#also i know you meant sauber but

[httpiastri]

Listen I’ve got no issues with Franco and not even that many with Williams, but it’s a confusing move to me. They’ve given Franck a chance for 9 races, but they can’t give him a seat for the next 2? Years minimum. So he’s either got to step back to f2 or go into a reserve role or pray someone else picks him up but given how shit the car seems to be, can he do enough to make other teams look at him?

Like, open seats wise, merc will take Kimi if they’re putting a rookie in, and so Uber would likely go with Zane or bortoletto if they’re willing to step out of their academy. RB have too many juniors to choose from that taking franco would be a slap in the face to anyone in their academy.

Idk like it’s just a confusing decision to me. I’m all for giving young drivers a chance, but idk I just don’t see a way this leads to a longstanding career. Very few drivers take their second (and maybe third) seasons out and then manage to come back. it's just too competitive. Idk I’m just worried Williams is about to destroy the career of another of its juniors by pushing them up to f1 too soon with no real plan but I’m probably exaggerating

yes definitely a strange move in a lot of ways!! i sadly dont see a seat opening up for him anytime soon in williams nor in any other team, which sucks. but that's the way f1 goes! they only have seats for the top top drivers and that means that tons and tons of young talents wont ever get to race a single f1 race. so for franco to be signed for nine whole races is something i think he's super grateful for, even if it doesnt lead to anything!! because to be fair, even before this, it wasnt really looking up for the williams juniors. now i guess it's a race between him, zak and luke for a seat whenever carlos or alex decide to move on… good luck boys 🫡

[formula-nyoom]

Grid Kids

Summary: Charles' "adoption" of Oscar leaves you and Logan wanting your own grid dads that are currently on the grid.

A/N: I speed ran this one so it may seem a bit rushed. Also “niño” is meant to be gender neutral, you're just supposed to default to the masculine form.

Sequel: Grid Dads

While the term “grid kid” is usually used for the kids brought in to stand with the drivers during the national anthem, it has become a term used throughout the paddock for the younger drivers who have seemingly been “adopted” by older, usually retired, drivers. It’s just something the fans like to joke about, not expecting the drivers to acknowledge the term or relationships.

Except the drivers were 100% aware of it.

And Oscar asking Charles to be adopted sparked something amongst two of his fellow drivers.

“You’re collecting grid dads like Logan. First Webber, and now Charles. And Charles comes with two other siblings. You’ve got a whole grid family.” You said to the papaya clad driver as you, him, and Logan walked through the Monaco paddock.

 “What are you on about?” Logan asked. “I’m not collecting grid dads and Oscar’s only doing it to get more home races which is kinda ridiculous.”

 “You guys are just jealous that Charles said yes.” Oscar said. “You two both have two grid dads. Why are you bothered that I have two now as well?”

“Because we race against Charles almost every weekend. Which means you get to see your grid dad every race weekend. Logan’s able to see Jenson every race weekend because he commentates, but Nico doesn’t come to every race. And I only get to see Seb once a season and that already happened in Imola.”

 “What about Räikkönen? Hasn’t he gone to a couple of your races?” Logan asked.

“That was only in F3 when he was still racing for Sauber. He hasn’t been back since.” You said, pouting.

 “In my defense, I didn’t think Charles would actually offer to adopt me. But hey, I’ll gladly accept it if it means I get another home race.” Oscar said. 

“If Logan and I manage to get a driver to adopt both of us, we’ll still have more home races than you.” You said.

 “I’d like to see you guys try.” Oscar said. Logan turned to you.

“Maybe we can ask Charles to adopt us?” Logan said.

 “No, he’s my grid dad. Go find your own current driver to adopt you.” Oscar said before starting to walk away.

 “Where are you going?” You asked as the Aussie was walking away.

“To go meet my new little brother Leo!” Oscar said. “I’ll send you guys lots of pictures.”

You huffed in frustration as you and Logan watched Oscar walk away.

“If Lewis adopted me, do you think I’d be able to consider Rosco my brother?” You asked Logan.

 “It’s possible. Speaking of grid dads, you want to go photobomb Jenson while he’s doing interviews for SkySports?”

“Oh absolutely.”

~~~

It seemed the media thought Charles’s recent adoption of Oscar was humorous enough to be brought up during the driver’s press conference. One interview had asked Charles about it as he sat on the couch with Logan, Alex, George, and Zhou.

“I think I’m the only driver to have adopted another driver while on the grid.” Charles said. 

 “I don’t think that’s true.” George said. The interviewer and Charles turned to him.

“Why do you think that George?”

“Well me and Alex have practically adopted Logan. I’d say he’s actually been my grid kid since I started mentoring him in F3.” George said. Logan sat up a bit straighter and peaked his head out from Alex, who was sandwiched between the Brit and the American.

 “Would you actually adopt me if I asked? So I can one up Oscar?” Logan asked George. A cheeky grin appeared on George’s face

“Absolutely! Scratch what I said about practically-Logan is now mine and Alex’s adopted son.” George said, earning a laugh from the various reporters and a smile from Logan.

 “Shouldn’t I get a say on whether we agree to adopt my teammate?” Alex asked as he looked between George and Logan. George patted Alex’s shoulder. 

“I know you would say yes either way.” George said. Alex reluctantly nodded his head.

 “Yea you’re right.”

“I fear what I may have started.” Charles said, earning more laughs from around the room.

~~~

“How come you get to have two grid dads from the current grid?” Oscar asked Logan as the three of you stood around the paddock before Free Practice.

 “Cuz I’m just better.” Logan said. You lightly punched his shoulder while Oscar rolled his eyes. 

“This is so unfair.” You said.

 “Why don’t you just go ask Max to adopt you so you don’t feel left out.” Oscar said.

“Are you kidding? I’m still intimidated by him.” You said. “I’d rather ask someone who’s approachable.”

While the three of you were talking, your eyes landed on Fernando, who was walking back to the Aston Martin garage and an idea popped into your head. 

 “Hey Fernando!” You called to the Aston Martin driver and jogged over to him.

“Hey (Y/N). What can I do for you?”

 “Um, I don’t know if you heard about Charles adopting Oscar…” Fernando let out a chuckle.

“I did. I also heard about Sargent apparently getting adopted by Russel and Albon.”

“Yea. Me and Logan got kinda jealous of Oscar since his grid dads are always at the races so we may have been going around seeing if we could get adopted as well…” You told the older driver.  “This isn’t meant to be taken seriously but…would you adopt me? As your grid kid? Oscar and Logan already have grid dads and I’m feeling left out”

Fernando smiled and patted your shoulder.

 “Of course niño. I missed out on the opportunity to mentor a younger driver like Webber and Vettel, so I’ll happily consider you my grid kid.” Fernando said. You smiled.

“Yes! Thanks dad!” You said before jogging back over to Logan and Oscar.

 “See, that wasn’t so hard.” Oscar said.

“I think I win in terms of grid dads.” You told them.

 “It wasn’t a competition.” Logan said. 

“But if it was, I think I would win by having three former world champions as my “adoptive” fathers.” You said. Logan and Oscar rolled their eyes. 

The little “adoption” scheme had soon spiraled to the point where even the official Formula One broadcast was getting in on the joke. To you and Logan, it seemed like a miracle that you and him managed to join Oscar at the top 3 of Free Practice 3. What made the moment even better was the graphic that was displayed during the broadcast that sent various social media platforms into chaos. 

Oscar Piastri-Leclerc

(Y/N) (L/N)-Alonso

Logan Sargent-Russel-Albon

[gguk-n]

I Wish (Andrea Kimi Antonelli x Reader)

Series Masterlist

Y/N and Kimi didn't remember a time where they didn't know each other. Kimi wondered what his life would be like without Y/N in it, since she was the one who brought all the happiness and cheer into it. Kimi found himself looking, more so staring at her as he felt his heart flutter.

His friends would tease him; Ollie took it upon himself to remind him about how obvious he was being; which made him wonder. Did Y/N know? Did she purposely ignore him and his feelings? Or was he thinking too much into it?

Kimi thought about what it would be like to date her, what they would do and where they would go. He would spend most of his free time planning elaborate dates in his head. He was preparing himself, to tell her. He could only hope that she would feel the same.

Kimi had started his first year as a Formula One driver, which meant more races and more gruelling sessions. But with Y/N beside him, he felt like he could conquer the world. He was working hard and trying to make his family and more importantly Y/N proud.

It was also during this time that Kimi started to notice how Y/N was learning Portuguese. He found her in Kick Sauber's hospitality whenever he couldn't find her. She had started to become secretive and it felt like she was hiding something from him.

Kimi couldn't focus on anything but the growing proximity between Bortoleto and Y/N. He would find himself turning green with jealousy; breaking up their conversations and disrupting them. Kimi didn't like how they looked at each other; he didn't like how Y/N looked at him.

"Andrea" Y/N called out in a sing songy tone. Kimi was going over his stats for the weekend; "here" he called out. "Guess who just asked me out?" she giggled. Kimi felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach, an uneasy feeling taking over his chest. He just silently shook his head, hoping to god that he still had a chance. "Gab" she replied, "I mean Gabriel" she smiled, biting her lip. Kimi's smile faltered, "Oh" was all that he could muster. "You don't seem happy" she pouted. "No no, I am" he forced a smile.

From then on, Y/N would always be stuck to Bortoleto, even on days when Kimi had a bad race and wished he had someone by his side. He found himself staring and wondering what it would'e been like had he been the one. Every time he saw them kiss, he wished he was the one kissing her lips. Every time they hugged, he wished it was him. Every time he made her laugh, Kimi wished it was him.

"Andrea, you shouldn't have" Y/N giggled, taking the flowers from him. Kimi just shrugged, kissing her cheek. "What's today's plan?" Y/N asked. "There's this new ice cream place that opened" Kimi began. "Yes" she jumped in joy. The pair was sat enjoying the ice cream. "You got something on your" Kimi pointed at her lips but before she could do anything, he leaned in and wiped the ice cream off with a kiss. Y/N was blushing, "sorry" she stammered. "You're cute when you blush" Kimi teased her. She just shoved him. "Earth to Kimi" Ollie called out, pulling him about of his day dream. "Mate, you're embarrassing yourself" he shook his head patting his back. Ollie pulled Kimi away from his seat which had direct view to Y/N and Gabriel who were busy chatting away while Gabriel stole kisses from her.

