#and stop with the shitty pit strategies

[teneleven12xiii]

I dont care if Logan is not going to be your driver next year, he is your driver now! Treat him better!!

[mxstellatayte]

landoscar 4+1 kiss things.

alternate title: four times it's casual and the first time it isn't

this one is inspired by @prokrastinartiya's landoscar kissing meme! i saw it, fell in love, BOOM absolutely locked in for an idea :)) (before y'all start telling me it's normally 5+1 I KNOW shhhhhhh i prioritize quality over quantity)

contains: the 4 is mostly fluff but a lil bit of spice, the +1 is straight up smut tho, smut warnings: making out, sub lando, miami gp win, congratulatory sex, L bombs, lowkey a shitty ending bc i don't know how to write endings LOL, just two boys being really in love :)

find the original art post that inspired this here!

taglist: @vivi-81 @irishmanwhore @lucycowr @benstormy @anat33-blog1

@Xoscar03 @tremendousstarlighttragedy @nenamalenaa @champagneproblems17 @marknolee

@toby33b @theendofthematerialgworl @soloqualcosa @sassyinchident808

join my taglist here!

i: the establishing kiss.

contrary to popular belief, oscar's love language is physical touch. he doesn't let it show all that much, but when he feels safe with someone, he doesn't stop showing it.

take lando, for example.

the first time he kisses lando, they're in japan in 2023. the brit is initially confused and a little bit shocked, taken aback by the sudden change in oscar's demeanor, but quickly learns to reciprocate.

lando had been endlessly yapping about something or other, oscar hadn't really been paying attention, but when his engineer poked his head in to summon oscar for a quick check in about potential tyre strategies, oscar stood, pressed a kiss to lando's cheek, and was about to walk out of the room before he heard his teammate short circuit.

"shit, sorry. it was an automatic reflex. is it... was that okay?" oscar had backpedaled, completely ignorant to the flush that immediately flooded lando's summer-tanned skin.

"y- yeah, it's fine, i just... wasn't expecting it."

oscar takes that as permission to continue the goodbye kisses.

ii: on the forehead.

the second time, lando is clinging to oscar's arm in his sleep, the left side of his body plastered to oscar's right and his head resting on oscar's shoulder. they're heading back to the MTC on the team jet after qatar, and frankly, oscar understands lando's exhaustion. the heat that weekend was entirely unbearable to the point where multiple teams, including mclaren, were genuinely concerned for their drivers' and pit crews' safety, and most, if not all, of the drivers had reported feeling unwell in their cars. the fact that he and lando had somehow managed to scrape a double podium together despite the brutal conditions was astounding.

lando shifts a bit in his sleep, the crown of his head resting in the nook between oscar's jaw and his shoulder, and a protective impulse hits oscar like a freight train. he tilts his head just so, pressing his lips to lando's forehead gently enough so that he doesn't wake, instead sighing delicately in oscar's arms and shifting impossibly closer.

oscar lays his head on top of lando's and passes out within minutes, the comforting weight of lando's body on his lulling him into the deepest sleep he's gotten in weeks.

iii: on the cheek.

the next kiss occurs inside the MTC, and this time, it's lando's lips on oscar's skin.

immediately after being released from the team debrief meeting that stretches on, in lando's entirely correct opinion, for an unnecessarily long amount of time, he all but throws himself into oscar's arms, and oscar gladly accepts, wrapping his own arms around lando's waist and burying his face into the soft fabric of lando's hoodie. thankfully, lando had quickly caught on to the fact that reciprocating oscar's physical touch is not only acceptable but also welcomed and encouraged, so he'd begun initiating hugs and slotting himself underneath oscar's arm more frequently in the past weeks.

"hello to you, too," oscar murmurs into lando's hoodie, taking comfort in the feeling of lando's arms around his body.

"'m so happy you're okay," lando mumbles, his face tucked into the crook of oscar's neck between his jaw and his shoulder. "you... you are okay, right?" he pulls back briefly, looking up at oscar with concerned eyes that search oscar's own, scanning for any signs of discomfort or pain but finding none.

"i'm okay. are you?" lando's eyes slip shut with a nod, the most delicate of smiles tugging at his lips.

"yeah, i'm good."

"good." lando pulls back, much to oscar's disappointment, the stale, conditioned air of the conference room replacing the comforting warmth of lando's body almost immediately. sensing that the hug is now over, oscar lets his hands drop, settling awkwardly at his sides.

fuck it, oscar thinks. "you wanna get dinner?"

lando sighs, scrubbing a hand down his face. "i don't know, mate, i'm pretty beat. breakfast tomorrow?"

had lando not been focused on noticing how scuffed his trainers are, he would've seen the way oscar's lips fell into his signature pout. instead, he hears a quiet "oh, okay," before looking back up and smiling faintly. "i'll text you?"

oscar sounds like a kicked puppy.

"oh, come here, you muppet." lando's left arm wraps around oscar's shoulders and his right hand holds oscar's chin, his lips on oscar's cheek, and... yeah. that's exactly what oscar needed. "where do you wanna get dinner?"

iv: on the neck.

it's early february, and they're finally back in woking to film some teaser content before pre-season tests in bahrain.

"mm, i missed you," lando says, tilting his head back as oscar mouths at his neck, and oscar hums in response. of course, oscar takes that opportunity to graze his teeth across the delicate skin of lando's neck, which, in turn, makes lando whine.

when oscar pulls back to catch his breath, his mouth goes dry, a stark contrast to the spit-shiny side of lando's neck. the fact that the buttons of his team kit polo are all completely undone and the collar is shoved to the side only adds to it, but his disheveled curls and flushed face really tie it all together with a pretty bow made of the finest ribbon oscar could ever imagine. "fuck, you look beautiful."

"osc," lando whines, and the look in his eyes can only be described as downright pathetic. his eyes are glassy, his lips parted and red from how furiously oscar had kissed them just minutes before, and his chest heaves with the panting breaths he's taking. it's only then that oscar notices- lando's hard.

