#i actually used to like Checo but he just deserves a different team

[myimaginarywonderland]

Checo and Ricciardo both proving this weekend why neither deserve that RB seat and Yuki, once again just being overlooked.

[logan-lieutenant]

i didn't win the wheel: episode 7 (pt. 1)

[they read the intro cards, it's quite cringe]

Logan: "You know what the honor is..." (tries to gesture)

Alex, interrupting: "Because nothing says Tour de France like mad stats."

Logan (after waiting): "...You get to spin that wheel."

Alex: 😊😊

i know, i know, i start every episode out with The Bit. and this could be a paragraph almost identical to the last intro because at first it looks same-old, same-old: logan is describing the activity like he's reading his own death sentence, alex still has not learned how to play to the audience, they both brighten up a little bit on the **iconic** line. but there are some differences. the body language. the way alex is once again posing so awkwardly so he can face logan. the way he looks right at logan immediately, and then the laugh just sort of tumbles out of him and he can't even keep his head up, and the way logan turns to him and his eyes track the movement of alex curling in down and towards him and then he uses the card to gesture and bring alex back in as it's time to start the game

i was rewatching this moment listening to their voices and their laughter when the thought came to me suddenly: "it's like they're taking care of each other." and i didn't even know how to elaborate on that more but it just felt so right that i had to keep examining it and now it've got it. the thing is, they're both struggling at this point. a lot. logan for obvious reasons, but alex too, very much so. silly season is hitting williams hard. there's rumors of antonelli, rumors of sainz, rumors of a mid-season replacement. on top of that, checo's contract is at this point being both ridiculed and questioned because of his failure to meet the goals, and what are people benchmarking him against? not max, his teammate, but logan. because logan can now outqualify him. and that's not "oh my god look at how well logan's doing!" it's "oh my god look at how absolutely dogshit checo's doing" (the general discourse, not my opinion). even when the williams upgrades make an actual improvement, nobody notices or cares because everybody else makes bigger improvements. and while williams doesn't have the worst pr situation on the grid, ever since australia they've needed some serious image management and that hasn't been attended to enough. jv is publicly and aggressively courting carlos, making outrageous claims about How Well They're Doing, and the longer the team goes while pretending the logan situation doesn't exist, the more aggravated the fans get. the team isn't doing anything to address the growing tension, and they don't have the on-track performance to do the work for them, so who's left carrying such a huge portion of the entire team's image? alex. he's walking on a wire to avoid falling into the absolute shitstorm of william's pr while still supporting and representing the team that's given him a second chance. he has to juggle being compared to logan and outperforming his car and people saying he deserves better and his team principal's fumbling and knowing he could have all this resentment and bitterness and jealousy from logan and that's not there. and because he's already created this image of sunshiney cutesy cuddly cat dad, he can't afford to have a single moment of visible anger or frustration, even though that's literally how racing drivers just are. so in many ways he's completely trapped in multiple situations and he doesn't know what logan's thinking or what anyone else is thinking and he's overwhelmed.

and logan doesn't have anything. no team support, no chance at another team, no certainty about literally any event in his future from the next few years to the next few weeks. his last few moments with alex are starting to feel like a consolation prize, starting to feel even more painful because of how aware he is of the time running out. and logan can see past the disoriented rambling and the hyperactivity and the media personality, he knows alex is overwhelmed. and it's not something they feel they can talk about with each other because they're scared of hurting each other, of driving a wedge between them when every goodbye feels like the last. but here's logan, unable to feign interest, unable to give the camera anything to work with because he's tired and he's bitter and he just wants to stop owing these people. but alex is there, kind of looking like he forgot they were filming today, and logan can't do much but he can do this. he can make alex laugh. he can remind alex that it's fun to be silly, you can make something silly out of this stupidity, that it's okay and the resentment at the whole thing doesn't need to be there and that they're going to get through this and they're actually going to have fun. he turns all the way into alex and watches his reaction, eyes him up and down, and his smile gets a little sadder and a little more mature as he lets alex half-fold towards him because "logan that isn't even funny how am i laughing every single time". and it's become this sort of ritual for them. it's literally just A Bit but it's their way of stepping all the way out of formula fuckup life and into just this little bubble of each other and a game. "okay, we're going to let this go now. we're going to forget that it's stupid and we don't want to be their social media guinea pigs and we're both being mistreated yet expected to deliver performances like we're not. we're just going to forget that and we're going to have fun with each other and it's going to be nice because we can do it together." and even with everything that's happening, logan is the one who initiates that. he flicks the switch for both of them. and alex's laugh is amusement, yeah, but it's also just relief– the beautiful dissociative relief of leaving everything behind for just a little bit. it's gotten to the point where alex visibly waits on that cue. he looks fidgety and frustrated and out of it and like a kid who got dragged to his mom's book club until logan starts even the beginning of the sentence and then he looks over and the smile starts to flit across his face and then the channel changes. logan's carrying them both over the threshold.

[the question is about average speed]

Logan (such a dumbass annoying smile): "Can I answer in miles per hour? I'm kidding ha ha HAA 😎😎😎" *smacks table* "Ah that's funny..."

Alex:

Alex:

Alex a million years later: 😂

ah, we haven't had one of these in a while. logan being a little shit just to annoy alex. alex being so annoyed and then so endeared he basically short-circuits. that was such a stupid joke and even the way he laughed was like "i just made the STUPIDEST joke >:)" it like has the tone of a dad joke but not even that it's just stupid... and he's the only one who laughs. even though it's obviously forced because that's pretty much part of the joke, it's supposed to be so not funny it actually is funny.

and then logan moves on from that and heads straight into thinking-too-hard-about-this mode and alex is processing on internet explorer speed. he laughs first when logan looks over at him with that stupid shit eating "did you hear that STUPID joke i just made" look and then he does the signature blush and look away (seriously we might have heart-eyes piastri and fuck me-eyes leclerc but what about cast-down eyes albon because he literally cannot hold eye contact when he's flustered which is 80% of the time in logan's presence) and then as logan starts musing about the question alex is like– i swear, he's playing logans expression over again in his head. he's tilted in logan's direction, not looking at anything, and i swear to god he's just remember logan's dumb shit-eating smile and thinking about the joke itself and then suddenly he's laughing. and he doesn't mean to and it even sounds unexpected like it's taking the breath out of him and then he literally has to interrupt himself like, "um! sorry!" because it takes him some time to regain his composure. logan crept out of the shadows just long enough to drop a shit joke and now he's huddled back but that moment is sticking way longer in alex's head than it should. bringing himself back to the game and out of his own head/imagination nearly pains him.

