and never made me feel too young or not good enough when I made mistakes and you never treated me like the enemy or just some guy across the garage. I know I keep saying it but you probably saved my career-'

'George- you would have been fine without me, you've always been good-' Lewis tries to interject, but George just steamrolls past him.

'Yeah but- you didn't make me figure that out on my own. I learned more in a month with you than three years at Williams. You made me a better person'

'George-'

'Please, I know it's a bit much, maybe, but I just had to do something before you left, so you knew.' George's voice cracks a little over the last words, and Lewis doesn't feel much better, eyebrows furrowed and throat clogging as he tries to choke down the indescribable feeling climbing up his throat and threatening to suffocate him in response to George's frank honesty. He's always been better at being vulnerable than Lewis.

He doesn't know what to say anymore, how to tell George that it was never a hardship to be his teammate, that Lewis was the one who struggled to articulate what George meant to him. That he's going to miss this like breathing and he wasn't prepared for that.

Words have never been his strong suit though, so instead he turns slightly and gently throws the jumper onto the nearest couch, ensuring its landed safely and ignoring Georges noise of confusion before he turns and drags George into his arms.

It's become natural, to hug George, another thing that's evolved over the last couple seasons when Lewis would have sworn himself touch averse for the most part. His arms wrap tight around George, one clutching at the middle of his back as the other skates up to cup around the back of his head, fingers slipping on shower damp hair and George's shirt collar.

George's nose tucks into his neck like routine, cheek pressed hard into Lewis' as he winds a long arm around the shorter man's neck to clutch at his shoulder, the other tugging at Lewis' shirt, gripping like Lewis is going to pull away, as if he hadn't initiated it.

Lewis squeezes harder than he imagines is probably comfortable, but George just makes a wet noise into his neck and digs his head down harder, fingers clutching tighter as Lewis runs a thumb over his hairline. There's a damp feeling growing on Lewis' shoulder but he doesn't care, he's not sure how he isn't tearing up himself, maybe he would be if he wasn't trying to memorise the feeling of how George fits against him.

It crashes over him then, blunt as a hammer, that this is what he's afraid of losing. He's afraid of losing this closeness with George when he leaves, when he's no longer going to be the experienced, advising teammate but just another obstacle on the grid George needs to climb over. He might lose the George who crowds into his space looking for Lewis to celebrate with him this way. He might lose the joy and adrenaline of George flinging himself at Lewis with the confidence that he will be caught, when it might be strange if they aren't teammates.

'I'm sorry' he blurts out, words crawling from somewhere in his lungs, only for George to make a confused noise, trying to pull back and stopping when Lewis only grips harder.

'What're you sorry about' George gets out, words wet and quiet where they are muffled against Lewis' shoulder.

'About this, the hugging, I just-' Lewis starts, but George just laughs at him, damp and a little hysterical, face tilting till their noses are practically brushing so he can look at Lewis from within his embrace.

'The last thing you ever have to be sorry for, is hugging me. You can do it more if you want'

Lewis stares at him for a second, gaze darting over George's lax but wet eyes, and the way his cheek smushes into Lewis' shoulder at an angle that must be uncomfortable but yet he makes no attempt to move away from, and yet another thing clicks into place, very much the theme of the evening. He was clearly teasing, but even Lewis can hear the truth under his words.

He brushes a seeking thumb over the nape of George's neck, dragging across the hot skin there. George shivers, fingers flexing against Lewis back, and that's all the permission he needs to tip his mouth onto Georges, lips slotting together in a kiss he hadn't even realised he'd wanted.

It's hardly picture perfect. George's face is sticky from his own tears and Lewis can taste it on his lips, his own cheeks are hot and itchy, and the angle they're at makes the seal of their mouths messy at best, and yet its the best thing Lewis has ever tasted. The hand George had at his shoulder slips along to thumb Lewis' jaw, pressing over his beard, and Lewis wants to drown in it. All his experience flies out the window in the face of following his gut and holding George as close as he can manage.