+i: on the lips.

oscar hasn't really fully processed it yet. lando just got his maiden formula 1 win. he heard it on the radio, the replay of lando's overwhelmed cheers, screaming to his engineer that they did it, they finally did it.

it's only when his lips find lando's long after the podium ceremony, the lingering taste of champagne, sweat, and tears filtering itself onto his tongue, that he realizes just how real it is, and he can't even find it in himself to be mad that he wasn't in the points. "'m so proud of you," oscar says between kisses. "so fucking proud of you." the soft duvet of the hotel room bed wrinkle as lando squirms in an attempt to release some of the pent-up energy from all the adrenaline coursing through his body.

"fuck, osc..." lando's brain short circuits when he feels oscar's hands reach underneath his shirt, calloused fingertips on sensitive skin. "thank you." lando keeps smiling stupidly into the kisses oscar's pressing to his lips, hands scrabbling to grasp at whatever they can. oscar feels like every single sense in his body is heightened, and he's noticing every single detail about every single kiss he feels. the scent of champagne and sweat and lando's skin, the taste of something so distinctly lando that oscar doesn't think he'll ever be able to describe in words, and, above all, the feeling of lando's skin on his. desperate hands grabbing everywhere on oscar's body they can reach, the toned muscle of his abdomen beneath oscar's palms, lando's legs tight around his waist, bringing oscar impossibly closer to the tender skin on the inside of his thighs-

fuck.

he's hard.

"oscar," lando whines, pulling away ever so slightly to catch his breath. "fuck me."

what?

what the fuck?

oscar swears he's hearing things. the roar of engines, wheel guns, and fans' screams have finally gotten to him and he's suffering from either hallucinations or straight up hearing loss.

"what?"

"fuck me, please. there's lube and condoms in the bottom of my suitcase." and... fuck. stronger men have been defeated by less, so there's no way in hell oscar will be able to resist that, especially with how desperate lando sounds.

"where you hoping this would happen?" oscar stands, immediately mourning the loss of lando's body heat, but hastily rummages through the suitcase placed at the foot of the bed, easily locating the bottle of lube and a condom from the bottom of lando's suitcase, exactly where he said they'd be. he doesn't miss the way lando's cheeks flush even more as he nods, hands desperately fumbling to get his shirt off, just to have something to do with them. oscar grins and clicks his tongue, dropping the lube and condom next to lando's hip. "let's get these jeans off, yeah?"

"please." lando's hands fly to his pants, popping the button open and shoving the fly down before shimmying his legs out of the denim. a shuddering sigh pushes past his lips at the release of pressure, and oscar shoves his own jeans down, kicking his and lando's pants off of the bed. there's a faint dark spot on the front of lando's boxers, his erection tenting the fabric, and oscar's sure he looks no different.

"are you sure about this?" there's a nagging in the back of oscar's mind, telling him it's all the adrenaline from lando's maiden win, that this isn't actually what lando wants, that he's going to regret it in the morning... the tone of oscar's voice brings lando out of his haze, clarity returning to the race winner's eyes alongside something else that oscar can't currently pinpoint at the moment.

"do you want to do this?" that's what it is. concern. lando's voice is clear, lacking any of the previous whiny twinge it'd held just moments prior, and his hands come up to gently hold the side of oscar's neck, his fingertips brushing the short bits of oscar's hair. "if you don't want to do this, we can go out and get drunk and forget this ever happened." his eyes search oscar's, his multicolored irises inspecting for any sign of discomfort, hesitation, or uneasiness.

leaving is the last thing oscar wants to do. he knows that much.

with a deep, steadying breath and a shift of his hips- oh, fuck, that was a mistake, because now his clothed dick is laying in the juncture of lando's hip and thigh, and, instead of the thought-out words he was going to say, the only thing that spills past his lips is a moan and a breathy "stay" on the tail end of it. the muscles in his arms give out and he collapses on top of lando, his face tucked into the crook of lando's neck, and when he inhales, lando's fingers already raking soothing rows along his scalp, he smells champagne, sweat, and lando's body wash.

"stay."

"okay, osc. i can do that."

oscar isn't sure how long they lay there, lando's left hand resting in the small of oscar's back and his right rubbing soothing lines into oscar's scalp, but by the time his heart rate slows and his brain stops running a mile a minute, the desperation and speed that he was ready to fuck lando with has sunk out of his body. there's only one problem- well, rather, two problems, but one stems from the other. one: oscar and lando are both still hard. two: neither of them have the energy required for prep, sex, and aftercare.

lando is able to solve both of those problems, though.

"osc?"

"hm?"

"do you want me to get you off?" oscar's face flushes, a whine falling from his lips in embarrassment, but he nods into lando's neck. "yeah?" oscar nods again. "okay, baby. i'm gonna need you to get these off for me, though." he thumbs at the elastic waistband of oscar's boxers, and oscar is barely able to muster enough strength to push himself up and off of lando's chest to pull his boxers off and toss them aside before falling back onto lando. "can you roll over for me, baby?" okay, scratch that. now he summons the last of his strength to roll off of lando, wincing slightly when the long-forgotten bottle of lube and condom dig into his ribs.

"hey." lando's voice has a tenderness to it that oscar's never heard before, used to the constant energy and bubbly laughs, and it makes something stir deep in oscar's chest. before he can prod into it and try to figure out what it might be, though, lando's rolling over and slotting his left leg between oscar's, leaning down, and kissing oscar with a certain softness that leaves every point of contact with lando's body fizzling with electricity. it's a unique and beautifully intimate moment, chests pressed together and bodies touching everywhere they possibly can as hands grasp for places to hold the other closer.

oscar moans into the kiss, high and pathetic, when lando takes both of their cocks into his hand, and even dry, he thinks he could cum just like that.

"oh, fuck, lando-" oscar's eyes are screwed shut, panting as lando continues licking into his mouth, running his tongue along oscar's lips before dipping down to oscar's neck, mimicking the same actions there. lando can't form a verbal response, so he simply hums relishing in the taste of oscar's skin. the aussie doesn't want to admit just how keyed up he is, doesn't want to admit the fact that, with a little bit of lube and a little bit of movement, he'd be cumming onto lando's hand.

thankfully, though, lando seems to be in the same boat, and he makes that very well known with a perfectly timed gentle thrust of his hips forward and a slight loosening of his hand, and the sound that it pulls from oscar's throat can only be described as unholy. "osc..."

"like this, lando, please."

