#fia i am extremely disappointed

[dreamingamongthestars]

Yep

[nicolesainz]

You never forget your power (LH44)

Lewis Hamilton x reader

warnings: fluff and heartbreaking

mentions of Abu Dhabi 2021 (not blaming anyone, just the fia, not max)

My eyes were full of tears

My heart was shattered into thousands of little pieces

And I knew at that moment, his would be into million

I look around me at a panicked and frustrated Mercedes garage, with all the mechanics swearing loudly in British slangs, Bono’s face in his hands and Suzie Wolff trying to calm her extremely angry husband.

I looked up at the big screen at the center of the track, only to be faced with a disappointment Lewis, who had raised his visor and his eyes were taken over by disgust and sadness. 

What just happened was truly unfair! This title was stripped from his hands the very last moment. Disobeying the rules? This is what we’ve come to? I shake my head and try to shut off the noises around me.

Happy screams, fireworks and chantings were not things I wanted to hear at the moment. My stomach was twisting around. The podium moment was now and I can say that I’ve never felt more awful in my life.

I couldn’t bare looking at Lewis. I wanted to run up and give him the biggest hug. In all the years we’ve known each other, from little kids, he always fought like a true champion. He proved this seven times already.

Max was also a young man who wanted to show the world his talent. Everyone was happy for him. After years of fighting, he reached his ultimate goal.

This season, has been the most horrifying and breathtaking I’ve ever witnessed. I’m glad to say that it’s over. The feeling it left behind is bitter than anything. A win would have made it bittersweet, to say the least.

I could see Max’s father, Jos, side eyeing Toto, I walked a bit towards the boss’s side. His gaze was focused on Lewis, who had a blunt but teary look on his face. This was a hit for Mercedes right where it hurts. It hurt their pride. It hurt Lewis’s pride.

All for a human error.

“If I didn’t want to be banned from the paddock or dropped by the team, I would have punched him” Toto let out quietly, as his wifey caressed his arm.

“I can do it! No one can tell me what to do!” I offer, of course always joking.

“Y/N, darling please. For now, just stand by Lewis’s side. He needs you more than ever” Suzie gives me a gentle smile and I reply with an equally bright one.

“Don’t worry. I would never leave him alone”

“When is this bullcrap ending?” The angry Austrian man said, talking to himself

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After Lewis had finished with press and interviews, I was waiting for him at his driver’s room. My heart was racing and I couldn’t bare the thought of a sad version of him.

When he finally entered the garage and he saw me, his movements were faster. I opened my arms and he immediately threw himself at me. I could hear his deep breathing and slight sniffles. I didn’t want to pity him. He is a very strong and capable man. He knows though, that I will always be beside him.

“I guess the peak ended” he said quietly

“I truly hope you’re joking!” I grabbed his chin, for him to face me

“I’m not. Max is a very fucking fast and good driver. I can’t do much about it” Lewis replied still not looking me in the eyes

“If you say another bullshit in the next minutes I will walk away” I warn him! He shouldn’t degrade himself because he lost

“It’s not bullshit Y/N it’s the truth. I’m not good enough” he murmured underneath his breath

“Why are you being like this? You’ve lost again. It’s not the first time but you didn’t act the way you are now!” I raise my voice, which I immediately regret

“I was younger then. I was hungry for more. I still am. But I think my time has come to an end” I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs when he said that

“Even if you want to give up, I won’t let you! I won’t let you drop your entire career because of this!” I cupped his face in my hands and his gaze finally focused on me

“There’s no point in staying Y/N. We all have an expiration date” he says those things with suck ease, I truly hate it.

What he said truly affected me, but I believe that what I said to him afterwards left him speechless too

“So you’re saying that me falling in love with you, will expire soon?” I blurt our and Lewis’s eyes widen. Surprise and shock were written all over his face.

“You’re in love with me? Since when? How?” He was very confused by my statement and I was afraid he might have been scared too

“A year ago. The moment you crossed the line at the Turkish Grand Prix and won the seventh championship, I realized what my true feelings were for you. And that I would follow you to every corner of the world, and support you no matter what!” I said in a quick exhale and then try to catch my breath

“Good. Because I would refuse to have anyone by my side but you. You make me a better person and you’re the reason why I’m mature and want to learn more about life. You give me life” Lewis, leans forward in order for our foreheads to touch lovingly.

“Lewis, I don’t care if you win, lose, get a podium, not get a podium. I will forever be a supporter of yours through thick and thin”

“Like you always have!”

“And I always will. Never leaving you”

“Please don’t. Being close to you is intoxicating and simply brightens my mood. You boost me and make me improve constantly”

“I love you Lewis. Please never forget that”

“I love you too Y/N. And I am more than thankful to have been gifted with your friendship and now your heart. I promise not to break any of those. I will forever protect you!”

[verstappieatheart]

I am still a bit shaken by the Monza race weekend and had to put my thoughts into words.

But just to take it ahead: Verstappies remember this - Max could win the Championship the next race!

