#no one deserved that seat more than yuki

[mirrorball-leclerc]

liam lawson got beat in a head to head by yuki tsunoda and yuki still didn’t get the red bull seat?! what else does he need to do?!

[mv1simp]

Haunted ♥️ Part 1 of 2

Alpha!Max Verstappen x Reader (Omegaverse AU)

READ PART TWO HERE

it’s where we go, it’s what you see (I know if i’m onto you, you must be onto me)

As Mercedes’ rookie female driver, you garner a lot of media attention, even more when you reveal you haven’t presented. You don’t care about true mates or presenting - all you wanted was the championship. You’d be a lot closer to it, if it wasn’t for the dominating Alpha Max Verstappen. But after your late presentation, you two realize there’s a lot more to your bond than competition.

Content includes: 18+ MDNI, smut, size kink, primal themes, dom!Max, Sub!Reader, enemies to lovers. WC: 5.4k

Triumphantly holding the trophy up in your hands, you beam at the sea of black and white fans who scream their approval. Winning your second race after having fought your way throughout the season as the new Mercedes driver was an unforgettable feeling - sealing in that it was your talent, not luck that got you the first. And no one had given you a harder time and held up your long overdue win than the reigning world champion - Max Verstappen. Turning to your right, you reward him with a smirk as your national anthem finally plays instead of the Dutch one.

He doesn’t hide his frustrated glare at you from his P2 podium that instinctively makes you want to sprint away and hide in your safe garage behind Toto. You’re a bit annoyed he’s still taller than you, even though you’re on the highest step. One of the downsides of being 5 foot compared to Max’s tall 6 foot frame - but that hasn’t stopped you from finally taking the win from him and proving how deserving of your seat you are, you remind yourself.

As the first female driver in decades, you’d sent shock waves through the paddock when Mercedes had pulled you out of the F4 pool and straight into their seat after the loss of their golden boy, Lewis Hamilton, to Ferrari. What had been even more shocking was the fact that you were an Unpresented female in a sport that was almost exclusively dominated by Alpha males.

Like the majority of premier athletes, most of the drivers had presented from a very young age as Alphas. Unsurprising - given the traits of ruthless competitiveness, aggression and passion that came naturally to Alphas. And out of all this group of already highly dominating drivers, Max Verstappen was the alpha, well known for his perfect instincts, the ultimate apex predator. His early career was famous because of how, at 17, his intimidating aura had been enough to make grown men racing on the same track give way to the younger alpha. This automatic submission Max was able to elicit from others was one of the many, many benefits that came with being an Alpha in society - especially for one such a powerful as Max.

So when you - who was not an Alpha, or even a Beta, but rather an Unpresented - showed up to the paddock for your first ever race and then ended up somehow going wheel to wheel with the reigning world champion by Lap 20, jaws dropped and headlines were rapidly printed. Presenting as an Alpha was rare, an Omega even rarer - with the majority of the population being Beta. However a small population also remained Unpresented, spending their whole lives without any sign they belonged to any gender. Essentially, you were like a scentless Beta - but just several rungs below on the social ladder as Alpha commands had minimal effect on you. It could be worse, you had mused when started racing - you could have been born an Omega.

Omegas were a rare breed and highly sought after. With their attributes of being sweetly nurturing and natural carers - they made the perfect match for protective Alphas. Of course, as the world had historically always been ruled by Alphas, in turn Omegas had been stereotyped as the soft, submissive, delicate ones who needed to be closely guarded in society’s eyes.

So it had been suprising to you that there were not one, but two Omega drivers on the paddock this year. Yuki Tsunoda made sense, you supposed, with his slight frame and pretty features giving him away. But he certainly swore so aggressively up and down the track he’d have the commentators asking if maybe he had been assigned the wrong group. Alex Albon had been much more surprising with his very Alpha-like build - but given his quietly confident aura and gentle nature compared to the other drivers who were always aggressively arguing, it made sense looking back. And it had been even more surprising when he announced he’d found his true mate and Alpha, his girlfriend Lily.

Really, you were grateful you didn’t have the drama that came with being assigned a presentation. Even if it meant you would never have a true mate, you could live with it if you could have a shot at being world champion. But goddamn Max Verstappen, with his intense gaze and powerful aura that even you would feel tickling the back of your neck, across the paddock, would keep getting in your way. Your first P1 though, 2 months ago in Japan, you hadn’t let him win and successfully defended him off. It was the only advantage of being Unpresented - unlike the other Alphas and Omegas on the track, you were the least affected by his suffocating presence and used that to your advantage when pulling dangerous manoeuvres that vexed the Dutch driver to no end.

And he’d certainly let you know it after your first win - after a neutral indifference to you when you approached him on your first day to greet him, unlike the majority of the drivers who’d curiously flocked to the first female one. But after you took P1 from him, he claimed angrily, with dirty fucking moves, what was that overtake on the 2nd corner- you’d formed an instant dislike of him. Just because you didn’t bend to his will like everyone else?! Just because you’d won using the same move - you pointed out to him furiously - that he’d used to overtake you on the last race?

The pair of you had become quick rivals, butting heads more and more as each race went on and providing lots of great content for the media which ate it up. Sometimes Max would confuse you into thinking you were friends - occasionally murmuring helpful advice as you watched the post race highlights in the cooldown room, or shutting down sexist questions you’re repeatedly asked in the driver interviews. You’d think this was the warm, caring Max that you’d heard existed off the grid. But then you two would have some racing incident or the other and he’d be back to the fire breathing lion he usually was.

That first P1 in Japan had been bittersweet to you - because after your argument with Max, when you’d gone back to your hotel to admire your new trophy, you’d started to becoming increasingly unwell for a few days and had high fevers. You hadn’t even realised what was going on until your Beta coach banged on the door demanding to be let in, before saying you were finally presenting, 5 years late, as an Omega.

You’d been shocked and upset, of course, leading to a very traumatic first heat in a foreign country where although the desire and lust hadn’t been intense, the longing for an Alpha to comfort and protect you as you cried and whined has been so overwhelming. You had never wanted to feel anything like that again, so disempowered - so you had sworn your manager to secrecy and after a very private meeting with you, your teammate George Russell, your managers and a very concerned Toto Wolff - you’d tearfully told them what had happened. You’d expected to be dropped from the team, but they had taken one look at your distress and instantly calmed you down. Mercedes will most certainly not be dropping their very promising rookie, who had just taken P1 at her 4th ever F1 race, Toto had reassured you firmly, exuding calm confidence as he handed you a tissue. George’s large hand rubbed warm circles on your back and within a few minutes you’re laughing at jokes the two tall Alphas made to cheer you up, unable to resist the urge to protect the small Omega in front of them and using their scents to soothe you.

Regardless of how understanding your team principal had been, the fact was it would be terrible PR for you to publically present as an Omega female and risk the loss of sponsors. Given that the first heat after the presentation was notorious for being especially painful in an effort to attract a fated mate from the very start, Toto had guided you to a discreet specialist doctor to ensure the world continued to believe you were Unpresented. You’re relieved, hating the idea of being stereotyped as something delicate and pretty to be protected when you were anything but. You literally drove like a suicidal madwoman at 300km/hr for a career! So you’d promptly been started on high strength suppressors to avoid any issues with a first heat happening in the middle of a race weekend, and a couple sprays of sweet perfume later no one would be any the wiser if they picked up on any residual Omega scent that the suppressors couldn’t block.

So here you were now, celebrating your second win in Barcelona with a few of the drivers and friends at a 3 story club downtown. Although you’d been enjoying drinking and laughing with your friends, you’d been unable to stop the shivers that ran down your bare spine from your rival’s intense gaze, still simmering with anger, across the dancefloor where he was talking to Lando. You hated the way that you still felt so affected by him, by his scent that always seemed to drift over to you, always smelling more and more heady each time you saw him. And the urge to submit to him was just stupid and desperate, you thought, rolling your eyes and taking another shot. It turns out your “slutty inner omega whore” as you had not-so-fondly dubbed her, seemed more interested in having a strong Alpha’s dick inside her, instead of hating said Alpha for trying to run her off the track. Multiple times.

And tonight, the suppressants were clearly not doing their job because you couldn’t control the way you squeezed your thighs together, panties suddenly damp with the thought of an alpha like Max keeping his eyes on you - instead of the girls who had been throwing themselves at him the second he’s entered the club. You tell your inner slut who delighted in this attention to get it together, because the attention was likely murderous rage from the competitive Dutch champion at losing a race. Forcing yourself to ignore the prickles down your spine, you take another shot instead and head back to the dance floor.

Many, many drunk dances with your girlfriends later, you found yourself safely dropped off at the hotel. Pressing the button, you waited patiently for it to come down, fanning your face because you felt strangely hot in the night chill despite having left the club. And then you feel it - that heady, dominating aura that makes you want to fall to your knees. Spinning around, you see Max standing there, dressed in a rare outfit of a fitted white tee and tight pants, accentuating his broad shoulders and thick thighs. Fuck, you had forgotten Redbull was staying in the same hotel as your team this weekend.

He smirks at you, asking if you’d had a good night celebrating, because it’ll be the last win he’ll let you have this year, Princess. You despised the nickname he’s given you over the Redbull radio one race, and how it had stuck in the media too - the pretty little Mercedes princess. You give him an unimpressed glare and tell him to fuck off, Verstappen as you get in the elevator, staying right by the front with your back purposely to him. As the doors close, you can’t help but notice through the reflective wall how Max’s dark gaze unabashedly wanders down your body, enjoying the sight of your curvy, petite form dressed in a backless halter satin minidress and stiletto heels that accentuated your thick ass. Forbidden delight curls in your abdomen from the thought of an alpha as strong as Max finding you desirable. A deeper part of you - one that you would never admit to anyone - can’t deny that you desperately wanted Max to want you, having always idolised him before you joined F1. That when you’d picked out this dress you wondered if Max was going to be out tonight, if he’d see you in this outfit…and find you pretty.

And you’d never, ever admit that recently you woke up with damp thighs and lingers of a dream of being underneath a dominating blonde Alpha, his voice deep and accented as he whispered for you to take it all for me, prinses…

Again, you promptly tell your inner slut to close her mental legs - just in time as the elevator opens before both your floors to let in a large group heading to the upstairs bar.

They’re a drunk, rowdy bunch of businessmen and you’re in no mood to be felt up - and you find yourself moving beside the protective aura of Max. You scowl at how you couldn’t seem to control yourself around the taller man then find yourself surprised when he moves to cover you from their curious gazes. His wide shoulders block out their view of how enticing you look as he crowds you into one corner, his back to them. You nervously make sure you don’t stare anywhere else but straight ahead at his toned chest, your heart beating at 200bpm as the desire that’s pulsing through you being this close to him. Especially when he’s decided to look so fucking hot tonight, that intoxicating deep scent making you light headed, like luxurious velvet running down your skin, like burnt amber, smoky and woody from the embers of a winter's night fire. That wicked inner omega of yours can’t stop purring at how your scandalous choice of dress gives Max a generous view down your cleavage.

The elevator comes to a stop with a sharp jolt on the businessmen’s floor, startling you out of your thoughts and you find you’ve placed a manicured hand on Max’s toned abs to steady yourself. And as soon as you touch him - the first time you’ve ever laid hands on him, you realise later - electricity crackles in between you both. His scent becomes all the much headier to you - as if all the same flavours had suddenly become 10 times amplified. It makes you whimper and again, your body betrays you with the fresh wetness that suddenly drenches your panties.

The change in the air is instant, tension clearly palpable as you nervously peek under Max’s arm and realise the group of businessmen aren’t leaving the lift - and instead all their eyes are turned in your direction with lustful gazes. You shiver but don’t hesitate to glare at them as you tell them to get out. They don’t move, looking entranced at you, when a low, threatening rumble from Max’s chest makes it very clear that you are not to be messed with - unless they wanted to go against the strongest Alpha in a 100 mile radius. Slightly tilting his head to look back at the group, Max’s narrowed eyes and threatening aura makes them run off with their figurative tail between their legs.

