#Christian the High Speed Engine

[aaron04jpg]

Indycar crash course

(For this all I’m just going to use 2024 as an example)

I hope this is helpful feel free to ask any questions!!

1. Teams/drivers

* There is no limit on how few or many drivers can race for a single team.

* Most teams have 3 cars but some have as low as 2 and others have as high as 5

* Drivers don’t have numbers, the cars/teams do (ex: David is car #66 but will change to #41 when he changes to Aj Foyt racing)

* Additional Teams/drivers will come in for the Indy 500

2. Circuits

* circuit types – from road and street circuits to short ovals (one mile or less) and long ovals, often referred to as superspeedways.

* From what I have seen most Indycar drivers like/prefer ovals

3. Chassis and engines

* Dallara is the exclusive chassis supplier for INDYCAR. The chassis is made of carbon fibre, Kevlar and other composites, and weighs approximately 770 kg.

* Chevrolet and Honda are the two engine manufactures in the series and supply competitors

4. Tyres

* Like Formula 1, INDYCAR has a sole tyre supplier. But instead of Pirelli rubber, INDYCAR uses Firestone.

* Firestone provides three types of tyres for road and street courses, and one for ovals. On road and street courses, there is the ‘primary’ black tyre. The ‘alternate’ red tyre is a softer compound that allows for higher speeds but wears faster. A grey sidewall tyre is used in wet weather conditions.

* On ovals, only the ‘primary’ black tyre is used and if the rain falls at this type of circuit, Indy cars will not take to the track.

5. Aeroscreen

* In Formula 1, the teams have the halo. In INDYCAR, the aeroscreen is a ballistic, canopy-like windscreen anchored by titanium framework surrounding the cockpit.

6. Race weekend format

* The format of race weekends changes from race to race, however the most common is that Friday consists of two practice sessions – one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

* On Saturday, there is a morning practice session followed by qualifying in the afternoon.

* Sunday is race day and it begins with a warm-up session at road and street courses. However, on oval circuits there is no warm-up session.

7. Pit Stops

* Unlike Formula 1 where 16 team members assist during a pit-stop, just seven members of each INDYCAR team are permitted go ‘over the wall’ to execute a pit-stop.

* Team members include: four tyre changers, a fueler, a person responsible for the air jack (to raise the car to change the tyres) and an aeroscreen assistant to clean or pull a ‘tear-off’ from screen to help the driver’s vision.

* Each crew member is required wear a firesuit and helmet for protection.

* Indy cars refuel at each stop and drivers pit depending on the length of the track. In the 10 seconds it takes to fuel the car, all four tyres are changed.

8. Point scoring

* Points are awarded for all finishing positions in INDYCAR.

* First – 50 points, second – 40, third – 35, fourth – 32, fifth – 30, sixth – 28, and so on, going down to just five points for the lowest finishing position in the field.

* Bonus points are awarded for: pole position – 1 point, leading at least one race lap – 1 point, and most race laps led – 2 points.

* For the Indianapolis 500 and the final race of the season, points are doubled in those races.

TEAMS (as of end 2024 season)

1. AJ Foyt Racing

* 14 Santino Ferrucci

* 41 Sting Ray Robb

2. Andretti Global

* 26 Colton Herta

* 27 Kyle Kirkwood (logan’s friend !!)

* 28 Marcus Ericsson

3. Arrow McLaren

* 5 Pato O’Ward (McLaren reserve driver)

* 7 Alex Rossi

* 6 Nolan Siegel

4. Chip Ganassi Racing

* 8 Linus Lundqvist

* 9 Scott Dixon

* 10 Álex Paluo Montalbo

* 4 Kyffin Simpson

5. Dale Coyne Racing

* 51 Katherine Legge

* 18 Jack Harvey

6. Ed Carpenter Racing

* 20 Christian Rasmussen

* 20 Ed Carpenter (ovals only)

* 21 Rinus Veekay

7. Juncos Hollinger Racing

* 77 Romain Grosjean

* 78 Conor Daly

8. Meyer Shank Racing

* 66 David Malukas

* 60 Felix Rosenqvist

9. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

* 15 Graham Rahal

* 45 Christian Lundgaard

* 30 Pietro Fittipaldi

10. Team Penske

* 2 Josef Newgarden

* 3 Scott McLaughlin (twt icon)

[hamilton-here]

𝒰𝓃𝓌𝓇𝒾𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓃 𝑅𝓊𝓁𝑒𝓈

Authors Note: Hey everyone! I wanted to write a rivalry of some sort between the teams, so I hope you like this. Lots of love xx

Summary: The daughter of Red Bull’s team principal and Lewis Hamilton fall into a secret romance that risks rivalries, media chaos and family fallout all for love.

Warnings: mild sexual content, age-gap, mild language

Taglist: @hannibeeblog @nebulastarr @cosmichughes

MASTERLIST

࣪𓏲ᥫ᭡ ₊ ⊹ ˑ ִ ֶ 𓂃࣪𓏲ᥫ᭡ ₊ ⊹ ˑ ִ ֶ 𓂃࣪𓏲ᥫ᭡ ₊ ⊹ ˑ ࣪𓏲ᥫ᭡ ₊ ⊹ ˑ ִ ֶ 𓂃࣪𓏲ᥫ᭡ ₊

The world of Formula 1 had always been a battleground. The speed, the precision, the raw hunger to be first it all collided into one of the most high-stakes environments in global sport.

But for you, the daughter of Christian Horner, team principal of Red Bull Racing, it had always been more than just the race. It was about legacy. About control. About the unrelenting pressure of being born into the fire rather than choosing to walk through it.

From the moment you were old enough to understand the difference between soft and hard compound tyres, you knew your life was destined to revolve around motorsport not because it was your passion, but because it was expected.

Your last name wasn’t just a name it was a brand, a symbol of Red Bull’s grit and calculated dominance. And being Christian Horner’s daughter came with rules. Boundaries. Expectations so deeply ingrained they felt like law.

The most ironclad of those unspoken rules? Never speak to Toto Wolff let alone entertain anything or anyone associated with Mercedes.

Toto and your father had a rivalry so bitter it felt almost Shakespearean. Every press conference turned into a subtle war of words, a performance of thinly veiled contempt.

Their disagreements weren't always televised, but you'd seen enough tense meetings behind hospitality unit doors, red-faced shouting matches over regulation loopholes, and that one memorable argument at Silverstone where your father had stormed out, muttering that he wouldn’t “waste another breath on that corporate bastard.”

As a child, you didn’t understand why it mattered so much. Why every time a silver car overtook a Red Bull on track, your father’s jaw would tighten, and his voice would drop.

Why Toto’s name was always said like a curse word. But as you got older, you understood the deeper truth: this wasn’t just about racing. It was personal.

And you were caught in the middle of it.

Now, at twenty-six, the burden had never felt heavier.

Your father had begun talking more seriously about grooming you for a greater role within the team “PR first, maybe, then management. Just like Susie Wolff used to be, but for the right team,” he joked, with an edge in his voice. You smiled, but your stomach twisted. You didn’t want a life defined by rivalries you hadn’t chosen.

You loved Formula 1 truly but on your own terms. You admired the technology, the finesse, the community that thrived behind the scenes. But you wanted to choose your place in it. Not have it assigned to you like an inherited seat in a car you never asked to drive.

That’s why, on that particular race weekend in Monaco the crown jewel of the F1 calendar you found yourself wandering a little too close to the Mercedes garage. You weren’t supposed to be there, of course. Just passing by you told yourself. But curiosity tugged at you.

And then you saw him.

Lewis Hamilton.

He was just stepping out of the garage, helmet in hand, suit half unzipped, revealing the branded fireproof undershirt clinging to his chest.

He walked with that unmistakable ease, the confidence of a man who knew exactly who he was not just a seven-time world champion, but a symbol of poise and persistence in a world that had often tried to box him in.

He passed by the engineers with a nod, his braids pulled back neatly, sunglasses perched low on his nose. And then, somehow, his eyes met yours.

It was no longer background noise. No longer fans chattering or mechanics working or engines howling. For a heartbeat maybe longer, it was just you and him.

You froze, blinking in disbelief. He looked straight at you, as if he'd been expecting to see you there all along. His smile was warm, genuine, and laced with something more curious… a spark. Not flirtatious, not bold just...interested.

And in that moment, everything shifted.

The paddock you’d walked through a hundred times before suddenly felt different. Brighter. Warmer. And not because of the Mediterranean sun. But because of him.

Your pulse quickened. Heat flushed beneath your skin. You tried to look away you should have looked away but you didn’t. Couldn’t.

He offered a small nod of acknowledgment, subtle, but purposeful. And then he was gone walking down the path, chatting with Angela, disappearing into the Mercedes motorhome.

But the moment stayed.

And you knew, deep in your chest, that something inside you had changed.

You didn’t know yet that that brief encounter would unravel the tightly wound world you lived in. That it would pull you into something dangerous, something exhilarating. That it would challenge everything you thought you stood for.

You didn’t know that the smile Lewis Hamilton gave you so simple, so soft would be the beginning of a secret that could shatter the paddock.

But you felt it.

Like a warning.

Or maybe a promise.

It started innocently enough. Or at least, that’s what you told yourself in the beginning. A passing hello at a post-race gala. A casual exchange of words in the VIP lounge of a luxury paddock suite. He’d always keep it light with playful glances, soft smirks, the kind of flirtation that could be dismissed if anyone saw.

But it never was just that. Not really.

The first real conversation happened at a sponsor’s dinner in Milan. You were seated a few tables apart, but during the mingling that followed, you found yourselves standing near the same corner, pretending to admire the same oversized art piece none of you really cared about.

“Did you know the artist was once banned from this gallery for lighting a sculpture on fire?” Lewis had said, his voice low, edged with amusement.

You turned, raising a brow. “No, but that sounds about right for this sport. Always a bit dramatic.”

He grinned. “And competitive.”

“Dangerously so,” you replied, your voice soft. He tilted his head, like he was reading between the lines. Maybe he was.

From that point on, it became a dance whispered conversations behind velvet curtains, stolen moments behind hospitality doors, late-night texts that made you smile in the dark while lying in your hotel bed, phone screen illuminating a world you were trying desperately to keep hidden.

A world that felt like yours.

You kept telling yourself that it was harmless. That a conversation wasn’t betrayal. That a smile across a crowded press room wasn’t a line crossed. But deep down, you knew the truth this was no longer innocent.

And neither were your feelings for him.

Lewis was everything you thought he’d be. Charismatic, confident, with that quiet, magnetic charm that pulled people in. But what you hadn’t expected was the softness behind it all. The humanity. The thoughtfulness that lingered in his words, the way he listened — really listened to every answer you gave him.

There was no ego, no bravado. He wasn’t trying to impress you. He was just trying to know you.

And the more he did, the more he peeled away the layers not just yours, but his own.

You learned things that never made it to the cameras or the interviews.

His doubts. His exhaustion. His moments of feeling like the world had placed him on a pedestal he never asked for. And in return, you gave him your own truths the weight of growing up in a world where your choices were shaped by power and legacy, not desire. Where your name opened doors but also chained you to expectations you never agreed to.

You told him about the pressure of being your father’s daughter. About the way the paddock looked at you like a fixture, not a person. He never judged. Never interrupted. He just listened, his gaze steady and kind, like he understood every word without needing you to explain further.

And then, one night Monaco again, always Monaco you found yourselves alone on a quiet balcony during the afterparty.

The music pulsed behind the glass doors, soft bass reverberating through the walls. Laughter and clinking glasses filled the air inside, but out here it was just the two of you, cocooned in shadow. The city lights glittered below like fallen stars, the harbour shimmering in the distance.

You were leaning against the railing, arms bare in your sleeveless gown, the night air cool against your skin. You felt him approach before you even saw him the way the air shifted, charged and thick with something unspoken.

He came to stand beside you, his tailored jacket open, shirt unbuttoned at the collar. The scent of him clean, warm, unmistakably him wrapped around you like a secret.

“I never thought I’d be talking to the daughter of my biggest rival,” he said, voice low and velvet-smooth, a teasing smile tugging at his lips.

You turned toward him, your heart skipping at the sight of that half-smile. “I could say the same about you,” you murmured, keeping your voice light, but there was a tremor in it. “My father would have a fit if he knew I was talking to you.”

Lewis chuckled, and the sound melted something inside you. “Good thing we’re not telling him then.”

He looked at you, really looked like he was memorising your face in this light, in this moment. “You know I don’t like following the rules anyway.”

There it was. That shiver again. A current of electricity that danced over your skin whenever he looked at you like that like you weren’t part of this world that had always sought to define you. Like you were simply you.

You exhaled, quietly, as if trying to steady the storm rising in your chest.

“We shouldn’t be doing this,” you whispered, but you didn’t move away.

“No,” he agreed. “But I want to.”

His voice was lower now. Rougher. And his hand, slow and deliberate, brushed against yours on the railing. Barely a touch featherlight but it felt like a match had been lit.

The city below continued on, unaware. But for you, time had stopped.

And in that pause that breath between decision and desire you leaned in, just slightly. Just enough.

And Lewis met you there.

The kiss was soft at first. Cautious. Testing. But the moment your lips met, it deepened into something inevitable. His hand cupped your cheek, warm and grounding. Your fingers tangled in the lapel of his jacket, pulling him closer.

You didn’t think about the consequences. Or your father. Or the media.

All you could think about was how right it felt. How everything in your life – the weight, the pressure, the legacy disappeared when you were with him.

You broke apart just long enough to breathe.

“You know this will complicate everything,” you said, your voice barely a whisper against his lips.

He smiled not his public smile, not the one cameras loved. But the real one. The one meant only for you.

“I’m not afraid of complicated,” he said. “Not if it means I get to be with you.”

And just like that, the line was crossed.

And you didn’t want to go back. ࣪𓏲ᥫ᭡ ₊ ⊹ ˑ ִ ֶ 𓂃࣪𓏲ᥫ᭡ ₊ ⊹ ˑ ִ ֶ 𓂃࣪𓏲ᥫ᭡ ₊ ⊹ ˑ ࣪𓏲ᥫ᭡ ₊ ⊹ ˑ ִ ֶ 𓂃࣪𓏲ᥫ᭡ ₊

As the weeks passed, your secret relationship with Lewis grew into something far deeper than either of you had anticipated.

What began as curiosity and chemistry had quietly unraveled into a connection that neither time nor rivalry could easily sever. It was a flame you tried to hide behind closed doors, but it burned brighter with every encounter.

Late-night texts became your lifeline tucked beneath your pillow after lights out, buzzing softly with messages that made your heart race. “Land safely?” he’d send after a late flight. Or “Wish you were here,” from a hotel room in Monaco when you couldn’t travel with him.

You’d reply in whispers under the covers, your fingers dancing across your screen in the dark, smiling like a teenager with a crush only this was no crush.

It was stolen glances at race weekends, the kind that lasted just a second too long. Eyes meeting across the paddock, his lips twitching in a subtle smile while your father stood just metres away, oblivious.

Sometimes he’d brush past you in the corridors between hospitality suites, his fingers lightly grazing your hand in a fleeting touch no one else could see. You lived in fragments tiny collisions of longing in a world that was never meant to let you fall for each other.

You met where you could wherever there were shadows and privacy. Hotel suites booked under different names. Discreet drives with tinted windows.

Once, after a race in Singapore, he flew you on a private jet to his next stop, the lights of the city falling away as the sky darkened and you curled up beside him on the leather seat, his arm around you as you whispered stories neither of you had ever told another soul.

He never made you feel like a secret, even when you were one.

What surprised you most was that it wasn’t just physical. Not really. There was desire, yes - a magnetic pull that neither of you could deny. But what truly bound you to Lewis was how seen he made you feel.

In the quiet, private moments between races, when the world stopped spinning, he showed you pieces of himself that no press conference or post-race interview ever could.

One night in Paris, wrapped in the sheets of a hotel bed after hours of talking and tangled limbs, Lewis had stared at the ceiling and said quietly, “You know, there are days where I walk out onto the grid, and it feels like I’m completely alone.”

You turned toward him, watching his profile in the dim light. “But you’re surrounded by people. Fans. Media. The team…”

He sighed, eyes distant. “That’s the thing. I’m never alone physically. But sometimes I still feel like no one really knows me. Not the brand. Not the champion. Just me.”

You reached out and slid your fingers between his. “I know you.”

His eyes met yours, and for a moment, he looked almost vulnerable. Like that small sentence meant more to him than trophies ever could.

In turn, you found yourself opening up to him in ways you never had with anyone else. You told him about the weight of your last name. What it was like to walk through the paddock and feel like you were always being measured not just as Christian Horner’s daughter, but as a woman in a sport that still viewed you as ornamental unless you proved otherwise.

“I get these looks,” you confessed one night while sharing a quiet dinner in a candlelit booth in a back alley restaurant in Rome. “From the engineers. The sponsors. Like I’m just a decoration. And my father doesn’t see it. He thinks I should be grateful to be part of his world.”

Lewis leaned in, resting his hand over yours. “You don’t belong to his world. You belong to your own.”

You blinked back the sudden emotion in your throat, because no one had ever said that to you before. Not your family. Not your colleagues. Not even your friends. But he did and he meant it.

Even in your most hidden moments, when you lay curled in his arms in the dim light of a suite somewhere in New York, Abu Dhabi, or London, Lewis never treated you like a secret. You weren’t an escape. You were home. And he became that for you, too.

There were times you’d lie awake at night beside him, tracing the tattoos on his arm with your fingers while he dozed beside you, the slow rhythm of his breathing anchoring you.

You’d memorise the curve of his shoulder, the way his lips parted slightly in sleep and wonder how something that felt so right could be so wrong to the world around you.

Because outside those walls, everything was different.

Your father still tore into Mercedes every chance he got. Toto Wolff’s cold fury flared in every interview and Christian Horner was just as quick to fan the flames.

You’d hear their voices bitter and biting echoing through the media, slinging barbs at one another while you quietly sat on the sidelines, hiding the fact that you were slipping further in love with the one person who could ruin everything.

And yet, you didn’t want to stop.

Not when Lewis made you feel understood in a way no one else did.

Not when the sound of his voice, the safety of his arms, the truth in his eyes, had become your calm in the chaos.

What started as a secret was now your sanctuary.

And every day, you found yourself sinking deeper into it even knowing the fallout that might come.

Because loving Lewis wasn’t just a rebellion.

It was a revelation.

One night, after a particularly explosive press conference the kind that had journalists buzzing and social media ablaze you found yourself pacing the penthouse suite of a luxury hotel, heart pounding, hands trembling.

Your father and Toto had just gone head-to-head in front of the cameras, their voices sharp, their words venomous.

It was supposed to be about team strategy, about upgrades and pace. But somehow, as it always did these days, the press twisted their questions just enough to suggest something personal. About Mercedes and Red Bull. About you and Lewis.

It was subtle, but it was there a whispered rumour turned into a media feeding frenzy. Every glance between you and Lewis, every moment you spent near the paddock he walked in, had been photographed, dissected, speculated on. You felt like a live wire, exposed and fraying at the edges.

Now, the only place that felt safe was here inside this dimly lit suite above the city, wrapped in silence, waiting for him.

The door clicked softly behind you.

You turned.

Lewis stepped in, his movements quiet but deliberate, his presence grounding you in an instant. He didn’t say anything at first just took you in, the tension in your posture, the way your arms were crossed tightly over your chest as you stared out the glass wall at the glittering skyline.

He dropped his keys on the console and walked toward you. “You okay?” he asked, his voice low and warm, as if he already knew the answer but wanted to hear it from you anyway.

You didn’t answer right away. You felt the weight of everything pressing down on your shoulders your father’s fury, the reporters' questions, the endless hiding. You swallowed hard.

“I hate this,” you finally whispered, your voice cracking as you blinked back tears. “I hate the secrecy. I hate lying to everyone. I hate pretending like this like we don’t exist.”

Lewis reached for your hand gently, lacing his fingers through yours. His thumb brushed softly over your skin, grounding you in the moment. “I know,” he murmured. “I hate it too.”

He stepped closer, his free hand brushing a strand of hair from your face, tucking it behind your ear with a tenderness that made your chest ache. “But I’d rather have a thousand secret nights with you than a lifetime without them.”

Your eyes met his. There was something raw in them tonight something more vulnerable than usual. A softness that warred with the storm you both lived in. You could see the strain behind his eyes, the exhaustion of playing roles, of keeping up appearances.

His voice dropped lower, almost a whisper. “I can’t stop thinking about you. About us. About what it would be like if the world just didn’t matter for once.”

He moved closer, his hands settling on your waist, fingers splayed gently against your sides as he guided you toward him. The air between you shifted, heavy with unsaid truths and barely restrained longing. You could feel his breath on your skin, warm and steady.

“You don’t have to say anything,” he whispered. “But I need you to know I’m not going anywhere. Not unless you tell me to.”

And you didn’t want to. Not tonight. Not ever.

When his lips met yours, it was slow at first tentative, careful, like the two of you were still learning how to exist in this fragile in-between.

