#but also feel bad for checo at the same time

[coco-loco-nut]

Book Club - Part Two

Pairing: Grid x Reader

Summary: the club gets new members

Requests are open!!! Masterlist

——————————

“That was a great book suggestion, thanks Nando,” Valtteri says at the end of your discussion. You hear the door open and close then feel the couch dip beside you.

“Checo, finally joining us?” Lewis asks, an amused smile on his face.

“I am old,” the Mexican says, you look to the older guys to take over.

“Mate, what happened?” Daniel asks. sipping a coffee. He joined when the rest of the grid found out, at the same time as Lewis.

“I saw Yuki and Lando doing a weird dance,” Checo looks a little traumatized. You rest a comforting hand on his shoulder and hand him a Spanish version of Lewis’ choice for the week, The Book Thief.

“This official opens the Paddock tea portion of our morning,” you say to the group.

“Oh! Which one?” Valtteri asks Checo who gives a rough description of it. Naturally, Valtteri and Daniel attempt to do it, retraumatizing Cecho and traumatizing everyone else.

“I would like to bleach my memory of that. Anyone else?” Kevin asks, you all second it.

“Anyway, how is your relationship with Lance going?” Nico asks, changing the subject.

“I caught them making out like teenagers yesterday,” Fernando grins devilishly, excited to gossip.

“Fernando! You can’t say that in front of my Husband!” you are thoroughly embarrassed still at Fernando catching you.

“Eglė said you can have Nico,” Kevin laughs. Nico’s wife, Eglė is fond of the young girl, often designing outfits for her. The pair is endeared by your childhood crush on Nico.

“Finally,” you smile, the group laughing at the joke. “Lance and I are doing very well, I think he is thinking about proposing,” you say a little scandalously.

“No way!” Daniel gasps. A knock on the door pauses the conversation.

“I heard there is an old drivers club happening?” Sebastian Vettel’s voice fills the room as he enters, flanked by two others. You quickly recognize Kimi and Nico Rosberg, an odd grouping that you brush off.

“Fernando, why is there a girl half your age here?” Kimi asks, not recognizing you out of your usual race attire. You are a little star struck, having looked up to Kimi as a young driver.

“I knew you got around, but damn Fernando,” Nico Rosberg says, you can’t help but to both blush and laugh.

“Guys, that’s literally Y/n Y/l/n, the driver,” Seb says, shaking his head.

“Oh, my bad, sorry Y/n,” Nico R says but all you can do is laugh.

“No, no, that’s okay, I needed a good laugh,” you wave the comment off as the older guys sit down.

“Any gossip on the retired part of the grid?” Valtteri asks, putting away the book on his lap.

“Gossip? What kind of club is this?” Kimi asks, a little confused.

“A book club,” your group responds in almost perfect unison.

“Oh! Have you read The Great Gatsby? I love that book,” Sebastian asks.

“We did! I also love the book,” you eagerly tell Seb. You check out a little when Nico R talks about Indycar and the other former F1 drivers that ended up there.

“He did what?” Lewis asks, bringing you back into the present, where they were talking about a retired driver.

“Alright, I need a new coffee,” you grunt a little as you stretch out of your sitting position. You feel a presence behind you as you use Haas’ shitty coffee machine. Your silently pray it isn’t your trainer here to kill you for having two cups.

“You ok?” Kimi asks, worried they made the girl uncomfortable.

“Yeah, just not used to being in the same room as my childhood idols,” you admit.

“And crushes? I was definitely your favorite,” Kimi uncharacteristically teases. You shyly nod and take a sip of the hot coffee.

“Do you have a mentor? I will teach you the Iceman ways,” Kimi says, he watches the race and sees your potential, plus he respects that you are voluntarily hanging with the older racers, learning from them. He shares some tips as they walk back to the room.

“Kimi, quit hogging our girl,” Daniel says, clearly having some sort of gossip update to share.

“It’s not my fault none of you offered to mentor her already,” Kimi grumbles, sitting beside Seb.

“Ugh, I have media. I’ll see you all later,” you groan, heading back to your motorhome to change.

“You’ve rubbed off on her already,” Lewis tells Kimi, laughing.

“Y/n, there have been rumors about a paddock book club that you started, can you comment?” a reporter asks as you sit on a couch beside George and Logan.

“No comment,” you say with a little smile, not wanting to answer anything not racing related.

“There is, I wasn’t invited. It’s her and a lot of the older drivers,” George says, and Logan tags in.

“She’s gets tired of us and decided that the older Paddock members were more enjoyable. I don’t blame her, that’s a lot of wisdom being shared,” Logan says, grinning at you.

“You are pretty new to F1, joining late last season. Has anyone offered to mentor you?” another reporter follows up the first question.

“Yes, just today actually. Thanks Kimi,” you say. “My driving is good enough anyway, I could beat George blindfolded. In fact, that’s why you aren’t allowed to join,” you roast George who seems to be holding back a laugh. Logan, however, doesn’t care and laughs for you.

“I don’t want to join anymore. Guys, if you are watching, take back what you have created. You all have rubbed off on her too much,” George lied a little, he’s still gonna try to join.

[its-avalon-08]

Hello! I was wondering is y/n was a Verstappen!sister what would be her dynamic with the other drivers??????

hiii! okay so i would visualize y/n verstappen as a stunning, crazily intelligent, super stubborn and talented woman. just like her brother she would be an absolute terror (in a way that she is so insanely talented in her profession). also if i were to write a story about her, i would make her one of the engineers in redbull. she would be fiercely protective of max even though she's younger than him. { she is terrified of jos and max often covered her ears when they were younger to silence his shouts and screams } as for her dynamics with others on track -

max verstappen - being her older brother, he is super super super protective of her, often chasing away slimy men in bars. kelly and y/n are the closest of friends. y/n and p's relationship is the cutest ever, since p absolutely adores her

charles leclerc - close friend and almost like a second brother. charles often looks after y/n and alex's drinks in the bar when they are dancing. y/n loves alexandra and is best friends with her.

carlos sainz - y/n and carlos used to date when max was in toro rosso. max was furious when he found out. carlos was y/n's first. they still have a great deal of respect and affection towards each other but have moved on in a romantic sense. they are now close friends and often pull pranks on charles and max.

lando norris - boyyyfriendddd <3 they started to date in 2022 and fell deeply in love. they dated in secret for 6 months but max found out after seeing lando and y/n with matching hickeys (ooopsss) and swapped hoodies. he was so angry, but not because they were dating but rather because y/n didn't feel comfortable to tell him. he got over it fast enough after a crying session with y/n. lando adores the ground y/n walks on. he is openly whipped for her and has no shame about it. he posts her all the time over instagram and publicly sings praises for her, he often tries to ask her how she makes the redbull car so fast but y/n just laughs in his face. and btw they are so endgame <3

sergio perez (checo) - he is like a father figure to y/n. he gives good advice and helps her calm down when she gets angry at lando or max. he protects her from jos's tantrums.

oscar pisatri - they are good friends since they know eachother from F2. to be fair y/n likes lily more than oscar <3

daniel riccardio - he is y/n's best friend in the whole world ( much to max's dismay and jealousy ). he absolutely adores her to the ends of the earth. he is the same smiley guy who pulled y/n out of her eating disorder and spiral of shame after a bad race where the car underperformed. y/n assures him that his future in f1 is safe <3

part 2 soon!

BONUS { esteban ocon - no words required, she hates him. }

[issdisgrace]

A RIVALRY, A CRASH, AND 3 SIMPLE WORDS

WARNINGS: kinda sad, car crash, burning, hospitals, idk what else to put

A/N: This is for @marksbear2. I hope you like it. Also sorry it took a while I have been procrastinating.

You and Lando have been rivals since day one. Always trying to finish higher than the other, always trying to score more points than the other, and ALWAYS bickering when you weren't on track. Whether it was about the actual race or not, you guys always found an excuse to bicker.

And in hide sight it was so clear you guys were in love with each but neither of you knew what you were feeling towards the other and it was so confusing so it was just easier to fight with each other than figure out what you were feeling.

So you guys continued like this for a while as both of you climbed the ranks to Formula 1. And in the end of both were called up at the same time Lando of course to McLaren and you to Mercedes.

While so many things changed for the two of you and you now had to be more civil to the other than in prior years. Ultimately, that didn't change how competitive you guys were and it didn't change your bickering.

And from the very beginning of your guys' F1 careers there were bets in all the garages, included your guys on who would confess to who in the first place. The bets were split in almost every garage, but they more leaned to Lando, confessing first and boy where they wrong.

