#rb battles season 3

[danthediamondminecart]

RBBTOBER DAY 13 - 14: ANGELS & DEMONS

Or: What if Tanqr made a different choice of ally in Season 3?

So like, I'm cheating in more than one way here. Firstly, the prompt says angels and demons, not angels and devils. Therefore, Pink and Tanqr still apply despite Tanqr not being a devil in my headcanons.

Secondly, the drabble for this prompt is an edited draft of a fic from...almost exactly a year ago, actually! I'd intended to write it into a full fic for Halloween, but then Nerdy Prudes Must Die came out and suddenly all I could think about what what eventually became Antithesis. I only got to the first 2 scenes. I'm super busy at the moment, so I decided to repurpose that draft to make the drabble, with some changes to give it an actual ending.

Said drabble under the cut!

Somewhere in the RB Battles universe, PinkLeaf is practising his parkour.

It’s tranquil here in the lobby, with no one else around. The hosts made a private server for the finalists to practise on, and he’s been getting as much use out of it as possible. Apparently he’s the only one of the finalists with a somewhat healthy sleep schedule, because it’s early morning, and no one’s here. He was under the impression that Kreek and Bella and Denis were also training a lot, so clearly they prefer to train late in the day.

He doesn’t mind that at all. It’s so much easier to focus when no one’s around, when no one’s yelling at him, when no one can disturb his thought process. Plus, he’d rather not have to talk to people in general. Instead all he can hear is the whistle of the wind flowing past him as he leaps through the air from building to building, getting ready to head into some minigames.

He heads back to the centre, not paying attention to anything around him, when a voice cuts through the silence.

“Morning, PinkLeaf. You’re up early.”

Pink turns to the direction of the sound to see Tanqr leaning up against a pillar near the centre of the map. They make eye contact and Tanqr waves, waiting for a response. PinkLeaf waves back and tries to ignore him, but it doesn’t work. 

“Where are you going? C’mere, let’s chat.”

Pink sighs and jumps down to a tree that’s a little bit taller than where Tanqr is standing, trying to keep the high ground, ensuring Tanqr has to look up to talk to him. Tanqr accepts that’s the best he’s going to get. 

“What do you want?” he asks.

“Listen, uh…” Tanqr walks up to the tree and hushes his voice. “Denis and Kreek are making an alliance in the run up to the finals. Don’t blame ‘em, they’re going to need some help to do any good.” he explains, laughing at his own taunts. Pink just finds it annoying. 

“I suppose so.” He’s not really surprised. Kreek’s probably going to try to get all the help he can get to try to beat Tanqr. 

“Those two - and, Bella, I guess - are very much a threat. To both of us.”

“Don’t…imply Bella’s not that good. She is.” Pink interrupts, much to his own surprise. When since did I care about Bella that much? 

“Oh? Didn’t know you two were friendly.” Tanqr raises an eyebrow.

“...We’re not. I’m just saying, don’t…don’t put the others down.”

“Not trying to, just that she’s not who I’m worried might beat us. Kreek’s been gunning for my title, and I’ve seen Denis honing his parkour skills and he’s good at it - he knows that’s your strong point.”

“I think most people know that’s my strong point.” Pink responds. He didn’t mean it as an insult, but Tanqr takes it like one, and he purses his lips.

“Well- anyway-” Tanqr grits his teeth before he puts himself back on track. “Seeing that, I had a thought. Why don’t we get ahead of the game?”

“What do you mean?”

“Here’s my offer. An alliance, of sorts. We work together in the finals to crush the others. You’ll be the speed, I’ll be the manpower. Together we can make up the brains.”

PinkLeaf pauses in shock at the offer, waiting for Tanqr to start laughing and teasing him. It takes a second to realise Tanqr’s being totally serious.

“Are you…asking me to team up?”

“Yeah, obviously.” Tanqr snarks. “I’m going to admit something here, so don’t mock me over it, but you scare me, y’know? Not that much, of course, but…enough. You’re powerful. Where I fail in speed, you make up for it. If I’m not careful, you could beat me. And vice versa. So instead of that…” Tanqr holds his hand out. “Let’s work together. Just you and me against the world, what’dya say?”

Pink doesn’t know what to do. On the one hand, he doesn’t trust anyone easily, let alone Tanqr. He would not be surprised if Tanqr was just using him. But on the other hand, allying with Tanqr would give him a much needed edge, a little confidence boost if someone has his back during the finals. And then again, if Tanqr’s using him to win, surely he can do the same? 

Pink weighs his options. He either risks having Tanqr as a direct enemy, have Tanqr’s sheer strength and brutality poised against him, or he gets to use it to his advantage even if Tanqr turns on him. And if he does, at least he’ll expect it. 

Ah, what the hell. 

“Okay. Sure. I’ll do it.” Pink replies, finally settling on a decision.

“Sweet.” Tanqr smiles widely, in a way that Pink can’t tell if it’s sinister or not. “Uh, take the handshake, make it official.” 

Pink does as he’s told, shaking Tanqr’s hand as quickly as possible. Tanqr chuckles a bit at his reluctance before outlining his plan. 

“You’re free for the next few hours, right?”

“...Yeah.”

“Okay, cool. We can train together then. Stay here, I’ll join you in about fifteen minutes - I need to grab a bite to eat. Haven’t had breakfast yet.” Tanqr turns away from Pink, giving him a wave. “See ya.”

“Oh, uh, bye.” 

Tanqr pulls out his phone, types something in, and he’s gone.

Pink’s alone once again. The call of the wind blows in his ears and he shivers. He hops down from the tree and sits on a railing, contemplating. 

Did he make the right decision? 

[lunathecrackhead]

Woah, art.

[emilyrosebug]

Speedpaint: https://youtu.be/wr7_a1b9FOw

As Season 3 of RB Battles draws to a close with the final battle arriving this weekend. I thought there was enough time to draw Russo, Sabrina and DJ and here's the result.