But as soon as your lips moved against his, as soon as you tasted him, something inside you snapped. The kiss deepened, grew hungrier. Your hands slid up his chest, fingers curling into the soft cotton of his shirt as you pulled him closer, needing to feel him, needing to know that he was real.

Lewis groaned softly against your mouth, his hands roaming your back, tracing the dip of your spine like he’d memorised every curve of you.

You broke apart for air, panting, your lips swollen, heart pounding. “Lewis,” you breathed, “we can’t people will find out. My father, the media it’s too dangerous.”

But he shook his head, his expression fierce, unwavering. “I don’t care anymore,” he said, voice hoarse. “Let them find out. Let them talk. I’m done pretending like you’re not the most important thing in my life.”

His words pierced through you, melting every last wall you had built between you and this man. You cupped his face, your thumbs brushing along his jaw, remembering the way he looked at you like you were something holy, something rare.

“I want you,” he said again, softer now. “All of you. No more hiding. Not tonight.”

Your lips met again, this time with no hesitation. It was all heat and hunger and need. You tasted his desire, felt it in the way his hands slid under the hem of your shirt, lifting it slowly as his fingers trailed fire across your skin.

He lifted the fabric over your head, discarding it to the floor, his eyes never leaving yours. “You’re beautiful,” he murmured, almost reverently. “Do you know that?”

You couldn’t speak. You could only reach for him, tugging at his shirt, needing him closer, needing more. You kissed him again, your hands roaming over the hard lines of his chest, feeling the way he trembled under your touch.

Clothes fell away like secrets piece by piece, until there was nothing between you but breath and skin and years of longing finally unleashed.

Lewis guided you back toward the bed, his lips never leaving yours. He laid you down with a gentleness that contradicted the fire in his touch, his body settling between yours as he kissed down your neck, your collarbone, every inch of skin he could reach. Each kiss was a promise. Each touch, a declaration.

When he finally paused, hovering above you, his forehead resting against yours, his breath mingling with yours, he asked the question that made your heart stop:

“Are you sure?”

His voice was barely a whisper. His eyes searched yours, vulnerable and full of love real, honest, earth-shattering love.

And in that moment, everything else faded away.

There was no Red Bull. No Mercedes. No media. No fathers or rivalries or reputations.

There was only this.

You nodded, your fingers threading through his curls as you whispered, “Yes. I’ve never been more sure.”

And when he kissed you again, it wasn’t just passion.

It was surrender.

It was love.

You nodded, your hands moving to his chest, feeling the strength beneath his clothes, the warmth of his skin. "Yes," you breathed. "I’m sure."

There was no hesitation after that. Lewis kissed you again not the tentative, careful kiss from before, but something deeper. Something desperate. His lips moved against yours with a fervour that sent shivers down your spine, his hands threading through your hair, anchoring you to him like he was afraid you might vanish. And you kissed him back just as fiercely, clinging to him as though he were the only solid thing in a world that kept trying to tear you apart.

The urgency between you intensified. His hands explored your body reverently, almost as if he were trying to memorise every curve, every inch of skin, every tremble beneath his fingertips. He guided you backward, the two of you stumbling toward the bed, laughing breathlessly between kisses when you nearly tripped on the plush edge of the rug. The moment was so achingly tender it broke something open in you.

Clothes were discarded in quiet desperation not rushed, not careless, but with the aching patience of two people who had waited far too long for this. His shirt came off first, revealing the toned, tattooed skin beneath that you’d seen only in flashes before in paddock glimpses, magazine photos, stolen moments. But here, now, it was all yours to touch.

Your fingers traced the familiar ink over his chest, lingering over each design like it told a story. He watched you the entire time, eyes dark with affection, with desire, with awe. He wasn’t rushing you. He never did. He waited until you were ready, until you reached for him and when you did, when you pulled him closer, skin to skin, it felt like coming home.

The bed sheets tangled around your bodies as he hovered above you, his lips pressing slow, tender kisses along your neck, your collarbone, your shoulder. Each kiss felt like a vow not loud or boastful, but silent and steady. A promise that whatever this was, whatever storm waited outside that room, you’d face it together.

And yet, even in the quiet intimacy of that moment, fear hung in the corners of your mind.

Because this was dangerous. So, so dangerous.

Every stolen moment, every touch, every whisper could unravel your lives if discovered. You knew it. He knew it. The truth of your relationship the secret you both carried could destroy your bond with your father, tear apart the fragile peace between two rival teams, and ignite a media circus that neither of you would walk away from unscathed.

But none of that mattered right now.

Because his hands were on your waist, and your fingers were in his hair, and he was kissing you like he was drowning, and you were air.

You let yourself fall not recklessly, but willingly. Completely.

The intimacy between you wasn’t hurried. It was slow and purposeful, unspoken in the way you moved together like you’d done this a thousand times in another life. You touched each other with reverence, kissed with a hunger born not of lust but of need, the need to be seen, to be understood, to be loved without condition or consequence.

And Lewis loved you in a way that made you believe it was possible.

His hands trembled slightly as he held you, not from nerves, but from emotion from the overwhelming truth of finally being able to hold you like this, freely, if only for one night. You could feel the vulnerability in every movement, every whispered word against your skin. He wasn’t hiding behind charm or media-trained confidence now. This was him, raw and real and utterly yours.

When it was over, neither of you spoke. You lay tangled together in the low light of the room, your head on his chest, his arm curled tightly around your shoulders. His other hand moved slowly along your back, tracing mindless patterns as your breath slowed and synced with his.

“I don’t want this to end,” you whispered into the quiet.

He kissed the top of your head, his voice barely audible. “Then it won’t.”

But you both knew the truth. Morning would come. The world would return.

There would be team briefings, press questions, your father’s sharp eyes and the relentless pressure of keeping your secret intact. There would be cameras waiting, headlines written, assumptions made.

But right now, in this room, in this bed the rest of the world didn’t exist.

You turned your face toward his, brushing your lips against his jaw. “I’m scared,” you admitted. “Not of being with you but of losing everything because of it.”

He looked down at you, cupping your cheek in his hand. “Then let’s make it worth the risk,” he murmured. “Let’s make us the thing we fight for.”

You pressed your forehead to his, your fingers slipping between his. And for the first time in weeks, the weight on your chest felt a little lighter.

Because no matter what happened next no matter how hard things got you knew you weren’t facing it alone.

You had each other.

And tonight that was enough. ࣪𓏲ᥫ᭡ ₊ ⊹ ˑ ִ ֶ 𓂃࣪𓏲ᥫ᭡ ₊ ⊹ ˑ ִ ֶ 𓂃࣪𓏲ᥫ᭡ ₊ ⊹ ˑ ࣪𓏲ᥫ᭡ ₊ ⊹ ˑ ִ ֶ 𓂃࣪𓏲ᥫ᭡ ₊

It was only a matter of time before someone found out.

You’d always known it, deep down that the secret you and Lewis shared wasn’t sustainable. That the soft moments in the shadows, the kisses stolen behind trailers, the late-night rendezvous in locked hotel rooms none of it could remain hidden forever. But still, when it happened, the reality hit harder than either of you had expected.

The photo was simple, almost innocent a single kiss in a quiet corner of the paddock. Your hand on his chest. His lips brushing against yours, gentle and unguarded, the kind of moment you thought no one had seen. But someone had a photographer with a long lens and an instinct for scandal.

By morning, the image was everywhere.

Headlines screamed from every corner of the internet:

“PADDOCK ROMANCE: LEWIS HAMILTON SPOTTED KISSING RED BULL TEAM PRINCIPAL’S DAUGHTER”

“MERCEDES AND RED BULL’S BIGGEST SECRET EXPOSED”

“LOVE IN THE FAST LANE – OR CAREER SUICIDE?”

The fallout was immediate and vicious.

Christian Horner was on you within the hour.

He didn’t knock. He didn’t pause. He slammed the door of the motorhome open and stood there, red-faced and trembling with fury. You barely had time to stand before his voice exploded through the small space like a bomb.

“What the hell were you thinking?”

You flinched at the venom in his voice. You’d seen your father angry before at drivers, at mechanics, even at reporters but never like this. Never directed at you.

“You’re dating him?” he spat, each word like a slap. “Him? The enemy? The man who has humiliated this team, year after year? The man who has kept us off the top of the podium?”

“It’s not like that,” you tried, your voice shaking. “Dad, please—”

“No.” He raised a hand sharply, cutting you off. “Do you have any idea what this does to our credibility? To your reputation? To mine?”

Tears stung your eyes, but you held your ground. “I love him.”

The words slipped out before you could take them back. Quiet. Honest. Devastating.

Your father froze for a moment, as if the sentence had stunned him. And then, his shoulders dropped but not in defeat. In disbelief. In something darker.

“You’ve ruined everything,” he whispered, his voice suddenly hoarse. “I brought you into this world. Into this paddock. You grew up surrounded by this team, this dream. And now, you’re throwing it all away for him?”

“I didn’t plan this,” you said, your voice breaking. “It just happened.”

Christian shook his head slowly, as if he didn’t recognise the person in front of him. “You’re betraying everything I’ve built.”

Then, without waiting for a reply, he turned and stormed out, slamming the door behind him. The echo lingered longer than the confrontation itself, leaving you alone, numb, and breathless.

But you weren’t the only one facing the storm.

On the other side of the paddock, things were no better.

Toto Wolff stood in front of Lewis, barely containing his fury. The team’s hospitality unit buzzed with tension. Engineers pretended not to listen, but their silence said it all they were hearing every word.

“This is a disgrace, Lewis,” Toto snapped. “You’ve jeopardised everything - everything we’ve worked for. You’ve crossed a line.”

Lewis didn’t flinch. He stood tall, arms crossed, jaw tight.

“I didn’t betray the team,” he said, voice even. “I fell in love.”

Toto scoffed, turning away for a second like he needed space to cool the heat rising in his chest. “Love?” he repeated, almost mockingly. “Do you think love excuses recklessness? You know what this looks like to the board? To our sponsors? You handed Red Bull ammunition on a silver platter.”

Lewis stepped forward then, his voice firmer. “What matters is her. Not the politics. Not the optics. Her.”

Toto’s eyes narrowed. “And if it costs you your seat? Your reputation? Are you willing to lose everything for this girl?”

Lewis didn’t hesitate. “I’m not losing her.”

There was a pause a long, tense moment where the two men stood, the weight of legacy and loyalty pressing between them like steel. And then, slowly, Toto stepped back, his face unreadable.

“This isn’t over,” he said coldly, then walked away.

Back in your room, you sat curled on the edge of the couch, your phone buzzing nonstop texts from friends, PR statements flooding your inbox, news articles piling up by the second. You couldn’t bring yourself to open any of them.

Then there was a knock.

You didn’t need to ask who it was. You already knew.

Lewis stepped inside, closing the door quietly behind him. He crossed the room in three strides and pulled you into his arms, holding you tightly, protectively, like he was trying to shield you from the rest of the world.

“I’m here,” he murmured against your hair. “I’ve got you.”

You clung to him, burying your face in his chest as the dam finally broke and the tears came fast, hot, and helpless.

“I don’t know what to do,” you whispered. “My dad hates me. Everyone’s talking. I feel like I’ve lost everything.”

Lewis tilted your chin gently, forcing you to meet his eyes. “You haven’t lost me.”

And somehow, in the middle of the chaos that was enough to help you breathe again. ࣪𓏲ᥫ᭡ ₊ ⊹ ˑ ִ ֶ 𓂃࣪𓏲ᥫ᭡ ₊ ⊹ ˑ ִ ֶ 𓂃࣪𓏲ᥫ᭡ ₊ ⊹ ˑ ࣪𓏲ᥫ᭡ ₊ ⊹ ˑ ִ ֶ 𓂃࣪𓏲ᥫ᭡ ₊

The media went into a frenzy.

You knew the photo would make waves, but no one not even you had anticipated the scale of the storm. It wasn’t just a headline or a scandalous blip in a news cycle. It was an explosion. It was everywhere.

“Racing’s Forbidden Romance: Horner’s Daughter and Mercedes’ Champion Exposed”

“Star-Crossed in the Paddock: Hamilton’s Secret Love Affair”

“Red Bull vs. Mercedes Just Got Personal”

Pundits speculated. Fans took sides. Social media became a battlefield your name trending for all the wrong reasons. Every movement you made was analysed, every silence picked apart. You couldn’t so much as walk to catering without a camera flashing in your face or someone whispering behind your back.

And the worst part? No matter how hard you tried to stay out of the spotlight, it seemed impossible. Your private life had been wrenched into the open dissected, sensationalised, and stripped of any dignity.

Your phone buzzed constantly:

“Comment on the rumours?”

“Is this relationship real or just a distraction?”

“How does your father feel about you betraying Red Bull?”

You stopped answering. You stopped looking. But even silence became a headline.

“Her Silence Speaks Volumes: Is Horner’s Daughter Regretting Her Romance?”

In the paddock, you were no longer just your father’s daughter. You were his girlfriend. Lewis Hamilton’s girlfriend. The scandal of the season. The distraction. The drama. The enemy within.

Your father barely looked at you now. Your former friends in the Red Bull garage whispered and avoided your gaze. Some of them unfollowed you on social media. The divide was sharp, cruel, and constant.

But through it all, Lewis never wavered.

He was your anchor. Your safe place. In hotel rooms behind drawn curtains, in quiet car rides between events, in stolen seconds between interviews he made you feel like yourself again. When the world felt like it was burning around you, he held you closer, kissed your forehead, and whispered, “We’ll get through this. Together.”

And you clung to that. Clung to him.

Then came that day.

You’d just stepped out of the paddock hospitality unit when the swarm descended a wall of reporters, microphones shoved in your face, voices shouting over one another.

“Is it true?”

“Have you spoken to your father?”

“Is Lewis just using you?”

“Do you realise what you’re doing to both teams?”

Your heart pounded. Your hands shook. But just as the panic was rising in your chest, Lewis appeared beside you. Calm. Steady. He took your hand, threading his fingers through yours, and turned to face the press.

You looked at him, and he nodded once giving you the space if you wanted to speak, but showing he’d be right there if you didn’t.

Your throat tightened. But then you looked at the wall of cameras, the endless flashing lights, and something in you snapped into focus. You were done being a headline. Done letting other people tell your story.

So, you stepped forward, your hand still tight in Lewis’s, and raised your chin.

“We’re together,” you said, your voice steady even as your heart thundered in your chest. “And we’re not going to hide anymore.”

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd. Reporters jostled for better shots. The flashes were blinding now, the chaos deafening. But for the first time in weeks, you felt… free.

You looked to your left and saw the soft, proud look in Lewis’s eyeslike you’d just told the world the truth he’d been aching to shout for weeks.

He squeezed your hand gently, grounding you. It was a silent promise, clear as day.

You’re not alone in this.

He turned to the reporters, calm but firm.

“We love each other,” he said, his voice carrying over the noise like thunder. “We’re not here to play games. We’re not here to fuel some rivalry narrative. We’re two people who found something real and we’re not going to apologise for that.”

There was no more denying it. No more hiding in shadows or ducking around corners.

The two of you stood there, hand in hand, while the media storm raged but for the first time, it didn’t matter. Because this time, you weren’t afraid. You weren’t ashamed.

You were together.

And that made everything else feel a little easier to bear.

It took time longer than you thought, longer than your heart sometimes felt it could endure but eventually, the noise quieted.

The media, always hungry for scandal, slowly turned their attention elsewhere. A new controversy emerged in another sport, a celebrity breakup, a political scandal. And just like that, your story slipped from front pages to the middle of the pack, and eventually, to the archives.

You could breathe again.

It didn’t happen overnight. At first, everywhere you went felt like walking on glass. Journalists still asked sly questions. Some fans booed. There were snide comments in interviews, cold shoulders in paddock halls. There were days you questioned if it had all been a mistake not your love for Lewis, never that, but whether the two of you could ever truly exist in the spotlight without being reduced to clickbait.

But through it all, Lewis never once faltered.

He stood beside you through every cold glance, every backhanded comment, every uncomfortable silence. He held your hand tighter when the cameras rolled. He brushed a kiss to your temple before you stepped into a swarm of reporters. He looked at you really looked at you — like the world outside didn’t exist. And in those moments, you believed him when he said it would all be okay.

As the season rolled on, the story began to shift. People started to see what you’d both known all along: that this wasn’t some passing fling or an act of rebellion. This was real. This was love built through late nights, hard conversations, and quiet moments when no one else was watching.

Even your father stubborn, fiercely protective, and still carrying the weight of Red Bull’s legacy on his back began to change.

Christian never said the words, not directly. He never offered an apology or admitted he might’ve overreacted. But there were small signs. The way he stopped bristling when your phone buzzed, and he saw Lewis’s name. The way he no longer avoided your gaze when Lewis’s name came up in briefings. And the day he sat silently in the back of a Mercedes hospitality tent, sunglasses on, arms crossed but watching the race by your side something in you healed.

It wasn’t perfect. Maybe it never would be. But it was something.

And then came that race one of the biggest on the calendar. The grandstands were packed, the atmosphere electric. You’d slipped into your seat on the Mercedes pit wall; nerves coiled in your stomach like wire as you watched the final laps unfold.

Lewis had driven like a man possessed. Brilliant. Calculated. Relentless. Every corner, every overtaking move, felt like poetry like he wasn’t just racing for points anymore, but for something more. For you.

When he crossed the finish line, the world erupted.

Victory.

Cheers rang out through the paddock. The Mercedes garage exploded in celebration. Engineers high-fived, mechanics shouted, and you - you just sat there for a moment, breathless, the roar around you fading to a quiet hum.

Because up on that podium, champagne dripping from his fire suit, trophy raised high above his head was him. And when the crowd chanted his name, Lewis turned, his eyes sweeping the sea of people until they landed on you.

He smiled.

Not the smile for cameras, not the one reserved for sponsors or photo ops.

It was yours.

Soft. Private. Radiant with a kind of pride that only the two of you understood.

In that moment, the months of chaos, of whispers and slammed doors and broken loyalties they all felt worth it. Because love, true love, was never meant to be easy. It was meant to be fought for.

And you had. Both of you.

You weren’t just the daughter of a rival team principal anymore. You weren’t a scandal. You weren’t a pawn in a rivalry between two titans of Formula One.

You were his - his partner, his peace, his person.

And nothing not media storms, not rival teams, not even the weight of your father’s disapproval could take that away from you.

As the national anthem played, Lewis glanced back at you once more. His hand briefly touched his heart, a subtle gesture just for you. You stood there, a small smile playing on your lips, tears blurring your vision, knowing with absolute certainty:

This was just the beginning.

[theshiniestgemstone]

Gideon x reader who is really smart

okay so as I was writing this, it’s kinda giving the same energy as one of my upcoming series. v excited to share and this is almost like a little taste of a bigger project I’ve been working on

Gideon never saw himself ever gaining the courage to ask you out. You’d arrived at the Salvation Center on a Monday, bouncing your foot while waiting to meet with Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin. He stopped in his tracks, giving you a once-over before he felt his cheeks bloom warm and his hands get clammy.

You weren’t like the others that filtered through the compound. You had a sharp, focused look in your eye, like you were already solving problems before they hit the table. Even then, you still smiled politely when Jesse cracked one of his inappropriate jokes, and you nodded along with Judy’s enthusiastic rambling about worship aesthetics.

He was more than impressed when he’d read your resume over his dad’s shoulder. Multiple degrees under your belt, languages, and all in fancy font, he was soon afraid of you.

Like, actual fear. The kind that made him sit up straighter, brush his hair back, and pray you wouldn’t ask him anything math-related. He’d hide a smile when you crunched numbers in your head, writing them down before Martin had even finished his sentence. The way you clicked your pen, nodded to yourself, and then underlined a total. It was ridiculous how hot that was.

Gideon wasn’t used to being around people like you. People who were smart and cool. And funny. And terrifying in a really specific, spreadsheet-wielding way.

He figured you wouldn’t look at him twice. But then one day, you did. You caught him staring during a budget meeting. And instead of calling him out, you tilted your head and smiled.

Your first date was impromptu. Lunches overlapped and the last two chairs in the food court ended up with half-eaten meals, far too wrapped up in conversation to think of anything else.

You’d been explaining something. Some kind of funding clause in the bylaws he couldn’t quite follow, but he didn’t mind. He liked the way your hands moved when you talked, the way your eyebrows twitched when you tried to simplify a concept just for him. He made you laugh, too. Not the polite kind of laugh people gave the Gemstones because they were supposed to, but a real, surprised one that burst out when he called Judy the CFO, Chief Freak-Out.

You stayed there until someone from the center texted you both, wondering where you’d gone.

“I guess that was lunch,” you said, glancing at your barely touched salad.

“I guess it was a date,” Gideon replied, then immediately looked horrified with himself.

But you just grinned, standing up and brushing off your slacks. “Good. I like when smart investments pay off.”

He didn’t stop smiling for the rest of the day.

