#What's next? Lando officially being Carlos' +1?

[ehcahache]

Is that... What I think it is??

Is that an actual Christmas tree and not the stick minimalist "tree"???

[mywritersmind]

ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR - LN4

↳ pt.4

summary : A week of not so secret flirting, drunken parties, and being surrounded by your best friends; it ends with a promise and a kiss.

og summary : Its the vacation of your dreams! With your best friends, rich men, live music, and flowing drinks, nothing can ruin it. Even if a certain Formula 1 driver (who seems to have an affinity for annoying you) is there every step of the sandy way.

listen up : suggestive comments!! kissing! language!! all done <33 thanks for all the love recently i truly love you all. final part pt.1 pt.2 pt.3

word count : 3324 + tiny bit of smau

⋆｡‧˚⋆

My feet are freezing but my torso is warm. My head hurts and when I move to sit up in bed, I'm yanked back down by a weight over my waist.

What? I eye the arm over me and trail it all the way to the man next to me. No.

I practically throw his arm off me but he doesn’t wake up, just stirs a bit and tugs on the blanket. It moves down his bare chest to reveal his tanned abs.

I’m in my pajamas. My hair is knotted. My head is pounding. I hit Lando with a pillow.

“Norris!”

He groans, turning away from me and mumbling. Once he realizes the person yelling at him is in his bed, he blinks at me. “What could be so important that you’re waking me up by pillow?” His morning voice is deep and scratchy.

“What the fuck am I doing here!?” I remember going out. I don’t remember making my way into Lando’s bed!

He rolls his eyes then closes them. I hit him again, “Hey!”

“Lando!” I yell again, then my hand goes to my mouth and my eyes widen, “We didn’t…”

He looks genuinely offended, “Give me some credit, Pretty. You’d know.” His arms go to the back of his head, a slight smirk on his face.

I screw my face up, “You’re disgusting.”

“You’re the one who brought it up.” I hit him again, “Okay! Okay! You came here to get your purse but you were shit drunk and wouldn’t leave.”

Shit. “Oh.” I do not recall this at all. I cross my arms. “You couldn’t have slept on the couch?”

“You crashed my bed!” I remember him calling me beautiful.

I groan and stand up, pulling my hair up and finally spotting my purse. The floor is freezing and I can feel Lando’s eyes on me as I cross his room.

“You really don’t remember anything from last night?” I turn back so see him leant over the bed, the comforter dangerously low on his waist.

I turn back and pretend to look in my bag, “I don’t remember anything after my third shot and you dancing with that girl.” I know it’s the wrong thing to say right as it leaves my mouth.

“Oh… So you got drunk because you were jealous.” I don’t need to turn around to know he’s smirking.

“Goodbye Lando.” I make my way to the door.

“You’re not denying it!” He yells after me.

I shake my head and grab the door handle, “Truce, Norris. Don’t forget it!”

⋆༺

My friends and I meet for breakfast, gossiping about the locals and everything that happened last night. “You didn’t answer when I knocked this morning.” Rebecca looks at me while stirring her coffee.

“Hot night?” Alex teases as I make eye contact with Lily who’s smirking.

“I must have just been asleep…” My tone is less than convincing and me being late to breakfast didn’t help either. “You can’t freak out.”

I tell them about waking up next to Lando, their jaws dropped and their hands paused on utensils. Lily is the least shocked but definitely the most disappointed when I share that I didn’t have sex with him.

“Ok i’m officially freaking out!” Kika drops her fork, shaking her head as I prepare for the million questions they have for me.

⋆༺

LANDO

“Last day!” Pierre claps his hands together as we walk down the streets of turkey. The girls’ absence is very noticeable because my friends are fully attentive this morning.

“I’m sad.” Carlos sighs, “I don’t want to go back to real life.”

“I’m excited to go back!” Alex shrugs, looking around the white buildings, “I miss my cat.”

“I don’t know.” I say, “I've enjoyed this trip a lot. But I do need a break from you muppets.”

Charles hits my arm, “You only enjoyed it so much because you finally stopped toying around with Y/n.”

“Truth!” Pierre laughs, “I think you two are a great addition to the group. I mean you’re already in it but now everyone has a couple.

I eye him. “We’re not a couple. She barely likes me as it is.”

Carlos shakes his head, “Mate… She definitely likes you more than ‘barely’. Y/n may be strong willed but I've never seen her blush so much.”

I roll my eyes and pretend like that doesn’t make me like her more. “We’re friends. I think.”

“You think?” Charles raises a brow.

“I guess.” I say.

“Lando!” Carlos practically screams and slaps his hands down on my shoulders, “You need to ask her out.”

“I’m not asking her out! She’s scary as fuck.”

“Pussy.” Pierre and Alex cough at the same time as I side eye them.

“You’re just scared she’s gonna reject you.” Carlos says in my ear as I elbow him in the stomach, “Ow!”

“Fuck off and let’s go.”

⋆༺

YOU

I know he’s staring at me. I know he’s not trying to cover it up. I know he wants me to look back.

And I know I look good as hell.

“Norris!” Carlos calls from the water, “Come on!”

Lando doesn’t respond so I assume he shook his head because I don’t hear him getting up. I open my eyes and tilt my sunglasses down just as a smile breaks out on Lando’s face.

I suddenly understand the extent of why women fall at his feet. He’s got glasses on but his smile makes me want him to break my heart.

“Wanna go swim?”

I’m laying on my stomach so I rest my head against my warm arm and respond, “Go swim with Carlos.”

He rolls his eyes, “I don’t want to swim with Carlos.”

“Too bad. So sad.” I close my eyes again as I hear him mumble something under his breath.

“Wanna talk about your little jealously streak then?”

I sit up and face the water, “You’re one to talk.” He gives me a look to which I pull my sunglasses back on my head to fully look at him, “You gave that waiter a death glare!”

“He was being weird.”

I shake my head and laugh, “He was asking if I wanted parmesan!”

Lando does not look amused, playing around with his camera, “Parmesan is just where it starts…”

“So what? It’s cheese then asking to fuck me?”

He crosses his arms on the tanning chair, “Exactly.”

I breathe out, looking out at our friends in the water and the clear skies. “You shouldn’t care about that, Lando.”

“I can’t help it.” He shuffles around, snapping a few pictures as he nonchalantly says, “You looked good in my bed.”

I turn to him again, trying to actually see if he’s being serious but his face doesn’t crack into a smile. I’m speechless. And it’s embarrassing. “I- No.” I place my feet onto the sand and quickly stand, pulling off my sarong as I walk down the beach.

He follows me, of course he does.

“Don’t hide, Pretty. You blushing because of me is a lovely sight.” His fucking smile, god!

I’m frustrated that I can’t act cool around him all of the sudden, “Why don’t you look at the very beautiful ocean right in front of us!?”

He doesn’t even glance at the view, “I prefer you.”

My lips pull together in a thin line, “I can’t stand you.”

“I have a sneaking suspicion…” he steps forward and whispers, “that you can.”

I swallow and accidentally make eye contact with Lily who is smirking at us. I know they can’t hear what he’s saying but it still makes me nervous. “I’m sorry for last night.” It’s all I can think to say.

“I think we already established that it was no problem.” Right because he liked me in his bed! Kill me now. “Don't worry. We’ll have a redo soon enough.”

He starts walking away from me as I gasp, “A redo!? Lando what do you mean!?”

He starts walking backward, slowly. “One on both our terms? One with two sober attractive people?” He raises a brow.

I cross my arms but honestly want to laugh. I walk closer, “Keep dreaming, Norris.”

“It’s called manifesting, actually!” Is all he says before picking me up and slinging me over his shoulder. It takes me so off guard that I can’t help my scream.

“Lando!”

I can hear the smirk in his voice, his hands gripping my legs, “Scream my name, Pretty.”

⋆༺

LANDO

I’m looking at her again.

A little less admiring this time because i’m holding back a laugh as she tries to take Pierre down in a game of chicken.

She’s on Carlos’ shoulders while Charles has Pierre sat on his. Everyone is laughing around us as they watch the four.

I don’t even realize the man next to me until he clears her throat, “Hey man.” He’s american.

“Hi.” I think he’s going to ask for picture or something but then he looks up at Y/n and I get a sick sort of feeling that this is my karma for teasing her.

He looks back at me and gives me a cheesy grin, “I’m Nate.”

I nod slowly, “Hi Nate.”

“Mine telling me your friend's name?” Ok rude. He didn’t even ask for mine. I hate him.

“Carlos?” I blink, pointing to the man.

Nate laughs a bit awkwardly, “Nah man… The hot girl on his shoulders.”

“Oh.” I eye him, my disdain obvious, “That’s Y/n.”

“Y/n, huh? She single?” I give him a look to which he looks frightened at, His hand goes to my shoulder and I fight the urge to step back, “Shit! She’s not your girl, is she?”

“Um…” Everything in me wants to say yes. “No. No she’s not.”

He hums, “Right… I know that look. I’ll back off, I get it.” He’s grinning like he knows all my secrets, “Sorry to bother you.” I think he’s going to leave but he stops, “Man also- in my experience, it’s not a good sign, guys asking you about her.”

He leaves.

What the fuck? I finally get the girl to tolerate me and now everyone thinks I'm supposed to fall at her feet and beg her?

Yeah I'll do it.

⋆༺

YOU

The day has flown by, with the sun burning us one last time and our lunch at the best local place where the chef adores us. I’m sad to go. Even If we still have this last night.

Dinner is slow and quiet, we’re all pretty tired but comment on little things around us.

I’m in a long dark blue dress, my favorite for our last night. Lando’s next to me and by the end of our dinner, he rests his head on my shoulder. I say nothing because I like his closeness.

Kika clears her throat, “This was an amazing trip and I'm very glad I got to enjoy it with you lot. I’m very very thankful for everyone here, and how our little group operates.”

Pierre rubs her back, “I’m thankful for hotel beds. And mojitos and sunscreen.” I laugh as Alex starts.

“I’m grateful for fish and sunglasses.”

Lily shakes her head, “I’m thankful for my lovely friends and for all the amazing food we ate! Plus me beating Lando in golf.”

Lando groans next to me, “I’ll get you one day, Lil.”

I smile, “I’m grateful for the ocean! And boat rides and night swims.”

“I’m grateful for spas and books!” Alexandra joins in.

Charles smiles at her lovingly, “I’m thankful for friends and cooking classes.” God that seems like forever ago.

“I’m thankful for golf as well!” Carlos grins, “And wine.”

Rebecca laughs and squeezes his hand, “I’m grateful for morning yoga and sunsets.”

Lando doesn’t sit up when it’s his turn, just stays resting on my shoulder, “I’m thankful for my camera and all the pretty views I've captured.” His foot nudges mine.

I blink, looking down at him as he just stares forward. Kika grins and holds up her glass, “To us!” I join as we all hold up our respective drinks.

“To us!” We repeat and cheers, Lando’s head leaving my shoulder as he holds up his water.

“You know…” Pierre looks around at us, “I’m not very tired.”

Carlos grins and taps his finger against the table, “It’s our last night…”

Lily laughs and stands, “Beach bar!”

⋆༺

The thought of drinking makes me feel sick so I stick to water. Lando is nursing a drink but it’s the same one I've seen him with all night.

I catch his eye while he’s talking to the bartender, he smiles softly and makes his way over to me immediately.

“Hi.” Hi? I don’t think Lando’s ever said Hi to me.

“Hello…?”

He leans against the bar as the music gets louder, “Fun night?”

I nod, sipping my water as someone bumps into us. He drunkenly apologizes before Lando looks at me again, “Want to go for a walk?”

I find walking down the beach at night with Lando far too often… Not that i’m complaining.

His drink is gone and his shoes are in his hand as mine are in mine, “Accomplish everything you wanted to?”

“Accomplish?” I laugh, “Do you go to every vacation with a to-do list?”

He shrugs shyly, “Maybe a mental one. Like I knew I needed to jet ski. I didn’t know it would end up with an attempted drowning…”

I scoff and hit his arm, “I wish your dramatic ass did drown.”