It was Monaco 2024. It was a race you guys did every year. You thought it would be just like last year's smooth sailing. You qualified good not as good as of course you wanted to but good none the less. Then the day came and with it came a deep dread in your stomach. Something bad was going to happen. You knew it.

Then Checo had his crash in lap 1 and that dread only grew stronger, so strong you thought you were going to throw up. But you pushed the feeling to the side and got ready to start up once again. Before you knew it was lights out and away you go again. It was lap 39, halfway through the race when engine trouble started.

Your team told you to stay out. That it would be fine and they would figure it out. That definitely didn't make you feel any better than before. Then at the beginning of lap 78 you were suddenly on fire, not smoking, not anything like that, on fire. Before you could think, you lost control and crashed into the wall others still flying by.

Adrenaline coursed through your veins as you tried free yourself from the car. You could see and feel the flames burning. It was burning through your suit. You couldn't feel anything as you continued to try to free yourself and just as freed yourself help arrived. Climbing out of the burning car, when you stumbled towards the medics. Multiple people with fire extinguishers put out the flames on your body.

It was only when you were loaded into the amblulance and on the way to the hospital when your senses returned. The overwhelming pain hitting you like a semi truck along with a putrid smell you thought was the smell of your burnt flesh. But you didnt really have time to fully process it because before you knew it you where at the hospital and being rushed into to surgery.

Lando was almost to the finish line when he heard over radios that you were on fire and then crashed. He felt like he was going to be sick, a thousand thoughts racing through his head. The loudest thought by far was you were going to die and he would never get to tell him he loved you. He was scared, no scared didn't even describe how he was feeling. He was petrified.

As he got out of his car and rushed to Zak Brown, the team CEO to get details of your crash and if you were ok. He told Lando you were ok as far as he knew. Lando felt a little better hearing that but he told Zak once podium was held he was going to that hospital to be with you. He didn't care of the consequence he needed to be there.

Zak being the man he was told Lando not to worry and he would handle the FIA if they gave him a hassle. Lando thanked him profusely before heading to podium.

It was over before Lando knew it and he was rushing back to his driver room to change, gather his stuff, and head to the hospital. Once he was there at the hospital, he rushed in and started asking about you. He lied when the nurse asked him what his relation to you was and said he was your husband.

The nurse told him that you were just prepped for surgery and were on the way to it. And it wouldn't be for a couple hours until you would be out of it. So he would have to wait until he was allowed to see you. He spent the next couple of hours pacing up and down the waiting room anxiously waiting for you.

It felt like a million years had passed before the nurse came and got him. He grabbed his stuff and quickly followed the nurse to your room as she told him the surgery went well and graphs were a success and that it probably be awhile until you woke up because of the anesthetic and the pain meds they pumped through your system.

His heart broke into millions of tiny pieces when he saw you in the hospital bed. He immediately made his way to your bedside and pulled the chair that was nearby towards you and sat down. He didnt even notice the nurse leaving as he gently grabbed your hand. It was now that all the tears he had been holding back started to flow and he ended up crying himself to sleep.

When Lando woke up, his head now rested on your chest as you combing your hand through his hair. He looked up at you surprised that you were awake. He pulled away from you question after question spewing from his mouth. You just hushed him and pull him back into. I love you; you said as you rested your head against his. I love you too; he said back as he wrapped his arms around you. His body would sure complain about the awkward position later, but he would deal with that later.

He needed this. You need this right now. You guys would talk about what your relationship was going to look now on later. You just need to be in the moment with each other.

[marlenesluv]

۵pairing: fem!albonsibling!ballerina x platonic f1 grid. also, reader x lando norris

۵type: social media au and dialogue

۵authors note: i really love making these, so i’m excited to work on a part 3! also, i know alex has other siblings, i’m just not including them in these posts!

۵warnings: cussing, talk of blood (someone cut their finger, not bad or described much), talk of ballet darks: not eating as much, rude teachers, mean comments.

۵summary: after y/n albon lost her ballet partner, lando comes over to comfort her. but she of course still has a lot of practice before swan lake in two months.

۵this is part 3! please read part 1 and part 2 before this. (part 1 is mine, j on my main blog)

masterlist here -> masterlist link

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

You were devastated to lose your partner, Ben, but all good things must come to an end, apparently. That’s what Lily had told you, at least.

Ben was an amazing dancer, he was, but your ballet instructor has wanted you to do solos for years now. Saying you had “too much potential to waste” and “you’re too talented to be focusing on another person when the show is about you.” Of course this was very nice, but Ben wasn’t only your ballet partner, but a friend.

The two of you went to the movies together, got coffee before practice, dinner after, it was nice. And you were happy that he had found a girl for him. You just didn’t expect for her to make him quit ballet.

That’s right, not a sport he had outgrown or gotten bored of. No no. Destiny was not a fan of the fact that he spent all of his time in the studio. Understandable, but dating a ballet dancer, that is a given. It was a shame that Ben had thrown all of his hard work away for a girl.

But here you were, unlocking your apartment door as Lando Norris walked in with a bag of Indian food and an extra hoodie on his shoulder.

“Hey! I got you some butter chicken and some paneer naan for us to share. Oh, and…” he pulled out two bottles of mango juice and handed them to you as you placed them on your island. “If I remembered correctly, you like mango juice?”

“Mhmm. Thank you, Lando.” you smiled up at him as he blushed a bit, clearing his throat as he sorted through the bag and you got out silverware.

“Wanna watch a show?” you asked, as you sat down beside him on your sofa, opening your juice.

“Yeah. How about ‘Brooklyn 99’?”

You nodded, opening Peacock and starting an episode as you both started eating and talking.

Talking with Lando was easy. When you ranted about how your ballet instructor stretched your arm too far backwards, he listened, only butting in to make sure you knew he was paying attention.

And when he ranted about how Checo pushed him off the track, and didn’t get penalized, you listened, you only butted in to gasp and ask the occasional question about how something worked.

You didn’t feel like he was judging you, and it was nice. Lando felt the same. You were someone that understood Formula 1 to a certain degree, since Alex talked about it, but you still asked questions, not just discounting what he was saying. Sure, Oscar wouldn’t mind listening to him blab on about shit, but Oscar wasn’t you.

And yes, you could talk to Lily, Kika, Kelly, Laila, or Carmen, but they weren’t Lando.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

yourinstagram

liked by landonorris, pierregasly, and 872,024 others

y/n.albon: i am so good at chess ♟️

view comments…

user3: lando and y/n??

alex_albon: you guys are hanging out alone now??

↳ y/n.albon: i guess, yeah

↳ alex_albon: wtf!?

↳ alex_albon: y/n answer my texts what are you doing????

user5: y/n just not answering alex LMAOO

user8: i live for this duo, they are so precious to me

lilymhe: the shoesss🥹

↳ y/n.albon: ikkk🥹🩷

user7: new ship, guys. ballerina and f1 driver 🫠

user2: she’s slaying without ben, fr

kellypiquet: adorable!

*liked by creator*

user4: okay. can they date?? orrrr

↳ user9: literallyyyy

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

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liked by y/n.albon, oscarpiastri, and 602,140 others

landonorris: 📷🩰💇‍♂️

view comments…

user1: BRO?

y/n.albon: gotta get those stretches in👯‍♀️

↳ landonorris: oh yeah🩰🙆‍♂️

user7: anyone notice how much y/n and lando have been hanging out….?

↳ user4: mhmmm. i ship

↳ user7: SAME

alex_albon: ahem, what is the second picture?

↳ y/n.user: me….alex, you’re my brother and you don’t know what i look like? shame shame

↳ alex_albon: that’s not what i meant, y/n

↳ alex_albon: why tf are you guys both on instagram and not messaging me back??

↳ alex_albon: fine. i’ll j come over, y/n

↳ y/n.albon: i’m taking my key back.

user9: little sibling fights in landos comments 😭

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Alex Albon always kept his word. So, naturally, at 8:30pm on a Thursday night, Alex unlocked his sisters apartment door with his spare key. So what if Y/N said to only use it “for emergencies” and “if i had fallen and could not get up” which she thought was hilarious, whilst he just clenched hi jaw at the thought of her falling and hurting herself.

He was definitely on the protective side, but for good reasons. All of her past boyfriends, there were two, had cheated on her. Yeah, he didn’t love how close his sister was to Lando Norris, but at least he liked Lando. Not enough to be okay with their hanging out though. But Alex trusted Lando enough to not freak out too much.