[cheriladycl01]

ANGST ( friendship ended, ego battles, Championship, Ferrari, Red Bull, Dutchman, American Girl, unrequired love, Title battle)

Y/N and Max have been friends since their go-karting days. She was a driver for Alpha Tauri and achieved spectacular results with the team and was hoping to take the second seat at Red Bull, but as other drivers are ahead of her to take that spot, she accepts a million-dollar proposal from Ferrari. Max is bewildered by her decision and breaks up a years-long friendship for a trivial reason, as she is thinking about the good part of her career and at Ferrari she has a chance to fight for titles. She is devastated by Max's reaction and his contempt for her, the Dutchman starts to pretend that the American doesn't exist and ignores her both in the paddock and in Monaco, where they live. Fans, fellow riders and the media are devastated how such a lasting friendship ended in such a heavy climate, the American media blasts Max, while the Dutch media trashes Y/N. Y/N and Max enter into a brutal and fierce dispute for the 2024 championship, more tense than 2021, due to the entire context that involves the two. Max felt betrayed by her leaving Red Bull and by her never realizing that he always liked her, but now she's the one who doesn't want anything to do with him in her life anymore and she's going to do whatever it takes to be world champion. They arrive in Abu Dhabi tied and in the wheel-to-wheel dispute, Y/N becomes world champion, and Max realizes that he made a mistake with the love of his life and is humbled by her forgiveness.

This is the story of us! - Max Verstappen x FerrariDriver! Reader

Plot: In the style of a documentary find out what really happened in the year of 2024 between Max Verstappen and Y/N Y/L/N.

“Audio test in the studio please Y/N” the Documenter asks from behind cameras.

“10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1” you say your face on camera as some continues to fix your hair.

A News Broadcaster pops up from 2023 on Sky Sports News.

“Today the shocking news has come that rather than signing with Red Bull Y/N Y/LN has made a million dollar move to Ferrari”

“Y/L/N to drive in Red for the 2024 season”

“Red Bull decision to not sign Y/L/N leaves them out no options says Adrian Newey”

News articles play in overlay over each other as they get more frequent about your career change 2 years ago.

“Hiya Y/N” the interviewer for the documentary asks.

“Hello” you smile back politely on the footage.

“So this documentary is about the Formula One season of 2024 and … your intense battle for the championship”

“Mmmmm all very interesting no?” You joke before serious music comes on. Showing some shots of you racing, and some of the radios that came from that season.

“This isn’t right! Why isn’t my team working together” your voice come through.

“Y/N it’s time to back off. You can’t win this one”

“I’m never going to give up, it’s me or him in this dust and I don’t care which as this point as long as I know I pushed”

“Y/N are you okay? Y/N?”

“What the fuck was that?”

“Guys this is my last chance let’s put it all in”

“FUCK THIS GUY MAN”

“Yes it was … a heated season for sure” you chuckle.

“So start by telling us about your early life” she asks after a small compilation of early photos of you karting before it’s edited to flick back and forth between your interview and clips of you karting and in the feeder series.

“I started karting from a very young age, around 6 and worked my way up like any other driver. Eventually Red Bull … saw potential in me and decided to sponsor me and make me a part of their Young Drivers Programme. That eventually fed me into a seat in AlphaTauri or what is now Visa CashApp RB” you start, hands clenched together.

“I saw everyone else get a chance at that Red Bull seat before me regardless of my performance. And when they signed Sergio Perez, someone from a different team, that tipped me over the edge” you admit, knowing that it was one of the hardest heartbreaks you experienced.

“And that’s when Ferrari came in?” The interviewer asks.

“That’s when Ferrari came in, they wanted something fresh and new and I’d pretty much grown up with Charles just like I had Max, so there was no concern about us being Team-Mates. It was … despite Ferraris struggles in recent years, my only way forward” you nod your head, before the documentary shows your driving in your AlphaTauri and your incredible win in that car, that should have been the reason Horner wanted to sign you.

“Max … wasn’t happy with this decision” she asks and you nod.

“He wasn’t … i thought if anything was to ruin our friendship it would be an external relationship that didn’t appreciate our bond. Not … because of a job” you laugh thinking of his reaction and how he’d cut you off in all aspects of life.

That year was difficult for you, even though you’d had more people around you than you’d ever had in your life you had never felt more lonely.

Max had pretty much axed you out of his life. He’d blocked you on every social media, every messaging platform and even put your emails into his junk folder. You thought it was a step too far writing to him so, you left it.

You left an eleven year friendship to just go down the drain. You didn’t realise until he was actually gone how much of an impact Max Verstappen had on you and your life. He was there for you for every major thing that happened in your life and this move to Ferrari felt like your next step. But he had no longer wished to be a part of that.

“What did it feel like when you announced going to Ferrari?” Your asked and your paused for a while before you face the interviewer.

“I think everybody dreams of driving for Ferrari, no matter what team your currently with as … it’s the pinnacle of motorsport. But to be the first female to drive for Ferrari is a statement. The day I made the announcement and it went onto the F1 page that my contract was up with RedBull and AlphaTauri for the 2023 season I couldn’t have been happier because it felt like I was finally moving forward and not stuck in the same spot” you answer and she nods.

“And how did that affect your friendships?” She asks and you almost scoff.

“Why didn’t you just say Max” you chuckle before sighing. You never mind talking about it especially now, of course you were upset and heated back then. You normally tending to be after racing if it didn’t go your way anyway, but when it came to Max leaving you there were times you were pretty nonchalant about it because you didn’t know how to react.

It was the later reaction that was more frightening.

“Well, that would spoil that kind of answer, clearly there’s more of an issue here than with any other driver” she asks.

“You’ve done your research, you know exactly what happened”

Media floods in the documentary American News anchors sending hate to Max Verstappen especially when he came to home turf for a race and the Deutch fans butchering you in the Netherlands.

SkySports -

“Max Verstappen is brutal, can’t imagine ever being as petty as he is”

ESPN News -

“And today we have news that Red Bull Driver Max Verstappen has cut all ties with new Ferrari Driver Y/N Y/L/N, for her change of team”

Fan at the Track -

“You know Max is incredibly overrated and childish for what he did to our American pride and joy”

News in the Netherlands

“ze is gewoon een vreselijke chauffeur”

Fan at Zandvoort

“neuk haar”

It pans back to you looking down at your hands before the interviewer speaks up again.