Kimi found himself wishing, wishing it was him. "He looks at you the way that I would Does all the things I know that I could If only time could just turn back 'Cause I got three little words That I've always been dying to tell you"

[vanishingcherry]

A WHOLE NEW WORLD

pairings: f1 grid x leclerc!driver reader, charles leclerc x sister!reader

warnings: sexism, hugging, talk about the possibility of a car crash, 2021 f1 grid

authors note: i was thinking of making this a series, so let me know if thats something you would be interested in! (like leclerc driver in different situations throughout the seasons after her debut in 2021)

masterlist

๑ ⋆˚₊⋆────ʚ˚ɞ────⋆˚₊⋆ ๑

Sitting on a flight to Bahrain, it would be an understatement to say that Y/N was nervous. She sat next to her brother, Charles, with Arthur sitting across from her, fast asleep against the headrest of the plane seat.

Charles was going into his 4th season in Formula 1, his third with Ferrari. Y/N, however, was going into her first, following her older brother's footsteps as she started out her rookie season with Sauber, or Alfa Romeo as it was now called.

Looking out the window, she watched in amazement as the city lights sparkled in the night. She had been to Bahrain before, during her time in F3 and F2 with Prema, but landing as a Formula 1 driver was a different feeling altogether.

Y/N was confident in the car. 3 days of preseason testing allowed her to get accustomed to all the differences from the F2 cars. While it definitely wasn't at the level of Mercedes, Ferrari or Red Bull, she was sure that she would be able to get at least a few points over the course of the season.

She was also extremely lucky to be paired with Kimi for her rookie season. The seasoned driver was known to be extremely less talkative, but she was sure she would pick up a few tips by just being in his presence. They had even had a short conversation during the pre-season testing during which Kimi told her that he was glad to have her as a teammate. Y/N never really realised just how much that statement meant to her until now, easing some of the nerves.

After landing, she and Charles walk through customs and head outside together, Arthur and Lorenzo following not too far behind. Immediately met by thousands of fans, she watches an unfazed Charles make his way towards them, smiling and signing posters and caps. She watches in awe for a second before a voice calling her name catches Y/N's attention.

"Y/N! Can you sign my cap please!"

She looks over to see a young girl amongst the crown and makes her way to the barrier. Kneeling over, she grabs the pen and signs the cap with a big smile.

"Are you going to watch the race?" Y/N smile turns even bigger when the girl nods.

"We've got seats at turn 3. I hope you get points! I love you!"

She laughs at the response, giving the girl a quick hug before making her way down the fans lined up.

There were dozens of people there, waving flags and notebooks for her to sign. Others just wanted a quick hug or a picture, which Y/N quickly obliged to. While she couldn't interact with everybody there, she made sure to as many people as possible.

Almost all of them were shouting words of encouragement and support, compliments hitting her from all sides. Surprised by how many people wanted her to sign things and take pictures, it was almost half an hour later when she finally sat down in the car, slumping against the seat as it made its way to the hotel. Her hand hurting from the number of autographs she had given out.

"There were so many people who wanted me to sign stuff" She said to Charles. "I didn't think there would be that many. All the girls were so excited."

"You're the first female driver Y/N, of course they were excited. I'm so proud of you, everyone is." Charles smiles as he replies, knowing just how hard it was to make it to F1, even more so as a girl. "Papa and Jules would be so, so happy."

"Thats P12 Y/N! Great job!"

The engineer's voice comes through the radio, conveying to Y/N her qualifying results.

"Oh my god! 12th is crazy, thank you! Where did Charles place? And Kimi?" Happy that Charles qualified 4th she celebrated, although she was slightly confused as to how she qualified ahead of Kimi who was 14th.

"There was an issue with his car." Her engineer explains, before telling her to switch off the engine and prepare for strategy discussion.

Y/N was just a few tenths off from making Q3 in her debut. Nonetheless, P12 was an amazing standing for the start of the race, and she was overjoyed at the prospect of getting points at her first ever F1 race.

As she makes her way to the driver rooms, Charles catches up to her, giving her a quick hug. "Xavi told me you qualified 12th! Congratulations! Get points tomorrow okay?"

She nods in response, congratulating him for qualifying P4 before once again making her way to the driver's room. She received many pats on the back on her way there, some from drivers and others from reporters and general people around the paddock.

Walking into the motorhome, Kimi is quick to congratulate her. Y/N expresses her sympathy for his qualifying position, but Kimi is quick to brush it aside. Having been in the sport this long, he knew that a bad qualifying doesn't mean a bad race.

After the discussions with the team for the next day's strategy had been closed, Y/N heads out, wanting to get a good nights rest before her first race.

The only goal for the next day was to race well and hopefully get a few points. Y/N knew that Alfa Romeo was feeling the pressure just as much as she was, being the team that signed the first female driver. All she wanted was to learn as much as possible while proving herself to the world.

"Just learn", is what the team principle had said not an hour ago. "Learn as much as you can, enjoy, and try not to crash the car."

Just as the rookie opens the taxi door, a voice calling out her name makes her turn around. At the sight of Sebastian, she pulls out her earphones.

The driver had just made the switch to Aston Martin, being Charles's teammate the year before. "I heard you qualified 12th! Thats amazing!"

Shyly she laughs. "Yeah, thank you so much!"

"Is anyone giving you a hard time?" he asks, fully prepared to defend Y/N. Sebastian had been an advocate for women in this sport for a long time, and was truly delighted that the step had finally be taken. Truth be told, he was honoured that he would be getting the opportunity to race against Y/N, even though she would insist it was the other way round.

"Not really," she replies. "Just a few fans on social media and stuff, saying it's a 'mans' sport."

"Ah, I think Hanna showed me a few of those posts." Sebastian mutters, thinking back to a weekend ago when his wife showed him the latest news, courtesy to the driver not having any social media accounts of his own. "Ignore them, we all know that you're amazing and believe me, you absolutely deserve to be here."

The 4 time world champion was speaking from experience. He had kept an eye on her the previous year. Although they hadn't talked much, other than when she was in the garage to visit Charles, Sebastian was ecstatic when he heard that the young girl had won the F2 Championship.

"I bet you'll get points tomorrow, you're just that good."

"Ah thanks Seb!" Y/N is close to blushing at that comment, overwhelmed with the number of compliments she had been receiving over the course of the day.

After another few moments of chatting, Sebastian walks away to his own car, leaving Y/N to get in hers and get back to the hotel. Popping her earphones back in, she relaxes against the seat, ready for what the race would bring.

"It's lights out and away we go for the first time in the 2021 season!"

The voice of David Croft is heard all around the world, thousands having tuned in to watch the start of the new season. Y/N gets a good start, overtaking Perez and moving up to P11 by turn 1.

Ahead of her now was Stroll in the Aston Martin. Staying close to him for the next few laps, she manages to overtake him on the straight when DRS opens.

"You're in the points! Push!" Her engineers voice comes through. Behind him the team was watching the screen in suspense, hoping that she would be able to keep the position. They jumped out of their seats nearly every time she got close to another car, worried out of their mind for the driver but excited nonetheless.

Choosing to stay out on track for an extra few laps earns her another two positions as most drivers go in for their pitstop, putting her at P8. Y/N manages to defend her position for majority of the race, keeping the Aston Martins and Red Bull behind her.

Towards the second half of the race, Y/N went in for her pitstop, unfortunately losing a spot in the process. Still, just 13 laps later, Y/N crossed the finish line in P9, having gotten 2 points for the driver standings and the team.

"Thats P9! P9 Y/N! Amazing, amazing job!"

Body in shock, she thanks the team and engineers profusely, jumping out of the car the second she parked it.

"Y/N Leclerc crosses the line in P9, an absolutely stellar performance. The first points scored from a woman in decades, and that too in her first race. I'm sure we can expect nothing short of brilliance from her in the future." Martin Brundle's voice can be heard by all watching.

Still in awe at the moment, all Y/N can think about is the fact that she got points. You did it, you did it, you did it. She runs into the barriers, giving a hug to everyone from Alfa Romeo standing there.

Behind her, Charles comes in for a hug, having heard from his engineer that Y/N placed 9th. "Je t'aime, je suis si fier" i love you, i am so proud

The next few minutes were a blur. Waving to the fans, Y/N can hear them cheer in the background as more and more people come up to her. Lewis pats her helmet on his way to the podium, Max and Valtteri doing the same. Sebastian walks by and offers a hug, widely grinning as he winks and says a quick "Told you so."

It was an out of the world experience. While not everyone may see the importance, everyone on the grid knew exactly how she was feeling. Having worked your entire life to reach F1, the feeling after getting your first points is one that no one would ever forget. One that Y/N would never forget.

"So Y/N, how does it feel having won points in your debut race?" The reporter asks when she enter the media pen. Replays of her crossing the checkered flag in P9 can be seen playing on the television in the background.

"There was a lot of pressure on me to perform well, being the first signed female driver and of course Charles being in Ferrari. People expected a lot. So, I am extremely happy that I was able to deliver."

Her response is short and sweet, as directed by the PR manager, but true nonetheless. There was a lot of controversy when Sauber announced that she would be joining F1 that year, with people on both sides of the spectrum making statements. It meant heaps to her, knowing that she had already started proving the haters wrong.

Toto and Susie Wolff were in support, both mentioning how important it was for more females to enter the sport. The Mercedes Principle having mentioned how "proud" he was, and how her presence would likely "encourage more girls from around the world to enter motorsport."

Susie being having participated in motorsport herself had reached out to Y/N when the news broke, sending her congrats and sharing her enthusiasm. Y/N and her still stay in contact, having just replied to another congratulatory message from Susie before coming out to give interviews.

