#But doesn't want to pay for F1 TV

[mirohlayo]

F1 DRIVERS TAKING CARE OF YOU

WHEN YOU'RE SICK

including mclaren, ferrari, mercedes + verstappen, ricciardo & gasly

warning : mention of medicine, pure fluff

note : been sick for almost 2 weeks now so i thought about this idea lol

!! english is not my first language !!

ᦈ OSCAR PIASTRI 81

his poor heart cries in pain seeing you so weak. he hates when you're sick because sickness take off your positive energy which he adores much. so he makes sure you're warm enough under triple blankets, double pillows under your head for extra comfort and some movies playing on the tv. call him and he'll be standing right next to you a second later, ready to help you with anything. ask for cuddles and he won't think twice before joining you in the bed and pecking your face. he still want you to takes your medicine even though you're recovered, just in case, just to be sure you won't get sick again.

ᦈ LANDO NORRIS 4

his poor baby is pin down on the bed, coughing and sneezing every single minutes. he hates it, he wants to see you smile again, he wants you to feel better. he would stay with you until you feel good, arms around your body as he let lazy and soft kisses everywhere on your face. especially your lips. you'll probably scold him because he'll get sick too but he doesn't care, he wants to take care of his baby, it's just his job. he reminds you to take your drugs and also makes sure you have everything you need, and if not then he'll bring it to you as quickly as possible.

ᦈ CHARLES LECLERC 16

as soon as he knows you're not feeling well, he would run to you in a hurry. he would also panic because it's not in your habit to get sick. he'll call his mom to get advices, he wants to do his best to take care of you and your poor state. try to act confident in front of you but internally stress because he doesn't really know what to do. still he manages to keep you in a good mood, he makes you laugh but you just end up coughing so he stress even more. but don't worry he'll be the sweetest, showing you with loads of kisses and cuddles because either him can't get enough of them.

ᦈ CARLOS SAINZ 55

now this guy would 100% know how to manage with his loved one being sick. like he just used to it and he perfectly knows what to do and what can make you feel better. he'll put you on the bed, and wrap you in a huge blanket. he even writes a schedule for your drugs with precise times. he'll cook the warmest meals and makes you tons of tea. sit next to you to keep an eye on you, sometimes you ask for kisses and he can't refuse them, pressing his soft lips on your forehead. you say that he's doing too much for you, overreacting the whole thing. but he would shrug and reply that he just wants the best treatment for you.

ᦈ LEWIS HAMILTON 55

he doesn't really like when you're sick because he can't get along with the picture of you being stuck in the bed, a tired expression endlessly on your face. but on the other hand i feel like he'd love playing the doctor. like he'll be so much caring, asking you every little minutes if you're feeling better or not. he won't rest until you're completely recovered. also would be the type to play some music, because he knows how much it comforts you. he'll put your favorite tv show and slide under the blankets and cuddle you until your body is warm enough. and also constantly rubbing your back or arms, just full of love for his lover.

ᦈ GEORGE RUSSEL 63

he has to deal with you being pretty sick and he doesn't wait a second to take care of you. maybe first will scold you because you don't wear enough warm clothing or you just don't pay enough attention to yourself. he doesn't like that, so he reminds you to always cover yourself with extra gloves and scarf. and then he feels bad seeing you in that state. he always feels panicked whenever you're coughing a bit too hard or sneezing nonstop. like a worried expression is stuck on his face. he would lay down on the bed next to you, mumbling some "my poor baby" and things like that. you'll tease him later about how much worried he looked for you but he doesn't care because it's just his way to show you how much he cares about you.

ᦈ MAX VERSTAPPEN 33

he's extremely caring and sweet with you. he becomes softer, acting super gently because he doesn't want to hurt you. stuck on your side like the world will stop if he's not keeping an eye on you. he would bring you to the doctor even if you just have a little fever, he's just so worried about you he doesn't want you to get sick. but manage incredibly well with it. he's the best because he does whatever you ask him to do. make you laugh ? he transforms into a comedian. not warm enough ? he joins you and cuddle you so close to his body. need some rest ? he'll take a nap with you in his arms, pressing kisses here and there until you're fully recovered.

ᦈ DANIEL RICCIARDO 3

at first he thought you were joking about your state. but when he came home and saw your tired body and face on the couch, he knew it wasn't funny at all. he feels so bad and he knows he has one job : take care of you as best as possible. but he knows one remedy that always works. his humor. whenever you're feeling off or sick, his humor always lifts up your mood. so while giving you your drugs, he'll talk about funny histories, or anything that can makes you laugh. and it works so well because despite the pain you're able to laugh. and he loves it. also pecking your whole face is one of the best medicine. but you can be sure he takes good care of you.

ᦈ PIERRE GASLY 10

know how to handle the situation. like he would transform into a doctor as soon as his eyes saw something was off with you. forces you to stay in the bed, a crazy amount of blankets over your body. you tell him it's fine but he doesn't listen and keep adding more warm stuff. he would gives you princess treatment, ask for anything and you'll got it. also makes you different types of tea with all the different flavors, and it'll just ends up in a tasting session. he would also never shut up about his science, explaining you how people get sick. but over all, he's happy to stay on your side and feeding you with lots of kisses

[b0r3dtod3ath]

can you write someting comfy with seb???

f1 masterlist

word count: 400

A/N: Ty for the request! I'm sorry it's so short but I hope you like it <;33

You came home totally exhausted. Drama at your work, the weather and less and less sunlight all gathered up together and funded you a massive headache. You slowly closed the front door as a comforting smell of soup filled your nose. Ever since retiring Sebastian has fallen in love with being home - he learned how to cook, he cleaned and in summer he took care of your little garden. It was relaxing to him, like a sweet escape from all of the hustle and bustle of his career. If you asked him if he missed driving a formula one car he would say yes but he thinks he's had enough and he needs a slower pace of life now. Ever since he bought a house in the suburbs of Zurich and moved in with you he felt safe and finally settled down. You on the other hand had decided to keep going to work. Sebastian had reassured you many times that he doesn't mind paying for you but you still insisted on adding to the home budget. You were unlacing your shoes as Sebastian leaned onto a wall with a kitchen towel hung on his shoulder and watched you. He knew something was not right mainly because you were quiet. "Wanna talk about it?" he asked, not wanting to pressure you "No. I know if I start talking about it I will get unnecessarily even more mad." you said with glossy eyes "C'mere. Let me at least give you a hug." his arms wrapped around your body as you put your head to his chest to hear his heartbeat. He gently caressed you back and swayed a little. "Let's eat. There's nothing a good soup can't fix". It did help a bit, but it didn't take away your headache. You took some painkillers and left to shower. Meanwhile, Sebastian cleaned all the dishes and put some essential oils into the diffuser. When you came out of the bathroom you were greeted with a comforting smell of lavender and Seb that was already waiting for you in bed, making it warm. He spread his legs for you to lay between them with your favorite house hunting tv show on the tv with a blue light filter and lowered brightness. Last moments of your day were filled with the soft noise of the tv and your lover gently massaging your head until you fell asleep.

