#baku 2015

[beatrack92]

Katsiaryna Halkina 🇧🇾

2015 European Games (Baku)

[maikafukua]

Narrr

I love himmmm

[tyrannosaurus-maxy]

how are these 9 whole ass years apart

[countingstars-17]

Malaysia 2015 // Baku 2024

[sillystappen]

The Daniel Ricciardo Race Watchlist

Want to watch the best of Daniel Ricciardo on F1TV (or whatever 'totally legal site' you use), then here below the cut is a complete guide to the best most awesome races by Daniel Ricciardo! Please read the IMPORTANT before selecting races!

Daniel's Career Path

2011 - HRT

2012 -> 2013 - Toro Rosso

2014 -> 2018 - Red Bull Racing

2019 -> 2020 - Renault

2021 -> 2022 - McLaren

2023 - Alpha Tauri

2024 - Visa Cash App RB

IMPORTANT: Races in which he was on the podium with Max Verstappen are in blue. Races he was on the podium without Max are in pink. Races in which he did not podium are in red. Races that he won are in green.

2011 Season - 27th

Great Britain - this is Daniel's first ever F1 race!

2012 Season - 18th

Australia - Daniel scores his first ever points!

Japan - Daniel has said this is one the races he's most proud of.

2013 Season - 14th

China - one of the best results this season

Italy - one of the best results this season

2014 Season - 3rd

Australia - though this is listed as a podium race, Daniel was later disqualified due to fuel flow reasons.

Spain - this is Daniel's first podium!

Monaco

Canada - Daniel's first win!

Great Britain

Germany - this another race Daniel has said he's proud of

Hungary - this race got my friend into F1

Belgium

Italy - recommendation from reddit

Singapore

USA

Abu Dhabi - recommendation from reddit

2015 Season - 8th

Hungary

Singapore

USA - recommendation from reddit

2016 Season - 3rd

Australia - home race points!

Bahrain - recommendation from me

China - recommendation from reddit

Spain - recommendation from me

Monaco - while this is a podium, it is incredibly frustrating to watch so keep that in mind

Austria - recommendation from me

Hungary

Germany

Belgium

Singapore

Malaysia - this is also a win for Daniel as well as the first time he podiums with Max!

USA

Mexico

2017 Season - 5th

Spain

Monaco

Canada

Azerbaijan

Austria

Great Britain - big recommendation from me

Belgium

Italy - recommendation from @rickybaby

Singapore

Malaysia - maxiel podium with a p1 for Max

Japan - maxiel podium with a p2 and p3

2018 Season - 6th

China

Azerbaijan - well done, baku.

Spain - recommendation from me

Monaco - AND ITS REDEMPTION DAY FOR DANIEL RICCIARDO

Hungary - recommendation from me

Japan - recommendation from me

2019 Season - 9th

Italy - recommendation from me

Mexico - recommendation from me

USA - recommendation from me

Brazil - recommendation from me

2020 Season - 5th

Great Britain - recommendation from me

Belgium - recommendation from me

Tuscany - recommendation from reddit

Eifel - maxiel podium with a p2 and p3

Emilia-Romagna

Sakhir - recommendation from me

2021 Season - 8th

France - recommendation from me

Austria - recommendation from me

Great Britain - recommendation from me

Italy - Daniel's most recent win

Russia - recommendation from me

USA - recommendation from me

Saudi Arabia - recommendation from me

2022 Season - 11th

Australia - recommendation from me

Emilia-Romagna Sprint - recommendation from me

Azerbaijan - recommendation from me

Austria - recommendation from me

Singapore - recommendation from reddit

Mexico - recommendation from reddit

2023 Season - 17th

Hungary - recommendation from me

Mexico - recommendation from me

Abu Dhabi - recommendation from me

2024 Season - ?

Miami Sprint - recommendation from me

Canada - recommendation from me

Austria - recommendation from me

Belgium - recommendation from me

Singapore - you know why

If you have any race recommendations leave them in the comments or reblogs and I will add them! For now this is my DR3 Race Masterlist. I hope you find this useful!

[dreamauri]

┇𝗗𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗜 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 - prologue ┇ ─ ୨୧ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ :🪴: ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ୨୧ ─ ┇you're the best, an unbeatable driver fighting for a place on the grid ┇︶︶︶︶︶︶︶︶︶︶︶︶︶︶︶︶︶︶︶︶︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦˚₊   ┇ . 🌿 :: pairing — ( max verstappen x fem! driver! reader ) ┇ . 🫧 :: ⁠genre — ( angst )  ┇ . 🌿 :: ⁠word count — ( 858 ) ╰ 🫧  :: ⁠ content warning — ( X )

☆★ yayy!! thank you @lorarri for the title <3 i did a little character introduction at the end cause this series is going to have a lot of ocs (not y/n), anyways, enjoyyy ━━

( fic master list | general master list ) ( requests )

2015 — Baku, Azerbaijan

The F1 grid watched intensely. You didn't need to over take, already in P1 with your trophy secured. But you did anyways, passing drivers one by one till you once more made it to the top of the grid. "Phenomenal performance by Seventeen, securing her Win once more."