“So before the season started did you and Max have any heated arguments that contributed to the start of the season?” She asks and you shake your head.

“He blocked me on everything, I was with my ex-boyfriend at that point and we were travelling during the winter break so it didn’t bother me too much. I tried to keep myself distracted knowing I had great support around me, a new team to get to know and work with.

But as the 2024 started to get closer and you came back home to Monaco, sensing Max had disappeared from your life finally sunk in. You had many days at home wrapped up in blankets crying, wondering where it all went wrong.

Making you feel lonely in Monaco was one thing, but it only got worse in the paddock when racing resumed for the testy 2024 season.

A video plays of the Bahrain testing in 2024 you on track in a semi fast Ferrari that people cannot tell whether you are sandbagging or not Max breezing past you.

Strangely that was the closest you’d been to Max in months.

“Monaco was different now that you didn’t have your best friend … how did you occupy your time instead?” She asked.

It showed videos of you partying in Monaco with Charles your soon to be team-mate, Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo.

Then it flicked to you and Lando golfing with Max Fewtrell, while vacationing.

It flicked to a very public argument between you and your boyfriend which proceeded to your breakup.

“Well, it was an interesting build up to the season. Let’s just say that” you smirk knowing at the start of 2024 before preseason testing you caused a lot of chaos all to try get your mind off the absence of Max.

“Then we find ourselves at Bahrain 2024… a race I think that will be in the history books as one of the most tense season openings ever” she admits writing something down on the notepad she had that she really didn’t need.

“Yes, it was an interesting race. I think that was the first time I was in equal machinery to Max, at the start of the season we didn’t start off as good as RedBull but Charles and I were giving him a run for his money” you admit knowing Sergio Perez didn’t have the greatest start to the season and now that you were locked into Ferrari, Red Bull were beating themselves up over the loss of you.

“So Max took pole and you were only 0.003 seconds behind him, what a margin! You started P2 both front row” she smiles and you nod.

“Yeah I think that’s the most scared I’ve ever felt in a race car, P2 has been my best qualifying position and I couldn’t let it go to waste. But having Max next to me with everything that was going on was a massive headache” you tell her and there’s a clip of you looking over at Max sat next to you just before the formation lap was about to begin.

“Let’s talk about turn 1 Bahrain …” she asks and you nod.

“I mean, I was racing and I was racing hard. I gave Max plenty of room, I had the inside line and I got past him and led. It was a good overtake and the team didn’t exactly tell me not to go for it” you explain and she nods.

“But after your pit stop stuff got real” she adds and you nod with a roll of your eyes.

“Tell me about it” you laugh.

“AND VERSTAPPEN GOES FOR THE OVERTAKE GOING INTO TURN 5, Y/N DEFENDING BEAUTIFULLY AND HE GOES AGAIN EDGING HER INTO TURN SIX AND OMG HES OFF INTO THE GRAVEL! MAX VERSTAPPEN IS OUT IF THE BAHRAIN GP” it shows the commentary from Crofty when this was all happening showing Max getting out the car and slamming his helmet down.

“WHAT THIS Y/N HAS DAMAGE THERE WAS IN FACT CONTACT AND SHES HAD TO PULL OVER NOT MAKING IT BACK TO THE PITS FOR A NEW TYRE” is shown also you getting out of the car, your escorted back to the pit wall while Safety Car is deployed.

“Yours and Max’s argument that day while the race was still underway and Charles was leading, was intense who actually started it?” She asks.

“Oh Max did 100%. I was just talking to my race engineer and he came over all pissy and yelling in my face. Seeing him so red and angry was funny though” you admit.

“I think that’s the first time people had seen seriously Mad Max since the Ocon incident”

“I guess I just bring that side out of him” you admit with a nod.

“What the fuck was that” Max came over to you, you took a step back hoping to defuse the situation knowing their was cameras around and you didn’t really want to bring attention to either of you.

“Look Max we were both racing hard. It happens, you went into me, we both ended up out the race … it happens” you explain and the camera men all get closer.

“You went into me! Are you having a laugh!” He says until he starts ranting in Dutch and his PR manager and a Marshall take him away from you.

“Bahrain was incredibly dramatic for a race. The champion of last year was sat at the bottom of the leader board and Charles, Lando and George were looking at the top spots. How did the make you feel?” She asks and you nod.

“Obviously it’s concerning. Coming back isn’t easy after a feat like that, so we knew we’d have to come back in Saudi and make it better than it was. It’s also hard to come back from something like that mentally? Yano. So Saudi was hard especially all the media around me” you explains and it cuts to clips of all kinds of media swarming around you asking you stuff about Max and your race in Bahrain.

“In Saudi you and Max raced hard but eventually it ended up with Max in P1 and you in P2 and Lando P3… that podium was tense” she explains and a video of the podium came up, showing Max celebrating with everyone but you. You ending up leaving him and Lando and leant over the fence of the podium to spray your team down below.

“Lando and Max are close, but you and Lando are aswell so how did it feel having no celebration up there with you?” She asked.

“Lando is actually the sweetest person I’ve ever met. He cares about everybody and everything and he worries when he thinks he’s upset someone. He messaged me after that podium, apologising for leaving me out of the celebration and he didn’t even realise he had as he was so caught up in Max spraying him he thought it was both of us. I obviously replied saying I wasn’t upset and that it was okay. I had my team and that’s all I really needed at the end of the day” you nod knowing it WAS a hard podium to be up on but you made the best of a bad situation.

“The comes Australia, and this is your first time to regain the points lost in Bahrain. So what did you do?”

“Man … the first time I won was so nice … that I just had to do it twice” you quote Anthony Joshua with a little laugh. Before it shows you’re victory.

