#BAHRAIN GP IN FOUR DAYS SO EXCITED!!

[linovrse]

guys i’m an f1 girlie now

[letterlitter]

Karting around

Lando Norris x reader

•in which one small choice will get you to the Bahrain gp paddock.

Lando will never forget the day you met. How you tripped on a kart and almost fell on your way to clear the tires off of the circuit the day he went karting with friends during summer break.

The hot summer day and the amount of work you had to do was not a good mixture with sleep deprivation from the final semester of your bachelor's. Picking up summer programs was not a wise choice. "At least it would end sooner" you had thought as you handed in the form. Now you regretted it.

The job in the racing track had been your motivation to keep going. After getting into Formula 1, this was the cheapest and the closest thing you could get to the experience. You started racing karts and landed a job on the same track a couple of months later. Never knowing this small choice would lead to a bigger fate and gravely embarrassing yourself infront of professional drivers of the fastest cars in the world was the price to pay to get to it.

"Be careful are you okay?" Lando reached his hand for you to hold onto to prevent you from falling. He was too far away but you caught yourself just in time.

"Yes." You exhaled sharply in relief, "this guy is begging me to ride him...that sounded so weird sorry." You pointed at the blue and yellow LN go-kart you tripped on. The track's new owner had bough quite a few of them. You even learned how to drive a go-kart on them so you were super excited about the owner visiting, wanting to look good, yet you ruined it, twice.

You looked up at Lando, who was trying not to laugh at your joke. You didn't think the joke itself was funny to him, but the way it sounded dirty was making him giggle. You noticed his eyes wrinkle when he did.

"Wanna give it a go?"

Your raised your head with the suggestion.

"So you could beat the crap out of me?" You immediately wished you lead a more polite life and wouldn't keep making yourself look worse.

But Lando didn't seem to care much. The blue of his eyes kept looking deeper in the shade.

"How about we give you a headstart? The karts are all the same it won't be like F1."

You suspiciously looked back at him, "is this a make a wish situation? Mind you I am not dying yet."

He laughed. "I promise we made this choice ourselves. It'll be fun with one more driver. Your boss told me you have experience. Come on." He gestured you to follow him.

"I sort of wish he didn't."

***

Five minutes later there you all were, you in your rental helmet and everyone else in their custom designed ones.

Despite your liking, they all agreed to let you start at the front of the pack with them starting a little further from the line.

The flag was waved and off you went. Pushing hard on the gas, trying so hard to beat at least one of the four people racing against you. Three were F1 drivers so you were focused on beating the other man. The only thing your mind was thinking was "don't lose" and you even surprised yourself since not even in go-kart championships, did you push so hard to win.

By the final lap your core muscles were extremely sore and your grip on the wheel felt numb. You had no idea if you had lost yet but you kept on going and you crossed the line with a simple exhale like you had kept all your breaths in the whole race. This was the first time you felt so out of your own body.

A slight tap of the finger on your helmet brought you back on earth,

"You still there?" Lando's voice sounded stuffy through your helmet.

He offered his hand which you took to stand up, taking off your helmet after. 

"Your speed was insane are you alright?" Lando put a hand on your shoulder, bending over a bit to look you in the eye, making sure you're fine.

You nodded yes and started walking towards the building to ask about your lap times.

"Lap time goes: Lando, Alex, .... wow.. y/n, George and Mike."

The "What??" You screamed was the third embarrassment you put yourself through that day. But it was all worth it. You started jumping around making weird noises to your coworker who had just read the names.

Later on George would claim he was trying to be nice and gave you the spot because he wanted to make you look good infront of Lando because he knew you two would end up together.

***

Lando kept coming back to kart with different groups of people. Different drivers, family members, friends. And you had become a member of their racing bunch throughout summer.

Couple days to the official new formula1 season, while your shift was ending and men with cameras were walking in to take some pictures from Lando and his Quadrant team for publicity, Lando pulled you to the side.

He started out hesitant but you didn't really notice at first.