"fuck, me too." oscar jumps slightly when the cold lube hits his cock, but with the slide it adds and the grip around lando's big hand has around them both and the fact that he's completely caged in and every single sense is flooded with lando, lando, lando, the temperature difference is rapidly forgotten in favor of white-hot pleasure. he can't stop himself- his hips are canting up into lando's hand, and it just feels so, so good. oscar's ears aren't processing the difference between his moans and lando's, so all he knows is that there's sounds of sex filling the hotel room, the wet slide of his cock along lando's, and it's so much at once.

when lando's hips start moving, too, fucking into his own fist, oscar throws his head back into the fluffy pillow and groans so loud that he gets a flickering sense of sympathy for whatever neighbors may share a wall with this hotel room, but it's immediately wiped from his brain as lando's lips meet his once more.

oscar isn't sure how much time passes, his lips and tongue gliding along lando's and their hips fucking into lando's hand, but his ears finally process that lando's moaning his name, desperately mouthing at his neck. "oscar, aah, fuck, i'm gonna cum, please, 'm gonna cum-" and, well. oscar didn't think he had a thing for begging, much less a thing for his teammate begging, yet here he is.

"yeah. yeah, go for it. cum for me, baby." before oscar finishes talking, his words breathy and faint, lando's cumming with a cry, his hips shuddering as his cum paints his hand and oscar's cock and stomach in a pearly white. oscar looks down, and the sight he's met with is absolutely filthy. past the mop of lando's curly hair and sweat-shiny skin, he sees the way lando's muscles tense with every thrust and the way his dick is painted white with cum and lube.

"fuck, fuck, fuck, osc, love you, love you so much." and that's what sends him over the edge, muscles in his torso tensing as he grasps desperately at lando's shoulders.

"aah, lan- love you. love you."

[theemporium]

(totally not being self-indulgent rn) carlos seems like he'd be such a good listener with reader!girlfriend. she'd be the kind of person who's so quiet but chances are, when they're alone and he's got her curled up in his arms, she's going to talk about is whatever's happened in her latest read. he'd just be so patient with her and just listen to her ramble on. and sometimes, after a bad weekend, the one thing that can calm him down is her voice and her stories

this was so cute and i had to write something on it🥹thank you for sending this in!🫶🏽

.

It almost felt poetic to have a shitty ending to a shitty season, but it didn’t make him feel any better about the whole weekend. 

He was pissed. He was pissed when the tires started to feel shit. He was pissed when his race engineer kept reassuring him that they would pit soon. He was pissed when he was called into box at the last laps and practically gave up what was already a shitty position. He was fucking pissed when he ended the last race of the season in P18. 

He tried to grin and bear it. He took pictures with the team, he went through the debrief, he celebrated Charles finishing P2. He tried to just pretend like it wasn’t bothering him, like it wasn’t bubbling inside him just waiting to burst and blow up in his face. 

He had feigned exhaustion and a headache, leaving the club far earlier than anybody else even if it was at around one in the morning. He had stumbled into his hotel room, dragging his feet and even though he had only had a drink or two, his body felt like it was already on the brink of a hangover. 

He pulled off his clothes and fell back onto the bed, his eyes falling shut but sleep wasn’t an option for his racing mind. There was only one thing he wanted, but it was miles away and the mere idea of it made his chest feel like it was caving in.

So, he did the next best thing.

“If this is a drunk call, just know that I will be using whatever you say against sober you.”

Carlos felt the tightness in his chest ease as your voice sounded through his phone, his eyes falling shut as he let out a hum. “You always do.”

“You seem tired.” There was a pause, and he could almost imagine the adorable pout on your lips. “Do you want to talk about it?” 

“No,” he answered honestly, because he didn’t want to talk about it. He had spent the last few hours constantly talking about it: in debriefs, in interviews, in conversations with other drivers. He hadn’t stopped talking about his shit race and the fact his whole strategy was relying on a probability of a safety car happening, and now he just wanted to forget it ever happened. Even for a few minutes. “I just wanna hear you talk.”

“Hear me talk?”

“Yeah, I saw you finished another book,” he commented, a vague memory of a notification popping up on his phone at your Goodreads account being updated. “Tell me about it.”

“Stalker.”

He snorted. “How else can I know which books to buy you?”

“I’ll never finish my TBR! I don’t even have enough space for all the books you buy me.”

“Then I’ll buy you a library, amor,” he hummed, his body sinking into the bed. “Tell me about it. What happened? Who do we like? Who do we dislike?” 

There were a few beats of silence before you gave in, before you began rambling about characters and plots and little things that irked you enough to make you rant away to your boyfriend. 

He listened with a smile, just taking in the sound of your voice and your enthusiasm as he reminded himself he would have you in his arms in less than twenty-four hours, and this season truly would be behind him.

.

[lizablackthorn]

Charles doesn’t deserve to drive 70 lap race without water in 50 degrees

Charles doesn’t deserve an engineer who is not doing his job

Charles doesn’t deserve a teammate that always comparing himself with Charles and sickly obsessed with him

Charles doesn’t deserve to ride that shitbox

Charles doesn’t deserve to get his strategy fucked by his own team over and over again

Charles doesn’t deserve to having fucked up pit stops

Charles Leclerc doesn’t deserve any of these and all the shitty things he has been through the seasons

And most importantly

Ferrari doesn’t deserve Charles Leclerc

[kadytimberfox]

This was the most, for lack of a better word, angry race I've ever witnessed in my years of watching motorsport. The radio chatter was like listening to an F4 race on iRacing. I don't think anyone except for maybe Lewis actually walked away from this race happy.

Piastri was not behaving like a man who just won a grand prix. The constant "thank you"s over the radio, the half-hearted trot into the arms of his mechanics. I'm laying the blame at the feet of the McLaren pit wall for giving Lando priority on the pit stop in the first place but if you're already committing to giving Lando the undercut *don't order a position swap*! If it's not Oscar's day then it's not Oscar's day, have the decency to tell him that instead of gifting him a win he doesn't feel like he earned no matter how well he drove today.

I love Lando but he's not off the hook here either. If the swap had happened immediately it still would've been painful but Oscar could probably still walk away feeling like he won on merit. Opening a 6-second gap and then nearly stopping on the straight to let him by is nothing short of complete humiliation.

And I can't even blame him!! He needs the points to close the gap to Max. I completely understand his thought process. It was just a completely shitty situation for everyone involved and it didn't even need to happen. Give Piastri first dibs on the pit stop and let them fight it out on track. Literally that simple.

