#mostly from f1 fans honestly

[winnerkirkwood]

i kind of feel like i’ve been seeing a lot of nolan siegel hate which is really shitty for a multitude of reasons. 1. he’s, like, a kid. he’s 19 years old. chill the hell out. he’s also really nice. 2. he’s actually really talented and deserves this opportunity. he got rookie of the year in indynxt. And 3. he didn’t really do anything wrong. he said yes to an opportunity, something that literally everyone in his position would have done. It’s Zack brown and gavin ward who are in the wrong, they are the ones who had a contract with another driver. so, like, be mad at arrow mclaren all you want, obviously. but don’t be an asshole to nolan siegel about it.

[darling-flora]

a sunday kind of love

fc : yesly dimate

charles leclerc  x interviewer!yn

Notes: Im not really a follower of the wag's so if your a "fan" of ASM you might not like this b/c she's a "villain" kinda (not really?? but idk) also this took me so long because nfl season started and im stressed 😫 ANYWAYS hope you like it rt's are appreciated !!!! ❤

f1gossip

Liked by username1, username2 and 159,944 others

f1gossip Charles Leclerc and Alexandra Saint Mleux have confirmed their split after messages where she admitted to using Leclerc for fame leaked by a mutual friend of Leclerc and Mleux.

view all comments

username1 ohhhhh and yall hated everyone saying that she had bad vibes 🤭

username2 the season just ended??? bros gonna be alone for winter break 😭

username3 what about the messages of her being jealous of y/n interviewing charles 🤭

↳username4 i mean almost every driver flirts with her 😭 ↳username5 i hope they get together honestly 🤷‍♀️ every time she interviews him he's smiley, even if he's had a bad race 🥺 ↳username6 nahhh y/n was always a bit weird towards her, i wouldn't be surprised if she wanted charles ↳username5 SHE was weird, because when y/n tried to say hi to her she was being SOOOO fake 😭 ↳username7 yeah there's a video of them first meeting and SHE looked y/n up and down then when y/n turned around she made a face...... so y/n is NOT the problem

username8 she hasn't been at any races since the belgian gp, so they had to of been broken up for like three months???

↳username9 yeah i think so, the messages that were leaked were from early july don't know why it took them three months to say something tho ? ↳username10 maybe to not distract from him racing ?

username11 the friend ate for leaking the messages

username12 she really tried to lock him in with that dog 😭

↳username13 he kept the dog in the divorce anyways 🤭

username14 both carlos and charles in their single era 💅

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yourinstagram

Liked by charles_leclerc, joeyb_9 and 559,944 others

yourinstagram Bits of the 2023 season !! Looking forward to next year ❣

view all comments

username1 the lewis pic is iconic !!

maxverstappen Im an incredible artist

↳yourinstagram in someone's eyes maybe ↳maxverstappen wtf ↳maxverstappen i take back every time i've said your my favorite reporter ↳yourinstagram well we both know thats not true ↳maxverstappen yeah your right 😔 ↳username2 why do i love them 😭 ↳username3 there interactions are always so funny 🤭

username4 everyone's favorite reporter 🙌

bengals Every NFL press room misses you !! But mostly us 😔

↳yourinstagram I MISS YOU ALL TOO !!! 🐅🧡 ↳username5 she went from interviewing 6 foot nfl players to 5 foot f1 drivers 😭 ↳username6 the only reporter to make Burrow and Herbert smile after a bad game 🥲 ↳username7 she did nfl reporting ?? ↳username6 yep ! she did nfl and f1 reporting at the same time but the past two years she's only reported on f1 !!

username8 y/n being friends with all the drivers is my favorite thing

username9 Hi perfect woman!

charles_leclerc We got two pics carlossainz55 😮

↳carlossainz55 We have to aim for at least 1 more next year 😉 ↳yourinstagram you two are always plotting and scheming.... 🤨 ↳charles_leclerc Lies ↳carlossainz55 Lies ↳yourinstagram right....

username10 literally breathtaking. a disney princess

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yourinstagram Story

view all story replies

charles_leclerc so your in malibu ? 👀

yourinstagram maybe.... 👀

charles_leclerc well i may be in malibu as was well 😁

yourinstagram mhm what a coincidence 🧐

charles_leclerc sooooo charles_leclerc do you wanna get lunch or something ? charles_leclerc maybe tomorrow 👀

yourinstagram i’d love too 😁

charles_leclerc i'll text you the details then i'll pick you up !

yourinstagram sounds perfect !! see you then 😊

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yourinstagram

Liked by charles_leclerc, yourbff and 859,944 others

yourinstagram dinner and a date ❤

view all comments

username1 GOD IS A WOMAN

username2 what a face 😍

yourbff with... who i think it is?👀

↳yourinstagram maybe...

username3 Keep shining beauty 💫

username4 can whoever your on a date with fight ?

francisca.cgomes miss u already ❣️

↳yourinstagram hope to see you soon beautiful 😙❤

username5 my girl crush fr

username6 joe burrow and justin herbert just fell to their knees

↳username7 so did half of the f1 grid... 😔 ↳username8 unless it's one of them 👀 ↳username6 burrow isn't in la but herbert is 🤔 ↳username7 a hand-full of f1 divers are in la right now tho 😩

username9 the type of picture i would put in a locket and take to war

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charles_leclerc

Liked by yourinstagram, oscarpiastri and 6,559,944 others

charles_leclerc Summer over. 2024 season here we come ❤🏎

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username1 LEO LECLERC !!!!!!!!!!

username2 now who is that

username3 who is this diva?

username4 photo dump game is getting STRONGER

username5 HES ALIVE EEVEYONE CHEER

username6 THE LAST PIC ????

username7 I don't know which is more beautiful, the view or charles

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yourinstagram

Liked by charles_leclerc, username1 and 859,944 others

yourinstagram A Sunday kind of love ❤

view all comments

username1 now whose arm is that...

username2 ARE YOU READY FOR BHARAIN ????

↳yourinstagram Sadly no !! I'll be back to work at the Saudi Arabian GP !!

username3 *bows to you*

username4 u serve like no one else

maxverstappen Hello..... 🤨

↳yourinstagram whats with the face... ↳maxverstappen the cats were expecting a visit..... ↳yourinstagram OMG I FORGOT PLEASE TELL JIMMY AND SASSY IM SORRY ↳maxverstappen they wont forget this.... 😔 ↳yourinstagram NO PLEASE I'LL SEND THEM TREATS AS AN APOLOGY ↳username5 i know they are just friends but they have so much chemistry it's crazy 😵

username6 you’re my roman empire

username7 both charles and y/n soft launching.... if 2+2 = 4 then.....

username8 This woman makes everything she wears look good

username9 THOUGHTS ON LEWIS TO FERRARI ???

↳yourinstagram SO SO SO excited !!!

username10 well i adore u

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yourinstagram

Liked by charles_leclerc, username1 and 959,944 others

yourinstagram JEDDAH PHOTO DUMP !!!! My first weekend to start the 2024 season and what a weekend it was, glad Carlos is feeling better (we are appendix-less buddies now) max p1 checo p2 and charles p3 !!!!!!!! and a HUGE congrats to Ollie for scoring points in his f1 debut !!

view all comments

username1 Our princess is back!

username2 You’re unreal, you’re such a masterpiece, you’re angelic 

maxverstappen I expect to be in every photo dump

↳yourinstagram so sassy 🙄

username3 how could anyone be this perfect

olliebearman Thank you !!!! 😁

liked by yourinstagram

username4 We love you princess

francisca.cgomes I’m the leader of your fan club ❤️

liked by yourinstagram

username5 My favorite Woman is back!!!!

charles_leclerc The last pic is my favorite

↳yourinstagram mhm wonder why.....🧐

username6 The angel we all need

username7 i cannot get over how absolutely stunning you are ????? help

username8 Blooming 💅🏼

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yourinstagram

Liked by charles_leclerc, username1 and 859,944 others

yourinstagram HELLO HELLO !!!! Australia, Japan, China, Miami PHOTO DUMP !!!! The start of the 2024 season has been a bit stressful but ALSO so so so fun

view all comments

username1 please hard launch soon i cant take the suspense 😩🙏

oscarpiastri Some very intense racing going on in the 4th picture

liked by yourinstagram

username2 y/n the woman you are, thank you for the pics🧎🏻‍♀️

lilymhe Gorgeous angle 📐 👼

liked by yourinstagram

username3 you've a bit more down this season 💔 hope your taking care of yourself !!!

↳yourinstagram Don't worry I am !!! The weekends can be a bit stressful is all, hopefully lessening the work load will help ❤ ↳username3 sad if there is less y/n but glad your prioritizing yourself !! ❤

username4 you always have the best bts pictures thank you 🙏

username5 literally the it girl

francisca.cgomes You are everything and more 💌

liked by yourinstagram

username6 serving cvnt as always

landonorris Im everyone's favorite part of this photo dump

↳yourinstagram you keep telling yourself that

username7 Oh hi pretty girl

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yourinstagram

Liked by charles_leclerc, username1 and 2,859,944 others

yourinstagram Italy ⭐

view all comments

username1 Real life princess indeed

landonorris podium 😎

↳yourinstagram who? ↳landonorris who what ? ↳yourinstagram asked... ↳landonorris wtf ???

username2 ik y/n freaked out seeing vettel 🤭

username3 in italy but no gp ?? do you job 🙄

↳yourinstagram Yes ! I was at the race just not reporting, Luke who is an incredible reporter is going to be doing a few races this season. ↳yourinstagram Race weekends can be a bit overwhelming and hopefully having the option of letting someone else report we'll help lessen the negative effects of the job for both of us !!! Hope that answers your question ☺ ↳username4 "Hope that answers your question" oh she ate that 🤭

username5 all the red..... she has to be dating either charles or carlos

username6 wait is she dating the dude in the 6th pic ????

↳username4 nope !! thats luke gooding a reporter and he has a girlfriend !!

username7 yall need to stfu about who she's dating omfg

francisca.cgomes i love you pretty girl

↳yourinstagram love ya 💫

username8 ughh face card sister oml

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f1gossip

Liked by username1, username2 and 159,944 others

f1gossip Charles Leclerc and reporter Y/n L/n were spotted shopping in Monaco ahead of the Monaco GP.

Do we think they're dating ?

view all comments

username1 this is so serious for me....

username2 YES THEY ARE DATING !!! they have not been subtle about it, they flirt in their interviews, charles has been posting her cats in his insta stories for WEEKS ….

↳username3 they’ve probably been together for a while honestly…. glad they feel comfortable being more public tho 🫶

username4 they are being more public together while his ex is liking hate post about y/n.....

↳username3 she's always liked weird shit on socials, so im not surprised lmao

username5 wait they were in cali at the same time AND y/n posted a picture saying dinner an a date....

↳username6 so they've been seeing eachother for like 6 MONTHS ??? ↳username7 we dont know if they're together?? they were just hanging out... ↳username6 after the double date and this......i don't think it's really a question if they're dating 😭

username8 they are definitely hard launching this weekend

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charles_leclerc

Liked by yourinstagram, oscarpiastri and 6,559,944 others

charles_leclerc Happy birthday to the hardest working, sweetest, and most beautiful creature I've ever known, I adore you and love you more than you know ma chérie ❤

view all comments

username1 IS HE QUOTING HARRY STYLES SONGS ???? MY HEART CANT TAKE THIS 😭

username2 I love this couple! So beautiful ❤️

yourinstagram oh i love you so so much mi amor !!! 🥲🫶

↳charles_leclerc You are my world 🌍 love love you ❣

username3 The way he is looking at her is every girls dream

username4 the way you tagged her on your heart 🥺 happy bday y/n we love ya ❤️

leclerc_pascale Happy birthday to my favorite girl ❤ Always a smile on the two of your faces when i see you guys together ❤️

↳yourinstagram Awww love ya ❤

landonorris lucky guy 😔

username5 It's not fair that you're living my dream, perhaps the dream of millions.

username6 The most gorg pair

username7 I don’t think there is a more beautiful looking couple on earth

username8 OMG MY PARENTSSS

username9 You guys !! Love looks good on u both ✨

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yourinstagram

Liked by charles_leclerc, username1 and 2,859,944 others

yourinstagram Monaco 24' !!!!! What a dream to see Monaco love you back mi amor. Such a sight to see you on the top step of your home race, you have deserved this win for so so so long !!! i’m so proud of you and i love you endlessly ❣️

view all comments

username1 him blowing a kiss to her on the podium 🥺

charles_leclerc Thank you for being there ma chérie ❤

↳charles_leclerc I love you to the moon and back ❣ ↳yourinstagram love you my pretty boy 😪❤

username2 did you tell the cameras to focus on someone else because you were about to cry…

↳yourinstagram maybe….🫣 - not just crying though it was VERY close to full on SOBBING 😭

username3 oh i’m crying a little 🥲

leclerc_pascale thank you for making our boy so happy my sweet girl

↳yourinstagram thank you for making him easy to love ❤ ↳username “our boy” “easy to love” i can’t take this today i’ve already cried to much 😫

username4 three cats and a puppy..... its a full house mama

username5 AHHHHHH 😭😭😭 so so happy for you both 🌸💘

username6 I honestly just wanna be like you when I grow up.

arthur_leclerc I am in possession of a picture of y/n sobbing if anyone wants it

↳yourinstagram leo and cat privileges could very easily be revoked ↳arthur_leclerc My apologizes…. i was lying 😁 ↳username6 he really said “ my apologies i wasn’t familiar with your game” 😭

username7 yall are so cute im gonna throw up

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charles_leclerc

Liked by yourinstagram, oscarpiastri and 7,559,944 others

charles_leclerc Last but favorite photo dump from my Monaco weekend ❤

view all comments

username1 you and y/n are the only people ever 😪

username2 these two lovebirds ❤

yourinstagram my favorite race winner !!! 🥲🫶

↳charles_leclerc ❤🥰❤

username3 You guys look like a dream

username4 you can tell how much it meant to charles to win this race

arthur_leclerc Congrats to y/n's boyfriend for winning the Monaco GP !!!

↳charles_leclerc My favorite nickname 🥰 ↳arthur_leclerc The fact that i know you're not joking.... ↳charles_leclerc What's to joke about 🤷‍♂️

username5 adorable the two of you ❤

username6 charles monaco gp win you are and will always be everything to me

lewishamilton7 Happy for you man 🏆❤

username8 I'M SO SINGLE THIS ISN'T FUN ANYMORE

[mywritersmind]

CAT PARENTS - LN

pt.2

summary : A kitten is all it takes to get two strangers in the same bed for the night. Lando likes how she doesn’t know him, Olivia likes the cat that he’s trying to take from her.

warning : Just Lando, Olivia, and Juna being adorable (again) !

word count : 1459

⋆ ˚‧｡⋆

I’m in Landos clothes in the bathroom thirty minutes later. I had the best shower of my life, wiping away my club stink and snuggling into baggy sweats and a McLaren shirt.

I hype myself up in the mirror, there’s very few occasions where i’ve stayed over at a man’s house. All of those have been after sex. I am not going to have sex with Lando. It’s a weird learning curve but I was the one who wanted me to stay more.

He lets out a laugh when I walk out, slapping his hand back over his mouth he says, “I didn’t mean to laugh!”

I smile and spin around, “That’s fine. I mean… I do look sort of ridiculous.” his clothes do not fit me by any means…

He shakes his head, playing with Juna who is chasing a feather attached to a stick, “No, you look good.” His voice is a bit raspy, sounds tired.

This should not have an effect on me but the butterfly’s are definitely there.

“So Olivia.” he uses my real name, “If you don’t like F1, what sports do you like?”

I smile and sit next to him, “Soccer mostly.”

He side eyes me, “Football?”

I eye him right back, “Soccer.”

He smiles, happy with our disagreement, “Why not Formula?”

I sigh and shrug, “Sort of rough on an Americans sleep schedule. My dad loves it actually! But when I got to college I never got back into it.”

“That’s good.”

“What, that I never got back into it?” I look at him playing with Juna, a rouge curl falling into his face.

“No. You said your dad loves it. That’ll mean he likes me.” There go those damn butterfly’s, “Unless he doesn’t like McLaren.”

I smile to myself, “He’s a ferrari fan.”

He sighs, “Ah… might have to win his trust then.” I should not be thinking about how much my dad would like Lando.

I lean back against my arms, “And what makes you so sure you’re going to meet him?

He smiles softly back at me, “We have a child together now.” He grabs Juna and brings her close to his face. Something about him and this cat is just melting my heart.

“Right.” I smile and pet under her chin, “Lovely. We’re stuck together forever, I guess.”

His blue eyes meet mine, “I guess.”

____

“Oh my-” I take a bite of my burger that Lando and I ordered. The burger was the first thing ordered, followed by fries, two milkshakes, chicken tenders, more fries, chips, and onion rings.

Lando laughs at my groaning as he nibbles on his chicken, “Like it?”

“It even tastes rich.” I shake my head, “Wanna try?” I don’t know why I say it. I hate sharing my food, I won’t even share my water with my best friend.

He shakes his head, “Nah i’m sort of… picky.”

“Suit yourself.” I shrug and keep eating.

“Back to our game?” He asks, biting into a fry. I nod as he starts, “Favorite color?”

“Blue, Navy.” Although his eyes could be changing my mind on the navy part. “Favorite holiday?”

“Christmas. It’s always during winter break, obviously. So I get all the time I want with my family.”

“That’s really sweet.” I sip my milkshake, “Is it hard, being away all the time? Even if you do love it.”

“Not your turn yet.” He raises a brow, “What’s your favorite memory from your childhood?”

“Hm… I wasn’t exactly a child, But still. I was seventeen and had just got out of a horrible relationship.” he frowns at this, “Don’t worry I poured coffee on him- anyway my friends and I drove to the beach, absolutely blasting Taylor Swift, and we just swam in our clothes.” I shrug, “It was like midnight.”

He smiles as I tell the story, “It’s so cool you grew up by the beach.” thank you cali.

“Answer my question now, please.”

He sighs, “It’s hard. My sister has a kid so I wish I was with her a lot… but honestly my parents can make it to a lot of races and it’s not like I have a girlfriend to worry about.” I laugh at this.

I try to sound casual, “I’m assuming you have in the past?”

“Yes…” he says suspiciously, “but it’s tough. What about you, got anyone special?”

“Definitely not. Broke up with my college boyfriend a while ago…” Why am I telling him this?

He whistles, “How old are you?”

“Twenty three.”

“Good.”

“Good?”

“I’m twenty four.”

“That is good.” I laugh and he laughs with me, “You’re young.” I say.

He shakes his head, “So are you. I forget sometimes.”

“That you’re young?”

He shrugs and wipes his hands on a napkin, “Being a driver doesn’t exactly scream ‘first job!’”

“I never really thought about that. My first job was a wedding calligrapher though.” He laughs, “I’m serious!”

“I believe you! It’s just… random.”

“You’re random.” I roll my eyes as if that was any insult.

I hear scraping and see Juna join us on the bed the next second, I laugh at the tiny kitten climbing up the bed. She walks right on top of Lando, up his arm and on his neck.

“She likes me!” He whisper yells. I lay my head on the pillow, getting tired after my day.

“She has good reason to.” I say as I yawn, closing my eyes.

“Don’t fall asleep on me now, Livvy.”

“I’m not…”

____

LANDO NORRIS

She fell asleep. I look at the clock, 2:23am. I set Juna down but she keeps trying to get my attention as I clean up our food.

I’ve enjoyed this far too much. I like her company.

This girl i’ve just met. I barely know her!

Yet I feel like I've known her for years.

I shouldn’t get attached. I don’t easily. But with Olivia it feels like I've known her since I was in school.

That could be the late hours talking though. But still, we’ve been talking for hours. With this bloody cat who I've fallen completely in love with.

