#monza especially… it’s a fun one i promise :)

[fiveredlights]

putting it out into the universe that ch 4 of old habits will be done sunday so the anxiety mechanism in my brain will finally kick in and force me to work on it !

[dilemmaontwolegs]

Hey! Love your fics! Have just finished The Taste of Temptation 🥵 a small idea popped in my head where Daniel is away and his Kitty is spending time with other drivers on a yacht. The aussie sees the pics, his blood starts to boil but then he sees the pics where she's putting on his DR3 or Enchante merch on

Temptation Snapshot || DR3 {1}

A/N: there will be a splattering of little snapshots of moments between Danny and his kitten from The Taste of Temptation universe.

F1 Masterlist Story: One || Two || Three || Four || Five Snapshots One || Two || Three || Four || Five

“Are you sure you know how to drive this thing?”

Lando looked offended at the question and purposefully hit the waves in the wake of Charles' boat, launching the JetSki into the air. Your arms tightened around his waist as you lifted from the seat and your heart rose in your throat at the height of the jump. It was instant karma that he winced at the deafening scream of terror you made but it wasn’t enough to drown out the men laughing at your expense on the yacht.

“Where are you going?” Lando asked with a laugh as you abandoned him and jumped into the sea.

“To change my underwear, you dingbat,” you joked as you swam towards the Monza, making Lando nearly tip over as he tried to turn around while doubled over laughing.

When you reached the Monza, Charles offered his hand to help you up since Pierre was too busy cackling to himself. “Did that use up one of your nine lives, kitten?”

Charles arched an eyebrow in disbelief as he looked at his friend who had been taking pictures all day just to annoy Daniel. “Mate, do you have a death wish?”

“He must have, especially if he posted any of those photos.” You reached into your bag and grabbed the powder-blue oversized Enchantée sweatshirt you had stolen from Daniel. Pulling it over your body was the closest you could get to one of his hugs when he was busy with work and when you took a seat there was enough room to tuck your knees up inside it too.

“They are very good pictures,” he defended himself as he took another couple of Lando pulling up alongside the boat, Charles at the helm and you watching the sun reflect on the shimmering surface. “I could be a photographer, I am an artist.”

You looked at Charles and rolled your eyes. “He took one decent photo of Kika, who is the most photogenic person on the planet, and now he thinks he’s Kym Illman.”

“I’ve taken more, but she would kill me if I showed them off,” Pierre admitted with a smirk.

“Oh my god, mate,” Charles groaned a laugh. “That is not smart. Think, if you get hacked, then what?”

You gave Charles a little clap at the point he made but Pierre just laughed it off without a care. “You worry too much.”

Red Bull Training Facility

Sweat drenched the singlet Daniel wore but he pushed himself to finish the last rep knowing a break was coming as soon as he was done. The routine physical fitness test was never fun but the fact it was taking him away from time with you left him in a sour mood. He was doing his best and results were better than ever because he knew the sooner he finished then the quicker he could head home to Monaco where you were waiting.

“Alright, good work. Take a breather, get a drink, and be back here in 10.”

Daniel was quick to grab his phone with his bottle of water and took a seat on the Swiss ball. His lips tugged up into a smile when he saw the messages from you, wishing him well and how much you missed him. He replied to them first, promising everything he would do to show you just how much he missed you too.

Seeing a tonne of notifications on Instagram, he opened the app next and his jaw clenched at what he found. All through his dashboard were images of you wearing next to nothing with the two-piece swimsuit he gave to you. He was surprised the sweat on his body didn’t turn to steam the way his blood boiled.

The whole day had been caught in a series of photos Pierre had posted. There was one of you standing at the bow of the Monza as she pulled out of the marina, you diving off the back and swimming to Lando who had followed on Max’s JetSki, you sitting behind the British driver with your arms around his waist. Every swipe to the next image left him feeling hollow and empty as he watched his kitten’s smile grow with each one.

Until it was gone.

Daniel cursed as he found a picture with terror clear on your face. Lando had launched the JetSki over a wave and you had held onto him for dear life. That was the last photo on the vessel and he sighed with relief when the next photo erased every chaotic thought he had had. You were snuggled into his sweatshirt and watching the sun like you did at home. Daniel would often find you in a similar state most mornings as you sat on the balcony overlooking the sea, a hot tea in hand and his clothes on your body.

Daddy Ric: Stealing more of my clothes, kitten?