November 3 2023

[slowestlap]

Valtteri Bottas was part of a Finnish tv show called "Yökylässä" (sleepover) where the host goes to visit Finnish celebrities and spends two days and one night in their home. This episode aired on February 2nd, 2023 and was filmed at some point in 2022.

Below I give context to the screenshots and have also translated some interesting bits:

1st row: Just some cute random VB photos to start with

2nd row: He really loves gin, first two photos are from his main apartment and right photo is from his weekend house. It simply was too many bottles to fit into one shot (no pun)

3rd row: And here we have him making gin tonic using his own gin brand. The obligatory helmet wall (there was another one as well). He's had this Ferrari for a few months, says blue is his favorite color. He'd have wanted to drive the host around with it but the battery had run out so they went with his red Alfa Romeo SUV

4th row: That's his weekend house near the main apartment but outside the city center. An artist in Monaco offered to make art work (something funny) for him and this is what they received. The framed a$$ photo is in the guest bathroom of the weekend house. They sold 5400 pcs of prints of it in 24h and got 50k€ for charity

5th row: They face timed Mika. He (grinningly) says the only advise he can give to Valtteri is "to break later". Just some absolute mint slippers he was wearing when they brushed teeth. That's his boat which is called "Rehab" but "it's almost the opposite (when you go there)". They rent it for others too, a full day is ~5k€

Other stuff i decided to highlight:

There's 3 or 4 feral cats around the weekend house that they'll give food to

The most important trophies are in Finland, the one from his first win is the most special

"It's hard to find apartments that you like to stay in (in Monaco), the prices are crazy expensive and quality is quite bad and they're old"

He pays 9500 € rent per month for his apartment

He wouldn't say how much the weekend house cost

The main reason for moving to Monaco was the taxes. He's calculated that in Finland his net income would be ~20 % of all of his gross income. In Monaco it's 60-70% after his expenses (like managers etc.) At the beginning of his career when things were unsure he thought it's important to try to make as much money as possible, after all the hard work he had put into becoming an F1 driver

He doesn't enojy fame and would rather be unknown but he understands it's part of being in F1 and he'd do anything to be able to live his childhood dream

He drove a kart for the first time as 5yo, jumped out of it and told everyone he'll become an F1 driver

Mika Häkkinen was his idol as a kid. It was a wow moment when he got a call from an unkonwn number in 2007 and it was Mika who wanted to help him in his career

He handles his finances/contracts by himself because it's hard to give someone else control over those things. Also mentions he doesn't like to be a passenger in a car because he's not in control of it

He only goes to social media to post things he wants to share, he doesn't read any comments or dm's

Tiffany does read some comments and said there's now less hateful comments towards Valtteri compared to how much there was when he drove for Merc

He hasn't really been single, after his break ups he's fallen in love quickly again. "It's nice to have a life partner"

Weight mentions ahaed! He talks a bit about the same stuff he mentioned in his podcast last year; he trained himself sick (around 2014). He was having really unhealthy training and eating habits and hid things from his trainer. He thought at the time that was what he should do. "If your team tells you to weight a certain amount, you'll do it". He then talked to a psychologist who said at first he was behaving like a robot without emotions but after that he started to work on getting healthier habits back

Host: "Do you talk about mental health related issues with your colleagues?" - "Not really, it still isn't a common subject to talk about. Even though maybe we should, I'm not the only guy who sometimes struggles".

Host: "How was it when you were the second driver for years?" - "Quite tough. It was so hard to accept but now I've made peace with it that Lewis was a better driver than me. After last year (2021) I admitted to myself that that's just how it goes sometimes." "Did you use to be bitter and jealous?" - "Yes, especially the first couple of years. I didn't hate him, we had a good partnership but I always thought how can I beat him and be better than him and win the championship. But it was tough 5 years. I shouldn't have been as harsh to myself."

He pays the private jet company he uses extra amount of money, enough to compensate the environmental impact. They went to his boat and he said he will compensate the costs too

He mentions that sometimes in the places they travel to it's better to keep quiet and lay low than to speak up about the issues within the country. He does say that in Saudi (2022, after the missile) the drivers decided to not drive but they were guaranteed it's safe to do so and that there's heavy security around the track. "Show must go on" and they weren't really given an option other than to drive. Formula 1 goes to places that pay the most.

Host: "The only thing missing from your life is F1 championship, is that so?" - "Yes."

[myimaginarywonderland]

F1 is killing itself. It started years ago and it has continued on ever since.

How you might ask? Well for starters let's talk about broadcasting. I can only speak for my country (Germany) but F1 has been taken off any market and made an exclusive Sky sports product. Which is terrible considering it was basically never before behind a pay wall and the TV commentator team had been there for such a long time that even my parents/grandparents knew about them. When you have such a well established commentary team and then not only take that away but also basically put F1 behind a paywall, you are going to lose viewers.

Then, F1 marketing has someone been some of the worst it has been in years. In theory when you have something like DTS it should be an opportunity, a chance to show some of the behind the scenes. Instead, what you get when you watch it is made up drama, fake rivalries etc. Yes it might attract viewers but it gives a compleltly wrong picture of the sport and almost all of the drivers.

Adding onto that, there's the Vegas GP. I think everyone knows that Monaco is prestigious, the F1 track that is probably most considered flashy but F1 is trying to do that with the Vegas GP. Why? No one knows. Also no one cares. The reason why most people are excited wasn't even the race, it was because a driver who currently isn't even driving wanted to have a race there. Fans do not look forward to racing there, instead the most anticipated thing is the stories that might happen outside of all racing. That tells you everything you need to know about that GP. Yeah, they want to attract viewers with it and visitors and oh, what was that? No one in their normal life could afford those tickets. Yeah, that's what I thought. Going to F1 GPs has become so expensive that many people can't even afford it and adding even more expensive venues to that is not going to help in any way.