He just grins, “You’re remarkably bad at lying.”

I shake my head, looking back at him, “It’s something about you… You call me out on everything.”

“Because it’s so easy to catch. Even if you’re joking… you bite your lip a bit. No matter the lie.”

I frown, “You notice things like that?”

He looks past me at the water, then back to me. His face is shaded but the moonlight helps see his features, “I notice a lot of things about you.”

“If you told me that a week ago… I would have laughed in your face.”

“It didn’t just start this week. You just avoided me at every chance you got before this trip, but you’re hard to miss.”

I’m walking backwards now, looking at his loose button down and his hand in his pocket, “Are you saying you watched me, Norris?”

“I don’t think you understand that you’re very interesting to watch.” I go to speak but he cuts me off, “And don’t you dare call me creep. I know you do it too.”

I smile, “I’m grateful for you, Lando.”

His brows raise, “Am I being pranked…?” He comes to a stop as I push his shoulder back.

“I am. You bug the good out of me.”

He sets down his shoes, the music and lights from the beach bar far away but still seen and heard softly. “I’m glad you think so.”

It surprises me when his hand goes to my waist, “What are you doing?” I say quickly.

“Humor me.” Is all he says as his other hand meets my waist for the second time. I move my arms to his shoulders, my hand behind his head.

“Do you dance with all your friends by moonlight?” We sway a bit together.

He smiles again, his eyes so bright even in the dark, “I can tell you in confidence that this is a Y/n special. But you hurt me a bit.”

I raise a brow, “What?”

“Friendzoned while thinking about kissing you isn’t a fun thing.” My heart rate starts up.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“Go out with me. When we get back.” I watch him talk so close to me, “No hostess forcing us together or shitty small talk. Come on, Pretty. For real.” He’s so beautiful and so nice and so funny.

“We don’t live close. Lando, you travel-”

“Fuck that. I’m asking you on a date in Monaco because I like you, a lot. If nothing else was in the way, what would you say?” He seems almost nervous and it makes me smile because he never shows this side of him.

“I would say yes.” I can’t help it. “But those things are very real and…”

“And?” He raises a brow, a smile replacing his nervous face.

I can’t help but smile, “And I like you. Maybe too much…” this makes his grin widen. “But still!”

“I can fly. I don’t know if you know this…” he leans in closer to whisper in my ear, “But I have some extra money.”

I pretend to push away but he holds me tight, “One date.”

He nods, repeating my words, “One date.”

“Our friends will freak out.”

“They’ll love it.”

“I know they will.” I shake my head, “I swear this was just a ploy to get us together.”

He laughs, “It worked, didn’t it?”

I laugh with him because he’s correct. I started this week with a bad attitude and a need for sun. I’m leaving it with a pretty boy and tanned skin.

“You still don’t know a lot about me.” We sway.

Lando shrugs, our faces extra close now, “I know you can talk for hours. I’ll listen.”

And I know he’s not lying.

“I’m annoying a lot of the time.”

He nods far too theatrically, “Trust me, I know!” I step on his foot but he just uses it as a way to bring me closer. I can hear his breathing and when I meet his eyes again, they’re soft and kind, “One more thing.”

“Go for it, Norris.” I’m whispering but I don’t know why.

There’s no one around, just the faint sound of music and waves crashing. “Can I kiss you?” It’s something so simple that I want to cry.

I smile, “You’re lucky you’re pretty, Norris.” He gives me a look, “Yes, Lando. You can kiss me anytime.”

And so he does.

⋆༺

LANDO

She smells like coconuts and tastes like mint. Her lips are soft against mine.

Our first kiss was on this beach, but it was different. It was hungry and intrigued. I was drunk and she was ethereal.

Now, she’s still beautiful but I'm not drunk. She’s soft. Does that make sense? It makes sense to me. She’s soft against me, his hands brush my neck and cheek, I can feel her smile against me.

Her kiss is something writers dream about and something I’ve imagined in a million different scenarios.

The start of this trip, my main goal was to tease and bug her until she broke. My goal now has been fulfilled with her promise of a real date and her kissing me like I actually mean something to her.

I like that I mean something to her.

She pulls back, her hands on my neck and in my hair, “You’re really beautiful too, you know.” Her lipgloss is smudged and her dress is getting wrinkled under my touch.

I take her in, every inch of her. I want to burn this moment in my brain forever. I haven’t stopped smiling for hours and it’s all because of her. “You’re amazing.”

She laughs, “You don’t have to one up my compliment.” I really didn’t mean to even try.

“I’m serious.” Her face tells me she understands suddenly, “Thank you, Y/n. You really are my favorite surprise this trip.”

She smiles, her hand on my chest, “I never believed our friends. They used to say how great we’d be together.”

“They’re geniuses and I owe them my life.” I shrug as she laughs my favorite laugh in the world: the one where I make her head drop and her teeth show.

“I’m sorry I ever was mean to you.”

“That’s alright…” I push back a strand of her hair, “Everyone needs a bit of foreplay.”

LANDONORRIS

landonorris DUMP FROM MARMARIS!! I miss it and I hate the rain.

username262 : TAN LANDO IS BACK

↳ username32 : he’s literally always tan i’m jealous

yourusername : 😊☀️

↳ landonorris :😋🫵

↳ username123 : what…?

username01 : who is the girl lando??

↳ username44 : his friend!! him and some drivers + girlfriends were on the trip

↳ username56 : interesting that they were the only single ones there…

pierregasly : let’s go back

charlesleclerc : alexandra is already planning another one (this time as a true couples trip)

↳ landonorris : WOAHHH SHHH

landofan4 : she’s sooo pretty istg how do these men pull these women!?

↳ username628 : they’re not even confirmed??

↳ username25 : trust me they will be in a month.

carlossainz : maybe you won’t suck at golf next time

↳ lilymunihe : not likely.

kikagomez : treat her poorly and i’ll punch you

↳ yourusername : punch him!

↳ landonorris : i haven’t even done anything?? and i wont!!!

maxfewtrell : thanks for the invite

alexalbon : I love the part of this dump where the only solo pics are of you and Y/n……..🤨🤨🤨🤨

↳ yourusername : funny alex my favorite part is the same thing😁😁😁

[sebscore]

THE GRID'S DELIGHT | SERIES MASTERLIST

summary: the shenanigans of female gen z driver and the formula one grid.

author’s note: I started this series, because I'd like to imagine what it would be like to be part of the group of drivers and how it would be like to interact with them on a regular basis. It's all fun and games, and I don't know these people in real life. everything is fiction! the stories aren't written in chronological order, but I try to put them in the right order below! 

Requests are always welcome in my inbox! Opinions, thoughts and feedback are also greatly appreciated.

— ABOUT THE OC

HEADCANONS || MORE HEADCANONS

:: Things about being the only female driver on the ‘22 grid.

DRIVER X TGD HEADCANONS

:: The dynamics between driver!reader and the formula 1 drivers. in the link you can find the masterlist.

EXTRAS

:: this includes thoughts, opinions, etc about the series. it doesn’t include requests.

— 2018

WELCOME TO THE STRANGE WORLD 

:: Y/N makes her F1 debut at the 2018 Australian Grand Prix. 

THE PRIZE THAT KEEPS ON GIVING

:: Y/N accepts the 'Rookie of the Year' award and receives a suprise from a special someone on stage.

— 2020 

TWITCH WAR

:: lando insults Y/N’s gaming skills and the events that followed.

PLEASE RISE FOR THE NATIONAL ANTHEM

:: An error in the sound system causes for the wrong song to play instead of Y/N’s national anthem.

— 2021 

THE MORE YOU KNOW

:: Y/N teaches Sebastian and Fernando what ‘bop’ means.

NO ONE LIKES A MAD WOMAN

:: Y/N receives a complaint from the FIA during the driver's briefing and no one is happy about it.

BREAK UP WITH YOUR BOYFRIEND, I'M BORED 

:: Y/N flirts with a stranger not knowing she's the girlfriend of another F1 driver on the grid. 

THIS IS ALL I NEVER WANTED

:: Y/N goes through a rough patch and the drivers notice.

LET IT SPIRAL

:: Y/N gets into a crash and Seb & George come to the rescue.

SLOW DOWN, RED FLAG

:: The commentators are shocked by Y/N’s red flag habit.

BE YOUR WINGMAN

:: Y/N tries to get through an interview with Jenson, Daniel and Sebastian. 

GIDDY GOODBYES

:: Y/N and Kimi bid each other goodbye at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

— 2022

A MAN’S WORLD

:: Y/N is asked about Christian Horner’s sexist comments.

THE ORIGIN OF RUSSY BUSSY

:: the title is pretty self-explanatory.

WHAT HAPPENS IN MONACO, STAYS IN MONACO

:: Y/N goes on a blind date and returns with a hickey the next day.

THE HELMET BET

:: Y/N and Zhou decide who the second best dressed driver on the grid is through a bet that involves holding the other drivers hostage at the driver's briefing.

GOSSIP GRID

:: Charles and Pierre don't trust Y/N when it comes to rumors around Oscar Piastri's move to McLaren.

RUMOUR HAS IT

:: Y/N and her fellow younger drivers react to certain rumours that have been going around about her love life, and it might include two colleagues of hers.

MONZA MANICURE

:: Daniel makes it up to Y/N for breaking her nail during a race.

LITTLE MISS BLACK DRESS

:: f1 drivers and their reactions to Y/N looking gorgeous in a dress.

KEEPING UP WITH THE GRID

:: What happens when Y/N takes over Martin's grid walk? 

THE LAST SUPPER

:: The drivers celebrate the life and career of Sebastian Vettel at Abu Dhabi and Y/N has a great story to tell.

— 2023 

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 

:: Daniel, Lewis and Sebastian show their appreciation for Y/N on International Women's Day. 

GLASS HALF FULL KINDA GAL

:: Y/N goes on Instagram live to try out Daniel’s new wine, and the drivers react to it in the comments.

MONTE-CARLO MADNESS

:: Y/N meets her old mentor after months and experiences a chaotic qualifying in Monaco.

PUT IT INTO SPEED DRIVE

:: Y/N and the Twitch Quartet go on a small adventure in the streets of Monaco.

SNITCHES GET STITCHES

:: A collection of moments at the 2023 Austria Grand Prix.

LATE NIGHT TALKING

:: Pierre asks the question: “Out of all the drivers, who would you date?”

— 2024

EXCUSE ME

:: Y/N finds out about Lewis’ Ferrari move before the official announcement.

ARE WE STILL FRIENDS

:: Lando ends Y/N’s race, and they have different perspectives on how it transpired.

[mirrorball-leclerc]

big reputations - part five

series masterlist // previous // next

ASKING DANIEL RICCIARDO THE MOST POPULAR F1 FAN QUESTIONS

comments

user1 this interview further proves that max is daniel’s emotional support boyfriend.

↳ user2 was that ever up for debate?

↳ user1 no, but you get what i mean.

user3 oh, he’s got those stupid stars in his eyes again. this man is down bad.

user4 i love how he never brushes off questions about daphne. every single time he answers the questions about her

↳ user5 take notes joe alwyn. this is how you talk about mother daphne.

↳ user4 the shade towards joe. this fandom will never let him rest.

user6 these two are never beating the dating allegations.

↳ user7 i don't think they want to

↳ user6 oh for sure, these two want to know how far this whole thing is going to go

user8 even if they aren't dating it's such an adorable friendship

↳ user9 it'll be official when he meets ryan and blake. that's when you know they are actually dating.

↳ user8 or when she meets christian and max, oh wait.

↳ user9 that's actually a good point

user10 someone stop this man from being so down bad for daphne.

user11 i am loving that max is daphne and daniel's third wheel.