Kitten: They look better on me.

Daddy Ric: They’d look even better on the bedroom floor.

Kitten: Then hurry up and come home.

“Break time is over, this isn’t summer camp.”

Daddy Ric: Soon, kitten. I’ll see you tonight.

Click here for another snapshot.

[vroomvroommbtch]

This - DR x fem!reader

Masterlist

Summary: She has always been there for him, no matter how bad the circunstances were, so this time wasnt going to be different.

Pairing: Daniel Ricciardo x fem!reader

Warnings: fluffiness all over the place and a teeny tiny bit of sadness. 

Word count: 4.3k

A/N: Yes, posting twice the same night. Call it a gift for Monza anniversary(?) Anyway, can’t really focus on much lately, too stressed and blabla, so I wrote this bc I needed some kind of cuteness. Gonna back to regular Irish-Aussie soon, I promise. Hope u like it and see you soon, kiddos 🫶🏻

This.

She knew it was bad. She knew how bad it was, but the second Michael texted her she knew it was terrible. A short and simple 'Andreas just told him he's out. Don't say anything. He's planning to tell you later' made her heart ache so much that she had to stop for a second and take a deep breath. But when she exhaled, the air out of her lungs brought with it tears to her eyes.

Daniel didn't deserve that. He didn't deserve to be treated like that. He was working his ass off inside and outside the track. He was doing everything humanly possible to make things work with Mclaren, but it simply didn't click and how it hurt. There was nothing that hurt as much as seeing her best friend struggling like that. There was nothing that hurt as seeing how the people who were supposed to have his back were just destroying him publicly week after week.

And to make it worse, she wasn't there. She was home in Perth and there was nothing that she wanted more than to be by Daniel's side, but life, distance, obligations, work and everything in between were always in the middle. But that day she didn't care. 'Can u book me a ticket to LA? I gotta see him' was all she texted back to her friend as she ran to her room to grab a suitcase and fill it with her things as fast as possible.

Michael, bless his soul, didn't say no. He booked her a flight for the next day at midday, giving her enough time to fix her things at work and life in general, and then go to the airport. But the worst part wasn't waiting for the time to pass that night not being able to sleep or to wait at the airport, the worst part was talking to Daniel.

He called her as soon as he was at his airport in London. He called her after he called his parents, knowing he was going to spend more time on the phone with her, just because he needed to get distracted before going to bed. And that's exactly what they did, they talked about the race and Mclaren and what happened, but then they talked about everything and then some, but they never got to touch the 'work' subject again. He didn't want to be the Daniel racing driver, or to even talk about work, so they didn't.

But even when he laughed at her silly comments and even when he made jokes, she knew something wasn't right. She could hear it in his voice, but she especially noticed for the fact that Daniel didn't facetimed her. She knew her well enough to know there was a reason why he didn't do it. He always said he would rather see her face and hear her voice, but when he just called was because she was avoiding her seeing him.

In the very bad days he would just call her so he wouldn't get worried about the look on his face and that was just another of those days. But one of the worst parts of their talk wasn't how sad he sounded, but the fact that she had to lie to him. She told him she was trying to take some time off work to go see him in the second half of the season but that meanwhile he needed to go and have fun with the boys in LA. She told Daniel to tell Blake to take care of him while she wasn't there. She told him not to worry because he was going to figure it out like he always did. But the worst thing was their goodbyes. The soft 'Love you. See you soon, babe' broke her heart even in more pieces. It took everything from her to say 'Love you too, Dan' as the knot took over her throat. It took everything from her to say she really loved him and not just like friends.  

Those were the longest hours of her life. A twenty hours flight that seemed eternal because all she wanted to do was finally hug Daniel and tell him that everything was going to be fine. Even if it was a lie, she needed to say it because it was her job as her friend. It has been her job since they were kids, so she had to do it one more time. That was the only thing on her mind the whole trip. That was the only thing on her mind. That and how that plane needed to hurry up and how she wished she could get some sleep and how she was going to fall asleep after she got to hug Daniel.  