(will continue soon but jeez i had a LOT to say!)

[carronyaflowers]

those people are setting themselves to disappointment because red bull would never sign with him 😭 even tho i think charles is not renewing with ferrari i don't think he will go to rbr😕

ooh i have mixed feelings about this actually because i enjoy so much of these different narratives and is also delulu:

Charles' martyrdom with ferrari. Boy bleeds red and there's also the fact that ever since he was a child (or so he says for PR benefit) it was always the red car for him, and of course there was the connection with jules and his papa, and how overall, ferrari seems like such an important part of his life, and despite all these hardships and downfalls, there's just something so compelling about a mouse staying in a big red car carrying all its history and legacy. And despite it being too big for him, the mouse also became much bigger than it. IDK there's just such a feeling of being meant to be in them.

But also, I need him to leave that failteam so much. He's being wasted there. They're supposed to be this big glorious team but I haven't seen that team anywhere these past years. They're so unserious the collective of chirlies (gn) in tumblr and twitter could probably handle that team better.

So if he's to leave, where would he go? Right now, there's four big teams that'd be (or potentially be good enough) to fight for wins, for championships. But honestly, ferrari as we see is not there, I think mclaren could be there but not yet, so that leaves us with merc and rb.

In theory, should lewis suddenly retire, charles could go there

But BUT IT'D BE MUCH JUICIER FOR HIM TO GO TO RB

So yeah, this point really goes to me being delulu. But also consider that Charles is argued to be one of the few drivers that could actually keep up with Max and that's with a shitbox (and this was also referenced from interviews with Max himself, Christian and even Helmut ) (i'm sorry that i won't be able to provide vids but trust on my delulu mind that there's references to that somewhere i know it). And Charles' and Max's driving styles are extremely compatible so engineering the car won't be too much of a problem (see @il-predestinato essay on this (i'm sorry again for the lack of link i'll maybe edit this tomorrow morning or after my exams next week if u have the patience). And i don't think rb would be opposed to having a talented naturally fast driver.

As from Charles' point of view, why don't we think charles may choose rb should he leave? Questioned this, i immediately remembered @drivestraight on the limit fic, especially this part:

After a long moment of silence, Max finally speaks up. “You want to know what I really think about you moving to Mercedes?”

Interested, Charles replies, “I asked you for a reason.”

Max takes a moment to collect his thoughts before he replies, “Mercedes are good, better than Ferrari, for sure, but they’re not your style.”

Charles lifts a brow. “And what’s my style?”

Max grins, effervescent. “On the limit.”

Charles laughs. On the limit, huh? High praise, especially coming from Max. “Maybe I should call Christian. See if he’d give me Checo’s seat,” he jokes.

so yeah, i just think that at the end of the day, a driver would want a team that could provide him the car that would let him show his speed, let him challenge for wins, and might even get him a championship

TL;DR: I think that at the end of the day, I really just want to see Charles in a car deserving of him, and should that be with ferrari or rb or any other team, i don't think i'll care much (of course i'll care who am i kidding but really it won't be that much bc i'm a charles fan first, f1 second), as long as he's happy with his decisions and he gets to drive his heart out.

DISCLAIMER: Bestie, idk if this made sense at all, i'm sick, i've been studying for an exam and my mind is honest to god filled with theories and writings in the social sciences (please i have a love hate relationship with pedagog of the oppressed and origin of the family bc theyre a pain to read and a headache but they're also such good readings) but keeping up with these charles contract discussions have been a joy and anxiety hehe so yeah that's my thoughts on that and the essays on the lestappen gate 2023 tag might be more coherent and make more sense but yeah thank you for the ask, it was great to have these thoughts out even tho they prolly did not write well as i'm in this state

[lestappenforever]

After calming down (yeah kinda still mad but not as clearly), here’s my post Austrian GP analysis (both sprint and race)

Haas are getting back slowly back in the right travk after a few missteps. In the sprint they were not great, but race, it’s a whole different story. Apparently the match last night did them gokd because Nico finishing 6th (!!!!) and Kevin finishing 10th after startung 9th and 12th. They’re getting back in the midfield game and we love it.

Alpine were not that great, but bkt that shit. Just okay and to be honest, their points this race was on pure merit and luck. But to stay in the contest, they need to focus and stop prioritising a driver on the other. We all know one is leaving NEXT year, but he’s still an Alpine driver for the 2024, and he still can and will score points.

VCARB are kind of a mixed situation. On one hand, Daniel qualified and raced really well this week but how will he do afterwards we don’t know , on the other , Yuki was a bit unluckywith quali and race but I have a feeling he’ll be back next week. Just hoping the car is there for him, because he deserves it so much.

Williams, now you can see when you give logan a proper set up and 2024 components with upgrades, he could do something. He has potential and again, your team’s legends will not be constantly supporting someone who doesn’t have potential. Give him a good set up and let’s hope for a Logan madterclass next week.

Ferrari just got lucky today, that’s all I can say. Their strategy with Charles after picking up damage was so bad, especially with the timings of the stops and I actually belive this cost him acorung points this week. As for Carlos, it was just luck on his side for this podium, but he didn’t do anything that was impressive or crazy.

Mercedes are improving and impressing me so much lately. Yes George’s win today was just pure luck. But this man has worked so hard, and has been doing his absolute best and deserves this win. And Lewis with his overtakes, keeping the head down in a car he’s finally confident in is something that is a joy to watch. Honestly Mercedes, good for you guys

Finally the last 2 teams that caused my mental health to be slumped in a fucking second.