↳ user12 i'm living for max teasing daniel. you know this man does it constantly and never let's daniel rest

↳ user11 oh i know max has never given him a moment of peace.

george russell everyday i am reminded that daphne jones fans are a different breed.

lando norris i would ask why but i have been on twitter today. apparently dts is trending on netflix

alex albon charles, mate, you've got the daphne fans crying.

charles leclerc oh god, what did i do now?

fernando alonso season 1 episode 8 charles leclerc oh.

daniel ricciardo is that why we're trending? i thought old tweets of mine were found and i was getting cancelled

esteban ocon have you said things that’ll get you cancelled?

daniel ricciardo no, but it’s a genuine fear estie! max verstappen at the ‘girlies’ have joined in on our mutual hatred for zak (oscar and lando you saw nothing) oscar piastri never thought i would see the day max verstappen said ‘girlies’

yuki tsunoda added one person

yuki tsunoda speaking of daphne jones ARE YOU TWO DATING RICCIARDO??

george russell yuki who did you add??

unknown number hello, it's liam lawson. george russell oh cool.

daniel ricciardo i don't feel like i have to expose my personal life to you people. i already see you too much.

max verstappen stop being a pussy and ask her out.

daniel ricciardo how about you shut the fuck up for once?

charles leclerc in the words of arthur, 'uh oh, the girls are fighting'

logan sargeant arthur's chronically online so it doesn't surprise me that he knows what that is.

valtteri bottas have you asked her out daniel?

nico hülkenberg i have to admit this is the highlight of my year, have you done it yet ricciardo??

kevin magnussen yes, have you?

mark webber MAN UP RICCIARDO! FUCKING DO IT ALREADY!

jenson button no pressure or anything, but have you?

daniel ricciardo oh for fucks sake. i hate all of you.

liam lawson i'm so confused.

liam lawson i thought they were dating already? considering what ajdbfwei

max verstappen sorry, liam is currently out of commission.

george russell why is that so fucking threatening? what did you do verstappen?

max verstappen nothing. liam is just out of it for the next 20-30 minutes

sergio perez i have never seen max's body move so fast. i fear liam is unconscious.

carlos sainz what the hell is happening?

daniel ricciardo what the hell did you do to liam? is he okay?

max verstappen liam is okay. i pinky swear it.

daphne jones what happened?

max verstappen i was not going to let liam ruin the magnificent plan that i made. he had to be silenced.

daniel ricciardo you make it sound like you killed the poor guy

daphne jones he makes it sound like he's a mafia hitman

max verstappen i could totally be a hitman.

daniel ricciardo cat-dad verstappen could never be a hitman. mad-max however is a different story.

max verstappen i could be a hitman who loves cats. hitmen have many sides to them daniel.

daniel ricciardo do you think this man could be a hitman?

daphne jones that man could never be a hitman

daniel ricciardo could max be a hitman?

charles leclerc absolutely not oscar piastri no fucking way sabrina carpenter i'm going to need context but the answer is no

max verstappen fuck you guys. i could be hitman.

daphne jones face it max, you could never be one.

sabrina carpenter however this version of max and charles could totally be hitmen

charles leclerc how the hell?

sabrina carpenter tiktok is a wonderful place.

daphne jones i thought it was the countless twitter tags asking if you had seen it already? sabrina carpenter oh no it came up on my for you page. it was a video called f1 quotes i quote on the daily. i, of course spiralled when i saw that specific part.

sabrina carpenter my favorite driver is kimi.

charles leclerc well he's retired. so who's your favorite driver on the grid right now?

sabrina carpenter fernando alonso

daniel ricciardo wow, that's so mean.

oscar piastri i would've said the same thing just to annoy you.

daniel ricciardo look who's no longer my favorite grid son

charles leclerc what the fuck? i'm a part of this group chat too.

daniel ricciardo you're on thin fucking ice until you tell xavi off or someone at ferrari.

max verstappen you can't seriously still be bitter about singapore

daniel ricciardo OF COURSE I CAN! HE WAS SACRIFICED MAX! LIKE A LAMB TO SLAUGHTER! I CAN BE BITTER IF HE WON'T!

sabrina carpenter i think charles has no choice but to enter his reputation era.

oscar piastri not yet, he hasn't hit rock bottom yet. charles leclerc and, in the rookie's opinion, what is rock bottom? oscar piastri dnf, dns, dsq max verstappen if at any point charles gets dsq'd i will be calling oscar a psychic. daniel ricciardo WHY WOULD YOU PUT THAT OUT THERE OSCAR??

sabrina carpenter so, mom, dad, are we going to qatar??

oscar piastri yeah, mom and dad, will you be at qatar?

max verstappen they went from being two strangers to mom and dad to three children in span of a few months.

charles leclerc he's only a few years older than me, how is he my father?

sabrina carpenter you dare argue with the twitter giriles?

charles leclerc no?

sabrina carpenter then congrats, you are now mine and oscar's older brother.

oscar piastri charles right now

max verstappen he should save that energy for xavi and ferrari

charles leclerc don't tempt me to crash into you max. i'll do it. then we'll have to wait another weekend to see you crowned world champion again

daphne jones THAT'S THIS WEEKEND? OH WE DEFINITELY HAVE TO BE A QATAR!

sabrina carpenter via air max?

max verstappen who told the pop girl about air max?

sabrina carpenter once again, tiktok is a wonderful place max verstappen once again, i hate you so much sabrina carpenter stay pressed sid. i'm their child and you are simply daniel's mistress. oscar piastri what is it the twitter people say? gagged him.

taglist: @glow-ish @agustdpeach @msolbesg @spilled-coffee-cup @1nt3rnetgf @six-call

¡leclerc-s speaks! can you tell i started rewatching dts now that the season is over? i actually do cry everytime i watch episode 8 of season 1. personally, i love suzuka, but i think the fia's choices with putting tractors on the track has given it a bad history. anyways, hope you enjoyed this, it's a little sad but i never write sad stuff so this is new.

¡disclaimer! this is in no way making assumptions about the people involved in this story, this is all fake. it is a fanfiction please don't take any of what is said seriously. this is all for entertainment purposes and as a creative outlet. enjoy!

[gulasdenforbreakdowns]

Attention Attention we have a photo of the official seating at the drivers dinner and I need to analyse it so under the cut the photo and my analysis:

Drivers dinner 2024 colorised

And here is my very expert opinion (yapping) on the sitting chart, my credentials are that one time that I did the sitting chart for Christmas to maximise the drama:

Starting from the fact that I'm 100% sure that the sitting chart was redone several times and there was a mad dash at the last minute to have Max and George as far as possible ( the first charts were done by George, the last one was absolutely done by Oscar hence the position) we have Oscar lando and Liam at the head of the table because 1 babies and 2 perfect for surveillance of the whole table, we do not want to lose any juicy tidbit, and to gossip without too much trouble of being overheard.

Then, on the right side, we have chair side or what I like to call the " you can freely get up without inconveniencing anyone" side where we have Yuki, needs to do his trip to the kitchen to scoop up some recipy, Ganyu, there fore the vibes and strategically in the center to try and keep the peace ( intercepting any flying utensil), Alex, there for the vibes pt.2 but for veeeeeery different reasons ( he is the to distract George and obviously doing a good fucking job), Valteri, he is just there him and Zhou were separated to ease them in the separation of not being teamates anymore and to calm Alex when he is too enthusiastic, and honestly I can't figure out if the last person before Charles is Pierre, likely place for him to be, or who he is so pls help.

On the left side of the table, or as I like to call it the " you are not going to get up for the entirety of this lunch/dinner so prepare your bladder because it's that or doing the shimmy of shame" we have in pole (eh eh see what I did ) Max, positioned near lando to try and distract him and if he is going to strangle someone at least it's a person that he shouldn't want to shunt in a wall next race, Colapinto, the sacrificial lamb that is between Max and the people he wants to throttle and person n.2 that he shouldn't want to shunt into next year, Esteban, there for moral support really, Hulk, moral support pt.2 and vibing with ceco and Zhou, ceco, vibing and trying desperately to not look George or Max in the eyes, Carlos, originally he was near Lewis to complete the Ferrari comari group but after las vegas he was changed to not be near Charles then changed again because they made up and now changed again so that George and Max cannot kill each other (he is tasked with been one of the screens in the case either of them is attempting to make eye contact with the other), and at the end of the table is George, foaming at the mouth because the seating chart was perfect ( he obviously was at the head of the table) but now he is relegated near Lewis and under the watchfull eye of Carlos.

At the end of the table we have Lewis, strategically placed there to try in sucking George attention by depressing him that next year he will be in Ferrari, and Charles, even more strategically placed there because my angel is a menace to society when gossip is involved (see Qatar interview) and he needs to be as far from Max as possible.

This is my totally real totally not made up analysis on the sitting chart! ( for legal reasons this is all a joke)

[smoooothoperator]

Beautiful Stranger

01: Way To Fall

Driver! Lando Norris x OC (Lily Barton)

Summer love, strangers to friends to lovers, Greece and Greek mythology references

Words: 3.2k

Warnings: Lando being Lando, crash, injuries

Masterlist

Official playlist

next part

a/n: here you have the fist chapter of my new story! I hope everyone likes it and welcomes my new character Lily

kalimera: good morning

glykiá: sweety

efkharîsto: thank you

🎮

When the summer break arrives, everyone wants to know where the drivers will go. They ask where their vacations will be, if they'll spend time with their families, go to parties or stay at home to do the activities they couldn't do during the first half of the season.

"So? What are you going to do?" Carlos asked me, a glass of God knows what type of drink on his right hand, and his left arm on the back of the long couch. "You'll go with your family somewhere with that big boat?"

"I don't think so, mate" I sighed. "I just don't feel like that. My brother has to take care of two kids, my sister has summer competitions… I'm not in the mood, actually"

"And what are you going to do? Stay in your apartment and play videogames?" he laughed, making me roll my eyes and look away. 

"I don't know, maybe I will do that" I groaned.

"Go somewhere alone" he said, placing the glass on the table and grabbing his phone. "Buy tickets to somewhere far enough of the spotlight and rent an apartment. I bet that would be exciting"

"Yeah, right. That only happens in movies" I scoffed while drinking a little of my beer. 

"And you don't want it to happen to you? Come on, I know you are tired of the dating rumors, of being always on tabloids asking about your love life in summer. You should go somewhere alone, far from the media" he said, patting my back.

Maybe he's right. Maybe I should go to a place where no one knows who I am. Maybe I should grab a map and find a place where I can be on my own.

That's how I ended days after searching for a place where I should go. 

Portofino? No, even if it's a beautiful place there are a lot of tourists and famous people there.

Somewhere in Spain? No… I was there last summer.

France? The Netherlands… no, they would recognize me.

Greece. That country has many islands. Maybe I can go somewhere and stay there all the break. 

There are some islands where communication barely arrives, where you live in a mix of the past and the present and ignore the exterior. Right, that’s what I need. 

I tried to find a good place, somewhere not too difficult to access. I shouldn’t rent a car, right? I have to look like a normal guy that casually has lots of money. No big luxury brands to be seen, no expensive watches or jewelry. I have to look like another tourist that wants to be in a village for a few weeks.

Now… How should I go there? Which place should I go? Not Mykonos, not Rhodes or Santorini. Somewhere in the middle of nowhere. 

“Huh? Where are you going?” Max asked, walking behind me and watching the screen of my laptop. “Greece?”

“I want to go alone” I sighed, rubbing my forehead and looking at the screen, the list of all the islands of Greece were shown in front of me. “But I don’t know where to go”

I saw Max sitting next to me, looking at the screen and  reading it. I searched in Wikipedia the list of islands just to know the name of them. But then the population was next to the names.

“Tell me a number between 1 and 144” he said, taking the laptop away from me.

“What?” I frowned looking at him. “Mate, it’s not a game, come on…”

“I’m helping you decide where you’ll go. So tell me a number” he frowned.

“God… Okay…” I sighed, closing my eyes and thinking of a number. “32?”

“Well, now you’ll go to Parga” he said.

I sighed. That was easy. It was too easy, and I didn't like it. I needed a place to get lost, my mind wanted to be in somewhere where neither my best friend knew where I was.

"But…" I sighed while brushing my hair with my hand. 