On the other hand, there were also people who were doubtful of her. "She's entering a sport that has been predominantly male for over 7 decades. The way I see it, I'm not sure she'll be able to handle the needs of this sport. It's a tough sport, and there must be a reason females have never lasted long before." The statement that Red Bull released via their team principle was nothing short of enraging for Y/N, but she knew that she would have to stay calm and prove them wrong on track.

Nonetheless, Y/N knew that she had the support of all the drivers on the grid, all of them having talked to her and shown support during the pre-season testing. It meant a lot to her knowing that world champions like Lewis, Alonso and Sebastian were all rooting for her.

"And how did Charles react to you coming P9?"

"He was very happy," she exclaimed. "A bit jealous I think, because he didn't get points in his debut." Y/N adds, softly chuckling before moving on to the next reporter.

The rest of the media session went well, all the reporters being respectful and truly happy for Y/N. Finally, once the day was over, she went back to the hotel, ready for a night of relaxation.

Not too long after settling down on the couch, she heard a knock and the door handle turning. Charles walks in.

Falling back onto the couch next to her, he says. "The reporter told me what you said to her."

Frowning in response, Y/N pauses the movie. He elaborates. "About me being jealous? Because I didn't get points in my debut?" He gently elbows her in the rib and she laughs in response.

"But its true, no?

๑ ⋆˚₊⋆────ʚ˚ɞ────⋆˚₊⋆ ๑

[writtenfangirl]

I would love to see more Charles lecerc from you, the way you write him is so good. Maybe him trying to convince his girlfriend to move to Monaco with him and it’s all sweet and cute

Treasured Memories

Charles is literally so fine. I could stare at his face all day and not get tired of it. And it really doesn't help that his personality seems just as fine as his face.

I know his native language is French and not Italian but I always thought it would be so cute if I had a boyfriend who could speak a lot of languages and he chooses to call me a term of endearment in a different language than his native tongue.

Fic's only about 2100 words so enjoy!

Part 2

Charles Leclerc has and always will be a determined man.

He wasn’t the kind of person who rested unless he got what he wanted and he did whatever it takes to get the things he wants. 

Whether through his sheet grit, his determination, his talent or the bountiful resources that his family fought tooth and nail to give him, Charles did everything and anything to succeed.

It’s how he won the F2 championship in his first and only season, how he won rookie of the year during his debut with Sauber and why he was signed by the oldest and most respected team on the grid before he had even reached his second year as a Formula One driver.

He rarely ever heard the word no. And when he did, he always knew how to turn it into a yes.

So when he had asked his girlfriend of three years, Y/N Y/L/N, to move in with him, he hadn’t been expecting her rejection.

“Move in with me, amore,” Charles said, his voice cutting through the loud speakers that were playing Harry Potter’s orchestral theme song.

It was one of those rare days when neither Charles nor Y/N were off somewhere else around the world. With the season reaching their summer break and Y/N requesting time off from work to spend time with him, Charles and Y/N had opted to stay in Charles’ apartment and simply relax together. He wasn’t usually one for a lazy day but because he rarely ever got to spend time with his girlfriend, it was easy to forget about his training and his work outs and team strategy building for the day. It was even easier to forget those things when she was peacefully leaning against him, her eyes glued to the TV screen that was playing the first Harry Potter movie as their bodies were protected from the frigid air conditioning with a cozy blanket.

Charles felt Y/N tense before she pulled herself away from him, her weight supported by her arm as her attention shifted to Charles. Harry Potter was just about to tell Draco Malfoy off for being mean to Ronald Weasley and Charles knew it was one of Y/N’s favorite scenes. But she’d forgotten about it as she processed Charles’s simple request.

The words hung in the air and Charles paused the TV before the scene could progress further. He also knew that Y/N would make him rewind back to the scene if she had missed it.

“What did you just say?” Y/N said slowly, her eyes focused on Charles. 

“Y/N, move in with me.”

He fully expected her jubilant shouts or even a wonderful kiss of happiness followed by an ecstatic “yes!” but Y/N did none of those things. Instead she said a very emphatic, “No…”

“No?” 

“No…”

Charles wasn’t exactly stung by the rejection. He was more surprised if anything. He couldn’t understand why she would say no. They had been together three years. It seemed like the most natural course of action for Y/N to move in with him, the next step to bring their relationship to newer heights.

“Why don’t you want to move in with me, amore?” Charles asked.

“It’s not that I don’t want to. I just don’t think it’s a good idea, Charles. I mean, I moved to Monaco just a year ago. Now you’re asking me to move in with you.”

She did have a point. Y/N did leave London to live in Monaco but she had justified the move because it was better for her career. 

She was an international correspondent for the BBC, which meant she was often sent to different countries around the world. After Brexit, it became harder for her to travel around Europe and, at the time, moving to Monaco was the sensible response.

Being able to see Charles more often was just the added bonus.

“But amore,” Charles protested, “you practically live here already. You have clothes in my closet and skincare in my bathroom. You even have keys here. You see my family so often, maman and my brothers think you’re an honorary Leclerc. I don’t see the problem with you moving in.”

“What about my lease?” 

“I’ll pay for the rest of it.” He deadpanned. “You’re landlord is terrible, amore.”

Y/N winced. He got her there. Her landlord really was terrible. There was always something broken in her apartment, whether it was a broken heater in the middle of winter, a leaky faucet in her kitchen sink, a toilet that refused to flush or a TV that only played static, it took her landlord months to fix those things. It’s why Charles had given Y/N keys to his apartment in the first place. If something went wrong, she could always spend the night. But things went wrong so often that for the past six months, Y/N spent five months living in Charles’ apartment rather than her own.

Not that he was particularly complaining.

He loved having Y/N around.

Y/N’s schedule was just as hectic as his was, likely even more so. She always had three suitcases packed and ready to go just in case she had to leave at a moment’s notice. The rare moments when Y/N came straight to his apartment after a tiring assignment and Charles had been home to greet her were highlights of their relationship. He wanted her to come home to him. And the even rarer moments when he came home to her after his own hectic schedule? Those were memories he etched in his mind forever so he could relive them in his dreams.

“What about my space,” Y/N added. “I work from home a lot and I don’t have a space here to work.”

Fully expecting this, Charles’ next words were unhurried and reassuring. “I’ve already planned it. I can move my simulator and my gaming consoles in the living room. There’s plenty of space here. You can use the game room as your office. I even installed speakers there because I know you like to listen to Taylor Swift while you work.”

Y/N’s eyebrows shot straight up, causing Charles to grin. “Wow,” she said, mildly impressed. “You really have thought of everything.”

He did think about everything. He didn’t want to give her a reason to say no and the only way he could guarantee she’ll say yes was if Charles handled everything so that Y/N didn’t have to put in any effort. She always hated moving and he knew he would have to move mountains and cross seas just to ensure that Y/N would say yes and so he did just that. 

He tried his best not to sound so smug. “Oui. All you have to do is say yes. You don’t have to lift a finger. I’ll call the movers and plan everything and your things could be here by tomorrow if you wanted.”

And yet Charles could see the hesitation in her eyes. Something was holding her back. He knew his girlfriend enough to know that what’s holding her back wasn’t any trivial reason. This was something big. 

“What’s making you say no?” He asked patiently.

“Alright,” Y/N said at the question, her hesitation vanishing and steely determination filling her features. “Do you really know why I don’t want to move in with you? You might not like what I say.”

Charles nodded. He wanted nothing more than to know what horrible reason could possibly be stopping the love of his life from living with him so he could find a way to stop it.

“I’ve noticed a pattern with you, Charles.”

He pulled his brows into a frown. “A pattern?”

“Yes, babe. A pattern. You once told me that in your previous relationships, the love and magic between you two ended when they moved in.”

“What?”

“When you and Giada were together and she moved in, things ended between you two after a year. With Charlotte, it was two. Alexandra had six months. I love you, Charles, in a way that I had never loved anyone before. I don’t want things to end between us.”

He blinked at her once. Twice.

Y/N had always been blunt but she was never unfeeling. She looked as though she wanted to snatch the words from the air and shove it back in herself if she could. “Charles, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to off—”

Charles’ sharp bark of laughter interrupted her. 

Y/N’s eyes widened in surprise as laughter shook his body, the sounds coming out from him echoing in the living room.

Her lips pulled into a frown as she took one of the pillows that rested on the couch and hit him with it. “It’s not funny, Charles!”

“I’m sorry!” He howled, not sounding sorry at all as his laughter choked the words from him, leaving him gasping for breath. Tears were beginning to collect in his eyes, further frustrating his girlfriend.

With a growl, Y/N hit him with the pillow again. Charles couldn’t even register the thump of the pillow with how hard he was laughing.

“Y/N, it’s not funny,” he managed to get out as he laughed. He clutched midsection, his stomach beginning to cramp from how hard herwas laughing.

“Then stop laughing!”

“I can’t!” 

“If you’re going to be that way, then fine!” Y/N pushed away the blankets that covered them and began to stand up. Instantly, Charles sobered up, his hand shooting forward to grab Y/N’s arm, pulling her to him. She landed on a heap on his lap, her hair tickling his nose, the scent of her shampoo enveloping him as he threaded his arms around her body and placed a kiss on her cheek. 

She huffed, rolling her eyes in annoyance, causing Charles to chuckle at her. Another kiss on her cheek and Y/N’s annoyed expression softened. “Y/N,” he said gently, “why would you worry about that?”

“Because,” she whispered, her previous annoyance vanishing like smoke, “usually what happens in almost every relationship is that the little traits that we once thought were cute and endearing about the other person become things we hate. I love that you ask me to cook for you whenever I’m at home but what if one day I wake up and I start to hate that about you. I don’t want that to happen.”

“You are being so silly, amore. That won’t ever happen to us.”

“How do you know that.”

“Because I’ve known you for so long and but I still find new things about you to love everyday. Even the things I don’t like about you, I love. And I love those things about you because I love you. Besides, of my past relationships you’re the girl I’m most compatible with. Every chore you don’t like to do, I like doing.” He said the words with a self-satisfied smirk. “You have no reason to say no. So say yes.”

“So long as you’re absolutely, 100 percent sure you want this.”