When Alex walked into his sisters apartment, he couldn’t find her anywhere. The kitchen was spotless. Marble countertops cleaned off, fridge stocked up, floor vacuumed. He should have known that was the case before he walked in.

Every Wednesday and Sunday, Y/N cleaned her apartment. It was something she had control over. She didn’t have control over what she ate, her ballet instructor did. She didn’t have control over her spare time, it was spent at the studio. Alex felt bad sometimes, she had dedicated her life since she was five to ballet.

Sure, Alex had dedicated his life to Formula 1 as well, but he knew ballet was more draining. He’d seen the breakdowns first hand. Y/N coming to his house after practice and crying in his arms because she didn’t get a part. Or when she had called Alex ten times and then Lily because she needed new ballet shoes and her instructor wanted them now.

And he would never forget the times that her instructor would tell her to not eat as much, and that she needed to slim down. She would come over for dinner with him and Lily, and drink her water and maybe some vegetables.

It always made Lily mad. She hated how Y/N was treated, they both did. They also both knew how much ballet meant to Y/N, so they never told her to quit.

“Alex?” Alex whipped his head around to see his sister in her ballet leggings, a sweater, and boots.

Y/N sat her ballet bag on the barstool and emptied her water bottle out as she looked at Alex. “Dude? What are you doing in my house?”

“Oh, u-um. I was checking on you. Forgot you had to go in today. Sorry.” He blinked, looking at her tight bun on her head. “Hey, shouldn’t you take that out before your head pops off?”

“So funny, ha-ha.” Y/N mocked, getting out some fruit. “Did you need something? Or did you wanna stay?”

“Sorry, right. Lily wants you to come over for dinner tomorrow.”

“Just Lily?” Y/N raised a brow as she plopped a strawberry into her mouth and chewed.

“No, dumbass. I want you to, too. Bring someone ever too, if you want.” Alex shrugged, accepting the strawberry his sister offered him.

“Mmk. Like who?….Lando?”

“I don’t care. If you want to.” he chewed the berry as she grabbed two waters from her fridge and handed one to Alex.

“Alright. Thanks. That it?” she asked, sighing.

Alex knew she wasn’t trying to be rude. She wanted to be alone, he understood. She had been at the studio since 8:00am, she was tired and wanted to sleep.

“Nope, that’s it. See you tomorrow?” Alex walked to the door, Y/N behind him.

“Yup. Love you, Alex. I’ll see ya.”

“Love you too. See ya tomorrow.” Alex shut the door behind him and walked to the elevator, pushing his thoughts away that maybe his sister was dating Lando.

He shook his head and sent a text to Lily to let him know that he was on his way home. Tomorrow night would be interesting.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

twitter:

F1 Updates @f1updatepage • 2hr

Our beloved Y/N Albon has been spotted on a boat with Lando Norris. The photo below was taken last week:

↳ Y/N my Icon! @y/n4lifeeee • 1hr

WHAT- i knew they were hanging out, butttt why am i shipping them so hard rn????

↳ Piasstri🍑 @oscandlan • 1hr

idk if i want to be y/n or if i want to be with y/n

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

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y/n.albon: pinky 🌸🩰🎀👛

view comments…

user9: SLAY PINK QUEEN

user4: fits always eat

lailahasanovic: cutieeeee

↳ y/n.albon: awe laila🩷

user6: no lando pics?? :(

↳ user2: im sure we will soon lol

danielricciardo: shes working💅🩰

↳ y/n.albon: yuh

f1wags: y/n’s life is sooo aesthetic fr

y/nballetstudio: our favvvv

*liked by creator*

user3: my literal inspo, ugh

landonorris: coffee coffee coffee

↳ y/n.user: thx for the coffee coffee coffee

↳ user1: hold up. he made her that coffee??????

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

You were nervous for dinner with Lily and Alex on Friday night. Actually, the dinner that was currently 3 hours away.

And yes, you invited Lando. So what? You weren’t even sure if you guys were just friends, or maybe he wanted something more….

It was confusing. One day, you guys are hanging out, cuddling on your couch while talking, and the next, he doesn’t even text you.

But he happily accepted the invite. Which is why Lando was sitting on your bed, watching you apply your lipgloss at your mirror. The shiny gloss catching his eye as you smiled and asked him a question.

“Lando? You there?” you waved your hand, smiling and laughing a bit.

“What? Oh, mhmm. Yeah. I heard you.” he shook his head, hoping you would repeat what you had said.

“You do think that we should get sushi next week for lunch?” you questioned, tilting your head to the side and smirking.

“Y/N, no. Don’t joke like that. You don’t even like sushi!” Lando whined, making you laugh.

“I know, sorry. I asked if I looked okay?” you smoothed your black skirt down, pulling the sleeves of the white shirt down a bit.

Lando swallowed, clearing his throat. What was he supposed to say? You truly always looked breathtaking to him. He couldn’t say that though. “Yeah, you look great.” Lando smiled and got up from your bed.

“Ok, thanks. Let’s go?” you shook off the weird feeling you had, grabbing your purse and snapping a mirror picture while Lando got his phone off the charger.

………

Once you guys got to Alex and Lilys, everything went smoothly. Alex and Lando chatted about the cars while they prepared the salad, and you and Lily talked about her latest golf outing and your rehearsals.

That’s how it always went. Except usually Alex would rant about the cars to you and Lily at dinner. Occasionally getting a breadstick thrown at him because you found his complaining aggravating.

“I know! And get this, my engineer said-“ Alex was ranting as Lando kept glancing your way. The was you doubled over when Lily said something, or the way you bit your lip as you concentrated on the pasta. He shook his head and listened to Alex talk about his balance in the car.

“Y/N. You need to seriously open your eyes.” Lily said, looking at you with a hand on her hip.

“They are! The pasta is fine- what…why are you mom stancing me right now?” you questioned, lips parted and brows furrowed.

“Do you not see the way Lando looks at you? He’s going to chop off a finger if he keeps glancing over here and not at his carrots.” Lily sighed, and right on cue….

“Ow! Fuck!” Lando cursed, hissing in pain, holding his finger.

“Lando! What the fuck? You’re getting blood all over the cutting board.” Alex complained, earning a cup thrown at his head from you as you ran over to Lando.

“What did you do?!” you asked, running his finger under cold water. It wasn’t a deep cut, but he grazed his finger with the blade.

“Um…I don’t know. Just thinking about the cars, I guess.” he shrugged, thanking you for getting the bandaids from the drawer behind him and helping him wrap it.

“Alex, you’re so rude! When a guest cuts their finger, you help! Not complain about your $15 cutting board.” Lily scolded Alex, shaking her head.

Alex scoffed, “Lily, he’s fine.” The couple set the table as you guys took your seats. You and Lando on one side, and Lily and Alex across from you.

“Sorry for not helping, Lando.” Alex said, side eyeing Lily.

You giggled a bit as Lando started laughing, “mhm, it’s okay.”

Dinner went well, conversations flowed well and it was nice to talk to the people you enjoyed being around. Now id only you could figure your feelings for Lando out…

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

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.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

(reposts, comments, and likes are appreciated!^-^)

[charles-leclerc-official]

Why is Red Bull keeping Checo?

I have seen this question thrown around a lot, it's like clockwork every year the validity of his seat is questioned. In 2024 especially after a series of lackluster performances people have questioned why Red Bull would keep Checo in that seat when they have other options like their VCARB drivers or other Red Bull juniors ready to take a chance.

I think that this year especially as the seasons progressed it's become clear that Red Bull need to keep Checo. I know sponsorships etc are also involved. There is a lot that goes into these decisions. But I want to speak about the side of things that has gone under the radar at Red Bull since last year and why they need Checo on the team at this moment in time.

Simply put it's the car. Checo has been the canary in the coalmine for the current evolution of the RB series for a year and a half now. When he noted issues with the car last year in 2023 and how it impacted his driving he was dismissed. Max was still getting results. (Max also noted problems but he was still winning so who cares right? Right?)

Well there's only so long you can get away with a bad or sub-optimal upgrade.

Cut to 2024, Red Bull upgrade the car and Checo's performance drops again, dramatically. And this time so does Max's. Look at the beginning of the struggles in Monaco that carried into the triple header.

There are problems with the balance on the Red Bull model, an issue that has spanned multiple seasons that the team overlooked until they couldn't anymore. They really had the mentality of "Max is still winning so it's fine"

When no. They had a car that Max was starting to really have to fight, and Checo had lost the feeling entirely.