"I won't tell anyone" he sighed. "Lando, mate… you need it. I understand. Now with those rumors about you saying things you never said and the girls they say you are dating, you need to be somewhere away from the problems"

I look at him and nod. He's right, of course he's right. Carlos and him know me, they know how bad the hate affects me and how it makes me feel. 

"I'll go to that place" I sighed nodding. "But promise me you won't tell anyone"

🖌️

The started great. Everyone in the village started their routine as always, going to their boats, opening their restaurants and starting to cook. The streets smell of food, the women making their traditional dishes just to serve the tourists that came here, kids running and playing on the streets with their friends and the old people talking on the door of their houses.

"Kalimera, Nora" I smiled at the woman that was preparing some breakfast.

"Oh, Lily" she smiled, kissing my cheek. "Today we have a reservation. Someone will come to one of the apartments"

"Oh, really? At what time?" I asked, serving myself a cup of coffee. 

"Don't worry about it, Dorien will take care of it" she smiled. "He works for me, glykiá. You can go do your work"

I smile and nod, taking a deep breath and looking at her.

Nora Makris, owner of some of the apartments here in Parga. The day I came she adopted me as one of her kids, taking care of me and helping me with everything I needed. 

"What are you going to do today?" she asked, putting a plate of fruit in front of me.

"I think I'll work for a while at the cafeteria and then I'll go to the beach" I smiled at her.

Life here is easy: you wake up, get dressed always with a bikini under the clothes, work for a while and then go to the beach. Do you need more money? You can guide the tourists and help them with everything they need and translate things from the local people. 

Three years ago I came with the idea of escape from my life, needing a place to disconnect and forget about my past. And thanks to Nora now I have a place to call home. Working in the cafeteria is always fun. The villagers come and teach me some of their traditions, they teach me their language and how to live like them.

After I finished my breakfast I started to help Nora, making coffee or baking things. I know everyone in this place, so I greet them with their name and make their favorite things the way they like.

"Kalimera, Lily" they smile when I arrive at their table, complimenting my coffee or my outfit.

Everybody wants to know about me. Why would a young woman come here alone for a trip and stay longer than expected? They say I'm mysterious, that I'm a gift from the gods. Maybe that's why they treat me like I was born there, not asking about my origins or about my life, only accepting that I'm one of them.

The morning went quick, the same routine as always. The upstairs neighbor wanted a coffee with a plate of mixed fruit, the old lady that lives two doors away wanted her morning tea with one of the pastries of the day, the mother that lives with her two kids wanted her usual morning coffee and a toast with avocado and cream cheese. Everyone has their story here, and that's what I love about this place. 

"Lily, you can leave now" Nora said walking towards me. "I'll for a while for the lunch time and them I'll start preparing some dishes for whoever wants to come"

I nodded and smiled, grabbing my bag and taking off my apron, leaving it on the hanger that is next to the backdoor.

I went to my apartment, going upstairs and opening the door. I have to get changed and make something for lunch, something quick and easy so I can go to the beach soon.

Everything was going great. I was listening to music while cooking, singing on top of it and moving around. Cutting tomatoes, making some bread and making chicken to make a gyro. 

I heard noises in the apartment next to mine, like someone talking in English and opening and closing doors, even someone talking dirty English. Walls here are thin, but I won't complain. I prefer having thin walls rather than not having anything.

When I finished making my lunch I grabbed my laptop and went to the balcony, eating everything while watching a show.

"That's Peaky Blinders?" I heard a voice from the other balcony.

I stopped the episode and frowned, looking at the tall wall that separated both balconies. I can't see the face of the person that talks to me, I only can hear him.

"Eh… yeah" I nod, blushing. "How do you know?"

"The accent and that they are always saying Thomas Shelby" he chuckled. "It's a great show"

"Yeah it is" I nodded, smiling. "It's the second time I watch it"

"That's nice" he said, and then silence again.

I continued watching the show, but it was awkward. Nora should have told me that the tourist was going to be my neighbor, that we were going to share walls.

The rest of the lunch time was relaxed. After I finished the lunch I laid on the couch to watch a little more of the show while packing my beach bag and getting changed to go there.

The beach here is some streets away, and on the way to it there are many stores to get the attention of the tourists: souvenirs, ice cream shops, things for the beach, even swimwear and sandals shops.

I grabbed my earphones and started playing some soft music after getting out of the apartment, locking the door and putting the keys on the bag. 

I started my way to the beach, smiling at some people that recognized me and even stopping to talk with some of them. The old women always have something to talk about, even some of them try to make me date their grandsons.

"They would settle down with someone like you" they use to say. "You are so responsible and down on Earth!"

It always makes me laugh. I'm mysterious to them, no one knows why I came, only Nora. 

I kept walking down the street, hearing music that now wasn't as soft as before. It was some type of rock, making me not hear my surroundings.

Making me not hear the scooter that was driving straight towards me.

"Stop!" the guy screamed, but it was too late for him to break and for me to jump back. "Shit!"

I fell to the floor. It was so fast, making me fall hard. I could feel blood in the plan of my hands and my knees, even a sharp pain on my ankle.

"Shit, are you okay?" he gasped, leaving the scooter on the floor and kneeling in front of me.

"What the hell?" I groaned, but I immediately moaned in pain. "Just pay attention to the road!"

"I did! You were the one that wasn't paying attention!" he exclaimed and it made me gasp, looking at him.

"It's you" I frown, recognizing the voice.

"Me?" he frowned, nervous. "What? You know who I am?"

He looked around, searching for someone or something. I could feel how anxious he was feeling right now.

"Shit, do you know who I am" he groaned.

"Yeah, my neighbor" I said, looking at him. 

"What?" he mumbled, frowning. "Oh, you are the one that is watching Peaky Blinders… yeah, sorry"

I frown and look around. Was he searching for someone? No one was around, at this time people are already on the beach or working on their shops.

"Shit, you can walk, right?" he sighed, helping me to get up.

"Yeah… no" I groaned when I stood on my feet. "No, I think I hurt my ankle"

"Ah shit" he sighed. "Is there somewhere I can take you? Like… a medical center?"

"Yeah" I sigh, leaning on him since he was holding me to not stand on my ankle. 

"Get on the scooter" he said, holding it and sitting on it, looking at me.

"What? No! You just crashed on me with it! I won't get on it!" I exclaimed, but the pain was worse than my own pride.

"I'll help you, okay? And I'll go slow and pay attention to every corner. Now, please, get on the scooter" he sighed.

I look at him and then at the back of his seat, where I'm supposed to sit. I have to get close to him to fit, wrap my arms on his waist and hold him. God, it will be really awkward.

"Come on" he hurried me.

I sighed, grabbing my bag from the ground and hanging it on my shoulder, standing on my good leg while I watched how he was offering me his hand to hold it. I looked at the palm of my hand, gow scratched and bloody it was, then at my knee. I’m surely going to get his shirt dirty with my blood.

“But the blood…” I sighed looking at his hand.

“I really don’t care, come on” he sighed, moving his hand to hold mine helping me get on the scooter. “It’s just blood, I can wash it away. And if you don’t look that ankle it will get worse”

I sigh and nod, getting on the scooter in a really uncomfortable way. He doesn’t have a spare helmet, so he took his helmet off and put it on my head. He didn’t start the engine, making me believe the vehicle was broken.

“Wrap your arms around me” he said looking back at me. 

“What? No!” I exclaimed, raising up my  hands, trying to not touch him.

“You’ll fall if you don’t do that!” he sighed, and grabbed both of my hands wrapping my arms around his waist making me blush hard.

This guy has really a strong rizz, he didn’t even flinch when I placed my hands on his abdomen, the dry blood getting on his shirt and my fingers feeling the line of his abs. 

I tried to not blush, looking away and making sure he couldn’t see me through the mirrors. He smells good too, I wonder what type of perfume he’s using. And his curls are so good made, just on top of his head and on his sides is kinda shorty.

“It’s on this way, right?” he asked me, pointing to a signal that had a cross on it. “It’s in greek”

“Yeah, it's that way” I said nodding.

He parked the scooter in front of the door of the medical center, getting off of it after holding it with the stand. He took off the helmet from my head and then hung it on the handlebar. 

“Do you need help?” he asked, looking at me.

Now I can see his eyes, his face. Well, he's cute. 

“I think so, yeah” I sighed after trying to get out of the seat, but it was impossible.

He helped me, holding my arm and then he turned around. He wanted to carry me on his back? Can this be more awkward than it already is and looks? I sighed, sitting with both my legs hanging on the side of the scooter and looking at his back.

I hope no one is around. Because it’ll be the talk of the town.

🎮

I felt bad. Really, really bad. The moment she recognized me I panicked, thinking that she recognized me because of who I was, not because of my voice. She’s the girl next door that when I walked inside the apartment Max rented for me was playing music while cooking. I heard her voice and then I heard the dialogues of the show I watched not long ago.

Her voice was soft, like velvet, and when she talked to me after I crashed into her, her mad voice made me remember Yuki. She was panicking and in pain, andI could feel how nervous she was while we had the ride on the scooter.

When we arrived at the medical center and I carried her inside of it she started talking in greek, making me impressed. She speaks perfect english and a perfect greek, where is she from?

“I have a sprained ankle” she sighed looking at me.

The moment the nurse saw her when we walked inside the local she guided us to a room, so I placed her on the hospital bed and sat next to her on a chair. I’m not an idiot, I know that it’s my fault and I should take care of what happened.

“Oh…” I frowned, looking at how the nurse was rolling a bandage around her right foot. “I’m sorry, it’s my fault”

She sighed and looked away. I still can feel how  uncomfortable she is. 

“I’ll pay for the medicines you have to take” I said, and she turned her head quickly at me, surprised. 

“No, don’t worry about it! I can pay for them” she frowned, like if she was offended that I was offering to pay for the medicines. 

She sighed and looked away again, crossing her arms in front of her chest and looking out through the window. I bet she wanted to be on the beach, she was wearing a bikini under her summer dress, and on her bag there was a towel and a book too. 

“It’s the least I can do, I ruined your day” I sighed, shrugging my shoulders. 

The nurse looked at us and said something that made her blush. I wonder what she said.

“Okay” the girl sighed. “Yeah, okay”

I smiled weakly and nodded at the nurse, watching how she got up to grab something. I grabbed my phone and sighed, searching the dictionary I downloaded.

“How do you say thank you in greek?” I asked the girl, frowning, then I heard her chuckle.

“Efkharîsto” she said chuckling softly. “You came to Greece with no idea of how to say the basic things to survive here?”

“I survive thanks to a dictionary” I said sighing. 

“Well, let me tell you that it’s useless” she laughed. “You should learn the basic words, just to not waste time searching them”

“What’s your name?” I asked her suddenly, looking at her and how her face changed.  “I crashed into you, at least let me know the name of my first victim”

“Your first victim? I feel honored” she laughed, making me laugh. Good, the tension is now less present here. “Lily”

“That doesn’t sound Greek at all” I frowned, looking at her surprised.

“That’s because I’m not from here” she said shrugging her shoulders. “And what’s your name? In case I have to demand you, you know”

“Oh…” I laugh, but my mind immediately started to panic. Should I tell her my name? What if she discovers who I am? “Logan” lie.

“Well… nice to meet you in a bad way, Logan” she nodded.

Well done, Lando.

taglist

@lestappenloverr @racinggirl @roni-midnights @livster @kakorrhaphiphobia @starkeyellow @celestialpierre @ophcelia @msliz @lorarri @ironmaiden1313 @imsorare @mycenterfold

[macybeckham7]

4 moments with F1 drivers with reader

1. YN getting her first win of her F1 career

‘WOOO get in there Yn! Your first of many!’ your team principals voice appears in your ears. Your racing career just plays in front of you, from when you were on the Go Karting track, being the only girl and everyone not taking you seriously. How your father was your number one fan, how you would watch races together every Sunday, watching Schumacher, Vettel, Hamilton all win races and be in the record books. You climb out of the car, the car that many people doubted you even deserved, many people putting a time bomb over your head not thinking you will survive your rookie season. The crowd was deafening, you feeling so much love from the crowd who helped you get through the difficult conditions. You run to your team, getting many head taps and a ‘Get in there!’. You lift your visor up, two people suddenly appear, orange arms wrap around your middle and picks you up and jumps around. Once your feet were back on the floor Charles was there. Just your eyes were showing but he looked just happy as you were feeling, you both kept hitting each other, before hugging each other tightly. Max shaking your head, telling you that you have officially arrived and he is looking forward to the rest of the season. ‘The drinks are on you tonight’ Carlos winks.

