#f1 technical analysis

[leftneb]

There is Something Seriously Wrong with this Logo..... Chapter Two

So. Lots of you have seen this post by my dear partner ( @lailau7904 ) in which the Williams F1 design team get absolutely torn to bits. In the case you haven't read it yet I highly recommend you do because a) it's really fucking funny and b) it makes what I'm about to tell you even funnier. Though you don't have to, this post touches on entirely different things still regarding this one goddamn logo.

The original post starts like this:

Innocent enough, we made an assumption in good faith that the logo displayed on the Wikipedia page would be the same one as the official version used by Williams. Buckle the fuck up because I'm about to tell you why that was the worst mistake we could have made.

Please. Please I beg of you keep reading this took YEARS off our lifespans. Like the original post was fun and all but it was merely the top of the iceberg. If this were an hbomberguy video this would be the part where he reveals that the background was a greenscreen the whole time. More below the cut!!! :333

The Truth

Already after only a few hours after hitting "post" on the dissection, people started pointing out to us that we'd missed an absolutely crucial detail on the Wikimedia page we got the logo from, pay careful attention:

See THIS?

Yeah this means that that image is not, and never was, the official logo of Williams. All along it had been the work of a Wikipedia user by the name of Juanchocarbonero. Here you can even see the (admittedly painful) history of the file as provided by Wikimedia, this image was uploaded all the way back in 2016, it even underwent an update when the team changed their colour scheme to a lighter blue without getting fucking fixed.

But to me the absolutely most painful part about this page is the "File Usage" section. Which gives you a quick preview of just how deep the goddamn disease that is this piece of graphic design sin really spreads.

And just to clarify: the official version of the logo used by Williams on merch etc is perfectly fine. It's a nice piece of graphic design. I still quite like it. But the story doesn't end there. Not even close.

Consequences

When you look up "williams logo" on Google the image provided by Wikimedia the very first result that pops up, if you're looking for a high-quality .png of this logo that, logically, is what you'll end up using. And I mean, why wouldn't you? What reason do you have not to use it? As long as you don't look to close (oops) it's a perfectly fine, high-definition, clean and transparent image of the logo! No shit people are going to use it!

But this raises a question: Why IS it the most widespread version of the logo? That's fucking weird isn't it? Surely if the actual logo used on ex.: the official Williams F1 website (which, again, is perfectly fucking fine) was available they would've just used that, right?

Now. Small problem. If you want you can go ahead and open whatever search engine you use, if you do that I'm gonna need you to type in "Williams logo" into the search bar, and just try finding a picture that is

of the actual official logo (you can tell the bootleg from the real thing by checking if the middle segment of the W has spiky ends or flat ones. We're looking for flat ones here)

high quality (no pixels or blurring visible to the naked eye)

a transparent png (none of that chequered background bullshit)

NOT a logo with any words (such as: Williams or Racing) visible in it. those don't count.

If you didn't feel like doing any of that, I'll just tell you the answer: you fucking can't. Nothing like that EXISTS. The closest I could get are these two, both of which are mid to ass quality, so they don't count either.

No sensible individual is going to scroll google search results for 5 minutes straight just so they can use a 200x200 image, especially when they think a perfect alternative is right there.

I even found several recoloured versions of the diseased logo, including one as a sticker on Redbubble! Fuck me that's a horrible sight!

The Search

Because I wrote the previous paragrahps after we'd figured out exactly what had happened, you might be under the impression that by this point in trying to answer the question "Why the fuck is that image on Wikipedia instead of, idk, the real fucking thing?" we'd at least established the existence of said "real Williams F1 logo". You'd be wrong, because for somewhere around 24 hours after we'd made the initial, horrifying discovery of just how fucked the Wikipedia version is, we genuinely could not tell if that was the official logo or not.

The ones displayed on their website weren't at all downloadable or even copyable, a non-ass quality of the damn thing just didn't seem to exist anywhere, so we didn't dare draw any conclusions. And we were still foolishly operating on the assumption that Wikipedia wouldn't just lie to us. (this is why your teachers hate it when you use it a source btw. like this is the ONE time it's actually been reasonable)

So, in the hopes of finding the offical Williams Racing logo, the non-scuffed one because clearly it exists, somewhere, we consulted an expert on Intellectual Property: my mother!

What this "consultation" actually roughly looked like was: we went on a walk and I started rambling about the Situation from Last Night before she cut me off and pulled up the website of the World Intellectual Property Organisation, aka the place they store all the Copyright information of like, everything.

BEHOLD:

(pictured; THE ACTUAL FUCKING LOGO I CANNOT BELIEVE IT'S EXISTED THIS WHOLE TIME)

Link to the actual real official legal document because goddamn this rabbithole just kept getting deeper so I like, have that now.

For refence, here is the official copyrighted version and the Wikimedia file overlayed on top of each other. As you can tell, it's disgusting. It's a poor, eyeballed imitation at best.

The copyrighted logo is horrifically low quality because, guess what, that image also isn't downloadable or copyable from the page. I really really cannot blame Juanchocarbonero for uploading his own version to Wikimedia because there legitimately does not exist a version of this logo that is freely available to the public. Like that goddamn abomiation is all we have. It's the effort that counts I guess.

My mother suggested that a possible reason for this could be avoiding the production of knockoff merch, or at least making it recognisable in case it is sold. Think about it, when your logo Doesn't Exist online, no one can use it without a license! It's kind of genius! I'm also about 99% sure they didn't orchestrate it so, it was good luck I guess?

interlude: How the FUCK does Copyright even work

I did immediately think to myself "we should REALLY fix the wikipedia version, like, stat" because I cannot in good conscience have this information available to me and not do anything with it, for the good of the people. However, this poses an issue: was the logo really not scuffed on purpose? Could it be that that version uploaded to Wikipedia isn't a 1:1 of the official logo because of copyrighting issues? To find out I had to look deeper, by comparing the official, website-available logos of various other F1 teams I came to conclusion that: [........................]

Yeah so I wrote that paragraph before actually checking for refences, but even after probably an hour of trying very hard to make sense of the copyright documents and copyright law in general we could not make sense of any of it. According to my mother (again, the closest we have to an expert, like she actually works with copyright in the context of companies but she's not specifically an IP expert. just to clarify) it's actually a lot worse for Wikipedia to have a falsified version of the Williams logo, than it would be to use the copyrighted version. This is because they're spreading misinformation by pretending that's the actual logo. And yet.

According to the Copyright Tag (the one on the top) in the Licensing section of the Wikimedia page for the thing pretending to be the Williams F1 logo, it's fine to use it because just a bunch of shapes. The thing is however, that it says that for pretty much every F1 team's logo, most of which are sourced straight from the official website. So this doesn't really mean anything tbh. According to our local expert (still my mother) it's fucking confusing. So I've decided to leave that at that.

update October 20th: as far as the Wikimedia pages on copyrighting tell me, uploading the official logo could, potentially, get me into serious legal trouble with Williams because of copyright laws. Which is still confusing because as said, every other team's logo is sitting uncontested on their respective Wikipedia pages. So basically we still don't know.

Okay. Backtrack. We forgot to ask something very important:

HOW?

HOW does one fuck up a perfectly fine logo THAT BAD.

WHY does one make their own scuffed tracejob and HOW does it end up like THAT. Clearly something must have gone horrifically wrong for it to end up like that.

I have a theory as to what might have happened:

It was either drawn or painted by hand, for a physical paintjob it's actually sort of impressively precise, but still objectively fucked. For a while I outright refused to believe that it could have been done in a digital program with the types of mistakes that were made, but you'll see this theory (partially) disproven later on so I retract it for now.