The plane didn't hurry and she didn't sleep, but more than one day after Michael texted her and God knew how many after she got to the airport, she finally made it to LAX, finding Blake waiting for her exactly like they arranged. Since Daniel had no idea she was there, Blake texted her to let her know he was picking her up to take her to Daniel's house. All she knew was he had invented some excuse to go out and pick her up. The rest of the conversation in the car was about their friend and how he was doing, and she just got more worried when Blake said a 'Not good' as soon as she asked about Daniel. 'You're here now, so he's gonna be alright' were the exact words that Blake said and they left her looking out onto Los Angeles' streets through the windows of the car, not really knowing what to do. Daniel missed her and she missed him, that was obvious because they were friends. She also missed Blake and Michael, but there was something in the way Blake said it that left her thinking. But she threw those thoughts off her head as soon as they came, because that wasn't what she or Daniel needed. Not in that moment. Not in the worst moment of his career. No when her focus needed to be another one.  

The write from the airport from his house seemed eternal that afternoon, but once they arrived she was an absolute mess between terror, sadness and anxiety. She was so anxious of seeing him after three months and she was terrified of his reaction, no matter how many times Blake affirmed and insisted that Daniel was going to be happy. But her biggest doubt was if Blake's idea of how surprised Daniel was good. Blake insisted the best way was just to keep it simple, so ringing the bell was the best, and that was exactly what she did. As Blake took care of her bags, she walked to the door, rang the bell and waited by the front door. They knew Daniel was there because there were no plans to go out considering they got there earlier that day. In fact, some of his and Blake's friends were going to come over to have dinner there that night, so she didn't have much time to have Daniel for herself.

But she didn't have time to think about that. She didn't have time to think as she heard the door opening and suddenly Daniel was right in front of her. He looked tired. The bags under his eyes were so visible it was scary, his curls were a disaster, his shirt was all wrinkled and he looked tired. He looked like life was sucked out of him but the second he looked at her everything changed. His whole face lightened up and a huge smile appeared on his face, even if it looked like he really didn't believe she was there. A soft and very broken 'Are you really here?' was all they both needed to hug each other and remember that yes, it was real. He lifted her from the floor, his around her waist, her own around his neck and for a moment there were no problems, no Mclaren, no racing, no work, no anything. Even if for just a second it was nothing but them almost melting in each other as Daniel spoke away. But that second time it wasn't a question, it was an affirmation, it was a simple 'You're here' and seemed like it brought the sparkle back into him. She could even feel his shoulders relax as if some immense weight had just disappeared from his shoulder. And if it didn't disappear, at least she was there to share it with him.  

Once Daniel hugged her, he barely let her go of his side. In fact, the only time she got to be alone was when she took a shower, and she hated it. After three months of not seeing his face and of not hearing his ridiculous contagious laugh and his terrible bad jokes, she wanted to get absolute sick of him. She wanted to get tired of Daniel, especially not knowing that she was going to see him again. Especially when she knew it was gonna be some months till she saw him again. But she couldn't drag him to the shower -no matter how much she wanted- so she did everything as fast as possible and went back to his side. For the rest of the night and the whole dinner, Daniel was stick to her hip.  

Even if his friends were there, if she was going to the kitchen, Daniel would go with her. If she went to the bathroom, she would have to stop him and remind him that it was fine and that she wasn't going to get lost no matter how big the house was. Then he would rest his arm around her shoulders when they were sitting together at the table, or around her waist as they were sitting on the couch. Maybe he would just place his hand on her leg or grab her hand to play with her fingers. It was normal for them after a lifetime of being friends. It was normal when touches and hugs were Daniel's love language with the people he loved.

It was normal and fine, but deep down she was dying. Every time his big brown shinny eyes would look at her, she could feel her heart exploding. Every time his head would rest against her shoulder, all she wanted to do was hug him forever and hide him from the rest of the world. She wanted to protect him from every single bad thing that existed. She wanted to shield him from Mclaren, the press, the comments and all the bullshit from outside. She wanted to look after the boy who she knew when she was ten years old. Maybe the problem was that somehow, for her, Daniel was still that little ten years old boy with a big smile and thick brown curls. Maybe the problem was she never saw that little boy so beaten, even when he was standing tall and with his head high no matter what.

That was the reason why she needed to step out on one of the balconies of the house, even when everyone was still inside. It was too overwhelming. Even when Daniel was all smiling and laughing with his friends, she knew him. She could see how under that big smile he was wounded. Eighteen months of suffering and just counting good moments were too much for anyone, even for a fighter like Daniel. It has been too much and she was hurting too for seeing her favorite person suffering so damn. It hurt to see the man she loved hurting like that.