First, the guys who were considerably normal, Oscar had a phenomenal race, and he was absolutely brilliant today, making up 5 places and ending on the podium fighting for the fight, man is a beast tbh and is a clean (in comparison and hindsight) racer. Checo had a phenomenal start, again in a car he’s not 100% happy with and with damage for 71 lap. Being able to pull this and drag a damaged car all this distance is absolutely impressive.

And now the obvious 2. Sprint wise, they noth had good sprints and hell, Lando pulled the move he attempted today cleanly and Max overtook on the next lap. As for today, Max was crazy good on hus first two stints. The speed, his driving, everything. But that last stint wasn’t great from its start, with a terrible pitstop (not going to set up hanging rope for the guys, the nut wasn’t budging and shit like this happens) to the used mediums and all. McLarern with Lando were not great in the first 2 stints, with the lack of apeed and grip, I mean he did get a clack and white flag and a part for that was in these stints, but then the last with the new mediums was pretty impressive. Though he was irrational in his moves, fatser car in that stint, and he has a black and whit flag, overtakes off track to get a 5 second penalty that was released late by the stewards, to pushing Max off the track to the accident. Now in the accident, both drivers were not faultless, but Lando did put his wing into Max’s tyres, and Max did loose a some grip and caused Lando some damage. But as Max said, he didn’t leave space for Lando to overtake because he knew Lando was going to tale him, even before knowing the penalty, and Max was defending to kind of prevent Lando from overtaking him (aka racing and fighting for the win). But even if Lando was wanted to overtake Max , he literally could have just waited mayve a lap or 2, maximum 3. We have a quote that says if the murderer waited for the murdered, the murdered would have died alone, which was the case for Lando on the fresher mediums. But what I think and ahies from his post race media statements is that Max should have just let him win, and since he didn’t, he decided after knowing he got the 5 seocnd penalty and his chances if basically winning almost nonexistent with Max, he was going to ruin Max’s race. Well it ruined both of theirs, and one ended up with points with the other dnfing and we don’t know if he served his penalty or will serve it in Silverstone as a three place grid penalty.

But yeah, Austria done and dusted, max and red bull gald extended (small wins) and Silverstone next. Hoping for a CLEAN good race for my boys especially. And a revenge against brits (both for today and the quotes that say Max and Red Bull are the reason ticket sales are low, not the crazy prices). Just upset because the orange army wasn’t able to be hally today, but I’m sure proud regardless

I will leave this in all its glory.

[f0point5]

PERIOD

LH lost the title in Baku & Monaco

He could’ve finished in the points in Baku and have that lead but he didn’t, Monaco he finished 7th while Max won.

There were many instances where LH could’ve made up points but he didn’t. Max had 3 DNF’s + Hungary, other times he was always top 2, while LH was many times outside the podium (Baku, Monaco, Austria, Türkiye that come to mind) and if the Spa farce didn’t happen we wouldn’t even be having this conversation because half the points benefit LH.

Max deserved the title. Anyone who actually paid attention during the season would know that.

For me though, it comes down to that age old thing where you need someone to make a decision, give them a set of rules, and then expect them to interpret them the same way you do/in a way that benefits you.

I mean, the lapped cars ain’t even the real issue but actually Ted Kravitz any does not in fact mean all. Like it LITERALLY DOES NOT. They are two different words and the word was “any” and not “all”. Like…that line was not the serve he thinks it was it just exemplified his below average language comprehension.

And as I said, I do think Massi did a stupid thing to create a show but you know what was also stupid? Will.i.am in Miami. The ice bath content from all the teams. Everything they do to turn this sport into a spectacle like the NFL is kind of stupid imo. And the fact that Massi’s decision is used as an example of Red Bull favouritism and not the sport being turned into a Broadway production is just bias talking imo. Because if Max had been in an Alpine, or Red Bull had Checo driving, they’re still getting that final lap battle because it was not for Max or Red Bull, it was for Liberty Media.

[leclerced]

I found the bracelet! I’m so relieved I didnt actually loose it just put it in a different drawer😮‍💨

Also I’ve listened to news from F1. I swear if they put Ric in Red Bull imma combust on the place. This guy needs to retire sorry not sorry. Give Liam a seat or I’ll fucking show up on your doorstep red bull. Newey’s possible contract talks with Ferrari are in kind of a dead end. The wind whispers he considers McLaren or Aaston. Rolex’ contract comes to an end. It was for 50 million. Now the company that owns the big things like LV and this shit I believe will be the sponsor. I mean in Poland we have a saying “z deszczu pod rynnę” and…yeah… Toyota wants some kind of deal with Haas but rather small one (the wind/aerodynamic tunnel? Is that what it’s called?). Possibly Ocon to Haas. What’s Ollie done in his short 19 years of life to deserve this? Hopes and prayers if it’s true

im so glad you found it !! i knew it would turn up. this post takes up my whole screen on my pc so im adding a read more for everyone's sake.

i think they should knock out two birds with one stone and retire checo and daniel, then put yuki in the rb because he's been in the vcarb since 2021, and put liam and a new driver in the vcarb seats. and if yuki doesn't do well in the rb, they can swap him and liam around so yuki can mentor the new rookie on the vcarb team or somethinggg idk.

i saw that ferrari apparently doesn't want to pay newey as much as he wants (they spent all their money on lewis?) but mclaren and aston will, so we will see how that turns out. i personally think it'd be fun to have lewis in a car designed by newey, so i still would like to see him go to ferrari but it doesn't look like it'll happen.

the lvmh group or whateverrr owns tag heuer, who currently sponsors redbull and used to be their official time keeper and had their engine branded with tag heuer until their partnership with toyota began! so likely, tag heuer will be the new time keepers instead of rolex. wonder what will happen with the redbull sponsorship, are they going to keep supporting the bulls or will they solely be sponsoring f1 as a whole?? i looked up that saying and it seems we have it here too! out of the frying pan and into the fire. it's a good one and very fitting for a lot of things currently

the article i skimmed earlier was talking about haas using toyota's technical facility in germany because they have better/more specialized equipment including two wind tunnels, (it mentioned other things too that i don't recall) and more employees, so it would all around be better for the research and development of future cars!