"Before you go I wanted to ask you this once in a lifetime question."

"That would be the second one this summer then."

He smiled, you had become a little closer, a little friendlier during the summer. You felt like it was okay to try and make him laugh.

"How would you like to be a special guest in the Bahrain gp paddock? I might be able to show you around."

You didn't know what to say. Your hands started to sweat and your heartbeat got fast. Was this part of the dream you were having or was it all real?

"What? Yes of course. Yes yes."

So you exchanged numbers and he told you that your trip will be paid for. After a couple months of dating you realized that was just Lando's way of asking for your number. Offering something big to get something small. Maybe that's how it worked for the rich.

You said your goodbyes and waited a couple days for Lando to send you further information.

And this was only the beginning.

[sennaverstappendiary]

bahrain pre-season testing ✩ 23.02.2024

oh my god. my first ever pre-season testing... aah‼️‼️‼️ i'm both nervous and excited, to be honest. it's a lot of feelings. i have missed f1 very very dearly, like, very dearly 🥺🥺🥺 but i think i'll always be a bit of a nervous mess when it comes to sport... but!!! new season resolution!! be less scared!! we will see how it goes 🥰💕

the off-season was fucking insane btw. broke up w my partner of over four years. became a certified [job title]. LEWIS HAMILTON GOT HORSE DISEASE 💔🐴🐎 charles signed and renewed his horse disease 💔💔💔💔💔 whatever... we ball...

day one went really well!! i decided not to watch to be honest, because, i didn't want to be nervous LMDJHGD 😭😭😭😭😭😭💀💀🍹🍹🍹 woke up at 9 am and saw boy car sliding like HELL NAW 😵😵😵😵😵 but then we cooked so its okay!!! gps evil smile!!! after that killer lap!!! aaarghhh 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥺🥺🥺🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷 I LOVE YOU GAY PEOPLE ☀️✨😁😁😁😁😁😁😁 nah for real i know testing doesn't mean shit but god... does it feel good. no drug better than autism special interest i swear i have not felt seratonin like this since 26.11.2023 and i'm being extremely serious. my fucking mom asked me if i'm this happy bc of "mr verstappen" dfgkjhdg 💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥 SMACK CAM!!!!

day two went... well?! i think??? again, didn't watch, but yeah checo was in the car all day after that red flag 🥺🥺🥺 so boy wasn't spotted... but it still looked good!! the ferrari looks like it's finally okay with regards to deg, which is... good for them‼️‼️‼️✨✨✨ i was quite satisfied!!

day three... we didn't get p1 so i'm exploding... KIDDING. 😭😭😭💥💥💥💥‼️‼️‼️ i didn't watch or even look at the timing sheets, so it was really a surprise, that day. hey, i'm not mad - WE GOT NEGATIVE DEEGGGG 💀💀💀💀💀💀 SMACK CAMMMM 😭😭😭😭😭😭☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️✨🌷🌷🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 nah max happy = me happy... to be honest i just wished it was race day already.... i am impatient!!! hehe!!!

✩ song of the "race": gemist - de jeugd van tegenwoordig

heb je gemist... als een bitch....

✩ photodump:

[f1]

Verstappen not surprised by internal battle at Red Bull as Perez vows to keep team mate under pressure