Now, Gideon never thought of himself as stupid. He earned good enough grades to get through high school with a special cord. It wasn’t valedictorian, but he was still in the top double digits of his class. He could fix engines with a fre tutorials and a thick enough manual, knew his way around a sermon, and had enough charm to talk his way out of a speeding ticket or into a job.

But when he got to know you, really know you, he found himself struggling to keep up.

Conversations drifted easily with you. One second you were breaking down the complexity of marketing Christianity in ways that were covert but not misleading, the next you were talking about the societal implications of algorithmic polarization. Then came developmental theory, bouncing from Piaget to Erikson like you were switching radio stations.

By the fourth date, Gideon was nodding along, until he wasn’t. He blinked and cut in gently. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I understand.”

You paused mid-sentence, blinking once, and for a brief second he braced himself for the usual reaction, disappointment, irritation, or that awful, pitying smile.

But instead, you softened. “I’m sorry, Gideon,” you said quickly, voice kind. “Sometimes I forget that I read too much.”

Then you backtracked, calmly and clearly, explaining everything without making him feel like he was back in high school again. And that was when he knew.

Not just that he liked you, but that he really liked you. Because you made him want to learn more. Not to impress you, but to keep up with you. To walk beside you instead of trailing behind.

He adored you. More than he ever thought he could adore someone. It wasn’t just the brilliance, though that alone would’ve knocked him off his feet, it was the way your mind never seemed to rest. You were always thinking, always calculating, always three steps ahead of the room. Sometimes too far ahead. Too smart for your own good.

He’d watch it happen: the way your brow would crease just slightly, your fingers tapping against your leg as your mind spun out into a dozen hypotheticals. What if you missed something? What if the numbers were wrong? What if someone found a flaw in your strategy or a hole in your logic? You chased perfection like it owed you something, and when it kept slipping through your fingers, it wore you down.

That’s when Gideon would step in. He would quietly, gently, with a steady hand on your back and a soft “Hey, babe,” like a grounding wire.

He didn’t try to fix it with solutions, not right away. Just with presence. Sometimes he’d drag you out for a walk, or settle behind you on the couch and start braiding your hair just to give your mind something else to focus on. Other times he’d pull you into his lap and kiss your temple until your breathing slowed.

“You don’t gotta carry it all,” he’d murmur. “Let me take some.”

And you did. Eventually.

In turn, you shared your world with him, not to impress, but to invite. You sent him articles you thought he’d like, highlighted the parts that reminded you of a conversation you’d had with him. You started watching documentaries after dinner together, curled up on the couch with popcorn and commentary. He didn’t always catch every reference or statistic, but he’d ask questions, and you’d light up all over again, because he wanted to know.

You made each other better. Stronger.

And on nights when you fell asleep mid-episode, glasses slipping down your nose and laptop still open on your lap, Gideon would just smile to himself and whisper, “God, I love you,” like it was the most obvious truth in the world.

[fishthegenderwitch]

In 2016, a group of European scientists conducted a detailed acoustic analysis of Freddie Mercury’s voice and found measurable proof of qualities that had fascinated audiences for decades. Led by Dr. Christian Herbst at the University of Vienna, the team discovered that Mercury’s vibrato pulsed at 7.04 Hz, faster than the typical vibrato range of 5.4 to 6.9 Hz used by most singers. This rapid oscillation created a shimmering effect that made each note feel alive, adding an electric urgency to performances of songs like "Somebody to Love" and "Bohemian Rhapsody".

The research team employed high-speed cameras to observe the motion of Mercury’s vocal cords and analyzed archival recordings, confirming that he produced subharmonics, a technique rarely observed in rock singers. Subharmonics occur when the vocal folds vibrate in a complex pattern, generating tones below the primary pitch. In the world of music, this phenomenon is most commonly associated with Tuvan throat singing. Mercury’s ability to integrate this sound into modern rock music was nearly unheard of and contributed to the layered textures in songs such as "We Will Rock You".

Mercury’s four-octave range had already been celebrated, but the study revealed how he used that range in ways most vocalists never attempted. For example, in "The Show Must Go On", his voice could switch from a resonant chest register to a bright head voice within a single phrase, maintaining both power and clarity. This flexibility allowed him to embody the drama and theatricality Queen became known for. His singing was marked by subtle variations in tone and phrasing that communicated vulnerability one moment and defiance the next.

The team also examined Mercury’s vocal timbre and discovered that his larynx sat higher in his throat than is typical for male rock singers. This anatomical trait contributed to the brightness and agility of his upper notes. Combined with the extraordinary speed of his vibrato, it meant his voice retained clarity even in the most demanding passages. In "Love of My Life", the gentle vibrato and smooth legato lines required remarkable control over breath and laryngeal position, which Mercury mastered intuitively.

Perhaps even more fascinating was that Mercury never underwent formal classical training. His skills were cultivated through experimentation, constant touring, and an instinctive understanding of how to project emotion through tone and volume. When performing "Radio Ga Ga", he could sustain long notes without losing intensity, a testament to both natural ability and endurance built over years of live performance.

Recordings analyzed by the researchers revealed that Mercury often used techniques associated with operatic singing, such as appoggio breathing and precise vowel modification. These allowed him to maintain a consistent tone at varying dynamic levels, whether whispering lyrics or unleashing the full force of his voice. In "Under Pressure", his phrasing exhibited a speech-like immediacy paired with extraordinary pitch control, highlighting his capacity to merge different singing styles.

Another notable finding from the study was the irregularity of Mercury’s vibrato cycles. While many singers aim for perfectly even oscillations, Mercury’s vibrato varied in speed and amplitude within a single phrase. This gave his performances a spontaneous, almost conversational feel, as if every note carried a distinct emotional shading. This irregular vibrato was especially striking in live versions of "Don’t Stop Me Now", where his voice moved unpredictably through crescendos and delicate passages without losing pitch accuracy.

The scientists emphasized that Mercury’s technique showed a rare blend of raw talent and self-taught discipline. His ability to harness subharmonics and maintain a fast, expressive vibrato was unique among rock frontmen. When Queen recorded "A Kind of Magic", engineers noticed his vocal takes required minimal adjustment because of their exceptional consistency and clarity.

These insights into the mechanics of his singing have deepened the appreciation for Mercury’s art, offering tangible proof of what listeners have always sensed instinctively. His voice operated on a level of technical sophistication that few could rival, an instrument shaped by instinct, experimentation, and a singular creative drive.

Source: https://phys.org/news/2016-04-acoustic-analysis-freddie-mercury-voice.pdf

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

by Wes Van Fleet

A while back I had an absolute blast flying in the back of a high-performance biplane designed for high speed aerobatics. After doing some flips and barrel rolls, the pilot let me know that he was going to fly straight up, kill the engine, and nose dive straight down towards the rocky terrain below.

While laughing, he warned me that we would hit 8.5 Gs and about half of the people that ride with him black out. Due to my military experience, I knew what a…

[chussyracing]

What has been happening in the world of motorsports lately?

(it's very long again, so the roundup is under the cut)

Franco Colapinto becomes a new Williams driver for the last 9 races of the season, Logan Sargeant was dropped with immediate effect

apparently Franco found out on Monday only and he knows he won’t get the seat in 2025 because Carlos has already been confirmed

as a result, Oliver Goethe moves up from F3 to F2 immediately with MP Motorsport in Franco’s place and Noah Stromsted drove in his place in F3 for Campos in the last race of the season in Monza

also gentle (not so gentle) reminder that Roman Staněk was with Trident for the last race weekend in Monza and everything after is uncertain for him

the whole story is: he has two main sponsors, one of them is his own father who decided to stop supporting him, so he can no longer afford it, he got an offer for 2025 from DAMS, but they ask for € 4.7 mil

Roman got replaced by Christian Mansell for the rest of the season (he is not related to Nigel btw) in Trident

Zak O’Sullivan is in a similar situation, Monza was his last race because of funding issues despite being a part of Williams driving academy, he got replaced by Luke Browning from F3

And on top of that, there are rumours that Richard Vershoor is also unhappy in the team and looking for a way out

Also since Kevin the icon he is, got a race ban for Baku, Ollie will step up for him and Gabriele Mini from F3 will fill in for Ollie in Prema to create an all Italian lineup for Italian team

Leo Fornaroli is stepping up to F2 with Invicta Racing next year

Ferrari announced a new technical structure: Loic Serra (technical director chassis), Fabio Montecchi (chassis project engineering), Marco Adurno (vehicle performance), Diego Tondi (aero), Matteo Togninalli (track engineering) and Diego Ioverno (sporting director and head of chassis operations), Enrico Gualtieri (power unit division)

Safety car crashed in Parabolica during a high speed test before Monza but both driver and passenger are ok and there was also another safety car ready if they are needed during the race weekend (what is concerning is a message I saw somewhere about it potentially being a brake failure)

apparently drivers were not very happy with the changes in Monza track and discussed it in length in the WhatsApp group, their main issue was that these track modifications are not communicated with drivers beforehand

last week George did Pirelli testing for Mercedes and Liam Lawson for Red Bull and Ollie did a wet weather test for Ferrari

also did you know Ollie has a younger brother who will race in EURO F4 in Spielberg

Lenovo becomes F1’s global partner, so they will have naming rights for 2 races in 2025

Pato O’Ward will be driving in an FP1 session in Mexico for McLaren

Williams started their Komatsu-Williams Engineering Academy for young talents

Maya Weug joined 7th round of FRECA in Imola with KIC Motorsport

Newey joined Aston Martin, so expect them to have big psychological advantage (they had a press con to announce it, he spoke about wanting to work with either Lewis or Fernando, he spoke about British bias and how it was involved in Abu Dhabi 2021…, he will start working for them early in 2025, he will also become a shareholder in the team with more rights than other teams could offer him besides being a leader of technical division)

Lawrence will apparently pay him massive amount of money (rumour has it it is Eddie Jordan who is asking for a big pay check for himself and many teams said no to that), after Newey and de la Rosa and Honda, he is also looking to sign Max Verstappen (and there is a possibility to get him in the team, Lance could head to WEC instead) – next thing you know he will also sign Christian Horner and Checo Perez to have a full RBR

Nico Rosberg, Guenther Steiner (and somebody else I freaking forgot, maybe Ted Kravitz) spoke about neither Kimi nor George having their seat secure for 2026, because Toto Wolff is still eyeing any opportunity to sign Max Verstappen

The team also sold stakes in the team to HPS and Accel

All teams were in compliance of the cost cap rules for 2023, BUT Honda and Alpine were found of procedural breech (aka none of them spent more money on catering, but these two made a mistake sort of not submitting the paperwork on time or filled incorrectly…)

Ella Lloyd is the wildcard entry for F1 Academy’s race weekend in Singapore

Red Bull junior academy signed Christopher Feghali, Ernesto Rivera, Rocco Coronel and Jules Caranta

Not only is the situation messy in junior series, it is also kinda messy in FE (Nato stays with Nissan while Fenestraz is out, Wehrlein and da Costa stay with Porsche, Günther will drive for DS Penske…)

Rumouredly, Val received an offer from Audi for one year, he was asking for more – at least 1+1 deal, besides him Binotto has Bortoleto highest on his list (and Theo Pourchaire further down the list) with McLaren potentially letting him go from their junior program if Audi wants him

Zak Brown spoke about the papaya rules shit and said how they will probably back Lando now because he is in mathematical contention for the title and Oscar will help him however he can and whatnot

Fun fact: in rally Greece, Seb Ogier spoke shit about Thierry Neuville that the “championship leader is not that fast) and then he crashed and Thierry won

For the first time ever, 4 women finished inside top 10 in NASCAR

James Vowles would apparently like Ferrari to release Carlos early so he could join them for post season test in Abu Dhabi

Santander is officially out of Ferrari with Unicredit taking their place and instead, they will become the partner of F1

Hyundai is ending in WRC next year and they would rumouredly like to join WEC

Ferrari Challenge will be a supporting series for the Las Vegas F1 GP

According to Ted Kravitz, Liam Lawson could be replacing Daniel as soon as for this weekend (that goes along what James Vowles said about trying to sign Liam for the rest of the season but Red Bull not wanting to let him go since they might need him for at least 3 races this season)

Nico the professional shit-stirrer he is, claimed that he got an offer in his e-mail inbox to buy Alpine for 1 billion dollars

Another fun fact: Ferrari already collected more points than they did for the whole season last year

Red Bull is running their engines on lower modes due to reliability concerns (part of the reason why Max had the lowest speed of all in a speed trap during the Monza GP)

All front wings are under compliance with the technical rules as per FIA (clarification that apparently Red Bull and Ferrari asked for, especially taking McLaren and Mercedes into consideration)

There is a funky feud for racing number 12 going on behind the scenes with Doohan asking for it first publicly and Mercedes asking for it for Kimi even before “secretly”, so now both teams are waiting for the result

This was meant to go into one of the previous roundups but F1 is talking to the teams to see if after season rookie race would be possible for them, which could give opportunity especially to driver who won junior series but never got into the sport

McLaren signed a sponsorship deal with NTT Data for their F1 Academy team

Also rumours and gossip from my fave source: Red Bull hired Rob Wilson to help Checo Perez get his lost form back (he is basically an observer, watches you drive and then gives you a long list of stuff you need to improve to get faster)

Williams got Globant sponsorship deal thanks to signing Franco for the rest of the season

Due to sustainability concerns, F1 might combine Canada and Miami to be a double header

There are also rumours that Ferrari tried to sign GP as a race engineer for Lewis next year

Non-sport fun

Oscar posted from a cockpit of a plane with a funny caption and then deleted because he posted it on 11th September

Max, Lando and Nico flew together to Baku for some reason

Charles won the karting marathon with his friends for LC8 team, spoke at yacht conferences and predicted weather

Lewis was sat with Noah Lyles and Anna Wintour at US open which is honestly kinda iconic

Charles and Goerge met up with Domenicali at what might be Briatore’s yacht party???

I just found out Kimi Antonelli’s girlfriend is from Czechia thanks to my sister lol

Hamda Alqubaisi from F1 Academy apparently got engaged so congrats!!!! (I thought she is like 16 I am so sorry Hamda)

Apparently Fernando Alonso got a new AM Valkyrie car that immediately broke down while he was driving it in Monaco and he was unable to fix it (he also said that they don’t get discounts on the cars from the team)

oh and kinda sports related but it is completely out of question right now BUT there is talks about F1 coming to Brno with the new resurfaced track and possible new facilities as they return on the MotoGP calendar for 2025

[warningsine]

Hotels and homes destroyed, impassable roads and thousands of people cut off. This is how Acapulco, in the Mexican state of Guerrero, has been left after the passage of Hurricane Otis, the most powerful Pacific storm to make landfall on Mexican territory in the last 30 years. The cyclone, which in 12 hours went from a tropical storm to a category 5 hurricane, the highest possible classification, has left the popular tourist destination resembling a war zone with uprooted trees, debris, roofs torn off and buildings without walls. Neither the National Meteorological Service (SMN) nor local and federal authorities were able to predict the intensity of the hurricane. Scientists were also caught by surprise. The speed with which the cyclone intensified was unusual and forced Mexican authorities to issue an evacuation alert for the area just hours before Otis made landfall.

The SMN warned at 12:00 p.m. Tuesday, that the hurricane would reach Acapulco at 6:00 p.m. the following day. However, the storm arrived earlier than expected and devastated the coastal city at 12:25 a.m. Wednesday. Winds of more than 270 kilometers per hour (168 mph) hit the town and the state of Guerrero, one of the poorest in the country, destroying everything in their path. More than 500,000 people were left without electricity, internet and telephone connection in the early hours of the morning and only part of the service has so far been restored. The breakdown of communications has complicated access to the affected areas and there is still no official information on the number of victims and the amount of damage caused, although it is expected that material losses will amount to millions of dollars.

The unusual power of the hurricane has attracted the attention of the scientific community, which links the devastating power of Otis to the El Niño season, a phenomenon associated with changes in the atmosphere and the fluctuation of water temperature in the Pacific. “There is a hypothesis that it could be related to the rise in ocean temperature, which does not mean that there are more hurricanes, but it does mean that when there is one, the cyclone accelerates its formation by taking on more energy under these conditions,” explains Claudia Rojas of the Department of Process Engineering and Hydraulics of the Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAM).

There are those who point to a relationship between climate change and the strength of hurricanes, although the scientific community is still investigating the matter. “El Niño is inducing these cyclones to reach high categories. However, it is difficult to attribute the responsibility for Hurricane Otis to climate change,” says Christian Domínguez, a researcher at the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). “What is known on a global scale is that with climate change there will be fewer hurricanes in the Pacific, but they will be more intense,” he adds. “With the information we currently have, it is not so clear that the intensity has to do with climate change because there are not so many historical records, although we have not ruled it out.”

After making landfall, Otis was downgraded to a tropical storm after depositing heavy rainfall in several states in central and southern Mexico. However, the threat has not yet passed. “The risk is not only posed by the strength of the winds. There are more dangers that such a phenomenon can entail, such as landslides and the flooding of rivers and streams,” says Domínguez. In Acapulco, some 20,000 people live in areas susceptible to flooding or landslides. The hurricane season in the Pacific begins around May 15 and ends around November 30, as such Guerrero could still experience the consequences of other cyclones, says Rojas. “Research work has shown that after a prolonged drought, very intense rainfall events occur, as is the case with tropical cyclones that can reach these [high] categories.”

Otis is not the first hurricane in recent years to strengthen so rapidly. In 2015, Tropical Storm Patricia escalated to a Category 5 hurricane in 10 hours. The difference with the current phenomenon was that it did so offshore, and authorities in the states of Jalisco, Colima and Nayarit were able to evacuate 50,000 people before it made landfall. The storm, catalogued by the SMN as “extremely dangerous” and by the media as the “largest in history,” quickly lost strength after making landfall in Mexican territory thanks to the mountainous system of the Sierra Madre Occidental, which eroded the outer ring of the cyclone and prevented greater damage and devastation. Guerrero, in this case, did not have the same luck.

Acapulco International Airport, which receives millions of tourists every year, has been completely flooded and suffered serious damage to its infrastructure, forcing the suspension of all flights. The main highways are also closed, preventing communications with Mexico City. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador had ordered his Security Cabinet to go to the affected area, but on seeing the seriousness of the situation, he decided to personally supervise the rescue efforts himself. The Mexican army has initiated an emergency protocol and 37 shelters have been set up throughout the state for victims.

[ummick]

Schumacher and Lawson Main Options If Williams Replaces Sargeant For Monza

Williams is evaluating whether to stick with or replace Logan Sargeant after another big accident over Formula 1's Dutch GP weekend

Mick Schumacher and Liam Lawson have emerged as leading contenders for Williams if the Grove-based squad elects to make a driver change from this weekend's Italian Grand Prix. Williams team boss James Vowles is understood to be evaluating his options in the wake of another big accident for Logan Sargeant at Zandvoort last weekend. Sargeant, who is being dropped by the team at the end of this year in favour of Carlos Sainz, made a mistake in Saturday morning's wet final free practice session, dipping his right-hand wheels onto the grass at turn 4. That error meant he lost control of his car and spun at high speed into the barriers on the outside of the circuit, destroying many of the latest upgrades that Williams had brought to the Dutch GP weekend. Big accidents for Sargeant, including in Japan where he also made an error in practice, have triggered spare parts problems this season, and some have viewed the American's costly accident at Zandvoort as a potential last straw. Vowles told German publication Auto Motor Und Sport in Zandvoort that Williams needed to make a decision on what to do for the rest of the season, but did not want to rush it while emotions were high straight after the crash. It is understood that Vowles has sounded out rival team bosses to see who could be available should he decide that he wants someone else in alongside Alexander Albon for the rest of the season. One logical option is Schumacher, who is reserve driver for the Mercedes operation whose engines Williams run. Vowles is friends with Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, and putting a deal together would be quite straightforward. However, one complication could be Schumacher's WEC commitments for Alpine, with the German currently scheduled to race in Austin this weekend. The other two remaining WEC events also clash with the Azerbaijan and Brazilian Grands Prix. Schumacher has said in the past that he would prioritise any F1 race chance over his sportscar efforts, but a call on a potential Monza chance would need to be taken before he traveled to the United States. Speaking at the Dutch GP, Wolff himself said he would like to see Schumacher get another opportunity in an F1 race cockpit, with the German's only hope of securing a 2025 seat now resting on Sauber. Wolff said: "I would very much hope that Mick gets the chance, because we haven't seen the real Mick. You know, winning F4, F3 and F2, and then you are underperforming in F1... I think he deserves a chance. The opportunity with Williams is something that we would be cheering for. But this is James Vowles' decision." Red Bull reserve Lawson is another option, with the New Zealander being lined up for a return to full-time F1 competition by his bosses for 2025, whether at the RB squad or its sister Red Bull operation. An opportunity to see out the season for Williams would give Red Bull more time to evaluate the performances of Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo ahead of a decision about next year's pairings, while also helping get Lawson back up to speed after his run of appearances for AlphaTauri in 2023. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has said that if the deal was right for his team, then he would be open to an arrangement with Williams. "It would depend on which terms and if we needed him back that we could have him back quite quickly," he said. "But certainly, if they needed a driver next weekend [at Monza], we'd be open to that. But that's a Williams question rather than one for us to answer."