She took a sip of wine and a deep breath right after, trying to get rid of the knot in her throat before she decided to go back. She needed to get rid of it before Daniel came out of the bathroom. But she didn't have much time to do it, because before the second sip, she felt an arm snaking around her waist, bringing her close to his side.

"Are you running away from me, kiddo?" Daniel asked, a lazy smile on his face as a mix of tiredness and some few extra glasses of wine finally made an effect on him.

"Not in a million years, you crazy thing" she smiled back, resting her head on his shoulder. "I was just enjoying the view and taking some air. Too much testosterone inside"

There were uncountable things she loved about Daniel, but one of her favorite was when he laughed besides her. It was always this contagious feeling that automatically made her smile or laugh too. And that's exactly what happened that night. The silly little comment made him laugh and she couldn't help but smile too, simply because he was happy for one damn night.

"Yeah, you're right about that. And its a cool view" Daniel nodded. But what took her by surprise was that, as if it was a very cheesy movie, Daniel said those five last words while looking down at her, kissing her forehead as soon as he finished speaking.

'He can't be talking about you, you muppet' was all her head was yelling as she looked up to him, closing her eyes for a second as his lips touched her skin, secretly wishing he would touch every single inch of her. Just thinking about that left her breathless, so she had to take another sip of wine to be able to speak again. "I mean, I don't know if I would have paid what you paid for this place, but who I am to talk, I still pay rent with my 9 to 5 job's salary" she joked, shrugging as she looked at the night sky.

"I offered you millions of times to fix that issue!"

"I don't want you to buy me an apartment! You're my best friend. You're my Danny, I don't give two shits about the job and the money that comes with it. You could still be in Perth being a waiter as when we were kids and I'd love you the same. Besides I'm still mad about you and my car"

She couldn't count how many times Daniel tried to convince him to let her buy an apartment of a house for her to live in. She couldn't count how many times he used the 'investment' excuse, saying she could live there for free and not worry about anything. And just like she couldn't count the times he offered that; she couldn't count the times she said no. The last thing she wanted was for people to think she was taking advantage of Daniel's money. She never ever did, not at the begging and not now, so she refused every single time. What she also said no was to Daniel buying her a car, but this time he won. Considering it was way easier than buying her a place to leave, he took the advantage and did it without saying a thing. He did it and one day he picked up in a brand-new car that later she found out it was all hers. She was still mad at him for it, but damn, how much she loved him for that gesture.

"Hey, buying you a new decent car was the least I could do. It was a payback for using your savings for the Ricciardo cause. You gave me your savings after months of working your ass off to buy a car and I won't ever forget that"

"It was an investment too" she shrugged again, acting like it wasn't a big deal. Back there it was an easy choice and one that she never regretted. Daniel going to Europe to give it a try on his dream was way more important than buying her dream car. Giving him the money when she knew he needed every single cent was a fast decision, but she never made a big deal of it. "I knew you were going to make it a pay me back"

"The only thing I can pay back are the tears I made you cry back then" he murmured, and when she looked up, Daniel wasn't looking at her anymore. His eyes were focused on the horizon, but she didn't need to look at him to know that was happening in his head. The guilt was still there even after years and there it was, coming at the worst moment.

But she knew a remedy for all of that. She knew something that would help him even in such a shitty moment. There was nothing a hug couldn't fight, so she hugged Daniel, resting her head against his shoulder as she moved her fingers up and down his back, trying to make him relax. "Don't bring that up, Danny, c'mon. We were seventeen, you expected me to not cry? I was worried sick about you. Who was gonna look after your skinny ass? You couldn't cook shit even if your life was depending on it. You still can't"

"Yeah, you're right, but there's no need to say it like that" he affirmed, kissing her forehead a couple times as he spoke. It was then when she felt Daniel hug her a bit tighter, squeezing her waist as he brought her closer to his body.

"You know the rules, I'm a pain in your still skinny ass till i get back. That's how we roll. I do it so you miss me when I'm away" she joked, but deep down it wasn't s joke. It wasn't a joke at all.

"Maybe I don't have to miss you that much"

She could feel her jump skipping a beat and almost leaving her body as she heard those words. She even moved apart to look at Daniel when she heard those words. She moved away from him, and took as step back to look at him, but her hands didn't move from his waist as they held his shirt for dear life. "What are you talking about, Dan?"

"I've been talking with some teams, but I've also been thinking about a sabbatical. Take a year, recharge and then go back in 2024. Its not the first or the best option but-" he explained shortly, but before he could keep talking, she interrupted him.