I rewatched the race yesterday evening - full on excited to see the battle between Charles and Max. On TV, they apparently toned down the booing so even though I was a bit disappointed about the race finishing under SC, I enjoyed it. Then I went on social media and the whole race was ruined. The sheer amount of hate that I've seen made me extremely angry, sad and frustrated. We lived through Silverstone 2021, we had other fanbases, media and teams questioning Maxs deserved WDC all season and were kinda unbothered by Silverstone 2022. But Monza, a race I love, and the Tifosi, of whom I had quite a high opinion before this weekend, were the fucking last straw.

The booing (which I actually do not care that much about), fans chanting slurs about Maxs mom and actually throwing something at his car?! I get it, you are frustrated by your team making shitty decisions all season and being since the summer break only mathematically able to contend for both championships. But that is not Maxs fault, so why hate on him for it? He is not even direct competition anymore, he and RB are so far off.

Max fans being harassed so much by Ferrari fans, they took their merch off 'cause they did not feel safe? Should trigger outrage, people calling out the fans, drivers having to explain and condemn the behavior of their fanbase, don't you think? Yeah that was what happened in Austria for example. Yeah guess again - the responsible fans were hyped up all weekend, called passionate and not a word was lost about the harassment in the media or by F1. Charles was the only one mentioning that the booing should not happen.

And on top of that, we have Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton - bringing up AbuDhabi 2021 again, saying that this is how it should have been handled, a race finishing behind a SC. First, the rules were changed since then, second - all teams agreed in AD to finish the race under a green flag, and third - this SC was not handled very well, it picked up the wrong car and for safety reasons, a red flag could have been called in order to properly and safely remove Danny Rics car, which would have resulted in a race finishing under green flag.

Please - fans from all fanbases - pull yourself together, respect each other, cheer for your fave and realize, this is a sport we all love and should be able to enjoy together. Lewis Hamilton - get over AD and stop playing the unjustified victim card. And FIA - finish races under green flag.

Thank you for coming to my rant.

[youandi29]

Haas made a steatment, I made mine

Warning: This text will talk about Haas F1 Team, Nikita Mazepin, and sexual assault and a critic to FIA mostly

This might be a little longer if you are not interested, comfortable or you are tired of this, please pass your way, keep scrolling. 

First, I thought about not talking about Haas F1 Team's statement, then I realize everyone is already doing that, I will just be another text in an ocean of disappointment but I can't stay silent in front of what is happening. 

My name on this social media is: "F1WeRaceAsOne", when I chose it, I already knew it, this was only a marketing matter to F1 and FIA, I am an economic's student, I have classes on that, and on the "reputation of a brand". Even knowing this initiative was only a marketing matter to F1, I still chose it for my username. Because I truly believe, we, as fans, we were here together, we race with the drivers, we can walk in the same direction when needed, and today is the day. 

Middle of the season, after the incident between Max and Lance, first of all, I was incredibly disappointed with Max, as a person who liked him, I was, really, sad about the matter and felt extremely stupid. But looking now back, I am even more disappointed with the way FIA and F1 deal with the subject. I haven't expected a punishment, because, for me, Max didn't say those words with the attention of hurting Lance or someone else, but in a lack of education and good sense.

I expected FIA and F1 to the matter into their own hands. Having a conversation with Max and the Red bull team, making a statement explaining what they were doing to prevent it to happen again, not only with Max but with everyone. But they didn't, Red Bull did, Max explained himself but FIA or F1 didn't say a thing about it. 

I need to talk about Lewis' investigation too. I don't think investigating him quietly and hoping no one will see it or talk about it was the best thing to do. For this one, I can see the FIA point, not that I agree or even understand, but if the USA has the same principals as the country where I live, everyone is innocent until proven the opposite, until the court pronounces the judgment.

I don't know if this was what bothered FIA with Lewis' t-shirt but I hope it was because no other reason is acceptable. But then, again, the lack of communication is huge. I think it's a disrespect to everyone, about what are they afraid of? Can't they come forward and say: We are looking at this for these reasons: here what bothers us, but no, they don't. On one hand, they want the team's radio broadcast, they want onboard cameras accessible for everyone, they broadcast an accident over and over again but they can't be clear with an investigation. 

Coming now to my biggest disappointment of the year, Nikita Mazepin. I mean, I am not disappointed with him. Who follows a bit the young competitions knows perfectly what he is capable of. No, I am disappointed with everyone around. I understand why, in the first place, Haas chose him over Callum. Nikita Mazepin is bringing with him 20 million dollars, maybe for you, it isn't essential, but believe me, for the teams it is.

For a comparison, Mick is bringing with him 300'000 dollars, this will pay half of his salary, the other half is going to be pay by Ferrari. Money for Haas at this point is no longer a bonus. It is essential for the survival of the team. Pietro could bring money, the Brazilian government gives him money for the team if needed. Do you know the amount ? 2 million, ten times lower of what Mazepin can give, economically it's a big difference. But after the video, things changed. 

You can no longer only look at the money, it isn't fair. You need to find solutions, get maybe Pietro and his 2 million, asking for help, negotiate with Ferrari, try to get help by the F1, the FIA. Seeing with Mick for financial help, with sponsors, the USA government. Everyone could help. But no, they decided to keep everything quiet, just letting us know they didn't stan for Nikita Mazepin's behavior, dragging us down with Mick's content, and it worked for a while. 