This time, Charles’ expression could only be referred to as serious. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. I love you, Y/N. I want to spend forever with you and I can only do that if you let me. So please let me.”

“Oh,” Y/N sighed as a smile pulled at her lips, “you Frenchies and your romantic words.”

“Monegasque, amore!” Charles sputtered and this time, it was Y/N’s turn to laugh. 

“I’m just teasing, babe. You’ll have to get used to it since I’m going to be moving in.”

His arms squeezed her tighter, pressing her against him at her words. “You mean it? You’ll move in? You cannot take it back if you say yes, amore. I won’t let you.”

Y/N’s smile could only be described as incandescent. “Yes. I’ll move in. I’ll move anywhere so long as it’s with you.”

And just like that, what was once a normal, pleasant day, was now another treasured memory. He couldn’t imagine anything more amazing than hearing Y/N’s yes. And if he felt this way about her agreeing to move in, he could only imagine how he’d feel when she’d give him her yes after his proposal.

But his impending proposal to the woman he now knows to be the love of his life was another matter entirely. Right now, he wanted to bask in the moment and he couldn’t think of a better way to do that than by laying on his—their—couch, watching their favorite films and holding the girl of his dreams.

[simplywrong]

I know this will probably get lost in the wave of 'farewell' post I just wanted to say what I think about all this.

While it is sad and devastating to see the news because he deserve better for his years in F1 it is what it is and Formula 1 is cruel like that. At least we can be happy with the fact that it was his decision to leave and not the team's. And I know some of you will say 'no it wasn't he was fired' that's just simply not true. It was confirmed that the decision was in his hands and he was the one posting about it first, it was his choice to go. Yes, it was made with the team pushing him out but he still did it on his own terms and (at least I hope) a big Fuck You to Horner and Helmut. Sergio spent 12 years in this sport, always faced with racism and stupid comments, he gave his whole heart and whole sould into his dream and achived some amazing things - the podiums in Sauber, the masterclass of protecting tyres, the wins, the overtakes and just how much his presence meant to so many people - it all deserves to be acknowledged. Whatever the haters say he is and always was a good driver, through sheer hard work achieving what many could only dream to achive. Yes, he wanted to be a Champion and it didn't work but he was second and close at times and he helped RBR (though they didn't deserve it) to get back on top. This year really means nothing in comparsion how much he achived in this sport - he was and still will be inspiration to an entire nation and to people like me, who can't even speak Spanish or have no connection to Mexico but admire his determination to just be himself in the face of criticism and hate.

It was an wonderful journey and I don't want to believe it's the end but I guess we will see. Now to the RBR - I hope they burn to the ground and lose everything next year - which probably won't happen because Max will drag them to the first place by himself and the team will take credit. But not to stray to far from the main topic - I take some peace in the fact that Sergio is free from this toxic team and didn't agree to that ridiculous ambassador role. We won't know the details for sure but I hope he took every last penny he could from them and that his manager made the 'departure' the most favorable it could be for Checo. It hurts to see him go because he deserved a proper farewell from the team he gave his all to, a grand last race where he would get the respect and gratitude he deserved but yeah, no such thing in Red Bull I guess. He deserved a loving goodbye and not this shitshow of media hounding him, the awful people calling for his head and the whole speculation and hate. He deserved better but we knew that since the first racist comment from Helmut went unpunished. I am sure this whole mess with the seats happened because they are afraid Max will leave to be with his new family and they want someone to learn from him but I hope (and maybe it's petty but idc) that he absolutely obliterates his new teammate (unless it's Yuki but we don't know) - though I have some theories about RBR sabotaging Max from 2025 onwards but it's not the time for this. We saw in the posts from last few days (the game and all the sponsored ads and golf) that he isn't exactly sad about the departure and I guess it makes sense, how could he be when it was sure that if he stayed the team would make the next year even worse for him? He is out, he is happy, he has his money (probably) and he will enjoy life with his family now, maybe only for 2025, maybe forever but at least he is content. Now onto the possibilities: He won't be on the grid for 2025 but there are options for 2026, maybe even some good ones, there are also other options in other sports that wouldn't require for him to leave his family for so long. Whatever he choses to do, I'm sure he will be happy with it and we can only hope to see him again. That 'never give up' is still strong and with his 'only a few curves' and 'we'll see each other soon' I dare to hope for his return. Either way, stay strong friends.

[alianoralacanta]

Do you think it's a disadvantage to charles that he became a ferrari driver so early? Accdg to f1 stats he's the "least experienced ferrari debutante" since 1977. This could be why his f1 growing up pains is magnified tenfold because he did it/ is doing it in ferrari

I think it was both disadvantage and advantage.

For most drivers, being put into Ferrari so early would be pure disadvantage, which was the big reason Ferrari had been so cautious about promoting young drivers into its team.

Ferrari is a notorious pressure cooker. It's not just the team, although it is probably the 3rd biggest team in F1 (Mercedes and Red Bull are slightly larger, but all 3 are significantly larger than McLaren and Aston Martin). It's not just the weight of history and legend, although that's certainly played a part in the downfall of some who went to Ferrari. It's also that the Italian press mostly have eyes only for Ferrari and its fanbase is pervasive within Italy. Especially for a driver who spends significant time there, that's a big information management problem. I'm not seeing anything in Charles' performances that can be attributed to the pressure cooker. What I can see is media reaction. This is worse than it should be because Ferrari went through a rough spell and had weak leadership at key moments. Sometimes it felt like Charles was holding the race team together through sheer force of will, and I don't think the press forgave him for attempting a job that should never have fallen on one person's shoulders alone. However, that could as easily have happened to Charles at Haas as Ferrari (these being the two alternatives at the time it became obvious that he'd outgrown Sauber in mid-2018). The press have happily magnified the impression of the growing pains because it gave them something to write about that wasn't about Verstappen (whose popularity is in different geographic markets to Leclerc's) and because it discovered that Charles' reactions caused empathy - and thus sales - amongst its audience. Plus it helped curry favour with the FIA, who wanted Verstappen's titles to go with as little challenge as possible for its own reasons. There have, however, been some advantages. Charles got the validation from his dream team accepting him. It hasn't always entirely treated him with the reverence he treated it, but had it done so, the situation wouldn't have been healthy for anyone involved. He knows, however, that those members of the team closest to him will walk through fire for him. For a driver who races on hope and love, the effect of that is huge. That bonding process also gave Ferrari confidence to take more risks. It freed up the driver development program, which meant more talent being willing to enter it and stick with the program (Ollie Bearman in particular). Before Charles' promotion, Ferrari was very risk-averse to its deteriment and also that of the drivers in the scheme (I feel that way about Jules Bianchi and I know a fan who feels that way about Checo Perez). Eventually the willingness to take more staffing risks went full circle, enabling Charles to have a crew round him and back at base that stands a chance of getting a title. The risk-averse version of Ferrari that Charles might have got later could never have taken a title, though I didn't understand it until the last 24 months. Plus the promotion gave Charles some practise at managing psuedopolitics that is, sadly, very much necessary for handling the FIA. For example, I do think this went some way towards explaining why the stewards' penalty write-up for the swearing incident sounded apologetic for having to issue any penalty at all, when the one for Verstappen had been so matter-of-fact. (A matter-of-fact issuing of the fine could have been chalked up to pure favouritism. Making the stewards feel remorseful about doing their duty is a psuedopolitical achievement). Finally, it's helped Charles find his place in the Ferrari mythos. Many drivers wouldn't care about that, but a driver who does care about the Ferrari mythos has the chance to go from "very good Ferrari driver" to "part of the reason the Ferrari myth is so strong". For those people called to it, building into a myth allows one to draw strength from it at times of need. It becomes part of one's power. You alluded to there being a less experienced driver at Ferrari in 1977. He'd have understood all this perfectly. Probably would have expressed all this better than me too. His name was Gilles Villenueve.

[alocon]

A Soulmate Who Wasn't Meant To Be [6] - Max Verstappen

written by alocon

Note: Name and Part One based on the song A Soulmate Who Wasn't Meant To Be by Jess Benko

Summary: After a lot of rumours on twitter, all is revealed in an episode of your podcast

Before you read: Use of Y/N (sorry!!), angst (kind of), THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SENSITIVE CONTENT. LIST BELOW, PLEASE BE WARNED THAT IT WILL CONTAIN CHAPTER SPOILERS. Look after yourself

WARNINGS: Discussion of pregnancy, loss of a child, and other difficult subjects such as mental health and cheating

NOTE: There is social media at the end which is important to the story but I can summarise at the start of the next chapter so don't worry if you can't read this, you will get a summary next chapter x

fc: Blanca Soler

[Previous Part Here][The Masterlist]

A Soulmate Who Wasn't Meant To Be [Part Six] - MV¹

youruser

liked by maxverstappen1 and others

youruser: Hi all! I know that recently there have been a lot of rumours about the end of the 2018 season and my break up with Max, as well as allegations of me cheating on him. I have already discussed these rumours and clearly stated that it is not true, as has Max. However, I feel that you still haven't been given enough of an explanation on the situation as a whole and I am finally in a situation where I am able to talk about it. I am making this post for a fair warning that this episode of my podcast will contain themes which may be sensitive to some individuals. The warning list is written below...see more

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maxverstappen1: Proud of you for being able to discuss that

youruser: Thank you Max

user1: Any guests or just you?

youruser: Me, Max, Charles, Seb and Kimi

user2: Not her trying to make money out of this situation

youruser: As has been stated since I started my podcast in 2018, all money goes straight to charity. Earnings from this week's episode goes to The Pregnancy Association of Europe, a charity that looks into why pregnancy goes wrong, if there is a way to prevent it and gets help for those who suffer loss during pregnancy. (A/N: MADE UP CHARITY FOR THE STORY X)

charles_leclerc: Might've cried a little bit whilst filming this, but I think we all did.

maxverstappen1: I did

----

Pole Position Podcast - Episode 75: Let’s Talk Babies w. KR7, SV5, CL16 and MV33

Y: YOU, M: MAX, C: CHARLES, S: SEB, K: KIMI

The podcast started off with Seb sitting in the middle of the sofa. There were two people sitting beside him: Charles and Max. Then, on one of the mini seats to one side of the sofa was Kimi and to the other was an empty seat for you, you were behind the camera. 