You saw a lot of mentions of "The Verstappen factor" when it came to winning races in mid 2024.

Checo is one of the drivers that has been with this car, and it turns out his feedback and notes on performance were very accurate. If Red Bull want to try to get back on track they need to stay with the drivers who know that car best. Replacing Checo for someone else would work if the car was in a good place. It isn't. The primary goal at the team is to fix the car. A driver who hasn't been with the car at all is not going to be any help on that front. And we have learned that Checo's feedback on the RB19 and RB20 was accurate and more valuable than the team first understood.

People were concerned when Red Bull said "We need to make the car more comfortable for Checo"

But that is what they needed to do, because making the car better for Checo would also make it better for Max. These two are not at odds when it comes to performance in that car. It's just Checo experiences much bigger drop offs than Max. The team realized they needed to listen not just to Max but Checo too if they were going to get on top of the problems with their upgrades and base design philosophy.

It seems that Checo is a good measure for the car. When he struggled eventually that performance issue caught up to Max as well. It took a while, and Max being such a good driver he can compensate for a lot. But if you see Checo struggle with the car, a few months later it catches up to Max. It may take a while but it shows that watching him is very important to understanding these cars.

If Red Bull want to understand the car to best support Max, Checo is the most useful on that front at this moment in time.

If they are going to recover for the rest of the season they need the guy who has been in the car and can give the most informed feedback. Daniel, Yuki, or any Red Bull junior driver was not going to be able to do that.

Note: Max also is important here, but I am speaking specifically on Checo as his impact has been largely overlooked. Max has had many of the same issues make no mistake.

[delulujuls]

emotional support rivals | ls18, sp11

hi! i dont know how to comment on this one, basically i thought that i would try to tame sergio and lance a bit because i know that some people may not like them as much. but they did pretty well here!

anyway, enjoy!

summary: reader is having the worst day of her life aka first day of her period, lance and sergio dont know how to act but they tryna be supportive

warnings: none i think

pairing: lance stroll x fem!mclarendriver x sergio perez

This day was terrible. And that was it.

But you might ask, how could a day be terrible when it hadn't even had a chance to start? Y/N just felt in her bones that this would be the case. She also knew her current schedule of duties, which considering the current jetlag that weighed heavily on her mind, added quite a bit to her already full plate.

Of course, days like these were allowed to exist; balance in life was the norm. Nevertheless, Y/N fervently wished for this one to, as soon as possible, come to an end.

Unfortunately, a quick end was out of the question, as her alarm had just rung. She struggled to open her sleepy eyes and saw the gloomy 6:30 on her phone's display.

She sighed and sat up in bed, feeling an unpleasant sensation in her stomach. She was familiar with this feeling and it signaled one thing and one thing only.

"Oh no, it can't be."

Y/N muttered under her breath and quickly reached for her phone, opening one of the apps. The notification confirmed her worst fear. "Your period may start today!"

"Fantastic, just fucking fantastic."

In a already bad mood, she tossed her phone into the pillows and got up with a symphony of groans, sighs and curses. As soon as she got out of bed she checked the sheets but the snowy white fabric assured her that today would be a one big roulette of waiting for her period to start.

When she showered and got ready to leave, she also packed her emergency kit for days like this. She had to use it partially though, because the pain in her stomach was simply unbearable. And it wasn't the typical stomach ache that everyone thinks of when they hear 'oh no, my stomach hurts' but this stomach pain was the Lance Stroll of all stomach pains. It doesn't seem to hurt too much, but it spoils your whole mood with its terrible nature.

Since talking about Stroll, it happened like that she still had practice laps that day, which she failed to pass while everyone else did. As it turned out, the same task was waiting for Lance, because in the cafeteria, apart from the busy employees, there was him. And that damn Mexican, too.

"What time are you supposed to be on the track?"

Checo asked from behind her when she was grabbing breakfast from one of the swedish tables.

"What happened to 'hi, good morning'? 'Buenos dias,' at least?"

She muttered, pouring syrup on her pancakes.

"Normally you don't talk to me, so I figured there's no point in trying."

He replied, somewhat thrown off by her response.

"Hello Sergio, nice to see you too and yes, it just happens that we're stuck with each other today. I'm on at 10am, you're ahead of me at 9, and that Aston idiot is at 11."

Y/N said sarcastically, putting on the nicest tone she could muster.

Sergio didn't know how to respond, so when she turned to leave for her table, he simply stepped out of her way.

Lance ate in silence, observing the scene quietly. He was watching the McLaren sun, today completely covered by stormy clouds, going away and sitting alone. Inadvertently his gaze met with Checo, who just shook his head and returned to choosing his breakfast.

Y/N sighed heavily, sitting at one of the empty seats. She ate absentmindedly, not used to the absence of Oscar and Lando. They had different things to attend to that day, so it wasn't unlikely that they wouldn't even cross paths. Maybe it was even better for them; each of them would probably receive a monthly dose of sulking. The charms of being the only girl in the company could be really tough at times.

And it's not that Y/N was a pain in the ass only for Oscar and Lando. She got along well with most people she interacted with daily. A few times she even went out with other girls; she wasn't limiting herself to the company of guys only. Unfortunately, Oscar and Lando had happened to take a particular liking to each other, which made the trio basically unseparable.

There were people with whom she didn't have frequent contact, or with whom she only exchanged smiles in passing but she had never had the chance to exchange a word.

It's also known that in life you can't be liked by everyone and not everyone can be liked by you. In this case, there was no magical exception. It just so happened that she would spend today in the company of those people who sat at the other end of the cafeteria, occasionally throwing her stolen glances.

After finishing her meal, the girl got down to her duties, wanting to bring this day to an end as quickly as possible. At the appointed time, she appeared on the track, quickly changing into her racing suit. She put on her helmet and after a brief discussion of notes, she sat in the car. That's when she felt that something was wrong. The worst-case scenario flashed before her eyes.

"Can I quickly go to the bathroom?"

She asked, looking at the technician nearest to her.

"We're a bit behind schedule. Can it wait?"

Y/N resignedly nodded. She knew there was nothing left to salvage.

She adjusted her straps and when she got the signal to leave the garage, she drove outside and headed straight for the track. After the radio test and receiving permission to start, she clenched her fists and roared the engine.

She was angry and as it's known, there's nothing worse than a female rage.

She was angry at this day, at herself, at this damn car. She was angry at the bloodstain on her damn orange suit, even though she hadn't seen it yet.

She was so hormonal that if it weren't for the helmet restricting her movements, she would have screamed at the top of her lungs.

However, female anger was priceless.

"Best lap time, I repeat, best lap time."

She tightened her grip on the steering wheel, not responding to the message.

In moments like this, she didn't care about anything. And it's pretty well known that a person who doesn't care has nothing to lose.

When the session ended and she received the message that she could pull into the pit lane, she complied. Mechanics rolled her into the garage and only then did it dawn on her that her hands were still clenched on the steering wheel. When she managed to free herself from the car, she immediately checked her seat. She cursed under her breath and took off her helmet, placing it aside. Quickly grabbing the nearest rag, she began to wipe away the stain of shame on her seat. The technician, whom she asked about going to the bathroom before the start, when he realized what had happened and what she was doing, just gave her an apologetic look.

She unzipped her suit and slid its top off, covering the stain on her backside. Zac wanted to congratulate her on the result and discuss the outcomes, but she apologized and grabbed her emergency kit, heading straight to the bathroom. She changed into her unstained clothes, guarded against another unpleasant surprise and bundled up the suit, muttering under her breath that a visit to the laundry awaited her later that day.

When she returned to the McLaren garage, Zac, upon seeing her, immediately smiled.

"Young lady, you charmed us today! You literally flew in that car!"

"I guess that's good, I think."

The girl replied, mustering a smile as she glanced at the monitors in front of her.

"Good? It's brilliant!"

Zac replied with a smile and checked his notes.

"After checking the car, I would ask you to put on your suit again for a moment because we need to do a few more laps on different tires."

"I thought that was it for today."

Y/N replied, looking at him.

"Now, you were driving on mediums; it would be good to know what time you can achieve on the hard compound."

The girl tightened her suit under her armpit.

"But—"

She started, but it felt silly, so she lowered her voice and approached him, "My suit is not suitable."

"How so? What happened?"

He frowned and looked at the bundle she was holding.

"I won't be able to drive in it anymore today."

Zac looked confused, so she just said "period" without using any words. He quickly understood and immediately nodded his head.