I don't even have words for FIA, they just disappeared when needed. No statements? No investigations? No conversations? No help?

Am I suppose to walk on the paddock knowing a sexual predator is there? Is a woman suppose to fight for a seat in F1 knowing she will be on the grid with a man like that? Who doesn't respect women? Who does whatever he wants? 

You know, my dad uses a lot a Portuguese expression: "Who comes last to close the door." It is addressed to whom can do whatever he wants because he knows someone will come behind to take care of the mess. This is a perfect summary of Nikita Mazepin's life, he does whatever he wants because he knows his father will come behind to take care of everything, without any consequences at all for him. 

FIA behavior disgusts me on this one, they will allow someone like him on the paddock. Are they waiting for him to rape someone? What kind of excuses they are going to give us then?

I am so sorry for Haas fans because you fall in love with a team, and now, they are letting you down. I am sorry for Mick Schumacher who worked and fought all his life for this moment and is going to be affronted with questions about his teammate, or even worse. I am sorry for the people who lived a sexual assault and are here, watching Nikita Mazepin walk free without any consequences. I am sorry for FIA because they are not worthy of this sport, they are out here hurting the image and legacy of F1. I am really sorry guys. 

[vro0m]

vro0m’s rewatch - 37/288

2009 Malaysian GP

Recap + GIFs!

And here we go then, first scandal of the season...

What happened?! Why did we see an image of Lewis saying “i can’t tell you how sorry i am”? What is this?

Oooooh. Friday, Martin Whitmarsh, who’s now replacing Ron Dennis, suspended team manager Dave Ryan and then admitted to the press that his team had misled officials after the Australian GP?! What? Oh so he lied and “directed Lewis to do the same”. We’re told ever since the penalty in Belgium 2009 (which is when Lewis was penalised after the race for overtaking Raikkonen too quickly after giving back advantage when he cut the chicane) McLaren has been paranoid about such things happening again. So back in Australia, Lewis overtook Trulli and Trulli went off track so he radioed “The Toyota went off a line at the second to last corner. I overtook him. Is that OK?” and Dave Ryan told his engineers to play it safe and instruct Lewis to give back the place (remember when he was P3 and then suddenly P4 and we didn’t really know why?). However, Lewis was right, he didn’t have to do that. Ryan realised that and felt guilty, because it cost Lewis the podium. So afterwards, they went to the stewards and Ryan said the engineer didn’t make that radio call and Lewis backed him up. Basically the point was to make it look like Trulli overtook Lewis under safety car.

I mean this is dumb AF. The FIA has access to the radio logs anyway. And it worked : Trulli was penalised and Lewis got his P3 back.

Oh this is bad. Really not a good look for Lewis. Really disappointing. This sounds like something Alonso would do. Hence why Lewis was apologising, because obviously they got caught. On top of that he was right from the start so he would have gottent his 3rd place back anyway, so it’s twice as stupid. Anyway Dave Ryan has been suspended, Whitmarsh puts the full responsibility on him as a senior of the team. He’s kind of apologetic of Lewis saying he’s young and an excellent champion and a good ambassador for the sport. He says they have to guide him to do better because this is an embarrassment to everybody involved. Yeah. Well Lewis acted incredibly stupid this time. Anyway, there might be further consequences to all that further down the line.

Qualifying report now : Ferrari was overconfident (lol), Massa is 16th, Buemi got off track, Lewis 12th, Seb 13th because he got a 10-grid penalty for that accident in Australia. Brawn still in the front.

Omg, that new journalist I hate (Eddie Jordan, btw, I didn’t know his name last time around) is now interviewing Ecclestone and they’re talking about Max Mosley who, may I remind you all, got caught in the act with pr*stitutes in n*zi uniforms, and Ecclestone is saying he was out of line to ask him to step down but they were under pressure from investors and now it’s all okay anyway because everybody has forgotten about it. He literally said that. Dear God. I hate them all.

There’s been a tropical rainstorm in the morning and they are definitely expecting more rain for the race. As always it’s extremely hot here, one of the toughest races of the season.

Aha they’re talking about the upside down plane thingy that is making a comeback in 2022 iirc? That’ll be interesting to get a look at what it does then.

Formation lap.

And they’re racing!

Wow, Nico jumped right in and gets out of the first corner in the lead! Lewis up in 10th! Kovalainen off, out of the race! 2nd round, 2nd DNF for him. Kubica is also out. He complained about a weird noise in his engine during the formation lap.

10 laps in. Nico, Trulli, Button, Barrichello, Raikkonen, Alonso, Webber, Glock. Lewis still in 10th, behind Seb, who pits.

Almost 20 laps in, it seems it’s starting to rain? Ouh yeah. It is. It’s an actual thunderstorm. Like, there’s lightning bolts and everything. Whew that’s gorgeous. Alonso is off. Jenson pits. It’s all about timing to get the wets before the actual downfall. Yeah here we go. A lot of them pit now, including Lewis.

He has issues with his engine? He’s really calm on the radio though.