im so confused about ocon at haas tbh i don't know what to think about that. i genuinely forget he exists sometimes. oopsies. im rooting for ollie, i hope he does well when he gets a seat. i'd hate to see another rookie be bumped up too early ):

[supermaks]

I’m not used to disagreeing with you bc I usually don’t but the Charles post, woof! Maybe it’s bc I’m not a Charles fan but I am definitely a fan of max. Is it fair to consider you a chirlie at this point? 😂 as a person who prefers Carlos just overall (we exist I know) and how close this season was, just, I know Charles is stamped with the whole predestined thing and his fans like to say Ferrari don’t deserve him just as much as they like to celebrate this whole destiny brand but this season it was very close between Charles and Carlos? They basically traded off being the one more comfortable with a better weekend and close in points as well. It’s just grating to see him written of as like “mid”; when he actually is a very strong driver, good defensive driver maybe sometimes considered too tough by some but I have fun watching him. But everyone’s of course entitled to their own opinions and to like and dislike whoever. I guess it’s the Carlos and Checo comparisons that especially tend to make me go 🤨 bc maybe if you’re looking at Charles and max as being the “special boys” and the “other one” will always be just that. But the Ferrari drivers were closer this season compared to last year and Checo has just been further and further from max so performance wise to compare them… idk if I think it’s too generous to Charles or too unfair to Carlos (sorry Checo I guess). I just read your long post and had some thoughts, im not as good at articulating them as you… feel free to ignore! Hope you’re having a nice weekend

Oh bro lemme go ahead webblewebble my laminated chirlie permit rn I'm very much a sharl fan hes definitely one of my 'special boys' so the bias is real. Like when u say 'maybe ur looking at ((ur favs)) different' I absolutely am like theres no question about that 😭 Like personally I think if Ferrari were to have a competitive car over a whole season 16 wud be the one getting the most out of it. That has to do wid how I watch the sport and the type of driver I like or what ‘fast’ means to me like its really not worth all that jhjkjh just a preference. I was drawing some parallels between rbr and ferrari not checo and carlos’ individual performances just the dynamics that occur when a team has a car capable of dominance and what I think wud happen wid Ferrari. We were talking about why some chirlies—and that’s the last time im using that word like I cant— ‘hate’ on c2 to the point theyre celebrating pierre gasly randomly saying ‘they aren’t friends’ and imo its kind of a strange beef to have unless ur just a hater, which is fine but like , I think it’s a waste of ur time lmfao. Because some people acting like Carlos is the crux of sharls suffering and once he leaves it’ll all be ok and smooth sailing and like that’s just ridiculous. It takes responsibility away from Ferrari and their ((lack of)) leadership and ((lack of)) development. Maybe that’s me but I’ll never blame a driver for wanting to win and prioritizing himself even if its to the detriment of others and especially his teammate bro Im a Max and Lewis fan. And listen Monza this year?? I gotta say moved me profusely. I caught a glimpse of the mclaren dawg like that was nasty business. So while I don’t recognize in Carlos the potential I do in sharl like I agree wid u that it makes no sense to compare him and Checo when their seasons were fundamentally different and they had different objectives. And Carlos before his ((imo)) inevitable plateau did his job well yk got the win and everything. Have a good Sunday ty for the chat

[russilton]

Regarding the race, I'd actually argue that it wasn't as much the hard tires that cost Merc the win, it was RB only needing one pit stop. The softs (and a longer run on the mediums) wouldn't have made a difference, not unless Max would've pitted a second time.

So I have to disagree that Merc's strategy call was the wrong one, at that point in time.

In fact, it would've lead to a P1-P2 podium if both RBs had pitted twice. A P2-P3 podium if only Checo had pitted, like Shov later expected when it became clear that Max wouldn't. But neither one of the Red Bulls did go for a second stop, so that's what fucked us over.

Putting George or Lewis or both on softer tires wouldn't have made a difference with the pace of the Red Bulls. Not to mention that the hard tire pace looked strong in the beginning, which is why it made sense to put Lewis on them in order to chase Max. And then his first rounds were strong, which is why George's call didn't make sense to the strategy team at the time and just seemed like a risk. They do have the data that the drivers can't access during a race. It's just that the medium lasted longer than expected - and thanks to that we lost not only the win but also the double podium.

The strategy would have worked out perfectly if the Red Bulls had gone for a two stop, but they surprisingly didn't have to. Which is why Lewis' call before the race to start on the softs would've made the most sense - but you're always smarter after the damage has been done. I think we were doomed as soon as we started on the mediums, not as soon as we switched to the hards.

Okay I don’t have time to address all of this, because it’s a fuckin Monday night and you’re the first person back into my inbox without so much as a “hey mark how are you?” apparently, but I take issue with “The strategy would have worked out perfectly if the Red bulls had gone for a two stop”

Yeah, it would have.

But they didn’t.

I’d like to point out I also didn’t have an issue with Merc going to hard. It was a risky strat but had promising stability if it worked. My problem with Mercedes strategy is not that they are incapable of making a good plan.

They are paid a lot more than I, an rpf posting tumblr blog run by a queer 23 year old, am to get this stuff right. They will not make the right choices every time, and they cannot anticipate what Red bull will do every time. My problem is that whenever we make the wrong call, Mercedes seems to twiddle it’s thumbs and hope it works out. And they seem so worried about splitting their driver strategy in the hopes they won’t be accused of preferential treatment, that they then end up fucking both drivers.

This is one of countless races since the summer break where we hear Lewis insist he wanted to start on something different and was overruled (Singapore, wanting to start on used, here on softs or have George start on softs), or we hear George insist on a different tire choice based on feel and he’s ignored (Singapore, Japan, here). They don’t listen to their drivers and then when they fuck up they shrug and go “well, we couldn’t have known”. George and Lewis’ original complaints were easy to overrule with data, but at the same time as the pit wall has the data the drivers don’t, the pit wall are not the drivers and data isn’t absolute. If your driver says “I hate this tire” for 20 laps, they’re telling you “I can’t move or fight with this, I can’t do anything”.