The elevator closed with neat ding, moving back up, and suddenly you realised you were in a very compromising position with your rival - who had definitely noticed the very Omega-like addictive, sweet smell you were giving off as a supposed “Unpresented” female.

Verstappen- you say anxiously, frantically thinking of what to say to convince him to keep your secret. But all thoughts are cut off when Max unexpectedly leans down and buries his face into your neck, making you gasp. Your hands grab his shoulders to push him away, to ask what the fuck he thought he was doing. But the words don’t even make it out of your mouth because your head is spinning from his lips now pressing kisses against your delicate collarbones. Somehow, you’re finding yourself winding your fingers in his blonde locks, which were just as soft as they looked.

By the time the elevator reaches your floor, you’re almost falling to the ground from the sensation but Max easily supports your weight against him. He’s guiding you out of the lift and trapping you against the nearest wall - and following immediately with his hard body pressed right up against your soft one. You’re whining that he needs to stop, what is he doing, you’re in a hallway for anyone to see, but he cuts you off again with his husky voice as he breathes out that this scent, your scent, princess…fuck, I’d thought it was perfume or something but it’s all you, isn’t it? I can’t get enough of how intoxicating you are.

Tilting your head back with his strong hands, he bends down to the opposite side now and shuts up your half hearted protests by licking a line straight up the column of your throat. Oh my god, your inner omega was having the time of her life right now. Max, you murmur weakly, and he sharply inhales as your gazes meet. The dark hunger in his eyes is clear when he tells you to say that again.

And when you sweetly call his name again, he’s kissing you, still leaning against the wall in the dimly lit hallway, and you automatically moan into the passionate kiss because it feels so good, so right as his lips moved against yours with a gentleness you hadn’t expected.

But when the lift dings, signalling another arrival to your floor, Max turns to look with narrowed eyes at the potential threat and you’re reminded of how wrong wrong wrong this is and how you’d lose all your sponsors if the media found out about this scandal. So you use his second of distraction to use your small frame and slip under his arms, hastily swiping your card and slamming the door behind you when you enter.

Heart beating, you lean back against the door as your replay what just happened over and over, your hands running over your tingling lips where Max’s - your rival - has just been a second ago. Across the other side, Max leans against your door just the same. He’d let you escape his hold - for now - but he wouldn’t next time, because he knew what it meant to smell a scent so divine it made him want to destroy anything that so much as glanced in your direction. That made him lose all inhibition and pin you against a wall as he desperately resisted the urge to bury his fangs in you right there. You were his fated mate, he thinks with relief, pure joy and warmth spreading across him with the idea of having you as his mate. The one who he’d not thought he’d find at age 26 after meeting countless women. And yet here you’d been the whole time, right in front of him, the only driver who drove him so wild on the track. He'd never thought about why the pretty little Unpresented driver was able to generate such strong responses from his Alpha unusually quickly. With a backwards glance to your room where you safely hid, Max wandered away, contemplating how he was going to claim his Omega who hated him.

Meanwhile, the kiss has sent you into an absolute flurry of panic, trying to come up with ways of convincing your rival to keep your secret, having no idea why he suddenly found your scent irresistible. Your half baked plans came to an end when Max texted you the next day to meet him in the hotel lobby to talk. No fucking way, you texted back furiously, so you can get me alone and kiss me again without my permission?

You’d flown back to Monaco an hour later, ignoring Max’s replies. Clearly, he seemed as troubled by this…situation as you were, and judging by the fact you hadn’t woken up to headlines about you secretly being an Omega, it seems Max was keeping your secret - for now, at least. And you were terribly confused by how good his kiss had made you feel, even though you were furious with how he’d done it without asking, as if you belonged to him.

So you decide to ignore Max for the whole week, but when he shows up at your apartment door unexpectedly, you couldn’t hold him off. We need to talk, he’d said tersely, and that’s how you found yourself on the apartment rooftop - surprised that Max hadn’t barged his way into your apartment. In fact, he stood well away from you, leaning against the railing and looking out towards the setting Monaco sun over the pristine Mediterranean waters as you watched his back uncertainly. Just when you were going to ask him what he wanted, he began telling you the story of how his Alpha father, Jos, had claimed his Omega mother, Sophie before she had been ready. You tilted your head, confused. You were very familiar with that particular media scandal - where Jos had deliberately performed the claiming, the ancient ritualistic tradition of an Alpha marking an Omega as theirs - in the peak of Sophie’s career, and had illegally used their mating bond to manipulate her into early retirement and focus on the family instead. It left a bitter taste in your mouth, of how no court or laws could protect an Omega fully from the abuse of a controlling Alpha.

I- I know about your parent’s story, it was quite…anyways, why are you bringing it up now? Max didn’t answer your question, turning around instead to face you. You felt that same fluttering beating of your heart as his intense blue gaze locked in on your doe eyed brown one. After she was able to get the divorce, he continued, she finally found her true mate. And she told me about the difference she’d felt, in how my father and her mate had treated her, how one had made her into the wife he wanted and the other had protected her as she chose to life she wanted for herself.

You’re truly confused now about why he’s still on this topic, and tell him that you’d even spoken with his mother when you began racing about her advice as a female on the track, and you’d expressed your sympathies for how hard it must have been to have her career tarnished so early by an abusive Alpha. Being her son was one of the few things you actually respected about him. Thinking he was foreshadowing what he was going to ask of you, your scent became sour with anger. So, out with it, Verstappen, you demanded, what’s your blackmail plan, I know you know about me being an Omega, are you going to make me promise not to try for P1 because you can forget it-

Max cut you off then, stepping forward and making you tilt your head back to look up at him. You wanted to step back so desperately, knowing what happened last time he was so close - but that inner omega vixen of yours was far too satisfied with the reassuring, soft spicy scent Max was now gently emitting. You hadn’t even known he was capable of anything other than the intense scent he used to dominate on the track.

No, schat, Max says softly. I’m not going to tell anyone anything you don’t want shared. Or use it against you. I wanted to tell you my parents story…to show you my father is the kind of Alpha I don’t want to become. I don’t want anyone to go through what my mother did. You can literally feel your body relaxing from his reassuring words, with the way he had called you darling in Dutch for the first time, from his soft look and scent. And it pisses you off to no end, that he can use his biology to make you feel like this - you’d had no idea the effect from an Alpha could be this strong on you. You realize you’ve involuntarily said that out loud when he tells you it isn’t normal for you to react this intensely to an Alpha, but it’s because it’s him that you’re reacting to. At your perplexed look, he’s reminded that your parents are both Betas and you had very limited knowledge of presentations, compared to his own family which were exclusively Alpha-Omega mates for generations.

Because…because we’re rivals? You ask, those sweet doe eyes of yours blinking up at him and making the urge to protect you bloom deep in his chest. Unfortunately for his inner alpha, he was about to cause you a lot of distress with his next words.

Because - Max swallowed, because, schat, we’re true mates. I’m your Alpha, if you’ll have me.

The distress that comes off you is instant and makes Max want to jump off the balcony railing, if it means ending your despair. You’re stammering out your shock, confusion, and then just straight denial at his claim, insisting it can’t be true - but he watches you with an apologetic expression, only speaking after a long time once you’ve let out all your conflicting emotions. He softly explains why it was true, that you might not know because your own parents weren’t a true match but what happened in the elevator, the reaction to each other’s scents - it was the first step to prime you two for the claiming.

He can see the colour drain from your face, flushed caramel skin now going pale as your distress turns to pure rage, steeped with fear - of him, Max realises. So that's why you're pretending to be so nice, isn't it? you question hotly, so that I say yes to your claiming just for you to use it order me to leave racing? And you'll act like its so different to your parents-

Max can't bear this foreign pain in his chest any longer, each furious word from you twisting a knife into his heart. His inner alpha is screaming at him to comfort and console you, so he does just that by stepping forward again and taking your small form into his large arms, forming a secure hold around you. Your annoyed shriek is muffled against his toned chest, but after a few seconds you calm down once he says, sounding so unusually desperate, he will never do the claiming until you ask him too, even if that's well after your racing career finishes. You pause, hearing the genuine sincerity in his words, and somehow deep within you a sense tells you that Max is telling the truth. As his warm, large hands soothingly rub circles on your back, you find yourself closing your eyes and lean into him, your french manicured hands pressing against his firm muscles and hearing his strong heartbeat through his chest.

You stay like that for a long time, slowly processing everything he's told you, until the sunset disappears over the Monaco horizon and the bright city lights emerge. At some point his arms have wrapped around your soft waist, one hand firmly on your hip and the other cradling your head against him, softly stroking your dark curls. If anyone had told you a month ago that you'd find yourself in this position with goddamn Max Verstappen you'd have laughed them off the track. But here you are, your inner omega purring with satisfaction at the secure embrace of your strong Alpha. You find yourself returning his comforting embrace by tentatively moving your small palms up over his pecs and across his ridiculously broad shoulders, looping around his wide neck. You hear Max's breathing hitch as he feels your shy touch, and then he’s hit with your delicious scent as your new position exposes your neck. It's the same as in the lift - so sweet, like exotic Indian jasmine on a hot summer night, like burnt sticky vanilla in the stroopwafels he adored as a kid, on the rare days he was allowed to go to the park instead of karting. But this time, your scent is even more inviting as your desire for him is stronger, and he doesn't fight his instincts and buries his face into your delicate neck again. He inhales deeply and leaves you gasping when he starts leaving lazy, soft kisses in the hollow of your throat. This time, you can't bring yourself to pull away, your fingers gently threading into his hair as you tentatively call out V-Verstappen, this is-

That's not my name, prinses he rumbles lowly, Dutch accent slipping through as he continues moving up your neck, leaving hickeys with flicks of his tongue and gentle, teasing nips of his sharp fangs - teasing, but not puncturing your tantalising caramel skin. And when you sweetly moan Max for him, looking up at him with those wide brown doe eyes, heady with desire, and a pretty red flush across your full cheeks, he meets your plush lips with his own. There's no hesitation this time, your fingers tangling into his messy blonde locks as you kiss deeply. His large hands running across your body make you feel like you're on fire. And when he grabs a hold of your thick ass, squeezing it like he owned it and and pulling you even closer to him, you're gasping and moaning sweetly into his mouth. He doesn't hesitate to slide inside your parted lips, completely dominating the kiss as he easily takes control over your tongue despite your efforts to battle against his.

Max, this is so wrong you say breathlessly, eyes fluttering closed in pleasure as his large thigh parts yours, your skirt sliding up as thick muscles come into contact with your aching core. You're certain he's going to be able to feel the wetness rapidly pooling between your own legs. Then why does it feel so right, prinses? He cockily responds, squeezing your ass greedily again and moaning himself when you start grinding against his leg, your wetness dripping past your soaked panties and ruining his pants. Fuck, he was never going to take these off, so he would always have the intoxicating scent of how sweet you smelled when you were so desperate for him, hmm?

The harsh ringing of your phone you'd set on a nearby table startles you. Max ignores it, flexing his thighs up against you to tempt your self control again as your inner Omega begs you to let the Alpha - your Alpha - claim you right here, right now, for all the world to see. But through the haze you see your boss's face flash on the screen and suddenly you're reminded of what's at stake. Snapping to your senses, you stumble away from Max's strong hold, making him growl in annoyance as he reluctantly releases you from his arms. This is why I didn't want to talk, you hiss at him, but he can tell from your scent you’re more conflicted than angry. Because you- you cutely flush, -we can't control ourselves for more than 5 minutes without something like this happening. You gesture to the space between you two as he watches you inquisitively, taking in every small movement with a tilt of his head like he was a lion stalking a deer. Stay away from me from now on, Verstappen you say with a scowl on your pretty face, pointing right at him, his sharp blue eyes not missing the slight tremor that gives away how affected you feel by him. I need to focus on winning this championship and not your…slutty Alpha seduction techniques.