"Ask someone if we have another suit in stock. It would mean a lot to me if we could finish these tests today."

Y/N nodded and walked away, sighing heavily when she was out of his reach. However, as it turned out, racing suits are not as straightforward as one might think and the only McLaren suit in this garage was hers—rolled up into a ball of shame and unfit for use. One of the women upon hearing her situation only gave her a comforting hug and suggested borrowing a suit from Sergio or Lance, taking advantage of the fact that they were only drivers nearby. The situation was exceptional and it was all about internal measurements.

Disheartened by the fact that she would be forced to confront the men, she left the garage and looked around. Checo and Lance were sitting nearby, chatting in front of the Aston Martin garage. Y/N gathered herself and approached them, causing them to immediately pause their conversation.

"Can I borrow a suit from either of you?"

"You drive for McLaren, not for Aston or Red Bull."

Sergio said, taking a sip from his bottle. The girl involuntarily clenched her fists. Be professional, she thought and took a deep breath.

"If I didn't have to, I wouldn't ask. I need a suit; mine... is not suitable for driving."

"What happened?"

Lance asked, glancing at her. His expression lacked the hint of malice that Sergio currently possessed.

"I just need one; is that not enough?"

"Give a good reason and I might even give you mine."

Pérez said, crossing his arms.

"I just got my period which means my suit is having a fucking bloodstain on my ass and even though I feel like they're cutting me in half completely alive I have to do some extra laps because this fucking fat idiot didn't think about pitstop to change my tyres and let me go straight to the track" Y/N she spoke quietly and calmly, but her voice was dripping with fury "So do me the pleasure and let one of you give me your overalls before something hits me, for fucks sake."

Lance and Sergio stood still. Sergio's face lost its fierce expression and Lance suddenly realized that he had started holding his breath out of stress.

"I'll give you mine, no problem."

Stroll spoke up, starting to unzip his suit.

"Yours is light, you idiot; if something happens again, everything will be visible."

Pérez scolded him and turned his gaze back to the girl.

"Wait a moment; I'll bring you mine right away."

Y/N nodded and watched him leave.

"Do you feel very bad?"

Lance asked, looking at her. He couldn't wrap his head around how the girl standing in front of him, bleeding and all, could endure such a great strain and still set the best lap time.

"It's been better."

She sighed.

Lance, not knowing exactly what to do or how to help, reached out his hand with a bottle in it. Y/N looked at the bottle first and then at his face. Seeing that he was genuinely concerned, she whispered a quiet 'thanks' and took the water from him.

Sergio returned shortly after, handing her his suit.

"I hope it'll fit well for you."

The girl handed back Lance his water and thanked Pérez as well.

"Good luck, tigresa."

Y/N nodded at them one last time and returned to the garage, changing into the borrowed suit and taking her place in the car again.

As she sat there, waiting for permission to leave the pit lane, she noticed that she wasn't angry anymore, at least not as much as she was some time ago. When she drove out and headed towards the track, she passed Lance and Sergio once again, who were giving her thumbs up.

For the first time that day Y/N genuinely smiled and who would have thought it would be thanks to her rivals, who had now become her emotional support ones?

[oconist]

I posted a note saying how bad I feel for Esteban but how glad I am he's leaving Alpine (meaning to say that I hope he goes to a good team) and a good friend of mine replied with "yeah I don't like him, bad driver, agreed" and I have no idea how to respond to that... I'm a new F1 fan so no stats ready but I DO know he's not a bad driver but all I can talk about is his background growing up but IDK I need help responding pls?

hi!! same sentiment here, hope he has a contract but glad he left that toxic team.

he's not a bad driver, despite what people say. if u check his stats in feeder series like f3 n gp3 he was a consistent driver that was usually in the podium. if you check his early f1 stats, he had good first full year in force india (points in every race except a retirement and a p12) and was usually close to checo in the standings (if he wasn't being disqualified or had retirements) or his other teammates (last year with 6 retirements vs gasly's 2 and like a 4? 6? point difference)

the year with the biggest position difference is 2020, covid year, in which esteban had not raced in an f1 car for a year against dric who had already a year on the team.

most people think he's a bad driver because of the collisions he has been in, specially with his teammates, but only two of them have been fully his fault (a collision with perez and now in monaco with gasly). the problem is the people he gets in collisions with, and the reason why most people are quick to blame him. drivers that, as usual, blame the other before checking the on-board after the race (which is normal behaviour btw and totally expected, it's weirder if a driver doesn't defend themselves) but ocon never really defends himself, and his biggest/most memorable crashes are with drivers like checo, alonso and verstappen that have big diehard fanbases.

it's true that his style is agressive, but he has also proven he is a team player when needed (defended gasly in australia 2023 after the crash, does follow team orders on the radio, not to mention that he has never talked badly about any team nor teammate he has had and is always cheering the team up on the radio [radio this year after alpine sucked, he was the first to open the radio and cheer the team up, while gasly said the car sucked (true)]). people forget that your teammate is your first rival, but ocon doesn't and unless he is told otherwise, he races them as if they were any other driver. and he normally is on par with his teammate, so of course there are going to be fights between them.

most of the time he does deliver with his overtakes and defense. he is good at managing tyres (record for longest stint in c3 tyres in baku, turkey 2021 where he didn't change tyres, alpine relying on him to manage tyres for all their one pit stop strategies all these years) and good at qualifying.

also, he has never been in a good car, either backmarkers (now and his first half year in f1) or midfield cars and yet he has a win, a 2nd place and a 3rd place. he is consistently in the points if the car allows it, has been praised by prost and is a good test driver and at giving feedback.

i hope the reason why he left alpine is because of the disrespect he has been put through and i really hope that he has a contract for next year. i have never seen a driver been more attacked by his own team (rossi, bruno, otmar) than ocon in the recent years.

[penaltyboxboxbox]

whats stopping you from posting your omegaverse headcanons my king……do it

truly what is stopping me....ok my omegaverse assignments under the damn cut and honestly thank you to @wewentcarracing my fellow scholar who's own research has DEFINITELY influenced my own

Charles: this bitch is an omega. everyone is in love with him and he smells so good and is distracting to everyone in the damn room. we're going to question his abilities because of it too he will face anti-omega media bias despite the achievements of other omega drivers all of charles mishaps are blamed on the fact hes an omega

Carlos: alpha idc what you contradictory parties wanna say hes a big hairy alpha and hes proud of it. but hes like pretty well managed and likes to act like hes a lot more...idk wild during his ruts and stuff but like in all reality he keeps it together very well but just uses being an alpha as an excuse to hoe around.............is not mated to charles but like wants to be soooooo badly and like the way charles plays around it constantly makes him insanely whipped . as he fucking said it himself he wants to bite charles and has to control himself. ok.

Pierre: i cant decide honestly like sometimes i want him to be an alpha who has no self control and sometimes i want him to be a very ashamed omega. depends on the day and also what i'm assigning for esteban....

Esteban: He is either a beta or a really lame alpha..............i like him being an alpha making him super protective of lance but like THEY DONT LIKE EACH OTHER THAT WAY but like. maybe a little a esteban just too polite to lance to say anything. teehee. omega pierre x beta esteban is goated also. just saying.

Lance: OMEGA.............uses this as an excuse to always be laying down and being sweet and asking people to do things for him :) and they always do. also he has the most sweaty disheveled unwell heats ever and just generally reeks of maple syrup and pancakes

Fernando: alpha and he wont let you forget it. he stank. hes freaky. yeah. talks about it TOO openly. everyones had a taste too like can you blame them. guy who is also like slobbering all over lances neck in public theyre gross about it

George: I loooove George as an alpha who really dislikes the loss of control aspect of alphadom. As the wise sadie one said, george thinks being an alpha is terribly gauche. at the same time has his own cockiness about the fact he IS an alpha like he has his moments there......using his alpha privilege when it suits him but hating it when its not something he can use to his advantage or that might make him act a fool

Lewis: Beta who lets people believe he's an Alpha whos just so mentally in the zone and turbo vegan that he is able to remain in complete control of his urges and emotions. Gets testy when questioned about it its NONE of their business. Definitely does in fact really really want to be an alpha. (nico an omega btw just add this to my brocedes narrative)

Yuki: Alpha and proud of it. He's like writing alpha specific instagram captions.

Daniel: This man is THE beta ok. used to be self deprecating about it but now just embraces it. hes the beta they brought into the enclosure to keep max from becoming insane.