I’m not asking for split second panic calls. We aren’t ferrari. But maybe after 30 laps of your drivers telling you they can’t move on these tyres and George having a clear pit window, you pit one. You do what Merc keep insisting they want to do, and make risky moves. Because mercs complacency in Mexico meant Redbull felt perfectly Safe from George, who was struggling with pace and back markers already, and were able to nurse mediums to the end.

If they had tried to split strat, say “okay George, your hards aren’t working, do you want to try to put on softs and TRY to catch Perez”, they may have panicked the Bulls into pitting perez and then George could have tried to fight him. It would have been less boring, and frankly if Perez couldn’t get past Lewis on mediums, he was going to struggle fighting George on level tires. Yes It could have risked Lewis, but he wasn’t going to catch max anyway without a mistake. Rather than settle for a 2/4 and hope for a SC, we could have pitted both cars and tried to push them both past perez again together for a 2/3.

Yes it would have been more risky, yes it might not have worked out, and I understand why Merc see a safe, high point total as frustrating but acceptable. But I also hate this weekly game of “well we thought it would work ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ “

I do not think it was the worst strat in the world, either, it was frustrating but sensible. In fact, while I have critisim in hindsight, I see it’s value as a plan when accounting for mistakes, safety cars and yes, Red Bull fucking pitting. I also advocate for split stratting here, but see the value in keeping both drivers level to prevent a ZV style torrent of abuse and accusations that one driver is being favoured.

Perhaps I maybe didn’t include effective nuance in my 23:00 headache induced shitposts as I commiserated a lost double podium and a miserable looking Lewis. I’ll be sure to fix that next time, and not, as I did today, make funny memes you now don’t deserve about it.

[maxemilianverstappen]

In need of an opinion of an unapologetic Seb fan!! I’ve seen tons of people defend Lewis in his performances this year (especially since George is carrying the same car to top 5 finishes) by saying that he, as a 7 time world champ, is getting used to the car. Did people defend Seb the same way in 2014? I mean, cmon, 2014 is a way bigger regulation change compared to this year. Plus everyone, no matter the team, this year is getting used to a new car and very few on the grid experienced a big change in the cars. I, personally, think we started to see Mercedes struggle last year bc they no longer had the fastest car and actually had to race and use good strategies. I don’t think it’s a fair play to excuse Lewis bc he “isn’t used to having a non race/title winning car”. Back to my original thought, I feel like Seb never got the same defense even though he had won 4 titles in a row and it’s disappointing. Especially this year when all anyone keeps talking about Seb is that he must be retiring soon or how he’s so old and is is the grid dad. Sorry if this is jumbled!! I can’t exactly get my thoughts in a line right now. Just upset that Seb scored points in his 2nd race of the season in the actual slowest car and no one is acknowledging how amazing that is

Hello, Anon! I wasn't on Tumblr in 2014. But from the media coverage of that year, it was clear that people were having org*sms over Daniel finding that car easier to drive than Seb and beating him. For some reason, as if Seb personally came and ruined their lives, most people hated Seb for those 4 years of WDCs. So, you can certainly feel that sense of sick glee in the twitter posts and news site posts of the past. When it comes to other drivers, people provide endless leeway for their failures, like saying how they need to adapt to the car, how they are not used to such and such, how they need time.... But we both know how, for example, Daniel struggled last year massively because he couldn't adapt, how Lewis is struggling currently, because the car is possibly not to his liking... People even started to say stuff about how Max's driving style might not be suitable to this year's Red Bull. Like how Charles struggled with last year's car, sometimes finding it not responsive enough.

So, it should be by now clear that these are in the end machines and some people use some machines better than the others, but it doesn't mean the ones who aren't able to use those machines in the same efficiency are dumb or talentless.

So, when the fans and the media people and the so called pundits hunt down Seb like some bloodhounds for stuff that everyone, even the best of the best, struggle with, then there is ill intent and maliciousness there.

These people don't lose their talent race to race, season to season. Especially with different set of regulations and different development/production principles, it takes time to adapt to these changes or find the sweet spot. But for people like Seb, even if you are just 25 years old or 30 years old, it doesn't matter. This has nothing to do with his age. People just hate him and hate his success.

Also, @the people who are shitting on Seb for the silly season rumours, saying he is washed up, saying he is slow, finished etc... Checo deserves that seat more than everyone else, yes. But it doesn't mean just because you are angry at a rumour, you can say shitty stuff about Seb.

When everyone learns how to enjoy/defend/explain sth without smearing mud on something else, this place will be better.

[meaningofmotorsport]

Mexico City Grand Prix Review

It was all about Lap 1 of the Grand Prix really, as it was so hard to overtake after that, and the pendulum kept swinging in what has been an incredible season of F1!

In hindsight, Red Bull should have been pleased to lock out the 2nd row of the grid in qualifying, as if they had got pole, with their lack of straight line speed, they surely would have been swamped down to Turn 1. Instead, though, it was Max who got the perfect slipstream, and out braked the Mercedes to get the lead. From then on, there was no stopping him, as he had the best pace by far out there. It is crazy to think that Verstappen is actually starting to dominate the championship, and if Baku and Hungary had gone differently, the title could be almost wrapped up! Perez drove his heart out, and did very well to pressurise Hamilton, but the dirty air was too much for him in the end. I am glad that Checo has turned a corner with the car, which has helped the team massively in the constructors’ standings. Even better, was seeing him on the podium at home, a well deserved one for a fan favourite driver.