The slide of their mouths should really be indecent, wet as it is, and he's starting to think a little about being too loud, when he shifts slightly and George makes a breathy whimpering noise that sends any worries about being overheard right out of his head.

Time melts a little, as they curl together, until Lewis' neck really can't tolerate the angle anymore, and he has to pull back, panting harshly just in time for something to go clattering the the floor outside in the engineering bay, making them both jump and reminding them abruptly that they are in fact still at work, in thrown up rooms with paper thin walls that the cleaning staff are going to want to vacuum soon, as thorough as they are.

'We probably shouldn't be- well- we probably should have figured this out before now' George muses, still sounding awful breathless for an athlete Lewis seen run several miles for fun. They'd pulled apart a little in shock at the noise outside, but he's still gripping Lewis' arm, and there's that bright, beautiful smile creeping across his face again.

Lewis glances just over his shoulder, where the jumper is still lying haphazardly on the sofa.

'I dunno, Man. Better late than never?'

[earl-grey-teacake]

Omg we need the Fernando Aston Martin story! It would be hilarious like just imagine George trying to convince Logan that he should drive for Mercedes but Logan doesn’t even know what he is talking about and because he practised his lines with Fernando he does not agree😂

Sorry it took so long 😅

******

"Logan, what's your favorite team?" George asked, his eyes laser-focused.

Unlike his father, Logan was more preoccupied with the green cap in his arms. "Aston!" He yelled, holding the cap up with the biggest smile on his face.

The response did not elicit the same effect with George sighing and Toto looking displeased, a silent "fix this". Lewis seemed quite amused at the situation, already texting Fred to get a team kit in kids size for Logan.

"No, it's Mercedes. Can you say Mercedes?" Stress evident in George's voice.

"Mercedes!" Logan smiled and pointed at the Mercedes logo in the engineer's room.

Lewis leaned over the table and asked, "Buddy, who's your favorite driver?"

Logan paused for a moment, looking up at the ceiling, his face pensive. "Alonso!"

"Ugh!" George put his head in his hands.

It was bad enough he foolishly let Fernando babysit Logan, "something something bonding with his nephew". Logan had come tottering back, happy from an exciting game of tag and lots of $200 Japanese grapes, going on and on to Shov, Marcus, and Bono about how "Aston was so fun" and their "Car is really fast" and the most egregious of all, "Aston is the best!" "Alonso is the best!"

Some of the engineers smiled while Toto's frown deepened. Lewis laughed, "Why? Why is Alonso your favorite?"

Like being asked to recite the alphabet, Logan recounted the script Fernando had him memorize, earning a fancy grape as a reward for each line he recited perfectly. "Alonso is the bestest driver in the world. He is fast, and cool, and really smart. He is better than the grid.”

Each word was slow, methodical, and said with a smile. Logan looked up expectantly at the crowd, clearly expecting a reward or praise for his perfect recitation.

“I’m going to kill Fernando!” George scowled as James Allison started to look at the upgrade package, deciding on what could be implemented for the next race that would leave Aston Martin in the dust. The others returned to their work, emboldened by a sense of either deep competition or revenge.

“Logan, come here. We’ll leave everyone to do their work” Toto called out. Logan hopped off the car and followed him, the green cap in hand. Maybe with enough treats, Logan can unlearn whatever ridiculous thing Aston Martin taught him. If Mercedes needed to fly in expensive fruit from Japan, they can write it off as a business expense.

Official F1 Group Chat [official use only]

George: watch your back Fernando

Lando: Woah

Max: ???

Charles: is this an official thing?

Carlos: what happened?

Alex: George

Fernando: what did I do?

George: you know what you did! Lance too!

Lance: What did I do?

George: brainwashed my son into an Aston Martin fan

Lando: 😧

Charles: 😮

Max: 😨

Carlos: 😬

Lance: it’s not brainwashing! He just saw the truth😎

Fernando: 😎 no regrets

Lewis: to the brainwashing?

George: I’m sending you both into a wall

Alex: George

Lando: bit of an overreaction

Fernando: Soon Oscar will see the light that is Aston Martin

Lando: Stay away from my son

Carlos: 😨

********

Thank you for the ask! I had a lot of fun answering this!