And speaking of Max, boy fucking howdy did someone shit in his cereal today. I get that the team let him down on the strategy but the racecraft and the radio from the very first corner was just embarrassing. Here he is again just deciding that the runoff is his own personal race track and he can just keep the throttle pinned all the way through. I've tried fitting 3 cars smaller than these through turn 1 at Hungary and someone, usually the outside car, ALWAYS ends up in the grass or in the wall. You just can't do it.

Amazing how today was a clean McLaren 1-2 on pure pace and somehow they found a way to make it taste bittersweet to me.

[dittaturamonegasca]

so i know i'm basically asking for a backlash by saying this but as a person that loves him...what's happening to lando ?? i mean, yes he's young and everything but his behavior lately is SO concerning, other than disappointing. none denies mclaren fucked up for both him and oscar way TOO MANY races now (like ferrari who?? we almost look competent) and that they both deserve better, but that's no way of behaving. this has been a little off since austria but yesterday was just embarrassing, to say the least. i've seen you jumping at carlos' throat for a mild complaining (average for chili, come on) during the miami gp but literally WHAT IS THIS? mclaren fucked up, but they shouldn't need to ask lando to do something for more than ten laps and then try to PLEAD for whatever moral sense he had left in that moment? i read EMOTIONAL BLACKMAIL and i'm like...is this your first rodeo? the shitty thing would've have been calling him in the pit in order to stop him, anything other than this (or other than alpine punishing ocon after monaco) is just a team desperately trying to ask something from their driver. we can agree on shitty strategies of poor communication skills, but the rest is on lando. even nico compared his actions to lewis' from when they were teammates...this should set the bar, folks. like finally giving the position 2 to 3 laps from the checkered flag and having the audacity to ask if you can go back for it a second later, oscar feeling like he has to apologize after his first victory (and after he himself was sacrificed multiple times for lando and this was just so sad to watch), lando throwing the hat and being passive aggressive towards lewis in the cooldown room. yeah idc, if you go after carlos and max for complaining and/or get upset over small things in public i honestly expect no double standards thank you. also lando basically doing a monologue just to say he was asked something and he did it (after more than 10 laps, if i may remind you) and then suddenly going like... yeah, anyway, well done osc. i mean SERIOUSLY MAN??? don't even get me started on some of the scenes on the podium. honestly mclaren needs to get their shit together but so does lando. i like him, i always appreciated his sensitivity, his sense of humor, even his fragility and i was under the impression we were witnessing a nice growth. now idk, i'm honestly confused and disappointed, to say the least.

[cutielando]

comfort | c.l.

synopsis: in which you comfort him because of Ferrari

my masterlist

Ferrari had done it again.

Yet another failed strategy, yet another shitty race.

You couldn't even keep count of these anymore.  Weekend after weekend, race after race, everything seemed to be going against your boyfriend. 

From failed hydraulics, to bad-times pit stops, to bad strategies, to crashes. You name it, Ferrari did it. You knew how much the team mattered to Charles, but it was getting out of hand and ridiculous.

When it was time for the Brazilian Grand Prix, you had hoped that it would be different this time. That maybe, just maybe, the team wouldn't mess this one up.

But of course, you had been wrong once again.

The hydraulics had failed, leaving your boyfriend out of the race in the Formation Lap.

"Why am I so unlucky?" your heart broke when you heard the broken voice of your boyfriend on the radio.

You could feel, even from just hearing his voice, how hurt and disappointed he was that he found himself, once again, out of the race before he could prove himself.

You waited impatiently for him to get back to the Ferrari garage, knowing he was going to be in a foul mood and you would have to figure out a way to cheer him up and make him feel better about himself and the situation.

Seeing his car being hauled towards the garage and him slowly stomping after it made your heart hurt for him.

The moment he looked up and noticed you waiting for him there, he sped up and crashed into your arms, letting his helmet fall to the ground.

"You're okay, baby. I'm here, it's okay" you whispered in his ear, running your hand through his hair softly.

"Let's go" he mumbled in your ear before he pulled away, took your hand and started leading you to his driver's room.

You followed him in silence, knowing it was best to let him come to you and talk whenever he was ready. Pushing him did nothing but worsen his current state.

After you had made it to his room, he locked the door behind you before collapsing on his couch with his face buried in the pillow, grunting.

You slowly walked up to him and sat down on the edge of the couch, your hands slowly starting to massage his back and his shoulder.

He moaned at the feeling, his hand finding your knee and gently rubbing his hand over it.

As you worked on his back and shoulders, you could feel the tense knots slowly dissipate, his muscled finally starting to relax after hours and hours of soliciting. 

"How are you feeling?" you had asked him after several minutes of silence, your hands now only dragging your nails up and down his back like you knew he liked.

He sighed, leaning into your touch. 

"Like shit" he mumbled, his thick Monegasque accent rippling through.

"I know, baby" you comforted him, continuing to run your hands up and down his back.

"I just don't understand why this keeps happening" he began, turning around on his side so he was facing you. "Every single race, something has to go wrong for me, but never for Carlos. It's always be that's out, always me who has car problems, always me who crashes, me every single time. I'm starting to think they're doing it on purpose" your heart broke hearing him talk like this about the team he had dreamt of being a part of since he was a little child.

"Hey, hey, don't think like that. I know it's incredibly frustrating, and you've had a tough year, but that doesn't mean that things aren't going to get better. You just need to have faith in yourself and in the team" you tried to comfort him, despite knowing that no words could make him feel better about the situation.

He nodded but didn't say anything, just closing his eyes in hopes to escape the world and everything around him.

♡♡♡♡♡

You had hoped it would be different now. The car was looking good, he was flying in qualifying, securing his spot in pole, everything seemed to be going perfectly.

Until it didn't.

Chaos in the garage preparing for a pit stop and a bad strategic decision later, Charles found himself out of the race, once again. 

You couldn't watch the screen where your boyfriend was retiring his car, feeling furious beyond words.

The amount of sweat, tears and pain that Charles had poured into the team, the loyalty he had for Ferrari even when everything proved against the team, and still they failed him every time he needed them.

You stormed out of the garage, making your way to Charles' room where you knew he would appear as soon as he got out of the car.

In times like this, you knew the last thing he wanted was to linger in the garage with his team, angry as he was, not wanting to cause a scene where everyone could see and hear.