He lets you go, smirking as you practically sprint away down the stairs to avoid any further temptation, enjoying the view of your generous ass from behind. Using his thumb to brush the dampness you left on his pants, he licks it away, chest lowly rumbling in approval as he confirms you’ll taste just as sweet as you looked, as you smelled. Next time, he promises his disgruntled inner Alpha.

After all, it was only a matter of time before he claimed you - it was a question of when, not if. The dark, controlling parts of him wanted to lay his claim on you right now, knowing that you desired him and would be unable to resist if he wanted to have his way with you. But you’d be so much sweeter, more pliable, more eager for him if he waited until you came begging.

He’d have his fun in the meantime.

READ PART TWO HERE

[23victoria]

Passing the Phone

f1 grid x reader

warnings: cussing, unhinged, satire, complete jokes (are they?...), dark humor ig…idk, talk of age gaps, sa allegations, no just kidding...very much reading people to the filth

authors note: lmaoo don’t ask me why i wrote this cause idk…but this is so unhinged 😭😭 please don’t take offense to this and if you do…i said don’t…all jokes i love them, some of them, you can find it funny or you won’t, just wanted to get this out of my drafts

want to be tagged in my works?! CLICK HERE!

f1 masterlist

Video starts with Y/N holding the phone, in selfie mode.

Y/N: I'm passing the phone to someone who had the biggest breakup in F1 history with a blond German boy named Nico.

Lewis: Babe, no!

Y/N: What, too soon? It's been years but okay! Sorry! Okay, let me start again. I'm passing the phone to someone who said "Fuck Mercedes" and is going to Ferrari for 2025!

Lewis: Y/N, no!! You cannot say that! You’re gonna get me in trouble!!

Y/N: Fine, fine, fine. I'm passing the phone to the GOAT of this generation with the most wins in F1 history, yet he was robbed of the championship in 2021.

Y/N passes the phone to Lewis.

Lewis: stares at Y/N then laughs “I'm passing the phone to someone who is known more for his memes than driving skills.”

Lewis passes the phone to George.

George: laughs “Hahaha real funny…I'm passing the phone to someone who took six years to get their first win."

Lando: “Dude, what the fuck?! Fuck you, Woody! I'm passing the phone to someone who's younger than me yet acts years older than me.”

Oscar: “....You're not funny... I'm passing the phone to someone who's most likely losing their seat next season.”

Logan: “The fuck, Oscar! I thought we were friends! Low blow, mate. I'm passing the phone to someone who has yet to get P1, yet all his friends who got into F1 after him have won races already.”

Alex: “....And that, Logan, is why you're losing your seat. Mr. What The Fuck is A Kilometer. Anyway, I'm passing the phone to someone who just got brutally murdered by an interviewer on Sky Sports regarding their F1 career, if you could call it that.”

Daniel: “You shouldn’t be talking Mr. I Have No Wins….eat shit…I'm passing the phone to the shortest person on the grid but cusses more than anyone here.”

Yuki: “That interviewer was right, why the fuck do you still have a seat in F1?!! Dickhead. I'm passing the phone to a man with good fashion sense and his teammate might steal his seat.”

Zhou: “Bro….really. I'm passing the phone to someone who acts like he's Australian when he’s not…oh, and his seat is at risk too.”

Bottas: “Yeah, yeah, whatever mate. I'm passing the phone to someone who has enough penalties in just nine races that he can be banned from racing in F1… permanently.

Kevin: “You're so funny, Bottas, hahaha…ha. I'm passing the phone to a dickhead.”

Nico: “Fuck you too asshole. I'm passing the phone to a person who has a shitty ass dad who deserves to be in jail.”

Max: burst out laughing “Ah, no lies told there. I'm passing the phone to someone who only has a seat to protect me from having any real competition…”

You laugh in the background “Oh shit.”

Checo: blank stare “Motherfucker! That just shows your true colors... I'm passing the phone to... who am I supposed to pass it to... uhhh... Y/N.

Takes phone 

Y/N: “Oh, I know! I'm passing the phone to someone who has sexual assault “allegations” against them, but the FIA wants to hide it. I can’t go near him for my safety, so I’ll just turn the camera towards him... *pans the camera to Christian Horner*

Everyone is stunned and silent, then there’s Lewis laughing in the background 

Y/N: “Oh! I have another one! Hey Kelly, “i hear you like them young”, to be more specific at the ripe age of 17... mhmmm, she's a pedoo. What Kendrick say “TRYNA STRIKE A CORD AND ITS PROBABLY A MINNORRRR” *pans the camera to Kelly Piquet*

silence.

Lewis: runs towards Y/N and grabs the camera “Yup, that's enough for today. You're trying to start problems and get people beat up”

Video ends with Lewis taking the phone away from Y/N, shaking his head while laughing.

.•☆.°.•.*₊ ☆ .*₊ .• ☆.°.• .

✿ .° • everything taglist • °. ✿ : @ham1lton @ietss @animeandf1lover @nelly187 @heartsfromtaeyong @bloodyymaryyy @nor-4 @zacian117 @mel164 @uhhvictoria @hadidsworld @magixpracticality @exotic-iris13 @tellybearryyyy @zabwlky1999 @sya-skies @lillysbigwilly

@eoduuung

.•☆.°.•.*₊ ☆ .*₊ .• ☆.°.• .

*sooooo……that’s the end….LMFAOOOO, again…DO NOT COME FOR ME…ITS JOKES (is it really though)*

© 23victoria 2023-24 I all rights reserved. do not republish, steal repost, modify, translate or claim my work as your own

[eirianerisdar]

You know if this is Daniel's last race the thing that really gets me is the horseshit management of Red Bull/VCARB

Checo isn't fast enough. You're in danger of losing your constructors. So you decide you're probably going to put Daniel in the Red Bull seat in the summer. You send messages ahead to the next race to tell people not to put up Checo's promotional images.

Not so fast, Checo's sponsors say, so you leave Perez in the seat and give up on the constructors' because it's easier to get money from sponsorship than to cover the constructors'.

You want more points with VCARB, you say. You want more points but you keep effing up both your drivers with strategy and putting upgrades on the car that make them go backwards.

I know what we'll do, you say. We'll leave Daniel out for the wolves in Singapore and tell media that it isn't his last race until oops, it might be. We haven't told him though, so he can't say a proper goodbye if it is. We'll just hand him one last shit strategy and watch as he swallows it and takes fastest lap to help Max's championship. For shits and giggles we'll kill Yuki's strategy too, for fairness.

But if Daniel's gone after Singapore, what will Red Bull/VCARB do?

Let's see here. You have Checo, who went backwards in Singapore and can't help the constructors. You have Yuki, who's fast on track but can't give feedback well and has trouble keeping his emotions down on track. You have Liam, who's all well and deserving of a VCARB seat but won't be ready for Red Bull until a few years later.

You have nobody. You still haven't solved the problem of Max's teammate after six years. You refuse to let go of Checo, who shouldn't have been here after the summer break. You won't ever take the chance and promote Yuki to see if a stint in a senior team will work out for him. You'll have fired your best development and update feedback driver for your secondary team.

Carlos has gone to Williams. George, which Christian mentioned, won't ever leave Mercedes. Oscar and Lando will stay at McLaren. You asked Alex last year, and Alex laughed in your face.

And Max can no longer win the constructors' by himself in the car you give him.

It started in the summer break. Red Bull took a gun and pointed it in their own faces and slowly pulled back the trigger and it was only until now, six races from the end off the season, that we see what the bullet will do.

[vetteltea]

Paint the Town Red | MV1

summary: when the biggest rumour of the season turns out to be true, how will it effect the bond between you and your best friend?

note: hello! I am alive, I promise. The past few weeks have been wild and I'm slowly returning to be with you all! This is also my first ever SMAU, so PLEASE be gentle with me!

F1 ✔

Liked by charles_leclerc, scuderiaferrari, sebastianvettel, and 704,201 others

F1: BREAKING: Y/N Y/L/N to join Scuderia Ferrari in 2024!

The race-winner from Alphatauri will end her current contract with the Red Bull family after a record-breaking two seasons together. Y/L/N is the first driver to win four consecutive sprint races as well as setting phenomenal wins in Monza and Silverstone

view all comments

landoleclerc: FINALLY! she's getting some good recognition and deserves this seat so SO MUCH!!!!!! 😭

scuderiaferrari: welcome home, Y/N ❤️🏎️

pitstopboxbox: I can't believe the rumours were true lmao, who agreed to this?

y/ntauri: @pitstopboxbox she's so much better than half the grid, she deserves this more than anyone else 🤷🏻‍♀️

alphataurif1 ✔

Liked by yourusername, yukitsunoda0511, redbullracing and 404,359 others

alphatauri: After two seasons together, Scuderia Alphatauri and Y/N Y/L/N will be parting ways at the end of the 2023 season.

Y/N has always been a valuable and loved member of our team; as the first woman in Formula One racing to score points on the grid, we are more than proud of all we have achieved together. She will always be a loved and appreciated member of the Red Bull Family. We wish her every luck in her future at Scudeira Ferrari.

view all comments

redbullracing: thank you for everything, Y/N! 💙❤️

lechairalonso: you all never deserved her, we know what was said about her! Y/N TO FERRARI!!!!!!!!

scuderiaferrari: we'll take good care of our girl! ❤️

yourusername ✔

Liked by danielricciardo, gerihalliwell, carlossainz55 and 695,481 others.

yourusername: After an incredible two years and discussions with Franz Tost, Christian Horner and Adrian Newey, I have come to the decision to leave Scuderia Alphatauri at the end of the 2023 season.

Racing has and will always be an incredibly huge part of my life; I will forever be grateful for the opportunity given to me by Alphatauri and the passion and energy I have been able to put into one of the most important things in my life. Franz has been a leader and a legend, Yuki my best friend and the entire team here and back home are phenomenal.

Whilst I am sad to leave behind a legacy created, I am proud to take my next steps into the future as a Scuderia Ferrari driver. This has been a dream of mine ever since I was a child and I cannot wait to fufill the wish that my younger self desired for so long. I want to thank everyone for your love and support along the way and I hope to make you all proud.

view all comments

ynarmy: onward and upwards! we can't wait to see your NEXT adventure! 🏎❤️

yukitsunoda0511: I'll miss you forever, keeping your seat warm always! 🤍

redbullsupermax: ain't no way Y/N is winning anything now, this was her best bet as a woman lmao.

sainztsunoda: @redbullsupermax PLSSSS and ur PFP is literally a cheater lMAO 😂😭

f1gossip

Liked by landonorris, ynverstappenarmy, scuderiapapaya and 24,503 others.

f1gossip: Has the Y/L/N transfer to Ferrari caused issues already? Eagle-Eyed fans among the sport spotted that Three-Time World Champion, Max Verstappen, has UNFOLLOWED Y/N. 