“Norris.” I hear her whisper.

“Yes, love?” I let it slip by accident.

“Juna peed on the couch.” she pats the bed, “Come on.”

I thank god because my back would be fucked if I slept on the floor and my trainer would not be happy. I switch the lights off and climb in next to her, Juna in between us.

“Night, love.” She whispers before promptly falling asleep.

____

OLIVIA WREN

I wake up to an arm around me and a man standing above me. I scream.

“Fuck!” Lando pulls his arm away immediately, opening his eyes quickly and looking at the man in screaming at, “Max!” he groans, “You didn’t have to scare her!”

“Sorry.” He crosses his arms, “I’m Max.”

“Hi?” I try to slow my heart rate, “God! You scared me!” I look back up at him, Lando mentioned the childhood friend but I didn’t think I’d meet him so soon.

“Sorry again. Lando scared me first! Bloke can’t figure out how to use his phone!” Max throws his phone at Lando who dodges it. I’m still trying to recall why I'm here and what is happening.

Juna reminds me when she trots over and plants herself on my lap. “I thought you’d been killed or something!” Max yells at Lando whose face is still in the pillow.

I’m suddenly very self conscious about being in this bed. Max seems to notice and shakes his head, “Well now that I know you’re alive… Plane takes off in an hour.”

____

He’s packed in fifteen minutes. Why couldn’t he be a slower packer?

We’re quiet up until the elevator exit, “Juna is still half mine.” He says suddenly, the blue skies coming into view as we walk outside.

“Okay?”

“So don’t forget me, or anything.” He says, looking away from me.

The corner of my mouth lifts, “No chance.” Putting his bags down, he slides my phone out of my pocket and into his hand.

“My number.” He says before handing me my phone back, “Use it all you want.”

“Oh I should be so greatful.” I say it sarcastically but honestly, I am.

He nods, a small smile still gracing his face, “Be safe, alright? Don’t go home with any more strangers.”

My grip on Juna’s carrier tightens, “We’ll see.”

He says goodbye to Juna, sticking his finger through the wire and petting her. He stands up straight, taking his things as the valet brings his car.

“Good luck.” I say quickly, he looks almost surprised. “In your race. Maybe I’ll watch.”

His surprise turns into kindness, leaning down a bit, he places his lips softly on my cheek, “Don’t scream my name too loud, love.”

I blush as he steps back, I wave. He gets into his car and looks back through the slight tint, smiling.

note : should i do a pt.3??

[wintfleur]

🍂 ͡ ꒱ JULIETTE LECLERC PROFILE

au masterlist - everything for the AU is under #🍂 ͡ ꒱ Juliette Leclerc

ᡣ𐭩 BASICS .ᐟ

name: Juliette Celeste Leclerc 

nicknames:

Julie (everyone) 

Lettie (family and close friends) 

jules (everyone) 

ette (brothers( 

lilo (her best friends) 

juliebug (mat and quinn) 

birthday and zodiac: November 15th 1999, Scorpio

location: Monte Carlo, Monaco (birthplace, current) 

ᡣ𐭩 ABOUT  .ᐟ

personality: julie has a complex personality, some say it resembled an onion; you have to pull back the layers before truly understanding her. The media and new people assume that she's cold, and honestly a bitch just because they truly don't know her. But in reality, she's honestly a very sweet person, she is on the quiet side, she's very confident in herself and her beliefs. She is very charming, charismatic, and flirty! When she's around the people she's comfortable with, she can be a little bubbly and giggily (mostly with mat and quinn). She has a very dry humor but it honestly just makes people love her more! Can be very sarcastic at times, is witty 

good traits: determined, loyal, hard-working, honest and loyal, protective of her family and friends, trustful, doesn't take shit from anyone 

bad traits: very self critical, can be too bold, brutal at times, distances herself when she's overwhelmed or emotionally hurt, 

quirks: having a resting bitch face, intense eye contact, spaces out when bored, rolls eyes, smiles sarcastically, 

likes: rain, musicals, going to ballets, trying out new restaurants, ranch life, swimming, buying swimsuits, her yacht, spending time with family, hot tubs, sightseeing, 

dislikes: rude and invasive fans, the paparazzi, stalkers, people who disrespect her family or friends, most f1 media, drive to survive, traffic 

hobbies: singing, running, baking, dancing, riding horses, music, hockey, playing tennis and golf, reading, journaling 

fears: being a failure, dying alone 

strengths: how hard-working she is, she never gives up, confident, tactical and her strategy, how smart and witty she is, her quick thinking 

weaknesses: perfectionism, talking about her feelings, self critical, can have a short fuse at times, 

languages spoken: 100% French, 100% English, 100% Korean, 36% Spanish. 

occupation/profession: f1 driver for redbull, singer, model, actress 

ᡣ𐭩 CAREER !

Profession  f1 driver

Team   Red Bull Racing

Debut Australia 2019

Trainer  Gabriel Guerrero

Race engineer   Théo Beaufoy

Manager  Anya DuPont

Assistant  Beatrice Roux

World championships   1 (2022)

Sponsors  Gucci

ᡣ𐭩 RELATIONSHIPS  .ᐟ

parents:

Hervé Leclerc 

Pascale Leclerc 

sibling(s):

Lorenzo Leclerc 

Charles Leclerc 

Arthur Leclerc 

best friends: max verstappen. lando norris, george russell, alex albon, hailee steinfeld, shawn mendes, victoria de angelis, lily rose depp

friends: most of the f1 grid, most of quinn and mat’s teammates, jack and luke hughes, ross lynch, zendaya, tom holland, lewis pillman, and many more 

love interest: Mathew Barzal and Quinn hughes 

pet(s): none yet 

ᡣ𐭩 MORE .ᐟ

scent: she has a large collection of different fragrances, from brand deals, pr, etc. she prefers aromatic fragrances, so she uses mostly Chanel and Gucci perfumes, her most used one is Chanel number 2, it's one of her signature scents!

outfits: it really depends on what she's doing, if it’s a casual day she likes wearing low waisted jeans, corset vest tops, mini skirts, sweaters, sundresses, it really depends! She loves wearing black, reds, and earth tones! She likes adding fishnets, lace and tights to her outfits, long scarfs, jean or leather jackets, she likes wearing blazers, definitely has an office siren aesthetic! She has a lot of clothes and she's always wanting to try something new, and is definitely known for her fantastic outfits! here's a link to her closet! 

accessories:  she loves accessorizing, she loves anything involving fashion really!! She has a large collection of different types of bags and sunglasses(she loves collecting them), they are definitely her favorite thing + jewelry, to accessorize with. She also has quite a lot of hats, mostly ball caps, beanies and berets. She also really loves utilizing long and thin scarves when she's wearing a short skirt or shorts. She also occasionally will wear a headband, heavily inspired by Blair waldorf. In the colder weather she's almost always rocking ear muffs. She absolutely loves wearing bayonetta glasses, she has so many pairs. Honorable mentions are leg and arm warmers. 

jewelry: she's a silver girl!  She loves rings, she usually has about four on at a time, small ones, chunky ones, one with crystals or gems, any type of rings really.  She loves layering necklaces. She also occasionally wears anklets and waist chains, it really depends on her outfit. With bracelets she wears all different types, charm bracelets, friendship bracelets, cuff bracelets, again it really depends on her outfit. 

makeup: isn't really the biggest fan of makeup, she prefers her bare face! She has her own personal makeup artist who does her makeup for her when she goes to events etc. but when she does do her own makeup, she really only does her eyes and lips! She prefers darker eye makeup, red or nude tones for her lips, sharp eyeliner and highlighter! 

scars: none 

sexuality: bisexual 

Height: 5’7

piercing(s): 1 in each ear, bellybutton

tattoo(s): she has this one on her lower back, and this one on her left arm. She wants to get more! 

face claim: Dua Lipa 

ᡣ𐭩 FAVORITES .ᐟ

food(s): pasta, sweets, almonds, pomegranates, cherries, steak, macaroons

drink(s): cherry coke, water, redbull, hot chocolate, shirley temples 

color(s): black, reds, earth tones 

animal(s): horses, cats, sloths 

bands and artist: måneskin, rihanna, ciara, lady gaga, gwen stefani, the weekend 

show(s): gossip girl, supernatural, game of thrones, criminal minds 

movie(s): the devil wears prada, scooby doo, mamma mia, lotr, twilight, 

person: her mom and younger brother arthur 

ᡣ𐭩 BACKGROUND  .ᐟ

julie was born on a rainy day in monaco, on november 15th, 1999

julie was a very quiet child, her parents worried that she would have trouble making friends so they put her in ballet when she was 5. 

julie was naturally very talented at ballet and she enjoyed it very much

she started karting when she was 6, still also doing ballet

she started equestrian sports when she was 12 and stopped when she was 15. 

julie quit ballet when she was 17, giving karting/driving all her attention. 

she had her debut in in f1, in 2019 for the team mercedes 

It was a fantastic year, she got four wins and 326 points. 

but she left Mercedes after one year, signing with redbull. 

in 2020 she dropped her first single 

she created her youtube channel in 2020, she now has surpassed 10 million followers 

her modeling career started in 2022, and it instantly kicked off, becoming a very successful and sought after model 

ᡣ𐭩 FUN FACTS  .ᐟ

Juliette drove for Mercedes in her rookie year, she got four wins and 326 points . . . fans of course were not happy that a female was dominating her rookie year, so of course a nasty rumor was created. The rumor that spread like hot fire was that Juliette was having an inappropriate relationship with Toto Wolff.

Which was false, Toto was like a father figure to Juliette but the fans didn’t care, booing her and trending hate for her on Twitter.

Juliette drove for Redbull for the next season, and is still driving for Redbull.

Juliette is known for being one of the most influential drivers on the grid, for the wide range of her career.

Juliette has dropped a few albums, some singles and ep’s, she’s a model, an ambassador for Gucci, and she has a YouTube channel with over 10 million subscribers, where she posts all different kinds of content, she’s walked on runways.

The interviewers love her (besides a few) a lot of fans say she’s like seb with how she has the habit of flirting with the female interviewers.

She is quite the flirt, confident with herself

She’s a party girl, in a club or on a yacht, she loves her parties !!

A lot of people assume she’s a bitch because of her resting face, her confidence and the way she doesn’t take any shit, but she’s genuinely a sweetheart.

Besides Lewis she is the driver that has the most celebrity friends

No one is surviving eye contact with her, in the words of lando “she has a really strong gaze, very alluring — like a siren yeah”

The amount of dating rumors Lando and Juliette have is insane, but they are simply just best friends !!!

She loves swimming, she loves visiting tropical places

Everyone swears she’s a mermaid/siren for her love of the water

She has stated many times that her favorite sport besides f1 is hockey.

She has been seen coming to many hockey games, even having many friends that are hockey players.  (Trevor Zegras, Cole caufield and more)

She loves baking

She owns several houses all over the world

She is a major passenger princess

SHE IS THE IT GIRL

She hates coffee

She definitely loves going out and partying, but she also loves staying in.

She was such a daddy’s girl

She talks to her mom every single day

She loves and I mean loves running

No matter how hungover she is, she’s always having her morning run.

She loves and I mean loves horses !!

Her dream is to retire, buy her own ranch and just get a ton of horses to take care of and love, maybe her own vineyard.

Her most prized possession is her yacht . . .  That’s crazy to say omg.

She has kept all of her relationships a secret!

She loves doing collaborations

A character she’s most like is Blair waldorf

She’s a very strong woman, but sometimes things really get to her and she just needs space.

She has a bad habit of distancing herself from others when she’s hurt or upset

She’s been to 3 met galas

She will kick anyone’s ass in golf

‘The princess of Monaco’

She is very open about her crush on leighton meester

She’s a switch

She has a great relationship with everyone on the grid !

Her and Pierre have a love hate relationship

She has such a flirty personality, she loves making people flustered.

She’s a fantastic driver, and won’t let anyone tell her different just because she’s a girl.

She has said her grid son is ollie bearman

Yuki loves her sm! They are such a underrated duo

She loves hockey, but she’s a terrible skater

She hates drive to survive, they like to make her and max look like the villain.

She secretly can’t stand one driver on the grid.

She loves sleep sm

She’s genuinely such a family girl

She was the troublemaker of her family

She hates cold feet

Her brother’s friends have always had a crush on her and she loved teasing them about it.

She keeps her music taste a secret from the public

Lewis will always have her back no matter what, she’s his grid kid.

The public goes crazy for post race Juliette

She loves her team, she’s extremely close to all of them !!

She alternates from black to red hair a lot, but her hair is very healthy !!!

Doesn’t go anywhere without a pair of sunglasses

Macaroons are the way to her heart

A lot of people get surprised by how friendly she is

She loves game of thrones

She is not a lightweight

Is a really good dancer !! Did ballet for a long time

Low waisted pants are her best friend.

The only one who can rock Jorts

Always has red or black nails

She’s a silver girly

Has a private Instagram ‘@/lettiesworld’

°. — taglist ( @cixrosie @toasttt11 @lovings4turn )

˖ ་ 💭 roro’s notes ( so this is the introduction to juliette !! I really hope you guys like her, omg I’m so excited for this AU !!! I didn’t mention Mat and Quinn because they will have their own profile !!! Oh I’m so excited, please let me know what you guys think !!! )

©️WINTFLEUR

[sebscore]

FEMALE F1 DRIVER HEADCANONS 

pairing: f1!drivers x fem!driver, f1 grid x oc

warnings: i didn't specify which team, cause it's not really about that tbh. I imagine the oc being one of the younger ones on the grid (around mick's age). I based this one on the 2022 grid. 

author's note: this is basically how things i imagine that would happen with the grid if you were their only female colleague. 

▹ seb and lewis basically being your work parents: defending you from misogynistic reporters, praising you to heaven and back, claiming you are right even when you are obviously wrong in a situation. sewis supports women's rights, but mostly women's wrongs.

▹ the wags either absolutely adore you or they tolerate you, there's no in between. It's girls support girls until one of their boyfriends gives you a hug and then you're fucked. 

▹ getting away with wrong answers in 'Grill the Grid' because the production team are totally in love with you and they hate your sad face when you give them an incorrect response.

▹ giving the grid nicknames that go from normal to borderline weird. for example, Mick becomes Mickie, Latifi becomes Nicky or Goatifi (depends on how the race went), Alex is Albono of course, George becomes Russy Bussy and Lando is Rumplestiltskin. 

▹ at the driver's briefing: ''alright, boys-'' *scratches voice loudly* ''and lady.'' 

▹ valtteri and kevin letting you ramble to them about whatever drama you have going on in your life, cause they don't have much better things to do and they find it touching that you go to them for these kinds of things. 

▹ you and zhou sending pictures of the outfits you're going to wear to the paddock during race week. sometimes even matching, cause yall are close like that. 

▹ max teaching you his second language that is called 'swearing'. checo also likes to chime in. one time he convinced you the word 'cunt' was a compliment and he made you go up to max and call him that to congratulate him on his race win. let's say mad max made a brief appearance. 

▹ jokingly flirting with other drivers just to rile toxic fans up for fun. the flirting consists honestly mostly of sarcastic comments about how they're good drivers, but better lovers, etc. 

▹ fernando giving you random piggyback rides. for what reason? no one knows. It's nando, what do you expect. danny ric also does it sometimes, but he makes horse sounds and it freaks you out. 

▹ you and esteban jokingly asking lance for pocket money, but you two sometimes hope he actually gives it one day. 

▹ weekly gossip sessions with Pierre, because that man seems to know everything about everyone. occasional guest starring by charles and yuki. 

▹ whenever carlos walks into the room, you start playing 'smooth operator'. at first he thought it was funny, but now he deliberately avoids you. 

▹ overdramatic photoshoots with lando and daniel aka the papaya boys for their insta accounts. those jpg accounts are honestly just fan pages for you, because of the amount of times you've appeared on them.

▹ overdramatic photoshoots with lando and daniel aka the papaya boys for their insta accounts. those jpg accounts are honestly just fan pages for you, because of the amount of times you've appeared on them.

[inchidentally]

x. com/ln4norris/status/1785872795974652036 thoughts on this?

this is one of those instances where so many ppl have this wildly different take on smth and honestly myself and the moots I talk to didn't even… realize it could be taken any other way ??

I think part of this is also bc some ppl are pretty new to landoscar so I'll put more effort into replying to this than I normally would bc I genuinely didn't and still don't see this as being some dramatic thing that Lando said!

but for better reference, I've actually compiled the full clips from the person who posted them in their stories originally with two clips of Lando and Carlos separately saying how their F1 buddies are NOT the same as their actual private life friendships bc I think it helps contextualize what Lando is talking about here.

I think the funniest misinterpretation about this is ppl taking these Shared Activities as indicating deep and meaningful friendships and that therefore Lando doesn't have anything deep or meaningful with Oscar… just bc no padel or golf ?? lasjfgsjla

"we don't do as many things away from the circuit [as Lando does with other drivers like Carlos and Max]"

like. in what world is that him saying anything but … that ?? it's not deep ??

esp when it corroborates what Lando said in that clip about how his relationships with the drivers he’s friends with depend on shared activities and that they’re not his actual close friends the way Max F and all his buddies in London are (he even says in the video above that his friends are mostly in London not Monaco!) and Carlos corroborated the same thing!

so for one thing, the reason he's fine with saying this is because he doesn't see it as some huge thing that he doesn't happen to have with Oscar ?? bc it's not some deep meaningful thing that he hangs with other drivers sometimes outside of F1! they're buddies sure but they're not his private life friends. that's normal and healthy !!

but the other thing that's honestly funny is ppl deciding to misinterpret this as either Lando being a callous asshole to Oscar or again, taking rpf too seriously and thinking "yaayyy I can pretend Lando is secretly in love with/has a deep bond with/is fucking [insert driver here] and hates Oscar"

and like Carlos, Daniel and Lando literally have identical bromance formats with each other and other drivers which makes the whole rpf competition thing so hilariously dumb?? they all do the common hobbies thing, the playing gay for laughs thing, the posting every interaction to social media for fan engagement thing, the roughhousing physicality thing - all with at least 3-5 other drivers. and when you count up the like rpf ship points that these people use to say which one is "better" then m@xiel shits all the way on dand0 for bonding and being mutually invested and charl0s absolutely dunks on carland0 for gay physicality and mutual affection and norrib0n comes along and reminds ppl that Alex remains a hero to Lando and Lando still gets starry eyes over him in a way he never will for Carlos or Daniel etc etc etcccc

all of which still end up paling in comparison to the actual, deep relationships these guys have with their girlfriends and with their private life friends! the idea that Lando will ever love a male friend the way he does Max F is like going to a rakes lying down park and stamping around to get hit in the face repeatedly like why would you bother to be that stupid bffr

[sidenote that I am SO glad for Lando to say smth like this video if it drives those fans away from landoscar. no joke. we do NOT want them here and we do NOT want them treating Lily the way they treat Heidi and Rebecca and treated Luisa and Isa. please stay in carland0 and dand0 and whatever else with that l@rry stylins0n misogynistic, closeted gay men as a fetish shit]

the reality is that if Lando was just meh about Oscar and disinterested in spending any more time with him than he needed to then why would he even point this out ? why would he bother to point out - with even kind of an exasperated pout in his voice - that Oscar isn't interested in anything they can spend time together doing if he… doesn't want to spend time with Oscar anyway ??

exactly asfgsajgflagf

and for ppl who are new, literally the reason a lot of us are so Compelled is precisely bc Lando and Oscar don't follow the cookie cutter bromance format and their respect and interest in each other doesn't rely on common activities or playing into fan PR. they're literally the anti-PR partnership not bc they hate each other or have drama but bc every member of their team says how much they've bonded as drivers and that every time we get content of them together they're beaming at each other and seem to have all these cute little in-jokes and softness. but none of it is for show! none of it jumps off the screen or has them knowingly trying to bait fans!