True to your word, not even 10 minutes had passed by until the door opened and in came Charles, looking sadder than you had ever seen him.

When his eyes met yours, he couldn't hold in the tears that started running down his cheeks. You pouted and quickly got up, enveloping him in your arms and squeezing him tightly.

Charles hugged you back just as tightly, burying his face in the crook of your neck and letting out sobs that chipped away little bits of your heart at a time. 

You stayed like that for a good 10 minutes, letting him get everything out of his system while kissing every inch of his body that you could reach and whispering sweet reassurances in his ear. 

Once he started calming down and his tears were no longer flowing down his cheeks, he slowly lifted his head from your neck, his beautiful eyes now swollen and red.

"Oh, my sweet love" you whispered, giving him a gentle smile before pecking his lips and cradling his face in your hands.

"I'm sick of this" he said, his voice hoarse and croaky.

"I know, I know" you nodded and brought him in for another hug, making sure he could feel your love and support in his time of need.

Despite being once again disappointed by Ferrari, in that moment, Charles couldn't help but smile a little, knowing that despite everything, he had you by his side.

And you were all he needed.

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[juwaiin]

tired of keeping my silence. yes mclaren strategy was dogshit but also can we be real and acknowledge how shitty it is to be willing to undercut your own teammate (and i say this as a lando fan before you jump me). if you're willing to reap the benefits of your teammate's work, especially when you only passed him due to a shit strategy call and to no credit on your own behalf, you are selfish!! especially when the teammate has time and time again backed off for your sake. it took how many laps for him to agree to a switch and slow down? i'm sorry but he does not get to act like he's mister nice guy who did the right thing out of the kindness of his heart and y'all do NOT get to act like that win wasn't oscar's. need i remind you that oscar took p1 by the first lap and kept the position for the entire duration of the race? what would have been a 'gifted win' is if lando won because of a preferential strategy at the last stint. and he was willing to take it.

'racing is a sport where you have to be selfish' there's a difference between fighting for a position and rightfully claiming it vs THIS!! you can prioritise yourself and still have some honor.

'he built a six second gap' AFTER the undercut?? and it wasn't even six seconds when they asked him to switch? he intentionally sped up so he could be out of reach.

'mclaren was gaslighting on the radio' 1- we've established that mclaren is orange to match the pits of hell, 2- you need to stop using the word gaslighting in any context, 3- i feel like it would not have gone that far if lando just. complied? ? also nico rosberg was right the team has to be firm instead of whatever hostage negotiation situation they had going on.

'if he loses to max with a seven point gap-' doesn't matter because this win wasn't HIS. his potential world championship cannot come at the expense of his teammate's RIGHTFUL win.

man i was such a fan of his but we can't just say fuck mclaren and act like this sort of scenario doesn't reflect someone's character. also, some of you forget that drivers are here to race, and that includes oscar. he's not a chess piece to make races easier for lando. he's a driver in his own right.

(hoping wishing praying he gets his act together because i have many lando wips that i want to finish;;;;; and because team drama is only entertaining when it's french and/or homoerotic)

[loquarocoeur]

Only Mclaren can get 1-2 AND a maiden win and still make everyone feel this shitty.

Both Lando and Oscar were put in such a terrible situation unnecessarily by their team. No matter how it played out, Lando is either unsupportive or Lando doesn't have the champion mentality/he is weak etc. I have never heard a first time winner's radio that sad. Despite earning that win, Oscar is gonna feel like it was a handover. The trust BOTH of them had on the team would take such a huge hit after this.

Max was screwed over left and right. You can literally see how much RB is expecting Max to carry the team. They give him dud updates, shit pit stops, shit strategies and still expect him to pull a miracle out of his hat. Few races Max won despite being in the 2nd or 3rd fastest car. It almost feels like Red Bull is expecting that to happen everytime. It's too much to put on one person.

Now, Max is gonna be bullied relentlessly by fans and media until the next big story comes up.

I legit started tearing up out of frustration. This is one race I really wish I had skipped. It was nothing but heartache, tears and toxic.

Yes exactly. I generally don't like to get too passionate about the racing and if I do have opinions I like to keep them off the internet but I've never quite felt this bad after a race

Itnwas just downright sloppy and unprofessional from both Red Bull and McLaren. This just isn't how drivers who are carrying you to championships should be treated

I also genuinely wish I hadn't watched it, I want my subscription money back, this isn't entertainment anymore

[itzwacereek]

Shitty pit stops, cars not working, things breaking, poor strategies, max racing on his own with a 20s gap....f1 is so back

[maraguanabana]

okaaaaay so. I haven't done a race report in weeks. let's go

it's literally 3 am in my country (Latam arise), the race finished at 2 am and that thing left me shaking. for real.

Charles deserved the win, and you can argue with the wall thank you. that was a brilliant drive (Ferrari's Pit Stops/Strategies: I despise you. Safety Car: I knew I disliked you after Abu Dhabi 2021, but you have decided to take my displeasure and hatred to the next level. so it'll be that then)

Still, Max did a good job. I guess. (I just don't want to come to therms to the fact that he has reached Seb's wins. let me grieve it please and thank you. I know Max was as great as always. I just need a second. or a whole week)

Congrats to Checo on being P2 in the Drivers Championship (this is out of pure obligation because I do not like that man, and I wanted Lewis to get that runner-up. sorry not sorry)

and, I swear here and now, that I fucking hate Las Vegas. WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU MAKE A RACE AT 12 AM. WHY. it's 10 pm on Nevada bUT STILL THAT'S A SHITTY TIME.

also my fav thing of this weird ass weekend is that Max quite literally said Fuck you Las Vegas and PR went 'you're gruounded young man' and got him an Elvis race suit. that, that was hilarious

alongside whatever the fuck was going there. jesus. I fully expect a communiqué tomorrow that some drivers decided to recreate Hangover but make it F1 version (btw I'm loving the fanfics. please keep them going) I'm psychologically prepared to read a PR release that Max and Charles decided to marry each other and that Pierre and Yuki got re-married (joking)

and yeah that's it. it was good if you ignore the fact that it could've been Ferrari's second win this season if it was not for Ferrari's luck.

PD. actually shattered for my Danny Boy. I really wanted him to have a great result here. It is, after all his dreamed track.