Max Verstappen says it is “quite normal” that he and Sergio Perez have found themselves separated by only a handful of points at the top of the 2023 drivers’ standings after four races, given Red Bull’s early-season advantage over the field. Verstappen and Perez took a victory apiece at the first two rounds in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, only for the Mexican to fall 15 points away after an incident-strewn qualifying day in Australia forced him into a recovery drive from the pit lane to fifth, while the Dutchman bagged another win. IT’S RACE WEEK: 5 storylines we’re excited about ahead of the Miami Grand Prix However, Perez maximised the first Sprint weekend of the season in Azerbaijan last time out to take a brace of victories across Saturday and Sunday and slash Verstappen’s championship advantage to six points. Asked for his thoughts on the intra-team situation as things stand, Verstappen said: “We know that we have a very quick car, so it’s quite normal that it’s between the two of us at the moment – so there’s nothing new there. Perez and Verstappen now have two Grand Prix wins each so far this season “Between us we have a good understanding, a good relationship. I think what we want to focus on is just to try and make the car better and faster, to try and stay ahead of everyone else. That’s the main objective and then the rest you will do on the track anyway.” With five of Perez’s six F1 wins to date being claimed at street tracks, and several still to come on the 2023 calendar, Verstappen was asked where he thinks his team mate is able to make the difference in these environments. FIRST LOOK: Red Bull reveal striking fan-designed livery for Miami Grand Prix “I think sometimes some tracks probably suit you a bit better,” he commented. “For Checo, his driving style, the way he likes the car, probably it suits [him] a bit better to [be on a] street circuit. “I personally don’t really enjoy street circuits, so probably there is something also in that – I prefer more the fast corners, but that’s how it goes… You have a few street circuits on the calendar, a few normal tracks as well.” This feature is currently not available because you need to provide consent to functional cookies. Please update your cookie preferences Race Highlights: 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix As for whether he expects another two-horse race at the Miami International Autodrome, Verstappen laughed: “I hope so! I think the car is very quick. But let’s see. We know in qualifying it’s close, but in the race, normally our car is pretty good.” Meanwhile, Perez offered a simple response when asked for his take on the situation and how he can sustain a title challenge, saying: “By winning races – pretty simple. It’s just by winning races and keeping Max under pressure.” NEED TO KNOW: The most important facts, stats and trivia ahead of the 2023 Miami Grand Prix He added: “I’m really excited, I’m really looking forward to this weekend, to make sure we are competitive, to make sure we deliver when it matters. It’s a new opportunity for us, so I’m really looking forward to it.” While Verstappen heads Perez by half a dozen points in the drivers’ standings, Red Bull hold a margin of 93 over nearest rivals Aston Martin in the constructors’ battle. Watch the Miami GP live with F1 TV Pro For the Miami Grand Prix, F1 TV Pro is offering a 7-day free trial so you can test drive the service for free in selected countries (USA, Canada, Netherlands and Brazil). Jump in. Start your 7-day free trial now.* *Renews to full price unless cancelled. Web and app only. Excludes previous free trialists. T&cs apply. via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com

[blackswaneuroparedux]

I don't make mistakes. I make prophecies which immediately turn out to be wrong.

- Murray Walker, BBC commentator and the ‘Voice of Formula One’

Murray Walker, otherwise known as the ‘Voice of F1’, was a BBC commentating legend from 1976 to 1996 before joining rivals ITV in 1997, where he stayed for a further five years.

Seldom can any frontrank outside-broadcast commentator have had a longer span at the microphone, or a voice more distinctively identifiable with their sport, than motor racing’s Murray Walker.

In British broadcasting lore John Arlott’s rural burr will always remain redolent of cricket’s roots in the village green, just as Dan Maskell’s creamy courtside whisper was homage to the leisured grace of the suburban tennis club, and Bill McLaren’s Borderer’s brogue forever implied the blazered probity of olde-tyme amateur “rugger”.

So, at grand prix time for bikes and cars, for more than half a century, the passionate yawp and yowl emanating from Walker’s commentary box was an almost onomatopeic accompaniment to the snarling beasts hurtling past at 200mph. It may have been high-octane noise, but the descriptions were also skilled and professionally accomplished.

On both radio and television, Walker’s florid “pants on fire” commentaries were heard across seven decades. The first grand prix he described live was for BBC “wireless” at Silverstone in 1949 (won by Baron Toulo de Graffenried’s Maserati 4CLT). His last live commentary of a grand prix was in 2007 for BBC radio, when he was 83.