[dear-ao3]

welcome to singapore. formula one’s original night race and what is usually (key and operative word here being USUALLY) the most bonkers race of the whole year. 

its hot, its steamy, and a whole lot happened. its october 17th 2024, and i am a whole month late so lets hop to it. 

you might be wondering why this is kind of late. well there was a lot that happened and i needed to make sure i included everything. also this update is split between two because there was an ~ event ~ that happened that needed unfortunately its own separate update. that is coming soon. first we do have to get through singapore. 

and what makes singapore so special? well as i said its formula 1’s original night race. its also really hot. this is usually the hottest race of the season (were going to ignore qatar 2023 because that was worse but that was an outlier. also we are not at qatar yet). and its just usually kind of insane??? for example: 

well no examples actually cause it wont insert. you have to watch the compilation here

so to recap just Quickly cause trust me we really Do Not have the time. singapore has been home to:

-crashgate (2008 where renault had piquet jr purposefully crash so alonso could win and this got exposed because piquet jr got fired the following season and exposed the whole thing. at the same race massa left the pitlane with his fuel hose still attached to the car and as a result lost the race and this cost him the championship and hes now suing over it cause if crashgate hadnt happened he might have won)

-giant lizards on track

-daniel ricciardo being asked if the sweat he is sweating is real sweat and him saying “its real sweat, im a high performance athlete, athletes sweat, kikiki rah! sweat sweat! woo woo!!”

-sebastian vettel won the singapore gp an unholy amount of times and also had the coolest helmets here, (one of them lit up) he also caused a lot of problems here. he is referred to as the lion of singapore because he has the most poles, most wins and most laps led at the circuit

-im about 95% sure that this is where max verstappen, a known geography nerd, pretended to not know what the monaco flag looked like just to talk to charles?

-whole lot of ice baths, sometimes even together and sometimes with sex noises

-also to note: max verstappen has never won here

and we gotta talk briefly about last year:

last year notably this was the single race that a red bull did Not win. carlos won by quite literally the sheer power of friendship and audacity and ignoring the ferrari strategy. he qualified on pole after max got knocked out of q2 by LIAM LAWSON (who was SUBBING for daniel ricciardo who still had a broken hand) (remember this was max’s most dominant era) and it came down to the end, someone crashed towards the end i don't remember who, but there was a late safety car and the running order was carlos, lando, george and lewis. both mercs pitted for new tires, carlos and lando stayed out on their old tires. (remember new tires means car goes faster) 

and what ended up happening was that carlos slowed down just enough to get lando into the DRS zone to give him just a little extra speed to stay in front of the two mercedes cars who were trying to pass lando and then carlos. theres a real famous radio of carlos’s race engineer saying “you have lando .8 (seconds) behind with DRS” and carlos saying “yeah its on purpose” 

let me remind you all that they were not on the same team. there were no team orders for lando to stay behind carlos, he could have tried to pass, but he didn't. somehow there was enough besties energy between them for lando to understand exactly what carlos was doing and they did in fact pull it off. carlos won the race, lando came in second, george crashed into the barrier on the last lap and lewis came in third.

george actually has crashed on the last lap all three times that carlos has won.

but yea. singapore is usually insane. usually a disaster. usually someone crashes at least once. and theres usually a safety car or a red flag or two or several. 

and this year there were some changes:

they changed the layout of the track slightly, getting rid of one of the corners i think and adding a 4th DRS zone for extra speedy

but we are not quite there yet. first we gotta get through the days leading up to the race.

starting with mick and esteban who played paddle together and as usual they managed to look like a married couple

somebody had george do an event at a puma store and he got very very excited about it and kept waving at people in the most unhinged way possible 

lando announced that he is officially having a section of a grandstand in silverstone be designated for lando fans …. tbh not sure what the purpose of this is but it definitely happened. and i think it sold out. 

everyone went off and played paddle together. well, everyone except for george. 

george played paddle with his team at a different time, and got absolutely soaked by the rain.

this is interesting because the last time george was photographed in the pouring rain after…. idk brazil?? last year??? he got pneumonia. and still drove the car and finished out the season. but he was coughing everywhere. and generally not vibing. and told the fia that they should fix the calendar to make it more conducive for general driver health (as in don't have a double header when the two races are on exact opposite points on the globe) and the fia responded by making the last 6 races back to back triple headers. 

lando and daniel had the return of their individual jpg accounts on instagram. i might have put this on last weeks post. that was wrong. sorry. things get jumbled and i don't have a good system for this lol.

charles and pierre had fun with their dogs. i cant find the pictures. trust me that it happened. 

charles also did an unboxing of a pack of driver cards for a fan. and its a very grainy and baffling video. mostly because he explicitly calls max verstappen hot. as in he pulls out max’s card and says “ooooo we are getting to the hot ones!!!” 

and of course i cant find the link.

anyway this was a massive improvement from 2019 when, upon being asked if he thought max was “pretty” by seb (seb actually said british but charles misheard and thought hs said pretty) he blue screened for several minutes and was like “uhhhh i don't-i don't know”

max and daniel and lando all flew to singapore together. this will become relevant later on.

so singapore is Not alex albon’s home race (he races under the thai flag, but hes half thai half british) but he sorta counts singapore as a home race and he had a cool helmet:

also with cool helmets were lando, oscar, and zhou

oscar’s even looked a bit like seb’s from 2013 which made many people feel things as this was Seb’s Track

but in the wise words of one lando norris “if you're blinded its probably oscar, if you're like damn….whos that? then its probably me”

mclaren decided to do special suits for this weekend. they looked like cheese sticks.

petronas (which is apparently an oil company) celebrated 50 years and so mercedes did a special livery for it. 

vcarb also did a special livery. it was….well i’ll just show you.

yes. that is a denim livery. no i have no idea either. 

one team definitely did not have a special livery and that was red bull. 

red bull came out and said that they would not be running any other special liveries for the year because they added too much weight to the car, and their car is already not really working that well. 

well they actually phrased it in a far more perplexing way than that: ​​

and if you're thinking that hm. that’s worded a little weirdly. also note that this was posted the same day that their head of brand communications and etc went to moto gp. 

then, even more interestingly, they said: 

“we traced the development history and it turned out that the first mistake we made was with an underbody upgrade in 2023 barcelona. that was also the race that checo started having problems, but we didn't take it so seriously because max kept winning.”

now. that's fucking wild. (i think redbull said newey was not involved in that update but i cant remember)

its also fucking wild bECAUSE there is a clip from drive to survive. and if you're unfamiliar with drive to survive, its the netflix show about formula 1 (mostly grounded in facts but they spin the drama to create narratives and they also leave stuff out, still a good show tho). and i believe it was in the season about the 2021 season (?) which i think is season 4 (?) there is a scene where the various team principals are having some sort of meeting to talk about porpoising. which is when the car bounces up and down and it was a safety risk and blah blah etc. this was the first year of the cost cap (meaning no unlimited funds to fix the issue), and the mercedes car had this problem really badly. 

i think that the context of this conversation is that toto is saying that teams should either share how theyve solved the problem (cause some teams had, this was a problem that affected almost everyone, something with the regulations) or they should be allowed to use more money to fix it even if it meant going above the cap cause it was a safety issue. im not sure. its something along those lines. 

anyway. this was Peak christian horner and toto wolff insanity. max and lewis were battling for the lead all year and christian took this opportunity to essentially yell at toto and it resulted in quite possibly one of the most stand out moments of drive to survive, which is the infamous change your fucking car clip:

and yeah even though this was for a different season, its still fucking hilarious cause guess what? toto was right. they did need to change their fucking car and checo Had said that the car was fucked And they ignored it. look whos laughing now red bull. its definitely not you.

and last but absolutely most definitely not least: mercedes posted the best pr of the season. 

no i am not joking. 

what could possibly be the best pr of the year??

lewis and george dressing eachother, obviously. 

and if theres one video you watch on this post i sincerely hope that it is this one:

i don't know whos idea this video was, but it is everything. its wonderful. theres a mother version where theyre picking the clothes. theres another version where lewis does a legitimate heel click. ankle showing, the fact that you can tell theres about 50 people watching them based on how many people start laughing. its an artistic masterpiece. hats off to you mercedes pr team (just this once).

moving into the weekend itself.

and kevin magnussen spoke words about his race ban. here’s what he had to say: “you get punished and then you come back. and you're all ready to fuck shit up now! its funny how that works” please remember this for later. 

also there were a lot of jokes about what he was doing on his week off when he got banned, but turned out that he was visiting sick children at the ronald mcdonald house in copenhagen

ollie bearman was allowed to take over the ferrari social media accounts. not sure Why they allowed this but it was hilarious. he did the instagram and the twitter and then he was also a track side reporter for a while

he mostly used his new social media powers to post insane pictures of kimi, who might i remind you, is in no way affiliated with ferrari.

franco, daniel, yuki and alex all did a fan forum together and clearly no one from either teams social media team was there for some reason because they ended up with a weird video of them all being baffled by using a 360 go pro video as pretty much the only content from that and during this video alex made fun of yuki for being short and daniel brought back the “ki ki ki!” chant that he (and max) love so much.

it was sweetcorn, zhou’s cat’s, birthday this week and stake posted more photoshopped pictures of sweetcorn in the garage 

oscar flamed lando for wearing a hoodie in jeans in singapore when it was 38C and humid as hell 

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george flamed lando for this same thing later in the week on his instagram story. he filmed the sun, then panned to lewis who was standing under a giant umbrella to block the sun, saying “super sunny, sunglasses on, looking cool.” then he panned to lando in a long sleeve shirt and a vest, jeans and a hat, with his arms crossed like he was shivering. “ready for winter season already…”

valtteri bottas posted another f1 track guide, where he cycles around the track and explains all the turns

a bunch of drivers all got asked to sign pictures of their younger selves a la that one trend. it was entertaining. 

and someone figured out that williams photoshopped franco’s face over the photos of logan that they use for announcing driver points and etc. u know, all the promotional ones that they take at the beginning of the year? they also spelled his name wrong (again). 

and pierre and yuki caused some problems in little go kart? scooter? things??

“saph.” 

yes, dearest reader??

“this is singapore. surely you have more interesting things to be talking about than weird go karts?” 

why yes i do. my apologies. 

so mclaren was under fire for a potentially illegal rear wing. 

essentially, there was a little tiny part on the back of the mclaren rear wing that flexes, giving them a much smaller version of the full DRS (when you open the rear wing to go faster within 1s of car in front of you) (except they were using this all the time). this came to light during/after the previous race in baku. it seems like they found a loophole and they are exploiting it. which is not unheard of even remotely for any team. its kinda what makes the whole thing interesting.

the fia was not really doing anything about it, and said that everyone was in the regulations, despite alleged complaints from other teams, so max, charles and checo decided to take matters into their own hands.

max said:

“i mean, its quite clear, of course, that its moving at speed. it might be smart, it might be not smart, but at the end of the day, its up to the fia, of course, to decide it its legal or not….of course baku was not the first time it was used. there were other tracks as well. i guess its important to come with a clarification. but that's not only on the rear wing. its the front wing as well. but what is allowed, how much it is allowed to bend, all these kinds of things, right? so we just have to wait and see from our side.” 

charles went a bit further:

“i think fred (vasseur) will go on that matter a bit more into detail, but from what i have been told, it is controversial to say the least. i will leave that here and i will let fred comment on it a bit further” 

that is still slightly tame for charles leclerc. worry not. he said more unhinged things later on, such as “we don't have a mini drs as an upgrade” *laughs* when asked how he felt about the ferrari upgrades.

fred did later comment on the mclaren wing. fred being the team principal of ferrari. he had a very team principal response:

"The front wing we agree is a grey area because you can't design a part of the car with the intention of deformation [flexing]. Intention is difficult to manage," explained Vasseur.

"The rear wing story is completely different because in the article [regulations] there is a maximum deflection. This is not grey. It's black and black. For me, it's clear."

no one went as far as checo though, who straight up told the press:

"It’s clear that it’s out of the regulation. It’s an illegal car. But it seems like, it is allowed. I'm very surprised."

red bull was very quick to play the pr game with this. they issued a statement clarifying his comment, saying that checo’s accent (hes mexican) made it sound like he had said “illegal” when he had actually said “legal” making his statement instead read as “It’s clear that it’s out of the regulation. It’s a legal car.” which. doesnt really make too much sense and is kind of weird for them to even say. but that was the story red bull went with.

call outs aside, mclaren maintained that their rear wing was legal because it passed all the fia tests. this also came after mclaren started leading the championship, so its not Really a surprise that these call outs happen (if anyone was around in 2021 when mercedes and red bull were fighting for the championship they were calling eachother out left right and center every other week for everything under the sun and then even a few things under the moon). oscar expressed this, saying that:

"Obviously in the sport you find every bit of performance that you can without breaking the rules, and that is what we are doing and what you need to do to become a championship-winning car and team.”

he also maintained that the rear wing was legal (and even said he had no idea about the flexing, which is possible), as did zak brown, the ceo. zak also though continued to blame it on “oh well were leading the championship now! obviously people will hate us!!!” as seen here: 

"I think it's inevitable now that we're leading the championship that everyone will be looking at our car and saying, 'not sure I like that', and that's the nature of the game."

and also here

"I think it's great for the championship. We're running at the front, so there are going to be things that are clearly working well on our race car. And to your point, everyone else is going to try to speed up and slow us down at the same time. Welcome to Formula 1."

which you know is true. but we cant be running illegal cars can we now, zak?? 

still, on friday, mclaren released this statement on the whole rear wing debacle:

"Whilst our Baku rear wing complies with the regulations and passes all FIA deflection tests, McLaren have proactively offered to make some minor adjustments to the wing following our conversations with the FIA. We would also expect the FIA to have similar conversations with other teams in relation to the compliance of their rear wings.” 

which is kind of funny cause theyre like oooooh we didn't do it! definitely not! but just in case we did we will make sure we never do it again!!! but also!!!!! hehe we’re going to drag you all down with us XD

the fia then did a little more digging and said this: 

“The FIA is closely monitoring the flexibility of bodywork on all cars and reserves the right to request teams to make modifications at any point during the season…However, if a team successfully passes all deflection tests and adheres to the regulations and technical directives, they are deemed to be in full compliance, and no further action will be taken…The FIA is currently reviewing data and any additional evidence that has emerged from the Baku GP and is considering any mitigating measures for future implementation…This is part of the standard process when scrutineering technical legality, and the FIA retains the authority to introduce regulatory changes during the season if required.”

(hilariously, the rear wing was the only one under fire, as we know fred vasseur was also talking about the mclaren front wing, which was found to be probably mostly legal after baku, so ferrari made their own probably mostly legal version of the front wing to catch up to mclaren)

in other words….we smell something hinky going on here and it may be a rat called mclaren.

later though, the wing was found to be illegal. the fia said that the flap edges were not allowed to bend on the straights.

so after all that. they were still in the wrong. 

in any case. how about a nice dose of contract news. 

starting with logan sargeant 

yes, i mean logan sargeant. the ex williams driver. hes been seen now a few times in the indy car paddock and its heavily rumored that he might be getting a contract in indy car sometime soon because hes supposedly doing a test in november.

but back to f1. 

and very surprisingly, george russell???

so no, george has not signed a contract. mostly because his current contract at mercedes goes through i believe the end of 2025. but there is talk. some quotes came out from bradley lord, who is the mercedes communications chief, about how the team want to sign max for 2026 potentially. supposedly, he said that “we’re aiming to bring max verstappen to mercedes in 2026. that’s no secret” and as u all know they just recently signed kimi antonelli so would they give up their fresh young kimi talent or would they give up george??? well. supposedly bradley Also said this “they’ll [kimi and george] be focused on making their mark next year. but if max doesnt join. we’re certainly keen to continue with the same line up!” 

which a lot of people took to mean that holy shit theyre going to drop george. george who worked his absolute ass off to get into the mercedes seat is going to get dropped for max who will only want to be in f1 for like 2 more years at that point. 

until! mercedes made a statement that said that all statements said by bradley about the team wanting max for 2026 had been “fabricated.” so george lives to see another day. or does he???

im not sure cause chrtisian horner then made a comment that said “george russell is out of a contract at the end of next year, you’d be foolish not to take that into consideration.” which is Intriguring. cause imagine if u will george at red bull. yeah i cant really either. someone would die and it wouldnt be him. 

in any case, mercedes said basically that george is their Guy and they want him at mercedes for awhile blah blah blah. but again, this is formula 1 and that means positively nothing because anything can happen ever. 

case in point: the red bull seat drama. well not the red bull seat drama. the vcarb seat drama. 

as we know by now, there have been rumors pretty much all season that danny rics is going to get replaced by liam lawson. well this week those rumors got ramped up from about a 7/10 to a 234234/10. nothing was confirmed, obviously, but everyone, and i mean everyone, from reporters to drivers to well again, everyone, seemed kind of convinced that this Could be daniels last race. im not quite sure Where this rumor evolved from, but it was pretty intense and pretty rampant. so just keep that in the back of your mind. 

moving forward. max verstappen. he decided to be an icon this week. well. more than usual.

first, when asked about how he felt about ferrari being able to take points off of mclaren, max said “i hope so! for them and myself” which is funny, we love a menace. 

he was also asked if daniel deserves to stay in f1 for next year (because remember there are rumors that this is his last race. i know theres a lot going on here, try to keep up) and max said 

“it doesnt really matter or not if he deserves to be here. a lot of people deserve to be here and some don't deserve to be here that's life also you know in all kinds of sports. that's how it goes.”

he also said this while sitting next to lance. 

but then the real icon shit started. 

at the press conference on media day max was asked, as drivers normally are, about his car. he said: 

“went into qualifying, i knew the car was fucked.” 

the moderator for the panel said “thank you max. lets watch our language going forward.” you know because recently theres been all that talk of the fia wanting the drivers to not curse on the radio and etc etc. we know people have taken issue with this, weve seen it before, but i believe that this was the first time it was said in a press conference. 

max went on to say “if its not in this room, maybe somewhere else, everyone swears. some people a bit more than others. it also depends a bit on what language you speak. of course, abuse is something else. in other sports you don't run around with a mic attached to you. i think a lot of people say a lot of bad things when they are full of adrenaline in other sports. it just doesnt get picked up. so i think it already just starts with not broadcasting it. this will help a but more than putting bans on drivers because, for example, i couldn't even say the f word. and that's not even that crazy. i mean, the car was not working. the car is f’d. and then, excuse my for the language, but come on. like. what are we? five year olds? six year olds? even if a fice year old or a six year old is watching, i mean, they will eventually swear anyway. even if the parents wont, or they will not allow it, when they grow up, they will walk around with their friends and they will be swearing.”

he also Extra later said that “the word [fuck] is ordinarily used in speech as [i] learned it, english not being [my] native language.” which is Exceptionally hilarious. max definitely knows what curse words are he knows that everyone knows this. 

all you know fairly standard and normal shit for this topic of discussion. we have seen it all before.

this was actually shockingly similar to something that sebastian vettel said back in 2018 about swearing on the radios (because seb used to swear kind of a lot on the radios) he said: 

“do you think comparing to football if you have a microphone on a [football player’s] mouth, everything he says is something nice and is a nice message when the guy tackles him and maybe sometimes he fouls him or not?”  

seb has also come under fire for swearing before and some of his other responses have included "I think if you are sensitive you should watch, I don't know, some kids' program. You have the remote control in your hand, so you can choose."

and i cannot find it unfortunately but he did also say at one point that he doesnt think about kids (or his own kids?) while driving the car, in terms of whether or not he is swearing over the radio. 

prior to this press conference, fia president mohammed ben sulyam asked f1 to limit the swears on live tv and said “they say the f word how many times per minute?” (he also compared them to searing like rappers. lewis called him out on that statement for being borderline racist) which is just. sir we have better things to be thinking about. (id also like to remind everyone that not many of the drivers like this guy, i know i talked about it on some other update but at least someone maybe lewis said that they never had confidence in him) in any case, no one thought anything of it.

until This Happened:

and then later, This:

max, and pretty much everyone else, as you could imagine, were highly displeased with this. 

because yeah. three time world champion max emillian verstappen has to do a day of community service for saying that his car is fucked. 

again i repeat: A DAY OF COMMUNITY SERVICE.

for context, there has been exactly 1 driver that i can think of who has actively tried to not swear on the radio and that was mick schumacher. one time he didn't get into q2 or q3 of qualifying and instead of cursing on the radio he said “uhh beep! beep beep beep!” as if censoring his own swear words. he did though make an exception and cursed out nikita mazepin once after he nearly tried to kill him.

and with that, finally, we are at the practice sessions. 

see, i told you that singapore is off the walls. 

in any case. practice 1 and 2. 

franco colapinto accidentally drove through the alpine pit box. he found the whole ordeal hilarious and himself, williams, alpine and even duracell made fun of the event on instagram

checo got ahead of pierre on the outlap. pierre very ominously said over radio “ill remember him.” 

george found a wall. not dissimilarly to how he found the wall last year on the last lap of the race. he also spent a lot of time during practice ranting about the tires and how they were inconsistent. so much so that pirelli had to have a sit down with him and ban him from talking about tires. it didn't really work. also alex albon joined in on the tire bashing in a symbol of friendship.

charles stood with max on the swear ban situation by cursing over his radio during practice

and fernando alonso had something go so drastically wrong with his car that he pressed every button at once he later said that this was inspired by the fact that one time his oven freaked out and he pressed every button at once and it fixed it

zhou managed to go faster than valtteri which was insane and out of the ordinary.

clearly someone new was in charge of the graphics because….

and there was more graphic action. red bull was not doing too hot, as evidenced by This very upsetting and embarrassing graphic

it was also evidenced by the fact that franco decided to race max on his outlap, which max found funny and started laughing about. franco clowned him on instagram for this. love an unhinged little rookie. (weve said it a million times we will say it again: welcome back sebastian vettel) 

max was asked about his community service penalty after the practice sessions. he was asked by the reporter if she could “have a word” about it and max said “no words” and walked away.

post practices we had the start of the ice baths. including alex albon, who managed to flame george russell in an instagram comment by saying that “For once it’s not George topless… 👀”

and checo was joined in the bath by a rubber duck

and of course, we also had the return of the infamous nico hulkenberg and kevin magnussen ice bath

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keep in mind that prior to the ice bath, nico said “singapores fabulous and its one of the highlights of the year. i love the track, the challenge of it, and the physicality of the race. ill also be doing my ice baths with kevin again, so ive brought something special to wear!” 

straight into practice three which i will do a better job covering because….well you will see why. but to start some fans gave will buxton a leo pillow, which will delivered to the ferrari garage and the mechanics put it in charles’s car.

and then, of course, we had the return of everyones favorite little blonde guy: nico rosbeg. 

also like if you need to take a break and grab some water of a snack id recommend doing that now. i know this is a long ass one. my apologies, i unfortunately don't control f1. if i did they would be allowed to swear. 

anyway. practice 3. 

we had crofty and anthony davidson discussing the normal stuff. the ground effects, the set ups, the curbs etc etc. and as they were talking about the heat crofty said: 

“so you will notice that there are not one, not two but three people in the worlds smallest commentary box as we all huddle together, which is not the nicest thing on the planet when we are in singapore because i can feel the heat radiating off of nico rosberg as i speak as he has just bolted from the paddock into the commentary box here! uh nico, glad you're with us. we’re looking at the red bull. did their lack of pace surprise you yesterday?” 