The two have been known for having an incredibly strong relationship on the grid and Verstappen has mentioned to the press multiple times that he believes Y/N would be a suitable driver for Red Bull. The two have known one another since their racing in Formula 3. Has this move to Ferrari caused strain on this friendship?

view all comments 

oconredflags: there's no way that something like this could split them up? they've been friends for SO long? 😭❤️

ferrarilover1655: nah I'm sorry, max is salty that she's moving onto better things. she has every right to be happy and he should be supporting her

vettellovers: @ferrarilover1655: she's literally moving to FERRARI. WORST MOVE EVER. 😂😂😭

astonalonso: LANDO IN THE LIKES BRUUUUUUH. 👀👀

scuderiaferrari ✔

Liked by charles_leclerc, yourusername, sebastianvettel and 849,204 others.

scuderiaferrari: The future is red. Say hello to the SF-24, designed and built in Maranello.

view all comments

raybans: we're painting the town red in 2024!

yourusername: 🏎️❤️

vettelschumacher: Y/N is going to be the greatest thing that's happened to this team in SO long

liked by charles_leclerc

sffanpage

liked by papayasainz, beforrealistic, maranellomadness and 56,301 others.

sffanpage: Charles Leclerc and Y/N Y/L/N at Maranello for the SF-24 Launch today! Y/N visited the museum before the official launch and the two were seen leaving the event at the same time after stopping to speak to fans!

view all comments

papayasainz: they look like they'll make SUCH a good team? They had so much banter during the launch I LOVE LOVE THE VIBE ❤️😭❤️😭

louisaferrari44: @papayasainz RIGHT? when Charles was welcoming her too and they were giggling when Fred came on, ICONIC 😅

ferrariofficialfanpages: we've need something fresh for so long and I'm so excited that this is happening 🤍❤️🏎

supermaxredbull: I give it 2 races and she'll be done lmao

yourusername ✔

Liked by scuderiaferrari, charles_leclerc, f1 and 703,402 others.

yourusername: The SF-24 is here and I am so excited! Such a beautiful car built by an incredible team. I hope I can do you all proud this year!

Thank you to everybody who came out to support the team; I feel so welcome and loved and I cannot wait to begin this season on a high! Forza Ferrari! ❤️🏎

view all comments

f1: we can't wait to see you on track in red!

ferrarifans16: SHE'S HERE! OH MY GOD SHE LOOKS SO GOOD AND I'M NOT READY!!!!!

charles_leclerc: welcome to the family! ❤️

liked by yourusername

maranellomadness: Y/N IS ABOUT TO REVIVE US ARE WE ALL READY?????

charles_leclerc ✔

Liked by maxverstappen1, yourusername, landonorris and 894,402 others

charles_leclerc: SF-24 Launch was incredibleeeee 🤩

Thank you to all the fans and the love in Maranello today, I can't wait to get behind the wheel and bring us some memories and points. ❤️

view all comments

yourusername: forza charles! ❤️

liked by charles_leclerc

sffanpage: good luck this season Charles! we can't wait to see you bring home all the points!!

vettelalonso: CHARLES IN RED WILL ALWAYS BE MY ROMAN EMPIRE 😍😍😍

[no-144444]

smile, even though it's breaking- d.riccardo

Day 15 of fic-tober! fic-tober masterlist

summary: daniel is your older brother's best friend who you can't stand. it's his last race, and your last chance to speak your mind.

୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ

You walked into the paddock with a sigh, knowing what was awaiting you. 

Daniel. 

Daniel had been in your life since before you could talk. He was your oldest brother’s friend, and he was going to be a racecar driver. You’d been in love with him since before you knew what that meant, of course, you’d never admit that. You hated him. You had to hate him. He’d never choose you. He’d always just be family, whatever that meant. 

“Morning,” he smiled. That stupid goofy smile. You wished you could punch him square in his bright white teeth and perfect smile. 

“Morning,” you grunted, moving past him to speak to Yuki. “Good luck today.”

Singapore. You felt guilty about all the speculation, especially when you knew that Liam would be in his seat in Austin. Austin was one of his favourite races. Daniel deserved to race it all one last time. He deserved Las Vegas, he deserved Brazil, he deserved Abu Dhabi. He deserved just one more chance. Maybe that was your heart speaking. You weren’t sure anymore. 

He followed behind you, talking your ear off about something or other. You just tried to ignore it, continue on with your duties, try to stop the way your brain questioned why Heidi wasn’t here. She hadn’t been to a race since Miami at the start of the season.

“Do you ever stop smiling?” you sighed. 

“Only when you’re not around,” he winked at you. “Miss you too much.” 

You rolled your eyes and tried to ignore the way your heart strings pulled at his sentence. “Where’s Heidi?”

His smile dampened. “She and I… broke up. You didn’t know that?”

You abandoned your regular, nonchalant exterior and frowned. “I’m sorry Dan, I didn’t know-”

“Dan?” he grinned. “You haven’t called me that since you were a kid.”

You rolled your eyes, your defences straight back up. “Whatever you say Daniel.”

You continued on after that, somehow losing him in the motorhome. 

୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ

He got the fastest lap. You cried as he crossed the finish line. This was it. It was over. Daniel had raced his last race, finishing with a fastest lap and a testament of his commitment to RedBull. RedBull didn’t deserve him. They never did. If they’d just kept Max in Toro Rosso for one more year, Daniel would probably be a World Champion, and not still chasing a pipe dream from years before. 

You ran to the parc fermé, ready to meet him with open arms. He didn’t get out of the car for a few minutes longer than everyone else, and every driver spent their time giving him a lengthy goodbye. When he climbed out, you ran straight to him, wrapping him up in a tight hug. You didn’t care that he was sweaty, that he would tease you, that there were 30 cameras on you, if not more. 

You cared about him. 

“I’m so sorry,” you whispered, tears falling yet again. “I’m so fucking sorry Daniel. I love you.” 

And fuck, you’d told him. For the first time in years you’d said it, and he knew what it meant. That’s why you didn’t say it to him. You said it with so much emotion, so much love, so much affection. It couldn’t be seen as friendly, or familial. You loved him. You loved the way he laughed, how he smiled, how he treated others, how much he cared. 

You loved him. 

He pulled back, eyes wide. “You mean that?”

You smiled, nodding. 

“Thank fuck,” he smiled, pressing his lips to yours. 

Neither of you were thinking about the way you’d explain this to your brother, neither of you were thinking about how the media would respond, neither of you were thinking about how this was Daniel’s last race. You two were finally together. How it should be.

୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ⋅୨ৎ

navigation for my blog :) (masterlist)

fic-tober masterlist

taglist: @anotherapollokid @theseerbetweenus @simbaaas-stuff @5sospenguinqueen @yootvi

[amirasainz]

Hiiii! I love this series and can you write where Amira and Dominik Szoboszlai (He's so fine🤭) go on a date and paparazzi was stalking them or something and Carlos and the grid go crazy and go on protective mode. After that every time she wants to go out someone has to go with her

Hi loves! I hope you enjoy reading my writings. My requests are always open.

-XoXo

The Szoboszlai case

Charles couldn't believe it. He had his phone in his hands, a picture of Amira and Dominik Szoboslai open on his Instagram. The two of them at lunch. Her, wearing a pretty blue of the shoulder summer top with shorts. Her hair done in beautiful summer waves. A light make up, that highlights her warm chocolate brown eyes. A content smile resting on her face. And then there was him, with his stupid smirk. And stupid hair. And his stupid hand resting on her perfect arm. How. Dare. He?!

When Charles first arrived at the conference room, he found himself alone. Seeking a moment of respite from the impending chaos of the Ferrari garage, he pulled out his phone. Instagram beckoned, and he hoped to catch glimpses of his beautiful girlfriend or their pretty babygirl. But fate had other plans.

Suddenly, Charles’s screen flooded with images of Amira Sainz sharing dinner with that infuriating footsy player. His mind raced, emotions colliding like race cars on a tight circuit. The room, once empty, now teemed with drivers, FIA employees, and officials. Max, seated next to Charles, leaned in. “Charlie, mate, are you alright?” he asked, concern etching his features. The other drivers followed suit, their collective gaze fixated on Charles. Carlos chimed in, “Yeah, Lord Percival. You look really pale.” The chorus of agreement echoed around him, a symphony of curiosity and worry.

When Charles remained silent, Lewis laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Charles, hey buddy. Talk to us. You’re kind of scaring us.” Encouraged by Lewis’s words, Charles turned his phone toward the others. The room erupted with various reactions. Carlos looked as though he’d seen a ghost, while Mad Max made his first appearance in five years. Pierre let out a blood-curdling “Nooooo,” Alex and George scrambled to catch a fainting Lando, and even Yuki dropped his Dino nuggets—a sure sign of shock.

After five tension-filled minutes, Daniel broke the silence. “We can’t let anything happen. This can’t turn into something,” he began. “Hell, boys, we won’t let a stupid football—” “Um, you mean soccer,” Logan interjected. “Shut up, Logan,” Max retorted. Daniel continued, carefully navigating Carlos’s presence, “Steal our … friend.”

Carlos, lost in his own world, grappled with the image of his perfect baby sister spending precious time with a stupid football player—someone who didn’t even play for Real Madrid. How could she? So imagine Carlos’s surprise when he was suddenly slapped across the face. All eyes turned to Charles. “Sorry. Are you with us again?” No one—not even the nice lady tending her Greek garden in Italy—expected the kind Monegasque to snap Carlos out of his panic with a resounding slap. “Always, Percival,” Carlos reassured. While the other drivers still reeled from the unexpected incident, the two Ferrari boys had already begun plotting how to keep Amira away from Domi—no, from Szoboszlai. (He didn’t deserve to be called by his first name.)

And boy, planning, they did.

The drivers constructed a kind of timetable for spending time with her. For example, Oscar would have the honor of spending every Monday dinner with her, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. George, on the other hand, would enjoy Wednesday mornings in her company—a fact he promptly shared with Carmen, who was more than delighted. Kika and Pierre were allowed Thursday lunchtime visits. The two of them had initially hoped for overnight stays, but Carlos put his foot down. The mere thought of them manipulating their way into sharing a bed with her… Well, Carlos didn’t even want to entertain that idea.

During Qualifying, Red Bull had the privilege of calling her their VIP guest. The race would be watched in the Ferrari garage, with her seated between their cousin and their Papá—or perhaps cuddled up between Rebecca and Alex.

So imagine Baby!Sainz’s surprise when she returned from her lunch with Dominik, who had been so friendly as to gift her a Versace necklace. She was immediately surrounded by Alex and Fernando. And the revelation that the two of them were friends? Well, that was a twist she hadn’t seen coming.

So everyday she would spend every hour of every day with either a driver, a wag, or both of them. And for some reason, Pierre and Kika always insisted on taking a shower during Thursdays lunch time. Together. But who was she to deny the princess treatment from them.

And Dominik?……. I'm sorry, who?

[keelt9]

Chapter 3

Masterlist

“It was worth it, right?” Lewis looked right to my eyes, a soft smile on his lips.

“The best.” I mumble while taking the last bite of profiterole.

His urgency was because one of the guys on his team bought a freshly baked profiterole, one of my favorite desserts of the world.

Lewis smiles and tosses my hair. “Keep enjoying, I must prepare for the race.” 

I nod watching him go down stairs with Rosa by his side, not before taking another one, wink her eye at me. 

After all the protocol ceremony I go to the garage to see Lewis getting in the car and like a manntra ask him please drive safe. As I walk inside I keep greeting the members of the team who are fully focused on their task but smile at me as I walk to the zone where you can stay until the car comes out of the garage.

I see my brother get into the car and receive the last indications from his team, the strong sound of the car announcing he’s ready to take position, he raises his hands, thumbs up. He knows I’m right there.

“Be safe.” I whisper to myself watching him go behind George.

The 4th place is still far from his goal but for the way he enters the garage he’s more satisfied with his performance this time; he remains talking with his team for a couple of moments more than usual, coming out with a smile on his face along with Bono.

“Are you ok?” I ask as he hugs me, Bono nods still I wait for my brother's answer.

With a deep breath he just said. “I’m getting better, slowly but better.”

By the end of the day, he looks relaxed as he keeps talking with Bottas at the beginning of the hospital area.

“What do you say kid?” Bottas asked; they already set plans about going out for drinks, bringing me flashbacks, putting a smile on my face.

“Oh, I love to, but I’m afraid I'm too young to talk about my physical discomfort for my age.” They laughs even Lewis push me a little bit. “Go, have fun, you deserve it.”