It turns out it was a blip for Red Bull on Saturday, but you cannot write the rollercoaster of emotions that occurred in the Mercedes garage over those few days. The dejection of practice, and seemingly being nowhere, to all of a sudden get one over the rivals, and look to have a chance at the win, then for it all to go wrong in the 1st kilometre of racing, and lose even more points to Red Bull. They just lacked downforce all weekend it seems, as their straight line speed was mega, yet it was outweighed massively in the 2nd and 3rd sector. The season isn’t over; however, Mercedes needs to get winning soon to stop their run of titles ending! Lewis did what you expect of him really, by maximising what he had, and withstood the pressure from Perez. You have to feel for Bottas, who was brilliant in qualifying, for it all to come to nothing in the race, and be stuck behind the guy who took him out, for most of the race.

This race showed that AlphaTauri should at least be near to the battle for 3rd in the constructors, if they had got their act together sooner, and if Tsunoda had been able to deliver on his promise better. No one could lay a glove on Gasly in the race, as he continues to excel in F1. They were helped by the Honda being brilliant at altitude this weekend, although that car is clearly great overall too! Yuki was unlucky to get hit on Lap 1, especially given his pace all weekend.

Ferrari pretty much did what they set out to do in Mexico, as they surged ahead of McLaren, and build further towards 2022. Sainz got unlucky with the Turn 1 spin, in that he fell behind Leclerc, and had to use team orders to get by and try to attack Gasly, which came to nothing in the end. Ferrari do look like the favourites now for 3rd place.

It was an unfortunate mistake for Ricciardo to make into the 1st corner, as he locked up on the inside and ploughed into Bottas. It completely ruined all the good work he had done over the weekend, and should arguably have been a penalty. Norris did a solid job to fight from the back to score a point, but it was peanuts compared to their rivals!

Age was clearly on their side in this race, as the older statesmen of Vettel, Alonso and Raikkonen all managed to come away from here with points. They all had great pace, and weren’t holding anyone up, which for the Alfa Romeo is great news, given their toils this year. Alonso was able to go a race without causing any track limits controversy, which is equally impressive! Vettel was able to use the overcut to his advantage, as Giovinazzi got stuck behind traffic following his pitstop, which utterly ruined his race! Ocon and Stroll couldn’t reach the points from their lowly starting spots.

Haas had another difficult weekend, with Mick not able to keep up the promise he showed on Friday, before being taken out in Turn 1 in the race. As for Williams, they were nowhere too, which is unexpected for the team who have done so well on occasions this year! Can Brazil be a different story?

Sadly, we didn’t get a stunner on our return to the Mexican capital, however there is a better chance of some action at the iconic Interlagos circuit, and with the final sprint race of the year happening there, who knows what could happen! Can Max and Lewis keep their 100% record up, of coming together on the Sunday after the Sprint race?

-M

Thank you very much for reading this article! To keep up to date with when they go out, and to see my reactions to races and other news, follow me on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/MeaningofMotor1

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[myimaginarywonderland]

Okay, so this post will talk about Lance but I will also give my opinion on the Lando situation since I think it is important.

First off, I think it says a lot about Lando that he made an apology. Now, be it because of the backlash he faced, because he actually saw the harm he was causing or because he genuinely regrets it, that is something I don't know. What I do know is that by apologising for it, he acknowledges that his behaviour was wrong and that is really important because it shows that he reflected on himself.

While I do still feel irked by something about the message, be it that he isn't naming Lance or Lewis who he both targeted with his actions in different ways and apologise to them directly which he might have done in person, so I am not able to judge it or be it the weird sorry at the end, I can put aside my feelings and say that this was the right thing to do and is also setting an example for his fans who were one of my main issues with all of this. They then know that saying that was not right and might learn from it themselves.

But this post isn't about Lando. This post is about Lance.

As most of you might have heard, Lance was really affected by what happened on track. He can clearly see that he is anxious and uncomfortable in his post race interview and what happened afterwards tells the story (I don't really want to talk about it because this is something private that he did not share and it is like with the story on Twitter something that was shared by other people who he didn't give the right to share it too so I don't want to spread it any further.)

This is who Lance is.

Someone who is sensitive and takes a lot of things personally.

You want to know why? Because he has, as a person, always been blamed for his dad's wealth. As if he choose to grow up with a billionaire dad. As if he is somehow responsible for it.

And he has always been painted out as someone undeserving, someone that doesn't have talent and totally owns his position to the money of his dad.

Now, let me just give you some data because I want to totally discredit this made up stuff with no roots.

In 2015, he won the Toyota Racing Series. He won by a bit over 100 points. The second finisher was his teammate. You might now some of the other drivers who competed in this series for example one Callum Iliot or Artjom Markelow.

Or in 2016,his first season in Formula 3, he finished fifth. The winner of that year was Felix Rosenquvist (a great driver) who was also Lance teammate and had only one DNF in comparison to Lance 5 and a DSQ. Now, there are two other drivers, one that was the runner up in Antonio Giovinazzi and a fourth who was Charles Leclerc. Pretty competitive field if you ask me and to finish 5th as a rookie,is impressive.

Now, fast forward a year to when he won the F3 championship. He won over his teammate by a margin of over 150 points which is so impressive, even with the two more DNFs his teammate, Maximilian Günther (another great driver) had that is quiet a lot.

Now, if you really want to use the argument that he skipped F2 against him, there is another driver you should be discrediting just as much. You guessed it, M*x V*rstappen. He also went straight into F1 which was a definite mistake but nobody ever likes to say that. I would also like you to remember that Lance did not drive for F1 as a regular driver immediately after he won the championship, no in 2016 he was a test driver, so he could slowly get used to F1. (This is not official but I would guess it's the thought process behind him being a test driver.)

Now, in 2017, his first F1 season, he was teammates of Felipe Massa. Might have heard of him, lost his championship to Lewis by one point, was teammate of Micheal Schumacher and a generally way more experienced driver. Yeah, you wanna know what the difference between him and Lance was in Lance first season? 3 points. And Lance had 2 more DNFs. You know what else he got in his first season? His first podium. In his first season, he became one of the youngest people to ever achieve a podium. With just 7 rounds into his first F1 season, in an okay midfield car with a way more experienced and older driver he was up against, he achieved a podium. And during the entire course of the season, that would remain the only podium for the Williams team that year.