“its a pleasure to be here again. and crofty we shouldn't be complaining, we have the aircon right on us. its pretty awesome.”

“we can feel the warmth coming off of you. you're like a pirelli tire that’s just done a qualifying session.” 

*sighs* “so uh yes um! you were speaking about max verstappen there?” 

welcome back nico rosberg. oh how we have missed you. there is a clip for that scene actually. you too can see nico rosberg being called an omega in heat in real time.

not only did nico have opinions about the air conditioning, he also had opinions about max, saying that “he could loose the world championship” if the car doesn't get sorted out. (there was no grip, hard to drive, etc etc).

he also Instantly started giving mechanical insight (as usual) and anthony even said that he wanted to “pick [nico’s] brain about three wheeling” and nico was more than happy to get picked: 

“yeah so the worst about three wheeling is that obviously as you're going through the corner, your car rolls to the outside, yeah? the first thing that it will pick up is the inside front. worst thing about that is that it disturbs the aerodynamics massively as that tire disconnects from the ground. cause the aerodynamics are developed with the tires connected to the ground and the air flow. and the front tire has a huge impact in terms of flow on the overall aerodynamics. if it comes off the ground suddenly you've got air flow under the tire and it really influences really badly the main reason that you want to stop that and you want to stop that by mechanically going very soft on the front or of course adding some front load aerodynamic and as you can hear, its very very challenging to get those different elements right so that your car performs optimally.” 

so there you have it. just one problem the drivers and the teams were trying to navigate this weekend. 

another thing they were trying to navigate? lizards on track. 

ted was explaining something when crofty went “now hold on two seconds ted, weve got a lizard on track.” 

ted, surprisingly, went “AH! great! we havent had one so far! fantastic!” 

there were many lizards last year. they named it larry apparently. crofty told ted to go talk to larry and make sure he was safe. he also called the present lizard lionel. 

ted had information to report and it was that the lizard looked like it was doing “the floss.” i can only assume he meant the fortnite dance. 

ted also had to report that mercedes was not doing great, but! fred vesti (one of the development drivers for mercedes) had spent all night in the simulator doing work for them and the last time they had had him do that it had panned out quite well. 

nico though had doubts and was like mmm well idk how much he can do because “it can only do as well as the data you put in it and with the wind tunnel information that is just not accurate” 

anthony was a development driver for mercedes back when nico was there, so crofty naturally had to ask: “out of interest, how many late nights did you have making sure that nico rosberg could win the 2016 formula 1 word championship?” 

“loads. he owes it all to me i think.”

“i havent offered you a beer for that yet so that still remains to be done.” 

and while that was happening, fernando was nearly hitting lionel the lizard who was still on the track. 

“we are told the track is clear, but just have a look for the lizard,” his engineer said.

“no it is in the middle of the track,” fernando insisted, correctly. 

the camera zoomed in on the lizard strutting. and boy, was it strutting. the marshalls even impersonated it  

“that is a stride with the purpose of lawrence stroll. so frankly maybe it is lawrence the lizard coming across the track there,” crofty said. ladies and gentlemen, the pinnacle of motorsport.

the session was then red flagged. and crofty speculated if there was a lizard remover to nico rosberg, who wanted nothing to do with it. 

“can i go from lawrence the lizard to lawrence stroll?” he asked, referring to lawrence signing newey, as nico practically leaked to the press a few weeks ago. newey will Not though be helping with the 2025 car, but the 2026 car, which is the one with the new regulations. 

nico tried to ask about the money aspect, or the “insider information” and if he got equity in the team and etc etc. 

crofty found this funny. “its always about money with you isnt it? did you get equity in alpine?” 

unfortunately nico didn't answer because one of the marshalls started chasing the lizard off the track. and it turned into a regular drag race. so much so that the f1 instagram account made fun of it. 

but back to newey. he does in fact have equity in the team because he is a managing partner. 

this intrigued nico. “how much?” 

crofty, *scoffing* “you cant ask me questions like that?” 

“and do you know who did the deal? andy jordan! so how much equity does andy jordan have in the team? because usually its 20 percent!” 

“look i don't know officially but i think its about 2 percent. in the f1 team”  

“that's similar to what patty lowe got at the time when he went to williams, he was taken from mercedes. he also got a certain percentage.” 

“okay. so that would be in the right ballpark there.” 

“2 percent is a lot, by the way. because that team is valued at 1.6 billion and it is only going to go up.” and nico is right, its 32 million. “so that 2 percent is going to be north of 50 million very soon.”

and then crofty made fun of him about the supposed alpine deal that he told everyone about the last time he was commentating: “so you’re thinking, hm maybe i should have responded to that email.” 

nico then provided some insight into whether or not newey is going to make aston a championship winning team. and he said it depends on how it all gels together and how well everyone seems to work together. essentially newey can lead them to the kool aid but he cant force them to drink. 

nico also expressed that he wanted adrian to come on his podcast and explain how he can draw better than a computer because it would be “so so cool” 

crofty said “should we ask him if he wants to go on your podcast? how about adrian newey on the sky f1 podcast with yourself and f1tv’s matt baker?”

nico, disappointedly, “can i- can i not prefer my podcast?” 

“not when you're working for us for the weekend!” 

*mumbling* “okay, sorry….we can talk about it after the weekend” 

“other podcasts are available, but not when you’re working for us mate.�� 

and then we started to properly delve into the daniel rumors again. 

according to ted, liam lawson was down in the pit lane, specifically in daniels side of the garage. and he was “hanging around, looking at what daniel’s doing in the car and seemingly getting to know his car crew and uh he has to do that if they decide to put him in for the us grand prix. while daniel, if he can get that car to fourth or third, will be thinking, no i can hang onto this drive.”

though to be fair, this was what liam had been doing all season. 

and red bull seemed to have fixed their issues from yesterday because max was back at the top of the times, and even said that “the car is much better” 

and mclaren, despite not having their illegal rear wing, were right behind red bull.

“I need a new set of gloves for the next stint” george said over the radio.

“so what's happening to george here is that he is sweating his hands off,” nico explained. “and its horrible when you have sweaty gloves cause the glove connects really well to the steering wheel and your hand inside the glove is like going and slipping around and its a horrible feeling. that's also why sometimes you see under the safety car drivers holding their hands up, trying to get some wind in those gloves to cool it down. so that's why he needs new gloves. now back to whoever i was talking about-” 

“i was playing golf this morning,” crofty interrupted. 

“i was making an important point!” 

“i was playing golf,” crofty continued, ignoring nico. “and talk about sweaty gloves i lost my grip after about three holes today. that's why my putting was so bad” 

“crofty. i appreciate your golf so much but i was making an important point.” 

“we’d all forgotten what you were saying.” 

*softly* “i forgot too” 

(there is a clip for this one)  

nico remembered his point a little bit later. it was about the track layout and how he likes this layout better. and the second point was about the geometry of max’s car and how they might have overcorrected the steering of the car and compensated another part of it. i don't know much about this part of cars, but it seemed like he might be correct.

meanwhile, george bonked into the wall. or he had a lockup. they couldn't really tell. but he spun around and went back into the pits. 

this was just an example of how difficult the track is for everyone, turns, big cars and concrete barriers. and a lot of going fast. and a hell of a lot of heat. 

“you know when you used to train when you were driving?” crofty asked nico. “and youd go on the treadmill and youd do uphill walking at a really fast pace and then youd play seven hands of poker while you were doing that?”

“you remember that?” 

*unintelligible crofty noises* 

nico continued. “well that was because i had to stop cycling to loose the leg muscle! cause that was another kilo!” (yes that is true. weve talked about it before. nico stopped cycling to lose leg muscle to drop his weight so that he could go faster to beat lewis in 2016, this was pre driver weight requirements when most of them all had EDs). 

“but i was so impressed, by not just your uphill walking pace because it was pretty fast, but also the mental pressure you were putting yourself under to play seven hands of poker. when it came to races like this were mental fatigue can set in because of the conditions, is that what you were training for at that moment?” 

(the conditions being the insane heat)

“the poker got me to win at this track,” nico laughed. but then he went to explain the conditions in the car. “the race time is usually very long here, 80% humidity, its, you're in a sauna in the car. we lose up to eight pounds in body weight in the car in two hours. could you imagine losing 8 pounds from sweating in two hours? i mean its really like, its torture in the car.”

“but its also, having to concentrate for two hours when sometimes you struggle for two minutes.” 

“yeah and then the sweat starts dripping in your eyes and your head is pounding from the heat. the concentration in the end can be very difficult yeah.” 

this was part of the reason why they took out those corners, to reduce the race time a little. 

and don't worry, if you thought that we were going to go a whole session with nico not talking about lewis even once, well this is not that session. 

lewis had just done a flying lap, going third fastest when nico said “horrible, horrible lap for lewis. not in terms of, i don't know if in terms of driving but in terms of lap time just so far off george (who was p1), horribly far off.” 

anthony tried to point out that it depends on the driver and if they screw up a corner here or there. nico was not having it. 

“but for lewis its the whole lap. hes lost just consistently though the whole lap.”

unfortunately, that was all we would get though because max was back out on soft tires and we were about to get the question answered which was: did red bull fix max’s car??

well. nico rosberg was about to take us through the lap.

“okay here we go so now you’ve got drs of course you've got to bring it back up before braking, eighty- fifty meters braking you've got to hit that inside curb perfectly and stay in the white line there. roll into this corner, straighten your steering wheel so you can get that traction down flat and now all the way left so you're a little bit straight with a smaller angle there. deep braking, fifth gear, really carrying the speed all the way to the wall there on the left hand side. now its important to drive in a veeeery smooth way through this corner here, minimum steering, then to the right, straight line the braking again, deepen eighty meters, ooo he missed that inside by like 30 centimeters but nailed the outside. deep braking here. nailed the inside there, again straight steering wheel! put the traction down and then quickly back to the right to have a big, big angle turning in there carrying the speed. a little bit of understeer mid corner then got a snap. now here is difficult, yeah? you’ve gotta brake so deep just carry that speed in, car looked very very settled there. and here is just like, i don't know, magically finding your way through there. now, Softly to go right to open up this corner, misses the apex there by 30 centimeters. bit of traction, you can see the rear starting to overheat so you get a bit of a loose rear. braking deep there, again, missed the apex by like ten centimeters. okay, using the tracking you can see the rear moving around a little bit more around now. now again using minimum steering input, now nail this braking there, around, again, it will be around seventy meters. oh the others are using that curb, he maybe missed it or i don't know, looked pretty good. and now its just like Massive attack through here, again, missed the apex…oooo lost time there. he couldn't commit as much as he wanted to and actually four tenths off russell so this is a bit of a big setback for them actually because we expect leclerc and norris to be faster than russell.” 

despite all of that. max still managed to go p3. with a 1:30.5. on softs. george was doing 1:30.125 on softs. he was in p1. then lando went fastest again a 1:29.646. (pole last year was a 1:30.9). (max ended up finishing the session p4. that was where he finished practice 3 last year too, but last year he qualified 11th)

lando also continued to hit all the curbs, as he does because its his style and the car likes it. the red bull clearly doesnt like doing that. 

meanwhile, george accidentally drove onto the escape road. not sure how he managed that. 

“uh lets focus on driving instead of focusing on (unintelligible) because honestly im not feeling much also because the feeling is shit. we are very slow,” charles said, much to everyones general shock. “i just have no grip”

also baffling, at least to nico rosberg was that checo was “fifteenth in a red bull. and no mistake on the lap.” he speculated that checo could be running something different to max but whos to say.

meanwhile they were changed the front wing slightly on charles’s car to try and fix…something.

and franco was going 4 tenths faster than alex in the low speed corners. which was again, intriguing. 

but, it was time for our beloved nico rosberg to leave. but not before he said who he thought was looking good. 

“there is only one person looking good. lando, who is in a league of his own, who os driving phenomenally. the way that he is driving his car puts it on rails and then the other surprise this morning has been george russell, who has extracted the maximum from his mercedes. so i would mention those two and that's it theres no one else.” 

and then he went off to interview toto. which was Very Interesting indeed

mostly because he was hounding toto about why lewis’s set up was so bad but toto was generally ignoring him.

because if you will remember, lewis said that he didn't think he would even get into q3 with his car in the state he was, and he said that his set up was not as good as george russells. lewis finished the session in p7, george in p2. and if anyone could get to the bottom of it, it was nico rosberg. unfortunately, toto wasn't giving much away. 

nico also praised franco after the fp3 session, saying that “colapinto's super impressive, straight from the get go always within two tenths from albon. and we know albon is super quick.” which he says is very impressive because “you know in formula 2 you see speed, but you don't see this kind of speed”

also he was wearing this

“alright,” crofty said, several hours later. “enough of this practice. lets get into qualifying here in singapore.”

yeah. we’re only at qualifying. in all fairness i Did tell you this was going to be a lot. 

and the track was not in great condition. which was wonderful.

charles was struggling and got fined for having his tire pressure adjusted in the pit box, lewis’s rear of his car was “sliding a lot,” max was not in p1, lance was somewhere near the bottom of the times and lando immediately went fastest. 

so all in all a pretty normal q1. that was, until alex albon briefly went p1 and george decided to bash the tires (after being told not to!)

“ive got no fucking grip mate!” he cursed loudly and over his radio. breaking two rules at the same time. smh george. 

as the times came in, daniel found himself pushed to 16th. 

“daniel gets pushed down to 16th in what could be his last qualifying,” crofty said, ominously and addressing the rumors that this was in fact daniels last race. the camera crew then decided to rub it in by cutting to a shot of liam lawson in the garage. 

in his interview, daniel said that he had “not much to say” about his qualifying over all and about his mindset tomorrow: “well ill get community service if i swear” man was potentially going out at the end of the weekend and Still feared the FIA enough to not say fuck on camera. cheers mate.

in any case, the end of q1 saw us waving goodbye to daniel, lance (who has only managed to make it out of q1 one time at singapore before), pierre, bottas and zhou. better luck next time!

and the start of q2 saw someone taking george’s side in the Great Tire War. laurent mekies. the vcarb team principal. he said that the tires do feel different today compared to yesterday, but apparently this has been an ongoing problem all season.

unsurprisingly, alex albon was also joining the war on tires on the side of george russell. “what are we doing with the tires? nothing! absolutely nothing!”

also on the surprise list was nico hulkenberg briefly going p1. 

he was though replaced with lewis, who had somehow managed to make his mercedes work for him. 

i don't remember which announcer said this but, someone did say this about that: “mercedes is now the pace setter when before it looked like the steering wheels were screwed into the rear wheels.” 

though that might not have been entirely true because george was still complaining about grip.

max seemed to have made the tires work for him though because he managed to go fastest with a 1:29.680, a whole 3 tenths faster than lewis. it was starting to look like a classic Max Pole Lap, that was until oscar went faster than him

so there were four drivers in the 1:29 realm: oscar, max, charles and lewis. and there were five drivers out at the end of q2: alex, franco, checo, kevin and esteban

alex was not happy with this. he spluttered very incoherently over his radio as james vowels attempted to comfort him. 

all in all though it was setting up to be a very exciting q3

we had lando whos had 4 poles this yea, max who hasnt had pole since imola, lewis who hasnt had pole since hungary 2023 (potentially i might have heard that wrong) and ferando alonso who hasnt had pole in over 4000 days!

“i wouldnt want to bet my mortgage on whos winning pole,” said martin brundle.

but martin brundle also said during q3 that “we just saw kimi antonelli who will be out there next year getting hot and sweaty and a little bit scared.” 

everyone was kind of distracted by that. maybe it was why carlos sainz crashed.

(no it wasn't. but imagine….)

he also managed to crash in the same spot as lance did last year. but he didn't know why: “don't know if it was cold tires, dirty air, i don’t know. big snap.” 

this was absolutely not fine and dandy for max because he got his lap time deleted. and it was a provisional pole lap time. 

“why did my lap get deleted?” max still asked. “I crossed the line before it was red.” 

max did indeed cross the line before it was red, but there were double yellow flags, which mean that all lap times get deleted. so lando also lost his “stonking lap”

so we only had two times on the board. oscar with a 1:30.037 and nico with a 1:30.848.

everyone had one more shot to get out there.

which means its time to learn a weird fact about lando! did you know that his first job was making iphone stickers? 

i didn't but there was a graphic on the broadcast that said so.

in any case, max was told on the outlap to try and pass cars so he would make it to the line in time. 

george was told “don't let verstappen through”

max got through.

despite that, lando still went fastest. and he got pole. 

max continued his pole-less streak at singapore, but he did manage a p2

and charles leclerc, down at ferrari, managed to get his lap time deleted and ended up behind nico, fernano and yuki. somehow. 

lando was pleased with his pole, sort of. as much as lando can be pleased about anything. “it was tough,” he said. “good enough for pole.” 

max was also seemingly thrilled with second “im happy to be on the front row, I’ll take second, I’m happy with that.” insane words coming from max. if u had told us this last year we would have been shocked.

and in p3 we had…..sir lewis hamilton. but unfortunately nico rosberg was not interviewing :/ still, lewis said “qualifying has been a disaster for me all year long” which is true. he said that they changed pretty much everything on the car, but despite that didn't think that he could keep up with the mclarens. he also indirectly called them cheaters.

the most interesting part of qualifying though was after, in the press conference. 

as you might remember, the drivers in p1, p2 and p3 all have a little press conference on the big white couch with the reporters. its usually a little silly at least. 

and there was the usual. lewis told everyone “ive not been up here for awhile” cause he hadnt and im sure lando said things too but what was most interesting was max. 

now lets remember that max got a day of community service for cursing in the press conference the previous day. he also earlier said that he had “no words” about his penalty. 

so it was really no surprise that he spoke as little as humanly possible. as an act of protest to the fia and their penalty. 

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now. this is quite possibly one of the best cases of malicious compliance that i have seen. because yeah, he is answering the questions, just with as few words as possible. technically the fia cant get him on this cause he is talking. and he took the time to tell the reporters that this was not aimed at them, but at the fia. 

and, if you will note, he said that he wanted to be asked questions outside of the press conference room. which he did in fact entertain. this was actually not allowed.

they started out in the hallway and then some official was like uhhh cant do that here! and max was like well! cmon everyone! we will do it on the go!!! 

and they did!!!!

surely, you must be thinking, surely if the lead up was this insane then the race was off the walls right???