2. It was Yn’s birthday, they get everyone together for a surprise birthday breakfast.

No one mentioned it being your birthday, everyone’s attention was on the packed weekend with a sprint weekend. It wasn’t until Lance appeared, and suggested that you go for coffee and some breakfast. You linked arms with him and walked around the quiet circuit, he opened the door to hospitality. You thought you heard someone shushing before you rounded the corner with a room full of people, Ted walked over as everyone called out ‘Happy Birthday!’. He placed a birthday hat on your head and you all sat around a table. Fernando appeared with a cake and everyone started singing, you got birthday bumps of Liam and Franco. You knowing that it was a big deal getting all the drivers in the same room, around the same table mid season and making them all leave their debates at the door and just there to celebrate you.

3. The older drivers bringing Yn under their wing

Yn always wanted to learn, whether it was small things how to handle the car around certain circuits or weather conditions. During red flags Yn was often seen stood next to Fernando, he would be explaining something, how to fight on the track with the likes of Max or Lewis. Lewis would always be happy to speak to her and give her some knowledge. She would smile and explain ‘why wouldn’t I want to learn from them? they have been around for a long time, they know what they are on about’. Which Fernando laughs when he gets asked about being called old. Many times throughout the seasons Brundle mentions ‘Wonder if they are questioning why they taught her that, that was a good overtake from her’. Many people said you had the best attributes from Alonso and Hamilton, and you were the best student for them.

4. Drivers being protective over Yn when fans were around

You had travelled with a few of the boys to Vegas, as you left the airport you were met with a few fans. There was a lot of blinded lights from the media taking photos of you. Lando and Carlos stop to look backwards to you. You were chatting to some fans, they knew you could handle yourself but they wanted to keep you close. Carlos wraps his arm around you as Lando grabs your hand and pulls you away from many fans and to the car. You arrived at the track, you were ambushed by fans you had a herd of them all following you. Lewis comes driving by on his scooter, you put your hand up to let him to see you, you manages to get them to give you room, you quickly jump on the back of his scooter. Hugging him as he gets you to safety as he jokes that he can’t let you die by a herd of wolves.

[cars-on-the-moon]

Carlando hurt/a bit of comfort just below!

Enjoy!

(everything stems from author’s imagination)

“Cabron!” Lando shouted, holding his suit in order to jog quicker.

The Spaniard slightly turned his gaze at him but returned to Rupert, carrying on their conversation.

Rupert nodded and smiled when Lando clasped his shoulder.

“Alright?” he asked the trainer. “Hot innit?” he grinned.

“And you’re going to have to race.” Rupert remarked, giving him a kind pat and stepping a bit back to reach Gino.

Lando’s eyes returned to Carlos, who hadn’t interact with him yet.

“What is it?” he asked him.

“What? Nothing.” Lando shrugged. “I’m a bit jittery.” he revealed.

“Calm down. Everything’s good.” Carlos replied him, almost dismissively, a tone the other man never possessed for him.

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion but quickly disregarded it.

“Are we training this week?” he asked him.

“I will be very busy.” Carlos replied, typing something on his phone and quickly burying it in his pocket. Finally, his eyes found Lando, but the Brit only saw emptiness.

“Carlos, are you okay?” he finally asked by micro-analysing all the wrong signs.

“I’ll see you later.” Carlos said and just like that, he walked away.

Lando stood there, watching him as he increased the distance between them. He watched as Carlos finally disappeared around Alpine’s motorhome, leaving him alone and extremely confused.

The great mystery of detached Carlos carried on for the extent of the week and when he never received a reply to his golf invitation, Lando gave up to focus on his race.

“Who from the grid was born in 1994?” Will asked then and instantly Lando pressed the little buzzer button.

“Carlos Sainz.” he replied.

“Ah! There you go! A point for you!” Will excitedly said.

“That’s 7-1.” Oscar reminded them the score.

“Well,” Lando grimaced. “I’ve had better days.” he playfully said to the camera and thusly, the silly YouTube game for the official channel, ended.

Will waved them a polite goodbye as Lando shuffled further into the sofa.

“Mate, you’re miserable.”

“Yeah, thanks Oscar.” he rolled his eyes before shutting them both.

“Oh, you’re in that mood.” he heard the Australian remarking and he hated him a little. The other Australian who was making his life hard once again in his own team. Sharp tongued and funny in a whole different way.

“Piss off, mate.” he mumbled and tried to sound as playful as possible.

He heard the faint sound of Oscar’s giggle as he was leaving the room and finally he found a good time for solitude and peacefulness.

He missed the podium for a tenth of a second and climbed out of his car with a granule of disappointment.

“Are we on for tomorrow?” Caco asked him, finding him outside hospitality.

Lando finished signing a picture of him and turned to the Spaniard.

“Yeah, Max told me you booked it.” he said. “Is Carlos coming?” he asked him.

Caco raised his eyebrows then but quickly schooled his expression to return to normal.

“I don’t know. This triple-header has been hard on him. We’ll see. It’s either going to be Rupert or him.” he replied.

Lando squinted.

“See you at eight.” Caco said, tapping his back.

When Lando arrived at the padel place hopeful, he got disappointed again. The other three players were already in the court but Carlos was nowhere to be seen.

“Are we doing Britain versus Europe?” Rupert grinned at him.

“Sure.” Lando shrugged taking his place in the field.

Max bumped his racket on Caco’s and walked in order to execute the first little serve.

“Carlos coming?” Lando asked Rupert.

“Um, no.” the Brit replied, dipping lower, focused forward.

If Lando got disappointed again, he never showed it.

‘Cabron? Is everything alright?’ Lando had to try again because the though if Carlos being that cold was so unsettling, he couldn’t relax when he was thinking about it.

He was tired enough to not having realised that the next day he was in Mexico City. It took him around ten minutes to remember his plane ride and a few more to actually decide to get up.

He trained intensely and ate his wrap with such eagerness, as if he was a starved man.

Still nothing.

Sunday’s driver’s parade came in a blink of an eye and Lando searched for Carlos before he was waved by Oscar to join him in their car.

“Were you looking for something?” Oscar asked him when the car started moving.

“You.” Lando replied, smiling towards the crowd.

Oscar hummed a bit unconvincingly but nevertheless, let it go. Sometimes Lando thought that the young Australian knew more than he revealed. Behind that quiet stance he had going on, he was observant and intelligent. Lando hated that. ‘Hate’ perhaps was a strong word.

“Carlos!” he finally found the man, as he was taking with Max.

Both men turned to find the source of the voice and one of them smiled widely. It was Max. Only Max smiled.

“I was just telling him how team Europe obliterated team Britain last Monday.” Max teased him immediately.

“I was out of form.” Lando sniffed, playing it cool. “Where have you been mate? You miss both padel and golf practice.” he placed his hand on Carlos’s upper arm, forgetting the cameras around them for only a moment. He let go of him then, staring, wanting to hear a word from him.

“I have been experiencing a few back pains.” Carlos replied him. Coldly; absolutely coldly.

“You? You have never been in pain since I’ve known you.” he said.

“Well, perhaps because I’m getting old.” Carlos spat out and yeah, something was definitely wrong.

“You’re not even thirty yet, mate.” Max added to the conversation when Lando’s silence filled the space.

“Anyway, I’ll see you later.” Carlos chose to ignore Max’s utterance and Lando’s concerned gaze, walking away immediately a second after.

‘How’s your back? How are we going to golf in November?’ He wrote before placing a laughing emoji. He stared at the screen and contemplated on whether to send it or not.

He had tried again to talk to him on Thursday evening, when he saw him outside Ferrari, getting Senior’s attention first.

“Lando Norris!” Senior hugged him. “How are you son?” he asked.

“I’m well and you?” he replied him politely.

“You are having a fantastic season. Congratulations!” he said to him.

Lando nodded affirmatively and finally turned to Carlos.

“I have been texting you. How is your back?” he asked him.

Carlos finally looked at him, brushing his fingers through his hair.

“It’s fine.” he replied him.

Lando inhaled deeply, biting down his tongue in order to stop himself from really barking at Carlos that he had been awful and cold and distant and unfamiliar.

“Are you? Fine?” he pushed just a bit more.

“I’m busy. Pa, let’s go?” he asked him turning around and climbing the little red steps.

Lando furrowed his eyebrows, watching him once again disappearing.

“He has been strange. He is angry.” Senior said to Lando. “He is bad with respect. He takes things very seriously, especially from you.”

Lando turned to the older man quickly.

“What? What do you mean? What did I do?”

Lando jogged to his motorhome and texted both Jon and Max.

“Havent you seen the video I’ve sent you a week ago?” Max asked him through the line.

“No, I must have forgotten.” Lando replied him. “What is it? How did you know what I’m talking about?” Lando furtively asked.

“Because you did him dirty man! It’s a complication of the same interview and it was all over Twitter.”

“What the fuck?” Lando whispered and quickly ended the call.

He remembers the interview; it was with some American podcast and he remembered having a miserable time but trying still to be funny and relaxed.

“I’ve had this question ninety three times,” he giggled. “There are not many friends around…I consider Max and Lewis the only two strong drivers…Carlos made a lot of mistakes in that, yeah…Friends is a very big word…He didn’t help me, he did it for himself, of course…Except from me I would like Oscar to win the Championship…Haha, no, Oscar, not Carlos…I wish I could climb to fourth and pass Charles…What? Carlos is? Carlos is above Charles? I didn’t expect that!”

Lando cringed to the last line and locked his phone, placing it on the massage bed next to him.

“Why the fuck would someone make a fucking compilation of that?” he asked the room through his teeth. “And fucking tag-” he didn’t finish his utterance in order to take a deep breath in.

“Lando, what is it?” Jon asked him.

“Have you seen this?” he showed him the video.

“Ah, yes. It was all over Twitter-”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he demanded through a foul squeal.

“Because we have a job to do-”

“I don’t need the tough love, Jon. Why did the PR-you know what? I’m leaving.” he jumped off the bed and went looking for his backpack.

“I can talk to PR.” Jon offered.

“No, leave it. The point was to-fuck.” he couldn’t bear to explain either.

He returned to his hotel room and after a warm shower he fell on the bed very keen on sleeping.

It was sudden and overwhelming. He was used to pushing down and down everything that had to with Carlos; everything that wasn’t the friendship they had built. He had locked away the desire that had slowly grown within him. Memories, moments risked back from every time he had though a bit more than he should have. When Carlos had looked at him a certain way, the way he had smiled, the way he had touched him.

Each word echoed in his mind, the dam of restraint broke. Tears welled up in his eyes and the anguish of unspoken love and pain washed over him. He was vulnerable and exposed to himself like never before. He wasn’t as daft as he presented himself and he had realised his feelings long ago and because of that again, he had buried them deep inside, where even intrusive thoughts could not win.

“I didn’t mean anything bad. I was trying to be cool or whatever. Carlos, you know me.” he sent. Perhaps it was too simple or perhaps it was too much, but Lando needed to do something, to say something and opted for that. If he was to overthink it, he would have never sent it.

The long awaited reply didn’t come, even on FP Friday and he felt an emptiness in his stomach, still his words about Charles echoing in his mind.

“Good job! Let’s do the same on quali, yeah?” Will smiled at him.

“Of course.” Lando agreed and pulled out his headphones.

He was miserable. He was miserable at training, at dinner and even in his hotel room when he was in the confines of his own space.