Y: This is a very different episode of the podcast. Right, can we check our audio syncs up before we start? 

You placed your headphones on, counting down for everyone to clap. They did and the audio synced up perfectly from each mic. You returned to your seat. The table, which was usually bare apart from the notes from the episode, including questions and other things, had no paper, instead having a variety of foods. You looked at the camera. 

Y: Alright, hello everyone. Welcome to the Pole Position podcast. Hope you’re all doing well. This is episode 75 and I am here with four lovely people, rather than one or two like I usually do. So, one by one would you guys like to introduce yourselves? Char maybe it’s best if you start because you’ve done this many times before?

C: *he nodded* Hello everyone, I’m Charles Leclerc. I am a Formula One driver who drives for Scuderia Ferrari. I’ve been on this podcast a lot. I’m basically the co-host at this point.

You chuckled

M: Hi, I’m Max Verstappen, I am a Formula One driver who drives for Red Bull, and a 3 time world champion.

S: I’m Sebastian Vettel, a retired Formula One driver who has driven for BMW Sauber, Toro Rosso, Red Bull, Ferrari and Aston Martin. I am a 4 time world champion.

K: And I’m Kimi Raikkonen, also a retired Formula One driver who has driven for McLaren, Ferrari (twice), Lotus and Alfa Romeo… Did I miss one?

Y: Sauber, right? When they were sponsored by Red Bull and Petronas?

K: How did you remember that and I didn’t? You’re basically a child.

Y: How am I the child here, both of those two are younger than me.

C: Wait, we are?

M: Yes??? She’s August 23rd, I’m September 30th, you’re October 16th.

C: 1997? *He looked at you, still confused*

Y: Yes, how did you not know that? We’ve known each other since we were 3, Charles.

C: I thought you were ‘98 for some reason.

K: Come on, even I knew that.

You clapped your hands, getting everyone’s attention.

Y: Right, back on track. Today’s episode is a more emotional one. As you know, when I started my podcast, I didn't really properly explain why I started it. I kind of summarised it, I think I said that it was something recommended by my therapist to talk about life. But I’ve never really used it to talk about the deep stuff. So today we’re going to talk about why I actually started this podcast and what happened in late 2018.

Y: I know people will be wondering why I need 4 other people to explain this with me. After the end of 2018, my brain kind of suppressed most of the more minor details and stuff so some of it I don’t remember much of, which is why these 4 are here, to kind of put all of the pieces together. So… Where do we start? With the breakup or the tests?

C: What one happened first?

M: You told me that the tests happened on Thursday evening so maybe the breakup.

Y: Alright. Max, do you want to take the lead on this one?

He nodded.

M: Alright so I broke up with Y/N on the Thursday morning before the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2018, aka Media Day. In hindsight, that was a really shitty thing to do. Everyone was really surprised by it because I absolutely was a dickhead when we split up. However, what I should’ve done is been completely honest and discussed my reasoning. I broke up with Y/N because my dad threatened me with an inappropriate sexual photo of her which he had somehow got his hands on. Likely egged on by Christian. I didn’t know how he got his hands on it, I don’t know what happened, but he had threatened to have it leaked if I didn’t break up with her, so I deemed it for the best and I did it. But the real issue was that I didn’t tell her why. I didn’t keep her in my life, I completely pushed her away. Again, a beyond stupid mistake, possibly the worst of my life. 

Y: Yeah, so that happened, it impacted me pretty badly. 

S: I think that’s an understatement there, no?

K: Just a bit. I remember her completely breaking down to me over it straight after it happened because she didn’t want to worry you two and she didn’t want to ruin Max’s friendship with Charles.

Seb, Charles and Max all looked at you. This was new information for the three of them. 

M: I’m still, genuinely really sorry about that. I feel so bad about the way I did it. 

Y: Max I’ve already forgiven you for it.

M: And yet I will apologise until the day we die if you let me.

C: ANYWAYS, so then in the evening I get a text from her basically saying “Hey, can you come over, it’s kind of important.” And I know this woman’s tendency to underreact in situations so when she said kind of, I took it as “likely very important” and headed straight there.

Y: Do I underreact or do you overreact?

M: Both

K: Both

S: Both

Y: Great.

You reached for a tortilla chip that was in a bowl on the table and took a bite after dipping it in salsa.

Y: So Charles comes over, asks what's wrong without hesitating. I didn’t even get a hi out, just opened the door and boom. Question. So I explained to him how I had been feeling kind of weird and I’d been feeling sick and tired all the time but it had been happening for a couple weeks and I knew it wasn’t sickness. That’s as far as I remember before the tests.

C: So I was like “oh, that’s weird. Have you had your period recently?” You said no but it didn’t usually anyway, I don’t know how it works.

Y: Basically, a side effect of the contraceptive pill that I take is that it stops my period. So either way I wouldn’t know just from that sign.

M: You still take it?

Y: Yeah, I do.

M: Are you actually getting laid?

Y:... Anyways, moving on.

Max laughed at that as Charles continued talking.

C: So, because it would probably cause some media attention if she went to buy tests or I went, we asked Hanna to and she was more than happy to. So she and Seb came over with pregnancy tests and dinner and like a LOT of ice cream just in case because we decided that we can risk our trainers yelling at us to cheer her up. I was not aware that her and Max had broken up by this point. I don’t think any of us except those two were.

K: And me.

C: And Kimi. 

S: So anyways, me and Hanna come over and we sit on the bed and talk whilst Y/N is downing water like there is no tomorrow, you know, so she could take the tests. And then she did the tests and we spent the next 5 minutes talking whilst we ate some of our food and then she checked the test and she was pregnant. We were all happy for her because, and correct me if I’m wrong here, guys, weren’t you two like kind of casually trying at this point?

Max looked at you and you smiled, indicating that he could answer.

M: Kind of. We were to the point where we wouldn’t complain about being parents so it was a kind of situation of “if it happens, it happens but if not, so what”.

C: So then she got a little upset and we were like “why are you sad, weren’t you guys okay if this happened?” and that’s when she told us that they had split up earlier that day. So, really, like god awful timing. 

Y: The rest of that evening was just kind of like them cheering me up. I tried to contact Max but he had blocked me, which I didn’t really understand at that point.

M: It was so I could not call or text because I didn’t want the photo to be leaked.

You nodded.

Y: So I think it was me, Charles, Seb, Hanna, Kimi, Minttu, Lew, and Val, except Lewis and Valtteri didn’t actually know. The others did though. I think, before this podcast gets released, the only people who know are the people here, Christian Horner, Fred Vasseur, Hanna, Minttu, my mother…

M: Christian knew?

Y: Yeah, we’ll get into that later, though. And Fred knew because I had to call him to be like “I have to go to the hospital about this tomorrow, I can’t race this weekend. And he’s family to me. So rather than racing, I went to the hospital. Hanna and Minttu came with me. Turns out I was 8 weeks along. I was like “shit, if I have this baby I’m going to miss so much racing” but apparently I was safe to drive after the 20 week mark until like the start of the 8th month as long as I was more careful than usual and got check ups after every race. SO overall I would’ve missed maybe like 6 races, so I was like, right. I should tell Christian, you know? Warn him. So I told Christian and he instantly started complaining, being like “What if this what if that? This is why we should’ve hired a man to drive”, that kind of stuff. But I think that was the heat of the moment. But then he doesn’t change and he tells my mother for some reason because he knows her and she kicks off and basically disowns me and tells me that I am not making a good choice and that I’m crazy and stuff. Fun. Anyways, going into December, I was really really overwhelmed. I don’t know what it was like from an outside perspective but it was shit from mine. 

K: Terrifying.

You all turned to look at Kimi. The entire 20 minutes of the podcast so far, he hadn’t had much to say, which you got because he’s Kimi Raikkonen.

K: From an outsider perspective it was terrifying. From my perspective, at least. Seeing the way you were so stressed and you wouldn’t eat as much. You were no longer happy, you were constantly anxious, even about how you looked, if people could tell, if you weren’t looking as nice even though you looked fine. It was really scary seeing you go down such a path, especially after everything your mother said to you. 

You sniffled slightly, getting emotional as you never really publicly opened up about this stuff. Charles and Seb agreed at this point.

Y: So then, a couple weeks into December, I can’t remember the exact date.

C: December 11th.

Y: December 11th, I was feeling strange. I had really bad stomach pain. Like awful. I just figured, for some reason, that it was because of the fact I hadn’t eaten much yet that day so I decided to sleep it off, see if I felt better in the morning. And, before we get into this, this may be slightly graphic and it’s a lot more graphic than I described to Max and Seb and Kimi so please be warned. I wake up in the morning, about 3am. And I sat up in my bed and I felt something wet on my lower body. So I was like “What the fuck” and I turn on the light and, uhm.

You paused, taking a deep breath in an attempt not to cry. You felt a hand slip into yours and squeeze. You looked to see Max looking at you with those soft, beautiful eyes. He was looking at you in the most gentle of ways. You felt yourself tipping over the edge slightly, voice cracking as you began to speak again.

Y: I turned on my light and I just saw red. Like, my bedsheets, which were usually white, were just red. Everything was red. I don’t remember too much after that, other than just feeling numb. Charles had been staying with me at that point. Max had just moved out and Charles’ apartment had flooded so I invited him to stay in my house until the apartment was sorted. I don’t really remember much, I don’t know if you do, Char.

C: I do. May I?

You nodded.