Operating on the assumption that it wasn't done digitally, a likely theory could be one involving a picture of scan of the paintjob. If the picture was taken at an angle or the logo itself was on a curved surface that COULD potentially explain the weird sort of slide everything has to it.

From then the picture might have been inserted into a digital art program, and the area of the logo might have been automatically selected using the magic wand tool, which could explain the weird growth at the top and that odd rounded off corner.

We also drew the conclusion that the file itself had been "tampered with" (aka cropped manually) by a human, because no computer would generate a resolution of 3356x2543 (you can that this is the original resolution on the Wikimedia page)

WAIT HOLD ON IS THAT IT?

The question of how the Fuck this guy managed to mess up the logo, and even more specifically why some edges were fine and some weren't (ant colony looking thing on the top left) bothered us so much that I at one point started just looking up "WIlliams logo" with the results filtered down to pre-2017 in an attempt to find when exactly the messed up logo was created. As if that would be any help.

Now what I definitely didn't expect to find was THIS

ENHANCE

Yes, you're seeing it right, THAT is the original 'Williams logo with the fucked up arm angles and lenghts'. Which PROVES that, contrary to our previous belief, Juancocarbonero was NOT the origin of the mistakes. Instead it was [checks notes] a DeviantArt user by the name of Nerdkid56?

The original DeviantArt post, which as of 9:47pm CET on the 13th of October 2024 I am about 90% sure is the actual first appearanace of the scuffed logo, is from May of 2015, which lines up well with the original upload date of the fucked up logo onto Wikipedia (November 2016). At the time that DeviantArt post was almost the only source for the logo.

And in the case you needed any convincing that those two logos are the same, here they are overlayed. You may notice that it's one shape (excluding the rounded corner which isn't visible at this resolution.)

This discovery is essential to understanding why the current scuffed version is the way it is. You might remember our confusion about the way some edges are fine while some are attempting to leave the image, the whole thing is a weird Frankensteinian amalgamation of vectors and magic wand mistakes. With this knowledge we can now assume that the mistakes happened in 2 layers:

Nerdkid56: likely just eyeballed the proportions. I'd guess he drew one arm before the other and flipped it around without really checking the angles. Also didn't give a shit about whether the arms lined up with the base or not. Legitimately bad design made in a digital program.

Juancocarbonero: why he used the scuffed W logo instead of the normal ones that were also perfectly accessible by 1 goddamn Google search is a mistery. HOW he even got access to it is another question I do not think we'll have answers to. And I've already explained some of the things we think may be responsible for the uneveness and bumps. Point is he fucked it up even more.

My theory for why Juanchocarbonero used the scuffed version instead of any other available picture goes like this: it was the only png he could find. Practically every other search result for "Williams Logo" that predates 2017 is a jpeg or absolute ass quality (sometimes both for good measure) so, despite it's flaws, Nedkid56's trace of it could have been the best option available at the time (the quality is actually very very good since it's a vector image, and I guess our friend Juanchocarbonero doesn't have an eye for design considering he didn't notice uhm, everything that is wrong with that model.)

Conclusion

The only way to right these wrongs is to go back, to the very beggining of this saga. Wikipedia. Williams I'm so sorry for what you've had to endure. I know what I have to do now. When I eventually make a proper vector image of the official logo and upload it to Wikimedia it'll all be over. And I WILL do it (but not rn this has already robbed me of like 3 whole days of my life. soon)

All of this is, admittedly inconsequental, but also absolutely fucking hilarious. Like imagine. you. one single guy, you make ONE mistake in a silly little "tracing this logo" project because you couldn't be arsed to check the angles of a silly little W. And some other guy, who you likely don't even know, over a whole ass year later, takes your flawed piece of design, makes it even worse somehow and uploads it to a site from which your little tiny innocent mistake becomes the most widespread version of a logo used by an actual real company worth over 700 Million US Dollars. HOW. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN. WHY HAS NO ONE FIXED THIS??? IT'S BEEN 9 YEARS

Just to give you a final look on just how widespread this plague is, here are some examples of media the fucked up version of the logo is featured in:

this Mr V's Garage video (the original reason we started this conversation in the first place)

the thumbnails of these two videos by Tommo, this one by FP1Will, and this one by RicksF1Addiction

such an amount of random places. likely fanmerch and fanart, and like, pretty much any place someone wanted to use the logo. it's everywhere. if you've ever had the Williams logo displayed in anything you've made I can guarantee you 99.9% chance you used the fucked version

and late thank you to everyone ( @bumblewyn @mid-nighttiger @vro0m @lemonsgovroom @mikraas @leclerced fucking hell I kept needing to add people to this list because compiling all of this took absurdly long) who pointed out our misconception in the reblogs of the original post and contributed to us actually looking into this further. and sorry to everyone for accidentally spreading misinformation lmao (it's too funny not to have been worth it tho) (ALSO it's not really our fault is it)

and to keep the tradition of ending on a live discord reaction:

[silentreigns]

Where was this video when I was first getting into F1 because I learned a lot

[aoimeru14]

I know I'm just a nerd with a dream but:

What if, in preparation for the next season, we start a technical/analytical F1 (or Motorsport) community here on Tumblr?

Like, it can be a safe space to learn and share opinions/articles/cool facts on strategy, tyres, telemetries, rules and so on!

It can also be a safe space for anyone who wants to share an unbiased opinion, nerd on raw data (I'm looking at you, engineering graduates) or just help new fans catch on the sport!

Or just be a cozy place for seasoned fans who want to learn something new (I, for one, still need to learn A LOT of technical aspects of this sport) either for having a better understanding of the races/strategies or just for making more plausible fanfictions (I know you would like that, you FF writers!).

Also... I got this idea while yapping with another user recently and I really liked that! (You know who you are, thank you for the great time!)

That's why I got brave and asked. 🧡

In conclusion, what do you think? Would you like that?

[f1]

[ylangelegy]

collision course 🏁 sunwoo x reader.

“I know what it was,” said Kim Sunwoo, strolling up with the unshakable confidence of someone who didn’t yet understand how much trouble he was about to cause. The young mechanic had a smirk plastered on his face, the kind that made Jeonghan instinctively want to flee. (Full Throttle, diamonddaze01)

or: sunwoo knows a lot of things about cars, but girls? a whole different story.

★ ferrari mechanic!sunwoo x race strategist!reader. ★ word count: 3.1k ★ genre/warnings: alternate universe: non-idol, alternate universe: formula one. fluff, feelings realization/denial, confessions, car terms. alcohol consumption, swearing/cussing. sunwoo has a crush and is lame about it. i know nothing about f1/cars and relied heavily on google— so help me, god. (if anything is wrong/off? we ball.) ★ footnotes: this is a self-indulgent, belated christmas gift for @diamonddaze01, because seeing a sunwoo cameo in her ferrari!jeonghan fic was an absolute treat. in her words, "had to bring my other man in here somehow."

At speeds over 150 km/h, the aerodynamic downforce generated by an F1 car is enough to keep it adhered to a ceiling— theoretically allowing it to drive upside down.

It’s a stupid fun fact that Sunwoo likes to keep in his arsenal of pickup lines. He’ll be in a new city, grabbing drinks with the garage technicians and pit crew members, and he’ll pull that little nugget of information out of his sleeve with a winsome smile to boot. 

“Wanna hear something cool?” he’ll ask his victim of the night, gesturing for them to lean in closer so he can be heard over the thumping music. 

His success rate with the fact is at a solid 83%, which isn’t bad. 

Would be nice if it could work on you, though. 

Of course you wouldn’t be impressed with Sunwoo’s technical F1 knowledge. You had your own array of race tactics and data analysis, always knowing just how to make the car’s performance fit within the larger race context. 