Daniel Riccardo, Max Verstappen and and Carlos Sainz had stayed over to watch the F2 race, Crossing Paths once more with the all too famous masked driver. Jumping out of your car, you're greeted with your team shouting your number over and over as they hugged and kissed your famous black helmet. "Seventeen? Who names their child a number?" Carlos asked leaning on the edge watching.

"I don't think that's her real name, mate." Daniel commented taking a sip of the redbull can. "It's not, she doesn't use her real name. You can say it's like a . . . What do you call it? For superheroes?"

"Code name?" "Yeah, codename." Max nodded, his eyes trained on you as you did your post race duties and podium celebration. "She's scary." Carlos shivered standing straight ready to leave.

"She's nice." Max mumbled watching as you passed by. He gave you a small wave, you returning it hesitantly. An unconscious smile crept on his face, a little blush dusting his cheeks.

"You like her?" Daniel whispered teasingly, making the teenage boy frown in denial. "She's just a good driver. I- I don't really care." He folded his arms glaring at the older man.

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

2016 — Qubec, Canada

"And that is ferrari's reserve driver, and apparent F2 champion, seventeen, defending Vettel from Riccardo." Making the Canadian grand Prix so early into the season was a mistake. It was raining heavily in Montreal, and heavy slush was expected sometime during the race.

You could barely see, relying on instinct only as you took the turns and the curves. Your heartbeat was in your ears and you could feel it in your mouth as you continued to defend your temporary teammate from the red bull driver.

You were forcing the wheel in erratic directions to keep on the racing line, understanding the algorithm of the rain. "Seb i— o—t, se— —s —ut. Floo— it." You heard the choppy voice over the radio, passing by the crashed out Ferrari.

"Fucking hell." You cursed, accelerating as you maneuverer through the rain like a pro. It felt amazing to be in such a fast car, a big step up from the F2 motor. You pushed the DRS button once you got the chance, overtaking the current reigning champion.

"P—, p—. Ke—p g—ing." You continued to push every corner. "P what?" You asked not hearing the message. "P—." "Oh for fucks sake. Radio is shitty." You shouted overtaking the apparent Manor.

★ ☆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"It's not always so easy to be high up in the standings as a rookie. How do you feel?" "My eyes hurt." You replied blandly to the interviewer, rubbing your eyes tiredly. Your face was covered from the nose down with your hair up in your famous claw clip bun, still wearing the '1st Place' cap for some reason. You were doing your best to keep the photographers from catching major features of your face, needless to say, you were doing a good job.

With Hamilton to your left and Riccardo on your right, you sat in the press conference room bored out of your mind as the interviewers asked you dumb questions. "You guys should go back to school. Maybe you can learn how to ask good questions for best results in writing essays."

"How old are you? Aren't you still in school." Lewis asked, chuckling as he turned to face you. "Graduated early." You shrugged, going back to facing the sea of journalists. "Is there a driver you would like to battle with the most?" "Um . . . Not really. They're either retiered or dead. Maybe . . . maybe Verstappen, Max not Jos. I've raced against him in the karting championships, I'm sure he improved and could put up a better fight now." "Do you think you'll get a full seat next season?"

"That's a difficult question. Not all uh . . . teams have enough trust in female drivers. Hopefully I demonstrated how worthy of a seat I am. I am after all the first and only female to finish on a podium and win a race so . . . we'll see where it goes."

It didn't go. It never was going to.

You were stuck in the factory, working on the car for someone else. And when a seat was finally free in 2018, you watched as they gave it to someone who was not you. You were furious, no other team would take you, a girl. Not even Ferrari wanted you on the track and you were an exeptional driver.

the only thing that kept you grounded was going back home to your family. Your uncle and cousin were your pride and joy, the ones that kept you going. But the question was, what were you going to do now?

— 𝐌𝐀𝐗 (𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐍) | 1 🇳🇱 :: ↳ 1997.09.30 (25) ↳ red bull's golden boy ↳ three time world champion

— ??? (???) | 17 :: ↳ 2000.07.22 (22) ↳ f4 world champion, f3 world champion, f2 world champion ↳ 2016 rookie of the year ↳ youngest f1 race winner

— 𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 (𝐊𝐑𝐀𝐔𝐒) | 7 🇩🇪 :: ↳ 1996.06.06 (25) ↳ mercedes second driver ↳ 2016 world champion ↳ youngest world champion

— 𝐌𝐄𝐈𝐊𝐄 (𝐊𝐑𝐀𝐔𝐒) | 25 🇩🇪 :: ↳ 2000.07.22 (22) ↳ mclaren second driver ↳ 2022 rookie of the year

— 𝐋𝐄𝐈𝐋𝐀 (𝐄𝐋 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐙𝐈) | 🇪🇬 :: ↳ 2014.05.06 (8) ↳ best cousin in the world

— 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐍 (𝐄𝐋 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐙𝐈) 🇪🇬 :: ↳ 1985.05.05 (38) ↳ #1 uncle

— 𝐋𝐄𝐎𝐍 (𝐊𝐑𝐀𝐔𝐒) | 25 🇩🇪 :: ↳ 1971.01.17 (54) ↳ grumpy old retired driver ↳ 5 time world champion

[dizzyduck44]

Andrea Stella opened a huge can of worms yesterday. The thing we all seem to have forgotten about for two years.