C: So I wake up because I hear a scream. Like not a happy one. Just a shocked sounding scream. So of course I went straight into her room to see if she was okay and the lower half of her bed was covered in blood, her shorts, her legs were all just covered in blood. It was, excuse the explanation, like something out of a horror movie. And she just… kind of sat there. Frozen. It was like she couldn’t move or speak, she just sat there. Kind of void of all emotion on her face other than her crying. I remember taking her phone and calling her baby doctor person, because she gave her phone for emergencies. And she answered and I apologised for calling so late and explained the situation because of the amount of blood just… Didn’t look normal. And she said to take her to the hospital if I was concerned. So I did and we went to the hospital and they sorted everything out. I don’t remember exactly what it was but either way we went home and we spent the next week or so just camping in, eating junk food, trying to relax and at least attempting to be calmer. I think it wasn’t until the new year that you told Christian. 

Y: Yeah, I started therapy like a week after the miscarriage. And then, on the 29th of December was when you two, Han and Mina found out, I think?

S: Yeah, I remember Hanna sitting down when we got there.

K: You being late, as usual

S: Yeah, yeah. So Hanna asked how you and nugget were, which is what we had nicknamed the baby and you just kind of cracked. You started crying and they asked what was wrong and that’s when you told us that you had miscarried. So we went out and tried to make sure you had the best day of your life. 

Y: That’s where the photo came from as well. The photo of me and the “mystery guy” whose face was blanked out was just a photo of me and Charles hugging because I got a little upset. I will post the photo here and if you’re listening on Spotify or Apple music, the screenshot of the story with the date attached is on my Instagram story highlights.

Y: So then I told Christian and he told my mother once again and also then proceeded to use it against me. BUT that’s all we have time for today. If anyone wants, we can do an episode purely based on my RBR treatment. Just let us know. Have a lovely day, I’ve been your host Y/N and we will see you next time.

Max, Kimi, Seb and Charles all said goodbye before the episode ended.

-Word Count: 2.6k-

Hi all!! Here's part 6, more drama unfolding. This story will continue to slander Christian Horner btw. In this story he is an awful person because it made the plot better x Anyways hope you enjoyed Max going on a podcast (well, two) because she asked him to so it was worth going on. Have a good day x Alocon

Taglist: @c-losur3 @itsjustkhaos @reidsworld @d3kstar

[formulatrash]

Curious why you say even if Alex had scored points it would have been wrong to give him Logan's car? It would have made a big difference to where Williams was at the start of the season.

I don't know if there's a way to what-if this one, since he firstly didn't score points and secondly wasn't all that likely to so it's not something where you can look back on the race and say ah yeah but if not for this or that it was the right call.

I think the points don't matter. unless something absolutely bonkers had happened you're talking one or two points - something that wouldn't make a difference, Williams has an advantage of 17 points over Sauber and a gap of 29 to VCARB so Alex could literally have smashed out a win and they'd still be 9th by now.

yes it would've got them off 0 six races earlier in the season but that back of field fight was generally so hopeless at the start of the season there was like 4 teams hoping Yuki or Hulkenberg somehow managed to get into the points. in the first ten or so races the strength of the top five teams was enough there wasn't really a midfield at all, just points scorers and non-points scorers and Williams were at the back of the second half of that.

in the previous year Alex had pulled a miracle to score points in Australia and I am absolutely certain that was what informed the decision. because Alex is actually pretty mid around Melbourne, if you look across the times he's raced there and he had, err, obviously had a massive crash which wasn't looking particularly auspicious for the weekend.

and yeah, ok, if he'd scored a point then there would have been some pieces praising the hard choices made. but they would've been wrong, too since you can't strategise an F1 season over the course of a single weekend.

points in Melbourne, at the cost of your second driver for the rest of the season, would really have had to be something. I honestly don't know how Logan carried on, after getting told "we literally do not trust you to deliver for this team." it's not worth destroying one of your drivers for the possibility the other can deliver.

confidence is so important in motorsport. teams put supreme amounts of effort into making sure drivers have it, via sim experience and testing, it's why if you compare Oscar and Logan, Oscar was much better prepared for Formula 1 on debut. both of them only had one season in F2 but Oscar's subsequent year of test driving Alpines meant even with a team switch he was much better trained to take on F1 than Logan's last-minute signing.

it's why they carried on with Logan for as long as they did, since they didn't have another driver with any preparation. as it happens, Franco's done well but there was no guarantee of that and that's why they kept Logan until they balance of likelihood really looked in favour of anyone else.

so to dash that all away in the third race weekend of the year was just reckless. I understand that Alex not racing, as their best driver, would have been frustrating but it's both very unfair on him to say he's their only chance of scoring points because that's not giving him leadership or seniority, it's pure pressure and it's like, well, why even bother running two cars then?

the worst thing that can happen with a driver is when they start driving desperate. you're very likely to lose car parts and definitely strategy options, it's something teams have to be very careful about managing and there's only a handful of times its paid off to any extent. maybe Leclerc's 2020 season, where Ferrari could have been even further down the table otherwise - but that also quite hurt him as a driver in subsequent seasons in a way I think he's only really now coming back from.

even if Williams had scored points it would not be worth demoralising half of your points-scoring potential. the short term gain can't justify the long-term problem. and you can say oh well JV obviously hoped that Logan would just bounce back from it but well, Mr Vowles is himself a failed racing driver and so he knows fully well that isn't how it works.

strategically, it was the best option for one weekend. had that come at the other end of the season, with three races to go rather than on the third weekend, then I think it would have been much more easily justifiable. saying you're going to throw absolutely everything at getting any points-scoring opportunity and yes it might make the other side of the garage a bit sad but it is what it is at the end of the year is still a pretty horrible choice, sure, but more justifiable.

[itsblasttothepast]

Your ramble makes me support Checo both as driver and as person and how wrong I was about him.

As Asian POC I tend to have bias towards supporting POC drivers like Alex, Zhou, and Yuki, but I often forgot about Checo and Lewis because they both drives for "Big" team. I thought they already have enough support for them and less xenophobic comment comparing to mid-field POC drivers, apparently I was totally wrong now I root for Checo on every race.

Anon, thank you so much for your ask, it means a lot to me 💖💖

Honestly, people think that POC in big teams finally managed to get their dreams come true, but to me, it's actually a nightmare. No room for error, compared and demeaned by their own teams. I mean, Helmut Marko has been so vocal against Checo and calls him 'south american' in such a derogatory way (and it sparked the discussion of Checo NOT being south american), it's a very xenophobic and racist enviroment.

When Checo started F1, he was 'the mexican driver'... nobody said his name, and what's worse, he was teammate with Kamui, and both were snubbed so much by the press, they kept saying 'the japanese driver has a new mexican teammate at Sauber', I mean, they have names? 😤

Alonso often complains about this, saying that nobody gave support to him or Checo when they started, maybe this is why they're such good friends. Even Alex has said that when he wins, he is British, and when he loses, he is Thai.

With Checo, I've seen how people don't only mess with him, but also they insult his family, his children... I don't know how he manages to sustain a little mental health with what he has to deal with.

Zhou, Yuki, Alex, Checo, Lewis... they all battle in the F1, and it warms my heart when they support each other. I've seen Checo being friendly with Zhou, being all fatherly with Yuki, joking with Alex, being married to Lewis... oops, I meant, being friends with Lewis.

So thank you for seeing another perspective 🤗, and we should support our drivers, they get so much shit from the press, the weird evil fans and even their teams.

Here I leave you with these adorable pictures of Checo and his kid, he is such an amazing father.

[starryknights44]

f1 race tier list 2024 edition

Ok. So, I am going to be making an F1 tier list of the races I've watched so far this year. Let me know your opinions, but dont be mean. I am just a girl. 

We will be skipping Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Australia because I only want to do races I've personally watched. But I will be watching the race highlights while I'm writing this. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Starting off with the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. 

Fun fact because why not: I did not actually see this race just heard it live (I couldn't log into ESPN) 

Here is an actual fact now: Suzuka was completed in the '60s as a permanent race track, but it didn't have its first GP until 1987, and Lewis Hamilton holds the lap record with a 1:30.983

Completed in 2019. 

5 red lights. 

First lap crash between Daniel Riccardo and Alex Albon 

⋆˙⟡Safety car ⋆˙⟡ 

Looks to be Danny's fault 

⋆˙⟡ Red flag ⋆˙⟡ 

Restart  on lap 3 

French cival war as per  

 Lap 5 good overtake from the inside by George Russell, even better from Yuki on lap 13 going around the outside of the Alpine into turn 7 (I think)

 A good case of team orders from Mercedes. George taking p5 from Lewis on lap 14. 

A pitline straight drag race from Lando and Lewis into the first corner. Lando takes the longer line and comes out ahead.

Mercedes once again proved its falloff during a race last year. Well, except for the cold, apparently…

Lap 18 Red Bull and its early season dominance. Love them, but I'm glad that stopped much more exciting. Dare I say they should have listened to Checo. But I'm not a boss, just a girl. 

Lap 19, looking at the Lewis and Carlos battel, something apparent throughout all the season, but that's not what I meant to bring up. I just wanted a moment of silence for the old Ferrari livery before all the little stupid blue stickers covered it and its drivers. 

…..

Ok, that's enough. On to the next laps  

Lap 23 is a huge pitlane battle between K-mag, Botass, Mr. Freedom (Logan) Yuki, and Stroll. With Ocon getting the jump of the century (not actually, let me know what is your jump of the century)

Mine might be that guy to that one judge  

And Yuki getting out ahead, but Kevin coming in first; not hard when you're pitting against a Sauber and a Haas. 

In lap 26, they just showed an overtake from the Ferrari's back cam. Wow, I miss the old rear-wing 

Ferrari a message for you. 

Do better. 

Lewis can't be seen in that car. 

At 444 words before writing this, its a sign 

From who, idk but a sign nonetheless

Oh, and Charles went wide and lost a place 

Lap 34. Yuki Tsunoda, my goat. 

Logan Sargeant off track 

OH MY GOD, MY SHAYLA, OH MY SHAYLA

Lap 44. Ferrari V Mclaren, another common theme throughout the season.

Lap 46. Ferrari V Self, common again. Ferrari, I love you (I say while screaming into my pillow, crying about all the loss)  

George Russell last lap overtake on Oscar to take p7. 