You were brilliant, productive, and ruthless. The brain behind the brawn of the indomitable Scuderia Ferrari.

Sunwoo is reminded of it now as he leans over the hood of the SF-23, his brow furrowed with concentration. He catches your eye from across the garage.

“Hey, strategist,” he grunts out, and you approach gingerly to see what he’s griping about. 

Once you’re by his side, he asks, “You sure about this tire strategy? Softs at the start? I don’t know if we’ve got the grip for that, especially in this heat.”

Your expression remains perfectly neutral as you respond. “I’ve run the numbers,” you say. “The tire temps on the softs will be optimal. We can manage the degradation. The first few laps will be crucial, but we’ll have an advantage after that.” 

An advantage. Sunwoo lets out a derisive snort. 

“We’re talking about a five-second difference in lap times, and track conditions are ass,” he argues, wielding the wrench in his hand as he speaks. “One wrong move? We’re out of contention. I’m telling you, we’ll burn through those tires too fast.” 

“And I’m telling you, I know the risk.” Your tone is unwavering as ever, like you’re far too used to your decisions being questioned by hard-headed mechanics like Sunwoo. “I also know the reward. Trust the data.” 

There it was. Your go-to catchphrase. Trust the data. 

In the years that Sunwoo has worked alongside you, he can no longer count on two hands the amount of times you’ve thrown him that line. It was your way of getting him— and everyone else— to shut up, and he’d be damned if he tried to push back on it now. 

“You’re the boss,” he mumbles as he goes back to checking the car. 

In the corner of his eye, he sees the slight twitch in your jaw, as if you’re contemplating saying something more. You seem to decide against it, instead choosing to walk off with your chin held high. Maintaining faith in your own numbers, in your very credo of trusting the data. 

Sunwoo shakes his head to himself. He can feel the pull of his gut, but your confidence is hard to ignore.

It quickly becomes apparent that your conviction— and your blasted data— are not misplaced. The softs perform better than anyone had anticipated. By the time the race is nearly halfway through, your tire strategy is pulling ahead. 

The radio crackles to life with Sangyeon’s voice. “You’re going to need to hold your ground now,” the race engineer says. “Great call on the softs.” 

Sunwoo huffs out an exhale. Honestly, he doesn’t even know why he still tries at this point. 

You materialize at his side wordlessly. At first glance, there’s nothing in your expression that might give away what you’re feeling or thinking. But Sunwoo has known you long enough to recognize the upward arch of your eyebrow, the amused purse of your lips. 

I told you so, you’re saying without saying, and he can’t help the way that it makes him laugh. 

“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbles, running one hand through his sweat-slicked hair. “You were right. Trust the data.” 

“Trust me,” you amend with a knowing smile.

Sunwoo doesn’t quite know why, but something about your subdued smugness bowls him over. You’re already wandering off to check the timing board before he can grasp one of his witty remarks, leaving him at a rare loss. 

It was the strangest thing to admit, but he found himself wanting to be harmlessly wrong again— if it meant seeing that look on your face once more.

An F1 car can theoretically drive upside down. In the same vein, you’ve not-so theoretically tilted Sunwoo’s world on its axis.

F1 tires can reach temperatures of over 120°C during a race, which is necessary for optimal grip.

Sunwoo is no stranger to heat. His job has taken him all over the world, has put him through the sweltering temperatures of Bahrain and the merciless climate of Brazil. 

He’s learned how to handle those. 

Hot people, however? 

You’re several paces away from Sunwoo, your fingers wrapped around the neck of a beer bottle. There’s a lot of celebration in this middle-of-nowhere Austin bar, especially after Jeonghan finished P1. But Sunwoo can’t be bothered to care about his intoxicated fellow crew members. 

Not when you’re dressed like a cowgirl— a fringed vest, a leather hatband, and a goddamn hat. 

Was the bar a cowboy-themed one? Yes. Was Sunwoo prepared to see you in something outside of your usual race-day attire? Not quite.

He’s in the midst of untangling his complicated web of thoughts when you catch him staring. He looks away a second too late, because you’re rounding on him mere minutes later. 

“Never seen a strategist in a hat before?” you drawl, your attempted accent so horrendous that Sunwoo can’t help but bark out a laugh. 

Play it cool, a voice says in the back of his head as he leans on the bar counter. 

“Didn’t think anyone could pull it off. Especially you,” he teases. 

You sip from your beer, your eyes never leaving his face. Something about the action makes Sunwoo’s breath hitch. 

“Yeah? Thought I was all numbers and charts?” you shoot back, the lip of your bottle resting over one corner of your mouth. It’s a sight that’s going to burn itself into Sunwoo’s brain for weeks, he’s sure. 

“I mean, you do spend most of your time with a headset on, looking like you’re about to break down tire strategies. Not…” He gestures vaguely to your get-up. “Whatever this is.”

You laugh, and the sound catches him off guard. It’s low and easy, like you’re genuinely enjoying this. The two of you had always worked in close coordination, but light moments were rare in your high-stakes positions. “I can do both. Multitasking is my specialty,” you say breezily. 

Something about your tone— confident, but with just enough challenge— makes Sunwoo’s heart beat a little faster. “Well, if you can multitask,” he says, trying to keep it light, “I guess you won’t mind helping me figure out how to not make a fool of myself right now.”

There’s the ghost of a smirk on your face. “You’re not making a fool of yourself. Not yet, at least.” 

“So you’re saying there’s still time?”

“Maybe. Depends on how much you want to embarrass yourself.”

It’s a bit dizzying, how fast-paced this conversation is going. As much as Sunwoo would like to blame it on the alcohol, he knows it runs a little deeper than that. 

“You’re drunk,” he says for the lack of a better thing to say. The rest of his sentence goes unspoken: You’re drunk, and that’s the only reason you’re bantering with me like this. 

“Maybe a little buzzed, but I’ve got a clear head,” you answer. When you go on, your voice is pitched just low enough that he has to lean in a bit more to hear you. 

“You’re not exactly subtle, you know,” you note, and Sunwoo briefly considers making a run for it then and there. 

The air suddenly feels too warm, too thick. He tries to laugh it off, but it comes out a little strangled. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Those little glances,” you say, flicking your eyes over him in a way that makes him painfully aware of every inch of his body. “You were checking me out, Kim.” 

“Was not.” 

Crap, Sunwoo thinks as the answer comes out of him a little too fast, a little too defensive. 

He backtracks. “I was just—” 

But then you do that again— sipping your drink while staring directly at him— and the words hitch in his throat. He’s caught. Completely. 

The flirtatious, suave Kim Sunwoo is in over his head, just because his team’s race strategist deigned to toy with him. 

What a joke. 

“You’re just?” you prompt, the slight grin on your face giving away the fact that you know what effect you had on him. 

Sunwoo tongues the inside of his cheek. “I was just trying to get my head on straight,” he finally says.

He’s not used to being on the back foot. He’s always held his own in situations such as these, and yet here you are— subjecting him to a sudden, wild rush of feeling with a few choice words and moves. His mind is reeling over the fact that this is how lethal you are tipsy. How much more if you were sober? 

A corner of your lip curls just enough to be dangerous. “Well,” you say, almost too casually, “looks like your head’s all over the place now, huh?”

There’s an unfamiliar heat blooming in his chest, one that burns far more than any tire blanket. 

“Yeah,” he grumbles in response. “No kidding.” 

An F1 car— including its driver— weighs around 740 kg, with the car itself weighing just over 700 kg.

Remaining lightweight is crucial to any car’s victory. Sunwoo’s job demands that he maintain the steadiness of things, never sacrificing safety for durability and vice versa. 