He stared at the unanswered text, and the one above it and the one right above the other.

That son of a bitch. He hated him. He absolutely despised him.

“That’s a pole position!” Will said in his ears. “*Good job! Need lineup?”

“Hey-yo! Yes!” Lando pressed the radio button, slowing down. “Yes! Gimme!”

“P2 Sainz, P3 Leclerc, P4 Verstappen, P5 Hamilton.” Will announced him.

“Well shit.” Lando mumbled after making sure he had his thumb off the radio button.

Charles approached him and told him something about turn seven while Lando was absolutely stuck on Carlos. The driver mode was off and he was back to a new kind of pinning; after so long he had reached this part. Distant unrequited pinning without even realising.

“Good job.” Carlos patted his shoulder when he approached him to get photographed.

“Oh, he speaks.” Lando said through his teeth, smiling to the cameras.

Charles must have heard him because he turned his head to look at him, but did not remark.

And just like this, the Spaniard walked away.

Lando felt his heart dropping and tried really hard to school his expression to a neutral one when he returned to the garage and was congratulated by everyone.

“Carlos, this is getting ridiculous.”

“My tyres are gone, man.” he said to the radio line.

“Push as long as you can. Two laps to go.” Will said to him and really Lando knew the answer. They hadn’t expected that kind of degradation and there was no room for a pit stop, he wasn’t far enough from the Ferrari behind him. He was rather sure that on the next DRS zone, he was going to get overtaken. There was no point making his tyres pop.

It was Carlos’s Ferrari that made a move on turn four of all the turns and Lando tried to defend but it was useless.

“Lando, don’t fight with him, we need to finish.”

“Wasn’t gonna.” Lando replied Will a bit annoyed. He looked on his mirror and saw Lewis behind.

“One corner, Lando.” he heard and inhaled deeply. “That’s it! Well done! P2!”

“Thanks guys, I’m sorry about the tyres, I’m not sure what went wrong.” he addressed the whole garage and factory and let go of the button.

He watched as Carlos stood on his Ferrari and raised his arms up. His eyes caught his father and walked quickly to him, keeping his visor down. His eyes were destroyed by the sweet and the tears that had started forming the moment he had got out his car. Every emotion he carried burst out of him completely. Out of the blue.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to find Carlos waiting for him.

“Sorry.” he said to him the moment he embraced him.

“My fault.” Lando replied him.

Carlos pulled back and reached for his visor, raising it up to find his eyes. Oh, the Twitter people were going to have a field trip.

“Lando?” a question in his voice.

Thankfully, the director had to take Carlos away for his interview with DC and Lando managed to weight himself, calm down and take his balaclava off in order to wet his whole face with water. Good enough.

“What happened?” Lewis asked him in the cool down room.

“My tyres were destroyed. There was a massive increase on the asphalt heat.” he replied him.

Carlos walked into the room two and went straight for his water. He looked at the screen and his gaze stayed there for the whole minute they remained in the room.

The cameras cut and Carlos turned to him.

“Okay?” he asked him.

“Yeah.” Lando shrugged and followed Lewis.

He was drenched in champagne by the both men on the podium and smiled for the picture.

“Oi! Look here!” Rupert met them in the hallway, pointing his phone at them.

He opened his instagram and found no post; not like the last time. There was no use of the word “carlando”. There was nothing.

“Carlos…”

He threw his phone to his side and placed his arms over his eyes, trying really hard to not release what he actually felt.

“Jon, can you do me a huge favour?” he asked the drowsy man on the other side of the line.

He walked and decided he, under no circumstance, would ever say to anyone that he walked alone at that time of the night around São Paolo until he reached Carlos’s hotel.

“Carlos, it’s me.” he said as lowly as possible when he heard shuffling from the other side of the door.

The door opened and Carlos appeared, semi-naked and very sleepy.

“Lando- what the-”

“I’m sorry.” Lando stopped him, shutting the door behind him. “I hadn’t realised-I didn’t mean all that, it sounded awful.” he said.

Carlos pulled over his head a t-shirt and fixed his hair by fluffing them even more than before.

“I was being sarcastic and a bit annoyed with the hosts. I don’t remember anything.”

“Lando, okay,” Carlos rubbed his face with his palm and took a step forward. “It’s okay if you feel that way-”

“But I don’t! I think you are a very intelligent and strong driver and of course you can win the Championship and of course you are my friend and of course you are above Charles. I was just-just teasing-I don’t know!” he said all in one breath, feeling his eyes stinging. He wouldn’t cry. No.

“It’s not about-you-I cannot do this.”

“No, you will.” Lando took a step forward too. “You have been awful and you never told me why. I had to find out from your dad?”

Carlos exhaled lengthily. He was tired, he looked it certainly.

“You are welcomed to have those opinions. I just always think that friends should support each other and it’s all I have done since the first time I saw you. I met you.” Carlos tried to translate his thoughts into English, poor man. “I know it’s just press but sometimes words hurt especially from your friend. But well, you said there are no friends around.”

Lando blinked at him. His hand hovered above his neck by its own accord and he felt his breathing quickening.

“You are my friend. It was stupid and I didn’t think about it too much.”

“All I am saying is that support and respect are everything for me. I think that I have been both since we have met. But still, your opinion is your opinion Lando. Now I know that you feel-”

“No,” Lando said moving towards him and grabbing his face between his palms. He needed for Carlos to look at him right in the eye. To make sure he was looking. “I think you are incredible, Carlos. I-I think you are everything.” he whispered, his eyes falling on the Spaniard’s plump lips.

Carlos slightly raised his eyebrows in surprise but didn’t push him away, he didn’t falter.

“Lando…”

“I’m sorry. I was trying to be cool or whatever. My mind is a mess sometimes.” he said.

Carlos slightly nodded, afraid of disturbing Lando’s hold.

“Cabron,” the slightly taller man whispered. “I’m sorry. You can explain everything, I can too.”

A goddamn tear escaped him and he went to wipe it but Carlos beat him to it and caught it with his thumb.

“Don’t. Lando,” he breathed. “Kiss me.” he uttered.

“What?” Lando stuttered.

“Will you? I want to show you that I believe you and that I’m sorry too.” he explained.

And again, Lando wasn’t as daft as he portrayed himself. He would be pretty dense if he didn’t just do it. So he did.

Carlos tried to show him and he succeeded, making him a moaning mess. Who would have thought? Well, Lando had thought.

“Carlos…” he whispered when they finally paused.

“Cariño.” Carlos run his fingers through Lando’s curls. “That was bound to happen from the very start, no?” he smiled lopsidedly.

Lando mirrored him but his grin became wider, wilder.

“Yeah, yes it was.” he giggled.

“Let me post the Carlando picture now, eh?” he playfully said, leaning in again.

[thearchercore]

about this post(fp1camera zoom and sainz to rb)

do you think it's possible for sainz to go there? and if not where do you think he might go. i don't know if you answered this but im just curious about your opinion

i think if carlos goes to rbr, max has to leave. i dont see them working as a duo (different car preference, politics etc.) will buxton recently mentioned that he thinks he may do the sauber-> audi move as he could be the clear #1 in that team once it rebrands. carlos usually struggles with grasping the concept of being the second driver (officially) so i don't see him going to mercedes (who i think will rather invest in alonso to make up for the loss of lewis or kimi antonelli in hopes of getting max 2.0). aston is also an option now if alonso leaves and he teams up with lance (i think there they have more equal driver status or he could even get some p1 driver treatment.)

someone also mentioned the possibility of RBR or merc buying out oscar out of his mclaren contract and carlos ending up there with lando but who knows, really.

after what max and his side of the garage said, i don't think him pairing up with carlos is an option they're actively considering. i think they much more prefer driver like checo who max doesn't really have issues with and who's very happy to focus on being the number #2. i think they may keep checo for another year, try out liam at RB next year (or maybe even driver swap this year? who knows) and if he's successful, then checo's seat could be his once the regulations kick in in 2026.

[femboycharles]

you asked about carcar lore and i was reminded of a video with lando and oscar, one of those where the interviewer ask a question and they have to write on a white board their top three answer. And there's a question about what drivers would be the worst dates or something like that (I don't know how to formulate it in english lol) and Oscar top 1 is Carlos and I find it so funny, because Carlos seems to be so romantic and attentive in videos with Rebecca and etc, but Oscar is just nope I'm sure that he would be the worst one out of all of us in a date.

Anyway, I love this video because Oscar just chooses to be a brat and pick fights even when unprovoked lmao.

I also planned to write a fic about this moment, wherein Carlos takes this interview as a personal offense (which yk fair). They end up getting drunk in a party, Carlos confronts him about it and Oscar just keeps being a brat and talking shit about how he is sure that Carlos would be totally selfish, would just talk about himself and shit like that. And Carlos gets really confused because wtf? That's the vibe that Oscar gets from him? Like, come on, he's a spaniard, he father raised him to be a gentleman, a Don Juan. So he makes a bet, Oscar should go on a date with him and he would try to change his mind. If he wins Oscar have to make a public apology video. If he loses... (idk I didn't think that far). And obviously Oscar accepts it. And they go on a first date, and it's awful, because Oscar is being awful and Carlos can't help but raise to his baits. Carlos gets angry and asks for a rematch because Oscar was the terrible date, not him. And Oscar agrees (only because he's a fair person yk not because he wants to go again on a date with Carlos). The next date is good, but when Carlos drops him home, he can't help but list everything that went wrong just to try to get a rise out of Carlos again. It works, but he gives Carlos another chance because again he's a very good person and no, the roses that Carlos brought him when he picked him up were not that pretty. So they go on a thirty, fourth, fifth date, every single one of them more perfect than the other, every sibgle one of them Carlos or Oscar finds a reason to ask for a rematch, both trying to pretend that they're just very much competitive and not falling in love nuh-huh. You can guess the end.

But I'm terrible writing and English is my biggest enemy, but who knows, I might write it someday.

unrelated but: carcar was my first official ship because my first race was Miami GP 2024

AAH I LOVE THIS SO MUCH!!! THANK YOU

I was talking to a friend about how I LOVEEE the idea of Oscar being the one more in control w/ them, like I just love the reverse power dynamic (bc Carlos is much bigger, leaner + hairier etc but Oscar decides what he does and how they do things etc) we were saying he definitely degrades Carlos tbh, half bc in this scenario Carlos kind of thinks he deserves it for whatever reasons and Oscar is happy to help, we did talk abt more stuff with them but I’ll save you the longer reading time aksjjs

Also I thought your English was great!! Honestly ☺️

Edit* also I’m sorry I kind of derailed here, I’m just exhausted alsksjsjsn

[f-ferrari-forever]

Monte Carlo Simulation

(a model used to predict the probability of a variety of outcomes when the potential for random variables is present)

Or in other words—Elle’s birthday fic, based on a conversation we’ve had, that was supposed to be much longer than the little word dump it turned out to be. Happy birthday, Elle, @il-predestinato! 🎉

Summary:

“Don’t let him win,” Nico whispers in his ear.

Max’s blood boils.

For 1 millisecond, he holds that pole trophy in his hands.

For 1 millisecond, Charles starts P2 in Monaco.

For 1 millisecond, the curse reigns on.

Word count: ~800

“Don’t let me win,” Charles hisses in his ear. 

Max gulps, his grip on Charles’s waist tightening as he unconsciously draws his lover closer. Lando gives them a puzzled look, muttering under his breath since he, too, must get closer now to save what’s left of the front row photos.

Max ignores him. Afterall, that’s fixable within a ride back home and half a streaming session. Maybe less, if there’s food involved. The Charles problem, not so much.

The Monaco problem, really.

They weren’t even born when Hill overtook Alesi to claim the latest exciting win in the history of Formula 1. Everyone knows that in Monaco, qualifying is everything. You sell your soul to the gods of Monte Carlo on that very first day, all for the farce promise of a winning pole. A brilliant qualifier like Charles ought to have set some sort of record by now.