“AND FOR THE SECOND TIME IN HER FORMULA ONE CAREER THE AMERICAN TAKES HOME THE CHEQUERED FLAG TAKING VICTORY IN AUSTRALIA, TEAMMATE CHARLES LECLERC BEHIND HER IN P2 WITH LANDO NORRIS CLOSING UP THE PODIUM” Ted commentates.

“It was an incredible feeling, knowing I was now making my way back up the ranks and was in P3 in the championship, Max was behind me and I felt like I was back in the game. To DNF’s for him was almost laughable.

“The points were very amusing come China, you were leading the championship and Ferrari were at the top for the constructors championship. And Max, Lando and Charles were all on 76 points and you were on 78… how tight!?” She adds.

“Yes, it was crazy how varied this season was with wins, especially with how RedBull were insanely dominant the year before and RedBull took all wins bar Singapore. At this point I wasn’t just fighting Max in he championship there was word at Ferrari that team orders were going to come into play to help Charles win but when we were both so close in points it was easier to just let us race” you explain happily, knowing that it was a fun season to be a part of.

“But after China was a sort of turning point for Max correct?” She asks and you nod again.

“It was for both of us. After China it was a constant change between me and Max of who was going to win, Lando and Charles remained close, but not enough to win.” You explain but her look tells you you didn’t give her the answer she was after.

“I meant about Max trying to rekindle that friendship you both once had” she asks and you scoff.

“Mmmmm you’ll have to ask him about that… at the time I could only assume he wanted to be my friend to distract me from what was important … winning” you answer.

“Hello Max” the interviewer says as their special guest for the documentary comes in. He takes a seat, a stoic nod as he does.

“So, Y/N didn’t seem to be able to tell us what happened after the Chinese Grand Prix, it seems from sources that you unblocked her on everything and attempted contact?” She asks and Max nods.

“I- I did. After seeing her wins, and her face once she realised it was a full fight this year and how excited that made her I knew I was in the wrong for ever letting our bond go. I don’t think she even cared about the championship that year, just being in a team that was letting her drive a good car, with a good team and actually help her improve. I was in the wrong but at this point … she was only focused on racing” he sings and a compilation of videos of the pair of you arguing on track came up.

“It was just affecting you guys either was it?”

“No, it was hard especially for Lando, Daniel and Charles, we’re all so close and Lando and Y/n are like siblings so when it came to the both of us not talking it was difficult for them. Y/N being … well Y/N didn’t want to make it a big deal and started hanging out more with her other friends like Yuki, Logan, Zhou, George and Alex but it still meant it was … awkward to say the least” he admits.

“Yeah, that sounds rough, do you ever regret it?” She asks and he nods.

“For a long long time, I didn’t think that I would be able to reconcile our friendship like Nico and Lewis did” he admits.

“But you think that now?” She asks and he smiles.

“I know so” he smirks

It was the end of the season, you and Max were tied in points so for fans it was like Abu Dhabi 2021 all over again. Max was starting P1 and you were starting P2, you’d overtaken him down the straight having better straight line speed than his car did. You were practically flying round the track, Max chugging along behind you eventually setting the fastest lap, and you just knew the cheer from the crowd would have been phenomenal if you could hear it.

After great strategy from Ferrari you ended up winning that race, along with the Championship. Getting out the car was a feeling like no other, you bend down by the wheel of your car, tears streaming out your eyes and dripping on the still closed visor as your knees give out from a tricky and hot race as you sob.

You run over to the Ferrari team, them all pulling you into hugs along with Charles and his girlfriend who looks so excited to celebrated with you.

“OMG” you cried into Fred’s arms. What surprised you the mot was a tap on your back and a blue race suit. You were silent looking at Max.

“Congratulations” he says and tears are still in your eyes. You just nod at him politely.

“Please Y/N I’m so sorry, I - you deserve the seat and the championship. You’ve done so well this year and I’m so proud of you” he smiles and more tears flood your eyes. All you’d wanted to hear was those words.

“Do you ever think you could forgive me, because I love you Y/N and I cannot loose you” he says tears brimming his own eyes.

“I forgave you a long time ago Max, this was all really stupid” you smile at him. Before your team I pulling you away to get you to the podium.

“After the podium, come meet me at the bay, 3rd yacht along… okay I have to tell you something” he shouts after you and you nod grinning.

“What happened on that boat Max?” The interviewer asks.

“That’s for me to know and no-one to ever find out …” he smirks before laughing and giving you as kiss on the cheek as you come back into the room.

“Y/N?”

“Mmmmm I’m with Max, but let’s just say … we rekindled” you laugh and the cameras cut out the documentary ended.

“So you guys are obviously together … what changed?” She asks off camera curiosity getting the best of her.

“We worked out that we had feeling for each other for a very very long time before the fight!” You answer and well, that was that.

Taglist:

@littlebitchsposts @hockey-racing-fubol @laura-naruto-fan1998 @22yuki @simxican @sinofwriting @lewisroscoelove @cmleitora @daemyratwst @lauralarsen @the-untamed-soul @thewulf @itsjustkhaos @purplephantomwolf @chasing-liberosis @summissss @gulphulp @starfusionsworld @jspitwall @sierruhhhh @georgeparisole @youcannotcancelquidditch @tallbrownhairsarcastic @ourteenagetragedy @peachiicherries @formulas-bitch @cherry-piee @spilled-coffee-cup @mehrmonga @eiraethh @curseofhecate @alliwantisadonut @dark-night-sky-99 @i-wish-this-was-me @tallrock35 @butterfly-lover @barnestatic @landossainz @darleneslane @barcelonaloverf1life @r0nnsblog @ilove-tswizzle @laneyspaulding19 @malynn @viennakarma @landosgirlxoxo @marie0v @yourbane @teamnovalak @nikfigueiredo @fionaschicken @0picels0 @tinydeskwriter @ironmaiden1313 @splaterparty0-0 @formula1mount

[glai1023-blog]

LAS VEGAS GP RECAP (so far...)