….

right!!!!!

yeah….

it was somehow boring????

im not sure how they managed to make singapore boring (especially after the lead up) but it was just like. there. it happened. 

ill still talk about it though because i am nothing if not thorough. 

the race. 

important to note that, heading into this race, there are still 8 contenders for the drivers championship . max, lando, charles, carlos, lewis, george, oscar and checo. none of them are officially Out of the running Yet because theoretically they could still score enough points to beat max. though, lando does have the best shot. he only needs to score 8.4 points per weekend more than max to come out ahead of max at the end. 

at the start max has 313 points, lando had 254 and charles had 235.

and. yuki has never finished a race here. lando has never been able to hold p1 from pole at the start. and the track was really, really freaking warm. as in it was 37C / 98.6F. and they were about to drive for two hours in a hot cockpit. 

also to note. lewis was starting on softs. which was weird. because they degrade really fast as we know in the heat and they definitely had plenty of heat. probably more than necessary actually.

in any case. lights out. away they went. 

and lando managed to hold onto the lead! max was right behind him in drs range, but he was ahead for the whole first lap. a first for him. and by lap 3 max was out of drs range. 

someone was unhappy about this and it was george russell. he was still in fourth stuck behind lewis on the softs. “he needs to increase the pace a bit, the guys at the font are getting away,” he said. lewis didn't really pick up the pace though. he really couldn't on the tires. and max and lando were already 3.7 seconds ahead of lewis. 

meanwhile franco had an absolutely insane start and managed to somehow divebomb alex albon and not only did he divebomb alex albon, he managed to gain three places. 

alex though was not pleased. “franco just dive bombed me!” he said over the radio. “what is he doing?” 

unsurprisingly, charles was back in ferrari hell. he was in 8th position and on lap 7 radioed in to say “i took a carbon part on my left side.” 

lando was still having a good time though, out in the front. he was told to increase the gap to max to 5 seconds. this was after other teams apparently complained that he wasn't managing the pace well. 

martin brundle was impressed by this. “just put 5 seconds on the red bull, will ya? it’s incredible!”

the tire drama of course continued, hards were apparently worse than mediums according to kevin. 

“i’m sliding around like hell,” he said on lap 11

and george was still stuck behind lewis who was over 6 seconds behind max and had not managed to make up any positions. 

also stuck behind someone was checo. he was stuck behind franco somewhere down around 10th? maybe? and he had been since pretty much the start. 

“hes very good, very difficult to pass colapinto” checo said on lap 16. lets remember that checo has 275 races under his belt. franco has like 3. so he was having a good day.

alex albon was not. he dnf’d on lap 18 because his car was overheating.

lewis finally got rid of his soft tires, so george could finally attempt to show some pace. by lap 23 he had managed to wrestle his car into 11th, but he bashed the strategy because they had stopped so early. “we will be in trouble later.” and by lap 28 he said “im already struggling with this tire.” 

and charles was still in ferrari hell. “good job on the brakes,” his engineer told him. “yeah but they feel completely different now,” charles said. he was stuck behind alonso and hulkenberg down in like 7th or 8th or something. exactly where he had been since the start. “ah this is so frustrating!” charles said. “how many laps are we going to do this?” 

lando was still enjoying himself though. he had gotten a 20 second lead on max.

lewis was really not enjoying himself. he continued to complain about stopping early and then almost bottled it passing and getting re passed by yuki. “something is definitely wrong with the car,” he said.

“this is working out horribly for charles leclerc,” martin said, as charles was still stuck behind a haas on lap28

thankfully for everyone, he managed to pass the haas on the next lap and took p4.

lando had front wing damage because he had locked up. he could have gotten a new front wing on his pit stop, but it takes 12 seconds to do that and despite their gap, mclaren didn't want to risk it.

george was really starting to feel the heat. “I need a bit of encouragement mate,” he said on lap 33. which is something that he really only says when hes a few minutes from actively passing out.

“usually by this time theres another 40 laps to go….but now we might get home in time for a cup of cocoa!” crofty said. because usually there is at least a safety car or a red flag or an accident. but there was nothing. and there continued to be nothing. meaning that the drivers were not getting a break. and it was hot as balls and or tits. 

down at vcarb, daniel was in 12th and yuki was in 13th. yuki was gaining on him and after some deliberation from the team, they had daniel let him past. 

“we’re expecting an announcement in the next few days” for liam to replace daniel, the announcers said. though there was still nothing confirmed. 

meanwhile charles was on fresh tires and he was storming up through the ranks. he went past carlos and waved at him and then he put in fastest lap after fastest lap, his eyes on the podium.

“it’s like a sauna in here,” george said, still struggling. 

lando was also struggling. he boinked the wall again. 

and checo was struggling with his tires “i don't have traction mate, its bouncing like a kangaroo.” he was in 10th. 

kevin got a puncture. he was brought in for softs to potentially set a fastest lap. 

“i have understeer and i have oversteer” george said on lap 52. on lap 53 he said “just kissed the wall. thinking all fine, rear right.” 

again i remind you this is a long and hard race. previously the longest singapore had gone without a safety car was lap 36. 

everyone was getting tired, even charles’s engineer who told him accidentally that george was in p1 instead of lando. charles said, very eloquently: “i don't care about norris”

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lando had though started to lap people, which was dangerous. he clipped a few more walls briefly. “hes having a few adventures in his most dominant play in f1 so far” martin said. 

meanwhile charles had finally closed the gap to george and was trying to pass. it was tire whisperer on tire whisperer violence. but george managed to stay in front.

k mags went into the pits on lap 60. he retired his car.

daniel also went into the pits on lap 60. on what might have been his last ever f1 race.

“don't go out like this danny rics, on a three stop,” crofty all but begged. 

but he didn't. they put softs on his car and said go forth and get the fastest lap. which was currently held by lando. 

and so daniel, in true daniel fashion, said (probably) “fuck em all” and stuck his pedal to the goddamn metal and went so fast that he not only got the fastest lap, but he also got the track record fastest lap. with a 1:34.486

and when the checkered flag came out lando won, and daniel got the fastest lap. 

max’s race engineer came on during the cool down lap to tell him the car modes and where he finished (second) but he also said “your old pal daniel picked up a fastest lap” 

and max said “thank you, daniel.” 

because you see. daniel took the fastest lap from lando. since he didn't finish in the points, he didn't get the extra point for fastest lap. but he did take the extra point away from lando. 

so this means. that given the number of races left. if lando finishes one place ahead of max in every single remaining race, he will still lose the championship by one point. the point that daniel took from him.

in 2018 daniel ricciardo left red bull because max started getting preferential treatment (among other things). it was a shock move, but he did it because he didn't want to be a number 2 driver, he wanted to win a world championship. so he went to renault. it was a disaster. he went to mclaren. it was a worse disaster. he lost his mclaren contract. he admitted that he got bad advice to leave red bull and that he should have never left. he came back to vcarb mid 2023 to try and get back into the red bull seat, back next to max. but he didn't. and in his potential, final act of his f1 career, he still managed to make a move that benefitted max. after all this time, he was still the second red bull driver after all. 

and he was voted driver of the day. 

lando won, followed by max, oscar, george, charles, lewis, carlos, fernando, nico, checo, franco, yuki, esteban, lance, guanyu, valtteri, pierre and daniel.

david coulthard did the post race interviews. 

oscar said it was “warm” and that they had a “great result…good strategy.”

max was not really bothered about lando closing the gap to him in the championship and was excited for some time off. 

lando said it was an “amazing race, a few too many close calls….similar to qatar last year….little dizzy at the moment.” to which david coulthard dumped water on him.

speaking of drivers being dizzy. george (and franco) took a while to get out of their cars. and george ended up leaning on the tires after too.

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george and lewis were actually withdrawn from media duties post race because of “borderline heatstroke” according to toto. some people thought that that might have been a pr move so that lewis did not have to talk about the awful strategy they put him on. in any case, they were given time to not be dying, which was good. 

this was not really surprising given that this was george's post race radio: "Yeah, good points, considering where we were on Friday. Damage limitation. I need a carry(?) into the bath, I am toasty. I can't describe how hot it is guys."

i was going to show you all the george russell pics of him after he got out of the car, where he looks like hes simultaneously going to fall over and also kill someone. but it crashed the post 3 times. so if you want to see it you need to google it yourself.

meanwhile. in the cool down room. lando max and oscar were watching the race highlights. max said that he thought lando was going to lap him. 

they replayed one of the scenes where lando was boinking walls. lando said, very eloquently and against the rules: “i thought i was going to shit myself” 

and oscar, ever the jokester, turned to him and said “so now without using swear words how did you feel in that moment?” and made a little microphone out of his hand. 

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oscar continued to make fun of the swear ban later on with this caption on instagram: “Without swearing, that was blinking warm. Good race, nice podium”

and later on charles said that he was not going to swear because he didn't want to join max in community service: "Yes! Then i have to work with Max and I don't want it!"

and max said relatively nothing in the press conference again, but he held his own mini one in a room afterwards. 

and franco responded to checo complimenting his driving during the race, saying that "Checo's great, I love him so much. I used to watch him when I was a kid back in Argentina. I woke up very early to watch his races and now fighting and racing against him is very nice."

nico rosberg said this a few days later about lando's race:

“There’s three moments here. And that’s so strange. I can’t remember myself, or Max Verstappen, or Lewis, when leading so comfortably with thirty seconds making three major mistakes like that. That was a bit strange. I know Singapore is so hard concentration [wise]. Physically it’s so, so tough. But it was… I don’t know what it’s down to that there’s so many little… But we know that from Lando that he tends to make those little errors all the time everywhere. We’ve seen that from him.”

so does he have what it takes to be a WDC? idk...

meanwhile. daniel. 

he took a long time getting out of his car, clearly savoring the moment.

when asked about the fastest lap he said that if the point proved useful maybe max would get him a good christmas gift (max later said that he could ask for anything he wanted). but he was generally quite emotional as he was speaking about the whole thing in his interview.

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and he did say “maybe the fairytale ending didn't happen. if this is it…im at peace with it.”

and he got an honor walk from the vcarb garage 

max spoke highly of him in his interview

"Daniel and I go a long time way back. We have always had a great relationship, great friendship. We've always had a lot of respect for each other as well. He's just a great guy, you know? I get on well, it just clicks, there is no fake person, we just get along and easy going. He will for sure be remembered as a very fast driver, I think everyone knows that, but also as a great guy in the paddock."

i think every reporter tried to give him a send off

they showed him a highlight reel of his career. and nico rosberg asked him if he regretted "leaving max in red bull."

daniel also spoke highly of max, saying that "He's always been very appreciative of our friendship and supportive. Even after Japan this year I was getting quite a lot of stick, and he [Max] was one of the only guys who sent me a text and said 'mate keep your head up. We know what you're capable of, don't listen to the noise.' So I respect and appreciate him a lot."

and he was the last to leave the paddock, after 1am, still smiling and waving at everyone.

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so with that roller coaster. lets buckle up and head to texas. yee fucking haw.

the 2024 formula 1 silly season and drama master post, part 2 (part 1 here)

Hello and welcome to ah fucking fuck auto caps fuck fuck fuck how do i turn off auto caps AHA there we go okay. take 2

hello and welcome to the great and very insane formula 1 2024 season drama post, part 2. if you are new here or are just looking for part one (which contains the previous 16 (?) races, the off season, pre season testing and everything else, that can be found HERE. (a word to the wise: open it in a browser, not the app, and preferably on a computer to avoid crashing. its fucking long). 

what the hell is formula 1? car go fast. fastest cars in the world zoom around tracks at top speeds of over 300kph, piloted by the top 20 drivers in the world. it might not sound dramatic, but oh man. you will Not be disappointed. this post focuses on the drama, the insanity, the sheer what the hell how is this a serious sport. no legitimately. we've just about seen it all this year. grindr, dogs, watersports, ice cream brands, its all here.

the point of this post? to educate, to catalog the insane drama, and to just have a good time. people like to gatekeep this sport, there is also a lot happening. i try to make it easy to understand. again, probably best to start at the beginning of the post because it does a pretty good job of explaining things, which i began way back in january, and can be found HERE (again, shes long, be careful)

and, as usual, if you do not want to see this post EVER AGAIN, block the tag #saph explains silly season 2024

and a second caution, i assume this post will be getting long as well. including this one we have minimum 9 updates left!

anyway, those of you who have been following along the whole time, welcome back! i know we got a little delayed. and i know we’re on a new post, so lets just briefly take a second for me to explain what the fuck happened. first i had an anatomy test, second i work 2 jobs with fuck ass hours, third tumblr decided to stop letting me look at any of my drafts, fourth tumblr support ghosted me about the drafts issue and the post was half saving half not so i just decided fuck it, were going with post 2, electric boogaloo, and fifth, i decided to start typing this instead in a google docs so. many changes. if you're new here i am usually more on top of this.

but here we are. were back on street circuits. we’re in baku, azerbaijan, for the start of the last third of the season. 8 races remain, world championship titles are still within grasp of multiple people. the drama is dramaing. and today is september 22, 2024 and lets fucking go. 

first and foremost, on account of the fact that this post is late (again, see above), were going to have to do a bit of a speed run. if you're new here, i promise that this is not representative of my normal dedication to the update post. and for those asking, yeah, ill probably compile it somewhere better than a tumblr post after its all said and done, but we don't have time for that now. 

what we do have time for is the Off Week (and like some of the media stuff). and it was filled with silliness: 

george russell decided to wear what can only be described as slightly ugly yellow short shorts with his taylor swift shirt that he got at the eras tour. this was baffling for several reasons, the main reason being that i don't think the internet knew that he was capable of wearing a graphic t shirt

fernando alonso got his aston martin valkyrie finally. in case you are unfamiliar, a valkyrie i think is the worlds fastest street legal car. he posted tweets about this that made it seem like he wanted to fuck the car. hilariously, the car broke down an hour later.

we also had the very thrilling conclusion to grill the grid. oscar won and he somehow managed to look more pleased about his grill the grid win than his first race victory. 

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nico rosberg went to the green awards and he wore a fantastically insane teal blue suit. yes i know hes not a current driver. but you all like hearing about him so ask and you shall receive. unfornunately i cant find a picture of it though

and also not a current driver is mick schumacher, but my roommate asked me to include that he was seen on his girlfriends instagram being bad at golf. like. exceptionally bad at golf. like he hit a tree 20 feet in front of him.

also playing golf was lando norris. except he managed to look like try bolton from high school musical 2.

he also talked about the world driver championship with his friend max fewtrell while they were playing golf. unfortunately i lost this link in the sea of technical difficulties, but the gist of it was that he was saying that there is still hope for him to beat max in the championship (hes about 60 points behind right now). lando doesnt usually talk about the championship because he doesnt want news outlets to paint him as “desperate” so this was interesting

charles leclerc had an insane off week. first he rear ended someone in monaco. then he spoke at a yacht conference. he was not scheduled to speak at said yacht conference, he was there doing something else and they were like hey you're cool people know you, heres a microphone. he alsp ended up on a weather channel while promoting a karting event he was doing for the jules bianchi foundation (his god father, the one who died during the f1 race in japan 2014). he also changed his instagram pop and re centered it because some random tiktoker told him it matched his aesthetic better.

oscar piastri posted a photo of himself sitting in the cockpit of a plane and then promptly deleted it. because he posted it on 9/11. for anyone who doesnt know what that is, that was when some terrorists hijacked commercial planes and few them into the world trade centers in nyc and the pentagon in washington dc

max verstappen also posted a plane pic with himself and lando norris, but he did not delete it.

we also had the return of daniel ricciardo’s jpg instagram account, which is kinda like a finsta for photos that hes taken. i think lando started this a few years ago. 

heading into the race week we certainly got a weird ass batch of pr. including but not limited to:

lewis hamilton was back on top and slaying in the fit game. as was yuki. 

lewis hamilton also exposed george russell as listening to katy perry pre race. katy perry and taylor swift (this was after he claimed that he liked listening to old school rap music.) though, lewis then started singing wrecking ball???? confusing vibes all around

george was not off the hook yet tho because some intern definitely make him say skidibidi toilet or whatever the thing is idk, i might be gen z but im not insufferable, okay? actually george in baku was just all kinds of unhinged

george and alex also got up to something, what it is no one knows but it is clearly something

max pulled up to the paddock de aged about 10 years. picture one is of him in baku in 2015 (i believe he was 17) and picture 2 is this year. no i am not kidding. 

and franco walked into the paddock telling everyone about argentinian mate (which is a drink, not a friend)

and max shoved a microphone out of the way so everyone could gossip

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then of course, we had some slightly more relevant drama

haas announced that ollie would be replacing kevin at baku. in case you forgot, kevin magnussen received a total of 12 penalty points over the season so far, which means he gets one race ban. how did he get the points? well he was mostly wreaking havoc on everyone else so that his teammate, nico hulkenberg, could drag his car into the points. lets all remember the time in saudi arabia where he managed to get 20 seconds of penalties by basically driving like a mad man just to make sure that nico could keep his position after he pit stopped. anyway, nico was kind of pissed about the race ban situation and said “maybe the guidelines for F1 penalties need to be reviewed as the stewards ‘want to get involved’ no matter the contact.”

in any case though, k mags was out. and ollie was in. we’ve seen ollie before. notably he subbed in for carlos sainz at the saudi arabia gp when carlos had appendicitis. he managed to get points as well. since then, he has been announced as a haas driver for 2025 and is now subbing in for k mags (haas, later in the week called him a super sub. clearly no gen z person read that over.) he can do this because ferrari has a haas engine so they share reserve drivers.

adrian newey finally got employed. i know! i can hardly believe it either! but he did! and youll never guess where! 

ferrari? no that would be too obvious. 

mercedes? nah

williams? no too much of a shit show

aston martin? ding ding ding! just the right amount of shit show! 

that is right. newey is going to aston for 2025. 

apparently he was offered a “good package” according to himself, which i assume means pay and also the fact that lawrence stroll made him a shareholder? stakeholder? whatever its called. in the team itself. basically he has a lot of power. 

he said that he always wanted to work with fernando and lewis. and he couldn't do both. and aston had a better package than ferrari. 

fernando looked positively evil during all the announcement pictures. and called the team "definitely the team of the future" and for those of you who don't know, fernando is positively evil. hes just been stuck in a shit box and we havent seen very much of him, but man does he know how to evilly slut it up. so that will be fun to see.

by contrast, people said that lance was not excited enough. and well. lance 1. has resting bitch face and 2. never really looks excited about anything. also he lives in a world where take your child to work day somehow became his job. (his dad owns the team).

lewis hamilton was asked what he thought about adrian not going to ferrari, and here's what he had to say:

"i feel like, while I have mentioned before that it would be an honor to work with adrian, i have been privileged to work with two championship winning teams that didnt have adrian."

mclaren announced pato o ward would do FP1 in mexico. who is pato o ward? hes one of mclaren’s indycar drivers and one of the f1 reserve drivers. he is incredibly charming and definitely runs his own social media as seen here:

mclaren Also claim they figured out who their number 2 driver is and they claim its oscar. i say they claim because the statements were a lot more complex than that. essentially, according to andrea stella, the priority is to the team first, then lando and then oscar. so they didn't outright say that oscar is the number 2 driver and i am willing to bet real money that this is because mr mark webber, oscars manager, has something in oscars contract that prevents him from being a number 2 driver. this is of course because mark webber was one of the most infamous number 2 drivers in f1 history to none other than menace war criminal sebastian vettel, who in their time as teammates, managed to win 4 back to back world champions. or, top to bottom if you're mrs darbus from high school musical. 

lando was asked about this and he said that yes, the team does support him. though he would not expect oscar to give up a win for him and that it is more complex behind the scenes. i suppose we will see if there are any papaya rules coming out this weekend….

and oscar said "i think the main point is its not purely just going to be me pulling over for lando every single race, because thats how none of us, including lando, wont want to go racing, if we feel that someone has done a much better job on a weekend, whichever way it is, we want that person to be rewarded."

max verstappen commented on the mclaren situation as well. which was funny mostly because red bull has one of the most defined number 1 and number 2 drivers of any team. he said "you look at it form oscar's perspective, he is closer to lando than lando to me. they have to deal with that."

and allow me to put on a tin foil hat as we are about to talk about the future of the red bull seat. because all i have to offer here is a baseball hat and a red bull can. 

a long time ago we talked about the red bull cans. the ones that red bull makes to promote f1. at the end of last season red bull put max and checo on the red bull can. this season at the start it was just max on the red bull can. well. now checo has reappeared on the cans too. and i will tell you what i think this means. it means that checo is not getting swapped this season, which was a possibility for awhile. 

but! there is more! 

daniel ricciardo made an instagram post this week. and it was very interesting. but most interestingly he was wearing a red bull hat.

which he does occasionally, no big deal really. he did race for the for several years, he technically does currently. BUT then he showed up TO THE PADDOCK wearing the red bull hat.

which is Big Interesting. usually you show up in a statement outfit or wearing the team kit. and daniel is not a red bull racing driver. he is a visa cashapp racing bulls driver. they might be owned by red bull but they are Not the same team. so why the red bull hat. in the paddock. well, the rumor is that hes taking checos seat for 2025. and the rumor is that this will be announced before mexico. so checo can have a proper send off. 

and with that. the baku lore. 

theres a lot that has happened at baku. as i said its a street circuit. and i think its the fastest street circuit. but over the years theres been some notable events. 

such as the great kimi raikkonen radio for gloves and steering wheel:

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they gave mini kimi this week gloves and steering wheel in honor of that

the max and daniel crash in 2018 when they were running p1 and p2 respectfully

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and of course. how could we forget. charles’s infamous “i am stupid” radio.

speaking of charles, he crashed again in fp1. not quite in the same spot, but nearly. he took a picture with the marshalls. 

then in fp2 he rage quit, basically saying that the car sucks. 