their entire dynamic is for their own benefit alone and both of them have said how happy they are to have their future together settled for so many years. and the whole vibe of landoscar fandom is that we were all fine with the idea of them just being work friends! then Silverstone happened and the Austin filming happened etc etc. and now we're all watching it and writing fic and making gifs and edits bc landoscar is gentle and gradual and sweet and boyish and genuine.

it's been this gradual little dance between two guys who each have a unique preoccupation with each other but they don't do any of the usual blokey things to force a friendship. Lando's fixations on Oscar's name and his hair and how he's taller and bigger than him and the weirdly horny verbal burps that come out aren't something he does with any of his other driver friends. Oscar is so chilled about other drivers and doesn't even do the whole hero worship thing, yet his internet history about Lando is it's own extremely unique thing that has carried over as his teammate in a way he's never been about another driver.

they don't roughhouse or make fun of each other or push each other's buttons for fun and they don't even raise their voices around each other ?? everything is so gentle and not macho at all ! Lando strangely feels awkward and looks right at Oscar to explain why he diverted to visit Daniel with Martin as a spontaneous unplanned thing even though Oscar wasn't even in Australia anymore when that happened and Oscar didn't even feel like it needed to be explained! Oscar learns and adapts to what Lando feels sensitive about and needs some help with and sometimes even keeps an eye out for his physical well being.

and I think something that has kind of been missed entirely is that the context for the latest video was Lando saying how he's always been the youngest or least experienced in a driver friendship dynamic and - as he's said many times before! - he finds the idea of having to be the older experienced leader not at all comfortable!

which leads to smth a lot of us have always found the sweetest part of the 814 dynamic, the fact that Lando realized early on that he doesn't have to Try with Oscar and he can just exist in his feelings with Oscar and Oscar does not push and he does not get annoyed or weird or offended! and that means that Lando is yes, free to be the full range of bratty to sweetheart and everything in between bc Oscar will just smile at him and be patient. but !! it also means that unless Lando uses his words or takes charge, Oscar will remain in that quiet patient position in their dynamic and won't presume to take charge.

so Lando wishes Oscar would be the older one and take the initiative and now he's in a pickle where he's saying they only don't hang out bc Oscar won't share an interest with him and you can see for a second he knows what he's saying isn't true bc they all talked on a fan stage about a padel competition between Williams and McLaren and he remembers inviting Oscar out to golf at the last minute one time and that Oscar only declined bc he doesn't know how to play and didn't want to hold everyone up but ugh !!! like that is SUCH a Lando situation to get himself into and to somehow be mad at Oscar about <3<3

but ever since Oscar arrived with very little fanfare and decided not to draw too much attention to himself until literally recently, when the Alpine drama was finally firmly behind him, he's been so intent on showing his deference to Lando and even as lately as the place swap in Melbourne that he fully understands the driver dynamics within the team and respects it. and the thing is that Oscar genuinely is so happy to wait and see what Lando wants or needs that it would never remotely occur to him to push or insert himself into Lando's social life unless invited!

so yes, being a fan of landoscar is just like this! it'll never be the PR friendly bromance or the l@rry stylins0n conspiracy theory.

and yep weirdly enough for how so many ppl are taking it, this video for us is so sweet bc Lando's publicly muddling around about why won't Oscar do a mutual interest with him but also already having admitted that he's not good at taking the role that he needs to and pulling Oscar along into his social life the way Carlos, Daniel, Max etc have always done with him - all while Oscar is oblivious and doesn't think anything is even wrong ! and oh boy, Oscar being too literal and not being the type to be pushy ends up assuming he's doing the right thing by not trying to invite himself along to anything with Lando!

like, this is how it goes! if you want the whole bromance catering precisely to your ship needs OR you're hunting for huge drama and simmering resentments that turn into huge drama then this is NOT the place for you lasfgalfg

don't get me wrong I eat up the bromances and the doomed drama partnerships too but I just don't find them worth writing all these stupid posts about like I do w landoscar bc those partnerships are what you see is what you get. apparently what gets me going is The Yearning and The Miscommunication.

[mecachrome]

omg k i just saw ur top 3 landoscar moments post from october 2023... any changes/updates since then? new moments made it onto the list? or if not... favorite moment of 2024 so far? (i just like hearing (reading?) ur thoughts it's like reading an intellectual (but still sappy in my fave way) bedtime story 🥰)

hklsdfhlsfhd naurrr... this is so embarrassing why am i still deeply landoscarpilled 6 months later 😔

but honestly i have been thinking about this and the sheer volume of crasyinsane material and lore we've accrued since last year because now i'm like how would you even begin constructing a top 3....... the possibilities are endless!!!

in terms of pre-october content that i might have missed before, i'd say most of this ask still holds (lando's biggest fan dot mp4 will NEVER lose its insanity to me. quintessential landoscar meta as far as i'm concerned) but now i also desperately need 2 shout out portrait painting challenge...... when it came out i was of course susceptible to the "you look beautiful" bantz though mostly just wrote it off as shipbait and since then i've looked back on this video multiple times and been like ?! why was oscar's deference to lando so insane actually.... i've alr mentioned this b4 but 1) oscar taking lando's intro in stride and immediately responding i am ready lando norris 2) oscar playfully acquiescing and letting lando use purple after he'd already chosen it 3) >like 5 seconds later. "you like purple don't you?" "uhhhh... i can do now" (who says that.) 4) another stunning display of lando Nooticing and fixating on oscar's hair swoop and last but not least 5) the way oscar FOLDS OVER and giggles helplessly when lando tells him i've just done you all pink ??? like. OKAY. cheers

looking @ recent content..... personally i find 814 so fascinating because while there are many Discrete Moments i can point out that make my brain explode i also feel like to some degree the reason we (? or maybe just me. again i apologize for the nonsensical drivel i create) love to make parallel gifsets of them is because they have such an understated dynamic built off many minute unspoken habits and wordless exchanges and essentially Patterns so there is less of like... a need for spontaneous intimacy.... if that makes sense. it's about the consistency of reciprocal comfort... iterations..... palisades palisades......... ok this is totally not related to the ask i've just been rotating it in my mind

anyway 10 personable favs !!! arranged chronologically

finish the lyrics (oct 2023): a deeply obvious one but you can't Not include it 😩 i can't believe this came out a week after i answered that because seriously what da hell. @ OSCAR PIASTRI WHAT IS WRONG WITH YEWWWWWWWW. there are sooooo many things i could mention here that i feel have already been exhaustively expounded, the most obvious of course being the classic ojp Heart Eyes moment(s) (Many such cases......but also specifically the love story one) (like i'd argue silverstone was mostly responsible for getting 814 off the ground BUT this video was when their dynamic became the most "mainstream" and accessible to fandom as a whole... the amount of non-f1 fans i saw qrting reups of that clip!!!!) anyway but then you also get 👉 whatever the inside joke they have about old town road is. oscar saying "i reckon you'd be unreal in a karaoke bar in japan" which i still think is such a Line... just me ??? the way he verryryryyyy softly sings "yes" with lando at the end of their love story karaoke and the insane camera angle of him just out of focus. like. really in general there is just such a soft and lighthearted and Fun air to their dynamic in this video that makes me ;__; AND this is another prime moment of lando narrating oscar's firsts for him (singing on camera at mcl!!!) . ALSAURR lando tapping oscar on the bicep while sarcastically complimenting him. once again for two guys who never touch it compels me... actually i could go on about this video tbh like how oscar nearly falls off the couch giggling at lando playing the songs together and then it cuts to the next one and he's suddenly all flushed and his bangs have gotten all fucked up. he's so... they're so... let's move on.

splunk sim city challenge (nov 2023): many classic lines such as "i haven't even distracted you yet!" + oscar knowing his podium year and lando saying "you're a nerd!" + lando going ":) :o are you okay?" and so on... general setup of this challenge was crasy tbh. how it revolves around disrupting the other person's focus and the visual asymmetry of one being sat higher and having to lean over to distract them and how oscar just giggles goodnaturedly when lando sticks his cue cards in front of his face instead of getting annoyed and—SO ON. also forever obsessed with how oscar wordlessly lifts his eyebrows at lando at the end lol

that one sticker video (nov 2023): this video is insaaAAANEEEE to me. ANYONE ELSE??? first of all oscar and lando gingerly standing across each other on either side of the flower bed (while zak brown assumes a power stance directly on it lmfao) is already so visually overwhelming but then the way oscar glances up as he's removing the sticker from the cap, how you can seeeeee him calculating the move the entire time and being adorably pleased about it, @__@ the way lando grins at him afterward... (also crying at zb glancing at them and being equally charmed by their antics) wahhh TT__TT the vibes of this clip... immaculate

oscar thanking lando in their final post-race message (nov 2023): honestly the entire message in general but :__) one of my fav 814 moments OAT is oscar including lando in his thank you speech and lando not really expecting it and being genuinely touched by the gesture. lando is so endearingly fidgety the entire time honestly and the way he perks up a bit and wrings his hands together and playfully smiles at oscar when he mentions him... okayyy. anyway 2 me it's reminiscent of yes/no challenge "am i the funniest teammate you've ever had?" "(shyly) yeahhh... you're up there" (said in the same baby-ish voice as "so... lando?" UGH. UGHHHH) and how lando genuinely gets a bit awkwardly flustered by it like!!! god. wait ALSO i don't have the space for this so i'm throwing in end of season awards MMMM debatable + how gleefully lando threw oscar under the bus and in general just the incredible expression work going on for both of them during this exchange. God [2]

si rapid fire questions (dec 2023): this video was crucial in determining that oscar... well. is obsessed with accommodating and mirroring lando. many things we already knew (aka listening to whatever music lando listens to; insert prema lap "maybe i should move to an english team because the music's better" moment here) but equally important is oscar "stealing" lando's dinner, how lando presses him on the back to the future question until oscar just changes his answer to his, and of course as you know per my blog title NO I'M GOING TO KEEP YOU HAPPY is in my eyes top 5 most insane things oscar piastri has ever said. likeee... lando showing a bit of jokey remorse over enforcing his rules (don't even get me started about lando and game/challenge rules...) but oscar being sooo determined 2 honor his teasing 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫 :melting_face: x100!!!

need to split this into two lists because apparently there's a div character limit 😔 continuing on

hilton spa ad (feb 2024): of course this pained me because of This Moment (specifically lando bringing his hand back down when oscar tried to lift it from beneath him 😮‍💨) but that is neither here nor there. obsessed with the salmon at the engineering table anecdote because the most logical explanation for oscar Not doing that anymore is because lando didn't like it... or he just eats different things now but we already know that he's adopted lando's preferred meal b4 so that's equally a lot 2 digest !!! also >the callback to their one million LOOK AT YOU/HIM moments >how they touch shoulders exactly Once when they sit down and then never again despite lando continuously leaning into oscar's space to get to the button... eugh. also just top tier oscar faces + hair 🥰

opening title behind the scenes (mar 2024): thinking about all the hilarious gifsets of this moment that i ate up deliciously 🧡🧡🧡 this was such a significant reminder of how 814 have just gotten like, exceedingly comfortable around each other & have learned 2 communicate via the most inscrutable expressions and noises and gestures that somehow suit Them perfectly x__x although i doubt they will ever really become ~effusive~ with each it's frankly even more devastating that they both help each other care less about maintaining appearances / how they often get so sucked into their interactions (see next bullet point) that everything else kind of just fades away in that instant.... all right ⚠️⚠️⚠️ maybe that's a bit of a stretch but we can pretend for the rpf lens!!! see also my tag spiel in this beautiful tuva gifset.

photo day antics (mar 2024): do you ever just...... what went on in bahrain. honestly. more from this weekend in a second but this video plus the accompanying photo encapsulate their dynamic so perfectly it makes me scream... how 814 are not only so annoyingly focused on each other all the time but also stand SOOO UNNECESSARILY CLOSE while every other teammate pairing is spaced out normally. yuki and checo glancing at them alksfdhdf 😭 truly so ridiculous that the poor photo person tried to get lando's attention and they pretended to comply for two seconds before oscar was lifting his foot to show lando his boot again. also why did it take oscar a million years to step away from lando and put a more appropriate amount of space between them...?! and even then it was barely that much........... (10 paragraphs of speaking later) I prefer really not to speak.

accidental waist grab (mar 2024): this gave me psychic damage so bad i should be lobotomized. we've already spoken about this perhaps erm excessively but why did lando feel the need to stand JUST as close to him if not closer after they broke apart. there was truly no need...... honestly the way this ship will have us looking up driver cams and staring at esteban ocon's ass as he gets out his car just for a single glimpse of their parc fermé dynamic.

bahrain post-race interview antics (mar 2024): You already knowwwww. the sky sports "he follows me everywhere" moment is equally important but the f1tv interview giving us horrifically natural banter (juxtaposing this with their previous interview moments...), lando's dumb faux australian accent and oscar playing along as always, and most of all them HIJACKING THE INTERVIEW & commiserating on camera together ❓❗️ lichrally the grid photo all over again. often when i have emotions over an 814 moment i worry that i sound overly He_Only_Got_Two_Eyes.jpeg but truly sometimes two people are just objectively insane. plus land of piastri/lando piastri.....

also runner up is the f1tv interview with lawrence aka lando's cooing noise @ oscar discussing lily (anyone else frame by frame color pick oscar's face to see how badly he flushed... no? just me?) + the beautiful self-aware surfacing of the CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS of their relationship...... !!! love when 2 guys expose and confirm their own sincerity in trying to verbally resist it. hem

is this anything. sorry eve LKSFDHLDHSF thank u for the ask & pls lmk what ur fav moments are too 🧡

[itsblasttothepast]

Random Checo Pérez Post

So, I've been a fan of Checo Pérez for years... since the beginning, actually. I'm mexican, I'm older than him (I'm in my 40's, if anyone was wondering) and I particularly follow mexicans in tough sports for our country (like my boy, Donovan Carrillo, killing it in ice skating).

It can be tiring seeing all the hate he gets for every little thing (without couting the racist/xenophobic comments), and I know he's controversial, but he's also human and makes mistakes. Anyway, that's no the point, as a Checo fan, I've been there seeing all the different teams and teammates, and honestly, I kind of want to go back when he was mostly ignored by the press and the media.

I hardly post anything personal in my blog, I mostly reblog and like posts of you awesome people, but now I'm in a ranty mood and want to share my my impressions of his career in F1.

Starting with Sauber, his very first team:

I call this: Baby Checo Era - Cursed Sauber Era

Look at him, he was so young, full of dreams and growing into those teeth. I think he was very lucky with his first teammate, the great Kamui Kobayashi (I secretly think this is why he's so fond of Yuki Tsunoda nowdays); he learned a lot with Kamui, Checo even admits that he knows about managing tires thanks to Kamui.

They seemed relaxed, and made a great team, and also we had Esteban Gutiérrez, another mexican, as the third driver for Sauber.

Anyway, this was his learning phase, and he was killing it, most of the press was nice/ambigous, some pilots on the paddock didn't like him, but we didn't care because Kamui was there, Esteban was there, and we as fans were there.

I called this 'cursed Sauber era' because it made us believe that life was good and we could be happy forever and ever.

Then it came the worst thing ever (actually, for me, the worst thing ever is Red Bull, but most Checo Fans don't agree on my take). My boy moves to McLaren because Ferrari was still thinking their options.

I call this the Lost Checo Era - Collective Amnesia Era

We thought the move to McLaren would put our Checo on the map, oh boy, we were SO WRONG. No points, no glory, no good car... not even good press. It was a hot mess.

Not even the suit was good, honestly.

His teammate was Jenson Button. He was polite, but we could see he didn't like Checo's driving style, and sometimes my boy made silly mistakes and tried to force his way into the laps rather aggressively (which most drivers did back then, but whatever).

Still, they were mostly nice to each other, but the team was shit back then, and Checo seemed lost and confused (and still wasn't growing into those teeth). When he changed teams, we as fans decided to forget all about McLaren and move on with him. Although I must say Checo has said that Jenson was one of his best teammates and learned a lot from him, so I guess their relation wasn't that bad.

Then it came Force India/Racing Point... oh, Force India, it was our time.

I call this the Hopeful Checo Era - Foce India Hope

Checo came and slayed, honestly. Everything seemed to click with that team, he looked comfortable, in his element, winning points again...

And he finally was growing into those teeth!!!

His first teammate here was Nico Hülkenberg, and they seemed to have a good relation, even friendly I might say.

It was an amazing time, as a fan, I can say I enjoyed all the races, even when he kept spinning out the track or hitting other drivers with his wheels. He and Nico were amazing, and had such a nice chemistry, it was a refreshing change and it made us nostalgic.

Then Nico moved to another team... and another Checo Era starts.

Nico Hülkenberg loggged out of Foce India, and Esteban Ocon logged in...

I call this the No Fucks Given Checo - Force India Breaking Point

We could see Esteban and Checo didn't like each other. It was obvious, and they tried so hard to show they could get along, with hilarious results like Esteban's tweet about Checo trying to kill him twice.

You could feel the tension even in pictures, honestly. As fans, we used to joke every race weekend, asking 'has Checo finally killed Esteban?'

Checo here was fearless and daring, and kept pushing everyone out of his way, including his teammate, which of course is a big no-no in F1... although Mercedes suffered the same with the whole Lewis/Nico thing (and RedBull to a lesser extent with Max/Daniel), but Force India was a mid-table team, so it wasn't a big deal (nobody cared, those were the good days).

I even remember when Massa complained about Checo's overtake on Lance, and my boy answered 'What are you? his father?'... I think even Kimi laughed at this, it was hilarious, and showed how many fucks he cared.

Unfortunately, Force India had a very questionable management (debatable, Vijay seemed like a nice person), and after stopping paying all the employees, Checo brought legal action against the team in hopes of looking for buyers capable of servicing the team's debts (this is why they like him so much on Aston Martin). This led to Force India to be bought by Lawrence Stroll, and rebranded as Racing Point.

I call this the Reborn Checo Era - Racing Point Pink Era

Honestly, I would fail as a mexican if I didn't put this picture, his first win in F1, we cried so much, starting at the last place, and winning, the fireworks, the tears... and the fact that he had been fired, and here he was, winning, showing everyone to never give up.

Anyway, Checo had a new teammate, Lance Stroll, and it even looked like we would get something similar to Nico, but then they fired him for Sebastian Vettel (no hate to Vettel, it was strategic, and we get it, but it felt like such a betrayal after what Checo did to save the team).

Still, my boy looked good in pink, and he and Lance got along, and gave us amazing moments. I even think that he improved his relation with Esteban Ocon because he was Lance's friend. It was nice.

But when he was fired of Racing Point, we as fans thought 'it's over... our boy is going to leave F1'. We even joked about funding our team so he could stay, it was bittersweet. He won, but he still lost.

Then it came the proposal of proposals... the big league (I wanted Checo to go to Mercedes and race with Lewis), Red Bull wanted him as second driver.

I personally didn't like it. Those teams are hardball, and the press is ruthless. But everyone was so happy for Checo, and I wanted to see him race, so I made peace with it.

And here we are now... I honestly don't know how to call this Checo Era. It has been a rollarcoaster since the beggining, and I wish he hadn't renew and moved to another team... but I'll stay here with him, like I've done since 2011, I just hope that the pressure and the harsh and unnecessary criticism doesn't end up breaking him.

Especially now that he looks so hot and finally has the Tom Cruise smile.

I actually like Max, I think he's a good person, and an even better driver. I think he and Checo have a good relation, friendly at times, frosty some others, but in the end, they reach a middle ground where they can be teammates and not enemies. I like them together, but I don't like Red Bull policies and the way the press seemed to want to make Checo feel like he's a failure just because he isn't Max.