"There's no 'but'. You ain't leaving. You're Daniel fucking Ricciardo. There's no way you won't find a damn seat for next year. I know it hasn't been easy, but- You can't quit. That's not you"

And how her heart broke with the view in front of her. It was like suddenly the light was taken out of Daniel. The frown appeared again and the smile just felt, making him look nothing but sad and worried, which destroyed her. That's why she decided to let go of his shirt and reach his face with her right hand to stroke his cheek as carefully as possible. And just like her heart broke, it also melted when Daniel leaned against her hand, like if he was letting all the worries disappear with her touch.

"But what if I wanna take some time off? What if I wanna do what I always wanted to do but I never could?" Daniel asked, and it was just a simple question but so complicated at the same time.

"And what's that?

"Asking you out on a date" he answered and those six words were enough to leave her tongue-tied and with her jaw hanging. She was expecting another answer. She was expecting something related to his family. She was expecting anything but that. It took her so by surprise that after centuries of dreaming and hoping and silently begging for a moment like that, she had no idea what to do.

“I've been thinking about doing it since we were kids but I didn't cause I was leaving. I didn't want to break your heart. You didn't deserve that. And I know it's too late now but-"

Her hand flew maybe too fast to his face, placing her index finger over his lips. She felt stupid because Daniel was finally saying the words she always wanted to hear. He was saying that he always wanted to take her on a date, but she instead of jumping on his arms like she should, so was telling him to stop talking. But even if Daniel couldn't talk, he was able to move, so he did. He moved his hands and rested them all comfortably over her hips and then kissed her finger with a teeny tiny peck, making the goosebumps appear in less than a second. "Don't do that" she whispered and it was a beg. It was a plea because she had no idea and no will of how to run from there.

"You don't want me to kiss you?" Daniel wondered as a cocky grin appeared on his face, grabbing her hand on his to move her hand from his lips. But she knew better. She knew him better and could see how under that smile, he was terrified. She had no idea if he was scared of the rejection, of ruining it or of the whole situation, but she could see it in his eyes and hated it.

"I do want, but just-" and this time, she interrupted herself. She just had no idea what to say. She looked down at their still jointed hands after Daniel laced their fingers and then she looked at his eyes and she was once again out of words. How could she explain all that was on her mind when she was tongue tied thanks to his handsome face? How could she try to form a decent quote when she wanted nothing but to cover his lips on kisses? How could she say no when his eyes were looking down at her with nothing but love? How was she supposed to tell her best friend that she had been in love with him since she could remember but that she was terrified to say anything and lose him? How could she speak when his thumbs were stroking her hand and hip sending chills all over her body? But then she knew she had to focus. She needed to focus for one second and say it out loud, hoping that maybe Daniel could be able to fight all the ghosts inside her mind. "Don't give me hope. Don't give me hope about things working out between us when it's all in thin air. Don't do it when we all know you'll leave again. I'll leave too. That's what we do. That's how it has always been"

"But we've always come back to each other" he pointed out. He was right after all. Time after time after time, they have somehow made their way back to each other. Years of friendship and people and couples and friends coming and going, they were still them. Through thick and thin they have always been there for each other, even in the distance, so maybe they could make it work. She really wanted to believe they could make it work. "Sabbatical or not, I wanna give it a try. I think we both deserve it. And I also think we both want it"

She could feel her heart skipping a beat when Daniel placed his forehead against hers. Their noses were touching and their lips were so damn close that it felt like a dream. It felt like a dream that was coming true after years of wishing for it to happen. It felt unreal, but suddenly Daniel's hand leaving hers to touch her neck made her remember that, in fact, it was all very much real.

But suddenly there was a question that came to her mind, making her come back to reality for just one little moment. "Since when?"

For the way Daniel smiled, there was no need to explain the question. He knew she wanted to know since when he liked her. Daniel knew she wanted to know for how long they'd been blind about this. She wanted to know how much time they had lost. "Since forever. You?"

"I lost count so yeah, same" she whispered, and now this was her time to lean against his hand, getting lost in his touch.

"Can I? Just to see if… Ykow" Daniel wondered, talking against her lips, but still asking permission to kiss her. They were barely touching, barely feeling each other's lips. That was the farthest they had ever gone. That was the closest they had ever been, and they were just one move away from stopping being friends, but there was nothing she wanted more. There was nothing she wanted more than going from best friends to whatever they were going to be next, so she just nodded.