Almost 30 laps in, the rain is still light. It’s inter territory for now, as the commentators note. OMG THE COMMENTARY BOX JUST GOT HIT BY LIGHTNING?! We lost all the images and then it came back on. Crazy. Now it’s starting to rain more heavily. Safety Car deployed purely for the rain. I guess it might get red flagged. I mean yeah, we now see many replays of cars spinning all over the track. Yep. It’s a red flag.

Lol, Massa is on the radio complaining about needing another visor and his mechanic just told him “Felipe, baby, stay cool!” (I posted a video of that here btw)

Wow, the thunder is LOUD.

The commentators are perplexed by the fact that they stopped the watch. The drivers are soaked. Everybody is worried because the race is somehow happening later than usual and it might start getting dark soon. Of course, we’re now talking about half-points. Nobody thinks this race is gonna start again. Raikkonen is literally gone to the point it raises questions. While everybody is waiting for a decision, they all state how very experienced Charlie Whiting is and how much they trust his judgement. The respect is obvious, unlike with Masi.

Now it’s weird, because they’re bringing the cars back on the track. Aligning them on the grid. They’d like to avoid a half-points situation, they would only need 9 more laps to count full points. But the commentators are still weirded out about the fact that they stopped keeping time. If they had kept doing it, they would get close to the cut-off. The regulations state that the watch and the time keeping (unsure what the difference is, I think one is for the time on track and one for the window in which the race can happen if I remember correctly?) are supposed to go on during red flags. Also people are now unlapping themselves on the grid. I don’t know what’s going on and apparently nobody does. If there was to be a restart, the lapped cars would be released 1 minute and a half early (why??? as they have unlapped themselves??).

Raikkonen is literally out of his driving gear chilling in the Ferrari HQ.

10 minutes to the official end of the race? And they’re supposed to give a 10 minutes warning if there’s gonna be a restart?

It’s over, I think?

So, Jenson Button has won, Heidfeld P2, Glock P3. Whiting had to go into the cooldown room to tell them exactly what the order was because it’s so chaotic right now nobody knows. There’s the whole rule of the standings being decided on the last completed lap before the red flag and everything. Lewis is P7 in the end.

The drivers all agree that the decision to stop the race was right. Nico says he was aquaplaning at 30km/h on full wets. Lewis learns from the journalist he’s P7, he thought he was P5. He asks confirmation to whatever McLaren representative is with him who says “officially seventh but we are still discussing it”. Please don’t discuss it too much though, it didn’t go well the last time you tried that shit eh?

He says it was undriveable and the worst conditions he’s seen for sure. Aaaaaand they’re ending the broadcast on a terrible cover of Umbrella by Rihanna.

[lewierre]

hi love, i know that the situation with max is shit (i also supported him up until now and am extremely disappointed and even angry), but unfortunately it is what it is bc the fia is bs when it comes to suff like this. i hope that you will find happiness in some other drivers (lewis or daniel or maybe even lando) and that you will continue writing your maxiel fics. bc they are really good and also idk about you, but i kind of see them as different people in fics bc we obviously don’t actually know them so we fill in some blanks and hopefully you can create your “version” of max that’s a decent person. hope this helped and that you feel better soon <3

aww thank you so much! :,) it is exactly what i said just now when i replied to anon here

the people i am writing about are not them. and if other fans find the same comfort in my fics as i have writing them i will keep going.

i need this to survive right now.

but yeah, i never supported max as a person because of his silence on racism, but now he feels like he’s dead to me in a way

[f1]

Formula Ones most wanted man Oscar Piastri signs with McLaren for 2023

Australia’s Oscar Piastri, the most wanted man in Formula One, says he’s “extremely excited” to have landed a drive with British giants McLaren in next season’s championship. McLaren won its contract battle with French rivals Alpine on Friday, enabling the team to announce 21-year-old Piastri will be the man to take over from fellow Aussie Daniel Ricciardo next season. Ricciardo will leave McLaren after two largely disappointing years - but hopes are high that Melbourne’s Piastri will become the next Australian F1 superstar. “I am super-excited to be joining the grid and with such a prestigious team like McLaren,” Piastri said on social media. “I have no doubt it’s a great place to start my career. It’s been a long road up until this point.” The reigning Formula Two champion Piastri, who’s managed by former Australian F1 star Mark Webber, had gone public during the contract battle over his determination to join McLaren. He had been Alpine’s reserve driver but said he didn’t want to take up the place vacated by Fernando Alonso next season. Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer had been confident of retaining him but after the dispute went before F1’s Contract Recognition Board this week, the four-person tribunal ruled McLaren had an existing contract in place. “The only contract to be recognised by the board is the contract between McLaren Racing Limited and Mr Piastri dated 4 July 2022,” governing body FIA said in a statement on Friday. “Mr Piastri is entitled to drive for McLaren Racing Limited for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.” Alpine said it accepted the ruling, which leaves it with a vacant seat next year - with which Ricciardo’s name has already been linked, along with AlphaTauri’s French driver Pierre Gasly. Alpine had been enraged by Piastri’s stance, with Szafnauer saying last week he wished the youngster “had a bit more integrity”. But on Friday, the Victorian thanked the team for the backing they had long given him. “I’ve been racing for 12 years and this was my dream from the very beginning,” he said. “So I just want to thank everybody who supported me throughout my journey, including my colleagues at Alpine for the past few years.” McLaren’s team principal Andreas Seidl welcomed the Australian, saying: “Oscar has an impressive racing career to date, and we are sure that together with Lando, he will be able to help us move another step forward towards our ambitions.” Indeed, Piastri has a remarkable motorsport resume already, having won the 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup before going on to win the 2020 Formula Three title and last year’s Formula Two crown in successive rookie seasons. “The team has a long tradition of giving young talent a chance, and I’m looking forward to working hard alongside Lando (British teammate Lando Norris) to push the team towards the front of the grid,” said Piastri. “I’m focused on preparing for my F1 debut in 2023 and starting my F1 career in papaya.” McLaren CEO Zak Brown hailed Piastri as “one of the up-and-coming talents” and said he could form a potent, youthful combination with Norris, who has had six podium finishes by the age of 22. “In Lando and Oscar we have a young, exciting F1 line-up with a huge amount of potential, standing us in good stead to achieve our future ambitions,” Brown said. “Oscar is an exciting addition to the McLaren family, and we look forward to seeing him grow with our F1 team.” via Formula One | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/sport/formulaone