Oh, and also, thanks to tumblr and FB, now I kind of ship RP, and I agree that Max and Checo have amazing chemistry, they look so good together! (but also deep down, I lowkey ship Lewis/Checo... and I still hope to see them together in a team).

So, if you made it this far, thank you very much for reading my weird ramblings. English is not my first language (again, mexican), so I apologize for the grammar mistakes.

I'm a Checo fan, and I'll be until he retires... I just wish that those who aren't, didn't create such a hostile and hateful enviroment.

I hope that when Pato O'ward joins F1, the enviroment is more welcoming and nice.

Checo aun tiene para luchar, y ni modo cabrones, así es la vida.

[supercalifragipopculturevomit]

THE BEST OF DANIEL BRÜHL

It’s dumb, honestly.

You get this seemingly brilliant idea of turning to foreign films so you’re forced to read subtitles and focus—a problem you’ve been noticing of late—but in doing so, you end up with a more destructive distraction.

“Who’s that guy, again? The one in all those international productions?” That’s how I found myself on my Daniel Brühl marathon-turned-obsession.

It was his role as the cute Nazi in Inglorious Basterds that first put him on my radar. Over the years, I would see him in The Fifth Estate, Burnt, Woman in Gold, The Zookeeper’s Wife, and The King’s Man. Midway through All Quiet on the Western Front, I was like, “All this needs is that German actor…” and I had to chuckle when he later appeared on screen. I also checked out the first season of The Alienist because I was intrigued by what he and Dakota Fanning as leads would do with such a spooky-looking show.

Adorable as he was in his breakout role in Good Bye, Lenin!, it was his performance in the critically-acclaimed Rush that caused me to spiral. Similar to when Benedict Cumberbatch took on the modern version of Sherlock, it was like seeing Brühl with new eyes. His playful take on Helmut Zemo in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was the final nail in the coffin. I don’t imagine it’s all too different from what Tom Hiddleston did to fans of Marvel as Loki.

I’m actually at the tail-end of this obsession now that I’ve seen everything I can get a hold of—around 39 films, two TV shows, a documentary, a music video, countless interviews, a bunch of ads, and a handful of fan cuts—but he has a lot of works worth recommending so I thought I would share them on here. This will mostly be a subjective list with priority on projects I found most interesting which showcase his range best. Like, I enjoyed The Bourne Ultimatum but he was on screen for a total of 2 minutes so I wouldn’t include that here.

RUSH (2013) This biographical sports film written by Peter Morgan—the man behind The Crown—centers on the rivalry between Formula One drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda in the 70s. Not a fan of F1 or sports in general. I have nothing against either, just zero interest. But this character-driven film, much like Ford vs Ferrari, had me at the edge of my seat the entire ride. And it surprisingly has one of the best meet-cutes—and accidental wingmen—I’ve seen yet.

Brühl delivers an Oscar-worthy performance in this role. For someone who needed a lot of convincing he could do the character justice, he truly went above and beyond. For one, he befriended and studied Lauda, the iconic F1 figure he was portraying. No easy feat considering Lauda being, well… Lauda. In interviews, Brühl recounts the story of the memorable invite he got from Lauda to meet in Vienna. This would be their first meeting and Lauda told Brühl outright that he should only bring hand luggage so he can piss off if they don’t like each other.

He would end up staying a few days and buying additional clothes.

He also spent a month in Vienna to nail the accent, making sure to capture the arrogance and irony innate to it. And although he got driver training for the role, he also considered the tiniest details like which went on first: helmet or gloves? There was also the tricky business of looking graceful entering a tiny F1 car—a bigger challenge for Chris Hemsworth who plays Hunt—but an obstacle all the same.

All the hard work paid off. It was well-received by audiences, critics, and the F1 world. The first time Lauda saw the film he went, “Holy shit, that’s really me”. Lauda’s friends thought he did voiceover work for it. Director Ron Howard was so pleased with Brühl’s performance that he went out of his way to show an unfinished cut of the movie to the producers of The Fifth Estate (2013). This gracious act would land Brühl the co-lead role opposite Benedict Cumberbatch.

GOOD BYE, LENIN! (2003) Can't tell if it's just because the two films have the same composer and were created around the same time, but this tragicomedy set in East Germany reminded me so much of my beloved Amélie. This is definitely more dramatic and political but it has that same mix of whimsy, heart, and charm. With its budget, it was meant to be an indie film, but the story of a son who would recreate a faux-socialist world to keep his mother alive captured the heartstrings of audiences, not just in Germany but also worldwide. Brühl plays the son and his success with this film was a double-edged sword: although it would open doors for him internationally, he would also be typecast as the “nice guy” in his home country.

INGLORIOUS BASTERDS (2009) This has one of the best, most intense opening sequences in all of cinema… and one of the greatest villains. In this wild alternate universe from Quentin Tarantino, he rewrites the ending of World War II. It’s the right balance of dark, hilarious, and entertaining—my favorite from the auteur’s works. Here Brühl plays a cute and charming Nazi, which is very confusing to the senses.

Aside from Brühl, it was also my first introduction to Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender, and Melanie Laurent—all fantastic European actors who’ve crossed over to Hollywood after the success of this movie. “Crossing over” seems ubiquitous now but, at that time, giving most of the lead roles to then relatively unknown actors must have been a risk. But for this, it was necessary. Language plays a huge part in this trilingual film and casting native speakers grounded it in authenticity. Tarantino originally had Leonardo di Caprio in mind to play Hans Landa. Whether he meant for him to learn German or to speak English with a German accent, who knows. Either way, it’s safe to say that would have been a different film.

THE EDUKATORS / DIE FETTEN JAHRE SIND VORBEI (2004) This anti-capitalist film, which has become a cult classic, captures the spirit, idealism, recklessness, and angst of young revolutionaries who just want a better world. Where one stands on the measures taken, or even their sentiment, can be considered a litmus test. With or without reference to this quote from the movie—“Under 30 and not liberal, no heart. Over 30 and still liberal, no brain.”—is up to the viewer.

There needs to be a suspension of disbelief for the series of events that takes place but the setting is necessary for the clash of worlds to happen. It’s not a perfect movie but the issues they debate about in length… they’re still discussions we’re having nearly 20 years later.

p.s. this has my favorite behind-the-scenes of all of Brühl’s projects. Though he hasn’t lost his sense of humor, he seems to have become more reserved as he got older. HERE, at this period in his life, he’s a total goofball bordering on loose cannon.

THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER (2021) Though I’ve enjoyed quite a few MCU movies, I’m not invested in the universe at all, so watching this wasn’t a priority. In fact, I was ready to settle on YouTube compilations made by devoted fans of all the scenes Brühl was in. Upon seeing clips, however, I got intrigued by his character so I still ended up watching the miniseries and also Captain America: Civil War (2016).

Both were better than I expected. Civil War is more serious, while TFATWS is more playful, but both face relevant issues along with formidable foes. Brühl’s villain in Helmut Zemo is fascinating because he tears the mighty Avengers apart with mere patience, fury, and intelligence… and his motivations are understandable. He lets his character loose in TFATWS—at one point, on the dance floor—and it’s magnificent. His mission is still the same, but this time he does it with a lot of charm, humor, and fabulous Sokovian style. A Turkish delight, personified.

ME AND KAMINSKI / ICH UND KAMINSKI (2015) Brühl’s Sebastian Zöllner is a repulsive and sleazy journalist who has greasy hair and wears too much cologne but I can’t get enough of his chaotic energy. His magnum opus is hitched on a legendary artist dying and his fantasy is to turn the orphaned daughter into a sugar mommy. It’s all kinds of messed up but he plays the hell out of the smarmy dirtbag so it’s a lot of fun. This is Brühl’s second collaboration with Wolfgang Becker, who directed Good Bye, Lenin! Daniel Kehlmann, the writer whose eponymous book this film was based on, would later write Brühl’s directorial debut, Nebenan.

NO REGRETS / NICHTS BEUREUEN (2001) This is reminiscent of the slightly problematic but highly enjoyable teen comedies and coming-of-age films of the 90s. It’s like an edgier Can’t Hardly Wait: boy goes through cringe-worthy measures to get the girl he’s long been pining for, his two closest pals have nothing but dumb advice to offer, yet he still ends up on the path to self-discovery. It’s awkward, chaotic, frustrating, and beautiful—but such is adolescence.

Brühl and his co-star Jessica Schwarz fall in love on the set of this film. And although they would break up years later, the tenderness between their scenes together is palpable and there’s something rather bittersweet about seeing that captured in perpetuity.

For a more straightforward rom-com, he has Lila, Lila (2009). It’s about a guy who passes off a manuscript as his own to impress a girl and the hilarity that follows. It’s on YouTube for those who need a fun and light watch.

THE ALIENIST (2018 – 2020) Based on the novel of the same name, this moody psychological thriller set in late 19th century New York follows a psychiatrist—then called an Alienist—who investigates a series of grisly murders with methods still considered new and controversial at that time, such as psychology and fingerprinting. He gets by with a little help from his friends, John Moore, an illustrator for the New York Times, and Sara Howard, a society woman who works in the NYPD.

In the lead role of Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, Brühl plays the dark, complex, and mysterious Alienist whose study of mental pathologies and deviant behaviors reveals much of himself and his past.

LESSONS OF A DREAM / DER GANZ GROßE TRAUM (2011) This film is loosely based on Konrad Koch, an educator and pioneer who brought football to Germany in the late 19th century. In the movie, the sport is used as a means to pique students’ interest in the English language and culture—both considered barbaric by the Germans at that time. A heartwarming tale of a teacher who overcomes insurmountable odds and inspires students along the way, it’s the German equivalent of Dead Poet’s Society.

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (2022) This story, the third adaptation of the 1929 novel, “Im Westen nichts Neues”, conveys the futility of war like no other. There aren't as many films on World War I as there are on World War II, fewer ones that tell it from a German perspective, so this is doubly unique in that regard. Powerful watch but 10/10 not like to relive it again. Apart from producing it with his company, Amusement Park, Brühl plays Matthias Erzberger, the German State Secretary who pushes for armistice talks with the Allied forces.

An ideal companion watch to this would be Joyeux Noël / Merry Christmas (2005), another WWI movie Brühl stars in, which depicts the unbelievable Christmas truce between French, German, and Scottish soldiers in 1914. His linguistic ability shines here as he shifts between German, French, and English effortlessly. (Half German, half Spanish, Brühl speaks a total of five languages: those three plus Spanish and Catalan.)

The Zookeeper’s Wife (2017) and Alone in Berlin (2016) also recognize the bravery of defiance at the height of tyrannical regimes. Although between the two, I would skip the latter.

JOHN RABE (2009) This biographical film set in China tells the incredible true story of a German businessman who uses his Nazi Party membership to create an International Safety Zone in Nanking. This was in the late 1930s, during the Rape of Nanjing. In this six-week carnage by the Imperial Japanese Army—which includes sexual assault, mutilations, and killing contests—upwards of 200,000 Chinese are brutally murdered. The protective zone manages to save around the same number of civilians.

Brühl doesn’t play the titular Rabe, but his character, Dr. Georg Rosen, is one of few Westerners who decides to remain and protect Nanking even as conflict escalates. Dr. Rosen was a German Diplomat instrumental in the creation of the safety zone.

p.s. with all these heroic roles in his catalog, I’m convinced Brühl would be a frontrunner to play President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, should a movie be made about him and Ukraine’s conflict with Russia. You heard it here first.

NEXT DOOR / NEBENAN (2021) This is Brühl’s directorial debut. Here he plays a darker, fictionalized version of himself. Definitely not for everyone but quite enjoyable if you’re familiar with his major works and public persona, appreciate the ingenuity of one-location movies, and delight in British-style meta humor.

Pre-requisite viewing for maximum enjoyment: Good Bye, Lenin!, Captain America: Civil War, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

[pickingupmymercedes]

Another rant

So, got enough sleep, heard a few commentators and specialists opinions, and talked to a motorsports engineer (my dad btw - who has worked with Indy most of his life, and worked briefly with f1 in the 2010's) about the shenanigans with yesterday's race and here's some food for thought:

ALL cars are weighted before and after they get to parc fermé (so, that's Saturday and then Sunday) so George's was good before the race. (Back in the 80's Tyrrell used to fill balloons with water before getting weighted and then dumping the water during the race - hence weighing after the race as well)

It's not uncommon to get the fuel procedure wrong, there are more than a single tank so sometimes fuel can be left on the car, (So, at least that wasn't intentional)

Here's where things get interesting:

After pits the teams try and run deg rates on their used tyres to confirm if their strategies are well regulated with reality and if going long is a possibility. (Considering Lewis's second pit was H to H, Merc had data on how the deg was on those tyres and could -should actually - be able to project how the deg was going to be all the way to the end)

Other five cars made the one stopper work without being underweight and that's mostly because that was on the tables for them since the beginning and the teams got the cars ready with added in weights.

Import point - my dad was really fixed on this one - to make that one stopper work the cars HAD to carry extra added weight from the whole race, and the extra weight also affects how the tyres degrade (and of course, the overall results)

Considering George's and Lewis's post race interviews, I'd say Mercedes hadn't prepared any of the cars for that possibility because they honestly didn't believe it'd work

The back and forth between George and his engineer to decide to stay out went for about 3 laps, and in that time the data on tyre wear and deg shoud have been analysed and considered (by the whole of the engineers)

A possible reason why Mercedes didn't think George going for a one-stopper would be detrimental to Lewis's race (at that moment p1) was probably because their calculations were wrong, and they thought his tyres would eventually drop off (Lewis would easily catch him and they could try to get their two cars on podium)

And here's where things get tricky:

There's a somewhat unwritten rule in f1 that it's okay to offset strategies between your driver if the overall team result benefits for it, sometimes even at the cost of driver's positions. The only exception being when it's a VERY clear race win you're inverting. (Mclaren last week?!)

Yes, teams have given team orders to invert positions for a number of different reasons, but a 1-2 being inverted because of a strategy decision that left the lead driver (both quali and on the race) on the dark is a big problem. (Ferrari in the early 2000's with Schumi and Barrichello got soooo much heat for it. And probably why Toto had that face, he knew they crossed a line that was going to be hard to justify)

In any way, the mood inside that garage must had been atrocious for both sides. One was pretty much blindsided (Lewis side of the garage probably only learned Russ wouldn't drop off when the whole team did) and the other got dsqed by a mid-race decision that shouldn't have been allowed (btw those calculations are not only made by a single person, exactly as to not get a car dsq for a preventable error).

Honestly, I don't blame either fans (44 and 63) for how they reacted, because both drivers were screwed up by the team. But one probably has a mathematical reasoning behind, whilst the other has a imposing principles reasoning.

Now, something I'll give my two very personal cents about is I hope both drivers learn from that, specially George, because if Lewis can be on the receiving end of a trust breaking decision after 11 years and that many race wins and titles, you guys probably know where I'm going. And for Lewis, I hope he got the idea of how things are going to be moving forward (and this is not about priority it's about trusting the people they let almost dictate their lives for about 2 hours every GP)

[jinkoph03nix]

Guess what y'all, here's more DC F1 AU. Here's some Jason (pre- and post-crash), bon appétit. Some headcanons for him under the cut. (TW car crashes & recovery)

Jason's career ended prematurely because of a mechanical failure during a race that resulted in him crashing into a barrier wall

The white streak of hair he has was from the aftermath of the accident when he was recovering, where the extreme stress his body was under resulted in expediting some preexisting genetic tendencies towards graying (Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. I know this is probably unrealistic)

The accident particularly affected his legs, so nowadays he mostly uses arm crutches for mobility, but he does use a wheelchair on occasion

Dick blames himself for Jason's accident because he was supposed to have raced that day (but couldn't due to unavoidable scheduling conflicts), but Jason doesn't blame him whatsoever

Jason doesn't really blame anyone for the accident, the most he blames anyone is Bruce in a "how could your company have let that car onto the track" kind of way, but even then he's mostly moved on

He has mostly left the spotlight of F1 since the accident, but he still does show up to races occasionally (and if he's cheering on Queen Industries instead of Wayne Enterprises, that's for him to know)

He was known for his creative shit-talking before he retired, and he hasn't lost that ability, although now it's reserved for heckling from the stands and poking fun at the current Wayne drivers

Everyone on the track but the press and fans know about his relationship with Roy, and are honestly kind of surprised they haven't been found out yet given how much they hang around each other

There's a running joke that he's the most well-read of this generation of drivers, as there's. So many paparazzi photos of him completely ignoring the rest of the world in favor of a book. One even became a meme because he was successfully ignoring a lecture from Bruce while reading

Taglist: @fivespade

[suffering-asthmatic-tifosi]

i’ll explain papaya rules for you!!

okay so after oscar’s over take (and im pretty sure after mclaren’s first pit stop) lando’s race engineer comes on the radio and says

“you are allowed to race oscar, papayas rules”

so everyone was kinda confused because no one knows what said “papaya rules” are. so anyway after the race during the press conference, lando gets asked what papaya rules are and if he thought oscar’s overtake fit into those rules. lando basically said that the papaya rules are that they are free to race, but do not make contact. lando thought oscar’s overtake did fit into the rules but could’ve ended badly if he had braked later. zak brown was also asked about it after the race about what papaya rules meant and basically said the same thing that lando said!! but he said they would have to rewatch oscar’s overtake to make sure it applied by the “papaya rules”.

but then everyone (mostly lando fans) started getting mad at oscar and mclaren for allowing oscar to overtake and for them to race. they think that they should’ve swapped the cars on the last lap to allow lando to close the gap to max in the drivers championship a little more.

another thing, in the post-race press conference lando got asked if he needed help to win the championship and he said that he did have help and that his teammate was indeed helping him. he also said that he didn’t want to win the championship by begging for track position over his teammate. he said it was something the team would have to implement race by race. and oscar had nothing to add to that.

i hope this explained it and i probably added wayyyy to much details!! but it’s very interesting to me as a die hard oscar fan, to see everyone hating on him for racing and not giving the position to lando, even though the team said nothing about giving it up. but ill let you have your own opinion on the situation <3

Anon you’re and actual angel. Like genuinely you deserve a star here ⭐️

This topic now intrigues me more as a lifetime Lando fan and a new Oscar fan. Honestly I think, always thought tbh, that whenever Zak says that there is no number 1 driver, he’s just lying bc it’s Lando, we all know it’s Lando guys.

On that note, I think this Papaya Rules stuff is not very healthy for the future. Like how is this gonna work in a few months when the inevitable is going to happen and Lando is 3 points from the championship and Oscar is only p3. Who are “Papaya Rules” gonna help out at that point?

I get it, racing each other can be dangerous especially considering Lando’s lead. But making a petty kitty papaya rules is not the way guys. I get McLaren is trying to be the new hip team.. (i.e holister merch and like every pr thing ever (I could be wrong but McLaren feels like it like started this wave of F1 merch in American malls bc when F1 merch started rolling out it was all McLaren merch.) (sorry for all the () but on all that McLaren merch, when a driver is put on it it’s ALWAYS Lando. I own Hollister McLaren merch, it’s all Lando. And for the New RB merch at Hollister, it’s all obviously Max bc he’s the number 1 driver. So yeah sry for the Tangent)

.. but I think treating the boys like Kindergarteners with papaya rules is not it. There is a better way guys. I’m like 79.678% sure they aren’t gonna be the next Maxiel Baku 2018.