1. Mercedes car finally finding its favorable running condition... low grip, low temp. Too bad for Lewis' run though.

2. Ferrari has pace. 2 & 4 not bad, looking good for that WCC battle.

3. Pierre dragging that tractor of an Alpine not only to Q3 but to P3! Brazil double podium is the real deal.

4. Max putting his arts and crafts rear wing car on P5 ahead of Lando, this is going to be entertaining tomorrow.

5. This situation is not very favorable to McLaren drivers or constructors championship wise. Max is going to either put both him and Lando out of the race rather than be overtaken. If Max finishes ahead its over for Lando's WDC hopes, if he forces the issue and damages his car and both Ferraris score big, McLaren's WDC is in trouble.

6. Give Yuki fucking Tsunoda a shot at that 2nd RB seat! Checo out in Q1, again. Both VCarb drivers out qualified Checo!

7. I'm afraid Williams might not be making it until the end of the season, how much is their repairs cost now? Good news, Franco is okay. Also give the Williams mechanics bonuses, they deserve it. What's going on with Alex by the way?

8. Haas got pace as well, the Haas vs Alpine narrative is also an interesting developement.

9. Zhou getting to Q2, good job. I feel bad for Valterri, is he going to finish the season with 0 points and rank 23 in a 20 driver-grid? He is not even a bad driver.

10. Aston Martin... what are they doing anyway? Are they there?

[charles-leclerc-official]

Mid Season Review

Top 5 races for Ferrari 1. Monaco - Charles win on this historic track with a flawless qualifying lap. Also we had Carlos coming in P3 so both cars were on the podium. It was a career highlight for Charles, and a strong showing from the whole team. Good to see both drivers put in strong quali laps compared to the rest of the field. 2. Australia - A Ferrari 1-2, Carlos did a solid drive after recovering from surgery. Charles did excellent managing his tyres in the heat holding back both Mclarens. 3. Jeddah - Charles did a great race, but the highlight was his tyre management and his fastest lap on 40 lap old hards. And of course Ollie putting in a strong debut performance, really showing some of the strengths of the SF-24 as well. 4. Suzuka - one of Charles' strongest performances all year, his tyre management with the one stop was not only a brilliant show of skill but he messed up other team strategies with this move. Carlos also pulled in a strong result with the P3. 5. Imola/Belgium - These two are tied. Both had Ferrari struggling. At Imola the SF-24 upgrades were not showing the results on track that were expected. However Charles still put in a great qualifying lap, and had Ferrari's first Imola podium since 2006, which was special. Belgium again is after the SF-24 has been through it. Charles qualified P2 behind Max, when much faster cars were in the mix, he finished on the podium as well battling much faster cars. Both these races really demonstrated Charles ability to fight with the SF-24 even when the car was not the fastest.

Top 5 Races overall

This takes into account other drivers on other teams, overall quality of racing over the course of a race. Trying to remove a little of the Ferrari bias, because there were some great races going on while Ferrari were struggling. Now I will also take Ferrari into account, but not as heavily as above.

Jeddah - Jeddah I already noted Ferrari's performances, but also this was one of Max's strongest races of the season. He was flawless and set an amazing qualifying lap on top of the race itself. Oscar's battle with Lewis was also entertaining to watch and in hindsight was foreshadowing things to come. Canada - Canada really had a lot of the feild competing at a high level. First we had the insane qualifying session that saw Max and George set the exact same time for P1. THe the race itself with mixed conditions really let a lot of top drivers show off their skill. This was probably Lando's best drive as his race start in mixed conditions was good. This was also one of Max's top drives this season, with him defending the front in mixed conditions the entire race, and this was after the RB-20 was struggling and no longer clearly the fastest car. Then we also saw Lewis really showing his skill in the wet, as well as one of George's faster performances. Also Oscar was showing he's actually very strong in mixed conditions and he carried a lot of Mclaren strategy this race. On top of that we also saw what I would still say is the best overtake of the season with Alex's double overtake, in a tight corner, leaving the dry track to do so. This was a great race for competitive quality racing from a lot of drivers. Suzuka - On top of the strong race from Charles with his tyre management, Max and Checo also put together a dominant performance. On top of that Yuki was very competitive pulling some impressive overtakes and bringing home his first home race points. Monaco - I have already covered Charles' race. But this was also one of Oscar's strongest performances. His tyre management was competitive. And that was a very strong qualifying lap from him as well. This race we really got to see a lot of the field show off their skills in qualifying and while Charles was the best, others also put together excellent laps. Austria - This was a good race simply for the wheel to wheel action. We don't always want to see squeaky clean wheel to wheel. We want to see things get messy. Max showed his skill in actually battling at the front. Not only that his ability to recover some of his race was impressive. Then this was another strong showing from Oscar. Not only that Nico was having one of the best races of his career in that Haas. Overall a very entertaining race for action and the mess at the end with George coming out on top was memorable.

Honorable mentions: Silverstone, Bahrain (Max scored his 4th career grand slam), Hungary(for Oscar's performance)

[auselysium]

Oh I'm back with my Mexico GP predictions!

Again - my fave three share the top 3 spots. CARLOS POLE. I'm elated. As Carlos said, I hope he gets away clean and then we only see the back side of him as he has an easy win (a la Lando in Zandvoort and LeClerc at COTA). That boy's gonna win at Williams but let him win enough times between now and the end of the season to make Ferrari always regret it (ie 2 more times lol)

That will leave an interesting battle for P2 for LN4 and MV33. I look forward to a lot of awesome racing like last week, but this time with no track limits issues for Lando and he pulls off P2 while Max is met with some trouble by Charles or even George/Lewis or a raging Haas and ends up NOT on the podium.

Championship back on!

I have a good feeling that Alex and Pierre will both finish in the top 10. Pierre would have had it last week if it hadn't been for that 6-second pit stop.

Otherwise, Checco adds more fuel to the RB seat fire. I know it's his home race. Sorry, not sorry but what a mess.

What do you think will happen?