He keeps his hands steady as he fastens the car’s bolts one more time. The hum of the garage surrounds him, a familiar rhythm that he could work in with his eyes closed. It’s in moments like this that he feels most at peace. When the noise fades into the background, when the weight of everything else in his life feels distant.

Except the weight isn’t distant today; instead, it’s in the same room as him. 

You’d laughed at his joke earlier. Some stupid wisecrack he made about Mingyu of McLaren. He doesn’t even remember what he said anymore, because the sound of your giggle had just emptied out his brain. 

Sunwoo wipes his hands on a rag, shaking his head. Focus, he mentally chides himself. There’s a job to do. There’s always a job to do. You have to—

“Hey, Kim.” 

Well, so much for that. 

His gaze snaps up to where you’re standing by the garage door. You have your arms crossed in front of you, and there’s a slight frown on your expression. 

“What’s got you distracted?” you ask point blank. “You’ve been off all morning.” 

Busted. Sunwoo almost wants to laugh at just how absurd this whole situation is. How did he ever think anything would get past you? 

He tries, still, to brush it off. “I’m fine,” he says as evenly as he can manage. 

You step closer, your gaze narrowing as you look him over. For a second, Sunwoo feels like you can see right through him.

“You’ve been quiet,” you point out. “And usually you never shut up.” 

He raises one hand over his heart, feigning like he’s been wounded. That at least draws a small chuckle from you, but you don’t look like you’re going to back down any time soon. 

“I’m just focused,” he says. “Gotta keep everything in balance, am I right?” 

“Balance,” you repeat with amusement. “That’s your thing, isn’t it?” 

Sunwoo could praise the heavens at the opportunity to veer the topic into safer waters. He snatches up the opportunity, immediately launching into an enthusiastic ramble of, “Yeah. It’s all about maintaining the right weight. The right balance between power, handling, and fuel efficiency. Gotta make sure nothing’s out of place, or else the entire thing could fall apart.” 

Really, he should’ve known better than to think you would let him off easy. 

“And yet, here you are,” you say in a way that makes him feel like you’re playing a different kind of game now. “Completely off-balance yourself.”

Damn it. 

You’re not talking about cars anymore. Hell, you’re probably not even just talking about how preoccupied he’s been. Everything from the glint in your eye to the teasing edge in your voice promises trouble, threatens to read him better than any book. 

“I guess I’m a little bit off-balance,” he admits, the confession escaping him before he can reel it in. “But I’m getting used to it.” 

You give him a long look, something unspoken passing between you. Then, without warning, you smile— something soft, almost shy, and Sunwoo forgets his damn name. 

It’s like a weight he’s been carrying for so long has suddenly lifted, even if just for a moment. A glowing sort of warmth spreads through him, light and freeing.

“You’re not the only one,” you muse, your tone almost thoughtful now. “We all are. Maybe that’s what makes us good at what we do. We’ve learned how to keep our heads straight even when everything else is... a little out of whack.”

What is this ‘we’ business, Sunwoo almost teases you. The undercurrent of your words has him thinking this conversation has nothing to do with the state of the garage, but everything to do with whatever weird tension has been crackling between you two. 

The truth is, he's never felt this light before. The weight of his feelings for you, the tension in the pit of his stomach, feels like something he’s been carrying around for ages— but right now, in this fleeting moment of understanding, it’s like the air has cleared. He doesn’t know what to do with it, but he knows it’s there. This strange, giddy feeling thrumming below his ribs.

“Yeah,” he says, his voice a little steadier. “I guess we make it work.”

Surprisingly, he’s not worried about getting things right. He’s not thinking about the balance of power or how much he can handle before breaking. 

All he knows is that in this moment, with you standing in front of him, the weight he’s been carrying feels a little more like something he can handle.

Maybe it’s the start of something. Or maybe it’s just a crush.

Either way, it leaves him feeling light. 

A well-executed pit stop takes less than two seconds, with each mechanic trained to handle their specific role.

Over the years, Sunwoo has steeled himself to the pressures of being precise, of being steadfast and reliable under the world’s most insane time crunch. Every millisecond counts. He knows that better than anybody. 

He’s done this a thousand times, and each movement is like a second nature. The tires are off, the new ones are on. The fuel is topped up. The car is ready to go. 

Soonyoung’s car is on its way again, speeding off into the distance. Flawless, just like always. 

Sunwoo lingers, his eyes drifting to where you’re standing. He lets out a long breath, shaking his head slightly. It’s getting harder and harder to ignore how he feels whenever you’re near. And for reasons he can’t quite pinpoint, it’s only grown more unbearable.

Every second he spends just working with you is like another fleeting moment, ticking away before he loses the courage to say anything.

You’re reviewing data on your tablet, and so you don’t notice him right away Sunwoo coming up to you. When you look up, there’s the slightest shift in your expression. The smallest softening. 

“Nice work,” you say coolly. There’s something almost fond in the way that you look at him, and it has him feeling like he’s on shaky ground. 

“Thanks,” he says, trying to sound casual. He knows he’s not fooling anyone, least of all you. He runs a hand through his hair, a nervous gesture that he’s sure makes him look more like a mess than the reliable mechanic he’s supposed to be.

There’s a brief silence between you, the sounds of the garage fading in the background. The team is starting to disperse, moving onto their next tasks, but Sunwoo can’t seem to shake the weight of the moment. The pressure of the milliseconds, the years of perfecting his craft, feel insignificant compared to the one question that’s been gnawing at him for weeks.

If he’s learned anything from his driver friends, it’s that hesitation can cost you everything.

“Listen,” he starts, his throat suddenly dry. He forces the words out before he can second-guess himself. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

You tilt your head to one side. A wordless encouragement of go on. 

Sunwoo takes a deep breath, his hands still clammy despite the cool air of the garage. He’s never been good at this. Not the racing, not the work on the car, but this— this thing that’s been building up between the two of you. 

“I know we’re both busy, but… after the race, I was wondering if you’d want to grab coffee with me. Like, outside of all this.” He gestures vaguely at the cars, the people, the entire race track that’s been your shared world for so long. “I’d, uh, like to spend time with you. Not as part of the team. Just... us.”

You blink up at him, processing the words. For a second, he’s sure he’s just made a fool of himself. Maybe he’s misread every sign. Maybe you’ll just laugh it off.

But then you smile. A slow, genuine smile that makes his heart skip a beat.

“Finally,” you exhale, and Sunwoo doesn’t have the room to press you on what you mean because you hit him with, “I’d like that, Sunwoo.” 

So this is what it feels like, Sunwoo thinks, to finish P1. 

“Great,” he stammers. “I’ll see you later, then.” 

“Later,” you echo, your tone teasing but soft. “Looking forward to it.” 

Sunwoo steps back, nearly knocking into a tool box as he tries to take his leave. You don’t care much for his less-than-gracious exit; in fact, it makes you laugh a little, and it only makes him feel giddier than ever. It’s like a pit stop in the middle of a race— short, but thrilling, and completely worth it.

Every millisecond does count. 

And for once, he feels like he’s made the right choice with the time he’s spent.

🏎️ end notes: fan fiction of fan fiction? likelier than you think. if you love formula one and seventeen, you're bound to enjoy tara's ferrari!jeonghan piece, full throttle (part one & two). and to tara: this is insane. we have to stop exchanging fics like they're christmas gifts. <3 you.

[boxboxblog]

F1 Break: In the Mean Time

Alrighty, so as we are all well aware the 2024 season has officially come to a close. This means we will not see cars on track until late February and no racing until mid-March.