[mistressemmedi]

Leading female racing drivers have called the appointment of Carmen Jorda to the FIA's Women in Motorsport Commission "incredibly disheartening" and "a backwards step".

Jorda had recently attracted controversy with comments to the effect that women should compete in their own Formula 1-style championship because, in her opinion, they are unable to compete equally with men.

The appointment of Jorda – who in three seasons of GP3 Series competition never managed to qualify in the top 20 – comes amid reports that a London-based company is preparing to launch a six-race women-only championship, to begin in 2019.

IndyCar racer Pippa Mann, 2015 British GT4 champion Jamie Chadwick and GP3 racer Tatiana Calderon all expressed concern at the implications of the Jorda decision.

Mann drew attention to Christina Nielsen winning the IMSA GTD title, Katherine Legge also taking IMSA GTD wins, Calderon scoring a World Series Formula V8 3.5 podium, and her own landmark 230mph lap of Indianapolis this year – the first for a female.

"Against this backdrop of current and rising female racing talent, it is extremely disappointing to learn that a racer with no notable results in any of the categories in which she has competed, and who believes and is quoted as saying that she does not believe we as female racers can compete, has been appointed to the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission," Mann told Motorsport.com.

"To me personally, the appointment of someone with these core beliefs, to a committee meant to further the cause of women in racing, is incredibly disheartening, and represents a true step backwards from the FIA."

Jorda appointment will "unite" female racers

Calderon believes the Jorda news will "unite" other female racers who want equal opportunities.

"It was a bit of a surprise for everybody, especially because most of the females that are racing in big series at the moment disagree with her point of view," Calderon told Motorsport.com.

"We definitely can compete at the highest level and there is absolutely no need for a female championship.

"What we need is to promote female participation in all areas of motorsport, starting in karting, because we need more girls starting karting to be able to have more chances for one to go to the top.

"It's quite difficult, regardless of your gender, but when there are 90 boys and 10 girls the chances are very slim.

"I disagree with [Jorda's] view and what she wants to defend, but this [announcement] just unites the rest of the community of female drivers and engineers. We're going to fight to be the best of the best, not just of the females."

Mann also said that she is concerned Jorda's position on the commission, of which former WRC star Michele Mouton is president, could reflect the views of the FIA towards women.

"Most worrying of all, one wonders whether this appointment is in any way truly representative of the FIA's beliefs towards female athletes competing in motorsport in general," said Mann.                        

"I have the utmost respect for Michele Mouton, both in terms of her rally achievements and for her overall vision.

"I cannot begin to imagine the type of undue pressure and influence that must have been exerted upon Michele for her to allow this appointment to go ahead."

Mouton: FIA commission values unchanged

When contacted by Motorsport.com, Mouton declined to comment directly on Jorda's appointment but said the FIA commission remained committed to "full participation" of women in motorsport.

"The goals and the values of the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission have not changed since its creation in 2009 and we are strongly continuing to encourage, support and promote the full participation of women in all aspects of motorsport," said the 1982 WRC runner-up.

"The richness of the commission comes from its 30 members who bring their experience and share their points of view.

"From 2018, our strong European Young Women Programme will make a link with D2BD, so will be well promoted by Susie [Wolff] who is one of our commission ambassadors.

"We are also working towards an FIA Women Drivers' Academy, so we will have a good range of projects covering girls and women from eight to 20 years old, and the FIA shows that it is fully supporting women in motorsport."

Susie Wolff, Claire Williams, Deputy Team Principal, Williams, Marta Garcia, Renault Sport F1 Team Sport Academy, Michelle Mouton, at a Women in Motorsport Press Conference

Wolff: Women can compete on equal terms

Former Williams F1 test driver and 'Dare to be Different' pioneer Susie Wolff emphasised motorsport as an activity in which women have equal chance.

"Motorsport, alongside equestrianism and sailing, is one of the three sports in which women and men compete together," Wolff told Motorsport.com. "In each, a large piece of equipment or animal is involved – it doesn't just come down to sheer strength or muscle mass.

"If you want to see more successful women in motorsport it's simply about increasing the talent pool – inspire more girls and women to enter the sport and offer support so that the best to rise to the top.