[lestappenforever]

Controversial opinion to send here but I think Charles re-signing with Ferrari is totally the right move for him. Here's my take:

1. We are often forgetting that this year is still tying up loose ends with the remnants of what Binotto and the old crew were up to. The crew that did not prioritize Charles, and built a car not suited to him. Our frustrations with this season are tied a lot to what was left by old management.

Halfway through the season and we can see that Fred and the newly appointed heads are making good effort and progress. The car was reworked to help Charles' driving range, and the strategy overall has improved significantly from last year. Of course, strategy under pressure vs not under pressure is still to be seen. But still overall, less terminal strategic fuckups this year.

The 2024 car and the 2024 season overall will be the first one under Fred's direction as team principal, and should be the season to judge them on, not this one, or any past seasons.

Additionally, for those who think Sainz is the problem - we're finally hearing that he's only being offered a 1 year contract. If true, this means Ferrari are prioritizing Charles, and are looking for a better #2 for him. This is exactly what a team needs to win a title, and they are building that for him. They are finally going in the right direction - let's let them give it a shot.

2. Contracts as we've seen, are not set in stone. Therefore it's good that Charles is signing until 2029. Of course we know he's talented to stay in F1 anyway, but this guarantees him a seat. And if it's a 2+3 like previously rumoured, then it means he's guaranteed a seat and he still has options to leave if he wants. And in that situation, he's probably going to be the most sought after driver on the grid, and he'll get paid even more to go to another team. It's a good business move.

3. We are severely over-romanticising the situation if Charles were to leave to RB. They might get along and avoid a brocedes situation, but battling Max on his home turf where he knows all the people, how the team runs, how the car generally works, and where the entire team treats him like their golden boy - Charles will have a tough time winning there, assuming he's more talented than Max and has the speed to begin with. And he'll have to deliver on his very first season there, because new regulations are approaching and there's no guarantee RB will be good in 2026. Coming into a new team and winning a championship immediately? Nearly unheard of. As shitty as we may think Ferrari is, they have the best and only shot at beating RB these days.

4. Charles is not an idiot. We are outsiders who just see him as the Ferrari boy with a dream, but he obviously cares a lot about winning, and winning championships. He is unhappy unless he's winning, despite being in his dream team. We joke about him being brainwashed or being delusional about Ferrari, but we don't know him personally. Even so, I'd bet if you asked him would you rather win a WDC not at Ferrari, or never win a WDC but be a Ferrari career driver? He'd pick the former. If we know anything about Charles, it's that he is an insanely competitive person. He wants to win above all. Therefore, if he's re-signing with Ferrari, it's because he's seen the proof of the future project, or he knows that Ferrari is his best and only shot at a title. He knows more inside info than we do. I'm sure him and his management have done their research and made the appropriate decision.

-

Of course I understand the frustrations and it's easy to think he'd be better off if he left - but I really don't think there's a better team out there for him. Do I love Ferrari? Not as often as I'd like to. But do I think Charles should go elsewhere? No. And it's not his fault - the grid has some very talented drivers and unfortunately the other top seats are already taken. No matter what you think about Ferrari, this is still a top 3 team. Literally half the grid would probably jump at the chance to drive for Ferrari. At the end of the day, I still think it's the best option out there for Charles.

An interesting take, without a doubt, anon, and I definitely see where you’re coming from!

It's not a take that I agree with, having watched Ferrari fail time and time again for so many years, but that’s the beauty of having different opinions, and I love seeing different opinions from different people. So I'm very glad you decided to share your thoughts, and I don’t find it controversial at all. ❤️

[toughaqua777]

So uh...to all 3 people who still show up here (if even that many)...I made a thing. Like, an RB Battles thing. It was living in my head rent-free for a year now might as well throw it out here. Anyway this is about Season 3, at least the beginning. It's my take, is all.

(NOTE: You need an account to read it. This goes for all my fics because I ain't risking some AI scraping my stuff)

[danthediamondminecart]

The Paranormal Investigator and the Paranormal Itself

It's October! It's spooky month! It's the halloween season! I may be in the midst of art block and have barely any time to draw, but THAT'S NOT GONNA STOP ME!

Kreek and Tanqr foil each other in so many ways it's insane. I love the fact that one of them hunts cryptids and demons and evil hackers for a living and the other one is just straight up a demon. Iconic.

[mistressemmedi]

Honestly, the problem with F1 is that they changed the regulations. Like in 2021, RB had JUST caught up to Merc and I think the whole sport can agree it was an exciting season. Now it's gonna be another few years of this shit for teams to catch up to RB. Just stop this, please. I don't want to be in the RB era. It's so shit. Ferrari/Merc will probs catch up in 3 years and then they'll change the rules again.

I do believe that something is not working quite right with the sport at the moment.

Besides the Australian GP, which was... Uh... something 😂 even last year when the championship was already sealed from the get go, we still had some great GPs watching the midfield battling it out. Personally, I find that this year has been a bit "lackluster"? Baku being a prime example of it.

I cannot remember where I read the statistics but (if I recall correctly) 2022 had an increase in overtaking by 25% compared to the five previous racing seasons. This year it looks like it will be much less compared to 2022 - that being said, we're only 5 races in, so... 🤷‍♀️

[charles-leclerc-official]

I know you're a Ferrari blog but I've been thinking about RB and how they fucked themselves over with toro rosso/alphatauri/whatever the hell is their name now for ages now! I've got loads of thoughts! They've historically mismanaged the fuck out of that team and drivers but 2023 and this season it feels glaringly obvious. Nyck being out of a seat so early into last season was a bit sketchy, but if they really felt it wasn't working out, it was their prerogative to find another driver to put in that seat. Choosing Danny Ric to fill that seat was not a smart move, personally, because the whole objective of a junior/sister team is to develop younger drivers. They should've put Liam in that seat last year, and the repercussions of that wrong choice will haunt the team for years to come. (They're already haunted by it) Danny, sad as it is, no way he's getting a seat in a top team ever again. Checo is doing his best, but his best is not enough if RB wants to compete against Ferrari lineups, both this year and next. RB won't even consider Yuki (criminal, given how well he's doing) because he's a Honda pick. They're also fucked because other potential drivers were either a) booted from Toro Rosso/alphatauri or b) historically haven't gone along with Max. In short, a masterclass on how to win in the short term and lose long-term! (I still believe they should've signed up Hulk because he's doing well + he's friendly with Max). Sorry for the ramble and feel free to add your thoughts!