But I’m an idiot so I’m probably vry wrong. THANK YOU ANON FOR THE EXPLANATION I WAS ACTUALLY SO CONFUSED AND SO WAS MY DAD (another big Lando fan lol)

[jessicaloons]

Chapter 29:

'Cause you kiss me and it stops time…

Masterlist - Previous - Next

The moment we touched ground in Brazil the bubble Charles and I had been in for the past days bursted. A whole bunch of fans were expecting us when we arrived at the hotel, I expected them to be there for Charles mostly but when I saw a lot of girls, but also guys wearing Audi merch and waving me over I was honestly surprised. I smiled at them, signed their stuff, took pictures and had small talk. Topic number one: Charles and I. Of course. After a couple of minutes the security ushered us inside and I waved the fans goodbye.

"How does it feel, when you see that your fanbase grows from race to race?" Elijah, asked and I shrugged my shoulders.

"I don’t know. It’s always overwhelming when I see only one person with my merch… but seeing a whole bunch of them? Unbelievable." I said as we entered the elevator.

"Charles, what do you think?"

"I’m just happy that Lizzie finally gets the attention she deserves. She’s a F1 driver, a race winner, has multiple podiums. She’s one of the best on the grid. And she’s also the most beautiful driver on the grid… of course she’s getting more and more attention." he held me by the waist and I blushed "She’s also the most adorable driver out there, blushing with every little compliment she gets."

"Okay stop now. Don’t get too sappy." I laughed.

"Nope." Charles pinched my side.

"Hey!" I slapped his hand a little.

"What is planned for today?" Elijah looked at us.

"We’re a bit earlier here than usually. So I guess not much? Later on we’ll be working out. Tonight we’ll have dinner with some friends that are also here already." I said and he nodded.

"Charles you have your best friend, Joris, most of the time with you, Lizzie, do you sometimes wish that one of your friends would be constantly by your side?"

"I mean it’s different, you know? Joris is Charles photographer and content creator. I don’t have that. My friends are also either with kids, like Julia or Andrea, or are getting their career started, Shima in the design world or have really demanding and fulfilling jobs, Daniel as a pilot. So yeah. That’s fine. They come to races whenever they can, the rest of the time I have Dad or some of my family with me."

"And you have me! Hello?" Charles looked at me and I laughed.

"Oh shit! Yeah, of course! I have Charles! Oh and Joris! Because when Charles has his bad days where he’s grumpy as fuck Joris likes me more than him."

"Okay. This is not what I was hoping to hear. Ouch." Charles let go of me and pouted a little.

"Oh come on! I’m just joking!" I smiled at him but then turned to the camera "I’m not!" I mouthed, Elijah and the rest of the crew laughing.

"I saw that." Charles mumbled and we laughed.

"We let you guys now unpack and get ready for your work out. Oh and Lizzie, this week we also talk with some of the other drivers. Seb, Lewis, Max and Pierre. If you want to have a look over the questions then we can send them to you." Elijah looked through his phone but I shook my head.

"No, it’s okay. You ask what you think is right!" I smiled and waved them off.

"Alright. See you guys later!" he smiled and they left.

"Weird, weird, weird!" I mumbled as soon as I closed the door.

"Oh just a little…" Charles chuckled and opened his suitcase "Getting filmed the whole time really is… yeah weird."

"I’m sorry. We can talk with them and stop doing that." I looked at him.

"That’s not what I meant, cara mia. It’s okay. Really! It’s just… yeah weird is the right word." he said and pulled out his clothes, storing them away in the closet.

"JK and I can work out later, so that you and Andrea are having some peace and quiet."

"Lizzie stop overthinking! It’s okay! I was filmed before. I can handle it. Let’s sit down for a bit, relax, unpack and then get ready, okay?"

"Okay." I sighed and did exactly what he said.

An hour later I looked into the mirror, turning from side to side.

"Can I wear that?" I asked.

"What?" Charles looked up from lacing his sneakers.

"Can I wear that? I mean… they film us."

"Yeah and you wore work out clothes before?"

"I know, but before I wasn’t filmed? Or rather before I kinda never really cared how I looked then…" I sighed and Charles shook his head.

"Yes, you can wear that. You look good. Ready for an intense work out." he laughed and grabbed his phone "Andrea is ready, can we go?"

"Sure. Let’s go." I nodded and we left for the gym where JK and Andrea waited for us, together with the film crew.

"We just position 2 cameras here and over there and have Tom walk around you. The rest of us will stay in the back." Elijah explained and we nodded "Alright, ready when you are then. Ready, and action."

When 90 minutes later, Elijah and the rest of the crew left I plopped down on the floor, arms and legs spread out like a star.

"Did we really have to do the most intense work out session ever in front of Netflix? I sweat like hell!" I groaned and JK laughed.

"You had no work out now for 5 days. You can handle it." he replied and I chuckled.

"Who said I didn’t work out?" I wiggled my eyebrows and he laughed.

"That doesn’t count!"

"Why not? It’s also an intense work out! Sometimes even multiple times a day."

"Impressive."

"Can you stop talking about that?" Charles looked at us while Andrea behind him had to fight for his life to not burst out laughing.

"Why? You should be proud!" JK chuckled and pulled me up, handing me a bottle of water.

"Multiple times a day? Not bad!" Andrea let out and Charles glared at him "Oh come on! Don’t be shy now!"

"No, stop talking about that, because we’re not alone anymore." Charles said right when the glass doors of the gym opened and Pierre walked in and we all but stared at him.

"Umm. Hi?" he said slowly.

"Gossip Girl." Charles greeted him and I laughed and hugged him next.

"What did I miss?" Pierre asked and Charles patted his back.

"Nothing, we were just talking about our work outs."

"Our intense work outs." I added.

"Wow. Interesting." he shrugged and I laughed.

"Absolutely."

"You guys are ready?"

"Yup. The gym is all yours!" Charles grabbed his towel.

"See you later tonight?" I asked and Pierre nodded.

"Yep, Daniel and Max are joining us as well." he said and I smiled.

"Alright. Have fun!"

"What about a nice lunch on the terrace?" Charles asked when he put on a fresh shirt after we had a shower.

"I’m in. I could eat." I finished blow drying my hair and made a loose bun "Ready?"

"After you, my lady." he opened the door and I walked out.

"What a gentleman." I chuckled.

"Always for you."

We got inside the elevator and as we arrived in the lobby and walked out Charles looked at his phone.

"That’s Sylvia. She wants me to call her because of the event tomorrow." he sighed and I patted his arm "Why don’t you go and find us a nice table and I call her real quick."

"Okay." I kissed his cheek and walked outside on the beachfront terrace to find a nice spot in the sun when I got a text from Dr. Lindner, reminding me of our session in 15 minutes. I already had an unsent excuse to cancel the session, not wanting to talk about the last few weeks.

"Excuse me, Miss, you’re stealing my sun." sunglasses and hat on his head, in shorts and t-shirt Dr. Lindner looked up from his armchair and I was taken aback.

"What are you doing here?" I looked at him.

"If the mountain will not go to Mahomet, let Mahomet go to the mountain." he grinned.

"Oh wow, really?" I chuckled.

"Your last therapy session was more than 3 weeks ago, you cancelled 4 appointments and after Mexico I basically texted you daily that we should talk… but apparently you were busy." he chided and nodded towards the chair next to him and I plopped down in it.

"I’m driving in F1, travelling around the world, a Netflix crew is following me and I have to attend sponsor events, I also have a boyfriend and I love spending my little free time that I have with him."

"Oh yeah, you and that Charles Leclerc guy, I’ve seen it all over social media. How’s that going." he joked and pulled out his notebook and pen.

"He’s not coming back, right?" I sighed.

"No, he’s not."

"So you both tricked me?" Charles was really convincing, I had to give that to him.

"Like I said. I think we need to talk. And the fact that you don’t want to, just confirms my theory."

"Do you really want to do this here? In public?" I asked and looked nervously around.

"Almost no one is here and besides, I don’t think that someone understands us anyway… German maybe, but Swabian, come on now." he laughed and I nodded, he was right "So… ready to unpack the drama that seems to follow you around?"

"Can’t wait." I mumbled waving the waiter over "Hi, umm can I get a raspberry caipirinha? For you Doc?"

"Beer, lager, whatever brand you would recommend." Dr. Lindner said and the waiter smiled and walked away.

"Okay. Then let’s talk."

After 40 minutes Dr. Lindner looked once over his notes and then closed the book.

"You see, I don’t love the drama. It loves me." I concluded.

"Something I realised quite early when I met you…" he chuckled "But don’t you think this is also a chance?"

"A chance? For what exactly?"

"A chance to say fuck it and don’t care anymore? It’s all out in the open now. There’s nothing to hide anymore."

"And you think it’s that easy?" I laughed.

"No, I never said it was easy. But look at what you’ve overcome already. I think you have the strength in you to make it. You just need to have enough faith in you, just like everyone around you has."

I thought about his words, I was scared what people would say if they knew about Charles and me. But the truth was, even before we were together people talked the same shit like they did now. Nothing changed, just the fact that they now talked about us as a real couple and not a presumed one.

"Yeah, you’re right. I really can say fuck it now."

"Can I join you?" Daniel asked and I turned around.

"Sure." I waved him over and he sat down.

"How are you?"

"Good? I guess. I don’t know." I laughed and Daniel shook his head.

"Yeah. The last weeks, it was a lot. What am I saying? The whole season… the public never really made it easy for you."

"No, not really. But I’m used to it. I mean sure, it’s still not easy reading or listening to all that bullshit, but I can’t change that… and I’m tired of trying. It is what it is. A whole lot of people hate me. There problem. Not mine."

"That’s the right mindset!" Daniel chuckled and took a swig from his beer "So umm… I wanted to ask you something… I mean, you saw me butt naked hiding in your sisters closet in Monza, so umm- yeah you know that her and I are… well we’re seeing each other."

"Yeah, I’m aware of that…"

"I just wanted to let you know that this with your sister… it’s not just a casual fling or something. It’s more. So much more… I- I love her." he looked at me and I smiled.

"That’s good to hear, really. I’m happy for you two!"

"I just need to know one thing… of course we talked about or ex partners and our past but she was really reluctant when it came to Liam’s dad, I didn’t want to push her too much, but I don’t know… when she talked about him, I had the feeling that she’s scared of him? Or that something horrible happened? But she won’t tell me. And it’s okay. I figured that it wouldn’t be easy… but I need to know. Is she scared of him? And if so, why, what happened? Do I have to protect her from him? Will he make any trouble if he finds out about us?" he looked at me with big eyes.

"She should tell you that herself, Daniel. I know my sister all too well. I know how she will shut you out of that, but you need to try. You need to show her that you stay. That you’re in for the long run. She’s been through a lot. Her ex… he was an asshole. We never liked him. He manipulated her. He controlled her. And to be honest that it could go this far was partly my fault, my parents were so busy with me and my career that my siblings were left to their own devices more than once. We knew that he wasn’t a good guy. We tried to reason with her. But she didn’t listen. She said she finally found someone who put her before everything. I knew that it was a dig towards me, being the one taking away all my parents attention. She was happy for once. He was sweet and charming in the beginning, showered her with love and attention. Attention she never got because of me. Of course she was falling fast and deep. Moved in with him, made him the centre of her life. But he changed… let’s say, he wasn’t the guy she fell in love with anymore. She never told us anything. She kept it all bottled up. Probably because she was scared of us saying told you so. When she got pregnant… after a couple of weeks there was a shift. Like she realised that she couldn’t have a child with him, couldn’t raise a child in that environment, then she told my mum everything. And I had to stop five guys from committing a murder…"

"Five?"

"My Dad, Marcus and the Leclerc boys."

"She has a lot of good guys taking care of her." Daniel smiled.

"And now she has one more."

"Yeah… but what you were saying about her ex… I should be worried then? Or at least alerted?"

"A little worry and awareness never killed nobody, right?" I downed my drink.

"No, probably not." he leaned back and we sat in silence for a while "You know that it’s not your fault? That he did what he did?"

"Of course it’s not my fault. But maybe if my parents weren’t that busy with me, she wouldn’t cling to the first guy who was a little nice and charming and gave her attention…" I said bitterly.

"No Lizzie. Your sister told me that it had nothing to do with you. Or your parents. She never felt neglected or anything. She was old enough to understand what was going on, that you needed that support." Daniel reassured me as Charles joined us.

"You guys okay? You’re gone for a while now?" he sat down next to me and I nodded.

"Yeah, we were just talking a little." I said and Daniel nodded.

"The guys are ready to leave…"

"Okay, let’s go then." Daniel said and we got up.

Back in the hotel Charles looked at me while I brushed my teeth, washed my face and did my hair, but he kept quiet.

"Okay, ask whatever you have to ask!" I said when I got into bed.

"You and Daniel, about what did you talk? There was a weird tension between you guys when I came outside…"

"He told me he loves Sissy. That he’s in for the long run."

"But that’s a good thing? No?" Charles cocked an eyebrow.

"He asked about Sven… because my sister isn’t telling him much…" I sighed and leaned back.

"Oh… and what did you say?"

"That he should ask her… I only told him that he’s an asshole and that she’s been through a lot because of him…"

"It’s better when she tells him the whole story herself, you’re right." Charles got in bed as well, pulling me against him "But I’m happy for them. Really. She deserves a good guy like Daniel."

"She really does." I snuggled into his side.

When the race week officially started on Wednesday with media day I stood nervously in front of the mirror, doing my hair.

"You look amazing, stop being so nervous. It’s not the first time we arrive together at the paddock!" Charles chuckled, grabbing his phone, sunglasses and cap.

"No, but it’s the first time since we’re a couple. Do we hold hands? Will they expect us to kiss? I’m just… I don’t know, okay?"

"Okay, first off, we don’t care what they want, only what we want. Second, we walk in like always. You and me. Together. If you want to hold my hand for support, do it, if not. That’s fine as well. Don’t worry." Charles calmed me down and I nodded.

I saw the photographers, reporter and fans all looking our way when I scanned my paddock pass and the crowd that gathered made me grasp Charles hand, holding it tight.

"It’s okay, cara mia. Just focus on me. It’s all good." he reassured me, pulling me to his side, squeezing my hand. He navigated us through the crowd and we took pictures with fans, signing stuff but still made our way towards our hospitalities "See that wasn’t too bad, I’ll pick you up later for the press conference."

I nodded and kissed his cheek, turning around to walk inside but he grasped my wrist and pulled me in, kissing me fiercely.

"I want a real kiss from now on. We don‘t have to hide anymore."

"Okay…" I said breathlessly and Charles swiped a loose strand out of my face before he left.

"Here they are, our lovebirds!" Max laughed and Charles rolled his eyes while I chuckled a little.

"When’s the wedding?" George joked and hugged me to his side.

"Why? You think you get invited?" Charles raised an eyebrow and I laughed.

"Ouch!" George held his hand over his heart "That hurts!"

"Who says they get married anyways? That’s so old school!" Pierre stated and I nodded.

"You tell 'em!" I replied and could’ve sworn I saw a flicker of sadness in Charles face for a second.

"Drivers?" an F1 official called us in and we walked inside, sitting down.

Thankfully Tom Clarkson didn’t ask or say anything about Charles and I, but I knew as soon as he would open up the floor the questions would fly around like crazy. And I was right. From when it all started, to how it started, to why we kept it hidden, everything was asked but Charles and I tried to stay as vague as possible, we discussed beforehand that we didn’t want to share too many details.

"Alright, we have time for one last question, yes, the lady in blue please."

"Susan Boulder, CBS Sports, question for Max, Pierre and George. You all know Charles and Lizzie for a really long time, raced against each other in karting then later in F3 and F2, now in F1. What do you guys think of the two being a couple and racing against each other? How do the drivers think about the whole matter in general?"

"I mean, it’s not really a surprise now, is it? We all were basically just waiting for the moment when these two finally admit that they were dating… I think they showed over the course of the season that they can be a couple and still battle hard on the track. We’re all now rooting for the first grid baby." George chuckled and I blushed, Charles just laughed.

"Yeah, George’s right. It’s not a surprise! I know them since I was 8 or so and always knew that they would end up together one day… when I was younger I even was jealous of Charles, I mean we all kinda were! Around 13 or 14ish some of us had a huge crush on Lizzie but she only cared for Charles. She broke a lot of hearts. But no. All jokes aside. I’m happy for these guys and if that grid baby plops out, it will have a whole grid full of uncles." Max said and I looked at him with wide eyes "What?" he asked me and Pierre chuckled.

"I think Lizzie never knew that a lot of the guys back in the day had a huge crush on her." Pierre said and I shook my head "I was one of them, but just for a short while… but yeah, you can ask everyone who was with us in karting, Esteban, Alex, Lando, a lot of the guys had a crush on her… I remember that there were even fights over who would sit next to Lizzie. Some of the guys even said the race winner should be allowed to sit next to her. And in the end she always broke our hearts by sitting down next to Charles." Pierre laughed and he nudged my shoulder.

"Lizzie? Your thoughts on that?"

"Umm- I honestly had no idea… I mean, yeah I don’t know what to say, it’s just crazy? The race winner should be allowed to sit next to me? Really?" my face was red. Dark red. And Charles took my hand in his and squeezed it.

"I’m just glad that I was the one to win that race." he said and now I had to laugh.

"Oh you’re so freaking cheesy! What race? The race to my heart?" I said and he nodded.

"Yup. Most important race of my life."

When we walked outside, Pierre pulled me to his side, but before he could say something Charles nudged in between us, pulling me tight to his body, his hand on my waist.

"Stay away from my girl!" Charles said and I had to contain a giggle.

"That wasn’t a problem before?" Pierre asked, grinning like a devil.

"Yeah? That was before I knew you had a real crush on her! All of you! I always just thought you said that to tease me! To annoy me! So stay away from my girl, Gasly!" Charles glared at him.

"Oh come on, calamar! I’m just messing with you! We all are, right guys?" Pierre laughed, patting Charles back.

"Yeah, absolutely…" Max said sarcastically and Charles shoved Pierre away.

"Oh look! Alex, mate! Come on over… you remember back in the day, when we all had a huge crush on Lizzie?" Pierre said and Alex laughed.

"How could I forget that? She was my first heartache!" Alex said, grasping his heart dramatically "I think I never got over the fact that when I gave her my juice box she took Charles’ one instead."

"Oh fuck off, Albono!" Charles groaned and I bursted out laughing.

"You brought me cranberry juice, Alex! I never liked that. Charles had a tropical punch… that was the fuel on the way to my heart!" I chuckled and Charles pinched my side.

"Careful cara mia, or I’ll make you regret your words later on…" he whispered in my ear and I bit my lip.

"If that’s not Lizzie, the girl of my 14 year old self’s dreams!" Esteban laughs as we passed him.

"Okay stop! I don’t give a fuck who actually had a crush on Lizzie, or who just did it to rile me up! That’s over now. My girl. Okay? Mine. Only mine. Not yours. Not yours. Not yours. Not yours." Charles said, pointing out at each of the guys separately before he stopped and looked at Pierre "And most definitely not yours. Mine." he pulled me in and kissed me fiercely and I was perplexed "And now my girl and I leave you idiots. Good-fucking-bye!" he grabbed my hand gently, pulling me away and I mouthed to the guys a silent sorry. Although I had to be honest, seeing Charles this riled up and possessive made me feel all kinds of things, most of them in between my legs.

"Didn’t know you were that possessive." I said after a few moments and he chuckled.

"When it comes to you? Always!" he kissed the side of my head "I’ll pick you up later on? The meeting shouldn’t be too long."

"Alright. Same for me. Just text me when you’re ready and then I’ll let you know."

The whole weekend went by in a blur, with Netflix following my every step. Our car worked fantastic here on Interlagos and when I parked on the P2 spot after quali, not many people were surprised. Charles hopped out of his car and walked straight up to me.

"Hey polesitter." I laughed, pulling off helmet and balaclava.

"Hey almost polesitter." he smiled, kissing my cheek.