In all, Walker covered more than 350 Formula One grands prix, more than 200 Isle of Man TT and senior Manx motorcycling events, and countless other categories from powerboat races to motocross and speedway. For well over half a century, if noisy motor sport was broadcast, you could pretty much guarantee that Walker’s decibels were attempting to drown it out in his valiant efforts to enhance the narrative and embellish the scene. But it was not without cost. Years of exposure to the din left him with hearing loss in both ears.

While his stimulating ebullience was appealing to (most) cognoscenti petrolheads, a wider audience fondly enjoyed the commentator’s accompanying torrent of tautologies and full-spate sophistries, his “Murrayisms”, as he called them. Most outside broadcasters are embarrassed by (or flatly deny) their reported heat-of-the-moment bloopers, but Walker happily revelled in, and nurtured his. “Far too often I’d operate mouth before engaging brain,” he would admit, “but the action in front of me was always happening at such a lick.”

The good ol’ trouper knew, too, that happily confessed horse’s-mouth recitation of these touching gaffes not only saved the bother of a freshly minted script each time, but also handsomely enhanced his fees on the lucrative after-dinner circuit.

You need to squawk for the full effect:

“This leading car is absolutely unique – except, of course, for the one immediately behind it, which is identical.”

“Mansell’s now totally in front of everyone in this race, except the two in front of him.”

Michael Schumacher on the Monaco GP grid: “There are seven winners of the Monaco Grand Prix on the grid today and four of them are Michael Schumacher.”

Nigel Mansell putting in a lap: “Nigel Mansell is slowing down now, he is taking it easy. Oh no he isn’t! It’s a new lap record!”

Pedro Diniz’s fire in Argentina: “There’s nothing wrong with the car except that it’s on fire.”

“How you can crash into a wall without it being there in the first place is beyond me!”

But what F1 fans remember best: “It’s go, go, go!”

Murray Walker was born in 1923 in Birmingham, England. Walker had a happy childhood and was proud of his roots. Walker was conscripted into the armed forces and passed out as an army officer from the Royal Military College in Sandhurst. Murray was commissioned in 1942 into the Royal Scots Greys, achieving the rank of captain. He helped make the push from Normandy to the Baltic. He would command a Sherman tank in the Battle of the Reichswald with the 4th Armoured Brigade before leaving the Army as a captain.

Upon demobilisation, went into advertising, a career which, on its own, might have made him worthy of note. Trying to find his place in the world, he studied shipping management before being employed as an accounts director by the Masius agency, where he was in charge of the Mars project which came up with the famous slogan ‘A Mars a day helps you work rest and play’.

Although he continued working in advertising, once again Walker broadened his horizons when, in 1948, he made his first public broadcast at Shelsley Walsh Hillclimb. A year later and he was commentating for BBC radio on the British F1 Grand Prix.

He established himself as the BBC’s chief motorcycling commentator before going into F1 full-time from 1978. However, even then Walker continued to dabble in other series, from the British Touring Car Championship to motocross and Macau.

It was his partnership with James Hunt at the BBC though which cemented Walker’s place in commentating history, as he brought the breathless passion and excitement which proved the perfect foil for Hunt’s dry wit and in-depth knowledge.

Walker remained with the BBC through to 1996 with Jonathan Palmer stepping up following Hunt’s death. But with F1’s television rights going to ITV in 1997, so too did Walker. This time it was former racer turned commentator Martin Brundle who brought the F1 know-how to Walker’s ‘Murrayisms’.

He retired from full-time commentating in 2001. After he ended his regular Formula One commentaries, Walker continued to appear on television for a number of years afterwards, mainly on magazine programmes but occasionally commentating on less high-profile motorsport events. Acknowledging the partial deafness he had developed over the years, in 2006 he became an ambassador for the David Ormerod Hearing Centres, and campaigned to help people understand the importance of frequent hearing tests.

On Saturday, March 13, 2021, the British Racing Drivers’ Club announced the sad passing of Murray Walker at the age of 97.

RIP Murray Walker.