Wowowo Max Verstappen p1 and Checo p2 

*insert Dutch national anthem* 

And Carlos Sainz p3 

The rest as follows 

Lec 

Nor 

Alo

Rus

Pia

Ham

Tsu

Hul

Str

Bot

Oco

Gas 

Sar

Zho, Ric, and Alb all out. 

Pretty good. Tbh dont remember it all too well. But I'll rate it. 

Overtakes:6/10

Excitement:4/10

Track: 8/10

Overall: 18/30 or 60%

I will put it in B tier 

Let me know what else I should grade on. 

ooh, and I'll also keep track of safety cars and red flags. let me know your Japanese GP highlights.

Thanks for listening to me yap or reading it, I mean.

xoxo, myself

[ummick]

Schumacher and Lawson Main Options If Williams Replaces Sargeant For Monza

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

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

[c2-eh]

Why do you thinking joining ferrari so soon ruined him?

stockholm syndrome lmao. i did not meant it in a way that he is bad driver/person, but i have this horrible fear that he won't ever leave them, no matter how much they suck and that eventually he is gonna retire with empty hands. i know it's irrational but like hey, delulu land. bc i know how deep and important that ferrari/charles relationship is and sometimes it is scary. also being part of ferrari after only 1 rookie season and waiting for years for the car to be good. rip i just want my boy to do good.

also when i watch the difference between sauber charles and ferrari charles i feel like screaming into my pillow.

[gossipgirloff1]

The situation at Alpine is the result of classic management turnover issues. The only hiccup in the scenario is that Briatore is also Doohan's manager so it makes you think why is he so eager to get rid of the driver he's managing now that he's in the advisory position? But it's Briatore, he's crazy and no one really knows how he thinks. Not a defense of him, just an observation. But his methods have worked, we got Schumacher and Alonso bc of him, and Alpine have never cared about their image as a company anyway (the work culture that several former employees have spoken out about) so they'll just sit back so long as he gets them results. Also I personally do agree with the notion that Doohan should have never been signed if they have this little faith in his performance. They announced him at a time where no one else left seatless on the grid wanted to sign for Alpine, and now that they finally have a better car they don't want him anymore. In that case they should've just waited until the end of the season to make their decision. That way they could've just signed Colapinto straightaway without all this fuss. Or possibly Aron to kickstart that Hi Tech rebrand that's on the horizon.

But if you followed updates for other teams closely there were similar discussions over at Sauber. Hulkenberg got signed by Seidl and they're friends to a certain degree as well. So when Audi let Seidl go, people were wondering if this meant Hulkenberg's contract was back in the air. But in the end Binotto was either fine with it or it was a short enough contract that it didn't make sense to be messing around with it when their car is gonna be shit for the next few years anyway. It just didn't make a big splash bc nothing happened at the end of the day.

I think people are just particularly sensitive about mid-season drops after how things played out with Logan last year. But this has been happening for years. Red Bull wasn't the first to make mid-season drops or swaps and none of these teams will be the last. They're spending millions of dollars to fund these teams and even more money is at stake depending on where they finish in the standings. If they don't think a driver is going to be up to par or they found a better choice, they're going to take action at the end of the day. By the time you make it to F1, it's a job. So the teams are going to treat the drivers like employees. And you can nag and deride and call people pay drivers all you want, but sponsors are incredibly important to the sport at the end of the day. Their logos aren't just plastered on the cars for fun. Especially with Alpine now that the parent company is moving further and further away from supporting the team. They don't have that same Renault money anymore. If they don't have high expectations of you to begin with and you're not bringing any additional financial security, you can't really be surprised that the contract is set up the way it is.

Not to mention Doohan has been with the academy and was a reserve driver for a while. I'm sure he knows what the dynamic at Alpine is better than we do. And he's the one who signed the contract, so if there was an amendment clause in there or whatever obviously he's known about that for a while now too. Just because we're learning about it now doesn't mean it's that recent of an update. The reporters only just recently got the tip-off.

.

[eblouissantecharles]

red, — CHARLES LECLERC

there has always been something in charles leclerc that wasn't able to be seen in anyone else. maybe it was his passion, the efforts he always had put in everything he was doing. it could also be his love, the admiration always holding his green eyes that always seems to be dedicated to you. or maybe it was that way he used to have a red cap embracing his hair, messing with it, making it hard to brush sometimes but that always fitted so well in him.

that cap, that red cap. his favorite one, the one his father gave him.

“look what my dad gave me! isn't it pretty?”

you remember every part of him loving red, always wearing red. red clothes, red stuff, red sheets, red room, red love. at that point, even loving him was red. a pretty red, a calm red, a passionate red.

“i swear to god, (y/n), that i just met the love of my life,” he said a night.

any of you understood what love meant back then, that's why it was an unknown for you why your heart hurts so bad.

“oh,” you just said. “that's good, i guess. how does she looks like?”

“who?”

“the love of your life.”

“right. i'm not quite sure if it's a girl or a boy, to be honest.”

“what?”

“i was watching formula one today and i saw it. red, bright, like if it was some kind of fantasy. the car of my dreams. i want one like that one, guess i'll ask one to santa.”

you breathed easy when you realized he was talking about a car. and not just any car, he was talking about the ferrari car, the michael schumacher's car.

“it's from ferrari,” you talk. charles looked at you with confusion painting his eyes. “the car, i mean. it's from ferrari. michael schumacher drives it, he's about to be champion.”

“cool,” he said. “one day, i'm gonna drive a ferrari as well. just like schumacher.”

it seemed like a far dream. hard but not impossible to get. he was making his way right to his formula one debut. and it happened, sauber signed with him and he did his job, marveling everyone. and doing the same thing with the main man, mattia binotto. suddenly, the dream was a couple blocks away. and just like that, charles was wearing a red cap back again, but this time it was the ferrari red cap. it was a fact, he was driving for scuderia ferrari. like michael once did, like he once promised. it was all happening now.

“amour, i made a mistake,” he said arriving home.

“what happened?”

he was shaken by his emotions, looking desperate, almost lost.

“i told my dad that i signed with ferrari.”

the silence filled out the room, waiting for him to be joking.

“but you didn't,” was the only thing you get to say.

“i know!”

your warm embrace was enough for him to start crying and sobbing.

“you can cry now. also tomorrow. you can cry as much as you want, charles. but you have a promise to fulfill now.”

next week, charles' dad passed away.

he was broken, tired, bereaved. but he made a promise.

just like every dream he had in his life, the dream of being a ferrari driver was impulsed by his dad. and he will write his story in the yellow background with a black horse book. he will drive for ferrari.

it took him endless nights, entire days practicing, training his body and mind. there were days where you couldn't even see each other, wasted time and dates. but everything was worth the wait if, ending the chapter, you was seeing him portraying that red cap.

“red suits good on you.”

“do you like it?”

“if i like it? it could be a bit more than that.”

“how much more?”

“very much more, darling.”

and with the dream and success, the insecurities also came.

specially now, at the beginning of a new season after a rough one.

he wasn't sure if he was still living the dream.

maybe that's why he was locked in the bathroom right now.

“come out so we can talk this through, charlie.”

“i don't want to. you should go take a nap, honey.”

even if a door was separating the two of you, it was clear in your being that he's been crying. and you know the reason behind it. the nightmare took and was making a mess out of him, killing him.

“i can go downstairs, take the copy key, come back here and open the door. there's no way out, charlie. please, talk to me, darling.”

he said nothing.

“or we can talk this way,” you propose. “is it that easier for you? i won't open the door, i know you don't want me to. we can talk through the door. like elsa and anna did in the movie, remember?”

“no. anna was the only one who talked. elsa ignored her.”

“want to or not?”

after minutes of silence, he started.

“i'm just scared,” he said with crystal eyes and threatening tears. “i don't even know where to begin. carlos made it. four podiums, fifth in the driver standings. and what did i get? two poles, one podium and a fucking seventh place. why is it so damn hard for me and so incredibly easy for him? i just want, for once, the stars on my side.”

you knew he was crying now, and you were crying with him.

your charles, your beautiful, strong and so talented charles was doubting himself. maybe the stars weren't on his side the last season, but something inside you was telling that they will this one and everything will fit in its place once and for all. you just feel it.

“it has been bad luck. and life is full of it. some people breathe luck and some others have to make their ways to it. sometimes, luck's an awful bitch. like now. luck is believing you're lucky. and carlos probably thinks he's lucky. and this sport is full of lucky as well. we all know that. but you're not here because of good luck. you have your sit on the ferrari book because you earned it. that was no lucky. you deserve it so fucking much, charles. i know it. and this whole past season has been just a bunch of bad luck. but it's all over now and we can have a fresh restart. they're doing their best just for you. you're their main man. the stars will be on your side, mon coeur. let's write a new chapter about you in the ferrari book.”

behind the door, charles was doing his best trying not to cry.

there were ups and downs.

maybe he was going down, but he was doing it with you.

“the stars are on my side 'cause i have you.”

“you will always have me.”

what a lucky man.

“(y/n)?”

“hm-hm?”

“love me tender.”

you smile instantly.

“love me sweet.”

“all my dreams fulfilled,” he keeps singing.

“for my darling, i love you.”

“and i always will.”

maybe it has been hard, but you're together.

and that's what matters.

“i like elvis presley.”

“cool. my dad doesn't.”

“why?”

“he say he has pretty shitty songs.”

“his songs are good. specially the ones about love. i can only think about you when i hear them.”

© eblouissantecharles, 2022

[vro0m]

vro0m’s rewatch - 111/304

2013 Australian GP

Okay hi! Yes it’s still me, vousnavezrienvuf1, in case you missed it I changed my username to vro0m but this is still the big Lewis rewatch except it’s now called vro0m’s rewatch. I changed the tag but it’s still the same content.

Anyway it’s a new season! Let me say first of all that I had waaaay less problems with the lack of content this time, except for 3 races... Including this one lol. So yeah. No gifs this time around but I promise there's a lot of them coming. Like. A lot.

Let’s get started!

First off, let's head to Wikipedia to see the main changes for the season. 

HRT liquidated so we now have 11 teams on the grid : RedBull, Ferrari, McLaren, Lotus, Mercedes, Sauber, Force India, Williams, Toro Rosso, Caterham and Marussia.