"I thought you want real kisses?"

"Yeah but not when everyone is staring at us…" he laughed nervously and I smiled.

"Yes! Thank you! I was honestly really nervous because of that!"

"Me kissing you?" he asked.

"No! You kissing me, here, giving the audience a little show."

"Don’t worry. I save that for your or my next win." he squeezed my waist and then walked to his team, I walked to mine.

"I think we’re having a real chance tomorrow!" I said to Pete and he nodded.

"Definitely!" Felix added "Maybe it’s going to be another win."

I chuckled. Another win would be nice. But Charles in front and Max and George behind me definitely wouldn’t make it that easy for me. Another win would be a really tough fight. A fight I was willing to take on.

As I expected it, the battle with Charles, Max and George was intense. Whereas Charles stayed most of the time in front, I had to defend hard from Max and George, but in the end I could create a big enough gap to focus on Charles. The very last lap of the race was crucial. I crossed the finish line. What an amazing race. But the penalty was making it oh so bittersweet.

"Was it enough?" milliseconds that felt like ages were passing by as I waited for Pete’s answer. I gripped the steering wheel in a tight grip. Every fibre of my body ready to burst into either euphoria or devastation.

"You’re a two time race winner, Lizzie!" Pete cheered and I felt relief flooding me, together with the sweet taste of victory.

"Fucking hell! Wooohooo! YES! We did it guys! We did it!" I screamed.

"Fantastic job! Brilliant!"

"I love you guys! What a brilliant strategy call! What a fantastic pit stop! Amazing! Fucking amazing!" I felt like on cloud 9.

But right as I parked my car in P1, I looked to the left, watching as Charles parked his car next to mine. From the way he held his head, I knew how he felt. And when he climbed out of his car, head hung low, all the happiness I felt a moment ago was gone, replaced by sorrow. I got out of my car, walking to Charles, trying to talk to him but he only shook his head, pulled me into his arms for a second.

"Congrats, cara mia!" he whispered and squeezed my hand, then turned to his team, walking away, hugging them, ignoring me for now. I gulped and walked up to my team, their loud chants and happy singing not making me feel any better at all. I didn’t even hear what they were saying, just stood there, letting them pat my back, arms, helmet. The whole interview, cool down room, even on the podium I felt a tension between Charles and me. He smiled. Poured champagne over me. Pulled me to his side for the photo, even kissed the side of my head when we walked off. But he didn’t say a single word, other than congrats.

I was dreading the press conference. I knew people would pick up the tension between us and would ask questions to make us react. I tried to stay as neutral as possible. Only stating facts. Charles did the same. It was the last question that made me feel more than uncomfortable, when we were asked why we were so cold towards each other after the race, that they expected a little bit more of PDA.

"We’re still professional athletes and this is our job. You won’t see us making out when one of us won a race. We react the way we react. Today it was maybe because the adrenaline was still raging through our bodies, after that last lap, so we maybe didn’t jump happily in each other’s arms being all happy. But I want to say this, I’m more than happy for Lizzie. She’s a brilliant driver and displayed it today again. I’m incredibly proud of her." Charles said and I looked at him, he smiled a little and nodded.

"Alright. That’s it for tonight. Thank you all, see you next week in Abu Dhabi for the last race of the season!" Tom Clarkson ended the press conference and Charles jumped up, waiting for me to follow him outside.

Charles POV:

"Can you please say something?" she looked at me with pleading eyes.

"What do you mean?" I asked, taking my hoodie off.

"I want you to say something!"

"What do you want me to say?"

"I don’t know? Anything!" she sounded frustrated.

"Anything?" I raised an eyebrow and sat down on the sofa, taking my phone out.

"Yes! Anything! Since after the race you haven’t said a single word! You congratulated me and since then nothing. Cool down room, no words. Podium, no words. Walk to the press conference, no words. After that walking back, no words. You waited for me, no words. While driving back here, no words. So please just say something! Anything! If it helps yell at me! But just say something!" she was getting mad.

"What Lizzie? What else can I say than what I already said during the press conference? You didn’t leave me any space, I had nowhere else to go. It was either you or breaking heavily, which would’ve ruined my already screwed tyres." I didn’t want to get over it again.

"But I was in front." she countered.

"No, you weren’t." I sighed leaning back.

"I was."

"Okay."

"That’s it? Okay?"

"What else?"

"I don’t know! Can you just say something other than that diplomatic shit?" she spat out and I sat up.

"Why? It’s no use. I got the penalty. It’s done. You forced me to make that move. Your tyres were even more done for than mine. You knew that this was your last chance to pass me, but even then it would’ve been a miracle if you could’ve stayed in front of me, our straight line speed is way faster than yours. You knew the only way to win was to force me into this move, and stupid me took the bait." I said emotionless and she stopped her pacing, looking at me.

"What?" she sounded genuinely confused.

"What? You wanted me to say something. Anything. And I did." I got up and grabbed a bottle of water.

"No, that’s not what I meant. You think I tricked you? You think I did it on purpose?"

"Oh come on Lizzie! That move? We perfectioned it back in GP3. Forcing someone to force you off track." I said bitterly.

"Yeah, but I would never… you really think I did it on purpose?"

"I don’t know, okay? It looked like it. You could’ve braked. You had enough time to do it. But you decided against it. You didn’t brake. I didn’t brake. I forced you off track because I already was too far gone and braking would cost me my tyres. You came back behind me, but I got the penalty." I took a big gulp of water and sat down again, while Lizzie just looked incredulous at me.

"Okay, tell me if I get this right. You think that I came this close and didn’t brake to force you into braking or forcing me off of track, which the latter happened. Then you got a penalty for forcing me off of track and lost your win. And all the reaction I get from you is this?" she waved her hands at me and I tilted my head "Why aren’t you mad at me?"

"Who says I’m not? But it’s already done? I can’t change it anymore."

"Yeah maybe but you could at least say it. Let your emotions out."

"Do you want me to yell at you?" I was confused now.

"Yes! I want you to be mad an-…"

"I am mad!"

"Then show it!"

"What the fuck? What would it change?"

"If it was Carlos, Max, Checo whoever, you would’ve stormed up to them after the race and be furious! But because it was me you just accepted it and that was it." she was furious.

"You think I let it slip because you’re my girlfriend?"

"Yes you did!"

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes.

"No! Not whatever! I don’t want you to treat me differently!"

"I didn’t! Or did you miss that I, in fact, did not brake and went full on into you! Forced you off track! Just because I didn’t start shit after the race doesn’t mean that I’m not fucking mad. I am. It was as shitty move. But then again, I don’t know if I wouldn’t have done it as well in your position. But I’m not sitting here now and have a fight or whatever this is with you about it!" I was frustrated. Why did she want to fight? Why didn’t she want to just leave it be and celebrate her win?

"See! You don’t even think that we’re fighting!"

"What? Lizzie you don’t make any sense right now! You won. I didn’t. End of the story."

"No! Not end of the story. I want you to have the same reaction with me like you would have with any other driver!"

"BUT YOU‘RE NOT ANY OTHER DRIVER FOR FUCKS SAKE!" I was seething "There, I said it. Is that what you wanted? Yes, I would’ve called out any other driver after that! I definitely would be really fucking pissed. And I am really fucking pissed! But why do you want to fight so bad? Why do you want me to scream and shout? FUCK!"

"BECAUSE I DON‘T WANT YOU TO TREAT ME DIFFERENTLY JUST BECAUSE I‘M YOUR GIRLFRIEND!" she full on screamed.

She stood there, face red, breathing heavily, staring at me. Waiting for my reaction. I got up, grabbed my phone, wallet and jacket and looked at her.

"I’m not doing this, whatever this is, Lizzie. I’m sorry, but you are my girlfriend and if that causes a problem for you, then I can’t change it." I put on my shoes and walked out the door. We both needed to cool off.

I didn’t sleep. Not one second. I was lying awake in bed. Staring at the ceiling. Not knowing what happened. Was it me? Did I push him too much? Because I wanted him to have a reaction? But he should have one. He should be mad at me the way he would be with any other driver. I couldn’t be an exception just because I was his girlfriend. That’s not fair. That’s not how this should work. I texted Charles again. No reply. I called. No answer. I groaned frustrated and checked the time. 1:11 am. Great. At 6:45 we had to leave for the airport. And I had no idea where Charles was. Packing up our suitcases, searching through the room to not forget anything I questioned myself. Why did I react like this? Why didn’t I leave it be. Was this what I feared? That he would treat me differently, now that everyone knew that I was his girlfriend? But then again, would he react or rather not react like this if we were still keeping us a secret? My head began to throb and I laid down. But sleep wouldn’t find me. Instead I waited for Charles to come back.

The door opened and Charles walked in. He quietly closed it, slipped off his shoes and then slowly made his way into the bathroom. As soon as the door was closed I sat up against the headboard, waiting for him. To occupy myself I took out my phone and scrolled through Instagram, just to be greeted with a bunch of pictures of Charles, partying away with Pierre, Daniel and Yuki. Surrounded by a bunch of girls. Empty bottles all over the table. I put my phone down as the bathroom door opened again and Charles walked out. He stopped in the doorframe when he saw I was awake and then switched off the light, walking to his side of the bed, lying down. He didn’t say anything. Didn’t look at me. Silence. Right as he turned his back to me I grabbed my phone again, looking at an article, I opened before.

"’Charles Leclerc parties alone without race winner and girlfriend Lizzie Doetterer after controversial penalty at Brazilian GP’." I read aloud and watched how Charles back tensed. He stayed silent and I checked the time before I put my phone away, shuffling down on my pillow.

3:27. In less than three hours we had to get up. At this point I knew I wouldn’t get a single second of sleep, so I stared again at the ceiling, waiting for the time ticking away. Charles next to me was also awake, but he didn’t move nor made a sound. I was getting frustrated and grabbed my phone again, putting my AirPods in and played some music, opening Instagram again, clicked through the pictures and videos, just to torment myself a little more. The guys seemed to have a lot of fun. And the gorgeous Brazilian girls around them seemed to enjoy their time with the drivers as well. Most of the pictures and clips were blurry, to figure out what happened wasn’t the easiest, but when I swiped to the next picture my heart dropped. It was blurry. Really blurry. But it was Charles. The hair. The profile. The stature, posture, clothes. It was Charles with a beautiful brunette, arms slung around his neck, his hands on her waist, body’s pressed to each other. Kissing. I whimpered and got up. My phone flew through the air, landing with a loud thud on the floor. I slammed the door shut and made it just in time to throw up straight into the toilet. Emptying my stomach, while searing, hot tears were streaming down my face. I sat back, wiped my mouth with the sleeve of Charles’ hoodie that I was wearing. With every heartbeat a wave of pain wrecked through my body. I grabbed one of the glasses on the sink and filled it with water, rinsed my mouth and then leaned back against the cold tiles. Knees pulled up to my chest. Tears still streaming down my face, muffled cries and sobs echoing from the walls. I pushed him away. I pushed him this far. It was my fault. I was so deep down in my sorrow that I didn’t even hear the door opening and Charles walking in. I flinched when he sat down next to me, pulling me into his lap. I tried to fight against his hold, tried to wiggle away, but he held me close. Didn’t let go of me.

"I don’t know what’s going on with you, why you so desperately tried to start a fight, but one thing I know for sure, nothing, you hear me, nothing, you say or do could ever make me stop loving you. Nothing could push me into the arms of any other girl on this planet, okay? I know what you think. And although this dude really looks like me, which is scary, it’s not me. You hear me? That’s not me!" he whispered against my head and I chuckled dryly.

"Yeah sure, that’s what all men say when they get caught." I cried although I wanted to believe his words more than anything.

"Lizzie, look at it. Come on. Look at it. Look closely." he grabbed my chin, tilting my head so I could see the picture. Still him.

"That’s you." I whispered.

"Look at the watch." he zoomed in on it.

A golden Rolex. I grabbed Charles’ wrist, turned it around. White Richard Mille. I swallowed hard. Burying my face in his chest.

"I don’t even own a Rolex. Also, look at this dude here in the back…" he chuckled and I glanced on the phone, looking at the person Charles pointed at. Himself. Next to Yuki. Laughing. "I have the most amazing, wonderful, beautiful, gorgeous, funny, sweet, caring and slightly crazy girl on this planet as my girlfriend. How stupid do you think I am, doing shit like that, losing you?"

"I’m sorry. For Everything. I don’t even know why I was trying to rile you up. I swear the second you left I was asking myself what’s wrong with me…" I whispered and he chuckled.

"It’s okay…" he kissed my head but I shook it.

"It’s not! I was a total bitch." I groaned.

"Stop, okay? I’m at fault here as well. I ran away, again. Instead of staying and talking with you about what was going on, I left. Because I hate fighting with you. I love when we’re arguing about little things, I love our bickering and bantering. But I hate fighting with you. Real fighting. I don’t want that. So I guess that’s why I left. But I can’t always keep running away…"

"But I push you to run away, that is even worse." I sighed.

"We’re both in the wrong, okay? We have to talk about things like this. Talk not scream. Stay not run away."

"Yeah…"

"But cara mia? You have to promise me one thing…" Charles whispered and I looked up at him "Please, never assume again that I would ever cheat on you! I would never do that, never! I thought I lost you too many times already, I could never do anything to really lose you. Please believe me."

"I believe you! And I trust you. I think it was just… I don’t know, the way I behaved? I couldn’t even be mad if you would’ve chea-…" I began but he stopped me with a soft kiss.

"Nothing makes cheating okay." he whispered then and got up with me in his arms "And now let’s go. Let’s have at least 2 hours of sleep before we have to leave!" he carried me to the bed and tucked us both in, my back flush to his chest "I’m sorry for being so cold towards you after the race… I was just… I wanted that win so badly… one last win this season. Next week will be Max’s win, Abu Dhabi is a track that suits the RB way more than us. But still. I should’ve been way more happy for you. Show more support. I’m sorry." he whispered into my neck and I shook my head.

"It’s okay. I understand you! I would probably feel the same! And you know what? You might even be right, I think I knew exactly what I was doing, forcing you into that move. It was just happening in a split second that I couldn’t really grasp it fully… sorry."

"It’s okay. You won. I’m second. As long as you and I are okay, I’m happy." he kissed my head "And now we really need to sleep! Come on now, cara mia. One last race and we finally have a couple of weeks just for us!"

"I can’t wait."

"So Lizzie, ready for our Secret Santa?" Angelina, the content creator for F1 said and I nodded. The last race weekend in Abu Dhabi started with some last filming for F1. Under the sun of the United Arab Emirates I sat, wearing a Santa hat, smiling into the cameras, Charles behind it, watching me.

"Yup and let me tell you something, it was really funny to look for the perfect little gift." I laughed, the bell of my Santa hat ringing.

"We can’t wait to see what you’ve bought, but now it’s your turn, here you go." she handed me a present and I took it, carefully shaking it.

"That’s the first thing I always do when I get a present. Alright, let’s unwrap." I carefully ripped the beautifully wrapped present open, a sleek, black box "That looks posh." I chuckled and opened up the box, unfolding the satin paper and gasped a little "Oh wow. I know exactly who that is from." I pulled a beautiful Burberry scarf out of the box, wrapping it around my neck.

"Yeah? Who is it then? And why are you so sure?" Angelina asked.

"This beautiful scarf is from my dear, posh, British friend George Russell, who I called back in F2 Mr. Burberry because he’s like so typical British, in a good way! He’s polite, he’s cocky, he has this dry sense of humour. And he once wore a Burberry shirt and I was just like yeah, he’s Mr. Burberry from now on. So thank you a lot, George, for this beauty of a scarf. Happy Christmas!" I smiled into the camera.

"Alright. Perfect." she clapped her hands together and I got up "Charles, you’re up next." she turned to him, behind the camera and he nodded, switching places with me, not without pinching my side as he walked past me.

"Alright Charles, here you go. Your present." Angelina handed him his present and he smiled.

"Thank you." he ripped off the paper first and then opened up the box inside, laughing. He pulled out four pairs of socks. Two black ones and two white once "Oh look at that. Socks. But not just any socks… no, couple socks…" he laughed and held up the two white pairs, both with a cute smiley face on them and tiny hands holding each other with a magnet "I wonder who that’s from." he looked at me and I had to suppress my laughter "Oh, wait, there’s more." he picked out the custom made iPhone case, laughing even more "Yeah, I got it. My phone needs protection, cara mia, thank you." he rolled his eyes playfully.

"So you know who it’s from?" Angelina asked and Charles smiled.

"From my beautiful girlfriend. Thank you, Lizzie!" he replied, looking first into the camera and then at me.

"Alright, thank you two so much! See you guys next year!" she said and Charles got up.

"Merry Christmas, guys!" he said and I nodded.

"Yeah! Enjoy your down time! See you next season!" I smiled and we walked off.

"The socks are cute." Charles snaked his arm around my waist, pulling me close.

"I saw a TikTok and just knew they would be perfect!" I chuckled a little "And your phone is in severe need of any form of protection."

"That’s true!" he laughed "Let’s drop off our presents and then we have to go to the press conference."

"Yeah. I really don’t want to go." I sighed.

"Seb?" Charles asked and I nodded.

"It’s so unfair! I finally made it into F1 and could only race alongside him for one season!" I was really upset about Seb’s retirement, although I understood his reasons all too well.

"Alright everyone. Last press conference of the year. With me Lizzie Doetterer, Audi, Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari, Max Verstappen, RedBull Racing, Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren and for the last time ever Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin." Tom Clarkson began and I looked at Seb, at how at ease he was, I didn’t even listen to what was said. I just looked at Seb and knew that he was making the right decision, retiring now, although I would miss him dearly.

"Now to you Lizzie, we all know that Seb was kind of a mentor for you, how did you feel when you saw the video, knowing he would retire at the end of the season. How do you feel now, as it is his last race?"

"Seb is more than just a mentor, he became a good friend over the years. He was always there for me, whenever I needed him. After my accident he sent me every day an uplifting quote, god how I hated it at times. So yeah, when he texted me a couple of days before his official announcement that he decided to retire I was shocked. And I tried my best to change his mind, as we see, unsuccessfully. But I understand him. The life we’re living is tough. Fast. Unstable. It’s not made for a family and Seb is a dad through and through. I’m happy for him. I know that his choice was the right one for him. He already knows that there’s always a paddock pass waiting for him." I said and Seb put his hand on my shoulder, squeezing it.

"Alright. Let’s open the floor for some questions."

Most of the questions were for Seb obviously, how he felt, what would be his next goal, his plans, what he would miss.

"John Bridgers, BBC. Lizzie, I heard you have a special something prepared for Seb this weekend?"

"Yep, I have a special helmet this weekend. It’s inspired from Seb’s helmet with a little farewell message." Seb turned, looking at me "You’ll love it. Don’t worry." I chuckled a little.

"Thank you, kiddo." he smiled.

"We have time for one last question." Clarkson said and pointed at a man in the back.

"Mike Henley, AllSportsUS. Question for Charles and Lizzie. With everyone now knowing about your relationship, there’s one question coming up: who’s the WAG?"

Max and Daniel next to us started laughing hysterically, Seb only chuckled.

"He is."

"She is."

We both said it at the same time, looking at each other, grinning.

“I am."

"I am."

Again at the same time and we started to laugh.

"I’m Lizzie’s WAG and she is my WAG." Charles said and Daniel laughed even harder.

"You’re no WAG, Charles, you’re a…" Daniel starts and pauses to think.

"He’s a HAB!" I exclaimed and Max thought for a second then laughed again.

"Husbands and Boyfriends." he chuckled.

"So, Charles is my HAB and I’m his WAG." I said.

"Then we’ll have it sorted." Charles concluded and the reporter chuckled satisfied.