Max’s fingers twitch, his wandering eyes lingering on the navy blue of Charles’s race suit; the way it hugs his curves and edges, the Red Bull logo a prized jewel over the man's heart. A heart that still beats crimson for another, as loud and vibrant as the prancing horse’s neigh.

The Ferrari prince, kidnapped by the evil of the sport itself, held against his will as a second driver to its golden boy. 

They hold the entire grid behind instead. If Max wins a race, Charles claims the next. They’re a perfect diad, Max and Charles; a match so close that Lando finds it frightening—how well they complement each other. Challenge each other. Beat each other.

Charles won in Bahrain. Max won at Jeddah.

Charles won in Melbourne. Max won in Florida.

Charles won in Vegas. Max won in Spain.

Charles won at Imola. Max knows what’s coming.

Whit a shaky grin, he signs that stupid tyre for Britney of all people; Monaco’s new shining poster boy. Last he heard, a circuit official was barred from attending the launch party of some high-end fashion house.

No names were given. They didn’t have to.

“Don’t let him win,” Nico whispers in his ear.

Max’s blood boils.

For 1 millisecond, he holds that pole trophy in his hands. 

For 1 millisecond, Charles starts P2 in Monaco.

—

“Where exactly do you think you’re going?”

Max freezes in his tracks. Just moments ago, the Red Bull motorhome had seemed deserted, almost everyone being out for a lavish Monaco-style lunch somewhere downtown. Charles was supposed to do the honors. His fucking race engineer was definitely supposed to join him.

A warm hand grasps Max’s shoulder, friendly, yet resolutely clear in its message. 

Stop. Don’t do this. You’re being reckless. 

Sebastian's eyes twinkle with delight. He looks good in Red Bull blue—happier than he did in red; prouder than he did in green. He looks home.

“Uh,” Max stutters, schooling his face to appear casual. “You know, just checking in with Hannah, asking how school’s going for the kids—you know, the usual stuff.” 

“I do know, actually,” Sebastian drawls, luring Max away from the strategy team’s office, his other arm slowly curling around the Dutchman’s waist, fingers softly squeezing. Max feels trapped; like a kid whose more forgiving parent catches them trying to sneak out and then dotes on them, just to be sure. 

If he squints, Max thinks he could make out the little button he threatened to resign in order to have installed in his car. It has been there since the beginning of the season, just below the key reserved for GP, untouched, a crimson “S” hurriedly painted on it. “S”, for Sebastian. “S”, for sacred. “S”, for secret. “S”, for schatje. 

A direct line between Max and Charles’s race engineer, just in case. Max dreads the day he’ll inevitably have to use it.

“Let me tell you a story,” Seb says, sitting Max down with a gentle pull of the hand. “You do remember how I won my third title, don’t you?”

Max’s face falls. Seb's grin has suddenly lost some of its radiance.

—

“Fight me, chéri,” comes the garbled reply, that lovely, soft voice Max adores so much rough and impossibly loud in his ears. The red “S” blinks madly in his face, and Max deliriously thinks he is going to hurl Sebastian into the Red Bull pool tonight.

In his rearview mirror, he sees Charles approaching. The finish line up front. Their home is on the left; the harbor on the right. 

It’s the widest part of the circuit. It has to be. 

They cross the finish line side by side.

Max doesn’t even register when he gets out. All he knows is that Charles is by side as they watch the replay. When the photo finish is shown. 

All he knows is that Charles is crying in his arms.

After all this time, Monaco loves him back.

“I love you,” Max says. 

And that, at least, is always going to last.

[someone-worth-racing-for]

CARLOS SPEAKS HIS MIND

Montmeló 06 May 2021

For the Gran Premio Aramco de España di Formula 1, Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow’s Spanish driver, Carlos Sainz, granted a long interview to the official programme, in which he talked about himself, as a person and as a racing driver. Here is what he had to say.

We hear you are a burger connoisseur… what makes a great burger? Where was the best you ever had?

I LOVE BURGERS! I guess a great burger is defined by the patty and the bun. The extra ingredients play their part too…but without a juicy patty and a perfect bun you will never get top marks! I try to have a burger in every city we visit. Melbourne definitely has one of the best I´ve tried.

What’s the attraction of golf? We hear you play off a 9 handicap, so do you think you could play professionally if you put your mind to it? Of course, we presume you are better than your fellow drivers on the golf course…

Golf is the perfect way to clear your head from all other things and just enjoy three or four hours outdoors with friends or family. A round of golf requires full focus and it can get super competitive. You play against others but also against your own handicap. I like that. However, to play at a professional level I would have to give up racing, and I don´t see that happening for a while! I like to see other drivers picking up golf. If they practice enough, I´m sure they will lower their handicap quickly.

Where did the interest in boxing come from? What weight would you make if you fought professionally? Who’s you hero boxer?

My performance coach used to work with a professional boxer and he learned quite a lot back in the day. Some years ago, we decided to introduce it in my training routines and I really enjoy it. It is a sport that requires strength and pushes your cardio to the limit. It is also very technical, so the more you boxe the more you want to improve. I guess I would be middleweight or super middleweight, depending on the diet…and the burgers! Nowadays I follow a lot Canelo Alvarez and Ryan Garcia.

You’re known for having a pretty intense work ethic. Did that come from your dad? What did he teach you about preparation and pressure?

My dad has been a great support for me throughout my career and I have learned many things from him. Attention to detail is something that he took to a different level back in the day and I have embraced since I was very young. I´ve also learned from him that there is no gain in dwelling too much on a bad result or celebrating too much a good one. In both situations, you have to analyse carefully what happened, learn, improve, reset and move on to the next race.

Caco, Rupert and yourself seem to have a very strong relationship on both a personal and professional level. How important is having people around you? Did working in a bubble make you closer, or did you want to kill each other?

I think having the right people around you is key for any athlete. When you have full confidence in your personal team you can focus more on the sporting side and that translates into better performance. F1 is very peculiar because we travel to an incredible number of countries in 9 months, so you get to spend a lot of time with your team. In my case, I think we have found a great balance between us. We know how to differentiate between work and leisure. We follow a very professional approach to the sport, whilst having fun and enjoying the experience along the way.

Not so long ago people introduced you as ‘the son of Carlos Sainz’, now it’s more a case of some will introduce your father as ‘Carlos Sainz’s dad’. How does that play out around the dinner table at home with your dad?

We don´t really speak about it to be honest. I guess it’s just natural. When you are a kid, you normally get introduced as “the son of” and years ago I still had a lot to prove in the motorsport world. Now things have obviously evolved, but I don´t really think my father gets introduced as being my dad! He has earned the right to be recognised as King Carlos! What I must say is that neither of us like the “Junior” tag that sometimes comes along with my name, and he has happily accepted the “Senior” tag to avoid it!

One of the risks in moving to Ferrari was going up against one of the sport’s most highly-rated drivers. You’ve done that with Max, Daniel, Lando and now Charles? Are you a masochist?

This is Formula 1. The best 20 drivers of the world are here and, inevitably, you are going to have to compete against all of them if you want to become World Champion, whether they are team mates or not. It´s just part of the game. If you are scared of going up against any other driver, you are just in the wrong sport.

You’ve made some brave moves in your career: leaving the Red Bull Programme, finding your way to McLaren, then joining Ferrari. Do you find it easy to make big career choices?

I think the key behind any career choice is a proper decision-making process. Once you have analysed all the possible scenarios, with the information at your disposal at that time, you can evaluate your options and decide what is best for you. Personally, once I take a decision, I fully commit to it. Only time will tell if that decision was good or bad.

Being a Ferrari driver is a notoriously high-pressure role and public criticism can be vicious. How is being at Ferrari different to driving for McLaren, for Renault, for Toro Rosso?

Every F1 driver has a lot of pressure, not only Ferrari drivers. The key is not how much pressure there is, but how you handle it. Ferrari is expected to be at the top because it is the most successful team in the history of the sport. We share the same goal, which is to be back winning as soon as possible, and that inevitably sets the bar very high. I turn that ambitious goal into motivation rather than pressure, and it gives me strength to keep going.

When you were a youngster, you frequently held up Sebastian Vettel as the ideal role model. Was that politeness, given your place in the Red Bull Junior Team, or was Seb the driver you really looked up to?

I´ve known Seb for many years and he has always been a reference in my career. I was doing endless hours of simulator at Red Bull Racing when he was winning World Championships and I learned a lot from his way of doing things, in and out of the track. He is definitely one of the best drivers in the history of the sport and I will always consider him a role model in many ways.

You came through the Red Bull junior programme when the competition was intense with Daniel and JEV, Dany, yourself, Antonio Felix da Costa. What was that like? Were you all in constant competition? Did you ever worry about not making it?

All Junior programmes are designed to identify the best young talents out there. Of course, it was constant competition but in a healthy way. You want to prove yourself at all costs and every time you jump in a car you want to beat the other drivers, whether it’s a race or a test or even in the simulator. Knowing how difficult it is to get a seat in F1, you always have that fear of not making it. But if you commit yourself to it, you trust in your talent and you put the work in, the fears disappear and you just focus on giving your best.

Are you superstitious? And which football team do you support?

I´m not a superstitious guy. I have several routines that I like to follow during a Grand Prix weekend, but given each country, circuit and paddock is different you sometimes have to change and adapt those routines. The doubt about the football team is offensive…REAL MADRID forever!

[studentville-struggles]

A Double Life

Chapter 3

A self-indulgent Daniel Ricciardo fic.

Summary: Returning to old passions results in the start of chaos and living a double life. We say we hate chaos, but the thrill is unlike anything else.

Words: 1,575 (short im sorry - its a filler really)

Masterlist / Part 1/ Part 2

The reception to your hot lap was incredible. The reception to season one of your show was even wilder. You couldn’t quite believe that people actually wanted to watch you live your life. It was a weird life, you’d give them that, but you wanted to drive, and you also didn’t want to let your supervisors down, so this life was the one you would live. You were lucky enough, and you knew there was a lot of luck (and money) involved, to have the most supportive driving teams, drivers’ academy and university. If even one of them decided it wasn’t worth it, or that it was too much hassle, all of your dreams would come crashing down around you.  

People pleasing was very much the name of the game.  

Your following on social media also increased significantly – which you expected considering there’s more TV coverage for F2 than F3, but this seemed more than normal for an F2 driver. People wanting immediate update on what was going on in your life, wanting to follow on from what was seen on the show.  

In an attempt to keep driving life from your uni life, you had been posting more and more on your ‘drivers instagram’ which you had started when you got the opportunity to go testing. What had started as a space for you to spam your ‘omg im back in a racing suit yay’ posts, soon became full of official team and racing pictures and slowly but surely has become your main professional ‘driver Rachel’ instagram. It also meant that you neglected your old account and so many of your friends didn’t technically follow you anymore. Not helpful in them knowing what you were up to.

You had rarely tweeted (you didn’t know what to tweet about and honestly it felt weird) but you had gained tens of thousands of followers almost overnight. Your friends thought it was hilarious. Lewis was right there to help you freak out about and learn to ignore the negativity such a platform brings in. A surprising amount of people had an issue with you coming back to racing and not having been driving for your entire life.

Life at home was as busy as normal, you were in the routine of 5am starts and 16hour days but you honestly couldn’t wait for the race weekends – the small respite that it allowed. For most drivers, race weekends meant early mornings and an intense schedule. For you it was relief. You considered the 7am wakeup calls a glorious lie-in, and if you were truly honest, you were almost bored in the evenings with nothing to do. Although you had taken to writing papers and collating notes in the emptier evenings.  

You were growing into a real adult you thought. You might only be 22 but you could hold your own in a corporate setting. You’d done enough presentations to your research group, as well as at the occasional conference to deal with hard, complicated and irrelevant questions. A skill Lewis often claimed he wished he’d learned earlier in his career. The two of you were different than other drivers. He was the first black driver in formula one and you had hopes of being the first female driver in formula one for years. My god and if you could score points, you’d be the first women to do so in over 40 years. If you even made it into formula one.  