PD2. WHAT THE JESUS FUCKING CHRIST WAS THE START AND TURN 1. like. what. TWO SC. ONE VSC. AND A THOUSAND YELLOW FLAGS? I guess that was happens in Las Vegas does not stays in Las Vegas anymore. welcome to the social media era. tadaaaa

[lost-in-fandoms]

Logan and Max have another talk, or 'does kissing count as free therapy?' Part 2 of whatever this was. I couldn't fall asleep last night because of how hard I kept thinking about these two. I blame @girlsdads for giving me the brainrot in the first place.

cw: the tiniest bit of implied sexual content

It's another bad race. Fucking 16th, only ahead of the two Saubers, and of the Haas and Alpine that had crashed each other out. There was no reason why his pit stop had to be 4.3 seconds, when Alex's had been 2.7, no reason why he had been fucked over by not one but two undercuts because of shitty strategy, no reason why Alex's side of the garage had to be celebrating 8th place while his was sullen and quiet.

Logan fears he's going to throw up when he steps in and James claps him on the shoulder, saying sorry, next time, as if Logan doesn't know his contract is on the line. Fucking. Next time?!

Logan feels like he's trying to swim with his hands tied behind his back, desperately trying to make it to shore. Nobody cares he's drowning.

He can barely look up during the debrief, feels like he's choking the whole time on the words nobody is saying. As soon as he's free, he escapes, fumbling for his phone as usual. Only this time, he doesn't call his mom.

Are you free?

Max has his motorhome this weekend, and Logan doesn't wait for an answer before heading over. If he doesn't answer, he'll just take a walk.

Yes come over

He's knocking on Max's door before he can rethink it, before all these feelings catch up on him and he decides he's going to break down alone instead. When Max opens his door, Logan immediately regrets it. He's wearing a black t-shirt, hair styled, looking ready to go out. Of course he's heading out, he has a win to celebrate. Unlike Logan. Who should have just gone home.

He opens his mouth, ready to apologize and turn around, when Max's hand closes on his shoulder, his mouth downturned with what would be worry, if it wasn't absurd for Max Verstappen to be worried about him.

"Come in," Max says, doesn't leave space for arguments when he pulls Logan inside, closing the door behind him.

For a long moment they just look at each other, as Logan's waves lap at his neck. He doesn't know why he's here anymore.

"Are you okay?" Max's hand is still on his shoulder. Logan feels like he'll keel over if he takes it back.

"I might be out of a seat."

It's not an answer to Max's question, it's not even what Logan meant to say, it's not something he should be telling to the competition, but really. Logan is barely Max's competition at all, and who wouldn't know that after this season's disaster? Nobody is counting on him to race next year.

He waits for Max to say something, even if it's just empty platitudes, but the other just squeezes his shoulder and nods, and suddenly it's much harder to hold back his tears.

"I just..." he breathes in, willing his voice to not crack, "I don't know what I am doing wrong."

It comes out more desperate than he meant it to, but he's just so tired and upset, and nobody is seeing him drown. Why is nobody paying attention?

"You have a shit car, get bad strategy calls, and have a teammate with years more of experience. You are not the one doing it wrong."

Max says it so matter of fact, as if he's the one driving the shit car, the one with the better teammate, the one having to fight through the back of the field with no success, and suddenly Logan is angry. He shrugs Max's hand away, fists clenching. What does Max know about being the second driver in a bad team? How dares he say he knows Logan's hunger?

"Fuck off," he spits, wrapping his arms around himself to hide the way his hands are trembling. He shouldn't have come.

"You have potential, you are not doing it wrong," Max says again, stubborn and bull-headed as always, jaw set and eyes clear. Logan's anger spikes again. Max Verstappen, the prodigy child, talking to him about wasted potential? This must be a joke. He scoffs, ready to turn around and leave, but Max grabs him again, gets a hold on his elbow and keeps him where he is.

"Why are you angry?" he asks. And yeah, this must be a joke, for sure. Why is Logan angry? Why is he angry?!

"You don't get to..." he starts, but Max interrupts him, squeezing his elbow.

"No. Why are you angry?"

"The team..."

Max takes a step closer, narrowing his eyes.

"Not the team, I do not care about the team. Why are you angry?"

As if there was a right answer to the question that Logan isn't getting! It's his own anger! And Max doesn't care about the team? Of course he doesn't, it's not his team fucking up! Why can't Logan be angry about the team?!

"Alex gets..."

"No. Why are you angry?" Max interrupts again, steadfast in a way that grates on Logan's nerves.

They're too close now, and for a second Logan entertains the idea of punching three times world Champion Max Verstappen. Anger burns in his chest, and suddenly, without knowing who closed the gap, they're kissing. It's not a nice kiss, all teeth and spit, and it almost feels the same as the punch he hasn't thrown, until Max moves his hand from his elbow to his waist, the other one coming up to cup the back of his neck, turning his head slightly. Gentling him.

His anger is back in his lungs, but it's no longer anger, it's back to salt water, and Logan is drowning again. He breaks the kiss, gasping, but Max doesn't let him go.

Logan doesn't remember the last time someone held him like this, like being here matters.

"Why are you angry?" Max asks again, breath soft against Logan's bitten lips. He smells vaguely like minty toothpaste.

"Because..." he hesitates, but at this point he might as feel say fuck it, and give it all. All his fleshy insides in Max's hands, bleeding on the floor between them. "Because I could do better, but I can't do it like this."

This time Max nods. "You could do better."

And Logan knows his parents and friends have said it before, have kept saying it for years. Knows his time in Formula 2 speaks for itself. But it's different, to have Max say it like that, so surely. It's a different kind of validation, and a different kind of heartbreak, because they both know his time to prove it is running out. It's hard to breathe again.

"It is good to be angry. It makes you want to take it," Max says, maybe mistaking the way his breathing has gone funny. But Logan doesn't feel angry anymore. He's tired, and scared, and lonely. He drops his head on Max's shoulder, who moves to card his fingers in his hair, bearing his weight with ease. Logan wishes anything would come easy to him instead.

"I don't know how to be angry," Logan confesses. He doesn't want to say it, doesn't want to disappoint Max, but he disappoints better than he lies anyway. What's one more person.