While we are already talking about GPs, how about we acknowledge the fact that having the current season is absolutely insane? Not only are there's weird small gaps between races not enough to give drivers a rest, we also are harming the mechanics life more and more by basically not allowing them to see their family or be able to take a break. Not to mention how insane the spread out of races is to make them even more inaccessible and environmentally damaging.

While are already talking about tracks, maybe it's time to acknowledge that this calendar is for the most part boring? Sure there are some good tracks but by removing so many beloved tracks that have brought actual great racing, F1 is further digging itself a deeper hole. And also, don't call yourself a world championship when we still have no races in Africa. (I will mourn this until it changes especially now having seen with Formula E how well the Cape Town race was visitied.)

We could also talk about other things like how a crash that could have killed a driver should not be nominated for any award or how Abu Dhabi was a fundamental moment that marked the sport priorizing spectacle over safety but that's just going to make this post longer and longer.

So, let's talk about why we removing free practice is one of the worst ideas possible and for me personally will lead to a point where F1 can't return from.

Free practice might not be watched by many fans because it is on a Friday, a workday. And depending on where the timezones are going to complicate that further which is totally alright. Free practice doesn't need to be watched by everyone. It however for fans gives them an opportunity to get familiar with the track or in some cases is even maybe the only way a fan might come to a race considering the tickets for Friday are the cheapest. It offers new fans an opportunity to have a look at the track layout and not be thrown in complelty without any knowledge. Furthermore it's an opportunity to learn for maybe more strategic fans how possible strategies might look like, what things might be taken advantage of etc.

But that's not even what it is about. Free practice first and foremost is for the drivers and engineers. It gives drivers time to test out different setups, offers engineers to opportunity to test race strategies, is a chance to see how much conditions have changed etc. It is important for the safety of the paddock as it gives drivers to opportunity to get familiar again with the track and test limits before actually having to race. It helps to get out of the vast majority of unknown conditions and get into a territory where drivers feel comfortable with the track and the car. It is crucial to the safety first and foremost.

Getting ride of free practice would not only be a huge lose for fans but it would also mark the final point of no return where drivers safety truly stops being a concern.

Getting ride of free practice would be the final nail in the coffin and would be another reason we can later out to a list of all the things that probably led to a fatal accident.

F1 claims to know things aren't what the fans what and yet I have not once seen them even approach fans to ask for their opinion. Instead of gaining fans with their actions F1 is actively pushing them away.

[riemmetric]

When this is over | Original fiction

Note: Based on the current @flashfictionfridayofficial prompt, lights and sirens. The context for this one is, perhaps, very silly. I've started watching Formula 1 in August. Just like with everything else that I watch, be it a piece of media or a sport, my thoughts immediately veered towards how can I create a novel(la) within this universe. Car racing doesn't lend itself well to novel writing, though, (no way to capture speed on paper) and I doubt Netflix will hire me as a script writer for a tv show any time soon. But nothing stops me from creating a bunch of characters and writing heartfelt conversations between them. So, the people in this little piece: Martin and Matthew are two F1 drivers racing for the same team. Pauline is a sports photographer, Martin's girlfriend and the same age as him. Natalia is a supermodel, Matthew's girlfriend and a decade younger than him. The four of them go on holiday together and the two women share a moment while alone at sea.

⁘⁘⁘

Natalia swims in the sea. Pauline, perched on a rock, watches her glide in and out of the moonlight. Only the disturbance in the glasslike surface of the water betrays the presence of a body. Martin and Matthew are still on the boat moored to this small piece of earth that barely classifies as an island. There is no one else around for kilometers.

The deck sports colorful fairy lights and big headlights to keep watch over the swimmers. Natalia emerges from the water, her perfect profile backlit by the moon. She waves at Pauline, who has never learned how to swim properly. This close to the water she’s wearing boots and a loosely knitted jumper over her swimsuit.

The stillness of the night is punctuated by the laughter coming from the boat. Matthew is adamant to make a chess player out of Martin by the end of the trip. There’s a gin bottle on the table and it keeps track of time like an hourglass of old.

Natalia swims back to shore and grabs hold of the rock Pauline is sitting on. Her beauty is unreal.

“Come in!” Natalia says.

Pauline feels the pull of the water. There is a freedom here that cannot be captured anywhere else on planet Earth. But she can’t. The sea is a cruel mistress. She doesn’t want to be a sad story in the news.

“I can’t swim,” she says. “Sorry! I grew up smack in the middle of Germany. I was never much of a fan of the seaside.”

Natalia lowers herself under the water. The noise is extinguished from the world and she savors this moment, when it’s just her, a body held in perfect equilibrium within the universe. She comes back up when her lungs demand breath and sits down next to Pauline.

In the world of light, Martin yells fuck you, man and Matthew laughs.

“Do you ever think about the end?” Pauline asks.

“Of the world?” Natalia answers.

“Of this.”

Natalia looks up. She can hear the faint sound of Matthew explaining some chess move.

“No. I don’t think about the future. You can’t do that in my line of work, or you wouldn’t be able to enjoy any of it. I want to enjoy it.”

Pauline falls silent. Natalia is a supermodel. Her body is regarded as piece of art as much as the clothes they adorn it with. Its value is not timeless. It makes Pauline sad.

“Do you love Matthew?”

Natalia turns to look at her. There is an air of maturity about her that wasn’t there a moment ago.  

“What is love? He laughs at my jokes. Not many men pay attention at how funny I am, they just laugh at my accent. But he laughs at my jokes. I think he’s funny too. He’s nice to me. He listens to me. He cares about what I say. I feel safe with him. Maybe I do love him a little.” She looks wistfully at the moon. “We’re young, and he’s beautiful, and a good kisser, and the sunsets in Monte Carlo take my breath away. The present is the only thing that’s real, the only thing I care about.”

Natalia is sitting so close now; she smells like the sea. Pauline knows she herself smells a little like cigarettes, a little like alcohol, a little like Martin’s cologne. Natalia is looking straight into her eyes; fairy lights dance around her dark irises.

“When this is over, I’d like to see to you again. I’d like to go on a trip like this with you, just the two of us.”