If you are looking at the almost 3 month long break we have ahead of us and panicking over what to do with yourself (like I often do), I find Winter break is a great way to get a little deeper knowledge on F1 and it's history.

Shows or Movies:

Drive to Survive (Netflix): Controversial, but fun, this "docuseries" makes the behind the scenes of F1 into a real spectacle. As long as you take a lot of their insinuations about people with a grain of salt, it's good fun and helps get view into the politics of F1.

Rush (Prime or AppleTV): A rather dramatized version of the Lauda v Hunt rivalry, but good fun.

Hunt v Lauda (Prime): If you want a less Hollywood look at this rivalry, this documentary is great.

The Formula 1 Story (YouTube): Covers the creation and evolution of F1 and it's history.

Schumacher (Netflix): Documentary on the 7x WDC's life, career, and legacy.

A Life of Speed: The Juan Manuel Fangio Story (Netflix): Covers the story of Fangio and his championships wins.

Senna: No Fear, No Limits, No Equal (Netflix): Documentary about Ayrton Senna, has a habit of saintifying Senna but is quite informative.

Fernando (Prime): A documentary about Fernando Alonso during his time racing with IndyCar. Interesting view into another series with a familiar face.

Grand Prix Driver (Prime): A short series following McLaren during their 2017 pre-season. Great look into what teams do over the break and how they prepare.

Villeneuve Pironi: Racing's Untold Tragedy (Max): A look into the Villeneuve-Pironi rivalry and it's tragic end, seen from the perspective of both of their families.

One: Life on the Limit (AppleTV): Looks into safety throughout F1's history and the early risks involved in F1.

Science of F1 Design (YouTube): Mini-series that dives into the technical side of F1, on the official F1 channel.

Podcasts:

F1: Beyond the Grid: Official from F1, this showcases interviews with drivers, TPs, and other important figures in F1 history.

Bring Back V10s: a deep-dive into the V10 era from the 90s to the early 200s.

Missed Apex: Dives into more detailed and technical things. Can be a bit biased, but c'est la vie.

Parc Ferme: Goes into race strategies and regulations.

The Race F1: Race analysis, technical breakdowns, etc.

EngineBraking: The hosts worked as engineers in F1 and have great insight.

Shift+F1: Very beginner friendly look into F1, light and humerous.

Books:

How to Build a Car by Adrian Newey: If you are interested in the more technical aspects of F1, these insights from possibly the greatest F1 car engineer of all time would be a fascinating read.

The Mechanic by Marc Priestley: Stories from a McLaren mechanic about life inside the paddock.

The Winning Formula by Ross Brawn: Dives into strategies behind winning teams.

Life to the Limit by Jenson Button: A humorous look into Button's career, is pretty lighthearted and fun to read.

Survive.Drive.Win by Nick Fry: The story of Brawn GPs 2009 championship.

F1 Mavericks by Pete Biro: Dives into innovators in F1 throughout its history, from drivers to TPs to engineers.

The Death of Ayrton Senna by Richard Williams: A heavily researched look into Senna's career.

The Physics of Racing by Brian Beckman: A very scientific approach to understanding how F1 cars run.

F1: All The Races by Roger Smith: A detailed account of every single F1 race ever. Pretty hefty, but interesting.

Formula 1: The Champions by Maurice Hamilton: Profiles of every single F1 champion and a look into how they got there.

My Life in Formula 1 by Niki Lauda: A great insight into of of the F1 legends himself, goes through his career and his own personal viewing on his rivalry with James Hunt.

Popular YouTube Channels:

Chain Bear: Goes into F1 technical aspects in simple ways, such as what ground effect is and how the tires operate.

Driver61: Explains car performance, driving techniques, and race strategy from an ex-racing car driver.

CYMotorsport: Goes into F1 controversies, innovations, and strategies.

The Race: Dives into different controversies and different f1 happenings as well as race overviews.

F1 Reverse: Dives into different times in F1 history, as well as some gossip here and there.

Nico Rosberg: Info from the mouth of an F1 champion, does some race analysis and analysis of particular race tracks (I like his How to Master series the most)

All Time Great Races:

You can also rewatch some old races, especially if you have the F1TV subscription. I will list some super great races to watch.

1994 Australian GP

1996 Spanish GP

1998 Belgian GP

1998 European GP

2005 Japanse GP

2008 Brazilian GP

2011 Canadian GP

2014 Bahrain GP

2019 German GP

Other Motorsports:

Finally, diving into other motorsports during this time is super doable in my opinion. F1 is not alone in this massive world, and their are dozens of other very interesting series. MotoGP is one of my all time favorites, and is racing on two wheels instead of four. If you think F1 drivers are crazy for doing what they do, just wait until you see someone fall off a bike and skid across the pavement at 150 mph, then you will understand real crazy. IndyCar is also a blast, and although people tend to equate it to F1 it is very different. I will list some great documentaries/series that dive into other motorsports below.

MotoGP Unlimited (Prime): A look into the 2021 MotoGP season, follows riders and teams. Great first look into how that world works.

Fastest (Prime): A look into the MotoGP rivalry between Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo during the 2011 season.

Marc Marquez: All In (Prime): Story about MotoGP champion Marc Marquez and his return to racing after an intense injury.

100 Days to Indy (Netflix): Story about the drivers in IndyCar and their path to the Indy 500.

Nascar: Full Speed (Netflix): A documentary that follows a few teams and drivers as they take part in the championship.

NASCAR: The Rise of American Speed (Prime): Explores the history of this sport, super duper interesting especially with the similarities and differences to F1.

Alrighty, I hope this post is helpful! I will be doing some more series and posts throughout break, but if anyone has anything they wish to know about as always my asks are open!

Cheers,

-B

[slutforpringles]

I know F1 journalists seem to be so drama/clickbait focussed in their reporting, but it's pretty disappointing to have watched that press conference and not seen a single question asked to Daniel about last weekend's race, how him and the team debriefed following the race, what conclusions were reached and if they had put some better procedures/communication in place to make sure it doesn't happen again. I know it's not the driver market headline that lots of people want to read, but there's so little emphasis placed on reflecting on previous races, particularly if you're in the midfield, and I find it disappointing as someone who loves the more technical and in-depth race analysis parts of F1 journalism.

[cherrari]

How would you recomend one approach learning about racing without any prior context? I now understand the rules (eh like not the specifics specifics) and im willing to watch a lot of videos, understand the superficial engineering of the car, telemetry, the superficial physics of racing, understand racing lines, defending, attacking, etc. But would you say I should learn about X first as a basis and then move to Y or I should just try whatever?

i think the single best thing you can do is watch old seasons. you'll see so many different types of racing, how f1 has evolved over the years, and why certain things are the way they are now. 1990, 1994 (with additional reading), 1998-1999, pretty much any/all seasons between 2006-2012 (more additional reading for 2007), 2014, 2018-2019, and 2021. 2012 is by far the most popular and what i'd recommend starting with but tbh you can also just look up the results of these and pick whichever one sounds most interesting to watch. you don't even need to watch the races, just watch the highlights

chain bear has some easy to digest videos on racing, but i would be very wary of 95% of youtubers who make "f1 analysis" videos because literally almost every one i click on is bullshit. especially those "comparing drivers' driving styles" videos that talk about how a driver prefers a specific "type" of understeer or oversteer

i think it also largely depends on how much physics you're willing to learn. the popular books written by engineers are often a good source of information, though not unbiased. e.g., newey's autobiogaphy, milliken's "race car vehicle dynamics," and seward's "race car design," in order from least to most technical. learning about aerodynamics a little past superficial but not necessarily professional-level understanding will make your life much easier in understanding the car development race

the f1 technical regulations are incredibly dry reading, but also genuinely good for learning about all the constraints on f1 cars. they're also handy to know in case you get into arguments online with people who don't know them 🙂 for specific questions or details on car development, the f1technical subreddit can be a good source. just make sure the person commenting actually knows what they're talking about. the f1technical forum is either the best or worst place for information, the team threads are incredibly biased but the more neutral car and engine threads tend to have information you won't easily find anywhere else

ultimately though, unless you're going to school for engineering and working in motorsport, there's no reason to feel pressured about learning every aspect of how the sport works. there are certain aspects of f1 that interest me more than others and i've focused a lot on learning about those aspects, but i'd never claim to have a good understanding of the sport as a whole because i am not a professional engineer

[blorbocedes]

as an ancient nico fan, i wanted to ask you, like, what made you notice him, even though he has long quit the sport? this is interesting to me, because i know why he is such an exemplary star, and i was worried that the time will be unforgiving to him, to his achievements or his talents, but thankfully i was proven wrong!