Max: an omega but like. weirdly ravenous one. he is breaking down omega stereotypes but like he's not even trying he's just a weirdo.

Checo: also an omega but hes like a tragically lame one when in heat. like this man is the king of the pathetic heat he wants to be led around by the hand and makes everyone around him feel bad for him. smells like orchids and carnations.

Valtteri: beta who is literally just chilling

Guanyu: reverse lewis, alpha who everyone thinks is a beta and he just lets them, doesn't want people prying into that part of his life. does not have a complex about being an alpha though and being around val keeps him w a cool head yk

Alex: Alpha.......knows he's a good one too like too aware that he'll get the job done and WELL definitely more than a little cocky about it and thinks he generally like. deals with himself well doesn't THINK he lets it get to his head as much as it does. HUGE flirt w like any omega.

Logan: Omega like what do you want me to say he spends every moment wiggling and whimpering and blushing like......hes an omega. he smells like he smells like fresh cut citrus and seawater 🫶😔

Lando: he's an omega but he smells offputting he smells like burnt sugar and monster energy. was like convinced mind body and soul he and carlos were a THING until the chussy lured carlos away and now lando is stuck being a little weird about it for all time he cant quite click w someone else and hes a weird mean little tease because of it

Oscar: Alpha who is soooooooooo incredibly chill about it. You wanna hop on my dick? ah. ok i guess. have at it. like this guy is not pressed about any of this shit

KMag: alpha but i have no strong opinion here i just think hes normal

Nico: alpha who smells terrible to every omega ever and can never find a rut partner and yearns for the hole but he just cant win

bonus seb cause i can: seb is an alpha..obvs w charles duh but ALSO was a freakish little alpha in his younger days who got off on being gross and contradictory + wonderful truly paired with beta mark with his absolutely massive complex about being a beta and snaps at anyone who tries to bring it up in regards to his behavior etc etc etc hotheaded beta and evil twink alpha who goads him about oh fuck me all you want youll never be MEEEEE oh i need it actually. anyways

THANKS FOR READING 🫶

[beabnormal24]

My hot takes on this gp:

1) Donald Trump thing

Edit: I might rewrite this ‘cause I’ve been thinking about it a little bit more.

I know that it was not right of Lando to say nice things about Trump, but I also know that him and all the other drivers on the grid are completely PR indoctrinated, and I sincerely believe that he just went with what the team told him to say.

In top of that, I also sincerely think that he wasn’t thinking at all about his own words with all the adrenaline of the win, which might not be a complete justification, but it’s still a reason why he would say those things.

Apart from that, I also feel like I can’t talk about this in primis because it’s not something I’m an expert in, so this is merely my opinion.

2) Carlos’ penalty

First of all, can we all appreciate the show him and Oscar put on? Incredible racing, just top quality, so so beautiful, I got the chills for every single lap and held my breath every time Carlos tried to make a move and Oscar just closed the doors for him.

I loved it a lot.

Second of all, I won’t say if the penalty was deserved or not ‘cause I’m not a steward or anything, but what I do want to say is that Oscar did indeed push Carlos off the track at first (that doesn’t mean that Oscar is a bad driver, I’m just stating the obvious).

On top of that, Checo not receiving a single penalty for that basically “dive-bombing” is… I don’t even have the words for that, really.

And it’s not only them but also Lewis’ move during the sprint that basically took Lando and Lance out both and finished Fernando’s race.

So, maybe, when these things happen together, you start really thinking that when Fernando Alonso says “Because he is not a Spaniard” then maybe he might be right, you know?

3) Carlos saying that he was frustrated with Oscar

It is like- the most normal thing he could say?

He said the same exact thing about Daniel in the sprint! He appreciates their skills, but obviously got frustrated that he could not get past them (in Daniel’s case, literally, in Oscar’s case, because of a penalty).

He never said he hated Oscar, he never said anything similar, and neither did Oscar! If they did on the radio, then please go in and be calm on a radio in a car going around 200kpmh while fighting another car, let’s see what you can do.

They were both really calm after the stewards’ office and they did not say anything bad about each other anymore, why do you feel the need to stir unnecessary drama all the freaking time?

Carlos even went to the McLaren garage to congratulate the engineers. And for those who are saying “he should apologise to Oscar”, uh, no? Why would he?

It’s the sport, it’s how it works! I sincerely think that Oscar would be more offended if Carlos went and apologised to him for that, ‘cause that’s racing. And also, if you’re thinking like that, then Oscar should also apologise for pushing him off the track and almost causing him a proper incident.

But they don’t apologise because it’s racing, simple as that.

Good God, just please think twice before writing hateful comments about Carlos or Oscar.

[petit-papillion]

It's crazy how misinformation keeps being spread. I saw a person on twitter who had a lot of followers and a podcast about f1 saying ferrari asked what tires carlos thought it was better and carlos answered "soft". And then they gave the soft to charles and hard to carlos.

When someone posted the transcription of the radio (from twitter user team55) that shows carlos answered "hards or softs" they said the transcription was wrong.

When someone mentioned ferrari wanted to give charles hards but charles refused, they said its not true and the only reason they gave charles soft was because carlos said it was the better tire.

I went back to listen the radios and the person is simply lying.

Ferrari asked carlos what he prefer between mediums, soft or hards and he said "hards or soft"

Ferrari told charles they were thinking about putting hards and he said "no that's stupid".

So whats the point to make up things like this ? Just so people can keep the narrative that carlos is the strategy master and ferrari favors charles ?

And it's one thing if it was just a random account but it's someone with a plataform. there's a lot of fans that don't have access to f1tv there are just believing what this person said.

Hi Anon! I feel like the F1 broadcasts have hugely contributed to this perception of Carlos being a strategic mastermind by being very selective about what they broadcast from team radio. Drive to Survive gets picked on for painting false narratives, but the main broadcast is, at times, just as bad. They pick and choose team radio, sometimes don't broadcast everything that was said or omit follow-up radio that puts the original one in a different light, or don't transcribe it correctly ("There was a cut." when Charles said "There was a cat." comes to mind). I do like that they put "I'm OK." on screen when a driver has crashed and they know from team radio the driver is okay. And I also understand it takes a little while to transcribe team radio. But to my recollection they have never actually said it's just a standard message they use, and instead they make it seem like they are quoting the driver, who in fact may have said, "I'm in the fucking wall." or "Red flag! Red flag! I'm in the middle of the track!!!"

Anyway, on to your point: why make things up? For the same reason drivers lie (and yes, they all do at one point or another) when they are on team radio or talking to the media. To make themselves look good/innocent. And some go to far more extremes than others. Fans are no different: we are biased towards our fave and have a really hard time accepting when he does something we don't like or agree with, as our meow meow just can do no wrong. Some people come up with excuses, others with just blatant lies. See recently Lestappen fans when Max chose Lando, Daniel and Checo as his top 3 friends on the grid, and they said he had to pick Checo because he's his teammate, otherwise he would've said Charles. Could be true, but that would still only put Charles as his 3rd best friend. Wouldn't Max have put Charles as his undisputed number 1 if they are really that close?

Sorry, I digress. The point is, we all need to use critical thinking to the best of our ability, check facts when we can, and try not to stay in a vacuum of like-minded people, but it's unavoidable to have false narratives slip in when it is being fed to us every race weekend. Commentators are biased and although we expect them to be objective, they often are not. I stopped listening to Sky, but it is incredibly clear Crofty's favourite driver is Norris, Chandhok is a Carlos-fan, etc. And you are right, not everyone has access to F1TV to check the onboards, but in this case, they do have access to Twitter and can look at more than just the tweets telling them lies.