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but he was back and better than ever in practice three because he managed to top the time charts. welcome back fuck ass ferrari.

some other teams definitely experienced the lows but not really the highs of baku during practice. like lance stroll who came on the radio to say “this is not a car” (good thing they have adrian newey now, right? 

franco colapinto also cut his ear before practice on the neck strengthener stretcher thing that they all use and the team wanted to give him stitches but he was like no no no i need to be in the car in about 5 minutes im not doing that. so he jammed on his helmet and jumped in the car. he also crashed and when he went to the medical center he took off his helmet and there was blood everywhere and they were like no no no you cannot race! and he was like no! this is not from the crash! and then explained it and they let him do qualifying. 

also im pretty sure? ollie bearman crashed? in practice? but frankly i don't have time to google it so whos to say. 

but alas. qualifying. 

i know i know this is kind of a shitty update. i promise ill go all out in singapore. i PROMISE. 

so as i said. its a street circuit. high speed. 90 degree corners. and also windy as hell. we also had the dynamic duo of karun and harry in the commentary box. 

max led the first practice, george led the second and i think charles led the third. or some order like that. 

slipstream here is almost essential (slipstream: going behind another car to reduce the wind drag so you can go faster) 

charles has the last three pole positions (first in qualifying) here in baku, but he has never won. by comparison, red bull have never had pole here but they have won. 

and franco has never been to baku before. 

i think that's all the exposition that we need here. 

q1 started with max complaining about his car. “the car is jumping around like crazy on the rear axle” he said. despite this he was sitting in p3. 

the mid field battle though….the mid field battle was heating the hell up. mostly because none other than franco colapinto, who if you will remember, has never been to baku before, had split the two ferraris. he was in third for the moment, .109 seconds behind carlos sainz and .159 seconds ahead of charles leclerc. we still had a lot of qualifying left to go, so this was probably not going to stay, but it was still insane. he was pushing insanely hard, nearly kissing the walls. clearly he had learned from his crash in practice. 

the two mclarens waited until the very end of q1 to do their final flying push lap, and oscar made it through, but tragedy struck for lando. 

lando was in the middle of his last flying lap, time was ticking down, and there was a Very Brief yellow flag on the track. now, according to rules, you cannot complete your flying lap if there is a yellow flag. so lando pitted and was stuck down in 17th and out of qualifying. this would be the first time that he was out in q1 since vegas last year (which if i remember correctly was also not his fault) 

now though, of course nothing is ever that cut and dry. people thought that there had been a mis showing of a flag. yellow flag means that a car is stopped on track, white flag means that a car is going slowly on the track. and people thought that there had been a yellow flag shown when it was actually supposed to be a white flag (if there had been a white flag then lando would have been able to keep doing his flying lap) lando himself said that he had no idea what people were talking about because there is a light on the steering wheel that lights up when flags are called and he had a big yellow light. so it was clearly a yellow flag. 

if you're concerned about lando being able to pull it out of the bag, id like to point you in the direction of the mexican gp last year where lando qualified 17th and finished 5th. on a track that was hard to overtake on. he can be absolutely insane when he wants to be. worry not gentle reader. 

in any case. also out in q1 was daniel ricciardo, valtteri bottas, zhou guanyu and esteban ocon.

and notably, williams, who was on fucking fire this weekend as we already saw, finished q1 with alex albon in second (ahead of oscar) and franco colapinto in 8th. pierre gasly had somehow managed to also get into 4th. and nico hulkenberg was in 7th with ollie bearman in 13th. i told you the mid field battle was heating the hell up. 

q2. everyone zoomed straight out of the gate. they didn't want to get lando norris’d. but, speaking of that, if lando managed to get no points in the race and charles managed to win, charles would overtake lando in the drivers championship. mark webber himself told this to charles, who was absolutely baffled. 

in any case, charles was kinda suffering right now and that was because he was not getting slipstream from carlos to make his lap faster. meanwhile, carlos seemed to be actively trying to give charles the slipstream because he came on radio to say “he keeps missing the tow” 

and amazingly, franco colapinto was 4 tenths AHEAD of alex albon. alex albon who had not been unqualified by his teammate once since the start of 2023. ex red bull driver alex albon. that alex albon. 

max topped the times in q2, followed immediately by charles. insanely, fernando alonso managed to drag the aston martin to fifth. and franco was right behind him in 6th. by comparison alex albon was in 10th. 

and from q2 we lost ollie bearman, yuki tsunoda (who has never qualified lower than 8th in baku), pierre gasly, nico hulkenberg and lance stroll. so yes, ollie bearman managed to outqualify nico hulkenberg. this is ollies second ever f1 race. 

steaming on forward to q3. 

we had, for review, in q3 the following: 

both ferraris, both red bulls, both mercedes, both WILLIAMS (has not happened since vegas 2023), plus fernando alonso and oscar piastri. 

right out the gate it was wild. 

“red bull! theyve re found their mojo! or have they!” karun said. red bull were in 5th and 6th and not entirely sucking for the moment. 

everyone did one flyer and then came out at the end for a second flyer. 

here were the standings: 

charles, carlos, oscar, george, checo, max, lewis, alex, franco, fernando

and everyone was making it to the line and all was going smooth until-

wait a second what is that

could it be! alex albon! with the air box fan still on his car! surely not!!!

oh but it was! and harry and karun were like oh wow so unfortunate for williams tisk tisk

meanwhile ted jumped on the radio to Loudly announce to everyone that this was insane and if i have time here i will put the rant he ranted cause it was Fantastic.

and what do you know i have time

so we had 3 minutes left qualifying and everyone was pulling out of the pits for their last flyer when oscar hopped on the radio to say

"the williams still has the air box fan in"

"oh what an error! disaster for williams!" karun and harry said. they speculated if the marshalls could get it or if the session needed to be red flagged. but alex threw the fan off the car.

and then they asked "ted have you ever seen that before?" and ted did not hold back:

"ITS A MASSIVE YELLOW FAN HOW COULD YOU MISS IT???!!! HOW COULD THE MECHANICS MISS IT???? I CANT BELIVE THEY WOULD MAKE SUCH A MISTAKE DOWN AT WILLIAMS! SUCH AN EXPERIENCED BUNCH OF GUYS AND GIRLS! WHAT IS GOING ON AT WILLIAMS OPERATIONALLY? HOW COULD YOU SEND A CAR OUT LIKE THAT?"

alex, obviously, got fined for an unsafe release 5k euros. he also had to throw the fan off to the side and got slightly covered in dry ice. he did not get to the a second flying lap. 

franco did tho!

and here were out qualifying results: 

p1: charles p2: oscar p3: carlos p4: checo p5: george p6: max p7: lewis p8: fernando p9: franco p10: alex  p11: ollie p12: yuki p13: pierre p14: nico p15: lance p16: daniel  p17: lando p18: valtteri p19: zhou p20: esteban 

oh ho ho but we werent done yet. because pierre gasly got disqualified from qualifying. for failing fuel flow regulations. and lewis was going to have to start from the pit lane for changing his power unit. 

everyone, and by everyone i mean oscar max and checo, pretty much said that charles was going to get pole no matter what, they knew this coming in and the best they were trying for was second

onto the race. 

notably, this is considered a checo track. this was one of the three races that max did not win last year. because checo won it. its a track that he does well on, evidenced by the fact that he qualified above max in qualifying. so people were expecting big things from him.

and so, we head into lap 1.

charles managed to hang onto the lead. checo passed carlos straight out of the gate for third and max managed to pass george to take fifth. lando had managed to get ahead of nico and up into 13th. notably, franco held onto 8th and ollie was able to hold onto tenth. 

someone who was not doing well was lance stroll, who came on the radio saying that he had a puncture. this was from contact with yuki. lance had to pit for fresh tires and was pretty immediately thrown to the back of the grid. 

by lap 2 lando had managed to get past daniel and was in 12th, he was trying to get past yuki next, which he managed by lap 3. yuki also lost a  spot to nico. 

also slaying in the mclaren was oscar, who took fastest lap. then charles took fastest lap.

and lewis hamilton, who had started from the pit lane, was up to 16th. already. somehow. though he was displeased with the tires, sayig that “this tire is pretty bad” over the radio. 

yuki meanwhile was clearly having a problem because he had started going very very slowly. thought the pit wall said that he had no problems. this would later turn out to be false but we will indulge them for the time being. 

franco was STILL ahead of alex albon on lap 6. STILL. 

lando on lap 8 managed to push his way into points positions, overtaking ollie bearman for 10th. though this was where things were about to slow down for him because in front of him were alex, franco and fernando, who were all very close together and would be hard to get past. 

george was back in bad luck hell as a plastic bag entered his airbox. will he ever catch a break. 

on lap 11 nico hulkenberg finally caught up with ollie bearman and passed him for 11th. 

and max’s car was not working. to potentially no one’s surprise. “i have zero bite in the car” he said. and this was probably true because checo was a whole 6.5 seconds ahead of him. insane gap. 

several pit stops later that i will not detail out because we simply do not have the time, alex albon ended up in 4th and lando ended up in fifth. and oscar was about to get undercut by checo. 

“mojo seems to be back for checo perez” harry said, correctly. 

mojo was back for him indeed. and now he was right behind lando. 

and if you will recall, according to mclaren themselves, priority at mclaren is the team first, then oscar, then lando. but oscar was ahead of lando. so what did mclaren do? 

they asked lando do hold up perez, but not compromise his own race. 

remever a long time ago when i said mclaren wouldn't have any internal drama this season? man how i was wrong.

lando managed to hold up perez for around a lap or two before he got past. this was crucial because this was during when oscar was in the pits. 

thanks to lando and the power of the papaya rules teamwork, oscar ended up coming out in 4th, only .706s ahead of checo. 

mclaren are working together everyone! mclaren are working together!

meanwhile, turns out that yuki did indeed have problems because he retired on lap 17 with a hole in his sidepod from the contact with lance on lap 1. this was now two races in a row where he had had to retire for reasons out of his control. 

several more people pitted. and eventually charles was back out in front, oscar was in p2. until he wasn't. no, he didn't dnf. he overtook charles! he was in p1! he popped out of nowhere! nowhere being 2 car lengths back and just flooring it to spring around charles like a little silly slinky! karun called it a “good, fair and robust defense,” which sounds like its descibing notes in wine. but this was not wine. this was the baku gp. and we were only half done. 

ollie bearman was defending against lewis hamilton, holding on tightly to 14th place. 

charles was still behind oscar and he could not get past, despite the fact that he was still very much in spitting distance. “they are pushing like crazy or they have more grip than us” he said. 

carlos got past both lando and alex albon and was up into 4th

this brought max up behind lando. max was on 11 lap old tires and lando was on 24 lap old tires. but lando still defended like hell and managed to hold onto sixth. max was 0.632 seconds behind lando on lap 25 when he said that “my brakes are not working.” this was hardly a surprise. max has hated the car since china.

also experiencing technical difficulties was sir lewis hamilton. he was stuck down in 14th and was first told to do “everything you can do to get the surface temp down” of the tires. he said “im trying” then several laps later on lap 29 he came on the radio to say “are you seeing how i have to drive this thing?” “yes,” bono, his engineer said. “quite effective though.” 

max was still half a second behind lando. mclaren faked a pit stop call over the radio to get max to pit. he did not. 

but, george russell did manage to pass him. which was “not good for max’s world champion aspirations.”

this was also when ted very bafflingly said that “if i had a sofa in the pit lane i would be jumping up and down on it” im not sure what that was in response to. 

meanwhile, ollie was still holding off sir lewis hamilton. and charles was trying to get oscar to pit again by lying over the radio. it was not working. 

lando did a pit stop finally and came out a whole 15 second behind max. he was hoping to catch max by the end of the race. but it might be tight. lets go last lap lando. 

“lando, imagine andrea on your shoulder saying ‘zero wheel spin’ in every exit,” lando’s race engineer said. if you're confused, everyone else was too. 

10 laps to go and here were the order of affairs:

oscar

+.449s charles +1.865s checo +2.989s carlos +16.530s george  +1.909s max +11.535s lando +9.715s fernando +2.589s alex +2.451s nico +4.667s franco +1.590s lewis +1.261s ollie +1.791s pierre +9.205s daniel +23.919s esteban  +.789s lance +3.862s valtteri +3.631s guanyu 

lando was determined. he took fastest lap on lap 43 and was 8.8s behind max

at this point, the leaders were starting to lap the cars in the back. “the back markers are starting to come up,” checo’s engineer said to him. “its going to get messy.”

“hold onto your hats and if you don't have one go get one and hold onto it” harry said. harry would turn out to be correct. 

we had the top 3 all running very close to eachother, that was oscar, charles and checo and “welcome to the party carlos sainz!” who was now 1.2 seconds behind checo in the four way battle for the lead.

definitely not leading was lance stroll, who retired on lap 47 with a brake problem. 

oscar managed to pull ahead of charles by 1.5 seconds, finally knocking him out of DRS range. so now it was a three way battle for second. and charles had “no rear tires. no rear tires at all.” 

and, just like i said he would, lando managed to pass max on lap 49. he was closing the gap slowly in the championship. 

“verstappen’s day goes from bad to worse,” harry said. because lando still had fastest lap, so he would score 3 more points than max. which is important if lando wants to beat max in the championship (though i think hes still like 60 points behind)

meanwhile! franco managed to pass nico hulkenberg for 10th! he was in the points!!!! at his second race!!! 

but this was short lived because there was a crash! a big smackeroo! between carlos and checo!! checo was mad, carlos didn't know what happened. 

what happened was that carlos was trying to pass checo but checo did not move over. it was deemed an equal fault accident. both of them were utterly confused at what happened and apparently spent 20 minutes in the medical center being utterly lost and aparently saying that sometimes this sport sucks. and! contrary to what several people said! checo did not bang on carlos’s helmet after the crash. 

the crash actually caused chef's dad to have a heart attack. he is stable now.

and well. this clip of george from the post qualifying interviews definitely didnt age well:

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but! since we were a matter of a few laps from the end, this meant that the rest of the race was finished under a virtual safety car. 

which meant 

OSCAR PIASTRI WINS THE AZERBAIJAN GP

and george inherited p3! 

and on his own merit too! no safety cars, no team orders, no weird shit! 

“yes!” he whispered over the radio. 

he almost fell getting out of the car, then gave us all the “one moment” hand gesture before properly celebrating. 

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he also got driver of the day! 

(this was marginally better than george russell, who said over the radio “i cant get any rubber (to pick up on his tires) all im getting is leaves”)

gunther steiner also hosted the post race interviews. which was interesting. 

george said that the most difficult part of the race was “driving full gas into a wall of carbon fiber on the penultimate lap…the vsc should have come out sooner” 

charles bashed ferrari because they didn't do any high fuel runs in practice. 

oscar was entirely pleased. “i managed to overtake and hold onto it for the next 35 laps..one of the better races of my career.” and honestly, oscar winning a race straight after mclaren basically announcing that he was their number 2 driver is nothing short of hilarious.

and! mclaren was now leading the constructors championship by 20 points! for the first time in ten years!!!!

the top three had a moment outside of the car that was filled with baffled: 

and oscar's engineer tom got to stand on the podium with him. he usually takes a selfie with oscar after each race he podiums at, but he was too excited to so george took this picture for them

(george also aparently demomished oscar in a game of uno on the plane, immediately humbling him)

george also shielded himself from the champagne on the podium

the cooldown room reacted to the crash in a very straight forward manner:

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and very quickly cause its midnight and the singapore gp starts in 8 hours, the post race, speed ran: 

-mark webber told off laura winter for thinking that oscar didn't have good tire management

-alex albon was “super happy, that's a lot of points for us” (williams finished in 7th and 8th). he cut his own interview short when ollie bearman arrived, saying “I can go, im happy to go” and then waving comically. 

-williams was so pleased with this result they blasted everyone with champagne. and they overtook alpine in the constructors championship! this was also their best race finish all season

-(and a quick note, if youre going to really blame logan for being that shit of a driver here, please remember that the car he was driving was several rounds of upgrades behind alex's pretty much the entire time he was driving it)

-ollie became the first driver to ever score points in his first two races for two different constructors because the double dnf pushed him up to 10th place. he said that there was not much difference between the haas and the ferrari, the ferrari was just red

-franco continued to charm everyone and flirt with the reporters. 

-they interviewed george and lewis and the camera had to be adjusted for george's height. it was comical and resulted in my favorite edit so far of the season (sound on)

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-lando looked pleased and happy for once. he said about holding off checo that “i didn't hold him up i just had to cool my tires a little.” he was delighted to be leading the constructors for the first time in ten years and he defended alex albon saying “i struggled to get past alex for a while, which is common, alex doesnt make mistakes.” he also ratted on max for going to fast during the VSC and said “i didn't complain, facts were stated.” and to sum it all up he said that “im executing things well, i’m very quick…i’m not going to be the happiest guy, but i am never the happiest guy….car is performing well everywhere…some red cars behind us seem to be our biggest competitors right now” 

-by comparison george insulted all of pirelli. the tire people. “pretty infuriating that it (the pace) changes this so much….its black magic, people who make the tires don't understand the tires…..for 20 laps we had a car not worthy of points and for 20 laps we had a car fighting for victory and the only difference is the tires.” 

-lewis was notably upset after the race and walked through the paddock with his helmet on, not wanting to talk to anyone. but he did talk to franco and ollie and congratulate them on a job well done defending against him and racing against him. franco even fangirled over this on his instagram. 

-charles was clearly upset with ferrari. he was so upset he posted a thirst trap.

-and oscar. oscar was very happy this afternoon. and his mom was there! she doesnt usually come cause it scares her, but nicole was there today! 

-mclaren celebrated with a hell of a lot of champagne. both oscar’s wina and lando’s insane recovery, and the fact that they were leading the championship. red bull have been dethroned, at least for now. 

-there was so much champagne that lando took off his socks to spray it. all seems well at mclaren. 

-at least one thing is for sure, oscar had a better time here this weekend than last year when he got food poisoning and only ate four pieces of toast

and with that. we head into singapore. quite literally as it is starting in a few hours. again, i apologixe about this post. its a little sad, but the next one will be better. pinkly promise. 

see you all soon!!!

[yhwhrulz]

Charles Spurgeon's "Morning & Evening" Devotional for June 30

Morning

“The day of the Lord is great and very terrible.”

Joel 2:1-14

It is most probable that while Amos and Hosea were messengers from the Lord to Israel, Joel was prophesying in Judah. One of his most memorable prophecies relates to a plague of locusts which fell upon the land.

Joel 2:1

It was such a visitation as might well create alarm, and call to humiliation and prayer.

Joel 2:2

The locusts were so many that they clouded the sun and caused darkness at midday. Vast flights of these destructive creatures are not unusual in our day, but the prophet’s description relates to some special and unusual plague.

Joel 2:3

It is so; locusts devour every green thing as completely as a raging fire.

Joel 2:4 , Joel 2:5

The Italians call a locust cavalette, or little horse: they are for number, speed, order, and noise, very similar to troops of cavalry.

Joel 2:6 , Joel 2:8

The order with which they march is wonderful to the last degree; no disciplined troops could possibly preserve their ranks more accurately.

Joel 2:9

Nothing can turn them aside; their march is onward, over walls and fences, hills and valleys.

Joel 2:10

Such is the misery of the poor people who see the fruit of their fields devoured before their eyes by a remorseless and irresistible foe, that for them all things are full of terror, and they feel as if the end of the world were come.

Joel 2:11

Though unheard of human ear, their Commander-in-chief, even the Lord of Hosts, makes his voice to be heard by the dense battalions of devouring locusts, so that at his bidding they push forward in their awful course. Well might the prophet say, “Who can abide it?”

Joel 2:14

If anything could avert so terrible a calamity, prayer would do it. True repentance is the only way to remove the rod from any people. O Lord, help us to cast out our sins, lest they compel thee to chasten us with sore affliction. Accept us, for our hope is in thy Son.

When distractions, fear and doubt,

Come from all the world without,

And like locusts plague the soul,

Lord, do thou their power control.

When the clouds of grief and care,

Darken down into despair,

When by grief we are laid low,

Then thy gracious kindness show.

Evening

“There is one Mediator between God and man.”