"Dare to be Different works closely together with the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission; Michele and I share the same goals and are committed to helping create change in the long term – in the right way."

Chadwick, who this year switched to single-seaters in BRDC British Formula 3, said she had "nothing against" Jorda but that "it would be a shame" if she promoted single-gender competition in her FIA role.

"I think it will just lower the standard, I know on my best day I can compete equally with men," Chadwick told Motorsport.com.

"If the right woman came along with money and talent they could make it to Formula 1."

Additional reporting by Edd Straw, Jamie Klein and Stefan Mackley

Yes, yes and YES. A thousand times yes. I agree with all that Pippa, Tatiana, Jamie and Susie had to say in this article.

Judging by the reaction we all had, I feel that most female fanbase for the sport is against her nomination as well.

I am glad to see that there are so many valid role models out there, besides Jorda.

[advisorgrid-blog]

Permanent Income - Slides & Speaker Notes

#1 - Explain to your clients that the black up and down line represents the stock market index.

#2 - When the index goes up, instead of realizing all of the gains, you only are credited with a portion of the gains.

#3 - In exchange for limiting the gains, you don’t suffer any market losses during the inevitable periods when the index goes down.

#4 - When the index is up, you are credited with a portion of the gains.

#5 - When the index goes down, those prior gains are protected from market volatility.

#6 - Index goes up, you get part.

#7 - Index goes down, you are protected.

#8 - This is kind of like walking up a set of stairs, where once you reach one level you can’t go down because of market losses.

#9 - FIAs can be very effective at eliminating market volatility but they are not perfect. Like all financial instruments, FIAs have their strengths but they also have their weakness.  In order for an FIA to be a good choice you must be OK with certain conditions or limitations.

#10 - First, the insurance companies need time to make this work.  Annuities are not short-term instruments.  I am independent, meaning I don’t just offer one annuity from one insurance company.  I have the freedom to shop for what I think will be the best product to meet the specific objectives of my client. But unless you are prepared to commit your money for the long-term, I can tell you right now that an annuity will not be a good choice.  Generally speaking, what I have found is that you can get attractive benefits from annuities that have terms of between six and ten years.  If at some point you want to see quotes, I would likely bring back a range where one annuity might have a six year term, another a ten year term and a third somewhere between the two.  I want you to understand that if you ultimately decided to go forward with an annuity that had a seven year term and then later decide to withdraw your money prior to the end of that term, you would have made a huge mistake. The penalties are very large and the last thing I want to do is have clients lose money.  So the first limitation that you must be OK with is committing your money for at least 6 to ten years.

During the term of the annuity you do have some liquidity. Most contracts will allow you to withdraw some percentage without a penalty. Normally the range is 5% to 10% and often you can’t make any withdrawal until after the first year.

As we have already discussed, another limitation is that you are not credited with the full amount of gains in the index.  This money is not in the stock market.  So if the market goes up a lot you could be disappointed because any gains credited would be less.  The emphasis with FIAs is on protection against market volatility, not on maximizing growth.

You also need to be OK with any fees.  In general, most of these annuities will charge annual fees in the “range” of 1%.  If we end up looking at some quotes the likelihood is that I might have one quote where the fee was a little less than 1% and maybe one where the fee was a little more.  But the bottom line is that you need to be OK with some amount of a fee being charged.

A major strength of an annuity is that it is the only financial instrument where the financial intuition makes a guarantee that income will continue for life.  And where this guarantee is backed by the full ability of that company to pay their claims.  

The kind of annuity that I am explaining has two parts. Maybe it helps to think of these annuities as a double-sided coin.  You have a guarantee (from the issuing company) of permanent income on one side of the coin, and you have something that is typically referred to as “accumulation value” on the other.

It is important to keep these two parts separate and not confuse one for the other.  If you are clear that these are two separate sides of the coin and each side provides benefits and impacts you in different ways, then you will be far ahead of most people in your understanding of these annuities.

The accumulated value is the side to focus on when you want to know how much you will get if you quit (surrender the FIA) after the end of the contract’s term or penalty period. And with many annuities the accumulated value also answers the question of how much your heirs will get when you die.

Neither you nor your heirs will ever get the “Income Base”.  It is not paid to your beneficiary if you die nor is it a value you can ever receive if you cancel the contract. So the question is, what is the purpose of the income base?  It only has one, which is to calculate the amount of the permanent income that the FIA will provide.

An important question is, how each side can potentially grow over time?

Let’s start with the Accumulation Value side. As I mentioned earlier, your gains are linked to the performance of a stock market index.  When the index goes up you get a portion of the gains. When the index goes down there are no market losses.  

Because potential gains are linked to the performance of a stock market index, no one can tell you the amount of growth that might occur in the future because no one knows how the index will perform in the future.

The only thing we know for sure is that the accumulation value will not be impacted if the index goes down in value.

Again, these annuities typically have fees that will be deducted from the accumulation value annually so it is possible that these fees could cause the accumulation value to go down, but it won’t go down because of market losses. And again, there can be large penalties applied to the accumulation value if you surrender the contract before the end of the term.