I wanted to be an informed hater and turned into a lover instead 😅

when I got in f1 around 2022 nico was regarded widely as a joke youtuber/fandom villain, but also the allure of brocedes~ that apparently a childhood best friend broke up an entire friendship and betrayal just to win the championship, well that's just a delicious narrative

so I was fully ready to hate on the guy because everyone else did and I wanted to fit in. only problem is I didn't know the guy. he retired in 2016 I don't know shit about him, beyond him being harmlessly cringe on commentary. so to be an effective and accurate hater I set on a journey to find out more about this rosberg dude and all the evils he did~

what made me notice him is that he was really pretty (I'm not gonna lie, I wouldn't have cared as much if he looked like kubica), he was the son of the wdc who won a wdc in the nepotism failbaby sport, and he'd beaten lewis hamilton in his prime while also having been childhood friends (what!!!)

I would watch his YouTube videos, esp the ones in the sim/track analysis where he'd explain the best way to optimise a track and then do a q&a, and he was so knowledgable and his enthusiasm was infectious. like did I understand what downshifting was? no. was I riveted hearing him explain why milliseconds of downshifting at the exact time on a corner matters? absolutely. that's when I was like oh he knows what he's talking about, like from a technical standpoint and not just I'm driving the car.

the more I learned about him the more fascinating he became, the five languages but not his father's, the way he was perceived by the media vs his actual personality, being the youngest ever test driver at 17, scoring points and fastest lap on debut (!!!), people thinking he only got the seat bc daddy was a world champion, enduring the britneyfication for long hair/feminine. he's also so fast, like his monaco pole laps are something out of a beautyyyyy. and then being paired up with fucking michael schumacher, having the midfield campaigns of all time at the same time while his peers and friends are winning championships. I also found him using every tactic at his disposal incredibly clever, like why shouldn't you play the media if you speak 5 languages and know german media will be more sympathetic vs british media will paint you as cold and unfeeling. his 2016 campaign that actually started after 2015 USGP when he lost the wdc -- the complete self control, restraint and putting yourself through the impossible and making it on the other side. and yet his winning radio was telling his wife WE did it, not me/i. even though it was the greatest personal achievement he never shied away from his wife's role in it and even his decision to retire is really admirable. he did it and he got to leave it behind on a high, which I think is almost impossible in f1 to do.

I think I'd have been more insane if I got to watch him live, nico the f1 driver and nico the happily retired girldad are kind of distinct entities and I enjoy both but in separate ways ofc.

but please if you (anyone reading this) was a nico fan back when he was racing how was that like!!!! how was 2016 like for you!!! and Living Through it live

[the-paper-shredder]

An Analysis on Berdly & Spamton's Parallels

(A.K.A. Robert “Toby” Fox what is the point of this. What did you mean by this? Answer me, Toby.)

So, Berdly and Spamton. The bluebird and the salesman. Ever since I watched this analysis on Berdly made by @/saraanzu, I've been losing my mind over the duo's parallels, despite the irony of them never meeting in canon.

(Long post ahead.)

Let's start with the basics: their appearance. Which, is admittedly, quite minimal compared to the other parallels.

Both have yellow in their color palettes. Both wear glasses, and in the dark world, Berdly shares a heterochromia-esque look with Spamton, to the point that official and fan artists alike sometimes interpret Berdly's dark world appearance as having multicolored glasses just like Spamton.

Not only that, both have connections to birds! Berdly is obvious, he's an anthropomorphic bird monster, while with Spamton... there's a bit to unpack.

His and the other Addisons' long noses could be interpreted as a beak. Spamton in his NEO form and the F1 sprite both have wings. Also, Toby once commented this on an announcement of the 🪺 emoji...

Funnily enough, this is just the description of the emoji with some words changed. While yes, this would imply pipis are eggs... they're canonically clams.

Either way, the Addisons could be birds in the same way the Tasques are cats. Which makes up only a sliver of Berdly and Spamton's parallels.

Now comes the start of the big boys. Berdly and Spamton's backstories.

Berdly describes his younger self as forgettable, before gaining a sudden spotlight when he got first place in the spelling bee due to Noelle's unfortunate circumstance. This resulted in his reliance on her abilities to stay as number one, while also being afraid of what will happen when they inevitably go their separate paths. Spamton's products didn't sell and “the Lightners never even looked his way,” until he found—or was found by—someone who helped him suddenly become a big shot. He was seemingly relying on that someone for his continued success, as when that person disappeared, abandoning him, he fell from status. (Additionally, Berdly technically “copying” Noelle's work so he stays number one is somewhat similar to Spamton copying Swatch's wardrobe in an effort to get into the basement.)

Spamton's the twisted reflection of the person Berdly could become in the future. The music track “Bluebird of Misfortune” thereby describes Berdly as misfortunate while the other Addisons describe Spamton as “Like the rest of us. Just... a little unlucky.” Suspiciously similar adjectives. Berdly's further misfortune isn't set in stone, as his spot in Chapter 2's story gives him the chance to change for the better. And, well, he does.

On top of these backstory parallels, it doesn't help that Berdly and Noelle are best friends while Spamton and Noelle know each other almost fondly through the latter's responses to the former's emails.

Additionally, Noelle is associated with the Angel. Weirdly enough, Berdly and Spamton both have ties to it as well. Birds have been seen as spirit messengers of the gods and in Christianity, angels are the messengers of God. “Birds remind us that there are angels,” Actress Jane Alexander once said in an article from 2013 on why birds matter. While the Angel in Hometown's religion is their god, it makes sense that Noelle being associated with it goes with Berdly speaking for her during certain parts of the game. He even refers to his halberd as holy.

With Spamton, it's fairly obvious. His F1 sprite has a halo and white wings, like a classical angel. The NEO form too, although it doesn't look particularly angelic, the wings and the torso armor bare a small resemblance to the Delta Rune symbol (I personally don't see it but this is mentioned on the Deltarune wiki page for Spamton so I'll add it for completeness). Finally, right before his second fight, Spamton reveals his desire to go to heaven (likely the light world or our world).

Onto the briefly foreshadowed next part of this analysis, Chapter 2's narrative and the duo's parallels there.

We first get reintroduced to Berdly when Kris, Susie, and Ralsei are on their respective roller coasters. Then his first fight starts, taking place during the roller coaster ride. This, obviously, parallels Spamton's second fight also taking place on roller coasters. Plus these two lines of dialogue are way too similar to have been unintentional.

Plus, at the end of Berdly's first fight his roller coaster explodes... similarly, in the case of fighting Spamton during his second fight (which the above line comes from), he explodes at the end.