Pauline can’t help her smile. She closes her eyes to hide a certain sadness she knows is there. Her thoughts circle around soft hands, lipstick stains on her neck, champagne and solitary islands in the Mediterranean Sea, away from the judgment of men. Nothing about this night feels real. This sentiment is not uncommon to her. Sometimes, when she watches the race, the number next to the unit of measurement for speed doesn’t feel real either. Neither does the champagne out of those oversized bottles, neither the fireworks over a track in a country where women aren’t allowed to drive. Sometimes, although it pains her to admit, the light coming through the white silk curtains in Martin’s Monaco apartment feels like the light on a movie set.

The rock feels sturdy under her. She presses her open palm hard against it for stability. A breeze passes over her body, like the breath of a sleeping giant. All of it is real, all of it. Reality all the way down.

“Yes, I'd like that,” she says.

The fairy lights from the boat chase each other around the trail of moonlight. Natalia’s head finds Pauline’s shoulder. Pauline squeezes Natalia's hand, warm fingers closing around a cold palm. It’s nothing and everything at the same time.

[chussyracing]

F1 related news, rumours and mind blowing stuff from past days

(it's super long after past 3 days so i will add it under the cut)

I cannot not start by Lewis to Ferrari on a multi-year contract being confirmed

Some leaked and speculated details include: Charles and Carlos both knew for some weeks, the news was leaked early by British source to avoid Lewis being included in development beyond 2025 in Merc, Toto was surprised but didn't expect Lewis staying for long in Mercedes anyway, Ferrari offered a huge paycheck and almost bianco check for any personal and charitable projects he wishes (granted by Elkann himself)

His engineer Peter Bonnington could follow him to Ferrari, but that decision is completely on himself

There are rumours of Carlos potentially moving to rally for 2025 for a break before a possible seat in Audi in 2026

Peter Windsdor reported he "heard" Alex got a 3 years offer from Red Bull, but there are rumours that people around Alex started this to get a better offer (possibly at Merc)

Among all of this, Haas livery was posted and it follows the trend of more and more black color included to save weight (fun fact: white color is the worst one possibly to choose for a livery since you need most layers of it which adds weight and sponsors sometimes don't want their logo on white because it's not as readable on TV)

F1 complained Andretti wasn't serious about the F1 offer, because Michael Andretti missed a meeting with F1 management to discuss their application, Andretti responded that they didn't see the invitation, because it ended up in the spam folder after an employee sent it rather than Domenicali

Haas appointed Andrea de Zordo as a Technical Director and Damien Brayshaw as a Performance Chief

There are some speculations Kimi Antonelli could be moving to Mercedes for 2025 based on the posts about Italian from Mercedes on social media (personal opinion: it's just a reaction to Lewis moving to Ferrari and Kimi doesn't even have enough superlicence points just yet so there will be a lot of pressure to get those in his debut F2 year if it's really the plan)

RB17 hybrid roadcar will apparently have active suspension technology which was banned from F1

There was some speculation from fans that Sebastian Vettel could come back and joing Mercedes but Toto Wolff denied it when he spoke to him the previous day

Ollie Bearman will also be Haas' reserve driver (with Fittipaldi) besides Ferrari's - there are two mandatory junior sessions but Haas will let him driver the car six times in 2024

Most random piece of info: Alicia Keys, Pharell Williams and Martin Garix will have a post race concert in Saudi Arabia

DAZN arw signing broadcasters for new season and apparently face some difficulties with Pedro De La Rosa, they can't say more besides it's an "issue which will be dealt with by an F1 team with great discretion"

Interesting fact: during International GT Open, standings were called incorrectly behind a safety car whoch lead to leader losing out and ICA (International Court of Appeal) decided that wrong SC rules apllication is not enough to cancel the result of the race which... sadly shows how AD21 appeal would probably go from FIA's ICA as well

McLaren showed the 2024 suits, the 2024 F1 Academy livery and they did their tyre test at Paul Ricard

Suzuka extended contract with F1 for 5 years

Nyck de Vries will have to pay 50% of his 2022 F1 income (driver salary and sponsorship deals) because he lost in lawsuit agaisnt Investrand

Hamda Al Quibasi and Emely De Heus will be RBR's F1 Academy drivers while Amna Al Quibasi will be Visa Cash App RB's driver

Williams signed a sponsorship deal with Vast Data and also announced meet and greet in NY

There are many people linked to the Merc seat including Mick Schumacher, Alex, Fernando (apparently Ted Kravitz was said to be the source but he denied it), Carlos, Esteban - Toto himself said Charles and Lando would be first on their list if they didn't extend long term contracts already

Melbourne will become season debut from 2025 again

[yesterdayiwrote]

It’s really frustrating seeing Lando and Oscar do so much press for Silverstone, yet Mercedes have arranged nothing for Lewis and George. Say whatever about McLaren but clearly the PR strategy is working and sponsors are eager to work with them..

Yeah, I mean, does it matter in the grand scheme of things? No, obviously it doesn't change how the weekend is going to go down whether or not they've done some press/promo work before the race.

And sure, Lewis is doing Cbeebies, which is a relatively big deal, even if for a very specific audience...

But it's really annoying when teams seem to think fan engagement starts and stops at material products they can sell you. There's so much talk about how special a home race is and like... maybe I'm weird, but I'd kind of prefer to see drivers commemorating their home gp by doing some little interviews with some different outlets, maybe an appearance on a UK show that doesn't usually cover f1 (because a lot of them do better interviews or do silly fun things) idk just something a bit different and fun? Why does it start and end at them just throwing out a different colour hat that I've got to pay them £50 for the privilege of owning?

And I think McLaren are really good at getting this, kind of putting your drivers out in the wider public conscious humanises them, let's people get to know them, helps build up a support network... I know there's been people before complaining drivers shouldn't want to do stuff like that because they're there to be athletes not TV stars, but actually the line between the sport and media worlds is nearly non existent these days and it always feels like some teams really don't fully embrace utilising it still?

[slow-button-off]

I want it put it out there that I did not find Charles attractive when I started following him in 2018. 😬

So yes I came to f1 recently but it’s not a crime, I’m not that old. F1 is broadcasted on payed tv I my country, which my family did not subscribe too. So I came to know about it later. I only watched DTS in 2020, but I watched it all now. And my interest also grew because a friend is an engineer for one of the team.