[merryslilhobbit]

As the Formula 1 season draws to a close, there has been plenty of drama and controversy. But there have been so many wonderful, joyous and hilarious things too. So, on a more positive note, I present some of my 2024 season highlights:

Lewis & Bono winning Silverstone

If you had told me, when I started watching this sport in the mid-90s, that a driver winning a race would have me in tears, I wouldn't have believed you.

I still can't watch clips of that day without getting teary. I mean, who can look at that first photo without hearing "Get in there Lewis!" I am so so glad that after two and a half terrible seasons, Lewis got to have this moment. Not just anywhere, but at Silverstone. What a moment. What a day.

Charles winning Monaco

Again, so many tears. I'm not the world's biggest Charles Leclerc fan (I do like him), but hearing/knowing all of the history and his story, getting into the sport and having such awful luck at this race made this win so very special. Even as a 'neutral', it packed a punch. That radio message? 😭

Lando's 1st F1 win (and that hug)

Lando finally getting that first win was very cool. His reactions were utterly fabulous, not to mention being absolutely swamped by the other drivers coming to congratulate him afterwards. Respect.

Of course, there was really only one driver he I was interested in ❤️

Zhou becoming the 1st Chinese F1 driver to race in China

Special mention for Zhou ❤️

Daniel achieving the fastest lap/lap record at Singapore, in his final F1 lap.

And Driver of the Day. Bittersweet, but a legend. I had to include it.

Think you've seen it all?

Remember in China when the grass next to the track went on fire, causing red flags? Yeah, I didn't see that coming either.

James calling it for all of us

I think this was during the Monaco GP, when doing an interview on the pit wall during a session. Yep James, we're all in the same boat here!

Alpine Double Podium

Brazil you gave us so many things. One of the best was this beautiful end (?) to the French civil war. Look at them ❤️

Oscar's never ending quest for home races

Remember at the start of the season when he claimed ancestry for almost every home race, then ended up getting adopted? Yeah. Love him 😂❤️

Sticker Wars

How was this the start of the season? So long ago! Such a serious sport 😂

Sticker War Sequel - Pass Wars

2019 rookies were back on form with this little gem 😂

Lando & Alex's gran

Remember this?? So cute! I don't have the follow-up to hand, but if I remember correctly Alex got her a signed Lando cap ❤️

Everyone using the interview sofa for a nap

Ollie in charge of social media

Keep the PR training away from this one, he's far too adorable as he is!

Franco Colapinto. The legend.

I've said it before - his sheer enthusiasm for the sport, for the opportunity he has been given has been refreshing and inspiring. It's so obvious that he is so unbelievably grateful and joyful about his F1 experience. I adore him. Protect him at all costs. And also, no PR training either please 😉

Yuki's P3 qualifying in Brazil

They did him dirty here.... 😂

2025 has a lot to live up to.

[rahleeyah]

I actually do love Trevor as a Concept. Been there since what like s2-3? Witnessed Olivia's many transformations. Maybe fucked Alex. Fucked Olivia if you believe Warren's word of God declarations. Went through his own transformation from "anything for a dollar" defense attorney to whatever the hell it is he does now, only coming in to defend people pro bono when Olivia asks him to. Which implies he's still in communication with her, which is really interesting in connection with the "they fucked at least once" thing bc now it sets up a scenario where maybe they've been casual lovers on and off for years. He defends Olivia when she got arrested. He was in the courtroom when the judge offered Noah to Olivia - to this cop he's known for more than a decade, this woman he knows to be tough and fragile and complicated and alone, and then he walks with her every step of the way through the adoption. Sees Olivia with Burton and warns her to be careful not bc he's jealous but bc he's well connected and he knows things, and one of the things he knows is that his long time FWB isn't as unbreakable as she seems. A lot of the time he's just there, a warm body in a seat, but he has been seat warming through most of the pivotal moments of the show, and that gives him a unique perspective, and a unique place in the narrative