In case anyone needs proof of what Charles said:

🎥 bliss_n16

[ninetqs]

hi you seem very knowledgeable about wheel so i have to ask: do you think albon keeps his seat next year? the williams seems like a car that can score points consistently in franco’s hands, but not so much albon’s. i also think carlos and franco would be a top 3 driver pairing on the grid next year, and you have to take that chance before franco gets snapped up by another team.

i really, really like albon, but he looks to be about the 18th best driver on the grid at his ceiling. i’ve watched williams flounder for years and i just want them to have success - and i don’t know if they can do that with albon in the seat.

i don't think four races are enough to judge whether alex is past his prime or if franco is the next verstappen, but i do think the following are true:

alex wasn't challenged enough by his previous teammates

the "true pace" of the williams wasn't being shown with the alex/logan pairing

alex is currently tilted

franco is better than expected

f2 drivers are generally better than expected, and the skill gap between the top 10 f2 drivers and most f1 drivers isn't massive -> logan being bad, combined with mecachrome, has made people underestimate the quality of f2 drivers

it's worth noting that alex's recent results haven't come on a level playing field:

baku: they left a fan on his car during quali so he didn't get a proper lap

singapore: mechanical dnf

austin: car damage (which, to be fair, was his fault, but the race still doesn't reflect his pace)

you could argue that's just racing and he should handle it better (and i'd agree), but i doubt williams is making any long-term decisions based on data that's compromised

there's also the question of whether williams sees franco as the right driver to move forward with—not just on track but also in terms of feedback, car development, and team synergy

placing alex 18th feels a bit harsh, he's not on the same level as the top drivers, but he's still more consistent than drivers like lance, zhou, and kmag. the midfield right now is filled with very competent drivers, more so than in previous eras, and just being able to score points is an accomplishment. haas and aston martin still have better cars than williams, and with checo back in the top 10, that leaves only 2-3 spots per weekend for other teams to score

overall i agree alex has been disappointing recently, but i'd wait until the end of the year to make a judgement. if he's down 8-3 in their head-to-head by abu dhabi, then we can #StartAConversation

regardless of whether franco or alex is in the second seat though i'm confident carlos in the williams will get them consistent enough points next year to function as a solid team with good morale. it doesn't change their overall standing much—they'll still be the 3rd best pairing overall behind ferrari and mclaren just bcs of carlos (who has improved massively in his time at ferrari)

there's also like a 50% chance williams loans franco to another team for two years then takes him back when carlos inevitably tries to leave in 2026

tl;dr: yes i think alex will keep his seat but idk i'm not james vowles (thank god for that)

[niqabisinparis]

My honest take on every driver on the grid (no DTS influence) in no particular order

Albon - a real cutie patootie with underrated talent but not wdc material whatsoever

Russell - a little overrated. good control of his car but also not wdc material. I like his new vibe but v much seems to be overcompensating for being a bit of a prick and trying to be more relatable on social media. seems insecure

max - a killer forged from pure grit and sweat. has the skill and fire for prob 2 more wdcs but his weak self control will get to him. love his idgaf attitude when it comes to media and social. super weird that he’s dating piquet’s daughter but love his relationship w penelope

Lewis - undisputed decorated champion built from pure hard work. so underrated that sometimes he underestimates himself. the serena williams of the sport. needs to be more selfish/aggressive/and cocky in public to earn the respect he deserves. king of defense and overtakes

leclerc - also underrated but undercutting his own raw talent by being passive and not taking control of his race strategy. needs to be more aggressive with defense and overtakes

sainz - correctly rated. decent consistent driver who’s level headed but prob no wdc in his future due to silly decisions

daniel- overrated af and overly confident in his own skill. feels entitled to a good car even though he’s done nothing when he had them. the “personality hire” joke is def not a joke

yuki- didn’t like him at first due to his temper and manner of speaking to his engineers but seems to have calmed down. his race craft is clean af now but still lacking consistency but could be from the car. def deserves an RB seat before daniel

checo - idk enough about his career history to comment but seems like a “skate by on decent results in good a team” kinda driver. his one redeeming factor was consistency and that’s gone too. can’t defend or attack for shit.

logan- so bad that the “he was put into f1 too early” excuse just doesn’t cut it anymore. More than half the season gone and no improvement is embarrassing. I can tell he’s trying but he just doesn’t have it and is costing an already broke team so much by crashing every race. like do u even know how to drive this car?

lando - has the raw skill and seems to lock in and deliver but only when the situation is in his favor. but when he does lock in it’s beautiful. still too green and lacks consistency. weak mentally and leans towards negativity which fucks up his aura. gives “tortured former gifted child” vibes. def see a wdc in his future

oscar - solid driver and level headed. could be wdc material but yet to see. a bit passive. no personality but not in a fun kimi raikkonen way

alonso- he’s just here for fun. genuinely don’t think he’s trying to relive glory days. one of the greats but also liiiiittle overrated due to his bravado. amazing defense and even more amazing memes. want to see him attack in a good car again. he def has that dog in him

stroll - why is he still here but also love having someone to hate. did u know his dad has a $200M yacht?

bottas - genuinely heartbroken that he went from number 2 in a winning team to now being a laughing stock. we all know a good car doesn’t guarantee results and he delivered every day in merc while being a great teammate. but also lacks the fire and killer instinct to make anything more of his career

zhou - literally no feelings. no skill, no personality, don’t know why he’s here.

Nico - somehow over and underrated at the same time? the most consistent with good race craft but skill set plateaued years ago. don’t know if he’d deliver in a better car. good overtakes tho

Kevin - love the guy but hard to defend. I think the skill is there he’s just messy and can’t lock in

pierre- great raw talent and super hard worker. can tell he’s good enough to deliver in a midfield/top team. don’t know if he’s wdc material tho

ocon- good talent but the negative narrative built around him is def getting to his head and making him messy. there’s potential but it’s still really deep inside and don’t know if he’d uncover it before it’s too late.

[magicalonsomanydances]

In preparation for the Spanish Grand Prix I feel I must give my ranking of my top 10 on the Grid as some way to soothe the frustration that I have no way to watch the race.

Carlos Sainz Vazquez de Castro Cenamor Rincón Rebollo Birto Moreno de Aranda de Anteriuga Tiapera Deltun absolute king of my heart and the reason I got into this sport. The prince charming of Spain who's so classy and gracious and just such a good teammate no matter where he is at. With his powerful tractor beam big brown eyes. Long live the smooth operator! Vamos Carlos!

Esteban Ocon. Am I aware that this is like loving the problematic lead in a film or book just cause he has babygirl energy? Yes. Is that gonna stop me? Hell naw! I like his backstory, disarmed by his squishy little face, and I vowed to defend him from all harm like the minute after I watched him analyze Cars as being an accurate depiction of various racing aspects. Plus he's from the same region of France as where my family originates. So while Carlos is my F1 husband Estie is like my F1 baby bro. I will call him "teapot" it's a long story feel free to send me an ask about it. I will also call him Esteban "Can Do No Wrong" Ocon. Yes I'm fully self aware of how delulu I am about this man having no flaws (he does I've just elected to ignore them in favor of being charmed by the innocent face)

Daniel Ricciardo - I'm from Texas, I'm an extrovert, I'm legally obligated to stan this man to the moon and back. The Honey Badger is my spirit animal. Not the actual creature, just chaos gremlin Daniel. His energy is infectious and he brings the party and he loves my state. How could I do anything but support him?

George Russell - he was probably the second crush I got in F1 and I kinda love how in spite of his posh model energy he actually isn't from some moneyed or legacy background and he's so delightfully clueless at times "goat, sorry?" And the videos of him with kiddos he's so sweet and attentive to them

Checo - the Mexican minister of Defense. The down to earth friendly dad energy. He's just so solid and sweet and I love what he does to help mellow Max just by ya know being the chill dad Max never had. Also he an authentic Mexican, endorsed Tex-Mex so obvs I'm gonna love this man and wanna get tacos and drinks. He has that approachable energy and given the US's one driver might not even have a seat next year I gotta support our neighbor Mexico's driver cause I sure ain't supporting the Canadian nepo baby

Fernando Alonso - this mainly has to do with sex appeal let's be real. He's got that edgy bad boy kinda external vibe in some ways but then he's backstage arranging flowers and it's like "I could fix him and make him settle down" he's got charm style and is basically an immortal and foxy as hell. Let me try to domesticate this man please!

Charles Leclerc - sweet, I would vote him most likely to be true even while he's traveling abroad being swooned over and having fans handing him marriage licenses. He's just a little too type A for me to love him like I do my golden retriever energy chaos creatures and chill guys of the previous 6. But he's great and it's because of him and Carlos in the C² videos that I got roped into this sport so he's gotta make it. Plus after all the loss he's experienced he's a real inspiration in staying kind in spite of the pain of life

Max Verstappen - speaking of inspirations my traumatized ass can't help but support one of my own. He's an icon of breaking cycles. Yes he's definitely had his issues but he's matured in some ways and while I don't care if he wins or not on the track I'm very invested in him winning at life which him being a doting stepdad to Penelope is the kind of healing that helps me heal too. Children of hard ass dads who didn't realize their childhood was fucked up, unite! Plus he's an absolute goofball and that's endearing

Logan Sargent - I'm american, independence day is literally my favorite holiday, I have to have this man in my top 10 and I genuinely do think he's a classy guy (especially considering he's from Florida) and I can't help but love how the one American driver is just so painfully American looking. He looks like Captain America fucked an apple pie. He looks like scientists designed an American in a lab. He looks like the Beach Boys had a grandson with the descendants of Betsy Ross. He looks like a team scoured frat parties for a year to find the most American looking guy in the country. He is Logan Sargent and he is Kenough.