Firstly let’s remind ourselves that in 2020 and 21, Andrea was a back room figure at McLaren. Mentioned but rarely seen, hardly ever interviewed. Zak and Andreas were doing the heavy lifting in interviews and to be fair they weren’t happy about decisions. I don’t think anyone was more vocal about the FIAs lack of transparency regarding the agreement they had come to with Ferrari than Zak.

Pretty sure after Brazil 21 Zak said he felt that Max’s defence was “over the line”.

People forget in Jeddah in 2021 McLaren were frantically trying to get the stewards to confirm Lando could restart the race from the position he was in at the timing line, not when the red flag was thrown as he had slowed down to avoid a crash and been overtaken. However the stewards were too busy letting Red Bull negotiate their starting position, whilst forgetting Esteban was leading the race. They eventually confirmed to McLaren yes Lando should start further forward on the formation lap to the grid. Far too late for him to take that position.

In Abu Dhabi McLaren were prepping Lando to use his newer tyres to get past Lewis as quick as possible before Max caught them up, just stay out the title fight, when the game changed and half the grid were let through and now it was Daniel sat behind Lewis and Max. Daniel expressed some uncertainty about it all from the car. Post race Daniel, Lando and Zak all spoke about how they didn’t feel comfortable with what the FIA had done.

And then the FIA “investigated” the matter and “spoke” to everyone. And the whole F1 grid fell silent.

Since Monaco this year there has been some really questionable calls by the stewards. There seems to be a level of manipulation of results going on? But subtly. Some would maybe even argue Miami when the safety car appears to have been delayed/inexplicably missed the race leader.

I’ve seen lots of Max fans arguing that if he had known about Lando’s penalty sooner. Well firstly Max knew Lando was on three strikes and then he told the team Lando had gone off again. Max knew. Yes Austria is a short lap but 3 laps to investigate a clear track limit (it wasn’t even subtle). Which leads me to question were the stewards already looking into Max moving under braking? Were they looking at was Lando forced off the track? Were they looking at penalties for both that would effectively wipe each other’s out? If so that is clear manipulation of a result hidden behind rules.

So yes Andrea was completely justified to lay full blame at the feet of the FIA. Why would Max stop doing something he has never been consistently punished for? Had they addressed this 3 years ago Max would have had to change. Max showed in Baku in 2023 his attitude hadn’t changed when he squared up with George, effectively threatening an eye for an eye. Drivers have been highlighting this about Max since 2015. The FIA have increased the penalties this year but what have they been doing for the last three years about this? Diddly sqwat! Did the FIA mishandle the situations prior to lap 64? Absolutely.

The difference is Andrea did it calmly and articulately. He didn’t call Christian Horner any names. He didn’t accuse Max of cheating or being a dirty driver. He literally told the FIA look at the mess you have made. You finally get wheel to wheel driving and your inaction comes back to bite you.

No offence George having someone who was 15 seconds off the pace inherit the race is not what F1 is about. Andrea knows that and it’s not what he wants the sport to be.

McLaren were never staying quiet about what was going on. They may begrudgingly accept the FIAs decisions at times but they were one of the few teams who have raised concerns since 2020 onwards consistently. The difference is yesterday EVERYONE took notice of what they said.

[vsyrworld]

get to know my favorite driver's ship

this was made by me and for me and i wrote fanfic about them!!!

(fyi; i started watching f1 in 2015 so ofc you guys KNOW what my FIRST and ULTIMATE ship)

(older f1 ships: )

Brocedes :D (childhood friends, teammates, rivals, anything but a lover - crofty 2021)

OH COME ON. I will write an essay about their history. BUT ANYWAY, despite their toxic year in 2015/2016, I still adore how young nico and lewis friendship or whatever they had in Greece back then and I still keep this ship alive until the 2021 season. Their battle on the track was BEYOND TOXIC, yet their battle off the track (media drama) is HILLAARIOUS. How come Lewis accidentally spills out, the name that shouldn't be spoken for Half of DECADE. God both of them are dramas king. NICO PODCAST omg the talk with Alain prost and they compared his vs Senna battle with HIS AND Lewis's battle PLUS when Nico's storytelling his "friendship" history in ITALY at the SPONSOR EVENTS *CRIED* and lewis always mentioned how he loves ice cream and do cheating day in imola and monza BECAUSE IT WAS NICO WHO INTRODUCE THE FOOD THERE. ugh I hate and love them at the same time. (I do include some Seb/NICO too because I like see Lewis getting rilled up)

2. Kimi and Seb (I ADORE THIS A LOT)

my calm and serenity wise iconic ferrari couple. I feel like Kimi was the rock ice and water for Seb to prevent him from burnout because of ferrari. during 2017-2018, Seb pushed hard (same like Charles) and yet the car reliability fuck his championship standing. and kimi (--kimi was the last ferrari champion hiks) kimi just so attentive to seb and I genuinely like both of them being rebels to whole ferrari tradition (like they don't do rollercoaster thingy, they DON'T master Italian, they just become their self and being so comfortable in their own bubble, fuck world). I had noticed also Seb (and Gio) is the only teammate that can make Kimi laugh. I just super super adore them!