2 Chronicles 26:1 , 2 Chronicles 26:4-8 , 2 Chronicles 26:16-21

In returning to the history of Judah, we are glad to find that a good king was placed upon the throne, and ruled for many years.

2 Chronicles 26:1 , 2 Chronicles 26:4

But he did not fall into idol-worship, as his father had so foolishly done. Children should follow their parents so far as they follow the commands of God, and no further.

2 Chronicles 26:5

God alone can give true prosperity; seeking the Lord with all our heart is the surest way to be blest.

2 Chronicles 26:8

He was a skilful man, and a great inventor of engines of war, besides being an excellent cultivator of the soil. The country rose to a high pitch of prosperity under his rule.

2 Chronicles 26:16

What a warning is this to prosperous Christians. When we are weak we lean upon the Lord and are safe, but when we are strong the temptation is to become self-important, and then a fall is near. More fall among the strong than among the timid and trembling. His offence was intrusion into the priestly office:

2 Chronicles 26:16

Most of the heathen kings united royalty and priesthood in their own persons, and Uzziah, no doubt, judged that it would strengthen his influence if he did the same, but in this he acted wickedly, and angered the Lord.

2 Chronicles 26:17 , 2 Chronicles 26:18

They boldly told the intruding king that his act was not right, and was not safe. Korah and his accomplices paid dear for offering incense, which was the work of the priests only, and the king would not find it to his honour to usurp their office. The incense of our prayers and praises must come up before the Lord from the hand of Jesus, our great Highpriest, or it can never be accepted by the Lord.

2 Chronicles 26:19

The Lord ended the controversy once for all; the king would not listen to the Lord’s word, and therefore was made to feel his hand. Woe unto those who pretend to offer a sacrifice for sin, now that the one offering of Jesus has put away transgression; the leprosy of heresy is on their brows even now; let us shun their company.

2 Chronicles 26:21

His punishment was merciful, for it gave him long space for repentance, but it was a suitable rebuke for his sin. He was proud, and the disease humbled him; he invaded the office of the priests, and became subject to their inspection, for they had the care of lepers; he coveted a dignity to which he had no right, and so lost the monarchy which was lawfully his. Let us reverence the priesthood of our Lord Jesus, and never dream of intruding into it.

Copyright Statement This resource was produced before 1923 and therefore is considered in the "Public Domain".

[motorspexx]

Koenigsegg Sadair's Spear - Full Tech Specs and Performance

Koenigsegg presents the Sadair’s Spear, a new benchmark in track-capable, road-legal hypercars. It delivers increased power, reduced weight, refined suspension, upgraded brakes, and advanced aerodynamics.

The name carries personal significance. Christian von Koenigsegg honors his father, Jesko, and the racehorse from his past: Sadair’s Spear.

At its core is a twin-turbocharged V8 engine paired with Koenigsegg’s flywheel-free Light Speed Transmission. Power output reaches 1,300 horsepower on standard fuel and 1,625 on E85, thanks to enhanced airflow, cooling, and calibration.

Weight reduction totals 35 kilograms, surpassing the One:1’s power-to-weight ratio and further improving handling and acceleration. Aerodynamic upgrades include a new top-mounted double-blade active rear wing,  extended rear design, and revised front aero elements.

These features increase downforce and cooling for sustained high-speed operation. Optimized air intakes and rear hood scoops improve engine breathing and thermal efficiency.

Underbody strakes and wheel arch louvres contribute to both stability and cooling airflow.

Sadair’s Spear rides on custom 7-spoke Aircore carbon fiber wheels with directional design and is fitted with track-oriented tires for superior grip. The suspension system includes lightweight springs and Koenigsegg’s Triplex dampers for responsive, stable cornering.

Braking is handled by upgraded multi-layer carbon-ceramic discs and high-performance pads, engineered for repeatable, fade-resistant stops.

Inside, the focus is on function. Lightweight carbon fiber seats are paired with standard three-point belts, or optional six-point harnesses.

All gear changes are managed through steering-mounted paddle shifters.

Weight savings extend throughout the interior, from revised materials to streamlined components.

Despite its minimalism, key Koenigsegg features remain—SmartCluster, SmartCenter, wireless charging, USB connectivity, Autoskin, and full parking assistance.

Initial testing at Gotland Ring confirmed the car’s potential. Sadair’s Spear beat the Jesko Attack’s lap record by 1.1 seconds—proof of its capability on the track.

[reenamehtacollege]

BCA Course and Top BCA Colleges in India – Why Reena Mehta College in Mumbai is a Great Choice

If you're a student exploring the best options after 12th in the IT or computer science domain, then BCA—Bachelor of Computer Applications—might be the perfect course for you. With the growing demand for skilled IT professionals in India and abroad, choosing the right BCA college can shape your entire career path. In this blog, we’ll dive into what a BCA course is, the best BCA colleges in India, and especially focus on why Reena Mehta College in Mumbai stands out as one of the best BCA colleges in Mumbai and in India overall.

What is a BCA Course?

The BCA course (Bachelor of Computer Applications) is a three-year undergraduate program focused on the basics of computer applications and software development. This degree is designed for students interested in the IT industry and includes training in areas such as:

Programming languages (C++, Java, Python)

Database management

Networking

Web development

Software engineering

Students often compare the BCA degree in India with B.Tech in Computer Science. While both are valuable, BCA offers a more software-focused curriculum and is typically more accessible in terms of eligibility and cost.

BCA Course Details

Here’s a breakdown of the typical BCA course details:

Duration: 3 years (6 semesters)

Eligibility: 10+2 from any recognized board with minimum 45–50% marks

Subjects: Programming, Networking, Data Structures, DBMS, Software Engineering

Career Opportunities: Software Developer, Web Designer, System Analyst, Network Administrator

BCA Course Fees in India

The BCA course fees can vary significantly based on the college and location. In most government colleges, the annual fees range between ₹15,000–₹40,000, while private colleges may charge anywhere between ₹50,000 to ₹1,50,000 per year. Reena Mehta College offers one of the most affordable fee structures for quality BCA education in Mumbai.

Top BCA Colleges in India

India has many prestigious institutions offering BCA, including:

Christ University, Bangalore

Symbiosis Institute of Computer Studies, Pune

Loyola College, Chennai

Madras Christian College

Presidency College, Bangalore

However, for students looking for an affordable yet high-quality BCA program, especially in Maharashtra, Reena Mehta College ranks among the top BCA colleges in India for its infrastructure, faculty, and placement record.

Best BCA Colleges in Mumbai

Mumbai, being an educational and IT hub, houses several reputed BCA colleges. Some of the best BCA colleges in Mumbai include:

NMIMS (Narsee Monjee)

Mithibai College

St. Xavier’s College

Reena Mehta College

Among these, Reena Mehta College is quickly rising as a preferred destination for BCA aspirants due to its industry-relevant curriculum, excellent faculty, and strong placement cell.

Why Choose Reena Mehta College for BCA?

Let’s look at why Reena Mehta College should be your top choice when searching for BCA colleges near me or the best placement colleges for BCA in India.

1. UGC-Recognized BCA Degree in India

Reena Mehta College offers a UGC-approved BCA degree in India, ensuring that your qualification is nationally and internationally recognized. This makes it easier for students to pursue higher studies or apply for jobs globally.

2. Modern Infrastructure and Labs

The college is equipped with modern computer labs, high-speed internet, and smart classrooms. This enhances practical learning, making students industry-ready by the time they graduate.

3. Expert Faculty

One of the strong suits of Reena Mehta College is its experienced and highly qualified faculty. With professors from top universities and real-world industry experience, students receive both academic and practical insights into the IT world.

4. Affordable BCA Course Fees

Compared to many other BCA colleges in Mumbai, Reena Mehta College maintains reasonable course fees without compromising on education quality. It is ideal for students seeking value-for-money education.

5. Industry Connections and Placement Support

When it comes to best BCA placement colleges in India, Reena Mehta College has earned its reputation through consistent placements in top IT firms, startups, and MNCs. The placement cell actively organizes:

Campus interviews

Industrial visits

Internship programs

Soft skill and resume-building workshops

Best Placement Colleges for BCA in India: Where Reena Mehta College Stands Out

Students often prioritize colleges that offer strong job placements. Reena Mehta College has proven itself to be one of the best placement colleges for BCA in India by collaborating with companies like:

TCS

Infosys

Wipro

Capgemini

Tech Mahindra

This placement support makes Reena Mehta College one of the top BCA colleges in India, especially for students aiming to secure a job immediately after graduation.

BCA Colleges in Mumbai: The Advantage of Location

Studying in Mumbai gives BCA students direct access to a city that’s home to many IT companies, startups, and innovation hubs. As a student of Reena Mehta College, located strategically in this vibrant city, you’ll benefit from:

Tech meetups and seminars

Internship opportunities in leading firms

Exposure to the real-world work environment

BCA Course Colleges in Mumbai: How to Choose the Right One?

If you're researching BCA course colleges in Mumbai, consider these factors:

Accreditation and recognition

Course curriculum and electives

Faculty profile

Fees and scholarships

Campus and infrastructure

Internship and placement record

Reena Mehta College checks all these boxes and provides holistic development for students who are serious about building a career in IT.

Why Reena Mehta College is Among the Best BCA Colleges in India

What sets Reena Mehta College apart from other BCA colleges in India?

Innovative Curriculum: Focus on emerging technologies like AI, Data Science, and Cybersecurity

Skill-based Learning: Emphasis on project-based assignments and hackathons

Flexible Learning: Opportunities for self-paced certifications and MOOCs

Career Counselling: One-on-one guidance for career planning and higher education abroad

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[mytastessuck]

The Ghost Of Hope

RIP Hardy Fox. This was his last album before his death seven years ago. It's about train wrecks...fitting.

Because train wrecks are horrifying and awesome.

Have you noticed how all the other albums after Bunny Boy has been mostly instrumentals? Well, The Residents were touring during that time doing shows at art installations and they were using their music to create an atmosphere for the performances. And Mush-Room, like I said, was created for a stage room.

According to Homer Flynn, the spokesperson, The Residents wanted to do a train album for years...fifty years, apparently, before they focused on a concept. A concept that came to them by searching for a book on Amazon called Death By Train that detailed trainwrecks from the late 1800s to the early 1900s via newspaper articles. They used 10-12 articles from the book to inspire lyrics from the album.

Hardy, while he was Charles, talked about creating album in 2014 but he was distracted by touring commitments. He was going to release it in 2015 but the Shadowland tour kept pushing it back so he left the group out of boredom. The album apparently now only has bits and pieces of what he wrote...he admitted he barely played on it.

Homer says the album is a throwback to Eskimo, given it having an overarching theme and narrative and needing the booklet to understand the crashes. I'll try to explain them as we go but if I can't find anything...you're on your own.

Let's get started.

Horrors Of The Night

Damn, this is creepy...who knew that an album about trainwrecks would be so spooky? Doing some research, I think this is about the Train Wreck of 1896 where the car slid back and killed one man and injured another. Several people saw it happen and...couldn't do anything. Yeesh.

8/10

2. The Crash At Crush

According to Wikipedia, the Crash at Crush was a publicity stunt in Texas where two trains were crashed into each other at high speed. There was no admission charged and train fares were lessened to get people to see the show. 40,000 people showed up, more than the second largest city in the United States had in 1896. Those who have any idea about how debris works knows why this was a stupid idea...two people died and there were numerous injuries. The song has a good part where the crowd cheers...and then they don't. It's effective.

9/10

3. Death Harvest

I don't know what this one is about but poor Winsor and...the train that did something to him. I dunno, I wanna focus on the music. I don't feel like looking up the lyrics.

8/10

4. Shroud of Flames

Also lost on this one but it's my favorite song on the album. Good imagery and good use of guitar with percussion. And the horns...almost makes you want to get in a wreck yourself.

10/10

5. The Great Circus Train Wreck of 1918

Okay, I heard of this one before I heard the album. Hammond Circus Train Wreck...one of the worst in US history. Killed eighty-six people when the engineer fell asleep, around the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus. The show was cancelled. The perspective from the clown is haunting.

10/10

6. Train Vs. Elephant

Oh, I also knew this story before the album...but from another album entirely.

Ever hear of mewithoutyou? They're another art rock who started out in Evangelical Christian circles before moving on to broader work, although I'm not sure if they practice the religion themselves. Anyway, they have a concept album called Ten Stories that details a trainwreck of a circus caravan caused by an elephant who was trying to rescue the other animals from a life of servitude. There's a song in there that is one of my favorites from their discography that details the elephant's reasoning...and draws from two real life events.

In real life, there are two separate incidents in which an elephant was tried and hung. This real life story...isn't one of them. On September 17, 1894, an elephant stood on the tracks and defiantly refused to move. Because it was fucking big and really tough, it managed to derail the train by having it smash into it. It killed the elephant and destroyed the cars. Some say it did because to protect its herd from the "iron beast"...kind of like the elephant in the above song based on the crash of the Benjamin Wallace Circus in 1922 which inspired the above song. So why am I talking about here? When else can I do it?

8/10

7. Killed At A Crossing

If I had to guess what this about, I'll go with the Hatfield Train Wreck of 1900. It was a milk train that killed 13 people on the way to Philadelphia (Philly mention!). The song mentions how bodies flew from the wreck as described in the newspaper...so it is that wreck. I was right.

8/10

Album Score: 87/100

Next up is Intruders. See you then for the first of the final three.

[jarrattvafyi]

The Richmond Virginian, July 9, 1916

THE RICHMOND VIRGINIAN RICHMOND, VA., SUNDAY, JULY 9, 1916. VOL. VII.— No. 162.

Automobile struck by train; three are instantly killed

Dr. O. C. Wright and Sons of two Jarratt Merchants Victims of A.C.L. Freight

VICTIM'S BODIES ARE THROWN SIXTY FEET

Bodies Taken Back Home on Train Leaving Richmond at 4 o'Clock — Dr. Wright High in Medical Circles

(Special to the Richmond Virginian.)

Jarratt, Va., July 8— Dr. O. C. Wright, the most widely known and prominent physician of this section, and two children, Clifford Brown, 10 years of age, and John Partridge, 9 years of age, were instantly killed this afternoon about ?:30 o'clock, when a northbound Atlantic Coast Line freight train struck his automobile while crossing the track at Owens' store between Jarratt and Stony Creek. The boys were the sons of C. M. Brown and Hunter Partridge, merchants here.

The train hit the machine, a terrific blow, throwing Dr. Wright and the two boys a distance of more than sixty feet. The car itself was not damaged as much as would be expected, considering the force of the impact. Shortly after the accident, the Atlantic Coast Line train leaving Richmond at 4 o'clock brought the bodies to Jarratt, and they were taken to the home of Dr. Wright.

Dr. Wright, who was forty-five years old, had been a long resident of Jarratt, and he enjoyed the highest reputation. He was regarded as a man of lofty ideals and of excellent character, his position in the community being the highest.

Was prominent in state.

A native of Pittsylvania County, Dr. Wright received his medical education in Baltimore, coming to Jarratt twenty-three years ago. With his residence his reputation grew, and he soon became the leading physician of this county. He was a man of great ability, and has served as a member of numerous medical societies of the State. Until his tragic death he was a member of the board of medical examiners, the State Board of Health and an ex-president of the Virginia State Medical Society.

Dr. Wright married Miss Emma Brown, a daughter of a Baptist minister, who with one daughter, Miss Lucy Wright, survives him. He also has three brothers, Dr. F. J. Wright, of Petersburg, Dr. Christian Wright, of Fruitland, Idaho, and Joseph Wright, of red Falls, Mont.: Three Sisters, Mrs. P. A. Mahen, of Danville; Mrs. W. G. Hundley, of Callends, and Miss Susie Wright of Sandy Hill, and his father, Dryden Wright, of Pittsylvania County. Dr. Wright was affiliated with the Centenary Methodist Church of Jarratt.

The accident occurred at Owens' store, between Jarratt and Stony Creek. Just at the railroad crossing, and very near the tracks, the store is located. It is said that Dr. Wright was driving at a fair rate of speed, and as he came to the railroad his attention was distracted by two approaching machines.

Being behind the store, he had not seen the oncoming freight and was not aware of it until he was at the crossing. He immediately made an effort to turn his machine out to ditch it, but before he could accomplish this the train had struck the automobile, hurling the occupants of the car sixty feet, killing them instantly.

The engineer of the locomotive said that as soon as he saw the automobile he at once applied the brakes, but it was then too late. On account the store right at the tracks, the engineer said he did not get a view of the machine until it was at the crossing. Although, he said, he did everything he could, he found it impossible to prevent striking the automobile.

The southbound train from Richmond arrived on the scene shortly after the accident, and the three bodies were taken to the home of Dr. Wright.

The boys, sons of merchants here, had been taken up by Dr. Wright for the ride with him, and their bodies were turned over to their parents. An inquest the accident will be held by the corner, it is thought, on Monday. No arrangements have as yet been made for the funeral.

It was stated the train that struck Dr. Wright was a special freight, and its speed was not over the regular rate, about thirty miles an hour.

-------------

No author was noted; found on the front page of the Richmond Virginian, July 9th, 1916.

[ilearnedthistodaysblog]

#1079 What is the difference between volts, amps, ohms, and watts?

What is the difference between volts, amps, ohms, and watts? Volts measure the difference in electrical force between two points. Amps measure the flow of electricity. Ohms measure the resistance of the material. Watts measure electrical power. The volt is named after Alessandro Volta, who built the first electric battery. Volta lived from 1745 to 1827 and he was an Italian physicist and chemist. He spent his life experimenting with electricity and he made several discoveries that furthered the field. One of the most important things he discovered was probably his battery and he proved that electricity could be created chemically. Before that, people believed electricity was only generated by living beings. The volt was named in his honor in 1861, long after Volta had passed away. The amp is named after André-Marie Ampère, who was the first person to explain the connection between electricity and magnetism. Ampère lived from 1775 to 1836 and he was a French physicist and mathematician. Ampère wasn’t the first person to discover that an electric current could move a magnetic needle. That was a Danish physicist called Hans Christian Orsted. Ampère was the first person to produce papers explaining it mathematically with a law called Ampère’s law. He died in 1836 and the ampere (shortened to amp) was named after him in 1881. The ohm is named after Georg Simon Ohm, who managed to work out the relationship between voltage, current, and resistance, which is called Ohm’s Law. Ohm lived from 1789 to 1854 and he was a German physicist and mathematician. The ohm was named after him in 1861. The watt is named after James Watt, who drastically improved the steam engine and was instrumental in the Industrial Revolution. Watt lived from 1736 to 1819 and he was a Scottish scientist, mechanical engineer, and inventor. The steam engine had been invented by Thomas Newcomen, but it was very inefficient and lost a huge amount of its energy was lost heating the engine cylinder, which then had to be cooled to condense the steam. Watt worked out that having the steam condense in a separate chamber would allow the engine cylinder to remain hot and would vastly cut the wasted heat and improve the efficiency. For this reason he is known as one of the fathers of the Industrial Revolution and the watt was named after him in 1889. So, what are the volt, the amp, and the watt? A volt is a measurement of electric potential, which is the difference in electricity between point A and point B. It can be likened to the pressure of the electricity because electricity flows from an area of high pressure, where there are a Iot of electrons, to an area of low pressure, where there aren’t many electrons. The greater the difference the more force the electricity will move with. An amp is a measurement of the flow of an electric current in a system, such as in a cable. Amps measure how many electrons are flowing along the cable. The faster the electricity is moving, the more amps it has. A watt is a measurement of how much electricity is used, or how much work is done per second. To work out watts, you have to multiply volts by amps. The difference between the three is more easily explained by using the analogy of water flowing through pipes. If you have a tank of water with a hosepipe attached to it, the water in the tank represents volts. It is high pressure and is going to move to an area where there is low pressure. The speed with which the water flows through the hosepipe represents the amps. If the water in the tank is under higher pressure (more volts) the water is going to move faster (more amps). If the hose is wider, you can have more water speed without as much initial pressure. If the hose is narrower, you will need more water pressure. The ohms are the resistance from the sides of the hose pipe. The rougher the hosepipe is, the more resistance there will be on the flow of water. If there is more resistance, you need more water pressure to overcome it and have the same flow rate. The watts are whatever you use the water from the hosepipe to do. If you use the flow of water to turn a waterwheel, then the amount of pressure in the tank and the speed of the water will dictate how quickly and how much the waterwheel will move. And this is what I learned today. Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Ohm https://www.eia.gov/kids/history-of-energy/famous-people/ohm.php https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Watt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr-Marie_Ampre https://nationalmaglab.org/magnet-academy/history-of-electricity-magnetism/pioneers/andre-marie-ampere https://www.aydemperakende.com.tr/en/blog/the-life-and-inventions-of-alessandro-volta https://www.pumptec.com/blog/difference-between-volts-and-amps https://www.abelectricians.com.au/what-is-the-difference-between-volts-amps-watts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alessandro_Volta https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/question501.htm https://www.electricalclassroom.com/difference-between-volts-and-amps-vs/ Read the full article