Also we know most of that from the 2012 season reviews but as a recap :

Of course Lewis joined Mercedes and Schumacher retired for the second time.

Perez left Sauber to take Lewis' seat at McLaren.

Hulkenberg left Force India after one year even though he had a multi-year deal with them to go to Sauber, with Gutierrez as a team-mate.

Hulkenberg's seat at Force India was filled by Sutil, who didn't have a seat in 2012.

Gutierrez thus took Kobayashi's spot. Kobayashi tried to raise money by asking his fans for donations but he gave up trying to find a seat after Lotus announced they would keep Grosjean.

Bottas started at Williams with Maldonado, Senna losing his seat.

Pic went from Marussia to Caterham where he joined Van der Garde, which means both Kovalainen and Petrov were out. Abiteboul said at some point that Kovalainen got left out because he had a bad relationship with the team while Petrov lost his seat due to a lack of sponsors.

Glock was supposed to stay with Marussia but he opted out. Marussia signed Chilton and Razia, but Razia was not on the line-up in the pre-season testing in Barcelona, leading to rumours. Later, we learned that his sponsors failed to pay what they were supposed to and he got suspended. He ultimately got replaced by none other than Jules Bianchi.

HRT disappearing also meant that de la Rosa and Karthikeyan lost their jobs. 

Calendar-wise, I discover that Bernie said at the time that 20 seemed to be the maximum viable number of races for a season. Welp.

The number of races is part of the Concorde agreement and it expired at the end of 2012 so there could've been more if the teams had agreed to it but in the end, there were 19 races in 2013. Originally, it was supposed to be 20, with a… New Jersey Street circuit?! But it didn't happen and they didn't find a replacement so that was it. 

…...no but seriously : NEW JERSEY STREET CIRCUIT?!

Anyway let's move on. Rule changes.

After n*zi-pr*stitutes Max Mosley failed to introduce a budget cap in 2010, the FIA "announced plans to introduce cost-control measures for 2013". I don't know what that entailed concretely. 

The quali procedures were adapted after HRT's departure : 6 cars eliminated in Q1 instead of 7, then 6 in Q2, and the top 10 in Q3. 

During FPs and quali, the drivers are now only allowed to use the DRS in the DRS zones, as opposed to wherever they wanted to up until that point. Because of that, the number of DRS zones was brought up to 2 wherever it was possible. 

After Seb's issues in Abu Dhabi '12 the rules of force majeure were altered. Initially, you could only stop the car on the track during quali and not be penalized if you could prove that you didn't have a choice and it was out of the team's control. From 2013 onward, force majeure is not a good enough reason to do so. The stewards will check the remaining amount of fuel in any car that has stopped on the track to check if it abides by the rules and calculate a penalty based on the difference. 

The teams now have only 2 jokers to the curfew rule, rather than 4.

The entry fee was increased to 500'000 dollars (holy shit) PLUS 5'000 per point scored in the WCC with the reigning team paying 6'000/point?! So RBR had to pay no less than 3'260'000$ in 2013. That's absolutely fucking insane. 

Oh lmao. Brace yourselves. The 2012 regs led to the development of a nose deemed "platypus nose" that was described as "ugly" by many people (Domenicalli said "not that pretty"). Charlie Whiting said that the new regs for 2014 would change that anyway but in the meantime the teams were allowed to use what was called, and I kid you not, "a modesty plate" to hide the platypus nose's ugliness without altering the aerodynamics. I'm honestly losing my mind over this. 

Mercedes had developed a "double-DRS" system in 2012 that was banned in 2013. It allowed "to create a stalling effect over the front wing when the rear wing DRS was open". Basically it counteracted the downforce it generated, giving the car higher speed and better stability. Lotus developed a similar system before the teams agreed to the ban but the new regs specifically banned Mercedes' system and not the Lotus' one?! 

Also before then, any change to the sporting or technical regs required 70% (so 9) of the teams' agreement. From 2013 onwards, it only took 51% so 6 teams. 

Here you go for the 2013 context. Now let's see that first race! 

Oooh the weather is not great. It's very overcast. Seb is on pole in a Redbull front row. Lewis is 3rd! Massa 4th, Alonso 5th, Rosberg 6th, Raikkonen 7th and team-mate Grosjean 8th, Di Resta 9th and Jenson completes the top 10. Hulkenberg is supposed to be 11th but he's out : problem with the fuel system. 

Formation lap 

The top 10 is on supersofts. They're getting them out of the way, they don't last for very long. 

And they're racing! 

OHhh Massa overtakes Webber, Lewis gets a good start but Alonso is side by side with him after turn 2. Webber is going backwards. Lewis loses a place. So it's Seb, Massa and Alonso stepping on each other's toes, Lewis and Raikkonen doing the same, then Rosberg, Webber down in 7th already, Di Resta and Jenson. Alonso overtakes Massa for P2 while Lewis locks up and loses his position to Raikkonen. No he resists! Massa also resisted! Raikkonen attacks again but Lewis has the inside line. It's incredibly close. A few corners later, it's a done deal, Raikkonen up in 4th. And Rosberg? No. Lewis was down in 6th but he got back up in 5th.

What happened to Jenson? He's down in 21st and pitting. Weird. Massa is within 1 second of Seb and Alonso also less than 1 second behind him. Webber pits. It's not good. Lewis is losing on Raikkonen though. Seb pits. Raikkonen is only 2 seconds off the lead, these Lotuses are something… Massa pits. Alonso pits and has to brake hard to hit the speed limit, with Raikkonen behind him. Maldonado goes wide. 

10 laps in, can we see the graphics please… Lewis leads in front of Rosberg, Sutil and Perez. They all have to stop and God knows why Mercedes isn't bringing the boys in right now. Then it's Seb, Massa, Alonso, Raikkonen on new tyres. And Seb overtook Perez… what use is there to keeping them out? 

Btw I have to say these Redbulls have a purple hue now and it's very pretty. I like purple. Why don't we have any purple cars actually. Here are the 10 colours I'd choose for the cars if it was up to me (I know you didn't ask for it but I'm writing the review so I can do what I want) : White, Black, Deep pink, Dark green, Aureolin Yellow, French violet, Dark candy apple red, Ice blue, Zaffre blue and Tangelo orange.

Also all the cars would be sparkly by obligation. I said what I said. (I'm ashamed of how long I just spent on this omg.) 

Anyway Lewis isn't struggling too much with the grip so at least there's that. His pace is good. But now the mechanics are out! Lewis comes in. Ah right. We're at that time when both Mercedes drivers are wearing yellow helmets so it's a struggle to tell them apart. He's out in 8th. Rosberg also pits. He's 9th just in front of Jenson. Lewis asks if his pace is good and he's told it's good enough. Oooh right, it's Bono now 💜 hi baby Bono nice to hear you! 

On lap 19 Webber pits again. He was losing a lot of time behind Jenson. At the moment it's Sutil in the lead, Seb being 1.5 seconds behind, but Massa is half a second behind him and attacking, with Alonso still only half a second away too. And Alonso pits. He's out behind the Mercedes. Jenson pits. Sutil is called in. Seb also pits. Sutil is still ahead. And Alonso goes past Sutil! It's messy I don't know what the order is anymore. 

Massa is leading. Then it's Raikkonen and ten seconds behind Lewis, Rosberg, Alonso and so Sutil and Seb. Seb overtakes Sutil. Webber overtook Perez and he's now P10. Massa pits and he's out behind Sutil. That didn't go well for him. Anyway Lewis is P2 then. Seb is closing on Alonso and rain is announced. Oh. Maldonado is beached in the gravel. It's over for him. Alonso is also catching Rosberg… oh? Rosberg just pulled over? What happened to him… It means Alonso is up in P3. Massa is trying to overtake Sutil. The public is putting raincoats on. Alonso is only 2 seconds away from Lewis. It is drizzling. Lewis is told to push but he answers this is as fast as he can go at the moment. That gap is already down to half a second. He defends but it won't be enough. Lewis asks if Alonso is on a three stop strategy. Bono answers yes but they still want to keep him behind. He's defending like a lion it's fucking crazy. HE LOCKS UP BUT HE STILL MAINTAINS POSITION jesus it's tense. Aaah Alonso got past and now Seb is right there behind him as well. But Lewis pits! There's 26 laps to go. He's out in P7, in front of Webber. And Raikkonen finally pits. He's out in P5 behind Massa. Lewis says his tyres won't last to the end at this pace. Now we have Alonso in the lead, 4.8 seconds ahead of Seb, 3 seconds ahead of Sutil, 1.1 seconds ahead of Massa, 5 seconds ahead of Raikkonen, a staggering 12.5 seconds ahead of Lewis. This is not looking good.

Seb pits. He's behind Lewis. Jenson pits. Grosjean pits. Massa is only one second behind Seb and he sets the fastest lap. Webber pits. Seb is swooping on Lewis. Alonso pits. He's out in P3 behind Raikkonen. Seb overtakes Lewis. Sutil is back in the lead but he has to stop again. Massa overtakes Lewis. 

Rosberg says his DNF was an electronic problem, he says there's graining and the conditions out there are really unusual.

Ricciardo retires. Alonso is coming back at Raikkonen on pure pace. Lewis is told to move to plan B. Webber overtakes Di Resta for P8. Lewis pits again?! He's out in 6th some 25 seconds off Massa. Raikkonen overtakes Sutil for the lead. Alonso overtakes Sutil for P2. Sutil pits, he's out in fifth so ahead of Lewis, in that big gap. Bianchi is told there's very light rain on the radar. 8 laps to go. Oh wait. 

Remember at some point I said Sutil got into a fight in a Chinese club and got condemned in court for it? Apparently Lewis was there and it ended their friendship.

Anyway that's gossip. Lewis is fighting Sutil. It's so close. And it's done! Now Webber overtakes Sutil. 5 laps to go. 

And it's the end of the race. 

Raikkonen wins. Alonso P2, Seb P3. Lewis P5. 

Sorry, as I said, that's all I have for this GP. No gifs this time.