I think I found no young drivers attractive because they were so young, they looked like kids. Not gonna lie, it changed in 2020-2021. Yeah Charles is really good looking. And I like his attitude. It’s a bonus. So it’s great but if he wasn’t a great driver I don’t think I would follow him that much. I don’t follow other sports full a good looking men. I don’t follow people that are not that great but just pretty. I don’t find Max good looking at all and yet I still love to watch him race.

I does not matter. It’s not less valid than other who follow it only because dad and grandad did ... some boys are really threatened for nothing and scared that we can be honest and invested with no shame.

Charles pretty face alone can not make me get up that early in the morning to watch a race in Australia. If I liked only his face and Ferrari thirst trap I would just follow IG and wait for races highlights on Twitter.

tbf he looked like a child in 2018 most of the younger ones looked super young.

And even if you were 250 years old how long you've been watching F1 is irrelevant. People that have watched F1 for 50 years sometimes have less of an understanding than those that are completely new.

So what you are saying is that you have an inside source????????

Some people just can't grasp that women can support men without wanting to sleep with them. I know a really foreign concept.

The worst is that there are quite a lot of women spewing the same bullshit as well.

And the first come back always is "he's not gonna shag you". As if all of us just want to sleep with them. And even if you want to sleep with them that doesn't automatically mean that you don't understand the sport.

That's it. Who on earth watches 2h races where you see nothing just because they find someone attractive? Instagram and all that is so much easier.

it's all so stupid.

[pickingupmymercedes]

About the drivers in São Paulo, I don't know how it'll go with all of them but just to kinda correct you in some stuff.

Charles last year attended a few fans who were at the door of some restaurant he was in, also in the airport, it was so packed but he signed and took photos with everyone he could and he looked very tired, but was nice to people, so I don't know this fame about him not acknowledging the fans, he's one of the best in that regard.

What I heard about Ferrari drivers is that they don't attend fans in hotel, but to be honest, I agree with them is not the place, I appreciate Charles for attending in the restaurant, that I also think is wrong.

Also George, he doesn't do much but there were some fans at the entrance of their hotel and he got out of the car in the rain to take photos, so he's good too. Also, there was a group of girls from a project about girls in motorsport sort of stuff and all of them said he was very nice and funny.

About Lance, there's a bit of a situation, some Drugovich fans think he's impending Drugo to get a chance in F1, so there's some tension, the tv commentators even kinda trash Lance during the races, is truly disrespectful and unprofessional, last year he even got booed by some dumb people that kept screaming Drugo at him, so he might not be too keen to be part of it.

But seriously, I don't blame the ones that travel back just after the race, is the end of a triple header, they must be knackered and just wanting their own bed, F1 team doesn't know how to plan that calendar, we'll have a month break in sep-oct but two triple headers after.

Anyway, with the rest I agree, if Max participates it'll be a very awkward situation. But finally some action for São Paulo GP, it never had events on or off track and is one of the biggest fanbases of F1 that truly likes the sport for what it really is: a sport, not like US, for example.

Ah, in my last ask I forgot to mention Alonso, well he's only well liked by the old ones, Lewis fans, the majority in Brasil, don't like him, also last year he commented about the track not being F1 level because there were some screws in it, apparently,but doesn't complain about Las Vegas having uncovered manholes, for example. You know how we brazilians are, so some people are very annoyed with him, so idk how that might go.

Hii, so I'll start with YES! finally SPGP is getting events that are f1 related off track. It was due. And brazilians have been ongoingly getting the gp decently full through the last 20/30 years?! It still baffles me that newer circuits get so much more hype and attention?! (Maybe it's my bias showing)

As for the drivers, see I have a bit of a different view on that because I experienced f1 in the 2010's as well, before the last big boom, and also because f1 is not the only motorsports category I follow/have attended races.

I completely agree with there being boundaries (specially at hotels - and the likes of people booking rooms just to get access to the drivers?!).

But the 'fame' of drivers being in and out and not paying much attention is not only from last year, or from when Interlagos fell as the last race to a triple header. (Btw stopping to say hi or taking photos with fans that paid to get into the paddock is not what I was referring to)

Again, maybe I'm being biased because I actually got to meet Seb, Kimi, Alonso and Lewis outside the track, on normal settings (not waiting for them at restaurants/hotels). And some older family friends have met Niki/Hill/Raikkonen at bars in São Paulo and Schumacher running in Ibirapuera (Lewis used to run there as well in the 2010's).

And I know the profile of the average f1 fan has changed, a lot, and that includes how fans and drivers interact, but from people I know that have attended the races in the past years, there seems to be a common feeling of f1 personal not being as open to the fans in Brazil as they are in other places (bit of a change to how it was in the past).

Now, as for Drugovich, I really thought it was a given that people knew he never had a chance at that Aston seat?! Specially with all the investments into the team for their future years. Like, Lance has absolutely nothing to do with him not getting a seat in f1. (also, if there's ever a chance for Brazil to get another driver in f1 it'll be with Bortoleto).

[formulatrash]

what do you think about the whole "stOp the hate f1" account on instagram

I don't think that platforming hateful stuff is an effective way of combating it. people who are saying the stuff that's featured on there - that they hope drivers crash or die - are doing it for attention and reaction and nothing about being called out will deter them.

it's also rather obviously got a pro-RB/Verstappen bias. there's nothing wrong with being a fan of RB/Max but the account itself has a clear agenda to showcase Lewis fans as specifically hateful. so essentially it's just stoking the fires that it claims, in rather hyperbolic fashion, to be combating.

F1 discourse is insane currently. I mean in the sense it is extremely mentally unhealthy; the level of aggression over the smallest things is completely disproportionate and it is not normal or healthy for people to be in this constant combative state.

take the now-48h old beef over whether Ricciardo is featured enough on McLaren's social. no one has any idea what the context of the fact he's not given as much prominence as Lando is - maybe Danny Ricc doesn't permit the team to re-share his personal posts, etc whereas Lando does (I think it's very naff social media to do it in any case but whatever) and with things like his TV appearance, it was that they are sponsored by a rival US network. or maybe there's a huge internal conspiracy at McLaren and they for some reason don't want to use 50% of the marketing opportunity on the two guys they pay obscene amounts but that feels somewhat more unlikely.

anyway, beefing McLaren would be one thing but instead fans are tearing into each other over whether Daniel or Lando is a better driver. which has nothing at all to do with the original point (which was why does Danny have less prominence on McL's social than Lando and which it'd be interesting to actually look into) and is just vicious beefing for the sake of vicious beefing.

innocuous comments are taking insanely out of proportion and fans of one driver are spending more time monitoring fans of other drivers to see things to call them out on. it's not normal sports discourse this is like when I used to run the Radio 1 social media and Zayn had left One Direction. or idk, centrists vs Uncle Jez or even TERF wars. maybe it's because F1 drivers are so much individuals not teams or something but it's very, very unhealthy and does genuinely need to be addressed.

the media has undoubtedly played a major role, especially in the way that the clashes between Verstappen and Hamilton were handled last year. there are also plenty of people (and I genuinely don't think I'm guilty of this, specific, twitter crime but maybe) who'll stoke it with faux insight designed to play to one side or another.

like, take fake water discourse, a new low in things people could reach violent disagreement over. there's just no need for it is there.

second year in a row Valtteri Bottas has had a stuck nut and we haven't even had the chance to properly enjoy it ffs.