"Please". It was a whisper. It was a murmur that only Daniel could hear with the music coming from the inside. It was a desperate plea, and in that moment she wasn't ashamed to beg. Not with him. Not when Daniel was the one listening to her words.

And then his lips were over hers. It was careful, soft and loving, just teasing the waters, just checking if there was a sparkle there. But it wasn't just a sparkle that she felt, it was a sky full of fireworks lightning the night. It was a 4th of July and a 14th of July all together inside her heart. It was magic, and it was all thanks to Daniel and one little kiss.

"You said one month, right? That's how much you're staying?" he asked, still with her lips against hers, but this time not wanting to move away, waiting for the moment to go for more. And she nodded. Completely out of air and with a smile that reflected his, she nodded because she totally forgot how to speak. "Good. I've a month to convince you to stay"

But she knew it wasn't going to take Daniel one month to convince her. He just needed one minute and another kiss.

[mistressemmedi]

So, settle down and enjoy the saga that is: Kimi and the mistery vacant seat at Ferrari.

Usual disclaimers: sources are not confirmed, all rumours, bla bla, take it with a grain of salt.

Begin your read under the cut:

It all starts with Marchionne. If you've read articles from places like Autosport and such publications, there have always been rumours about how much Marchionne loved the Alfa Romeo brand and Charles Leclerc.

If you remember from last year (fairly sure I've reposted some of the articles myself) there was a running joke about Marchionne bringing bad luck to the team, and the fights that him and Arrivabene would have over the team performance. If you also remember, it came down to Marchionne publicly criticizing the team and especially Kimi, to the point where Maurizio Arrivabene had to basically state multiple occasions that the team (read: fuck what Marchionne thinks) has Kimi's back and didn't consider him "old". Proof came when confirmed him again for another year.

Nevertheless, Marchionne rebranded Fiat-Chrysler and made it into the succeful business that it is today, bringing it back from the edge a bankruptcy and failure.

His plans was to to do the exact same with Ferrari. The team needed rebranding, needed a boost of fresh energy. Enough with the "old model" of the race team, clearly it stopped working for them around the time Fernando joined them and Lewis started taking names on the grid. Also, right around when Schumacher (who had been with Ferrari for so long) showed up to help out Mercedes get started and eventually became the powerhouse that it is today.

Let's be real, even if nobody knows what the hell F1 is, they definitely know who Ferrari is. It's a symbiotic relationship, there's not one without the other. But the truth is, the sport moved forward and evolved. Ferrari didn't.

So, time for some drastic changes. The original plan was to have Jules Bianchi spearhead that change. For obvious reasons, that didn't happen. So the team development stalled.

Until last year, when Marchionne had his way and fired a good chunk of the team, replacing them with "in house" promotions. The right ideas weren't getting at the top, because the team had this stupid ass (and I can confirm, very Italian) notion of "It's worked for us thus far, why change it". Tensions came to a breaking point when Allison left. But we saw snippets of it, when Ruth Buscombe left Ferrari. And let's be real, she's relatively young in the field. Who in their right mind leaves Ferrari to go first to Haas, a baby team, and then Sauber, a clear backmarker? Talk about suicide of your career. But imagine how bad it was for Ruth to have to leave. Or Allison to be kicked out.

So, Marchionne wanted change, Arrivabene didn't. Remember, he's a team principal now but he was Ferrari's "cigarette man" (we all know who's the main sponsor) before that and had an old school mentality.

So while the technical staff issue was partially solved, the problem of the drivers remained.

In comes Charles Leclerc, a child prodigy basically. Didn't skip steps like Verstappen, and delivered results constantly in junior categories despite life's hard blows, remaining level headed.

Perfect candidate, but everyone has seen the story of the "young prodigy driver" in the junior categories, only for them to graduate in F1 and completely tank it.

So, in comes the Alfa Romeo-Sauber project: final step of the rebranding of Alfa, allows Ferrari to experiment and for Charles to test the waters without too much pressure.

What people weren't expecting, was Charles to do so well in such a short amount of time.

Marchionne had the inkling that it was going to happen, so he started to push for Leclerc to join Ferrari at the end of the season, or at least fast-track his promotion.

Remember, Marchionne also knew he had limited time.