You’d been approached by a couple of people about testing or going for ‘a chat’. Not all of them followed up with you, and you had a feeling it would be purely miraculous if you even got to test an F1 car. Maybe if you could jump up to third in the standings, you’d be within a shot. After all there had been three rookie drivers only a year ago.  

You were currently sat in fourth place in the F2 standings. Frustrating with how close you had been to improving that score even further in a few races, but still incredibly strong for a rookie year. The rookie luck seemed to be following you everywhere, not that you minded. Some people claimed it was purely ‘beginners' luck’ and that you would crash and burn soon enough, others had a far more favourable explanation. You were lucky enough to have people supporting your racing and a fair few of them, who had seen your show, were adamant that your dedication to a strict and somewhat extreme lifestyle, was the reason for your success. You read these uplifting comments, shunning the trolls, saying that you committed to both a stressful academic course and a stressful motorsport career, you arguably worked harder than half the drivers on the grid. You agreed that you worked hard and were perpetually stressed about your to do list, but you could never say you worked harder than other drivers. You merely worked at different times, weirder times.  

As the season progressed you reaped the rewards of your hard work, with the odd experience bringing you back to reality. A few race wins combined with a DNF brought you into 3rd place as the season end drew near.

You were feeling great, fighting fit and looking to finish the season on a high. Abu Dhabi was new tracks for you so you wanted to make your penultimate race in Sochi count as much as possible, not wanting the unfamiliarity of Abu Dhabi to throw you off. You’d sat with the team management and your engineers, done the math and you knew what you needed to do to maintain your third place standings. You calculated whether a second place finish was possible, which although unlikely, it was doable with some outstanding results.

By now your camera crew were your biggest cheerleaders trackside, beside your parents of course, perhaps a side effect of the amount of time spent together. Upon discovering a second place finish was technically possible, had lost the majority of their decorum and were hyping you up no end about it. Secretly you loved it, though it also added to the pressure you felt.

People often thought you were exaggerating how close you were to your team, but you honestly loved them all. You spent every day with them, from walking into university with them, to travelling to test days and Grand Prix's with them.  

The off-weeks before the end of season, had been planned with an abundance of lab time and note taking, allowing for the final weeks of the season to be nearly fully focused on racing. Well as close as was possible for you to allow full focus on racing. As you were far too aware of now, plans are rarely stuck to, and you found yourself on a mid week road trip from university to Woking. You’d had a series of calls and were subsequently invited down for discussion surrounding a drivers spot with McLaren. Apparently Carlos’ contract was up and he had accepted an external offer.

Excitement would never be the right word, but it was as close as you could convey.

Lando Norris was everything you expected him to be and more. McLaren had the whole teammate situation under control and the ‘perks’ of working for them were more than your entire life had been previously working towards. Your manager okayed the contract and your formula 2 team were stoked to see you progress once more. Your presence in motorsport was sudden and it was making waves.

---

The announcement of your confirmed contract with McLaren for the next season came as you were busy getting dolled up for the end of season gala. All the drivers, from both F1 and F2, would get together at the end of the season to go all out, have fun and hopefully repair a few friendships the competitiveness may have ruined within the season. It was also one of the first opportunities to get black out drunk for a while. So there was that too.

With both the F1 and F2 seasons ending at the same time, it was handy for you to say goodbye to your team mate for the year, as well as the rest of the drivers you’d been competing against. It wasn’t that you wouldn’t see them again, you just wouldn’t be seeing them so constantly next year. The gala also gave you the opportunity to spend some time with your new team mate, Lando Norris, and suss out some of the other drivers.  

Lewis had obviously been teasing you about seeing Ricciardo again, having successfully avoided him since your hot lap. Though he did randomly follow you on instagram a couple weeks back. Weird. You weren’t sure what to make of him now. He had always come across well in the media, perfectly charming and unfairly attractive; a fact you didn’t dare say out loud. However, when you had met him that day, he’d seemed almost arrogant and well, you didn’t stay to find out what else.  

You felt a little guilty. He had made assumptions about you based on his experiences at races, and you had in turn made assumptions about him. Should you have tried to get to know him better? He did compliment your drive in the end. Perhaps the gala was an opportunity to set things straight; he can see you as a driver and you can see what he is really like.  

[thesportssoundoff]

“A little solid regional afternoon card” UFC Fight Night in Denmark Preview

Joey

September 23rd

What to call this fight card. Hmm. Does weirdly good apply? It feels like a weirdly good card. UFC events in the middle of the day tend to have this extra level of good or bad on them. If it's good then it feels even better because it'll be done before 11 PM and you can go about your day happily. If it's bad then it feels extra bad because mid day MMA almost feels like having to be in school on a Saturday. This card is headlined by a pretty damn good fight at 185 lbs which feels weird given that its a dude who flamed out at 205 lbs vs a guy who got swamped by Cezar Mutante. Jack Hermansson vs Jared Cannonier being a) a headliner and b) a genuinely compelling fight tells the story of how quickly shit turns around at the higher weight classes but also how good fighters can find their way to adapt and evolve with time. The whole main card is pretty damn spiffy; you got two solid fights at 205 lbs with under the radar Polish LHW Michał Oleksiejczuk getting the big step up vs OSP, Ion Cutelaba vs Khalil Rountree figuring to be violent if nothing else, Gilbert Burns vs Gunnar Nelson the sort of short notice wacky fight at 170 lbs that people might be surprised by and an interesting fight pitting Brazil's Alex "Cowboy" Oliveira vs Denmark's Nicholas Dalby. There seems to be some confusion on what the fifth fight on this main card is as I've seen Alan Omedovsky/John Phillips, Mark Madsen/Danillo Belluardo and Macy Chiasson vs Lina Lansberg all listed but here's hoping it's the WBW fight since it's a fine challenge for Chiasson and a "prove it again" for Lina. Prelims are pretty good too with Lando Vannata vs Marc Diakiese and the return of Siyar Bahadurzada as stand out stuff. It's not a great card but something tells me this fight night will be more than alright.

Fights: 13

Debuts: Nicholas Dalby, Mark Madsen, Makhmud Muradov, Jack Shore, Giga Chikadze

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 3 (Peter Sobotta OUT, Makhmud Muradov IN vs Alessio Di Chirico/Danny Henry vs Mike Davis CANCELLED/Thiago Alves OUT, Gilbert Burns IN vs Gunnar Nelson)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 8 (Jared Cannonier, Jack Hermansson, Gunnar Nelson, Cowboy Oliveira, Lina Lansberg, Ovince St. Preux, Lando Vannata, Khalil Rountree)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC: 2 (Ovince St. Preux, John Phillips)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC: 5 (Jack Hermansson, Jared Cannonier, Michał Oleksiejczuk, Gilbert Burns, Macy Chiasson)

Main Card Record Since Jan 1st 2017 (in the UFC): 32-19

Jared Cannonier- 3-3 Jack Hermansson- 6-1 Gunnar Nelson- 2-2 Gilbert Burns- 5-1 Ovince St. Preux- 4-4 Michal Oleksiejczuk- 2-0 Khalil Rountree- 4-1 Ion Cutelaba- 2-1 Mark Madsen- 0-0 Danilo Belluardo- 0-1 Nicholas Dalby- 0-1 Alex Oliveira- 4-4

Fights By Weight Class (yearly number here):

Middleweight-  3 (35) Welterweight-  3 (55) Lightweight- 2 (62) Light Heavyweight- 2 (37) Women’s Bantamweight-  1 (18) Bantamweight- 1 (50) Featherweight- 1 (48)

Women’s Strawweight- (24) Flyweight-   (14) Heavyweight- (27) Women’s Flyweight- (29) Women’s Featherweight- (7)

2019 Number Tracker

Debuting Fighters (27-52-1)-  Nicholas Dalby, Mark Madsen, Makhmud Muradov, Jack Shore, Giga Chikadze

Short Notice Fighters (25-35)- Makhmud Muradov, Gilbert Burns

Second Fight (49-29)- Allen Amedovski, Nohelin Hernandez, Danilo Belluardo

Cage Corrosion (Fighters who have not fought within a year of the date of the fight) (20-33-1)-

Undefeated Fighters (31-34-2)- Jack Shore, Macy Chiasson, Mark Madsen

Fighters with at least four fights in the UFC with 0 wins over competition still in the organization (11-8)-

Weight Class Jumpers (Fighters competing outside of the weight class of their last fight even if they’re returning BACK to their “normal weight class”) (26-18)- 

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- Is Hermansson about to become the latest victim of MMA chaos?

2- The story of Jack Hermansson is a fun one and another example of why activity will never burn you as a fighter. Hermansson was one of the guys who was winning impressively against not so impressive competition until the UFC put him against David Branch in March. He subbed Branch without much issue and his reward for that was a short notice replacement opportunity after Yoel Romero pulled out a fight with Jacare Souza. The UFC thought so little of Hermansson as an opponent that they not only promised Jacare a title shot if he won (for taking the fight) but ALSO moved it off of ESPN and to ESPN+. Despite the short notice call up and the quality of competition, Hermansson proved himself over five rounds as he pretty much effortlessly kept Jacare's crazy ground game at bay while taking the Brazilian down and boxing him up on the feet en route to a decision. Hermansson, like the ultimate "Just keep fighting" dude Michael Bisping, never had lingering losses because he always seemed to be fighting the next week. In so many words, Hermansson outfought his losses and kept a steady stream of wins coming so he was always in the radius. Now he's potentially one fight away from a title fight. Crazy sport sometimes.

3- So Hermansson should look in the mirror for every reason why he needs to take Jared Cannonier with 100% seriousness. Hermansson was looking to fight Kelvin Gastelum or Paulo Costa and both fights fell through, opening the door for him to basically HAVE to fight Jared Cannonier in order to fight at home. Cannonier has "earned" this fight by way of smelting David Branch and beating up on an aging Anderson Silva so there's really not much to his resume at 185 lbs that would give him a main event opportunity. That's basically what folks said about Hermansson when it came to the Jacare fight.

4- Are we officially out of the "Gunnar Nelson is a future title contender" phase? What say y'all?

5- Speaking of potential bandwagons, how about this Khalil Rountree one? We on it or off?

6- Gilbert Burns had a pretty impressive return to 170 lbs when he edged by Alexei Kunchenko on short notice in a pretty contentious fight. He gassed out late but he looked as fast as he normally does and his strength was impressive. I have no idea if he will stand much with Gunnar but this could be a pretty fun grappling contest if it comes down to it.

7- Nicolas Dalby was once compared to Martin Kampmann by folks prior to his UFC debut. After making said debut, Dalby just never found a way to make good on that upside. He looked like his so-so athleticism was exploited at the UFC level and he became more and more hittable as his tendencies were found and broken down. Unfortunately for Dalby, a 1-2-1 run against the likes of Elizeu Zaleski and Darren Till led to him being released---where he immediately lost to Carlo Pedersoli. Since that fight, Dalby's gone 3-0-1 and wound up getting signed on what seems like it's more about where Dalby's from than anything. HE draws Alex Oliveira on the main card open.

8- Speaking of which, do we have ANY update on Cowboy Oliveira's legal issues?

9- How is John Phillips still in the UFC? That just seems weird. He's 0-3 and been finished twice.

10- We all might've gotten a bit ahead of ourselves on Ismail Naurdiev but I'm not hopping off the bandwagon just yet. He shocked the world as a short notice fill in vs Michel Prezares but then came up short against wrestle happy 170 lber Chance Recountre. The holes in his game got exposed and his lack of substance to balance out the sizzle stood out down the stretch of that fight. He's back vs a similar-ish guy in Siyar Bahadurzada although Siyar hits way harder than Chance Recountre.

11- The UFC signed Giga Chikadze to fight Mike Davis but then Mike Davis got yanked off the card so the solution to that was to just keep Giga and have him fight Brandon Davis. MMA is weird. Chikadze is sort of not good at MMA but he vs Davis should be violent while it lasts.

12- How many wins away is Macy Chiasson from getting the Aspen Ladd treatment where she's put in a #1 contender fight that may be way above her preparedness level?