Later on, Kris (along with Noelle) find Berdly in an alley where he initiates a battle. Only a few minutes afterward, Kris meets Spamton in yet another alley, to which he initiates a battle.

Now, before going onward, it's important to note that Berdly was being manipulated by Queen into helping her, which resulted in him chasing after her appreciation and her realizing he was annoying. She starts avoiding him... and in one of the conversations with Kris, he tells them “Don't tell me you got abandoned!? HA!!” and when questioned on Noelle and Queen's absence, he goes on the defensive, “They're just… busy retro gaming somewhere!! I bet they're waiting for me on the player select screen!!”

But the look on his face after he finishes keeping up the facade shows his insecurities.

Spamton has a similar sentiment. Invited by Queen to live at her mansion when he was a big shot before being evicted when he was no longer useful. In the weird route (which will have more analysis later), Spamton's dialogue in his battle has a lot of projection, “MUTTERING YOUR [Lost Friends] NAMES AT THE BOTTOM OF A [Dumpster]!” It reflects how the Addisons stopped hanging out with him, how the other residents and employees at Queen's mansion only watched his eviction, seemingly never attempting to reach out afterward.

Abandoned. Wanting the positive relationships you had back, but all you're left is... nothing.

Then comes Berdly's last fight, acting as Queen's puppet, even if he's not on literal puppet strings but on a wired plug. Unless you choose to ignore it, part of the goal of this fight is to loosen the plug so Berdly can pull himself free. Now think back to Spamton's second fight, the way to “spare” him is to cut him free from his new body's strings. Right before the control is free, both Berdly and Spamton comment on their appreciation for the help, too.

The narrative parallels between the nerdy bluebird and shady salesman don't stop there, though. As previously mentioned, the weird route brings up some... interesting points.

Once you're on the route and not planning on aborting it... Noelle becoming a party member marks a change, as the only two bosses going forward are Berdly and Spamton. No one else. They're the only people that truly stand in your way. It doesn't seem to be a coincidence that besides Kris and Noelle, two people connected to Berdly and Spamton, the latter duo are the only other people that know what you did.

And the worst part?

Spamton gives you the weapon that gives Noelle the ability to use Snowgrave. The spell that kills Berdly. If Spamton is the person Berdly could become, then Berdly is the person Spamton once was. And he's letting his new customers kill him, likely seeing the murder spree you force Kris and Noelle into as a way to get to NEO, to get to heaven. And when he's the only one keeping you from closing the foundation, he gets killed too. Noelle is forced into killing her best friend, then someone who's the twisted reflection of that friend.

Ironic that Berdly and Spamton never meet each other, isn't it? It's something like... the older equivalent to you in another world, the younger equivalent to you in another world, yet you don't even know each other exists. So close to coming across each other, yet through sheer chance they don't meet throughout their time existing in the same space.

Anyway...

That's all! For now, maybe. If I find any more parallels, I'll likely reblog this post with those additions. Quite fond of these two. (I'm also writing a fic about them that'll eventually get posted to AO3, so if you want to see more from me, that's something to look out for!)

[milfclaren]

Okay. so far this is theoretical and maybe far fetched but i need y’all to hear me out please. all the written media surrounding f1 is based on the technical aspect of the sport (track or strategy specific pieces, beginners guides, different lists and rankings), or it’s gossip/insider info from around the paddock (who’s signing where, where there’s drama, etc.) but there is no actual cultural analysis/commentary pieces in f1/motorsport writing. and i just feel that’s a huge gap. i’ve never seen a sport that lacks it so completely, to this extent. it feels intentional in a way (for starters, one media conglomerate runs the Entire org/sport and for two, corporate sponsored content is the Only other option). even if you go to different motorsport blogs and websites it’s all content of a similar vein to what i mentioned before. any cultural analysis of f1/motorsport that i’ve found is ALWAYS by individual blogs and fans online? very rarely is it ever official content. anyways i have ideas i could write about At Length. if i could hash out the logistics of this type of sport analysis (building my overall knowledge base of the sport, figuring out a platform to put this analysis on, establishing an audience for it), i guess the questions i have for YOU, dear reader, are

1) would you be part of that audience? is a written cultural analysis of f1/motorsport something you might read/watch/listen to? have you noticed the same gap and would you be interested in seeing it fulfilled? is there anyone else writing or making this style of content already?

2) are there any specific ideas or topics within f1/motorsport YOU would like to see analyzed or critiqued? this can be about anything related to the sport in general, i’m so serious. i can share some ideas i have, but i’m just One person and i want to know what other people notice and think as well.

[bigbandithewada]

Feeling like putting down my find so here is

JV/Ant Davidson Timeline

(Can’t guarantee 100% accuracy on all info, can’t guarantee no bias no projection, not using there full names because guess what, so less info about them together if you google their names together my blog appears on the 1st page)

JV was raised in Switzerland. Did math and computer science in Switzerland. He found out he needed an engineer background to enter F1 so went back to England to get a master in that. Got to work at BAR(later Honda, Brawn, Merc) eventually. (He had a billion interview on him hustling his way to BAR but that’s not relevant to the story here)

Ant was raised in a middle class family. Went to Karting with brother and he was more interested and started to compete in Karting. He worked his way to Formula Ford and was lucky to get a sponsorship( the sponsor bought a house and let him lived there). His sponsor talked to him about career choice, at that time, test driver made a decent amount of money and that f1 seat seems a bit too distant. So Ant ended up in BAR around the same time as JV

Well JV was not that much of an engineering guy. His job going into Honda was a combination of some data analysis, coordination between departments and some engineer. There was no proper strategist job back in the days so he just bounced around. (The untold interview he said he was suppose to fix an electronic problem on the front wing, Evan Short ended up doing that. Not saying that he knew nothing but inferring from his other interview, he definitely needed help). (Even now strategist have “low” status in the team since only the principal strategist can go to the track and everyone back home’s job is make sure to feed enough info through TR that the principal’s eyes are always on track).

Meanwhile, Ant was doing amazing as a test driver, too amazing that Honda was reluctant to release him to do actual f1 racing. He missed a seat(which team I forgot) but Honda eventually agreed to let him race for Super Aguri in 2007. That team didn’t last.

Then came the Brawn year. Before 2009, JV and Ant were already starting to worry about their jobs and registered a company together. Company never took off because here comes Brawn GP.

After the championship, our champ Jenson was scheduled to do victory laps in the factory for the fans but he already buggered off to McLaren. Ant did the laps and JV was his engineer for that.

Then came the Merc years.

Ant was doing a bunch of different things then: racing in WEC, driving the Merc simulator and later became a sky sport host. Ant missed the chance of winning a championship(he also missed a podium due to bad luck in 2007) but he got one eventually. When Alonso returned to F1, Ant interviewed him asking if Alonso remembered them racing against each other in WEC, Alonso did not remember. Ant also did Jenson’s retirement interview. Ant also did some interview later saying he was too nice to be competing in this shark tank of f1, nice guy can’t win races.

JV was doing a bunch of different things in Merc as well. He was in charge of simulator, junior team, esport team and development data analysis software for premier league(honorable mention: he wrote the drivers code of conduct in 2016 to prevent Lewis and Nico fighting). Ant was a reliable simulator driver, JV was working a lot with Ant at that time(JV didn’t need to be present for the crowd strike thing but he was there…) (Also they Merc’s equipment to tune cars for their friend’s Karting league, naughty boys). I want to believe JV cares about drivers he works with, especially junior team (he went up to hug Esteban Ocon(Merc junior driver) after his 2021 Hungarian gp win(Merc strategy was a disaster that race)

Ant said JV is one of his best friends. He phoned JV a lot during the Honda and Brawn years. Ant also texted JV to ask for technical details when he started to comment for Sky( Ant joked in 2023 pre season test that JV is getting to busy with his TP job to reply to his texts). JV also bugged Ant for a VIP pass during Ant’s LeMans years. JV had spent time with Ant’s family doing barbecue for JV’s birthday. JV is Ant’s kids’ god father.