While the growth in accumulation value side is not predictable, the income base side of the coin is very predictable. During any period while you are waiting to start the income, the income base will grow. This growth is based on what is often referred to as a “Rollup Rate”. This rate is specified in the terms of the contract. Different FIAs will have different rollup rates.

Some FIAs may have a rollup rate of 6%, while the rate with others might be lower or higher.

Let’s assume for the purpose of this example that we are dealing with an annuity that has a rollup rate of 6 percent.

Again, the rollup rate increases the income base while you defer the start of your income.  

For example, assume you are ready to start your permanent income after three years, if the rollup rate was 6%, the income base would have grown to $357,305.

To determine the permanent income amount the insurance company takes the income base ($357,305 in this example) and multiplies it by a withdrawal percentage.

Like the rollup rate, the withdrawal percentage is set in the terms of the contract so we know exactly what it will be in the future. Because of this we also know exactly the amount of the permanent income provided by each annuity that we might look at.

For example, if we assume that the withdrawal percentage was 5% the permanent income amount would be $17,865.  

If either the actual rollup rate or withdrawal percentage was higher or lower, the resulting permanent income would be higher or lower.

Please understand that at this point I am not talking about one specific annuity product, instead I am just trying to explain in general how these annuities work.  Is this clear so far?

Now let’s switch to the other side of the coin and talk about what the accumulated value.  

Again, we can’t know what this value might have grown to or if it would have grown at all because any potential growth is based on the future performance of the stock market index. If the index had not performed well there could be no growth.  But even if the index performed great, the likelihood is that the growth would be less than the income base because the accumulated value is only credited with a portion of any gains in the index, not all of the gains. It is important to understand that this money is never invested in the market so it is not reasonable to assume that the gains, if any, would ever match the gains in the index.

For the purpose of this explanation let’s assume the accumulated value after three years was $323,000. Again this is an entirely hypothetical example.

It might help to think of your FIA’s accumulation value as a bucket of money. Generally speaking, the amount in this bucket is what your heirs get if you die, or what you get if you quit after the end of the term (the period when early withdrawal penalties are no longer applied). Again, it is important to be clear that neither you nor your heirs will ever get the income base.

It is also very important to understand that any withdrawals, including your permanent income withdrawals come out of this bucket. Plus, the fee that is charged will also be deducted every year from the amount that is in this bucket.

Any potential gains that are credit linked to the performance of the index will continue to be added to this bucket.

This means that after you start taking withdrawals of income, there will be money flowing out of this bucket (to cover those withdrawals and any fees) as well as the possibility of money flowing into the bucket due to the performance of the stock market index.

Over time the amount of cash value that remains will depend on the NET DIFFERENCE between how much flows in and how much flows out.

Again, what happens to the accumulated value balance in the future will depend on the potential flow of money going into the bucket and the flow coming out.  Essentially, there are only three things that can happen to the accumulated value over time.

First, the index could perform in such a way that more money flows in than what flows out from any withdrawals taken for income and to cover any fees. If this consistently happens then over time the accumulated value would grow.

While possible, this is extremely unlikely. Remember, with an FIA you are credited with only a portion of the gains when the index goes up.

A second possibility is that the gains credited to your FIA could roughly match any withdrawals taken for income and to cover any fees. If this consistently happened, then over time the cash value would stay approximately the same.

While this is also a possibility, I think it is best to expect that this is unlikely as well.

A much more realistic expectation is that the gains credited, on average, will be less than what is withdrawn. If this consistently happens then over time the accumulated value would decline. And if you live long enough, you could reach a day when there would not be any accumulated value remaining.

This might be not so good for your heirs because if you die with no accumulated value, those heirs would get nothing. However, it has no effect on your income for as long as you are alive.

What sets an annuity apart from all other financial instruments is that it can continue to provide income for life even if the accumulated value has been completely drained.

It is best to not view any FIA as something that will provide maximum growth. Instead an annuity’s purpose is best thought of as that of provide permanent income. And when that is the objective, my view that there is no better choice.

If your objective is to get the most growth possible, then perhaps it might be best to consider directly investing in the stock market.

Of course, to do so you must be prepared for market volatility. And if stocks are counted on to provide income, the concern is that if those stocks perform poorly the balance could decline and future income would be at risk.

In the past, people who needed income but also wanted protection from stock market losses could turn to bank CDs. As long as withdrawals were limited only to the interest earnings, the balance could be maintained. Plus, CDs also provide FDIC insurance which is valuable protection not offered by stocks, annuities or most other options.

Unfortunately, interest rates have remained so low that CDs often don’t provide the amount of income many people seek from their savings.

For example, if you deposited your $300,000 in a CD providing a 3% rate, your earnings would be only $9,000. In order to maintain your original balance you would need to limit your withdrawals to only that amount of annual interest.

Compare this to the $17,865 that might be provided by the annuity in our hypothetical example. No doubt that a large portion of this permanent income is drawing down the balance of the annuity’s accumulated value. But again, with the annuity, even if the accumulated value reaches zero at some point in the future, the income would continue for life.

In today’s low interest rate environment the only way the income from a CD can match the permanent income from an annuity is if you also withdraw a portion of the principal balance each year.