Now, onto 2018. Williams was not as bad as in 2019 but they were still nowhere in terms of pace and he still didn't finish last in the championship (but I don't think we can count this season.)

In 2019, Checo became his teammate. And Checo in my opinion is one of the best midfield drivers, so there was already a lot he had to go up against and he was still so young and had less experience. There is a 30 point difference between them. Make of that what you want but for me, sure it was not Lance greatest season but now you have to think if Racing Point where really that good go be the fifth best car or if maybe, Checo just got more out of the car with his experience and talent. And than, you have to consider that he was still young and only had one season where he was truly competitive (that 2018 Williams was not something you could truly challenge anyone with.) And to then be up to one of the best midfield drivers who is widely appreciated and adored by the paddock, is a lot. Maybe for some of you it was too big of a gap which is alright.

However, don't dismiss his talent. He has had a good junior career and was up to some of the drivers you love and call talented, he even beat some of your faves. Maybe you don't see him as the next great driver but he is not a bad one and truly deserves a seat if you consider his achievements. Maybe he could have proven himself more if he had a season in F2 which is fair but that doesn't take away from anything he has achieved.

And even if you don't see him as talented, that gives you no right to bully him online. He can't change who his dad is.

Now,onto the money. I see a lot of people saying that he is only in F1 because of the money (which I hope you have by now realized is not the case.) But really, let's talk about the money.

Money is something that sadly plays a big role in F1. F1 is above all still a business. And businesses want money. So, why not take someone who has money and talent like Lance? Where are you all saying Michael only got his seat because of money (he is a pay-driver after all or at least he was one when he came to F1.) And now let's talk about his move to Racing Point. Can you truly blame Lawrence for wanting to make his sons dream come true? Wouldn't any father if they had the resources do this? Wouldn't any father want to fufill his son's dream, even if it might be seen as unethical by some or criticized? Would you really care if you saw how happy your kid was? Would you really care if you saw the glow you kid had? I don't think so.

I already said it but he was at Williams before he was at RP. His dad doesn't own that team or have any chairs in it.

Let's forget his profession for a second. Let's say you don't find him talented as a driver or just don't like him, fine. You are entitled to your opinion and sometimes we just don't like people, it happens.

What else would you have against him?

He doesn't post on social media often because people already bully him enough for his family. There is basically nothing you can dislike about him there.

And as a person? He is quiet and basically does nothing to anger people. He is literally just a normal dude. He goes on trips with his friends, he does sports to stay in shape and watches sports. He is not even posting personal stuff because he doesn't want to give people more room to bully him.

If you saw him on the street, would you think he is from a rich family? He does not look like it at all, he looks like that guy from your local sport who is literally just a college student trying to get through life.

And not only was he discredited for all his accomplishments because of something he had no control over but he also saw another driver proudly display a symbol that has been used by people who killed people who belonged to his religion. He saw a driver weat that symbol in cooperation with a company whose boos seems to be a Neo Nazi.

Lance has had to go through to so much shit just because his dad was rich (which Nicky's and Lando's also are, yes I know it's less but it's still more than any of us will probably ever have.)

This boy does nothing wrong.

Did he make a mistake with the maneuvers on Lando? Yes. But he is still so young and also new to F1, he can still learn and is growing as a person and driver. He is expected to perform more just so he proves his worth which he already has because people discredit him for having a rich dad.

Have you seen what he has done this season? He would be in the top 5 had it not been for the last races where none of the DNFs where his fault. Neither was getting Covid or being ill but people literally made fun of him for being in pain, saying stuff like "Did Daddies boy have a little stomach ache?" Yeah, because F1 drivers aren't trainex to perform no matter what, aren't putting their health last when it comes to these things and might have to be really bad if they can't drive and are not even going out of their room.

He has improved so much, he is not blaming other drivers even if they clearly hit him (see Charles) and he stays calm. Because he can't afford to be to emotional since some people would hate him for rightfully calling out others mistakes and just maybe saying that their faves are not flawless and make mistakes (like Charles.)

He has to act a certain way or be a certain way because what would happen if he just showed more of his personality? You call him dull, boring but you don't even try to get to know him. You don't even look up videos where he is more open and comfortable.

He is awkward infront of the press because he has to fear to be discredited or to be questioned about his worth every second.

And all of this pressure, this mask and this pretend eventhough he is just as human as the rest of us. And you see how hard it is, how much he questions himself, how his self-doubt increases and ultimately what happened has happened.

Because while it is just an easy insult for you that you can post anonymously online, it is one of thousands for him.

And you know, he didn't grew up in Europe. Sure he competed with some of the European drivers later one but he didn't have any of them when he started racing and he might already have been an outcast because people would already have seen him as different since his family didn't need to make sacrifices to get him to wear he is now. At least not financially ones. And then, when he came to Europe there were these already formed friend groups and it wasn't easy to get into them. The only friend he had was Esteban and I am so glad. This seems like such an unlikely friendship because they are from totally different backgrounds but that might have been what connected them in the first place. So, with basically only Esteban who liked him from the competitive times, it must have been pretty bad (not to say that the others hated him but I don't think they really cared for him.) I am so glad to see that he now also has Checo and that they get along and I hope that stays this way eventhough all of what has happened (which is also not his fault and I am sure that if he had any say in it, it would have been done differently.) Maybe we can even see their friendship when Checo stays on the grid. And with the potential of Seb next year, that might be the only other friendship or friendly connection he might form.

He is so strong for having to endure the dislike of so many people and he is still so kind and so sweet.

This has been a long post but one that I have wanted to make for a long time. If you got this far, I applaude you.