First, this may be a Ferrari blog, but it is also just an F1 blog, I am interested in talking about any driver and any team that are doing interesting things in the sport. Now I am not as informed of the in depth goings of teams that aren't Ferrari(like I know the general things going on at Sauber, but I am not a wealth of knowledge about all the car issues and personnel over there), but I know the top teams very well.

My very long way of saying any F1 questions about any team are encouraged around here <3

Now on to your question. I have been having very similar thoughts. I think Red Bull are about to fumble two of their talented young drivers in Yuki and Liam because of their unwillingness to actually use that team and have faith in their younger drivers. Yuki isn't going to just be in VCARB his entire career, and Liam is not going to keep buying that if he waits long enough he'll get a seat. Other teams are going to swoop in and steal them eventually.

And no shade to Danny, he's certainly a skilled driver. However yes, his placement in the junior team is odd. I get they want him around for marketing etc, but he could just be a brand ambassador right? He'd be great in that role.

If Danny were pulling the performance that Yuki has been this year Red Bull would have almost assuredly signed him. Which is insane to me that they have Yuki and refuse to use the talent they have been building up for years. They are going to lose him if it's made clear he has no shot at the top team.

Red Bull have had seat issues for years. They also seem to be very quick to discard drivers, we saw this when they were on the hunt for a new teammate for Max. I do think Checo is a good compliment to Max in many ways. I think one reason they want to keep Checo is that he is a known quantity and he gets along well with Max, 2024 is already more competitive than expected, and 2025 will be more so, especially with the new Ferrari lineup. The constructor's is going to be a battle for sure. They don't want to risk someone new in that seat during a year like that. But honestly I think Yuki would be able to do it.

I will say that Checo is a better driver than a lot of people give him credit for. Max makes those Red Bulls look easy to drive. But they are really challenging, sensitive and Checo has been able to drive those cars and get good results. I don't think a good half of the grid would be able to drive that car to the same results as Checo. Yes his results have been mixed, and probably are not going to be enough for the constructors unless they get that car figured out. But I just wanted to note that because he is better than most people give him credit for, is he perfect? No. But, his skill in wrestling that rocketship often is invisible.

If I were Mercedes I'd be stealing Yuki in a heartbeat. And Liam will likely go to any team that offers him a seat, he wants to be in a car, he doesn't want to waste years on a maybe.

I hadn't considered a Max - Hulk lineup, but that is pretty solid now that you mentioned it. I'd personally be going Yuki-Max, but I can see that Hulk-Max would be good as well. Very interesting.

And where does this leave them. As you said they are fumbling both their young talents and they don't seem to care. But in a few more years when they need those young drivers they won't have them, and then what?

I think that Max being such a strong winning bullet for so many years now has made them hesitant to change things. But things are changing around them, and one driver cannot carry a team forever.

[an0nym0usly-neutral]

uhhhhhhhhhh

rb battles ask au time!! ig. but yea uhhhhh welcome to "ask post-finale hosts +more" and as you can guess, you can ask questions to the hosts. but!! you can also ask questions to other people like the season 2 and 3 finalists, mr boringsworth, the battler, and recod-- i mean what?

ahem anyways, yea pls ask me questions im desperate plea /nf /pos

[lastonthebrakes]

Top five favorite f1 races this year!

1. jeddah - sexy sexy battles between max and charles and What Could Have Been @ ferrari i'm looking at u

2. imola - max absolutely dominating + the first rb 1-2 in forever

3. hungary - max's spin and win after starting 10th is probably my fav moment of the entire season

4. cota - she (and fernando) served so much cunt

5. gotta have japan in there bc of max winning the title! also it was just really nice to race at suzuka again

[marypsue]

RB 2 Electric Boogaloo!! And also (if it’s not cheating ) why can’t be ourselves like we were yesterday!! ( I may have butchered the second title,sadly my brain is a colander and titles are pasta water 😔)

Thank you! And hey, titles are more like suggestions than actual rules. ;) It's only recently that I've started even being able to think of titles for things before I'm finished writing them, instead of having to scramble to come up with something to call it when it hits AO3, so most of my fics just have a stupid nickname in my head anyway.

RB 2 Electric Boogaloo is, obviously, Something Borrowed, Something Blues, the sequel to Reincarnation Blues, which I pinkie promise I still intend to finish! I wrote down a whole pile of notes about how the fic was supposed to end, but foolishly, I did not outline the climax of the fic, and I'm still struggling to figure out my order of events and how to get from where I'm at to where I need to go. But I'm still plugging away at it! (Perhaps now that outlining is my new best friend, I will be able to sit down and sort out those notes and look back at what I've written and figure out how to bridge this last gap? Perhaps...)

why can’t we be ourselves like we were yesterday (which you did remember correctly!) hasn't been posted anywhere yet, because I'm still trying to whip it into some semblance of a shape, but it's a Jonathan/Steve/Nancy bodyswap fic set post-season 3. It's supposed to be all about the three of them confronting and overcoming their misconceptions and assumptions about each other, so they can kiss. Plotwise, unfortunately, I'm still in the 'confronting' stage. This was supposed to be a short one-shot but I think, like most short one-shots I've attempted recently, it's ballooned. The title comes from a lyric from New Order's 'Bizarre Love Triangle', which I will stop applying to Stranger Things OT3s when it stops being applicable.

Samples below the cut!

From the (maybe penultimate?) chapter of Something Borrowed, Something Blues:

...

The grove burned.

Lightning stabbed wildly down, like a masked killer with a butcher’s knife going to town on a pretty co-ed. What it lacked in precision, it more than made up for in enthusiasm. The dryads’ screams had turned to one long, horrible wail.