Projection time: Brawn and Merc years treated JV so well he probably is a bit idealist about things now. The stuff he said at Williams make sense if your work experience is a streak of championships. JV will probably never get a reality check so hard the way Ant exit F1(divorce? Idw). Knowing they are good friends make me happy.

(Some source from Ant’s deleted twitter account)

[charles-leclerc-official]

Well, I didn't think I'd be explaining the details of an F1 PU in this race analysis, but I guess that's what's on the menu. That and untangling the tyres and pits and timing math.

Might take longer because I am waiting for more info from Ferrari on the technical side of things, so this will probably take longer. I think I know but I need confirmation and hopefully some more details.

[puckpocketed]

Hehe hello van it is midnight for me and also hot but here are somethings (aka two things)

F1 has a beginners guide, it introduces a brief history, some techniques stuff, teams, circuits

There is a podcast that I have a love hate relationship with called mattp1tommy (YouTube link) obviously some opinions they have in my driver I don’t agree with but that is because my driver can do no wrong in my eyes. But they cover all the races and breaking news (and there has been a lot of breaking news this year 💀)

Also grill the grid it is to show case the drivers personalities and is very fun to binge watch

Another YouTuber that I personally enjoy is lawvs not just because he is an oscar fan, but also because he makes fun food for though videos, idk how to describe them okay 😭 I just enjoy them

Obviously there is drive to survive on netflix but not many people like it because it misrepresents a lot of drivers* and makes some moments that we’re really that frantic overly dramatic

*a common theme in dts (drive to survive) is that they portray max verstappen as a villian, which he isn’t he’s just a good driver that sometimes pisses people off (naturally)

Also I know you like analytical things and there is this great series called “jolyn palmer’s f1 tv analysis” he breaks down technical aspects from a race (and they are fan questions that a submitted via instagram) and they’re in-depth and jolyn is honestly a great person, here is his most recent one about the race in qatar

But this is all I got rn but if you have questions please ask :) I’ll try and answer them the best I can

HELLO?? that is so many resources thank you for putting them all together so quickly!! every day i orbit closer and closer to. zoomies . attempting to be casual about this hobby :3 <- i will let everyone know how this goes

[paddockanalysis]

Welcome to My Formula 1 Blog!

Hi everybody! A little bit about me while I prepare my first report! I don’t feel comfortable sharing my real name so just call me Ana (short for analysis). I’m straight (she/her). I’m Eastern European, more specifically from Hungary!

As Formula 1 is huge in Europe, despite me being born in Australia, because of my European parents I grew up with F1! So I’ve been watching Formula 1 for years and years. My dream is to one day be a F1 Race Engineer, I’m currently studying Mechanical Engineering!!

My favourite driver of all time is Kimi Räikkönen The Iceman he’s an absolute legend! And I love how much we can see of him in Piastri. As I do have family in Italy going for Ferrari was only natural, it’s a shame that Vettel didn’t get a chance to win a championship in the legendary Ferrari but it is what it is!

If you have any questions I’m happy to chat! Mwah💋!

This blog is dedicated to exploring the world of Formula 1 through in-depth reports and analyses. From championship-winning strategies to the dynamics of individual drivers and teams, my goal is to provide unique insights and thought-provoking discussions about the sport we all love.

Whether you're a die-hard fan or just starting to learn about F1, you'll find content here that dives into the complexities of racing, from technical nuances to human stories behind the wheel. 

Don’t be shy to message and leave suggestions for future posts!

Key Posts

Below are links to some posts I hope you enjoy!:

How Max Verstappen Won Each Championship from 2021 and Onwards (links coming soon) 5 parts

2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

What Did Lando Do Wrong in 2024? (In editing thank you for those that helped realise my mistakes🫶)

What Did McLaren Do Wrong in 2024?

What’s the Difference Between Franco Colapinto and Logan Sargeant? (link coming soon)

Why is the Gap Between Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen So Large? (link coming soon)

What Can Be Expected of Formula 1’s New 11th Team? (link coming soon)

How Can Lando Norris Challenge Max Verstappen More in the 2025 Season? (link coming soon)

The Waste of Valtteri Bottas’ Potential. (link coming soon)

The Math Behind Formula 1 (link coming soon)

Feel free to explore, share your thoughts, and suggest future topics. Let’s delve into Formula 1 together!

PLEASE DONT COPY MY WORK!!

[alianoralacanta]

Have you seen the article Bernie Collins wrote on how Carlos helped Ferrari choose the right strategy for Charles?

At this point the information is given to Leclerc that Sainz is targeting a one-stop strategy. Leclerc agrees that it is the best opportunity to win and immediately begins work on the tyre saving required to pull it off.

Weren't Charles' laptimes reflective of a one-stop even before he "agreed"? Plus it was confirmed that the one-stop was the pre-agreed strategy (by both Fred and Charles after the race) so his times make sense.

This line in particular... So although Leclerc then took the plaudits and the glory on the Monza podium in front of the adoring Tifosi, he couldn’t have pulled off such a famous victory without the help of his Ferrari team mate.

I can't believe this lol, I'm convinced this is to push a feel-good teammates narrative for Monza or something (I usually love Bernie by the way.)

I would love your thoughts on the article!

I'm glad I waited on this one. Turns out the full radio transcripts don't support Bernie's conclusion, and initially I thought they did (if for different reasons than Bernie). Leclerc was definitely aiming for a one-stop all along. Indeed, he was going faster as the hard tyre stint went on (on average), which is the opposite behaviour to that expected by someone suddenly changing to a more conservative strategy. That is not in doubt. However, I thought I'd heard Bozzi ask to go onto Plan C (which in context would have meant going to 2 stops rather than 1) partway through the race, shortly before Sainz suggested Plan B (the one-stop). This would have led to Sainz deserving credit for saving Ferrari from losing confidence in its convictions. The first paragraph you quoted would still be nonsense, but at least the second one you quoted would be justifiable. However, looking back through the Channel 4 highlights where I thought I'd heard it revealed that this was just an error on my part. Plans of any letter were never mentioned on that program.

One of my friends on Twitter tracks Leclerc's and Sainz's radios all the way through each race. I am not sure how she does this (I assume she has only one pair of ears) but she spotted that at no point did Leclerc agree to two-stop. There were a couple of comments that suggested that Leclerc and Bozzi were instead trying to bait McLaren into two-stopping. The one I think might have tripped Bernie and several other analysts, was a prompt to think about tyre wear, soon followed by mention of a lettered plan. Leclerc had done a very slow lap prior to this message. However, Ferrari's experience over the last few races is that Leclerc can have a few slow laps and then clear the tyre, quite reliably. Barring a request from Leclerc, it would be surprising to pit him after only one slow lap. Naturally, Leclerc sped up again the moment Piastri pitted (to do his in-lap). (The baiting was probably superfluous, since I don't think McLaren could have one-stopped even if it had tried. Tyre management is one of the McLaren's only technical weaknesses). In tricking McLaren, I think Ferrari managed to trick several analysts. I don't think this is about pushing a feel-good narrative, it is simply a mistaken analysis. That it feeds into a pro-Sainz attitude that would be appreciated by Sainz's sponsor that is about to take up a position as F1's sponsor, is purely coincidental and would not have entered Bernie's mind. It might, however, have been considered by the F1 site's editor, in an opportunistic sense.