3. Maxiel (TRADITIONALSHIP! I REFUSE OTHER SHIP FOR MAX BESIDE DANIEL. I REFUSE!)

ugh should I explain them? THE CHAOTIC GAYEST ENERGY IN WHOLEEE 2016 GRIDS COME ON. I love how Daniel basically took young rookie Max under his arm and just had fun on and off the track with It? The biggest flop was when Max was just so hotheaded and they crashed in Baku. I thought their relationship gonna be stranded but GUESS WHAT? MAXIEL IS STILL ALIVE UNTIL NOW HELLO? and their relationship is so real not only for the camera but also out the camera. The other highlight moment is when Max is already 'too big' daniel really steps down from RBR because he knows, Max will outshine him, and he knows (what he learned from brocedes too) that it's better to go the other way.

(newer)

4. Dando (COMFORT SHIIP Not romantically also)

I thought daniel was max soulmate but LANDO excuse me? They can share daniel If they want. i just love how lando becomes so silly and blushes like school teenager around Daniel. i love how they INFLUENCE each other. I think because I feel nostalgic with them because they really similar with Maxiel in 2017 era, just one season before Daniel goes to renault, Maxiel was strained on thin paper. Dando other hands, well Daniel mostly, struggled in McLaren (with the papaya fans also still adore Carlos that time and refuse to let go him) plus Lando was shining bright just like Max 2016. Again, daniel he stepped OUT (this time). I guess, that similarity made me miss maxiel too.

5. last one C2 (Charlos) gosh, please!! ultimate!!!

loving and adoring them was expected though. It wasn't because they're both handsome (I already know Carlos was goofy ever since his Renault era so I never consider him as a handsome man) BUT DANG BOY, RED ON CARLOS WAS SOMETHING ELSE? RED ON CARLOS, BLACK ON CARLOS WAS SAKDAJSKDFHLKJSAFHKJAF.

-- okay back to the c2. It was a slow build okay? I realized that they are special during Carlos's first podium, Monaco 2021. Charles WAS LIKE ME. Blushing giggling, shy gazes toward Carlos. they are so endearing. Both of them are the victims of the Ferrari team. But I think they both understand each burden (Charles being the predestinated one, and Carlos had to prove his talent bcs he is a two times world champion son) plus, the way Ferrari screwed Charles in 2019. The team was cracked but with Carlos, I didn't expect this cursed team is heal :"D (Crying) and Charles become more relaxed, more enjoyed, even his coping mechanism is with laughter and Carlos just matches his energy. Idk , they gave me... a relationship through ups and downs.

and I realized there are so many people trying to pit them against each other, their fans are constantly arguing about who is the best and better driver, always dragging one of them down, but guess what is Carlos and Charles's response? it's completely differs from real life. They knew and fucking see it their fans tension. Carlos's anger to the Spanish media has already proven enough he had enough of these things. Charles also said in an interview that "what he saw about him and Carlos is nowhere true". they are the best PR relationship couple out there, but I also can see a genuine, how they know each other so weell. How Charles kept the football game updated just because of Carlos, how Carlos knows his favorite food, how they had their own internal jokes,

they are both soo lowkey on the camera during and outside the race. and I think that Is why people never hype them like carlando or everyone's favorite childhood rival to lovers lesttapen. And I thought they didn't really hang out with each other that much but WHAT WAS THAT SUMMER BREAK? HUH? YOU IN MALORCA AND WENT TO SOUTHERN FRENCH? What were the matching Instagram feeds color and aesthetic at New York? WHAT WAS THE THING ABOUT PASTA CARBONARA UN LUNGA NON PENNE? WHAT WAS THAT THING CHARLES SLEPT ON THE FLOOR just to accompany Carlos watching World Cup? The dolomites? The Sardinia?

there are soo many thing that they keep it so low-profile and under camera, and yet their conversation is so domestic.

[maxiel-library]

Welcome to maxiel-library! Press here for a random maxiel post

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By keywords: baku 2018 | car launch 2023 | heart from max | ice bath | media pen | max's birthday | maxiel try other sports | on the sofa | press conference | st tropez | stroopwafel | therapy dolls

[chibrary]

ARTICLE: "The plane journey that convinced Ferrari on Leclerc" (Autosport Plus, 2018)

While Ferrari is doing all it can to help minimise the pressure - with boss Maurizio Arrivabene saying this week that the only goal for next year is for Leclerc to gain experience and 'absorb' the tricks of the trade - there is a feeling that in reality it secretly expects much more.