[weraceasone]

you have to feel for kvyat though, he too, didnt really get a proper farewell as they didnt announce yuki until after the season was over. HOWEVER i think the outrage for alex is because he was put in the car too early, put in a shit unstable car and when he didnt perform like they had wished he would they booted him out. i am a fan of daniil, and he now has a role in a different team, where i hope he is happier so it still worked out for him in the end. do i wish he would have another year in f1? yes certainly, but with the upcoming pool of drivers, it’s understandable that his chance of retaining his seat was very slim. And i say this as someone who supports him. Eventho Daniil was treated terribly by red bull, with them demoting him mid season when max had known it would happen beforehand, he did still get another chance at Toro Rosso after Brendan. I wish he had gotten a proper farewell from the team, but the choice to not retain him makes sense although im sad to not see him on the grid anymore. Something i would like to say also is that although i was, and still am angry that Alex did not get another chance, I completely understand red bull’s choice as well. It is worth a try with a more experienced driver, and Checo deserved to have a seat even. I am sad that circumstance left Alex without a seat and how they treated him but he’s still seen as a valuable member of the team, even if he is not on the grid so the chances of him returning even if not with red bull/alpha tauri looks pretty good to me. this is just my thoughts and i just wanted to share it!

hey anon!

oh, but I completely agree with you. I did feel bad for Daniil, because the team didn’t even properly say goodbye to him after was with them for years and that just wasn’t fair. I truly hope for Daniil that he’s happy being with Alpine and that he’ll maybe get to drive the car on a Friday this year. like you said though, I also think it’s very understandable that they didn’t keep him. it makes sense that they chose for Yuki to get that seat, as he’s still very young and probably to develop himself next to Pierre, so he can get that experience and end up being a better driver. 

I understand Red Bull’s choice as well. I think they have finally realized they’ve been stuck in a cycle and I hope by putting a more experienced driver in that seat, they will be able to break that cycle. I think it’s very important for them to find out whether it was actually the drivers’ fault that they weren’t doing as well as Max was or that it maybe was the car or that it’s just the fact that Max is exceptional. I think they will use this year to work that out by putting Checo into that seat, so while I maybe personally don’t like that they dropped Alex, but I can understand the bigger picture of it for the team. and with Red Bull, who knows what will happen next year, maybe they’ll put Alex into that Alpha Tauri again, we’ll see!!

thank you for sharing your thoughts, anon, I really enjoyed reading them!! have a good week! 🧡

[myimaginarywonderland]

Because I was really inspired by all the rumours and some of the post about other peoples teams for next year, I thought I would make my own. (This mostly realistic but still dreaming, so not everything is realistic. Also it might be biased because I think some drivers deserve better but especially the junior drivers deserve to be given a chance and not just be stuck. If this bias bothers you, I am sorry.)

Let's start with Mercedes.

Obviously I would let Lewis stay there. That man is at the top of his team game and will break all records that he can. But because we actually want to see more competitive driving, I would partner him with George. It would still secure them the teams championship but it will not only make for a little fight in the drivers championship but would also give Lewis a teammate that he could actually compete against and maybe give him more interesting/active races where he prove to everyone that still doubts him that he is one of the greatest.

RedBull

Now, here I will go drastically different. Sure, let them keep Max so they can realize that he will never become the youngest world champion but give Max someone who actually would call RedBull out and might be the only that could make them change. Yes,I want Seb in a RedBull. For one as a fuck you to Ferrari but also because he might help them develop a car that could compete in the championship. Seb wouldn't take their shit and they might actually try to change and not only have their golden boy.

Racing Point

You know, I would just keep Checo and Lance there.

Both good drivers that have a competitive car without a preference for one as the winner, so let them have some fun and battle with the others.

McLaren

At first I was against the idea of Daniel and Lando at McLaren. But now? I am here for it. I take it, I want it. The team is only going up and both of their drivers are great.

Renault

I would have just kept Esteban and picked Zhou as the second driver. He is good, consistent and doesn't look like he would be any trouble (obviously not like an Alonso.) Just give your junior drivers a chance (this is directed at all teams) instead of sticking to the Sam's drivers that don't really do much for you as a team.

Alpha Tauri

You know what? Alex deserves better than the shit he gets at Red Bull. He deserves to be in a team where there are people that care for him, that let him make mistakes and learn. He deserves to be somewhere where he can grow and is not constantly under pressure. Add to that the fact that he would have Pierre as a bestie who obviously has been through the same Red Bullshit, they would just be driving and having fun.

Williams

Easy, keep Nicholas because he brings in sponsors and because he can consistently bring the car in Q2, potentially even Q3 while still being helpful to Jack Aitken, his new teammate. Nicky is easy to work with, has experience and could benefit the team (not quit like George but still). He would help Jack get used to everything and that would be a beautiful team. All said.

Haas

I don't have anything against Romain but seeing as I would drop both him and Kevin in the next years and I still think Kevin is more consistent as well as the better of them, Romain will have to go. But he's just take a break where he lives his best life, making a family channel and talking about food.

Kevin stays there because he's talented and they need an experienced driver to partner with the new one, Christian Lungaard. They would talk shit about other drivers in Danish so no one will understand. Also, I feel like Christian is more quiet compared to Kevin, so he will calm the team down.

Alfa Romeo

Honestly? Kimi needs to go. I am sorry but that man has been in that sport so long and is right now just taking the space for someone young, talented and promising. He has had his time to shine and so one. Don't hate him but yeah.

Giovinazzi is honestly in my opinion not really it? Like sure that car is by far the worst one on the track but I would still expect them to maybe not be dead last most races (when nothing else has happened). He's had an okay, even good junior career but just not really that impressive to me? I would probably also drop him and let him become a model. But to be honest it can't get worse and the team has nothing to lose. So, I would probably get both Schumacher and Schwartzman. Mick has actually had a decent junior career (somehow I expected him to be worse considering some of the hate he gets but he's not as bad as some people like to make him out to be. He is also not his dad and never will be and I think as soon as you manage to realise that, you'll see he's actually done well.) Schwartzman I think is more unrealistic (I don't know if he has the points required for a super license) so if he is not available I would take Iliott. This is more difficult but I think the team could do with some young drivers, depending on who is more available. (In my dream it would be Schumacher and Schwartzman but I think the later could still do with maybe a year in F2 but he's really impressive so far.)

Ferarri

I hate them so I will just let them keep Sa*nz and Charles for now. (They will get another chance from me sometime but not this year or next year.)