F1 commemorate Murray Walker at the Bahrain Grand Prix 2021

[formula365]

Everyone loves an underdog - Portuguese GP preview

The midfield battle in 2020 was one of the most fascinating stories of the season. From the pink Mercedes controversy to the podium opportunities and unlikely wins, the fight behind Mercedes and Red Bull was far more enticing than the title battle (such as it was). The three teams that ended the season still with a shot of supremacy all had moments throughout the year in which they had the fastest car, so the difference was in who could take the best advantage of their package overall.

Of those three, McLaren was definitely not the one with the best pace for most of the year. The Woking team, limited in their development for 2021 due to the change to Mercedes power, was hard at work in improving their front wing to have it homologated for this season, and that cost them in terms of the car development compared to Renault and Racing Point. Ultimately, it didn’t matter, as they managed to consistently maximise their results at almost every race, while their rivals squandered opportunities on occasion.

It was consistency - shown by how close their two drivers finished on the standings compared to the distances between Ricciardo and Perez and their teammates - not pace that delivered McLaren the third place in the constructors championship. In such close battles, to have pace is important, of course, but you need to know how to take advantage of it, and that wasn’t always the case with their rivals.

This is a lesson that AlphaTauri is learning the hard way. The AT02 has shown some remarkable pace, to the point that after practice in Bahrain there seemed to be a consensus that the Faenza squad was on par with McLaren and Ferrari at the front of the midfield. Their qualifying results seem to confirm this, and their race pace, when not hampered by other factors, does as well. So it ends up being a disappointment that they have only collected eight points so far.

This still puts them fifth in the championship, ahead of Aston Martin and Alpine, who were significantly ahead of them last year, but given the promise and potential of the car, it feels like underachieving. Driver errors in both races, and bad strategy at Imola have cost them much better results, and although this is enough for a place in the top half of the table - Franz Tost’s goal for the team - it was a lost opportunity at a time when they have a significant pace advantage over the teams immediately behind them.

Their rivals will be working hard to close the gap, and with the resources at their disposal it wouldn’t be surprising to see that happen. Not taking the most out of the opening two weekends might hurt AlphaTauri in the long term, and when teams are beginning to bring some more significant updates to their cars as the European season progresses, they might be left ruing these missed opportunities. That pace advantage might not always be there.

This is a team that is easy to love. Everyone loves an underdog, of course, but the origins of this team hark back to the humble Minardi, that struggled as back marker for most of its existence but was endearing to fans as they always seemed to do their best in tough circumstances and hung around for decades as other squads, with far more money and ambition, tumbled out of the sport. That, and also they had some really beautiful liveries.

Add to that an exciting driver line-up, with Gasly continuing to write his redemption story and Tsunoda coming to the sport like a comet, and it’s easy to see why so many fans want to see them do well. The car has pace, the drivers have promise and, as an outfit, they continue to deliver more than is expected of them, just like in the Minardi days. As the races will start coming thick and fast now (three GPs in the next four weekends), they need to deliver on this promise in Portugal to create momentum. 2021 can be another fairytale underdog year for them, but they need to learn that at the sharp end, if you don’t take your opportunities, others will.

Talking points

* It’s all everyone seems to be talking about. Who will come out on top this weekend? The Hamilton-Verstappen battle has already captured everyone’s imagination and the battle promises to be one for the ages. The last few seasons had plenty of great stories and moments of awe, but they lacked a fight at the front. Even the Vettel challenge in 2017 and 2018 petered long before the end, so the last time we had a real fight was Rosberg’s title year. It’s high time we had a battle taken to the bitter end.

* Sprint qualifying was announced this week, and the reaction among fans has been mixed, at best. Under the context of increasing the interest for the casual fan watching on TV or those who might want to go watch it live but will only care about the Sunday ticket, this format becomes understandable. On a sporting context, though, it seems to add little, and might even detract from the overall product quality, as drivers will not be particularly keen to take chances in overtaking on a qualifying race knowing it might ruin their entire weekend. One upside is that drivers will go into Friday qualifying with only one hour of practice session. Benefit of the doubt for now, but it doesn’t look promising.