[danielxricciardo]

One with DR where you guys are married and have been together since teens, but you come to point where you realise you’re not on the same page. You wanna start a family and have kids while he wants to focus on his career and have a relaxed time outside of f1 like holidays and travel. So you think it’s time to split but Daniel isn’t having any of it, please make it angsty and long. Love your writing xxxxx

Summary: You want a baby. Daniel doesn't.

Warnings: angst (I cried writing this)

Word Count: 2.2k

"Do you want to be friends with me?"

"Are we best friends? Great!"

"Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

"Will you marry me?"

"I do!"

You lay in bed with your knees to your chest, remembering all the important moments in your life.

At the age of six, you two met in the schoolyard and became friends after Daniel came to you to ask if you wanted to play with him. You were classmates but until then he didn't pay attention to you. It had been hard for you to ignore the class clown who made his colleagues laugh at every break and his laughter was heard everywhere.

At the age of nine, Daniel came to your house for the first time to have a sleepover. All night you watched movies on TV, with the blanket over your head. You ate chips and drank a lot of juice, and he asked you if this sleepover turned you into best friends. It did.

At fourteen, Daniel took you out for a romantic dinner at McDonalds after Joshua Taylor turned you down. You ate cheeseburgers and french fries and he asked you if you wanted to be his girlfriend. You said yes.

At the age of twenty-two, he proposed to you. It was after his first Grand Prix in Great Britain. He had finished 19th but was happier than ever. He ran to you, hugged you, kissed you and asked you if you wanted to be his wife. It was nothing romantic, he didn't have a ring, he didn't sit on his knee and nobody knew what he had said. It was intimate, just between the two of you. Excited, you said yes.

The ring had come seven months later, when you officially announced the engagement. It was an intimate ceremony in the garden of Daniel's parents' house, attended only by your families.

At the age of twenty-seven you got married. It was a beautiful wedding. Your sister and your two best friends were bridesmaids. You did the wedding on the beach in a beautiful ceremony, as taken from the stories with princesses. Daniel wept when he saw you, at that moment swearing that he died and went to heaven, you being an angel in front of him, but when your father gave Daniel your hand he knew it was true.

The whole ceremony Daniel trembled with emotion, glancing at you from time to time.

Your vow was: "You made me feel loved, in ways I never thought possible. Today I offer you what I am and what I have. Just as today I offer you my hand to hold it in your hand, so I offer you my heart, faith and life. Today I choose you and I will choose you again tomorrow and the next day as well, until the end of life I promise to love you without restraint, to be with you in difficult times, to encourage you to to fulfill your dreams, to laugh and cry with you, to grow together spiritually, to always be honest with you and to cherish you every day. I promise to offer you what I have best and I do not ask for more than you can give me. I promise to respect you and not to forget that your interests, desires and needs are as important as mine. I promise that you will always have my attention and my love. I promise to love you always, no matter the circumstances and no matter what happens in the future. When you are happy, I will be happy for you, when you are sad, I will make you smile. I love you."

His vow was: "You know me better than anyone else and you still want to marry me. You're my best friend and you showed me what true love is. Even now a part of me still can't believe you're marrying me today. Some time ago, you were just a wish, a dream. Thank you for representing what you represent for me. I promise to love you, to respect you and to make you smile every day, to enjoy life together and also our love. I promise to do my best to make our future a bright one. I promise to listen to you as long as it takes for you to feel heard, I promise to be with you and to love you, even more, when you feel that you have no reason to be loved, I promise to be always there with you and for you. I love you!"

It's been 5 years since the wedding. You were both 32 years old but you didn’t feel like a family. You didn't feel your last name was now Ricciardo. You were staying together, you traveled everywhere with him for Formula 1 but something was missing. You didn't have a child.

Everyone expected you to have one or more so far but no. You didn't even try; Daniel just didn't want to.

"I'm at a time in my life where I can't enjoy a child. I want to focus on my career."

It's just that he's been saying this since you got married and you don't believe him anymore. You were no longer so young as to be very confident you can have one. Of course, many people had children after the age of 30, maybe even 40 if you're lucky. But you didn't want to take your child to school until he was 60 years old. But Daniel didn't seem to understand, and that pissed you off. Sometimes you chose not to tell him anything so as not to get angry.

But you could see him around children. You saw him with his nephews. He had natural instincts; he was natural. You always looked at him and their actions brought you to tears. Of course, all kinds of scenarios went through your mind: he doesn't want to have children at all or he doesn't want to have children with you; and you didn't know what scared you the most.

Your parents asked you when you were going to give them a grandkid and you didn't know what to say to them. You said soon 5 years ago; now it doesn’t feel that soon.

This day was one of those days when you wanted to disappear. On Instagram you saw a picture of your best friend: she had given birth to a beautiful baby girl. She and her husband had been married less than a year ago and were already parents. And you envied her. You knew it wasn't right, but you wanted to be her. You wanted a boy or a girl with Daniel, you wanted a baby.

With tears in your eyes, you send a message to your friend in which you send congratulations from you and Daniel both. That had already become a reflex. You didn't tell Daniel who of your friends were becoming parents because you knew he wasn't interested. But you didn't want to give the impression that your relationship was not perfect.

Because, judging by your Instagram profiles, you had the perfect life. Every year you visit a new place. Your vacations were as varied as possible: Zanzibar, Seychelles, Hawaii with circuit on the West American coast: Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Yosemite park, Grand Canyon, Jamaica, Tanzania, Madagascar, Australia Tour: Sydney - Melbourne - Cairns - Great Barrier Reef, Maldives; tell it what you want, you've been everywhere.