“Y/N, found friends in Italy.” Lewis interprets the excitement of Bottas and makes himself more clear. “No, any of the grid, she found an old friend from the collage here.” 

I wave my hand to Yuki who is already leaving the paddock with his team. “I thought you were closer to the young people around here.” Bottas smirk as we walk to the exit.

“A few, just a few.” My eyes stop in a beautiful tiny dog, who is carried by  Alexandra “Hi, young…?” I start to pet his head.

“Boy. Leo, his name is Leo.” She and Charles seem ready to go, too.

“Very charming, I must say.” Leo moves his tail as I rub his head. “Have you met Roscoe?” 

Charles sigh. “We tried but until he came to his first race we didn’t even know Roscoe doesn’t travel that far.” 

“Oh, he will be in Monaco, we can introduce them, right?” I turn around to see my brother who nods softly.

“You’re his manager, I’m at your orders.” Everyone giggles as I click my tongue.

“We'll leave you, have a good night.” They say goodbye before I look down. 

“Young boy, it's a pleasure.” The couple laughed and walked away carrying him.

As Lewis and Bottas were about to walk to one car, Lewis let me take the car which drove him to the paddock for take me to restaurant where I’m meet my friend Donna, our eyes crossed in the Red Bull crew walking with long and heavy steps immerse in a serious talk for the poker face of each one of them.

“The stewarts?” Bottas drops the question to the air, as I look at him.

Lewis opens the door for me to get inside. “I heard about a penalty.” 

“Mad max back for the night?” Lewis giggles before kissing my cheek and saying goodbye to me. “Have fun kid.” Bottas said, waving his hand.

I read and knew about the nickname Max wins in his early years on the F1, but I thought it was a rumor, but maybe it’s not.

“Miss. Hamilton, do you learn something new?” John, Lewis driver asked as I took my coat and laid back in the seat.

I fake a shiver. “We could say so.” He saw me through the rearview mirror. “Drivers could be such a problem, huh?”

John chuckled and said. “Only if you choose wrong.” He stops at a red light. “If you share your time with nice people, no, they have such a good heart. On the other hand, spending your time with controversial…boys, yes, it will be a dangerous move.” 

Such deep words for a 4 pm talk. I take a deep breath as I see the text of my phone, Donna is already in the restaurant. When we arrived I thanked him but he choked his head. 

"For the advice.” He smiles and nods with courtesy.

“Have a good day, Miss Hamilton.” 

Around 5 am I arrived at the hotel, falling asleep on the couch. An early morning text  for Lewis wakes me up, he waits for me in the buffet of the hotel, for siblings day. 

As soon as I got inside of the buffet, I knew. First thing first, I need a juice like every morning. A few people  on the juice station decide which one should be drinking, even Max seems to have a difficult time seeing the different colors, but I have my favorite.

I grabbed a glass, with the firm intention of just saying hi, if it's absolutely needed, I poured a mixture between orange and beetroot, the last one at the other side of the table.

“It seems orange juice is the favorite one.” Max said as I turned at my side trying to figure out if that clumsy comment it’s for someone else, the boy who remained there left a few seconds before.

I guess it’s for me. “I like the classics.” 

“Hi Max, trying to recover your energy early in the morning?” Lewis appears next me kissing the top of my head and smirk on his face.

“I need to be in my best shape.” I look at Lewis trying to figure out if the answer only gives me chills, but he is already looking out of the corner of his eye.

“Righ, right, amm, you seem a little bit nervous, you need…” Max scoffs but he clears his throat.

“Nervous? No, no at all.” Even though he tried, it's clear he felt uncomfortable with us.

“Why is he nervous?” My question makes Lewis smile, only getting me more confused every second.

He grabs a glass too pouting orange juice. “Oh it’s nothing little H. It’s just that I don't used to seeing Max shutter about juice. He looks a little bit out of balance.” 

Max chuckled and still kept answering him back. “I’m not that specialist on juices, out of my comfort zone.”

“Don’t worry man. It’s juice and… unexpected company, early morning.” Lewis put his hand around my shoulders.

“Don’t worry Max, it’s only juice and my brother being a pain in the ass.” I jostle Lewis, making him laugh. “I’ll go for pancakes, see you around.” 

Lewis said goodbye following me with that smile and head down, going to pick his breakfast. We decided to sit outside enjoying the morning sun.

“It isn’t only juice.” Lewis said, taking out his sunglasses and taking a sip of his coffee. 

“Oh come on Lew, it’s so cute!” Lewis and I entered the hotel late that day, ready to pack our bags to go to London. 

Lewis kept observing the harness I bought for Roscoe, yellow with tiny watermelons all over it, of course the LH at one side and his name at the other. 

“He will look…” I covered his mouth before he said anything else. 

“Like a rockstar.” We see each other and laugh. The image of Roscoe wearing that as eats a watermelon, his favorite food, it’s hilarious. 

“It's been a long time since I didn't see this picture.” Bono is walking to us with a bag in his hands, ready to go home.

“Going home?” I ask him, knowing he has to do a quick stop in Brixworth.

He bluff. “I wish. I guess I will see you in two weeks and our good-luck charm, right?”

Lewis nods. “An urgent backup.” Bono shakes his head with a smile on his face before saying goodbye.

Our parents received us like when we were kids, a big hug at the door and something sweet to eat; now two dogs running to us barking and running around us.

Lewis will leave in two days; being a driver and fashion icon it's hard work, on the other hand I leave Thursday morning with Roscoe to Monaco, spending a few days there and doing a purification of my things.

“This is nice, darling.” Dad pointed to the jacket Lewis bought me in Italy. “A new type of style but you look great.” 

“See? I have the finest eye.” Lewis appears with a ball in his hand and a happy Roscoe looking for a snack.

I put it in the bag one more time, giving Roscoe a piece of radish. “Where is Jewel?” 

“She gets tired after 10 minutes and runs with mom for his night walk.” Lewis points out mom and Jewel walking around the garden, a peaceful walk.

“Are you coming to Monaco, dad?” Lewis asks but my father looks at him rolling his eyes, like if Lewis asked the most obvious thing in the world, making us laugh. “Just to be sure.” 

It’s my second day of an exhaustive purification of my things, what a few months ago were 5 boxes now, slowly it’s turning in 3, and any extra suitcase.

The sound of Roscoe scratching a box distracts me from washing the dishes of the dinner.

I walk where he is. “What did you find, baby?” I opened the box to see inside a few of his toys which I didn’t buy for him. “I wasn’t that good at packing.”

Roscoe sits next to me waiting to take out a toy and give it to him. I take one, a rabbit who Caleb, my ex-fiance knew will love it; but immediately put it inside and close the lids of the box.

“Lets this be for the refuge all right? I’ll buy you new ones tomorrow.” I grab his face and give him a peck on the top of bit. “I promise.”

I grab the box and put it inside of the wardrobe of the room Lewis chose for me, away from my view, where the memories are far away.

Next morning as I promise; after breakfast Roscoe and I go for new toys. He carefully smells and touches everyone who calls for his attention. After going down to the store, he chooses 3, a ball, a frisbee and a fluffy toy that looks like a lion. 

We take a break in the park as we watch people come and go; he even plays with some dogs who come closer to us but refuse to go more than 1 meter away from me.

“Let’s go boy, time to go home.” I put his leash on one more time.

After 10 minutes of walking he decided it’s time to take another break because he sat in the middle of the pavement and refused to move.

“Come on boy! It’s just 3 more blocks.” But Roscoe pretends don’t hear me, putting a smile on my face. “Ok, at least can we sit on that bench.” 

Roscoe sees my finger pointing to the bench and walks there pulling me, he waits for me to sit and I carry him to put him at my side.

“Good boy.” He raised his eyes and sniffed my hand. “Definitely that harness is my best purchase in years.” 

I smile as he puts his head on my lap closing his eyes, yes, he needs a nap. I take out my phone for work a little bit.

Pass around 20 minutes when someone calls him. “Roscoe?” Well, not someone, Max called him.

He was in casual clothes and a small paper bag in his hand coming closer to us.

“Hi.” He pets Roscoe head smiling, Roscoe turns a little bit his head, sniffing his hand. “Yeah, I don’t think they let you eat this.” 

I raise my eyebrow. “Oh, it’s chocolate.” The sunglasses didn't help today.

“No, he doesn't.” Roscoe lay one more time on his head. It’s weird, Roscoe has seen Max many, many times but he ignores him like he is a stranger.

“Yeah, I’m not his favorite too.” He makes me smile, I get what he means. 

Roscoe licks his nose and sits, he’s ready to walk, I carefully put him in the ground giving me time to erase the smile on my face.

“Hey, am, I want to apologize for the other night.” Max takes his cap and scratches his head. “I…I… I wasn't thinking right.” 

“Well, you were drunk, that doesn’t help at all.” Max cheeks turn in a soft pink. “It’s all fine, no worries.” 

Roscoe starts to walk, pulling me softly, now he wants to leave. “See you Max.” 

“You want to go for an ice cream?” His invitation left me cold, and fixed on my spot. “I don’t want the first impression to keep being that…that awful.” 

I turn around to find him with hand in his pockets. “It’s ok Max, I believe the juice station is taking the lead. Besides, Roscoe needs to rest properly, but I appreciate the invitation.” 

Roscoe pulls one more time, helping me to leave this awkward moment, Max giggles and nods. “Yeah, I… yeah, see you later, I guess.”

That night after giving the last touches to my monthly report I lay down on the settee, I saw the text of Lewis, he will arrive with our parents the day after tomorrow. 

I see Roscoe who is peacefully snoring in his bed, living the life; along his lion. 

“Maybe you could make a space for you.” I whisper to the fluffy toy.

Monaco Grand Prix, it’s one of their favorite circuits for a lot of pilots, Lewis isn’t the exception. My parents went with him from the first day I chose with Rosco to wait until race day, the best for the end. 

As always, Lewis arrived with Roscoe stealing glances, gasps and hearts of every person who crossed in his way.

We arrived 30 minutes before when all the drivers were already in the paddock getting ready.

Three hundredth behind Max, put Lewis in the second place of Monaco. It’s definitely a good race from him and all in the team knows it for the way they hug him and congratulate, our parents weren't the exception.

After the interview and ceremony finally the so expected encounter happened, Roscoe met Leo, full of energy and running one side to the other as Roscoe tried to follow his rhythm, pushing his ball to invite him to play.

The last photos set the end of the meeting. We split forLewis do what has to do and go to dinner with our parents. 

“Honey.” Dad grabs my arm. “Roscoe needs to go out.” He’s walking side to side sniffing. He needs to pee.

“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll take him. I reached you in the car.” Dad nods as I call for him to go outside.

As soon as he finished his task, Roscoe took his time to go back as walking around the green grass until we found Max, still race suit on, but he looked awfully tired, not the face of a winner.

I heard about the rumors about a few reporters misunderstanding, probably on purpose a few of Max's answers but I never imagined that kind of things affecting him.

Roscoe reads my mind as we walk closer to him and just sit next to him, not saying anything.

“A chocolate?” I extend a bar of chocolate I take from the hospitality. 

Max doubts and rejects it just turning away. “Are you mad or something?” 

He didn't answer, feeling Roscoe eyes on me I shake my head, signs that I tried but Max is definitely hard to read. I stand up reading to walk away, telling myself I never learn.

“It's supposed to be easier, nothing changes, new year, but it's the same how people twisted my words, I mean I expect that but, sometimes big races are covered for a stupid comments.” Max says out of the blue, still he isn't looking at me, he is just starting at the grass. “From time to time I feel tired, that's all. I can't have everything under control even if I try hard.”

“You can’t.” I take a deep breath. “I’m not trying to give you advice or anything like that, just…” One more time I sat next to him. “I know what it feels like a big day turns into shit. But you can control some things.” 

He bluffs but let me keep speaking. “You, how you react, what do you say and bloody hell, how you give a shit and enjoy your victories.”