"That’s it for today. We wish you all a good, last race weekend and maybe I see some of you on Sunday." Clarkson ended the press conference and we walked out, Seb throwing his arm around my shoulder.

"I wanted to swap helmets with you today. But not if you have a special one designed. I also thought that you should keep your helmet from your first season." he chuckled a little.

"No! I have my other helmet here as well! I want to swap! Really! Yeah it’s the helmet of my first season. But not the one I won my first race in! So I can definitely swap with you!" I said and he nodded.

"Alright. Deal." he smiled and I heard a camera clicking, looking up.

"That was a cute moment I had to capture." Daniel shrugged his shoulders and I nodded.

"As long as I get a copy."

"Of course."

"I hate this weekend already. It’s not just you who’s leaving Seb! Danny won’t be here because if fucking Zack Brown, Mick won’t be here because of fucking Günther Steiner! Oh Nicky leaves as well! What a shit show." I sighed.

"I’m not retiring! I’m just exploring new options." Daniel said, but I saw the sadness in his eyes and it made me even more furious "Don’t worry, Liz, I’ll be back."

"I hope so!" I waved them all goodbye and entered the Audi hospitality.

"Lizzie, can we maybe film a little sequence of your thoughts on this weekend?" Elijah awaited me already.

"Now?"

"Just a few words. Maybe in your drivers room?"

"Okay." I sighed and walked upstairs, sitting down on my sofa "So, what do you want to hear?"

They set up the camera real quick and the microphone, hung over my head, out of frame.

"Last race of your first season in Formula 1. Can you reflect on the past months? What were your highlights? The not so nice parts?"

"It’s been a crazy few months, that’s for sure. It’s been a good season over all. Few ups and downs here and there, but we managed quite well in the end. I’m so proud of my team, they’ve done an incredible job. Were there moments that I wished they were different? Of course. Some weekends were just messed up. Miami, Baku, Canada, Hungary, Zandvoort… Mexico. To name some. But then of course we have Bahrain, my first race and podium! Monaco my almost first win! In Silverstone then my actual first win! Last week my second win! I mean. It’s been a good season and we want to finish on a high."

"Alright. Perfect. That’s it, thanks Lizzie." Elijah got up and the film crew left my room "We’re done for today. We’ll see you tomorrow."

"Yup. I can’t wait!" I joked and he chuckled, walking back downstairs. I packed my bag and followed them, looking for Dad. He read something on his iPad intently. I looked at him, his expression almost sad, eyes dead.

"Dad?" I asked and sat next to him "What’s going on? What happened?"

"Hmm? Oh nothing. All good." he cleared his throat, closed the web browser and put his iPad on the table "So. How was the press conference?"

"It was okay? Dad, what’s going on?" I asked again but he just shook his head "What did you read that was so horrible?" no reaction. I grabbed the iPad and opened the browser, then the history and an article plopped up about Charles and Dad. I was confused and started to read. With every line I was getting more furious, I clicked on the attached clip and looked up at Dad and he just looked outside, watching the busy paddock. As I was about to say something the doors of our hospitality flew open with a loud bang and Charles stormed in. He stopped in front of Dad and before he could say anything Charles pulled him up into a hug.

"Don’t believe a single word of this bullshit! Not one word is true! I don’t know who wrote it and I don’t care because it’s not true! Nothing of it! I never said anything like that because how could I? You might not be my Dad but you are like one to me! To all of us! You always took care of us! And I’m so thankful for having you in our life’s! Don’t ever doubt that, Pops!" Charles said and I felt my eyes well up.

"It’s okay, Charles you don’t have to say tha-…" Dad began but Charles shook his head.

"I’m not just saying it. I mean it. You were always there for us, no matter what, and whoever wrote that bullshit can fuck right off." Charles looked at him intently "Okay?"

"Okay." Dad mumbled and I could swear I saw him wiping away a tear.

I watched how they sat down and started talking and thought about that article. Since Japan it was awfully quiet. No new message from Diaz. Nothing. Then the leaked video of Charles and me. Now this article with a clip where dad fights with a nurse calling Charles his son. I had no proof, but I was sure. It was him. It was Diaz.

The weekend went by in a breeze and I finally looked up at the lights. For the last time this year I waited for them to go out. Starting from P5. Max, Perez, Charles and Sainz in front of me. I managed to overtake Sainz right at the start and battled for a while with Charles who then was able to create a gap, I couldn’t get ahold of him from then on, my pace no match to his. The battle behind me was surprisingly more entertaining, with Seb making his way close behind Russell who fought off Sainz.

"Lizzie, Perez with a 5 second penalty. 3.7 seconds ahead. You fight now for podium. Keep up the pace!"

Amazing. Finishing the season on the podium would be amazing. As I breezed past the grand stand I saw a bunch of Germany flags. A lot of them with a 5 on it. I knew that Seb was behind me. Not too far away. It was his last race…

"Gap to Seb?"

"1.4 seconds."

3 laps left. He could do that with DRS. I slowed down, but only slightly. Nothing too obvious.

"1.7 seconds. You gotta speed up a little."

"Copy."

2 laps left. Not going to speed up. Maybe a lock up. I braked too hard in the next corner. Tyres locking up. I saw Seb in my mirrors. He could catch me now easily with DRS.

"Fuck! Gap?"

"Perez 3.1, Seb 0.9."

"Fuck!" Perfect.

Last lap and Seb had DRS. He could do it. He would end his career on the podium. But when he had the chance to overtake me, he didn’t.

"And that’s P3. Well done, Lizzie, well done!" Pete radioed and I sighed a little.

"Thanks Pete! Good job from the team! Nice pitstop! Where’s Valtteri?"

"P6."

"Nice!"

"Lizzie! Good job, little one! What a rookie season! 2 wins. 8 podiums. 2 fastest laps. You were absolutely amazing! You made all of us so proud! From the first moment of having you in our car we knew we wouldn’t regret our choice! Thank you!" Felix said and my eyes got a little teary.

"Thank you so much for having this much faith in me, Felix! This season was just the beginning!"

"Absolutely! And now… I know what you want to do… go ahead, you should be good for a good handful." he laughed.

"Donut time baby!"

I parked my car and closed my eyes for a moment, my first season in Formula 1 was done and it ended like it started on P3 on the podium. All the ups on downs on track, but also beside flashed through my mind and I felt the emotions overcoming me. I felt myself shaking a little and climbed out of the car, jumping with wobbly knees into the arms of my team, everyone patting my helmet, arms and shoulders.

I turned around and saw Charles jumping out of his car, looking around and then spotting me. He was in an instant in front of me, hoisting me up and spinning me around.

"Amazing race, cara mia." his voice muffled as he sat me down again, he walked quickly back to his team and I went to my last weighing of the year.

"Congrats on an amazing first season, Lizzie!" Joe said as he handed me my receipt and patted my arm.

"Thanks, Joe!" my voice was a little shaky and as I walked back, trying to unclasp my helmet strap, I felt my hands shaking as well, something Charles noticed in an instant.

"Hey, are you okay?" he whispered, wiping his face with a towel.

"Bit overwhelmed and that stupid clasp won’t open up…" I mumbled and he gently pushed my hands away.

"Here, let me help you." he smiled at me and undid the clasp "Hold still." he chuckled when I wiggled around a little.

"Sorry, it’s just my nose is itching! Hurry up!"

"Okay, I got it…" he pulled of the helmet and I quickly did the same with the balaclava and scratched my nose "Better?"

"Better!" I laughed, taking a big swig of water, when someone approached us.

"I know what you did there, kiddo." Seb whispered and hugged me close.

"Why didn’t you overtake then?" I sighed.

"Because you deserved that podium more than me."

"Not true, Seb!"

"True. I’m so proud of you Lizzie. This season was amazing. You were amazing. Retiring is easier knowing that there is at least one German out there making our country proud."

"How about you un-retire and continue doing that?" I sniffled a little.

"Nope. I’m done. That’s it. But I’m leaving Formula 1 Germany in good hands." he pulled away and the way he smiled made it clear that he was making the right decision. There was a glimmer in his eyes that was only there when he was with his family, that glimmer that was long gone during races. He was truly happy.

"I’m going to miss you." I hugged him again and he patted my back.

"Same kiddo, same. But you know that I’ll be only one call away. Same goes for you of course!" he looked at Charles and he nodded hugging Seb "Now come on guys! Get your trophies! Maybe I’ll hit one of the end of the season parties this year… it’s been a long time since I did that."

"That would be amazing!" I smiled at him.

"Yeah, we’ll see! You go now and celebrate your win a little!" he walked away and I turned to Charles.

"That’s it. The season is over…"

"Yeah and did you check the standings… you’re P4 in the drivers standings. As a rookie!" Charles smiled "I’m so proud of you, cara mia. You were fantastic, astonishing! You silenced all your critics!" he hugged me tight.

"I’m so proud of you, too. You were amazing this season! Next year the title is yours!" I turned my head, wanting to kiss his cheek when I thought of what I talked about with Dr. Lindner, I really should say fuck it. I took a deep breath and looked at Charles.

"What?" he raised and eyebrow and I grinned.

"I love you, vice-champion Charles Leclerc." and before he could say something I leaned in, sealing our lips in a searing kiss shut. Time seemed to stop. Nothing mattered anymore, not the fireworks above us, the crowd around us, our teams cheering and whistling. Nothing. Just us. Charles and I in this moment.

Chapter 29 - and with that the 2022 season is over… let’s give our two lovebirds some downtime to recharge the batteries… 2023 is going to be… well you’ll see 🤷🏻‍♀️

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[jellyshark-png]

MK1xF1 AU – by Shark :3

alright alright it is FINALLY HERE but before we get started in this big ass post, just a few silly disclaimers !!

expect some MAJOR inaccuracies (this is mostly for my diehard f1 fans hello :3),, i am by no means an expert, in fact i got into f1 VERY recently so pls bare with me

lets understand that, from a physique standpoint, tomas and kuai WOULD NOT REALISTICALLY BE IN F1– however we choose to ignore that for the sake of the brainrot teehee

not every character will be included, so pls don't get mad at me if your fav is not in this AU– its a working AU and these are all coming off the top of my head

anyways, enjoy me yapping!

just a few definitions to understand the positions and other terms i'll be using throughout this post :'D

Team Principal – basically owns the team, kind of self explanatory HAHA Race Engineer – these are the people that speak to the drivers while they're racing! now, realistically speaking, every driver gets their own race engineer, but in this case i haven't done that bc,,, well there's only so many characters :') Pit Lead – another self explanatory position, but this is the lead/manager of the pit crew! (is this an actual position ?? idk but we're going with it) Formula Series – so Formula 1 isn't the only race in the series, there's also F2 and F3– these are the races you basically go through before you get into F1! there's other races in the series, but these are the ones i'll focus on. Drive to Survive/DTS – this is a netflix series revolving around F1 and i will say its the most dramatic depiction of the sport + all the fake hate between racers shown ?? and using clips and such out of context ?? yeah you get the picture.

F1 TEAMS

MERCEDES-AMG PETRONAS F1 TEAM

Team Principal : Hanzo Hasashi (i know it says mk1 but shhhh) Race Engineers : Bihan Pit Lead : Syzoth Racers : Kuai Liang and Tomas Vrbada

Mercedes comes up as a long time rival to Oracle Red Bull Racing and Ferrari Scuderia– expecially with such a close bond between the brothers. Bihan started off as the team's strategist before his farther stepped down as race engineer, thus banding the baton to Bihan and making him the youngest race engineer on the grid. Tomas and Kuai are steady but strongly defensive racers, Tomas joining in a bit later in the game starting as a rookie reserve driver for Mercedes in the first half of the previous seasons. Now they fight on together in the world of F1 side by side as a strong unit.

extra! - i remember reading someone's headcanon abt kuai liang being taiwanese,,, so im gonna say bihan and kuai liang are half chinese half taiwanese (chinese dad, taiwanese mom), and so in this case, kuai liang would represent the taiwanese flag while tomas ofc represents the czech republic flag!

FERRARI SCUDERIA F1 TEAM

Team Principal : Jackson "Jax" Briggs Racers : Johnny Cage and Kenshi Takahashi

Before Oracle Red Bull Racing's renaissance in the new generation of F!, Ferrari Scuderia was at the top of their game for years and years. With Johnny and Kenshi being in the sport much longer than the newcomers, it's no denying that they are the winning classics of every race season– many looking forward to their assertion in the races. Johnny drives more aggressively, though with a lighter bounce in his step, a bit of bantering almost while he's racing wheel to wheel. Kenshi, on the other hand, is smooth and sly in the way he overtakes every racer, always sidling just behind a racer's line. Although they've raced for much longer, they still hold true as being one of the big three amongst Mercedes and Red Bull Racing.

extra! - 100000% johnny and kenshi do not work well at first when they become team mates, and people honestly would've preferred them as rivals in opposing teams– but over time they'd put aside their differences and slowly find out that they actually work really well together, despite their opposites in driving style and personality.

ORACLE RED BULL RACING F1 TEAM

Team Principal : Geras Race Engineer : Liu Kang Racers : Raiden and Kung Lao

Oracle Red Bull Racing saw its first golden age with now race engineer Liu Kang, setting the standard for F1 in his time and winning world championship after world championship, dominating each race until his retirement as a racer. Today, Raiden now follows in his footsteps, and alongside him his childhood best friend, Kung Lao. Starting out, they weren't actually in the same team– opting to race against each other in opposing teams to keep their rivalry alive once joining F1. Over time, and after many second driver switches, Kung Lao finally joins Raiden in Oracle Red Bull Racing, making them THE golden boys of this generation's Red Bull racing team– an absolute killer duo to fight against long standing Mercedes and Ferrari.

extra! - irl, red bull is NOTORIOUS for constantly switching out second drivers, and so kung lao would get a lot of flack– and his first year in red bull would not be as great until around the second half of the season :'))

TIMELINE

here, i'll be explaining the timeline of each of the racers' moves throughout the teams– this is going from 2020-2024 (and to preface, whenever i do talk abt mk1xf1 stuff, assume its all taking place in 2024 unless told otherwise). im gonna pray all of this makes sense HAHA

*also there's usually two drivers per team ofc, but i cannot be bothered to do any placeholder drivers for each team, so the second driver can be up to your interpretation!

2020

kuai and kenshi in aston martin (have been since 2019 as well, maybe 2018 i havent fully decided)

johnny has been in RB toro rosso for a year since 2019 (technically speaking its called visa cashapp rb now but like,,,, you guys that name is so awful LMAO)

raiden and tomas enter into their first year in F1 in williams

kung lao enters his first year in haas

TEAMS Aston Martin : kuai liang and kenshi takahashi RB Toro Rosso : johnny cage Haas : kung lao Williams : raiden and tomas vrbada

2021

kuai and kenshi stay in aston martin

johnny stays in toro rosso, and tomas makes the move to toro rosso

raiden moves to mclaren

kung lao stays in haas

TEAMS Aston Martin : kuai liang and kenshi takahashi RB Toro Rosso : johnny cage and tomas vrbada Mclaren : raiden Haas : kung lao

2022

kuai makes the move to oracle red bull racing (BY THIS TIME liu kang is actually still racing, and retires by the end of the 2022 season)

kenshi makes the move to williams, alongside kung lao

tomas and johnny stay in toro rosso

raiden stays in mclaren

TEAMS Oracle RB : kuai liang and liu kang Williams : kenshi takahashi and kung lao RB Toro Rosso : johnny cage and tomas vrbada Mclaren : raiden

2023

raiden moves to oracle RB after liu kang retires, kuai stays in oracle RB

kenshi stays in williams

kung lao moves to RB toro rosso to replace johnny, tomas stays in RB toro rosso

johnny goes to mercedes

TEAMS Oracle RB : kuai liang and raiden RB Toro Rosso : kung lao and tomas vrbada Williams : kenshi takahashi Mercedes : johnny cage

mid 2023 – 2024 (current)

johnny signs into ferrari in the middle of the '23 season

kuai liang signs into mercedes in the middle of the '23 season

kung lao signs into oracle RB, raiden stays in the same team

kenshi then signs into ferrari by the end of the '23 season

tomas signs into mercedes for the '24 season

TEAMS Oracle RB : raiden and kung lao Ferrari Scuderia : johnny cage and kenshi takahashi Mercedes : kuai liang and tomas vrbada

Misc. Stuff :D

this is where it gets super fun bc now i yap EVEN MORE abt the extra shit in this AU

the ages✨ bc i assume everyones curious abt this perhaps HAHA and this is in conjunction with being in the current year 2024 and these are all ranges bc,,,, im indecisive and dont know what age to actually make them

liu kang and geras : late 30s, very early 40s (maybe like,,, 37-41 ??)

hanzo hasashi and jax briggs : early 40s perhaps

kuai liang and johnny cage : late 20s, early 30s (so kuai around 27-29 and johnny 29-32)

kenshi takahashi and bihan : early 30s (maybe a year older than johnny ? like if johnny is perhaps 30 then kenshi would be 31– then bihan is liiike idk 32-33)

kung lao, raiden, and tomas vrbada : early-mid 20s

the rookie trio !!! lets get into it :333

raiden, kung lao, and tomas all entered into F3 around the same time! they moved up in the series and all entered F1 the same time as well (for my F1 fans, think of them as lando, george and alex)

as ages go, raiden is the oldest, then tomas, then kung lao being the youngest of the three :3 and for laughs– tomas 10000% holds it over lao's head that hes older than him (probably only by a few months too HAHA)

this isn't specific to the rookies, but theres a "twitch quartet" (twitch streaming btw) in the irl world of F1 (lando, george, alex and charles), and so in this AU, the twitch quartet would be the rookies + johnny cage bc i think that dynamic is absolutely hilarious HAHA

these three would be considered the new era of F1, whereas kuai, johnny and kenshi are considered the older bunch teehee

liu kang as a racer oooohhhh AUUUUGHFDK

liu kang would've been absolutely ICONIC during his time, think sebastian vettel– that's his kind of notoriety

so when he announced his retirement, it would've absolutely devastated the F1 community, even if you weren't a liu kang or red bull fan, it would still hit you where it hurts

he'd truly set the bar standard for what an F1 driver should be like idc idc

but when he announced his return as a race engineer for the oracle RB team, everyone cheered :3

the controversial era that is 2023-2024 + the hit netflix series Drive to Survive

i know for an absolute FACT that when kuai and tomas signed into mercedes there was a lot and i mean A LOOOOTTT of speculation and hate for them bc of the familial ties

and perhaps a similar issue with johnny joining ferrari bc i headcanon him to have some italian roots (so people would speculate that he had someone in the inside idfk LMAO)

but this would be CAAAANDY for the show Drive to Survive bro it would be HAVOC

speaking of DTS– once kung lao signed into Oracle RB, they 100000% villainized him and even made it seem as though he wanted to take raiden's spotlight as the first driver (which is not the case holy hell HAHA)

but with that, a lot of fans that came from DTS despised kung lao, and probably still do– they just refuse to see that they're literally childhood friends LMAO

some dynamics stuff and jumping between eras and whatnot bro this is getting way too long HAHA

at the beginnings of his F1 career, tomas would be EXTREMELY tense and even tone down his playful personality to come off as more "serious" and professional– but when he joins RB toro rosso with johnny, he aaaaabsolutely helps him out of his shell and proves to him that you don't have to be so serious in the sport. it would just be a lot of pressure on tomas' part to prove himself, esp with being in kuai's shadow :')

and in a similar note, when kung lao joins williams with kenshi, he kinda learns a bit of humility from kenshi and brings down his rowdiness, actually hone it to be a better driver in the long run. AUGHGHKDFJ dude kenshi and johnny as mentors heals my soul idc

kuai and kenshi in aston martin would have been KIIIILLLEERRR they would've put aston martin as actual competitors in the constructor's championship LIIKEKEK so iconic + they'd be the heartbreakers of their time with the two being at their prime and much younger UGH