You knew that was what made Daniel happy: to travel. But you wanted something else. Didn't he say in his oath <I promise to listen to you as long as it takes for you to feel heard>?

You look up at him. You were squatting in a corner of the couch while he was in the simulator.

"Hey, Danny?" you say slowly, hoping he could hear you.

You couldn't speak louder because you had a lump in your throat and you knew you would have cried if you hadn't kept your focus.

"Mhm?" he answers without distracting himself from the game.

"Can we talk?"

"Love, I have 17 more laps, we'll talk right away, okay? Damn Bottas, step aside."

You bite your lip and close your eyes so that the tears can't flow on your cheeks but you didn't succeed. Daniel had his back to you, too focused on overtaking Bottas on the Sochi circuit, he didn't even realize you were crying. You quickly wiped away the tears with the sleeve of the blouse you were wearing and took a deep breath. It was now or never.

"I want a divorce."

Quiet. You could swear Daniel wasn't breathing anymore. The next noise was his car crashing. It takes them a few seconds for him to return to you. His eyes were wide and his mouth was open, and the color on his cheeks was gone.

"W-wh-what?"

His reaction had made you cry again. It broke your soul to cause him that pain, but he also broke your soul in pieces, little by little, for 5 years.

"I want a divorce." you say in a trembling voice, not sure if he heard you. You didn't even hear what you just said.

"Yes, I heard that, but why?" he says and gets up from his chair, coming towards you.

He tried to hug you but you avoided his touch. The fact that you avoided touching him made him cry too.

"This relationship is not working. We are not on the same page."

He frowns and seems to replay your whole relationship to see what didn't work.

"Is it because I spend too much time on the simulator? I'm sorry, I didn't know it bothered you so much, love. I'm... I'm so sorry, really, I am."

You snort and cross your hands over your chest.

"I can't believe you think our relationship problem is your stupid game, Daniel! Unbelievable!"

He bites his lip and you're sure it’s going to bleed soon.

"Isn't it? Then what is it?"

You get up from the couch in exasperation.

"Really, Daniel? We've been married for 5 years, tell me when I ever got mad because of you sitting on the simulator! Never! Because I don't have a problem with that. Instead for 5 years I'm telling you to have a baby together and nothing! We want different things from life right now, and I don't think we can continue this relationship."

He also gets up from the couch and comes in front of you.

"Is that why you're doing this circus? Because we don't have a baby?" his surprise slowly turns into anger.

"Circus? Am I doing a circus? Because I want a baby? That’s low, Daniel, that’s low…" you snort. "Can you hear yourself? Doesn't it seem normal to you to have a child? We're 32, not 20! I understand you want to focus on your career, but we can't wait until you retire from the sport. You want to overtake Louis Chiron and to drive until the age of 59? I'm sorry, but when you reach the age of 59, the only girl you can get pregnant is a 20-year-old girl. And I won’t be 20, so good luck!"

"I don't want to have children with anyone else. I want to have a child with you, because I love you. But now is not the right time for me..." he says, looking down.

"Why? Give me arguments! Tell me why now it's not the right time to have children and if there are good arguments, I promise not to bother you anymore." you say, crossing your arms over your chest, waiting for his answer.

It's just that his answer never came. He kept his eyes on the ground.

"Exactly what I thought." you say and walk past him to enter the bedroom. "You have no argument. Great, Daniel. You made me realize I wasted 18 years of my life with you." you say and start crying even louder.

Daniel's heart had broken to pieces since he saw the first tear on your cheek. He knew he had ruined everything and he wasn't sure he could fix your relationship. As much as he loved you, you were right.

"Let's have a baby now!" he says coming towards you in the bedroom.

"Sure, Daniel. Let's order a baby, shall we? 5 minutes ago, you had no thoughts of a child and now that we've talked about divorce you want a child? No, Daniel. I don't want to give birth to a child just to hold us together. A child must be the result of our love. "

"Well, I love you!"

You smile.

"That's not enough... Now you want a child because I said I wanted a divorce, right? But later you will pour out your nerves and anger on the child because you will say that he destroyed your life."

"No, you're right. I was an idiot and I just thought about myself, but you're right. We should have had a baby a long time ago." he says and bites his lip what seemed to be thousand times.

"Daniel, I love you with all my heart. But I don't want to make a mistake. I don't want to give up on 18 years together but I don't want to give up the chance to be a mother either."

Daniel hugs you and kisses you on the forehead.

"You will not give up on this chance. We will have a child, I promise you, baby. I love you so so much."

You hug him and try to calm down.

"I love you too."

[jaimejames90]

Anthony Joshua Leaves Sky, What Does It Mean?

Simple answer it means a lot, for both Sky & DAZN.

Let's look at DAZN first:

The impact of signing one of the two biggest names in the sport (the other being Canelo Alvarez) is clearly a major shot in the arm for them, especially in the UK, where they have so far had limited success. AJ opens up a whole different level of visibility for the new broadcaster. The structuring of the deal, making him a shareholder, advisor and global ambassador, giving him a vested interest in the success of DAZN which has made him the public face of the company in the UK (along with Eddie Hearn).

AJ, one of the biggest and most well known names across every demographic in the UK, has now declared streaming is the future of sports broadcasting (spoiler: it is) how much impact his significant endorsement of DAZN has especially in boxing is yet to be seen. Though it will surely make both fighters and managers think more about where the best place to be is. The profile of DAZN is now set to make a huge leap in the UK market, reaching sports fans way outside of the boxing hardcore, some of whom will already, post announcement, be hearing the DAZN name for the first time. This is exactly what DAZN need and the key reason they have clearly so aggressively pursued securing AJ.

However work still needs to be done, launching DAZN for business to make fight nights available in pubs and bars etc. A link up with a linear broadcast platform to enable them to deliver the marketing push required and the eyes they need on there product and fights. Both are a must for the long term success of Anthony Joshua and DAZN. Offering a special PPV price for current subscribers would also be a great piece of marketing.

Now Sky:

AJ's move may well be more significant than Matchroom's to DAZN last summer, replacing Matchroom with a different promoter has proved relatively easy as has attracting good fighters, the postponement of the Olympics helping them enormously. Are they having the same impact as before, clearly not but Boxxer are already in my opinion the number two promoter in the UK.