Unfortunately Marchionne passed away, but John Elkann, who saw it very much like him, started to push for the team to finish what the deceased CEO wanted (along with other’s within the FCA circle - it was time for a changeee)

Problem was, Camilleri. New big boss at Ferrari. Why? Massive friend of Kimi. And a massive fan.

While all of this was happening, as a side note, Kimi was told from the start “Yo this is Sebastian’s year. You’ll race, we’ll let you win and at the front if the situation calls for it, but you are a clear second. But the contract states you get to race the full season, so off you go. Don’t worry about the replacement rumors”. At the same time, the tech staff at Ferrari basically built a car around Vettel. Like... For him basically. But we all knew it at the beginning of the season.

Anyways, in comes this weekend in Italy. This was supposed to be a triumph, Ferrari 1-2, Vettel on the top step, Kimi the sidekick and who the fuck cares about the third spot.

In comes John Elkann - Spa didn’t go exactly... Smoothly as hoped. The championship has not been a winning smash as hoped. Sebastian is in danger of not winning it again, the constructor’s championship will most likely be dominated by Merc, again. The Seb-Kimi combo is not getting the results promised, despite it all, and Marchionne was probably right.

The only constant, is Leclerc blowing everyone away with his results (Verstappen who?)

Here’s where it gets hazy: a conversation happened between Elkann, Camilleri, Raikkonen and his manager on Friday - the bottom line? Kimi is out. Charles is in (this conversation was also reported by Autosport - I wonder who spilled the beans on that, mhmmmm....)

Let’s be real - had Marchionne been around, this would have happened after Monza’s win. Imagine it, just how it would have been spun “We thank Kimi for his hard work, for his contribution in Italy, at home. Amazing asset for the team, couldn’t have done it without him etc. etc. But it’s fair he enjoys his retirement, and we move forward with Charles etc. etc.” It would have been sad, but it would have been a triumph and all that.

Marchionne is dead, so Kimi is told that he will stay. Until he is not. Elkann doesn’t approach it lightly, he simply says “Soz man, time to go”

(I’m not sure if he was going to be kicked to Haas, highly doubt it. But the point being Charles would go to Ferrari, Giovinazzi to Sauber).

Now, imagine being in Kimi’s shoes - you’ve been jostled around all season, you’re treated as “second” always, because that’s just how it is.

So he’s upset, his manager is upset, and most importantly? His side of the garage is upset. Remember this, they LOVE him.

So, around comes quali. Vettel was supposed to get pole. That’s just how it was planned. Until, Kimi’s side of the garage had enough, went against orders and sent him out to clock a faster time and not help out Vettel.

Result? Kimi sets fastest lap, gives a massive fuck you to Elkann and Vettel is furious because that was his pole and Kimi is out there with an advantage over him and that was not team orders.

Remember his radio? It wasn’t about the slipstream, it was about that side of the garage defying team orders.

In comes race day - fine Kimi has had his moment, but he’s been told EXPLICITLY to work as a stopper to Lewis.

(We all made a bit fun of him about how crappy he is at starts, Vettel getting the lead as usual etc.)

Only problem being... Start comes around, and Kimi jumps Vettel and blocks him for a few seconds as well, leaving him in dirty air.

Vettel sees red (ahahahaha), can’t focus and we see how that went. A mistake, which HE KNEW he couldn’t afford, yet makes it a bit like a rookie.

Kimi is past giving a fuck, Ferrari is literally scrambling for strategies because that’s NOT how it was supposed to go, and falls for the undercut like a goddamn sack of potatoes.

A distaster, and Lewis comes up on top because him and Merc were simply better. And Bottas acted as a sacrificial lamb (LEAVE THIS FINNS ALONE FFS).

Where does this leave the team? Kimi’s manager showed up with Raikkonen’s contract, basically stating “Good fucking luck trying to break this”, Kimi is 100% done with this shit, and Vettel?

Vettel realized at the start of the Italian GP, that it’s no longer about him vs another driver: it’s now his vs two drivers, Lewis and Kimi. And he doesn’t have a support of a second driver any more.

So, Ferrari has two weeks to fix these fucking political issues, because now they have two sides of the garage actively working against each other. Which leaves an easy win for Merc.

Edit: I thought this was a bit far fetched, embellished etc. But an Italian publication (y’all can do your own search) came out with a similar story I just wrote, late in the evening today. Which means people are talking, and you bet your ass that it is people who are on Kimi’s side.

Fin.