If you did this then the CD’s balance would decline over time and any future income would be at risk.

With bank CDs, if the balance ever declines to zero, not only is your money gone but your income stops.

What is true of virtually all financial instruments except annuities is that once your balance is depleted any income stops. Annuities stand alone in that there is not the same connection between your accumulated value balance and your permanent income. Your accumulated value could be entirely depleted but your income is guaranteed by the insurance company to be paid as long as you live.

As I mentioned earlier, gains potentially credited to accumulated value have limitations. Different annuities offered by different insurance companies can use different methods for calculating potential gains that are credited to the accumulated value.  Let’s take a minute so that I can give you a few of the more common examples.

Assume that the black line at the bottom represents the index with no gains during a specific period of time. We don’t need to concern ourselves with what happens if the index goes down below this line because in that event the FIA accumulated value is protected from market losses, but zero (or nothing) added to the balance.  

However, fees will always be deducted each year.

Assume that this gray bar represents the index going up over a period of time.  

As mentioned, any gains credited to the accumulated value when the index goes up will depend on the specific crediting method structure offered by a specific annuity. Different FIAs can have different crediting method structures but three common ones are the “Cap”, the “Spread” and the “Participation Rate”.

Later when we dig in to the details of any annuity quote you might be considering, I will go into greater depth as to how that annuity’s specific crediting method structure works but for now I want to give you a general idea of what is available.

It is very common that these types of annuities will calculate any gains based on a cap. For example, assume an FIA uses a cap of 4%. If the index was up 12% and the cap was 4%, then the gain credit to you that period would be 4%. But if the index was only up 3% and your cap was 4%, the amount of the gain credited would be 3%. Just remember that a cap places a specified limit on your gains and no amount over that cap is credited.

A spread is just the opposite in terms of your position. For example, if the spread was 3% and the index was up 12%, then what would be credited is the difference between 3% and 12%. But if the index was only up 3%, in this example nothing would be credited.

A participation rate is very different in terms of the way the line is drawn. For example, if the participation rate was 50% and the index was up 12%, then the amount credited would be 6%. But if the participation rate was 40%, then only 4.8% would be credited.

What is great is that there are many different annuities that offer a choice of several different crediting methods. One annuity may have both cap option and participation rate option. And if you like, most annuities would allow you to divide your accumulated value between any options they offer. You might have half of your of the value’s potential growth based on a cap structure while the other half is based on a spread, assuming the annuity offered both of those crediting method options.

And, most FIAs will allow you to reposition the allocation periodically. Some even allow it as soon as once each year.

Again, I will go into much greater detail later when we reach the point when we are looking at specific products and quotes.  For now I just want you to have a general idea as to how this can work.

Let’s spend the final few minutes and discuss the best way to integrate annuities into your retirement plans.

Assume that this circle represents all of your savings and resources you have available for retirement. I believe that it is important to allocate those resources to accomplish different objectives.

One of the most important things to do is to set aside enough money so that you can deal with unexpected expenses that might occur in the future. As a broad suggestion you might want to make sure that you keep enough funds liquid to cover between six months and one year of monthly expenses. You might keep this money is a bank account or money market fund so that it is always accessible. You won’t earn a lot of interest on this money. But growth is not the objective here, it is liquidity.

After maintaining a sufficient reserve for an emergency, I believe that the single most important objective is income. And it is my view that this income should be permanent and not subject to the volatility of the stock market or other investments that can go up and down in value.

We start by determining your monthly income need or target the amount of permanent income you want.

For example, assume that the objective is to have an income of $6,000 per month.  Fortunately you likely have sources of permanent income to meet this need.

For example, if your monthly Social Security check is $2,400, this will reduce any gap between the income you need (or want) and the income you will have.

If you are fortunate enough to have a pension, it will provide additional income to further reduce the gap.

The basic idea is that we are trying to find the amount of the gap that may exist between the income you need (or want) and the permanent income that you know you can count on from any sources like Social Security and pensions.

Once we have identified the amount of the remaining income needed annuities should be considered for filling any gap. Outside of Social Security and pensions, annuities are the only financial instrument that can provide a permanent income that you can count on for the rest of your life.

Once you have allocated that portion of your retirement resources to take care of your liquidity needs and your income needs, any remaining funds can be allocated to meet other objectives such as growth.

When you are considering allocating for growth, it will be important to understand that generally those vehicles that have the greatest growth potential can also be the most volatile. Some people who reach retirement want to avoid volatility, which is understandable.  There are financial instruments that are less volatile but it is reasonable to assume that they also provide less potential for growth.  And there are also financial instruments that can help you altogether avoid volatility but their growth potential will be even less.

Again, nothing is perfect.

We can get into the specifics of what might be the most appropriate vehicle for growth at another time.  It is my view that the first step is to allocate for permanent income.  Do you share my view that this is a priority?

(If the response is yes then schedule a follow up meeting to review annuity quotes.)

(This is an alternate slide with no target income, Social Security, pension or gap amounts that can be used to enter any values you like.)

(This is an alternate slide with no target income, Social Security, pension or gap amounts that can be used to enter any values you like.)

(This is an alternate slide with no target income, Social Security, pension or gap amounts that can be used to enter any values you like.)

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