However replacing AJ is an impossible task because a replacement doesn't exist, the only one that comes close is Tyson Fury and the chances of him leaving BT/Discovery look extremely unlikely. Boxing unlike other sports is not a large subscription driver for Sky, and the broadcasters interest in boxing is due to the huge success of Sky Sports Box Office. As Ben Shalom revealed the boxing budget at Sky appears to be linked to the success of Box Office. The number of PPVs they do per year (usually 6+) contributes towards the cost of the boxing content they produce while turning Sky a handsome profit. 

Without Anthony Joshua, the biggest PPV platform in the UK no longer has any PPV stars, creating new ones from the outstanding crop of fighters they have signed will take many years by which time the PPV model is likely to be in total collapse due to the now fast growing move to less expensive subscription services and away from traditional outlets like Sky along with the constant theft of revenue from illegal streams.

Sky have committed to just over 3 more years with both Top Rank and Boxxer, with huge increases in rights fees for Football and F1 expected in the next few years and without a PPV name will boxing on Sky even survive long term. The pressure is on to build a new superstar name to replace Anthony Joshua a task that seems an impossible mountain to climb.

For boxing fans Anthony Joshua moving to DAZN is a huge positive, they offer excellent content at a reasonable price. After many years of fans being ripped off by Sky, someone offering much better value for money is a welcome addition. However a large amount of negativity will always surround something new as it regularly does with DAZN and a older demographic of fans who seem hell bent on wanting to pay more than learn how to install an app on to there TV. Streaming is the future and its arriving at rapid pace anyone not on board is going to find themselves unfortunately increasing left behind.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                           J.J.H.

[yayroos]

things i'd do if i had shitloads of money

(after dealing with my own finances and those of my friends and family + a huge-ass donation to a bunch of charities don't get shitty with me I'm tired this is meant to be a joke)

pay every damn TV network on the planet to stop making bullshit reality TV about people finding ~true love~

no more bachelor

no more fucking married at first sight (sanctity of marriage my ass)

no more of whatever the fuck else they're churning out

make sports broadcast rights stay free to air or at least free to stream for everyone on the damn planet

no foxtel you can't have the f1 or the cricket fuck off back into the void from whence you came

net neutrality

buy tumblr and personally spend a month going through the cosebase and fixing this hellhole

no more eaten asks

clearer blocking from sideblogs

images that load

fixing the cache problem

probably about 5 other tumblr things

pay whoever I have to pay to make youtube stop showing ads for pregnancy tests to kids, trans and nonbinary ppl and anyone else who doesn't give a shit about pregnancy tests because they won't provide any useful information

last thing is i'll pay a big team of people to hack the entire universe and make disease go away, also delete periods and give any trans person the surgeries they need/want for free in about 5 seconds

sound good?

if i ever get super fuckn rich pls hold me to any parts of this that are still relevant rip

[myimaginarywonderland]

So, this is going to be a different posts from the ones that I usually make.

Everyone who knows my blog knows I have only been following F1 since 2019/2020. But I knew about it way before than.

When I was younger I remember coming over to my grandparents and when my family got too much I would sit down with my grandpa in the living room and enjoy whatever sports he was following at the time which sometimes happened to be F1 (but this was before I really proceed it so I was way too young to understand what was going on probably.)

And once I got into F1 I talked a bit to my grandpa about it when he was still alive. He wasn't really following it anymore (probably because it was already hard to watch it at that time and he enjoyed other sports more) but even then it still was something that I felt truly connected us and was one of only memories I still have.

And when I got into F1 my lovely best friend would sometimes let me come over or come over to mine and watch it with me even if she wasn't interested.

Now, this cannot happen anymore because we'll I have to find a stream first, see that it's a good one etc.

And I feel like for younger fans especially ones who have motorsport interested families there is such an opportunity taken from them.

We all know how people come together for football and honestly, I would love nothing more than to have that for F1 because even those small glimpses I had with two people I cared about where such a cool experience.

But we can't have that anymore because we'll, F1 isn't on Free TV.

I also remember when it was that my parents would sometimes sit down with me and joke about the German commentators because eventhough they weren't fans that was such an integral part of TV in a way. That's just not there anymore.

And I know many fans have those stories where someone in their family watched it and then they watched it together and grew into a fan and well that just doesn't happen for new fans anymore and it feels like a punch in the gut because while it may be romanticized, it was true for quiet a few fans.

But younger fans will never be able to make those memories because F1 has in most countries decided to become blocked completely by a pay wall and is now even considering bombarding us with more races.

And maybe it's just me but not only does that take away the small opportunity to experience F1 the same way football fans do but it also makes F1 so uneventful or not special.

F1 used to be something that was like a nearly monthly accurance and now I have like 3 races per months. It takes away this excitement that surrounds it this opportunity to make it a community event because it feels like it's now nearly every week.

There's just something about trying to make something like motorsport which was always so different from other sports because it didn't only rely on the driver it also had this huge engineering aspect, this unique combination of driver and car, into something like football (a sport that only relies on the players) not working.

F1 or motosport isn't as popular as football or as easily able to be commercialised because we'll there's only one season. Football has different leagues, championships all year but in motorsports it's a season and it's done, then you have a break and you go again.

It just isn't the same and over time the unique experience of F1 has morphed into something completely different than I feel like what most people associated with it.

And I feel like F1 is losing its charme more than anything else.

Remember when the Monaco GP was this really prestigious thing that was so different because it was so glamorous? Because while in other GPs it felt like there were the common fans, Monaco was full of celebrities and rich people and that's part of what also made it special? Yeah, that's what every GP feels like because it is nearly unaffordable to visit now.

F1 wants to be like other sports so bad but then also wants to be seen as this prestigious thing which just doesn't work and therein lies the exact problem. Motorsport will always be different because you can't follow it as easy as you can football. I bring this up because I feel like football for sure is just the most popular sport for most people. The difference is while I might need some basic knowledge for football to fully understand many decisions I can still follow it blindly because it's easy to pick up things, to piece it together.

F1 requires so much more. There's DRS, there's different strategies, there's tyres, there's penalties etc. It needs way more knowledge that other sports because there's three sides, the driver, the car and everything else (let's call it outside factor's.)

So yeah. A community would definitely help you if you started being a fan as commentators often will not be able to explain certain things.

And by trying to commercial F1, this hope for community and I guess a sense of familiar/generational fan building is losing any hope of being a possibility for new fans.