I turn around and for the first time I see right to his eyes, a dazzling blue color with a soft touch of gray. 

“So, go, have fun, let the people keep speaking, it’s the best thing they ever do, but don’t let that screw your day, you don’t deserve that.” Max laugh softly. “You’re in your home after all, if you “don't get drunk”, I bet there are so many people here that need to be protected.” His face turns red and I smile at him, even Roscoe sits in front of him, looking for a pet in his head, which Max softly scratches a little bit.

My phone buzzes on my hand as I see the name and photo of Lewis on the screen, they probably are on their way to the car. 

“What?” Lewis scoffs but I know he’s smiling. 

“Bring my boy here, we’re leaving.” An expression of pain comes from him too, the sign of mom probably pinch him slightly.

“On my way boss.” I hung out and didn't even give him a chance to replay.

I stand shaking all the grass could be stuck to my jeans. “Let’s go boy, we need to go.”

Roscoe stands and waits for me to put his leash on, Max stands too. “Thanks.” 

I shake my head, it’s not a big deal, but I smile at him as we walk away but my conscience about, I know, maybe, just maybe I’ve been rude with him makes me wait.

“Am, hey Max, I don’t like ice cream but if you find something else, I gladly accept your invitation.” Max opened his mouth but nothing came out of it, making me giggle before finally going.

Roscoe and I found Rosa chatting with a few people from the Mercedes crew, she asked them for a minute and walked to us to say goodbye.

“I’ll see you, until the race right?” Barcelona is next but I have a few things to do in London and Newport. 

“Yes, you do.” She pets the head of Roscoe and kisses my cheek before leaving. 

As we cross the exit the few people who stay there unconnected to the teams start to leave too, Monaco GP is officially over.

“Y/N!” Max running to the entrances makes Roscoe barks. “Do you mean it?” 

I choke my head and bluff, of course I talk seriously in my speech. “The invitation, do you mean it?”

[reareaotaku]

Yandere Zero Kiyru Headcanons/Drabble

Tw: Blood mentioned

🦇🩸 You remembered the first day of school- You should have shown up sooner, because you were seated next to Zero- the scariest man in the entire school. Every other seat was taken expect the one next to him. You had gone a long time never interacting with him, so why had your luck run out now?

🦇🩸 Maybe it hadn't, because he didn't speak to you. He just sat there, not saying a word to you.

🦇🩸 With that being said, it made you wonder how you ended up in this scenario. He was covered in blood- YOUR blood- after he had bitten you. You could feel your blood covering your hands as you covered your wound. You could feel it drip down your neck down your chest. It was a lot- So much. He looked ashamed and sadden by what had happened. He takes a step towards you, but you flinch back and he takes the hint. He shakes his head as he repeats four words.

🦇🩸 "I'm so, so sorry."

That was the last thing you heard before you passed out. You awoke in the hospital wing with the Headmaster and another man over you. You vaguely recognized him, but didn't know anything about him expect he has some tie to the Night Class.

It felt strange- Like they had been talking about something that you weren't in on. You didn't like their little secret

🐕 The Night Class Guy- Kuran? Looked over you, seemingly checking you over. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

🗡️ The Headmaster coughs into his hand, before speaking to you. "Do you remember what happened to you last night? You were found in the forest, do you know how you got there or why you were passed out?"

Something in you told you to lie. Told you you couldn't trust them. So, you did.

"No, I don't. Should I?"

🗡️ "No. Not at all," The Headmaster smiles before standing up. He motions towards Kuran, who was giving you a look of suspicion, but quickly drops it and leaves you alone.

The next few days after you got out of the affirmatory, Zero was nowhere to be seen. You wondered what had happened. You looked over at Yuki, who kept looking back at you, but tried to make it seem less suspicious. You couldn't ask her- You didn't trust her. You couldn't trust anyone. You wondered who knew- The headmaster, Yuki, and Kuran had to know... But did anyone else know?

🦇🩸 You finally saw him in class, but he was seated far away from you. He avoided eye contact with you and didn't speak to you. Granted you had never really talked to much before besides the occasional question about school or something. Maybe... You should let it got?

🦇🩸 At least you tried to, but Zero did finally approach you.

---

🐕 "You know she knows."

🗡️ Cross looks up at Kaname, giving him a confused look. "What?"

🐕 "That girl- The one Kiyru attacked, she remembers."

🗡️ Cross laughs, shaking his head. "We did what we always do when this happens. I promise she doesn't remember."

🐕 "But you're going to allow him back in class? With her."

🗡️ Cross frowns, before standing up from his seat. "Zero has a lot of self control. More than anyone in his position. I know he will control himself."

---

🦇🩸 "You remember, don't you?"

You shake your head, "Remember what?"

🦇🩸 "What happened... What I did..."

"I don't know what you mean... I'm sorry. If something did happen, it was probably just my imagination."

🦇🩸 Instead of accepting what you said, he was quick to tell you the truth. "No. It wasn't. Vampires are real. And I attacked you. You deserve to know the truth."

You laugh, shaking your head. "Vampires are not real."

🦇🩸 "They are. They're very real. They live amongst you. Those monsters..." He pauses. "They're here."

"In our class?"

🦇🩸 "No. The Night Class."

---

🦇🩸 He can't be with you, he knows that. There's a part of him that's worried he'll attack you again, so he gives you a blade- An anti-vampire weapon. He tells you if he attacks you- Or anyone- to use the blade against them. It can work on a human but is most effective against a vampire.

It was strange and overwhelming. You felt like it wasn't real, and you felt like you were in another world. Vampires? Real? No way... But he did bite you and suck your blood... But maybe he was just a freak, but for some reason you believed him.

🦇🩸 Zero was protective over you and would tell you about who to be wary of. He had you come to when the Night class leaves the school, so he can tell you who the vampires are, what level, how dangerous, etc,. You were surprised when seeing the man who had been there when you were in the hospital ring.

🦇🩸 "That's Kaname Kuran. He's a pureblood. He's a full vampire with no human dna. He's the most dangerous out of all vampires, even in their own community. He has a lot of power because he's a pureblood."

🦇🩸 Zero likes you, but he keeps you at a distance out of fear of hurting you. He can never be truly close to you- No matter how much he would want to. He knows he's a monster and doesn't want to taint you

[merryslilhobbit]

There are so many things about the Daniel Ricciardo situation that frustrate and anger me, so I'm getting them off my chest before I lose the plot. I'm sure other people have said the same things, but here we go.

Horner made a whole big show of picking Daniel up after the McLaren debacle, bringing him back into "the family". Made himself out to be some sort of saviour. Rebuilding Daniel's confidence, his physical and mental health. Got a dig in at Zak in a press conference about "feeding Daniel up" because he was skinny. Invited DTS to see his return at Silverstone 2023. So to kick Daniel to the curb just a few races before the end of the season? Because they have "a lot of data on Daniel" and need to see other options for the future? Hypocritical c*nt.

Next, replacing him with someone they're not confident enough in to give a contract to straight away? Yes, Liam did a good job in Daniel's absence last year. This is absolutely not me shitting on Liam - I like him, and I think he and Yuki will be good teammates. But he's been out of full time racing for a while. Allegedly RB weren't overly excited about his testing times in the summer. While it will be interesting to see how he compares to Yuki, why are RB hanging onto Liam when they don't seem confident enough to give him a full time seat? Why are they so determined to keep pushing this one? (Yes I know the answer is probably contracts, but still.)

Then there's the fact that Daniel has actually outperformed Yuki in 6 of the last 9 races (since the start of the European leg). In the same period, they've scored the same number of points. Daniel has also been more consistent in his finishing position than Yuki. In terms of form, Singapore excluded (but I think we can forgive him that one, given the media shitstorm), he's been the better of the two and isn't it meant to be that the first person you need to beat is your teammate? There's only so much you can achieve in a tractor.

And we can't forget the Checo situation. Following the first six races he's bombed in comparison to Max. He's probably cost Red Bull the Constructors'. He was given a few races to improve, didn't and then was kept anyway (probably because of money and the Mexican GP). He often qualifies further behind (in time) Max than Daniel does Yuki. I know Red Bull are coming out now and saying they found a problem with their design from Barcelona last year, when Checo first started reporting issues but frankly I'm calling bullshit on that. As mentioned, Checo had six very good races and results at the start of 2024. And some decent ones at the end of 2023. At one point there was speculation that Daniel might even replace Checo mid-season (some reports say it was a done deal), so in the space of a few weeks to go from that to being dropped himself? I have whiplash.

And I think that's the hardest part. A lot of people were probably aware that it could be difficult for Daniel to get a seat for next year. But at no point was there any suggestion that he might get replaced mid-season. Not even in the middle, six races before the end. When Red Bull confirmed in the summer break that both Checo and Daniel would see out the seasons in their current seats.

Red Bull have created an absolute PR disaster and they deserve it. Driver of the Day, amongst many other things in the last 48 hours, reflects the love and respect so many people have for Daniel. People who see how emotional he was, who see that he didn't have an opportunity to say goodbye properly (fuck, even McLaren did that - remember the Monza 2021 photo on his steering wheel?). People who recognise that dumping him so close to the end of the season is ridiculous.

In the end, I hope that Daniel really is at peace with it all and is in better shape than he left McLaren; that he can be proud of all of his achievements in the sport. Drivers come and go, but very few make their mark in the way Daniel has done. He may not have broken records or won championships, but the fact that he will still be remembered for a very long time despite those things is a testament to his character, to the sort of person we all know and love.

[valyrfia]

really liked your take on the grid dynamics. was just curious do u have any controversial/hot takes on the skills of the drivers?

Oof.

Charles has more natural talent than Max, but Max has honed his skills better than Charles

Lando will never win a world championship. McLaren will have to decide between keeping Oscar and Lando at some point in the next couple of years and will keep Lando, this will cost them the championship.

Esteban Ocon is a genuinely good driver

The only two drivers on the current grid who will win world championships who haven't yet are Charles and Oscar

George Russell is a good driver but his true career will be after he stops racing

We will likely see a Charles Leclerc domination era in the same vein as Max and Lewis once had

Carlos is a good and adaptable driver who deserves a seat at a top team, it's his ego that prevents him from keeping one rather than his skill

Pierre no longer deserves an F1 seat

Daniel no longer deserves an F1 seat

Yuki Tsunoda would have been in a Red Bull this season if he were a white European man or at least there would have been serious public outcry over him not getting that seat

Checo is a very good driver as is perfect for the Max domination era, but he's not good enough for a Red Bull whose dominance is being questioned to keep

Lewis has just stopped trying this year #quietquitting

Alex drives best as the star driver of a backmarker/midfield team with less pressure on him

[pitlanewrites]

hello everyone today i bring to you snippets of abandoned fics that never made it to ao3 in the hope that someone might like one of them

胸がはち切れそうで - yuki/liam

Liam is so absorbed in trying to find anything resembling a restaurant that he walks face-first into a wooden hanging sign with ‘Maple Leaf Eatery’ printed on it. He’s dazed enough from his encounter with the sign that when he reads it and knows immediately what it means, he thinks that he’s magically gained the ability to read Japanese. Then he blinks a couple of times and the English words focus into place, which makes much more sense than hitting your head and randomly gaining the power to understand a new language. The word ‘eatery’ sounds like a good one to Liam’s rumbling stomach, so he pushes the door open and steps into a space that looks like someone threw Italy and Japan together and blended them into a soup. Some of the décor leans towards traditional Japanese; maple leaf kakejiku adorn the walls, sections are divided by shoji screens, and the floor is tatami, but bolder Italian colours stand out amongst neutral Japanese ones, adding highlights to important pieces, and there’s a Roman-style statue in the centre that goes nicely with the roof—also obviously Italian-inspired with its embellished patterns. The gold-framed menu displayed at the front of the restaurant is written in both Japanese and English, with Italian headings for the sections, and, perhaps best of all, Liam can smell pizza.  Feeling leagues more confidence than he did not a minute ago, he tries his best to ask for a table for one in Japanese, adjusting his tie to show that he meant business, which didn’t particularly help as both the waiters on duty blinked at him, said「英語?」and then left, leaving Liam rather confused. 「僕が何とかするから、心配しないで。」 The return of the waiters is announced with a conversation in rapid Japanese; accompanying them is a sharply-dressed young man with fluffy hair and a determined expression written across his face. He squeaks to a halt in front of Liam; he can’t help but notice that this young man is almost a whole head shorter than him. 