LAST THING I PROMISE this is just a bunch of extra tidbits if you care to read– and if you've actually made it this far uhhh,,,, congratulations BAHAH

kenshi has sensitive eyes, so he has his helmet visor specifically tinted for that + does wear shades inside and ykw its a godsend the Ferrari is sponsored by Raybans HAHA

to tie to that, johnny just has AT LEAST two extra pairs of glasses on him, and he says its for himself but really its just in case kenshi somehow forgets his own shades somewhere or his own pair broke (ya gotta love them)

raiden and lao's rivalry is IIINNNSSAAANNEEE haters can hate all they want, but their on track fights are so incredible to watch and people think its a miracle that they're still as close as ever

ALSO BRO madam bo would have 10000000% funded their karting career SHES THEIR NUMBER ONE SUPPORTER IDC WHAT ANYONE SAYS !!!!!!! she sponsors them too, is always in whatever commercials they do and theyre your typical cheesy but memorable asian commercials

random but with raiden and kung lao both being chinese, they both represent the chinese flag, and so did liu kang !!! you'd catch them all in cantonese– though unfortunately cannot speak much with kuai since he speaks mandarin HAHA

during their time in williams, lao and kenshi definitely taught each other their own language just a bit, but lao definitely learned most of the "bad" words in japanese LMAOF

johnny italian yes (cmon just look at his nose) ??? and he's fluent case closed– but also its funny to see his onboard videos of him gesturing to other drivers when he's angry

bihan has the same notoriety as toto wolff– he's the one mf everyone simps for and ISN'T AN F1 DRIVER

this has already gone for a long time LMAOKSJDFH but if you have any other questions or would like me to make some comparisons of the actual drivers vs. the characters, my ask box is open !!! anyways thank you for reading this LOOOOONNNGGGG post and i hope to make more mk1xf1 content :'))))

[39oa]

nhl x f1 fandom survey results

hello there! about two months ago, @andreisvechnikov and i posted a form meant to gather data from fans on tumblr of both f1 and the nhl so we could take a look at demographics, trends, and then subsequently share interesting corresponding insights.

in total, our form received n = 102 responses — honestly not that great of a sample size for stratifying data by teams when considering that there are 32 nhl teams and 10 f1 teams, so a lot of findings come with a large caveat, but hopefully this post will be interesting to you anyway! (of note is also that all of this data was collected before the nhl regular season began, so hopefully we can rerun this experiment sometime next year when the seasons are running concurrently and see how results have changed then.)

unrelated to our survey, @sergeifyodorov also polled hockey fans on their favorite teams a while back; his results will be referenced as well throughout this post! he was extremely kind and generous enough to send over his data so that we could play around with it on our own, so thank you again for that!!! one last time, please note that our results are not easily comparable because of different sample sizes and team/blog reach (for example: the leafs were heavily underrepresented in our data, but i'm pretty sure it's because the form simply never made its way to that corner of hockeyblr and not because leafs fans are statistically less likely to enjoy f1 LOL...)

without further ado:

DEMOGRAPHICS

"Where do you currently live?" + "How old are you?"

out of 102 participants, an overwhelming amount — 85.3% — live in north/central america or europe, and most respondents were also between the ages of 18-25. since the nhl is based in north america and f1 teams are (mostly) based in europe, i was curious to see how fandom trends varied across these two demographics specifically.

EUROPE VS. AMERICA

"Do you consider yourself more of an F1 or hockey fan?"

interestingly enough, 2 in 3 of the european respondents said that they like or follow hockey more, with only 15.15% preferring f1. asian and north/central american fans were a little more evenly split, with 38.9% north/central american fans saying they liked f1 and hockey about the same. however, altogether 89.2% of global respondents said that they prefer hockey OR that they like both sports about the same, so it seems that fans in our survey skew more toward hockey in general.

"Do you follow any top-division hockey leagues outside of North America?"

again, since f1 is primarily based in europe and since europe boasts a huge hockey market outside of the nhl, this question was aimed at understanding interest in other top-division hockey leagues outside of north america. more specifically — not anything like the ahl or ncaa but instead leagues like the shl and liiga.

the majority of the respondents who said they followed top-division hockey outside of north america were, unsurprisingly, based in europe, with over half (54.5%) claiming to follow other leagues and 1 in 4 (24.2%) preferring these to north american hockey.

as for north/central american respondents, a large majority — 85.2% — claimed to not follow any leagues outside of north america. here were the leagues mentioned at least twice:

"Do you follow professional leagues for any of these following sports?"

for this question, we gave several multiple-option choices of obvious sports and also allowed respondents to submit their own answers if we missed any. here were the most-commonly followed professional sports outside of f1 and the nhl, filtered to at least 2 responses:

interestingly, football and baseball were on par at 26.5% — or about 1 in 4 — each, although the most common response was actually none; 37.3% of respondents said they only watch hockey and motorsports for professional sports. the sports that received one vote each were: volleyball, tour de france, swimming, pro wrestling, gymnastics, figure skating, cycling, climbing, and australian rules football.

TEAM POPULARITY

NHL STATS

"What is your favorite NHL team?" + "If you like multiple NHL teams, feel free to name any others below." (&lt;;- capped at 3)

in order to rank each team — despite different voting methodology and sample sizes from both surveys — i normalized a popularity score based on a weighted value, composed of how many people voted for it as their favorite team and then how many people mentioned it in the "other teams i like" question. each team was then graded relative to the top team, in our case dallas and in cody's case pittsburgh.

in the table below, the numbers in purple correspond to our survey and the numbers in grey show cody's results as reference. as you can see, toronto is very underrepresented in our data, while dallas is considerably more popular and tops the chart. 3rd-place vancouver was also our most commonly mentioned "other" team with 19 votes, despite only being 6 people's favorite team.

does this mean that fans of both f1 and hockey are statistically more likely to enjoy dallas than your average hockey fan? or does it just mean that i'm primarily a dallas stars blog and this was the audience i accidentally reached when sharing my survey? (most likely the second) the world may never know!!!

another way of looking at the popularity differences across both surveys is with a little scatter plot. same data, just different presentation!

F1 STATS

"What is your favorite F1 team?" + "If you like multiple F1 teams, feel free to name any others below."

not much that needs to be explained here — mercedes and ferrari were far and away the favorites, but red bull and mclaren were also fairly popular! the least popular team of all was haas, with only one person mentioning it as a team they liked and no one voting for it as their favorite team.

interestingly enough, 1 in 3 (34) of respondents said that they had no favorite team at all, with this response scoring higher than any single team (mercedes only had 21 "favorite" votes, although it had 36 total responses). this was a large contrast to the nhl results, where only 6 people answered none for their favorite hockey team — meaning that 94.11% of respondents claimed a favorite nhl team!

(perhaps this means that f1 fans are less likely to be loyal to a team and instead prefer to follow drivers' individual careers, or that team allegiances are simply stronger in hockey fandom. or maybe not! who knows.)

something else i was curious to see concerning the most popular teams was another location distribution, although this time i didn't want to simply calculate percentages straight-up since we already know that the global distribution skews mainly toward north/central america and europe. because of this, i filtered only teams that had n >= 10 votes and calculated the difference for each percentage from the global average, so i could see which teams were more biased toward a location than "expected."

for f1: ferrari, mclaren, and red bull all had slightly higher american interest than average, with red bull especially skewing lower on the european side.

for hockey: dallas had higher than average interest in oceania, with pittsburgh scoring higher in asia and seattle being especially strong in north/central america (and thus less so in europe). toronto, carolina, and florida also had higher support in europe.

(note again that these are very small sample numbers, especially for teams with less than 20 votes!)

+ just for fun, here's how the top 4 other sports (football, baseball, american football, and basketball) skewed location-wise.

probably not much of a surprise here, although interestingly europeans were more likely than americans to say they only followed motorsport and hockey.

PLAYER / DRIVER POPULARITY

"Who are your favorite NHL players?" + "Who are your favorite F1 drivers?"

when it came to calculating the most popular players, we asked that survey respondents list up to three of their favorite players, then assigned 3 points to the first player, 2 to the second, and 1 to the third. using this weighted count, i ranked drivers and players using a normalized score.

86 unique nhl players were mentioned for this question. out of them, 84.9% (73) are still actively playing in the nhl. the most popular active players were sidney crosby and quinn hughes, while the most popular inactive player was paul kariya, with 2 mentions and a score of 11.76%.

using the same process, 39 unique f1 drivers were mentioned for this question, this time with 95% (19/20) of the current grid being represented — the only driver not mentioned a single time was nico hülkenberg. the remaining 20 drivers were either retired or reserve drivers. lewis hamilton was far and away the most popular driver in this survey, while the most popular inactive driver was 3rd-placed sebastian vettel with a relative score of 61.18%.

here are the top 25 for each sport alongside their corresponding teams:

as you can see, the most-represented team in the nhl top-25 is dallas, with 4 players (robertson, hintz, heiskanen, oettinger) making the cut! other teams to have at least 2 athletes in the top 10 are edmonton for the nhl and alphatauri for f1.

F1 X NHL CROSSOVER

this was the main reason we created this survey in the first place. our burning question was: Which F1 teams do fans of certain NHL teams tend to like — and vice versa?

in order to calculate this, i mapped all the nhl teams each respondent voted for to all the f1 teams they voted for, assigning 1 point to each. so if someone had a favorite team and named three "other" liked teams for each sport, that would be 8 points on the matrix altogether. i then filtered out any nhl team that had less than 20 total tallies for f1 teams and created the chart below:

i also removed "none" votes since i was more interested in the distribution of interest strictly across f1 teams. finally, i filtered out the f1 teams with negligible amounts of votes and created another percentage chart relative to the global average (since we "expect" mercedes and ferrari to be most popular overall):

some summarizing thoughts:

DAL and VAN fans were both less interested in red bull and ferrari and more interested in mclaren and williams

NJD and PHI both voted less for mercedes; the former preferred ferrari and the latter red bull

CAR didn't have huge discrepancies across the board, but skewed a bit toward red bull and williams

COL had the lowest relative interest in mclaren of all teams, while SEA had the highest relative interest in williams

again, these sample sizes were pretty small so maybe it means nothing at all. i'd love to run this survey again with more responses and maybe also restrict the team choices to only 1 favorite + 1 other team per sport in order to really drill down into people's preferences, but hopefully this is interesting anyway!

FANDOM ORIGINS

i always love learning about how people got into a fandom, so we also asked respondents how they got into f1 and hockey, with the following options being provided:

Grew up around it/Family

Hockey or F1 RPF

Introduced by friends (online or IRL)

Discovered individually through fandom content (gifs, YouTube, podcasts, etc.)

Hockey books & romances (Hockey)

Drive to Survive (F1)

Other films, documentaries, etc.

3 respondents clarified that they specifically discovered hockey through reading the webcomic check, please!, but i decided to implicitly include this in the "hockey books" category. a few of the "other" options for hockey also specifically mentioned the olympics.

here was the distribution of responses, noting that the question was multi-option so there is overlap:

i also made a side-by-side bar chart to note differences between f1 and hockey origins. in this case, i paired "hockey books/romances" with "drive to survive," since i see them as the two biggest respective examples of mainstream media movements for each fandom (around social media/rps spaces i should say), the former being mainly based in booktok.

as you can see here, a considerable amount of fans got into f1 through dts (1 in 5). in terms of fanfiction, hockey rpf was a lot more influential in getting people into hockey than f1 rpf was in getting people into f1 (23.7% vs. 11.3%). lastly, hockey was also slightly more common as a childhood/family sport than f1, although only by a few percentage points — 28.9% of fans grew up with hockey and 23.2% grew up with f1.

of course, i couldn't end this question without doing another location analysis, which gave some interesting results:

for f1, the overwhelming majority of european respondents said that they grew up around f1 or were introduced to it by family — 51.5%, or over half (the chart says 44.7% because of multi-option overlap). in contrast, only 24.1% — or 1 in 4 — of north/central americans said this. their results were much more evenly split in general, with drive to survive and fandom content ranking considerably higher.

for hockey, the distribution actually looked quite similar between north/central americans and europeans, although americans ranked a little higher in terms of growing up around the sport. it's pretty much the same though — the main difference is that a good chunk of the "other" votes for the europeans specified getting into hockey through the olympics. altogether, respondents from asia, oceania, and south america mostly discovered hockey through a mixture of rpf and hockey books, although these are very small sample sizes so not fully reflective of overall experiences.

OTHER MOTORSPORTS

"What other motorsports do you follow?"

we were also interested in knowing what other kinds of motorsport people liked.

interestingly, north/central americans had the smallest proportion of f1-exclusive respondents, with 37.7% saying f1 is the only motorsport they follow. here were the series that received at least 10 votes:

indycar was by far the most popular "other" motorsport series, with motogp, nascar, and general feeder formulae (f2, f3, etc.) faring well too. unsurprisingly, you can also tell at a glance that there is overwhelming american interest in indycar and nascar compared to other series!

CONCLUSION

that's about all we've got at the moment. if there's anything else you'd like to see more of, or anything you're confused about/think doesn't make sense, feel free to reply to this post or shoot me an ask :') thank you again for reading and i hope you enjoyed this little post!!! 🥲❤️

[dizzyduck44]

Here’s hoping history treats the Honey Badger well 🍯🦡🇦🇺

Casual viewers of my post may be under the impression I hated Daniel Ricciardo. You would be wrong. I really like Daniel Ricciardo. What I hated was the shitshow circus of fans he brought with him (predominantly Aussie men, who couldn’t bear a woman with an opinion).

I have seen him race twice in his F1 career, in his 2nd season and what I now know was his last season. His arrival at McLaren for me was Christmas come early, set to a backdrop of blinding light and Hallelujah Chorus. However there was no fairytale beginning, middle or ending for Daniel Ricciardo. And as I sit here now I’m so confused how I feel, how I should feel and how history will remember him.

When he first arrived in Formula 1, there was nothing really to say this guy is special. In fact I don’t even remember him being on the grid of the first Grand Prix I went to. Admittedly history will remember that was the season where 8 past, present or future World Champions were on the grid, an upstart from Perth was barely noticed. After all Mark Webber won the race so even Australia was distracted.

In fact I don’t really remember him until he arrived at Red Bull in 2014. And even then it was a case of well of course he should do well, the car is great. Mostly I remember him being a menace off track to Seb Vettel (who back then totally deserved it)

However the carefree laughter of his first win was stopped that season when Daniel’s close friend, someone he believed he would go through Formula 1 with, Jules Bianchi was involved in his horrendous accident in Japan. As the years went by you could see he still carried some of the grief from that with him.

But he was not about to let this opportunity slip through his hands. Daniel became a driver everyone loved off track and who regardless of who you supported, you wanted him to do well. Although the sentiment was there long before Drive to Survive, they perfectly capture the swell of goodwill there was in the paddock for him.

I’m not sure any of us will ever truly know what went on behind closed doors in 2018. I will freely admit from the outside it really did look like Daniel was being hung out to dry in favour of Max. I watched that season before Netflix re-edited it and honestly, everyone believed the same thing at the time. There was muddy reports of a court case between Daniel and a former manager beginning to surface. Ultimately something led to him leaving Red Bull and it really did look like he was running away from a fight.

So when he started the 2019 season at Renault and he lost his front wing before the first corner, yes we all sniggered. But over the two years he proved us all wrong. He was exciting to watch, this was the Danny Ric we all fell in love with. He dragged Renault to the podium.

When he announced he was leaving Renault at the beginning of the 2020 to join McLaren the following year question marks appeared. However, it was generally rumoured that he was unhappy with the back room manage at Renault, though the official reasons were that he always wanted to work with Andreas Seidl.

Paul De Resta said cryptically at the time “I hope he tells you what he’s done in that team”. We never found out.

He arrived at McLaren as the darling of the paddock and threatening to destroy Lando (clearly this time he was up for the fight).

Hmmmmm

Even at the time it was obvious why McLaren implemented team orders in Monza in 2021. They had not won a race, let alone a 1-2 in so long. Daniel had struggled soooo much that season and needed the confidence that win gave him. Lando had a long career ahead to get wins. I don’t begrudge Daniel that win, but my God the reimagining of events from his fans was the start of a downward spiral they never got out of.

The second season at McLaren was painful. I said it then, I felt he had lost his spark and his love for the sport. What he feared Max would do to him at Red Bull because of favouritism, Lando was doing to him on equal terms. You could see the questions he had of himself. Yet with all that going on, you could see the care he had for Lando. The way he kept his spirits up after he split with his girlfriend. You saw Daniel the person, rather than Daniel the racing driver.

Should he have walked away then? Maybe. But I respect he didn’t feel he was done, he had unfinished business. And with Kimi, Lewis and Fernando making driving a F1 car in your 40s seem easy, 33 felt too young to retire.

His return to AlphaTauri felt wrong. I was all for second chances but I’d been screaming about Liam Lawson in that seat since 2022 and for a second driver that wasn’t him to be given the drive was infuriating. I think the final bit of the old Daniel Ricciardo drove into the barrier avoiding Oscar Piastri in Zandvoort, broke his hand, got out the car and never returned.

Walking round Silverstone this year it was so evident. Where had all the Daniel Ricciardo fans gone? Over 3 days I saw 2 people in VCarb shirts and 1 girl on the Saturday with a Daniel McLaren hat. All that love he had received for a decade was dwindling. He was like the forgotten man.

Selfishly I’m so glad that ironically I remember seeing Daniel almost the most on track that weekend. The bold number 3 flashing past me. Very much screaming I’m still here. I remember still feeling, please do well. It wasn’t the same thrill as seeing Lewis or Lando go past, or realising that’s Charles or Carlos are in that car but it was Daniel, he’d survived so much and I was so happy to see him there still.

So now, I’m angry and upset how the end came to pass. To race for the last time, not knowing for sure if it was. For your farewell to be tributes from other drivers and members of teams he’d worked with after the event on social media. It’s Singapore no one had the energy to go and congratulate Lando, but this was the first win Daniel didn’t go to him, because he was sat in his car for the last time, probably struggling with his own emotions. He’d played the team game to the last, knowing full well they were probably going to sack him within a week.

Netflix had at times made him appear cocky and arrogant and yet the Daniel who was godfather to Natalie Pinkham’s son and welcomed Lando to his farm last year (which to this day remains a very private trip) doesn’t seem to be the same man. I truly believe that Max, Daniel and Lando flying to Singapore together was a way for them to try and support him on the long flight there, knowing what he was probably facing. He wasn’t going to ask for it, his pride wouldn’t let him, but he was grateful for it.

What worries me now is, my memories of Daniel are of a great driver, who was amazing fun to watch. Inspired so many of the younger drivers on the grid now. Badly advised at times refused to give up. Yet his stats read 8 wins, 32 podiums and 3 poles.

I struggle with that stat. For context Lando has taken 5 poles this season so far. Valtteri has 10 wins, 67 podiums and 20 poles and was considered a number 2 driver. Charles started 6 1/2 seasons after Daniel sits at 7 wins, 39 podiums and 26 poles.

How is his return so little? Am I remembering this wrong? I remember everyone loving Daniel at one point. He was lauded as a great racer. Where are the stats that back that up?

I look at the grid now, those who still trail Daniel, Lando, Oscar, George (maybe it’s too much to hope Carlos) and I know they will surpass his totals. And that’s just this current grid. Why did he not have more? It felt like there was more!! He drove like there was more.

As the years go by those stats will fade into the “average” category of drivers. It certainly didn’t feel like I was watching an average driver at the time.

Let’s see what history makes of Daniel Ricciardo in 10 years, 20 years. This I promise you though. Netflix will never capture what it felt like to live through it beginning to end.