To realise why that is, you have to wind back the clock a little and understand that the decision to sign Leclerc was not some spur-of-the-moment call forced upon Ferrari because it was in a rush to sign somebody.

Ferrari made its decision on the eve of the Italian Grand Prix to pick Leclerc over Kimi Raikkonen not because it had to, but because it wanted to.

Leclerc's speed was obvious. The need to potentially shake up the internal dynamic at Ferrari was real.

And those fears about it being too early for Leclerc, of a young man not able to cope with intense pressure and at risk of being burned out and thrown onto the scrap heap before he hit his peak? The team management's minds had already been put at ease on that front.

It is often said that the qualities of an individual are found not when they are celebrating success, but when they have to pick themselves up from the bad moments.

And in Leclerc's case, it was the way he was able to cope with the death of his father in 2017 that proved a defining moment in convincing Ferrari that he had all it takes to deal with the pressure of racing for the Prancing Horse.

For someone who was as close to his father as Leclerc was, that loss last year was deeply painful. And, coming in the middle of an intense battle for the Formula 2 crown, it could have been enough to trigger a loss of concentration and a drop in form.

But amid all the personal heartache Leclerc was suffering, Arrivabene recalls meeting him on the Ferrari charter flight to Baku that week, and how the youngster's attitude there left him in no doubts about his star qualities.

"I asked him how he was after losing his father a few days before," explains Arrivabene. "He replied that he wanted to win the race, and then go home for the funeral. That is exactly what he did.

"If a guy can handle these moments, I do not think that he will have problems adjusting to the pressure of F1."

Leclerc has spoken openly about how the emotional rollercoaster of that weekend - the crying in the helmet after he took pole position and then the wins - meant those were days where he grew up a lot.

It is important to remember though that Baku was not the first time in his career Leclerc has faced supreme challenges. He knows full well how to keep his head under control when things are not going the way he may have hoped.

There was the risk as he started out his career of being unable to continue karting because the funds were drying up. Only a bit of help from his brother Lorenzo's best friend, Jules Bianchi, in convincing Nicolas Todt to try to help, made the difference.

Even today Todt remembers a very nervous Leclerc being dressed in a super smart black suit for their first meeting... and impressing throughout.

Then there was the difficult time in the middle of his 2015 European Formula 3 campaign. Taking a seat in the Van Amersfoort team that Max Verstappen had shone so strongly for in '14, Leclerc began the season in fine form with a series of wins in the first half of the year.

But something - most likely related to a senior engineer departing mid-season for personal reasons - changed within the team and Leclerc found himself suddenly on the back foot over the second half of the year. Where once he was battling in the top three week in and week out, suddenly he was fighting to be in the top 10.

Leclerc had to dig deep to try to recover; find answers about what had gone wrong, as he came home fourth overall in the standings.

But a super strong showing in Macau, where he finished second right behind winner Felix Rosenqvist, suggested he had kept his focus and unlocked the answers that were needed.

That time also marked Leclerc's arrival in the Ferrari Driver Academy, which helped him both progress as a driver and also show more evidence that when the intensity and pressure increase, he just gets better.

As manager Todt recalls: "Ferrari has helped him in many ways. Physical, mental preparation and also the contribution of the simulator played an important role. Of course, even more pressure has come, as is normal when you are part of the Ferrari world.

"But we have found that the greater the pressure that Charles is subject to, the greater his performance on track. That is a fundamental aspect, because today in the paddock I think that all the drivers have excellent sporting skills. But what makes the difference is the head, and on this front Charles I think is very solid."

Vettel will not be unaware of how fast and how mentally strong Leclerc is. Even if he hadn't seen it for himself, he has probably been told well in advance by Arrivabene why Ferrari is convinced it has the right man.

Did that prompt Vettel's recent suggestions that it will be important that the pair of them work together - rather than against each other - for the good of the team? Is he seeing a shift in the sands at Maranello as things will be different to how they were with Raikkonen? Only Vettel knows the answer to that.

[coimbrabertone]

Suzuka in April Feels Wrong

So, this weekend F1 will race at Suzuka. Suzuka is an amazing circuit, the esses at the beginning of the lap, trying to take Degner 1 as fast as possible but knowing the gravel trap is right there at the edge of the circuit, and then hard on the brakes for Degner 2, under the bridge, and up and to the right into the hairpin where Kamui Kobayashi seemed to overtake just about everyone in 2012. Spoon curve, the infamous 130R, and the Casio triangle at the end of the lap, Suzuka really is something special.

The only problem is, Raikkonen's 2005 charge (admittedly I was too young to properly enjoy that but it's literally the back to front challenge meme in real life), Kamui's 2012 podium as a Japanese driver, even Vettel's heartbreaking sparkplug failure in 2017, not to mention the historic Prost and Senna collisions...all of those happened at the end of the season, or close enough to it anyway. This year, Suzuka is in April, the fourth round of the 2024 Formula One season.