* Speaking of not very promising things, the Miami GP track layout seems very… meh. Maybe it’s a bias against car park tracks, but I am not looking forward to see a race there. Then again, Baku didn’t feel too inviting either and we have had some crazy races, so… Again, benefit of the doubt, for now.

* At the time of writing, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have announced that they will be joining a social media boycott over the weekend, protesting the lack of action from platforms against racism and hate by users. It’s an important message to send, but I am not sure that absence for a short period of time is the right way to send it.

* Speaking of Russell, the controversy around his crash with Bottas and, in particular, the way he reacted to it keeps rumbling on. Scolded by Toto Wolff in the immediate aftermath, and very much aware of the long-term implications, the Brit did issue an apology on the Monday after the race - but he only apologised for his reaction, not for the crash. Also, he did say he would call Bottas, but the Finn said Russell tried to call him early on Monday morning, while Bottas was sleeping, and did not try again. It’s clear there will be a continued animosity between these two, given how intertwined their futures are. Let’s hope that the next time they meet on track, the ending won’t be filled with car parts like in Imola.

[f1]

Schumacher revels in second straight points score as Magnussen reveals he overcame engine issue on way to P8

Austria was another successful outing for Haas, who had Mick Schumacher return points for the second race running – this time in a career-best P6 – while team mate Kevin Magnussen finished eighth despite an engine issue, the Dane relieved to make it home. Magnussen finished between the seventh-placed McLaren of Lando Norris and the ninth-placed McLaren of Daniel Ricciardo, the Danish driver having picked up points in the Sprint (with P7) too. He revealed, however, that it wasn’t a simple journey to the points on Sunday. READ MORE: ‘It’s the story of my season’ – Sainz frustrated as ‘easy 1-2’ goes up in flames at the Red Bull Ring “Yes, I feel good. I mean, what a weekend for our team! It’s really been great. Finally we had a bit of luck and it kind of went our way and you know, after those four, five races recently that weren’t good for us. But we had the pace. It’s hard not to get down a little bit about [that]. “And now, the last two races we’ve been lucky and especially this weekend we just had a great qualifying, a great Sprint and then a great race, so I’m super happy. I had a bit of an engine issue all race so I was just praying to God that it wouldn’t blow up, which it didn’t, and I’m super thankful for that, that I was able to finish the race with that problem.” Magnussen overcame an engine issue en route to P8 Schumacher managed P9 in the Sprint, just out of the points, but passed not only his team mate but also Norris for P6 on Sunday. It was his second consecutive points finish after coming home eighth at Silverstone and also Haas’s best finish since Magnussen took P5 in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. It was also the first time Haas have scored double points in consecutive races since the final two Grand Prix of 2018. Not only that, the German driver even enjoyed a wheel-to-wheel battle with Lewis Hamilton. READ MORE: Podium ‘a small token of my appreciation’ to Mercedes for big car rebuild, says Hamilton “Obviously fighting with Lewis was fun!” he said. “I felt a lot different compared to yesterday [in the Sprint] today, obviously knowing that we had to take care about the tyres and stuff. But then quite soon in the race I felt that it wasn’t going to be a one-stop race just because of the way the tyres were behaving. The winds were very different and very difficult to manage because they were very much cross-wind in every quick corner, so yes, it was tough out there but a lot of fun. “It’s a double-points finish again after Silverstone so I think... everybody in the team can be very happy about our result today.” 2022 Austrian Grand Prix: Mick Schumacher's impressive progress to P6 Haas's return to the sharp end of the midfield is very welcome, especially considering they have yet to fully overhaul their 2022 package. The American team are expected to bring a bigger raft of updates to the Hungarian Grand Prix, after the French GP on July 22-24, something Magnussen is looking forward to. “It is exciting and I’m looking forward to seeing it," said the Dane. "I’m now getting nervous for that upgrade, maybe we shouldn’t use it at all! “It’s very exciting and [we’re in] a great position.” READ MORE: What the teams said – Race day at the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com