"That is of course still okay," Max says, instead of some sort of rebuke Logan is expecting. For a second, he thinks about the stories of Max's childhood, of angry men and steel hands. Max's fingers are gentle in his hair.

"What do you want right now?"

It's too big of a question. Logan wants his seat to be safe, he wants to end in the points, he wants a good car, he wants to not feel so distant from everyone else, he wants to go home. He wants someone to tell him it will be alright and mean it.

He shakes his head, forehead dragging against Max's t-shirt. Disappointing again.

Max holds his hair a little tighter, uses the grip to pull Logan up, to make him open his eyes.

"What do you need?"

And it's the same, but it is different, and Logan needs...he needs...

"You can take it. What you need." Max sounds so sure of it, Logan can almost believe it. Maybe Logan doesn't know how to take, doesn't know how to fix it, but here, now, he at least knows what he needs.

"I need to be better," he says, words bleeding out from his split-open chest. "I need to be good."

They both know what Logan means, because the thing with Max is, that it's always about racing, even when it isn't, and it is also always both at the same time.

Max nods, letting go of his hair, and Logan pushes him around, back against the door. Gentle, because he needs to be, but firm, because he wants this.

He eases himself to his knees, and feels Max's hand cup his cheek. His raspy voice isn't disappointed, or pitying, or even sad when he speaks, only fond. A little proud.

"Good boy."

[f1-birb]

i am going to make a masterlist of all the ways both drivers have been fucked over by mclaren's shitty strategy this year (lando more often tbqf) and then if i still have people come to me with "but omgeeee oscar sabotaged to favor lando!!!" i'm just going to assume they care more about hating lando and spreading misinformation about him than they actually care about any of oscar's results

the main issue this season is the fact that McLaren seem to be stuck in the mindset of strategising for a midfield team, it's been so long since they've actively been fighting for podiums and even wins, like easily a decade, that I think they've forgotten how to?

communication too, like Lando's side especially, I love Will but I AM NOT having a Silvo repeat with that tyre call

pit stops as well, we've taken a huge backslide on pit stop times and idk why, but I'm hoping over summer break they can iron out the issues, and they can learn from the mistakes made over the triple header to survive Hungary and Spa to truly work on them during the break

anyone claiming sabotage on either side is just dumb, and I genuinely think half of these takes come from people who don't get how the sport works, or it doesn't work the way they think it does

[sedicisantidote]

Charles is incredibly fast AND incredibly consistent

1) Bahrain- Won from Pole

2) Saudi Arabia- Ferrari was the second fastest car, Charles came 2nd

3) Australia- Grand Slam

4) Imola- Ferrari was the second fastest car, LEC was running 3rd when he had a small spin near the end and finished 6th, his first fault.

5) Miami- Ferrari was the second fastest car, charles got pole because max made a mistake in his q3 lap and because he overperformed his car. Charles finished 2nd.

6) Spain- Charles was on course to have his second grand slam of the season when the engine blew up.

7) Monaco- Charles drove a flawless race, was leading by a good margin in the race until ofcourse Ferrari made that strategy call. Alex also held him up by not getting out of the way even after NINETEEN blue flags. He finished 4th.

8) Azerbaijan- Ferrari was the second fastest car, he got pole only because he overperformed the car and got an advantage of half a second in the driver focused region of the track. He was leading, had the winning strategy (especially with how the safety car played out) but his engine blew up.

9) Canada- He took an engine penalty, had a shit pit stop, got stuck in a DRS train and still finished 5th

10) Silverstone- Drove a flawless race, was faster than his teammate even with older hards with a broken front wing. Was on course to win and gain a lot of points on max until Ferrari fucked up with the strategy call. (Also, his overtake on copse, which despite being the best overtake of the season wasn't given enough attention because skysport comms do not know how to hype up anyone who isn't british or max)

11) Austria- Won. Drove a flawless race and still kept up the gap somehow, even with a broken throttle pedal for 10 laps.

12) France- his second and last fault of the season, in a car that was had an incredibly unstable set up.

13) Hungary- would have won it if ferrari hadn't pitted him on hards. this is despite him asking for softs (and despite carlos asking for hards who was pitted on softs. so much for your "he can't make strategic calls" agenda)

14) Belgium- Had an engine penalty but a tear off got stuck in his air duct. (Which also caused the pit limiter sensor to overheat and make him speed by 1km in the pits, not his fault)

15) Netherlands- Finished 3rd, had shitty luck with the VSC

16) Monza- Had the second fastest car, got pole from his sheer brilliance and overperforming the car. Finished 2nd. (Never got the chance to fight as there wasn't a safety car restart)

17) Singapore- Started from pole but there was standing water ahead of him, which caused not only him to lose position to perez but also those who started on his side of track including lewis and alonso, lost positions. Literally could not have done anything, he drove perfectly and then ofcourse perez only got a 5 sec penalty despite him falling behind the safety car THRICE.

18) Japan- The tyre eating f1-75 had levelled up and eaten her tyres within the first 3 laps. despite this, he still held on somehow on tyres that resembled slicks and kept fighting perez till the last lap. finished 2nd but was demoted to 3rd, a decision made very quickly unlike the previous gp.

19) COTA- had an engine penalty, drove a flawless race, had great moments including that overtake on perez.

20) Mexico- enough said, the pace was there in the car. could not have done anything.

21) Brazil- Ferrari strategy screwed him over in the quali, leading him to being unable to put a lap time on the board. In the race, finished 4th despite Norris taking him out and leaving him to climb up the grid almost two times from last. Had a brilliant race.

22) Abu Dhabi- literally THE perfect execution, did not have a single misstep or a single lock up, was on the one stop strategy and just showed how underrated and good his tyre management skills are.

If you think that he is inconsistent or whatever, please get some braincells. If he was not your top 2 driver, you do not know what the fuck you're talking about.

[tsu22]

Starting Daniel on mediums and then pitting him on lap 7 when the soft runners pitted, removing any tyre advantage and possibility for clean air he had was an absolutely horrendous strategy and clearly worse than Yukis, even if his was slightly risky. Don’t let your bias cloud your judgement when anyone with a smidge of racing knowledge can acknowledge that Daniel’s race got fucked. It’s not about the amount of stops - it’s when they chose to do them.

alright him got pitted by lap 7 along with the soft runners i gotta give u that. thats classic and (shitty) specialty of the the team strat dept. but!!!!!!!! i want to emphasise this. on gods green earth in the year of 2024 with pirelli tyres in summer hungaroring a double stop is the faster strat than a one stop. if only you know racing knowledge then you wouldve know this too cuz LIKE I SAID— everyone and their goddamn mom got double stop in that race CUZ THATS WHAT NORMAL TEAM DOOOO!!!! maybe if ricciardo got good tyre management like yuki then the team would not have pit him early. simmer with that.