Now of course, there's a reason for this - the geography of an increasingly bloated F1 calendar - but first, let's just establish why the Japanese Grand Prix being at the end of the season is so important.

The first Japanese Grand Prix, held in 1976 and 1977, marked the first time a world championship race was held in Asia, and it was the finale too, the place where the championship would be decided. The 1976 race in particular, covered in the excellent 2013 movie Rush, saw Niki Lauda pull into the pits in dangerously wet conditions - this was the same year as his Nürburgring crash - which allowed James Hunt to charge up the field and seal his only world title.

The first Fuji trip would only last two years, but in 1987, F1 would find its home in Suzuka. It was the penultimate race - Adelaide, Australia was now the finale - but nevertheless, Suzuka was still the place where titles were decided. In 1988, Senna came from behind in the wet to beat Prost, in 1989 Prost would close the door on a charging Senna in the Casio triangle on lap 47, taking Prost out. Senna cut the chicane rejoining the track, got disqualified, and handed the title to Prost. In 1990, Prost now in a Ferrari, got a better start than Senna's polesitting McLaren, but Senna's wouldn't give an inch, and they didn't even make it past the first corner this time. Senna would seal the 1990 title. And it continued, Senna over Mansell in 1991, Hill over Villeneuve in 1996, Hakkinen over Schumacher in 1998...it was the track where history was made.

That being said, it's position in the calendar started to change as F1 expanded its Asia-Pacific presence from just Suzuka. From 1987-1995, it was paired with the Australian Grand Prix at Adelaide, in 1999 and 2000, it was paired with Malaysia, and from 2004-2008, it was paired with China. After that, the calendar more or less formed two flyaway blocks, with Australia-Malaysia-China-Bahrain at the beginning of the season, and a Singapore and Suzuka towards the end, paired with an everchanging host of flyaway races that included Abu Dhabi, Brazil, South Korea, and India. In 2009, Suzuka was the third to last race, come 2011, it was fifth to last.

The real blow to Suzuka as an end of season race, however, was the emergence of an American block of races late in the season. It started with Austin in 2012, and by 2015, we had Austin and Mexico back-to-back followed by Brazil, making for three western hemisphere races in a row. Las Vegas in 2023 made a fourth, with Abu Dhabi having long ago bought the season finale slot. All of this means that, in 2023, there were a whole two months of racing after Suzuka.

Thus, figuring that history is dead, F1 has decided to move Suzuka to April, so that, much like 2004-2008, it's back-to-back with the Chinese Grand Prix. Which means F1 will now have Baku and Singapore as a doubleheader in 2024...yeah.

For something meant to cut down on F1's travel related CO2 emissions, they really did just decide to make the entire circus fly over the entirety of the Asian continent in a week. Good job.

What the race does succeed in, however, is reminding us of the last time F1 raced in Japan in April, the 1994 and 1995 Pacific Grand Prix. A rare moment of two races in the same country for F1, when in addition to the end of season trip to Suzuka, there was an early season trip to the T1 Circuit in Okayama. It's a pretty neat track, I've raced it on Ride 4, probably better for bikes than cars though.

So yeah, not much for the environment, but it does remind us of an obscure race nobody has ever heard of, so there is that.

[dear-ao3]

A different anon but as someone deeply fascinated by Esteban Ocon and the redbull musical chairs here are some extra notes:

Estie bestie is currently at Alpine formerly Renault since 2020. And back in 2018 (ie when he was in Racing Point) there were rumors linking him to the Renault seat Daniel would take in 2019 so that’s possibly why his and Lances friendship survived

Unrelated but Alpine/Renault is currently the Frenchest team to ever French. It is (or at least was) partly owned by the French government through their stake in Renault (Alpine got renamed cause Alpine is the sports car brand of Renault. Not that they make any sports cars I believe they made maybe one in 2017). The current two Alpine drivers are the aforementioned Estie bestie and Pierre Gasly (both French. Also childhood friends to enemies to they have to tolerate each other now) and while their current reserve driver is an Australian, he will hopefully for his own good take a page out of his countryman’s Oscar Piastris book and hightail it out of there for his own good. The most likely replacement for him would be Victor Martins. Also French. The Alpine factories are in Enstone (UK) and Viry (France) so that’s the least French part of that team

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming of rbr 2nd seat:

So rbr started by buying the Jaguar team in mid 2000s after afaik getting fed up by Sauber who they used to sponsor. Also at that time Sauber was sponsored by Petronas, Mercedes’ current title sponsor. Fun fact

The two drivers that they started with was David Coulthard who no one cares about in this story and Mark Webber, Australian, first victim of rbr 2nd seat shenanigans

At some point (for the 2009 season I think?) Seb Vettel, German, certifiable little shit at that time, replaces Coulthard