untitled - nyck & logan & oscar & ollie & kimi & jack & liam

Nyck knew he was going to feel out of place the moment the idea was pitched to him.  It had been Logan who had told him about it, nervously calling him up in the days after the Lone Star Le Mans, which fell on the same weekend as the Italian Grand Prix. Logan had said, hesitantly, as if he didn’t want to bother Nyck, that they were planning a sleepover of sorts for the 2023 and 2025 rookies. To welcome the newbies into F1, he said. Nyck wanted to laugh. Out of the four of them—the three ‘full-time’ rookies and Liam—only Oscar was guaranteed to have a seat next year, so they’d be welcoming people they don’t even get to race with. But Logan had pleaded, saying it would be better with him there, that he deserves something good after the shit Williams put him through, and Nyck had given in. Now, pulling up outside some random hotel their teams had paid for—in exchange for enough footage to narrate whatever story they like, of course—he almost wishes he hadn’t. He hopes that the smile he’s giving his phone camera as he walks into the hotel doesn’t convey as much nervousness as he feels. He barely knows the three rookies, and he can’t imagine having much in common with them, having an average age of nineteen next to Nyck’s twenty-nine. Even Logan, Oscar, and Liam are so much younger than him. He has a brief flash of wishing he was born in 2004—that would make their ages all in a row, nice and even; 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006. Maybe then he’d be next-generation instead of a washed-up has-been desperately trying to stay afloat in the WEC and Formula E. 

untitled - alain/ayrton

warning: mentions of AIDS.

“Have you heard? Piquet says Senna’s gay.” These rumours had shocked Ayrton the first time he had heard them, but now, about the fifteenth time he’s heard them this month, he is beginning to tire of them. That’s funny, that sure isn’t what your wife said, he had told Nelson when the rumours had started, ended the quip with a Portuguese insult to drive the point home, but he had already seized the chance to try to ruin Ayrton’s image, so this dig, low as it was, did little to dissuade him. Of course, it didn’t help that Alain Prost was also in on it. Ayrton’s rival has vehemently denied any involvement, but Ayrton reckons that Alain wouldn’t notice the concept of integrity if it danced in front of him wearing the stupid hat Ron Dennis had shown up to last week’s team meeting in.  He jolts himself back to the present, back to his sister’s house in Brazil, where Viviane is reading the newspaper and his four-year-old nephew Bruno is driving a large plastic truck across the carpet, making loud ‘vroom’ noises. Bruno looks up at Ayrton as if he wants to invite his uncle to come and play, but Ayrton’s attention is fixated on the front page of Viviane’s newspaper.  Mais Casos de AIDS no Brasil, Nova Contagem de Mortes Relatada This is why Ayrton’s still bothered by Piquet calling him gay. In this world, calling someone gay is the equivalent to telling them I want to see you die alone, of AIDS, with no-one to be by your side in your final moments because you have brought disgrace to everyone you love and they have all left you to rot away.

heat lightning, running outside the window - logan/liam

Logan Sargeant is not in his right mind. Somewhere within his brain he knew that Liam Lawson would replace Daniel Ricciardo after his crash. He was the AlphaTauri reserve driver, after all. But somehow, he’s been caught off-guard by it, like he didn’t expect to see his former teammate so soon. Perhaps Liam thought it unfair that Logan had been the one to get an F1 seat despite finishing only fourth to Liam’s third in the 2022 F2 championship—albeit by only one point—and had returned to get his comeuppance.  Ridiculous thought. Liam was here because Danny Ric broke his hand after crashing into Oscar Piastri—another one of Logan’s former teammates, perhaps they were truly all connected—and he, as the reserve driver, had been asked to step up. That makes perfect sense. Still, Logan can’t help but think that somehow, Liam has joined the grid solely to spite him. He wishes that he had a better car, so he could fight him on the track side by side, rather than fighting with his own stupid Williams at the back of the grid, trying desperately to get the car to behave. P10 in qualifying had felt like a fluke, he felt like he was fighting the car the whole way through, when truthfully he wants to be fighting for pole along with all the front runners, wanted to be fighting like his teammate was fighting, fourth on the grid after setting the fastest time in Q1, he wants to believe he has what it takes.  Most of all, though he can’t quite work out why, he wants to hear Liam’s ‘well done, mate’, feel the slap on his back just like he’d do in their F2 days. He foolishly hoped he could hear it after his P10, but Liam was clearly disappointed by his own performance, and it would be selfish of Logan to expect him to congratulate someone after he had clearly not lived up to his own expectations. 

[rickybaby]

Lawson did have a strong race, but just like how a lot of luck for Yuki managed to get him a Haul of points at the beginning of the season, it was no different for Liam today.

Liam had a fresh engine, and he also gained 5 places due to the first lap incident. He also gained a place due to Lewis's dnf. We also know that only 1 driver has a good race while the other is left to fight for themselves. Today, Liam had the strategy that worked in his favor.

He also was losing pace at the end while Franco was flying. Had they pitted Franco with Liam, it might have been a different story. Liam would have probably ended up p10, and if they didn't frantically call KMag to pit, it would have been p12.

But at the same time, he also kept it clean while so many others couldn't.

The guy can drive, and he can drive well, but he's also not going to be an ideal candidate to drive besides Max. Quite frankly, neither is Yuki.

If they want to replace Max, then sure get in the Liams or the Oscar's (Oscar clears Liam though, Oscar pre-f1 cv is worlds better) Their flames would either burn out or they'd burn the team.

But if they're replacing Perez, then they need a team player.

If they were a serious team, they'd have tested all 4 drivers this year in the Red Bull, same conditions, same day.

I said this when Yukis fans were thrilled Daniel was leaving, Yuki is going to be their tester now. He's going to be expected to work with whatever they throw at him, the Daniel special,if I may call it that.

I do not think they're going to give them a fair chance because the team cannot seem to handle two cars.

CoTa and Mexico is also where the team has previously done well.

But I also think red bull have bigger problems than Yuki , Liam (and even Daniel) at this point.

Ferrari just need to score 9 points more next race to overtake them.

I'm sorry this is long, I really enjoy your takes and wondered what you might think about all this.

At the end of the day, it’s all about making the most of the circumstances in a race and Liam did just that. It was a successful first race for him and we can’t deny that.

The thing is all three of them — Yuki, Daniel and Liam — deserve a chance at the red bull seat. Yuki, for having on paper beat Daniel even tho the spin of today sort of makes it clear why he’s never been seriously considered for it. We all know the reasons why Daniel should have at least had a chance at the red bull seat — he’s a known quantity, he can handle the car the way max likes it, he’s a sure pair of hands under pressure, he clearly has a higher ceiling of performance than Yuki and more importantly, he was given an ultimatum before the summer break and he rose to the challenge. Liam, yeah he probably didn’t have a strong junior career but then so did Daniel. He’s clearly an adaptable and ballsy driver and deserves to be in formula one and so deserves to fight for a top seat.

The only person who doesn’t deserve being here is checo. He shouldn’t have been here from the beginning of the year and yet, he has his seat indefinitely secured. If Red bull truly cared about the longevity of their driver succession order, they would have put Daniel into that seat and give him that final chance to show whether he still had it or not. It would have given Lawson the chance to properly settle in at vcarb which would mean that hadjar also gets the time to be ready. We all know the logical way all of this would have been resolved but yet here we are ..

[selenacosmic]

A heartfelt surprise. (2/2)

birthday special.

The streets of Kai were filled with people working, most of them, if not all, would look in our direction with glee. More specifically, they were all looking at shingen, admiration and respect reflecting from their wide smiles. Considering that today is his birthday, it was obvious that everyone would give him lots of attention. I felt just as happy to see the townspeople surrounding him, offering gifts and trying to encourage him to enter their shops. It was clear as day that he was beloved by everyone here.

“Lord shingen! It has been a while since you came to town, why not try the best cup of tea of this season?” An elderly man offered with a smile, to which shingen returned.

“I love the sound of that, though today I am on a special date with my goddess.” He said it in an apologetic tone, I knew that he was being considerate to our time together.

“Actually, a cup of tea sounds like an amazing start for our date.” To me, a perfect date was like this. Walking with shingen around town, making stops at the shops to check on everyone and see if they were facing any problems. Some might think that it sounds like work instead of a date, but this was different.

Shingen looked at me with a grateful smile, though it also held a bit of guilt. “My goddess is always so good to me, I don’t deserve this kindness. Then, we will be having dango with the tea, please.” The shop owner seemed more than happy to welcome us and guide us to an empty seat. Most of the shop owners in Kai would try giving shingen a special treatment as a gift on his birthday, a way to show their appreciation for his protection.

“You know, we could also go shopping for more wood as well. I noticed your supply has gotten shorter.” Lately, he has made new toys for the twins out of wood, as well as furniture for their rooms now that they were getting older.

“I was thinking of doing that another time, this kind of thing can be a bit boring after all. But, if my wife wants to keep me company, i won’t say no.” He might say that, but to me it was fun to spend time with him, even in the most boring activities. Besides, I get to see him buying materials to do what he loves, to hear him speak about his favorite type of wood to use or the differences they make when building.

“Oh, I am sure i won’t be bored. Besides, I get to make a request from you, don’t I?” His lips turned into a playful grin as he leaned closer, I leaned as well.

“Anything my goddess wants.” I missed moments like these when we both are free from work, the most important thing being our date and how we will choose to spend it. Although i would need to take him back to the castle once night settled for his surprise, we still had the whole afternoon to ourselves.

Soon our tea had arrived, as well as the dango we asked to accompany our drinks. That was a sweet start for our date.

————

“More up! Papa needs the best party.” Yukimura didn’t mind the commanding voice as he worked on setting up the decoration, specially since he was the one who offered to help when it came to height and strength, but it was a bit weird to him that he was receiving those orders from a little girl.

“Ok, is this high enough?” Of course, he was going to be compliant and obey, she was still lord Shingen’s daughter, after all.

The little girl furrowed her eyebrows as she took a good look, paying close attention to detail. “Uncle Yoshi, does it look pretty?” Himeko immediately turned to a second opinion before giving her answer.

“It looks fine at that height, it will be a good highlight of the decoration.” Yoshimoto, who made no movement to actually help in setting things up, but instead gave directions, answered from beside his niece.

“You know, this would be faster if you helped me. I can understand Himeko not being able to reach, but you are tall enough.” It wasn’t the first time that Yukimura was irritated with Yoshimoto, it always felt like both could never get along very well.

“Yuki, don’t be cruel, I am helping. If i don’t observe from afar, I won’t be able to guide you well.” While Yoshimoto found Yukimura’s frustration amusing, he did help setting up the decoration for the most part. Watching his niece ordering Yukimura around was very entertaining, though.

Himeko looked satisfied as well, smiling while crossing her arms. She looked around the room to make sure that everything was perfect. “Everything is perfect, dad will get the best banquet of his life.”

The little girl looked at her list, which was as organized as a seven year old could possibly be. Almost everything was ready, they just needed to guarantee the food and drinks, though the children wouldn’t need to worry about that aspect given their age. Just as they were wrapping up the decoration, oujiro bursts into the room with his hands full with sweet buns, rushing towards them.