Valterri Bottas - his absolute self confidence and zero fucks given. He does not take himself too seriously and he is wholesome AF. He also has practical guy energy. Like if I hand to rank drivers on Most Likely to Pull Over and Help You Change a Tire he's definitely in the top 3. He seems like getting his hands dirty is something he's not too good to do and he seems like a good dude. Plus he's hilarious. He's as chaotic as Daniel in some ways he's just a little less boisterous about it. Calm chaos vs 5 year old given 16 energy drinks in an hour Ricciardo energy

[itsblasttothepast]

I love how Checo saw Franco and immediately went "my baby, my boy, my precious child" and is almost constantly near him and interacts with him and does everything to connect and make him feel good. It's heartbreaking that he does that mostly because he was alone in this sport for so long and wasn't really welcome in it.

I can't really believe how people can keep on saying that he is a bad person (I know it's mostly Daniel fans wanting their fave in Checo's seat but still) when most of the drivers like him (I stand by my opinion that if Sebastian Vettel liked you, you can't be a terrible person) and he just wants the younger drivers to never go through he had to in this sport. It's the same with Yuki, the drivers from F2, F3 and the Academy and now with Franco, even with Max earlier on. He's just adorable and wholesome and I can't wrap my head around all the hate when the loudest people claim 'not to be racist' but there is really no reason for them to hate him so much. Dislike? Sure that's your right but blatant hate?

Oh, I know anon. I don't get how people can hate him, and also waste their time and effort in making blogs, posts, edits and so much more just to show how much they hate him... I mean... what? this is borderline insane.

You are allowed to dislike someone; I don't like Lando Norris, for example (I have my petty reasons), but I don't spend my time making blogs to hate him or making posts about him, why would I do that? When I can be delusional with Chestappen and Chewis? Being happy with my fellow KitKat gang, or just finding Squirtle gifs? (new obsession).

The only person who welcomed Checo when he joined F1 was Fernando, which is why he's his bestie; Kamui also was kind, but the rest of the grid... oh well. I just love how much Checo puts the effort in welcoming the rookies, and with Franco has been extra nice, maybe because both are latin americans; he is a warm and kind person (also a little shit sometimes), so I don't get why people keep hating him so much.

Thank you for your message, it's so nice knowing that there are people out there who likes Checo and supports him.

Hugs to you anon, your message lifted my spirit 💖

[rosezii]

F1 Drivers and why I like them (in no particular order)

This is coming from a fan that got into F1 in 2024, primarily through 'Drive To Survive' and dear-ao3's insane F1 2024 masterpost

Sir Lewis Hamilton

Hes the only one I knew from before I became a fan, 7-time world champion, best of the best, an activist, super cultured, smoking hot, seems pretty chill, great fashion sense, did I say smoking hot?

Also one half of the most compelling dynamic in f1 aka brocedes, i heard hes making a movie about this like ??? Im invested

Idc which team hes driving for im literally always cheering for him

Nico Rosberg

World champion, dad, britney, obsessed with Lewis Hamilton, very interesting in commentary box, all around cool guy

Other half of f1s most compelling dynamic

Alex Albon

Cutie patootie, also survived the red bull second seat curse for a whole year and a half so hes the most talented imo (ik checo has also done it - idc)

hes also born in the same year as me so that makes me very very biased (also delusional!!!)

Appendix-less!

Carlos Sainz

Also appendix-less!

Smooth operator

if f1 was a kpop band he would be my bias for just being my type of guy

Seems chill, handsome, funny, love his friendship with lando, his rivalry with oscar and his (faked?) dynamic with charles

Im so sad he got kicked outta ferrari but alas it was because of THE sir lewis hamilton so i cannot complain too much

Kevin Magnussen

I liked him on DTS, i think hes a girl dad?

I liked Haas as a whole, such a shame they crashed and burned for like 6 years straight

This year hes driving petty and im here for it like yes this is the entertainment im want

Im also petty as hell so I feel kinship

You gotta be the force of chaos you want to see in the world

Daniel Riccardo

My poor little meow meow he made such a bad decision leaving redbull but Hes still in an f1 car despite it all and hes always smiling and has a positive outlook so yeah props to him

I hope he gets his red bull seat back one day

Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, George Russell

I just grouped these 5 because i have the same opinion on all of them, which is that they seem like nice chill dudes, and theyre all great drivers

I do wish ferrari would stop sabotaging their boy tho, isnt charles supposed to be their little prince or something??? Act like it

I really like charles dog leo, what a cutie

Also george russell's got great style, also i like him cuz hes the drivers union president

Fernando Alonso

Force of chaos force of evil what can i say i just like villanous men (we're on tumblr what do you expect)

Lowkey hoping his car is FAST next year so he can cause problems on purpose

Valterri Bottas

Drive fast, show ass, whats not to like

Honorable Mention: Gunther Steiner

Whyd you fire him bring him back he did nothing wrong

(he did in fact do many things wrong)

(I havent mentioned anyone else from this season because I just dont know enough about them to have any opinion or I dislike them)

[eu-nicola]

Max Verstappen x Fem! Reader part 1

part 2

summary: when you met max your life started to sound like the verse ”But with everybody watching us, our every move We do have reputations We keep it secret” warnings: infidelity everywhere you see, not morally safe, I didn't correct this but I will

You had met Max at the race in Mexico, you had traveled from Argentina and gone as just another fan but this time you were in the Red Bull garage seeing everything up close since your father had paid for a special pass so he could get to know him well, One day there you had met Max's girlfriend and Checo's wife. You remember that they both greeted you kindly and invited you to stay with them.

That race had caused something to talk about since many said that Max had not let Checo win and that at that moment their friendship was on the tightrope, you did not pay much attention to notice if Checo was really angry with Max or not. that you simply continued enjoying everything that followed afterwards, you met Max at that very moment when he entered the room with Checo and Hamilton, you asked the three of them for an autograph trying to leave as soon as possible so that they wouldn't think you were annoying, When you went to talk to Max he looked at you and smiled before signing for you and then you left.

You saw him again when he stood on the first place podium and you thought that this was definitely his place, first place. At the end of the day you returned to the house where you were staying, it was the house of one of your friends who had moved to Mexico a few years before when her parents had divorced and she had gone with her mother.

After that race, Brazil followed in which Max came sixth and you were also present, it hurt you a little that he was so low but regardless of the result you continued to support him so he kept going, then for the last time in the year he continued to Abu Dhabi in which Max won, you knew that after his second title won in Japan and now also in his last race of the year with a good closing, he and his circle of friends were going to go out to celebrate at night, one of Max's friends I had invited you that same day when I met you at the go and you thought it would be a good idea.

That night you prepared the best you could wanting to look good, you always wanted to look good and you did. Max's friend had agreed to pick you up and he did so at the time he had agreed to meet. You didn't know specifically where they were going to go but you did know it was going to be a very good night.

At the club you greeted everyone who was in that group, the girls immediately integrated you into the group and you were with them all the time, the one you got along with best was Carmen, it was very easy for them to talk and change the subject without even getting bored . . They shared a couple of drinks until you started to feel the effect of the alcohol so you left it, each of the girls were now with their boyfriends dancing or scattered around, you were sitting with Max's friend “Lucas” talking and laughing, You liked the fact that he didn't want to try anything else and how gentlemanly he was towards you.

When you both got tired of talking and laughing you got up to go to the bathroom, you walked through all those people to get there and before you went through the door you saw Max and Kelly fighting and it's not that you were a gossip but sometimes it wasn't bad to find out some things. things and that's what you did, you stood in a place making sure they didn't see you and you heard Kelly yell at Max demanding that how was it possible that he cheated on her again and in such a public place. It was no secret that there was a time when Max cheated on Kelly and it was everywhere and this time was the second time. She tried to calm her down but she just didn't want to do it and when it seemed like they had finished arguing you heard the footsteps of her heels leaving the place. You came out of your hiding place and that was the moment you saw Max, he looked at you for a moment and knew that you were listening to them but he didn't say anything and just walked past you.

You returned to your place knowing what had happened and you were interested in knowing what would continue to happen.