Insert a highlight reel of Seb Vettels warcrimes between ~2010 - 2013, which culminate in Multi-21 Mark Webber retiring after the 2013 season. He gets replaced by Toro Rosso driver/Red Bull junior Daniel Ricciardo, Australian, happy go lucky guy and our next victim in a couple of years

2014 brings new regs for the cars and Red Bull struggles to adapt. For context Seb went from a 9 win streak at the end of 2013 to no podiums in 2014. Yeah. So he runs away to Ferrari for 2015 to become a victim of Italian incompetence instead

He gets replaced by Daniil Kvyat, Russian, the most forgettable man in this story. Also he is pretty new into F1, it’s his second or third year there

2015 is sorta meh for rbr but the two Daniels are sorta even. And then 2016 happens

Here’s the thing; Daniil decides to play bumper cars in Russia and China right off the bat at the beginning of the season, one of the victims being former rbr golden child Seb. Now there’s more lore that I don’t remember but it culminates in him being replaced for Spain 2016 by Max Verstappen, Dutch, aged like 18 at that time

Max goes on to win his first race with Red Bull because Mercedes (the best team on the grid) is in the throes of a civil war and their drivers take each other out. There could be novels written about those two drivers btw

The next two and half years are a slow process of the garage slowly going from preferring Danny Ric to preferring Max. Highlights include Baku 2018 and then Dans redemption win in Monaco the same year. There could be novels about this as well but we culminate in Dan leaving for Renault

And then we get to the real musical chairs. He gets replaced by Pierre Gasly, French, third victim of rbr 2nd seat

He has a shite start to the season and ends up getting replaced by Alex Albon, Thai, a rookie that year, midway through the season after Christian Horner, Mr Ginger spice, swore up and down he won’t

Intermission: Toro Rosso liked playing musical chairs as well and Pierre Gasly only got an F1 seat at the last few races for 2017, Alex got told he’s racing in 2019 (his first season) days before preseason testing. With no experience in an F1 car. And there’s a world of difference between a shit car (Toro Rosso) and a good car (Red Bull). Yeah they were ultimately victims of rbrs shitty management, especially Alex since he does wonders in a Williams now

Rbr decides to drop Alex after 2020. Except they usually promote Toro Rosso drivers and the two Toro Rosso drivers right now? Pierre Gasly and Daniil Kvyat. Yeah

So they end up hiring Sergio ‘Checo’ Pérez, Mexican, who knows if he will be racing next year. Idk if he got an extension or if they hired him for four years, either way his contract is supposed to last until end of 2024 season but right now how Mr Ginger spice is acting… yeah

Also, Daniel just came back to rbr as a driver for Alpha Tauri (former Toro Rosso) after a mid season swap that was widely regarded as shittily done so there are very little contract issues that would stop Red Bull from hiring him, a marketing departments golden boy, a good friend of Max, as the second driver to maybe finally have a good team

(Red Bull has never ended 1-2 in drivers standings. Checo is currently second but Sir Lewis Hamilton can do wonders sometimes)

So to reiterate the seat movements:

It’s Webber -> Ricciardo -> Gasly -> Albon -> Perez in that metaphorical seat which when rb had a clear first and second drivers it was usually second drivers seat

And (Coulthard ->) Vettel -> Kvyat -> Verstappen for that other seat. The one that if rb had a clear first and second drivers was usually first (Vettel, Verstappen after ~2018)

Bonus fun fact about Liam Lawson, one of the threats for Checos seat:

He is born in 2002. He’s younger than Fernando Alonso’s career by several months, upwards to a year

He is the guy that knocked Verstappen out of quali in Q2 in Singapore and consequently broke the several year long streak of at least one car always in Q3 that Red Bull has been holding

There is always a debate if he has a guaranteed seat from rbr or not at some point. There were rumors of a guaranteed for 2025 a while ago but who knows…

Sorry for rambling so much I have thoughts haha

forgot i’ve been sitting on this ask for a month lol but yes. red bull second seat drama is indeed fascinating. and now there is aparently another rumor that arthur leclerc might come up to f1 through racing bulls (alpha tauri) which would disrupt the process again.

[stateofcharles]

Ana Luiza Filiorianu from Romania🇷🇴 performing at the 2015 European Games in Baku

photo credits: Marianne Piquerel

[lewisinho]

as the anon that asked for the race list: thank you!

now this is totally up to you if you have the time to spend on this, but this is my first year watching the races, and while I've been doing some background research to get up to speed, there is still a lot i don't know. i trust your judgment so what are some races and/or f1 adjacent things i should look into? i'm going through your McLaren list and have watched the last 4 seasons of dts and the brawn documentary. are there any other books/ documentaries/ races (especially seb's) / old youtube videos that are lost in the void that i should also check out?

again no pressure and thank you!

no problem!