“Sis, look! Lord Kenshin allowed me to have these!” Oujiro looked full of joy to have access to the sweets, being a sweet tooth just like his father. He couldn’t move his arms much in fear of dropping the buns, so he gestured for the two warlords to see if they wanted any. Yukimura did accept one while Yoshimoto refused.

“Really? He said we couldn’t go to the kitchen, though…” Himeko looked with suspicion at the buns, wondering if her brother stole them while no one was looking.

“Trust me, I asked him if we could taste test!” Only at that confirmation did Himeko take a bun from her brother. Both were smiling at their reward for having organized the party that day, eating the sweets eagerly.

Their uncles watched the children, who were letting go of their serious attitudes while organizing the banquet once they were given dessert, their image mirroring their parents.

“You know, I don’t think I have ever seen those two actually fighting or arguing.” Yukimura said with his mouth a bit full of the sweet bun.

“Well, not everyone calls others boars or tries to start arguments, Yuki. It’s understandable that you wouldn’t comprehend.” Yoshimoto lightly teased him, smiling as he noticed him frowning.

“Why, you…!” Was Yukimura’s angry response, though he wouldn’t argue for now since the children were there.

—————

The sun was going down in the horizon, painting Kai with soft, orange glows. We had spent our time enjoying sweets and shopping freely without worrying about having to get back to work. The last step to our date was buying the wood for Shingen’s carpenter work. We had preferred to leave it at last given how heavy the wood would be to carry, though I doubt he would let me carry even one. I agreed to it because i didn’t want his arms to get tired of constantly carrying the heavy weight, even though he looked like he could handle it just fine.

“This type of wood should be good to work it for now, I already have a few ideas on what to craft.” Shingen was analyzing the material while smiling, clearly pleased with the purchase.

“Don’t forget to tell me when you start, I have a few requests.” Seeing him happy after our date was fulfilling, his joy mirrored mine.

While carrying the wood under his arms, he insisted that i could hold his other hand. “Uhm, are you sure you can carry all that? Maybe you should use both your arms, it will be easier.”

“Nonsense, I wouldn’t leave my goddess’ hand cold even for a moment.” He might say that with a confident smile, but i could tell that he would get tired eventually.

It would be better for us to hurry to the castle, everyone must be waiting for us.

With that thought in mind, we walked the rest of the way home in silence, and I was hoping that Shingen didn’t know anything about the surprise, or that he at least didn’t have any suspicions. The children must have worked hard to prepare this for him.

The moment we had arrived at the castle, there were many servants approaching us, a vassal had offered to take the items we had shopped and take it to our room. I could sense him looking at me, noticing how unusual it was to have this many servants surrounding us to help. He must have also noticed how differently the castle halls looked.

“It seems like the date wasn’t all there was for my birthday, was it?” His tone was amused, showing hints of curiosity to know what else was prepared.

“Of course not, you should know by now that your family wouldn’t let you settle for anything less.” A smile spread on my face, it was finally time to celebrate his birthday properly.

“Then my family is far too good to me. Well? Show me my gift, I am getting impatient.” I gently pulled on his hand, guiding him with me to the hall where the banquet would take place. Everyone should be inside, waiting for us. Once we were in front of the room, I let go of his hand, gesturing for him to slide the door open. The muffled sound of people inside was a clear indication of what awaited him. “It’s right here”

Shingen eyed the door, smiling as he opened it to receive his gift.

At that moment, everyone that was inside looked at us. “Happy birthday!” The unison of voices reached us with enthusiasm, Shingen was greeted by everyone as he entered the room, I followed right behind.

“This is some surprise! Was this what you were all doing while we were out?” He seemed glad with his banquet, the children were the first to run straight at him, ‘attacking’ his legs with a hug.

“Oujiro and I did it! We ordered everyone to make the best party.” Himeko was excited to tell what they have been working on, receiving a head pat from shingen.

“I am very happy, my princess! How can I deserve to be father of two angels?” Given how tall he is, he had to bend a bit to pat the children’s heads. To make this easier for him, shingen lifted the twins up in his arms. The very sight made my heart melt completely.

“We checked everything with the uncles, too! So we had help.” Oujiro’s eyes were shining the moment they were lifted up. He always enjoyed when their father would put them on his shoulders, so being carried was his favorite way of spending time with shingen.

“Looks like you both did a good job, I knew you would be able to handle this.” As a reward for their hard work, I gave each of the twins a kiss on the forehead. Now, we should all enjoy the party. Once we all found a seat close to our family, kenshin greeted us.

“Shingen, it has been yet another year that you live… you are lucky that those two are here.” Kenshin had toned down his lighthearted threats whenever the twins were around, which I was thankful for.

Shingen chuckled at those words, letting the twins sit on both his sides. “Even now, they protect me from you. It’s a bit shameful, but I enjoy this kind of protection.”

“Humph, don’t push your luck. We can always go outside to spar, after all.” A smile appeared on kenshin’s face at the idea, though Sasuke tried stopping him before things could escalate.

“Lord Kenshin, remember what I said about no K.A.I in Kai.” He fixed his glasses while telling him, the light in kenshin’s eyes disappeared at those words.

“I don’t need to be reminded about the meaning, nor about how boring that rule is.” He took his frustration out on the pickled plums and… was it just me, or was that a lot of pickled plums?!

“Kenshin, I heard from the twins that you would be handling all the rest of the food that I couldn’t finish, did you… prepare all of that?” I was worried that all we would have to eat would be that. As far as I know, only Oujiro enjoy salty food like that, Himeko hated it just like her father.

Kenshin scoffed at my worry, drinking sake after having swallowed his plums. “You don’t have to worry, i prepared these specifically for me. And… that boy, I suppose.” He didn’t seem to mind oujiro taking a few plums to eat, which made me smile.

“Sasuke is right, despite his weird language. You should put the sword away for now and enjoy the small delights of this party.” Yoshimoto drank a cup of sake, which was kept far away from the reach of children.

“For tonight, this drink should do it for me. Now, tell me more about your recent battles.” Kenshin was already finding another way to distract himself from wanting to spar.

“Not this again…” poor Yoshimoto and Sasuke had to entertain him for now, which pulled his attention away from us.

Shingen leaned closer to me, whispering softly in my ear. “See how soft he has gotten? Maybe having children around was just what kenshin needed to be less sour.”

“Don’t say it like that, though he does seem to care a lot about them.” I whispered back, lightly hitting his shoulder for secretly teasing kenshin.

“You two know that you aren’t being subtle, right?” Yukimura was behind us, which spooked me but didn’t seem to bother shingen. Before i could scold him for scaring me like that, he put a plate down on our table. “Here, this is what you prepared for lord shingen this morning, right?”

“Oh! The plate with the manju tower… I tried to make a cake, but that was all I could come up with that was close enough.” I still feel a bit sad that I couldn’t make him a proper cake, given how much he liked the modern sweets from when we were in the future.

Shingen looked at the tower of manju, a bit speechless at how they were arranged on the plate. Every second of his silence made me more nervous than I already was. Oujiro tried taking one piece, but Himeko lightly slapped his hand since it could send everything down. “My love, this is… did you make all of these for me?”

“It was the best i could do, I hope you still like it.” I felt him taking my hands in his, kissing them both gently. I was a bit caught off guard, but it felt just like him to do this at every gift I gave him.

“I really don’t deserve you. I love this tower of manju, and I will be enjoying it all.” As he said that, he was already set on eating his sweets, giving a few the to twins since he knew they had a similar taste to his.

I smiled at how genuinely happy he seemed, we were all surrounded by friends and family in the banquet, celebrating yet another year that he lives well and healthy. I had made it my mission to make him happy all the days we spend together, and seeing him surrounded by the love of everyone filled my heart. I moved closer, putting my hand over his shoulder.

“Shingen… happy birthday.” With that, I moved to plant a kiss on his cheek, though he moved his head just in time to claim my lips. This time i didn’t let that surprise me, leaning towards him as well.

“Thank you, Selena. Or rather, i should thank everyone here for still being with me.” Those were his words when we finally pulled away from each other.

The party carried on with everyone chatting and laughing, sharing everything that had happened this past year and how better the next year would be for us.

The end…

[earthtokhal]

At this point, either confirm it or stfu. This constant merry go around is annoying.

Daniel has not yet reached Yuki in points, but he has been picking up his performances and becoming more consistent.

People who want him gone fail to understand that everyone besides Marko is calling it a sister team, NOT a junior team. Marko himself has called it a sister team before. The whole rebrand was to make sure the team was able to stand on its own and get results, and now suddenly, the same shareholders want it to be a junior team?

To me, it sounds like a not so subtle way to remind the shareholders that Christian brought Daniel back as a potential replacement for Sergio and now that it didn't happen, Marko should have his say again but at this point it just looks silly, they've already told us why they re-signed him.

In addition to that, we've had countless confirmation that Daniel has been driving the technical side. He is the one giving feedback. Yes, the last upgrade didn't work as well in terms of results, but it was a whole new car, and we were able to overtake AND not completely botch the start. Both of which were difficult to do previously. And Yuki felt comfortable enough during quali that he said "that was a good lap" only to be told that he didn't make it. I genuinely feel like they will figure it out soon regarding the new upgrade. People don't want Daniel, but they still want the car he helped improve.

As for Joe, let's not forget that according to him, Daniel was supposed to be replaced in Miami, Alonso was supposed to have signed with Red Bull and a big announcement was supposed to be released last week. All this on top of his whole Logan/Kimi thing. He gets things right, but they are few and far between.

Whether he heard about the tyre test that Liam is doing in July and decided to put two and two together after Markos article and get 5 instead of 4, is beyond me .

Liam's result last year came after dnf's, but at the same time, he was able to keep it clean and drive a faultless race. His results look so great because, in reality, there was nothing to compare it to, Yuki suffered from some dismal luck.

Daniel isn't taking up Liam's seat. That seat was always Daniel's. Liam didn't "replace" him last year, Liam stood in for him. We must remember that on three occasions, they had the opportunity to put Liam in that seat, instead they chose Nyck, Daniel and then Daniel again.

Liam deserves a seat. As do Jack, Theo, Ollie... but expecting that seat to be made free by Daniel is unfair. There are multiple drivers there with fewer points than him and yes, one can argue that Daniel is almost half down in points than his team mate but then anyone who actually pays attention to Daniel's weekends can tell you how much of those results were not Daniel's fault.

On a weekend, when things align, even with a penalty for something that wasn't his fault and even with narrowly dodging the flying Williams and Ferrari, he will get points. In his short time there, he has already earned their highest quali and results twice.

It is also not surprising that Marko ran to the media a day after the news about Liam and Audi made its way around. Yuki's announcement was half assed too, less than an hour before quali just after news got out that other teams were interested.

On many occasions, we've been told that the management would look at driver options in the summer break.

It is also wise to note that Daniel is currently in a visa ad that will probably run for a while, I don't think it would be wise to replace the driver who brought in visa and is currently in the ad campaign by end of July.

Also, "sacking" Daniel for performance while, at the same time, rewarding someone who prior to the Spanish gp earned the same points as him in a superior car is laughable.

At the end of the day, Daniel and the team aren't only saying they're working together. We can see it. I'm annoyed that this is the weekend he is going to get all these annoying questions, but he has handled it well before.

Whatever happens, he won't go down easily.

Not without a fight.

[kakumeinoyuuki]

That's been my favourite race of the season so far. The different strategies and overtakes in more places than just the DRS straight made this so much more interesting to watch

Charles Leclerc deserves DOTD, that one stop should never have worked yet he made positions and would have lost them on a conventional two-stop. I was hoping he'd get the podium as I felt he deserved it but Ferrari didn't let them race properly.

Shout out to Yuki Tsunoda though, a yoint at his home race and putting himself in a very good place for a seat next season after the shenanigans after Bahrain. (And that RB pitstop when there was five of them in the pits, chef's kiss.)