[dhufflebee]

I'm new! whose binotto? How long he was there? What he do to Char?

hi! welcome :) and thanks for the vote of confidence, i'm not sure i'm the best person for the job since i've really gotten back into f1 a couple years ago, but i'll do my best.

i suggest you also do a deep dive into @leqclerc's blog, starting with these 3 posts ( x - x - x ).

mattia binotto was, for better or for worse, a key figure in ferrari up until the end of 2022, when he was let go/fired. he had worked for ferrari as a PU engineer since the schumacher times (not sure about what year he started), and climbed the ranks until he became technical director. due to internal politics - a problem that affects ferrari seemingly endemically - and his own inflated ego, in 2019 he all but forced the scuderia to hand him the role of team principal alongside being TD... and that was an atrociously bad decision, but you know what they say about hindsight.

2019 was the first year for charles leclerc in the team (but let's not forget he had been signed by the previous tp/management) alongside seb vettel; the year wasn't particularly good as a whole, but the car was developed well and the team got 3 wins back to back after summer (including monza with charles, which is A Big Deal). only problem is, in the winter break it came out that ferrari had signed some sort of pact/agreement/whatever with the fia, because apparently the engine had been a bit too much focused on exploiting grey areas of the regulations - both engine and accord being directly linked to binotto in his double role.

so to "protect" this engine project (still to this day nobody knows much about it except that it wasn't outright and wholly illegal), binotto decided not to get penalties & fines like any other team would; instead ferrari was forced by the fia to develop a new, power-limited engine who completely crippled the team in 2020 (and also 2021). the car was horrible to drive, results would not come - seb's and most especially charles's efforts notwithstanding - and internal politics were still rampant. to add fuel to the fire, italian media started a smear campaign against seb, which resulted in him being let go in 2020. a media campaign that started mainly because of results, but binotto's absurd and backwards communication style didn't help, with his tendency to not support, lie to and baby his drivers in statements and team radios.

2021 was a transitory year, last of the regulations - car was slightly better but still bad, nobody was thinking about ferrari much given the wdc fight. only noteworthy thing (and again: hindsight) was that carlos sainz joined ferrari, a driver coveted and handpicked by binotto himself.

2022 was when it all came to a head. new regs were established and apparently ferrari had the best car of them all: the first races were quite the sweep with charles seemingly poised to become wdc with the way he was dominating. except, engine reliability was an issue (not disastrous but charles did lose some wins because of that) and worst of all, the team and the wdc campaign under binotto were handled in the most shitty and maliciously bad way you can imagine. important tidbit: in the beginning, carlos was struggling in the car while charles soared, and it's clear now that binotto hated that and worked like hell to favour the driver he chose. meaning the strategies were amateurish, with wins and podiums lost - usually by charles - due to absurd decisions from the pitwall (wrong tyre choices, driver's suggestions getting blatantly ignored, pit stop fumbles like in monaco, charles constantly getting sacrificed because "he could recover", etc). absolute worst of the worst, ferrari robbed charles at gunpoint in silverstone, a race he was comfortably leading and going to win, until they chose to not pit him and to leave him out on old tyres to be overtaken, handing carlos the victory and kicking charles off the poium entirely. to make matters even worse, binotto wagged his finger in charles's face telling him he had to stay put and enjoy (maybe you've seen pictures, it was the single most enarging moment in a wholly enraging weekend).

that race was really the beginning of the end. i cannot let you understand the amount of hate the scuderia got for that result, from fans (especially charles's) but also from media and other teams who were all absolutely baffled by the team's choice. because you see, at that point of the year charles was still way above carlos in points and was still fighting for the wdc - silverstone basically killed that. firstly because it had been a conscious choice to hand carlos his first career win (something the team had been trying to do for a while), and then because it was the most blatant consequence of a season that should have been vehemently focused around charles (much like 2023!max) and instead saw binotto saying there was absolutely no need to establish hierarchy between the drivers at any point in the season (ignoring the huge gap in points and talent), that the team wasn't actually doing that bad of a job after all, that they still could win (if only it wasn't for the pesky driver who can't be a strategist and mechanic as well... if you read between the lines). binotto and the team never took responsibility for anything, letting the brunt of the mistakes and the failed endeavor to be shouldered by charles, which also warped people's ideas of charles and carlos and the media narrative about them - something you can still clearly see the effect of, and probably always will.

after summer break minor regs changed and any wdc hope charles had slipped away. the car got worse AND was developed more towards carlos's preferences to be more stable and him more comfortable, so as a whole less fast (the same path that produced the 2023 car, a monstrosity that was still developed by binotto as a "last gift"). charles had to fight tooth and nail but became vicechampion at the end of the year - still no hierarchy established, still not a single race in which charles was helped or favoured during his solid wdc campaign. we don't exactly know what happened behind the scenes, but after more than one year we can extrapolate with a good amount of certainty that the situation was very bad, and that at some point there was a concrete risk of charles deciding to quit ferrari - at least if binotto stayed.

at the end of 2022 it was announced binotto would leave the team (meaning not only his undeserved and disastroudly managed tp role, but the admittedly more successful engineering side as well), and alongside him most of his loyal cohort left too, especially those people he'd promoted to high roles with mixed results. after a short while fred vasseur was chosen to be the new tp - a move probably done in part to assuage charles (who, no matter what people say, is still ferrari's greatest asset) but also to bring new life and a new managerial approach to the team. fred basically had to restructure everything, but most importantly he brought a new way of working and communicating inside the team and towards the outside, focusing on honesty and mistake correction - something charles keeps praising (and that still gives hints about how shit the atmosphere must have been under binotto).

all in all, binotto has been a terrible team principal, probably one of the worst in ferrari's history, who got meagre results yet managed to fumble great drivers, cars and engines, the team's reputation - and to nuke an apparently foolproof wdc campaign. impressive, really, if it hadn't been so painful to live through.