(and btw welcome to f1 and the world of watching some glorified hot wheels every other sunday 😁 it’s great!)

i completely get how daunting it can be as a new fan in the sport. when i was getting back into f1 it also took me some time to get back up to speed with everything, especially all the techy stuff; i honestly learned the most through just watching the races (old and new), bc you get to see all the strategies play out, the pit-stops, the overtakes etc. and the terminology just becomes much easier to understand through sheer exposure. there are also some really cool f1 data analysis blogs you might want to follow on twt/x if you want some more detailed tech analysis and graphs if you’re into that sort of thing: (x)

as for seb, oh there’s a whole arsenal of recs i have!

monza 2008, rise of torro rosso wunderkind; i presume you already know the lore with that one but ig you can never get tired of it.

abu dhabi 2010, world championship no.1 “du bist weltmeister!”

interlagos 2012, the infamous one. this one’s a rollercoaster, chaos everywhere and the manifestation of murphy’s law: anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. amidst a title battle against nando, seb was fighting the weather, bruno senna’s front wing, a damaged side-pod, no radio, and somehow managed to claim p6 to win the championship

malaysia 2013, multi-21 (iconique), he was faster, deal with it. 💅

singapore 2013, domination masterclass from quali to the race. (also just all of his singapore wins...lion of singapore and all that)

india 2013, title no.3 secured, changed tyres on lap 2 and came out p17, was third by only lap 13 and then won the race by nearly 30 seconds. it was also his sixth win in a row. he went on to win three more. speaks for itself. also this:

malaysia 2015, first win with ferrari, can't forget that one, also features sewis’ gay knee-touching on the podium.

germany 2019, CHAOS, in which merc got bewitched by the special livery curse 😅, with crashes, spins, 50-second long pit stops, and also features one of seb’s best drives from p20 -> p2

i also highly recommend watching Floz's fan-made docus on youtube about 'the silver war' (there are also docus for the 2014 and 2015 seasons) as well as the merc v ferrari (lewis vs seb) 2017 fight and 'fight for five' in 2018, they're so much better than dts and actually give a full run-down of what happened during the season, with all the action on-track, with interviews and providing all the context! it's so well-edited as well (you literally feel like you're watching a movie about all of the seasons) and they are just incredibly fun to watch.

in general, i love rewatching races from 2017/18 (literally my comfort seasons), personal favs include spain 2017 (strategy galore and lewis v seb), baku 2017 (for obv reasons), austin 2017; and basically the 2018 season in its entirety...

as for books, there are many driver autobiographies e.g. jb (he’s even got two lmao), mark webbah etc. but i think the best f1 book out there is adrian newey’s memoir ‘how to build a car’ if you want lore + great insight into cars!

i’d also recommend watching some older races (i could do a separate post on which ones are my personal favs) but it’s all up to you in the end! go digging, look around on yt for some highlights and just keep exploring! 🫶💜

[backscale-pivot-queen]

Ana Luiza Filiorianu, Romania 🇷🇴

European games Baku 2015

[fcb-mv33]

Hello! I was wondering if you had any suggestions and races to watch of 2015-2017 Max terrorizing the rest of the grid 🤣

Lmao I went to 2020 for the fun🥰✌️

Hungary 2015- p4🥺

Spa 2015- Overtake of the year🫶

Singapore 2015- “No”

Austin 2015- another p4 finished

China 2016- Max was nearly in every position lmao

Spain 2016- baby’s first win😭

Austria 2016- Max vibing ✌️

Silverstone 2016- Max becomes Nico’s nightmare

Hungary 2016- Kimi was going to fucking till him lmao

Germany 2016- Ric and Max podium

Malaysia 2016- RB 1/2

Mexico 2016- max pissed Seb off, pushed Seb back into Daniel knowing he had a penalty lmao

Brazil 2016- Masterclass from Max

Abu Dhabi 2016- Max terrifying Nico once again

Australia 2017- Max holds up Lewis after a pitstop, Toto slamming hands, Max almost overtaking Seb then as well😭

China 2017- Max vs Daniel to the last lap. Max also started from the back.

Hungary 2017- “was that who I think it was”

Malaysia 2017- Win baby

Japan 2017- Max’s first lap✌️

Austin 2017- Max vs Kimi🥰Max got a penalty🥲

Mexico 2017-Win baby✌️

China 2018- Max vs Seb 🥲

Baku 2018- Well done Baku🫶✌️

Austria 2018- Home win🫶

Silverstone 2018- Max vs Kimi🥰Max dnf🥲

Russia 2018- p19->p5

Japan- Max vs Kimi vs Seb (messy lmao)

Austin 2018- Max vs Hamilton

Mexico 2018- win🫶

Brazil 2018- “I hope I cannot find him in the paddock because then he has a fucking problem😤”

Austria 2019- Max vs Charles🥰

Silverstone 2019- Max vs Charles🥰 max vs Seb🥲

Germany 2019- MASTERCLASS

Hungary 2019- Max first pole ends p2 tho🥲

Brazil 2019- Win AND a masterclass✌️🥰

Abu Dhabi 2019- Max vs Charles🫶

70th anniversary 2020- Max pissing Merc driver off🫶