“He’s letting you die to protect that tree,” Mabel pointed out, as three dryads descended on her and her attempt to free the woman she’d first thought was Grenda. “Serious question, do you really still want to do his dirty work? Because no pressure, but this would be a great time to unionise.”

The dryads paused, looking between Mabel and the woman in the tree. Mabel didn’t think she was imagining that the looks that darted toward the woman in the tree were considerably more considering than the ones coming in her direction. She decided not to worry about it. None of her business what consenting dryads got up to in their free time.

After a moment of apparent deliberation, one of the dryads gestured, and the branch Mabel had been trying to pull away from the woman’s face suddenly slithered away. The rest of the vegetation webbed around her started, creakily and in lurching, jerking movements like old stop-motion animation, to retreat into the soil.

Two of the dryads had already gone to join their sisters trying to battle the flames. The third paused only long enough to catch Mabel’s eye and give her a long, hard stare, before hurrying off to join them.

The second she was free, the woman Mabel had taken for Grenda gasped in a breath and then asked, almost demanded, “Mira?” She was looking right at Mabel.

“No, sorry,” Mabel said. “Hey, how’d you get inside a tree?”

The woman gave her a stare almost as hard and as pointed as the dryad’s had been.

“Three guesses,” she said, her heavy accent surprising Mabel. There was only one person in Gravity Falls she knew with that kind of a twang, and it was even odds whether or not she’d try to rescue him if she found him stuck inside a tree. “Listen, whoever y’are, that body belongs to my friend. Mira. So if you wouldn’t mind vacatin’ the premises -”

“Yeah, uh, that one’s going to be…a little difficult,” Mabel admitted, squinting one eye all the way shut and putting her head – well, okay, apparently somebody named Mira’s head – to one side. “Because I don’t actually know how I got in here. I kinda hoped you could help me out with that.”

The woman who had recently been inside the tree didn’t stop giving Mabel that hard look. But it softened quickly when there was another flash of gold and another ear-shattering crackle of thunder.

“We ain’t got much time,” the woman said, kicking off the last few strips of bark still hampering her feet. “Tell me who y’all are, and who the heck Henry is, and maybe I can tell ya what happened.”

...

And from why can't we be ourselves like we were yesterday:

...

In his defense, Steve does immediately realise that something’s wrong when he wakes up in Nancy’s pastel-purple bedroom.

He’s just a little foggy on the what.

‘A little foggy’ pretty accurately describes how he’s been feeling about everything for a while now, though. People are probably not supposed to get hit in the head more than three or four times in a row and then get shot full of truth serum or laughing gas or whateverthefuck within twenty-four hours. Or, like…at all. Honestly, when he thinks about it, it’s kind of a miracle he and Robin both survived. And that Steve’s still got all his teeth.

Thinking about it tends to make his head hurt, though, so he usually doesn’t for long.

This morning, thankfully, seems to be an exception to that rule so far. Thankfully, because Steve doesn’t have to remember how or why he got here to know that he’s absolutely not supposed to be here, and he’s going to need all his dubious ability to focus if he’s going to get out again without making things worse.

Joel Goodson’s looking down at him from Nancy’s Risky Business poster with what Steve can’t help thinking is a winking accusation in his eye, and Steve wants nothing more than to pull the covers over his head and disappear. Even when they were dating, they never did it at Nancy’s place, her mom was always so nosy, it was just too much of a risk. Not that Steve thinks anything happened, that’s absurd, they’ve been broken up for nearly nine months now and there’s no sound or warmth or weight of anybody else in this bed. And Nancy seems happily joined at the hip with Jonathan Byers these days, and Steve can’t even drink on these painkillers, and he wouldn’t do something like this to Nancy and Jonathan if he was sober.

But it’s still early, and Steve’s just woken up, and he is drawing a total blank on any more-realistic reason why he’d be lying under this pretty floral comforter that smells sweetly of Benetton perfume and strawberry shampoo and Nance –

Steve shifts, and freezes.

And, okay, yeah. He can think of one other reason why he might find himself inexplicably tucked into Nancy’s bed with a big black hole where his memory of how he got there should be. One other reason why his whole body might be feeling weird and wrong.

He got hurt again, didn’t he? Some more goddamn Upside Down bullshit came out of nowhere despite it barely having been a month and a half since they closed the last Gate, and it hit him in the head, again, and that’s why he’s got this weird almost-detached limbs-on-wrong feeling and can’t remember any of it. That’s why he’s curled up in Nancy’s bed all alone. Her house was probably closest. She’s probably waiting right outside the door with a first aid kit, ready to pounce.

The thought might almost be reassuring. Except that it doesn’t quite add up. For one thing, Steve’s actually not hurting. For once. He just feels kind of…there really is no other word for it than weird. And whatever this thing did to him, if it knocked him out and it was bad enough that Nancy got Jonathan to help haul Steve back to her house instead of just taking him home to sleep it off, but they didn’t take him to the hospital…it must’ve been something that would’ve been too hard to explain to a regular doctor.

And that thought makes Steve feel a little like he’s just stepped into the gym showers before they’ve had a chance to warm up.

But he’s gotta see. He’s gotta know what the damage is. Know just how big the lie he’s going to have to spin for his parents this time is gonna have to be. Steve takes a deep breath, bracing himself, and then, fast, like pulling off a bandaid, sits up straight in Nancy’s bed and throws off the covers.

Nancy’s mom bangs the door open before Steve’s even stopped screaming. “Nancy? What’s wrong? What’s going on?”

Steve looks Karen Wheeler dead in the eye, and thinks faster than he’s maybe ever thought before. “I – nightmare. I was – at the mall, and Barbara -”

Thankfully, Nancy’s mom hurries over to pull Steve into a hug before he has to come up with anything more to say. His cheek, though, is now mashed firmly against her chest, which is more than a little awkward.

Well. Not his cheek, exactly.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Nancy’s mom mutters into the top of Steve’s head – at least, it feels like his head, right now. “Oh, Nancy.”

Steve manages to shift enough to get a look down, at the pretty blue pyjamas he’s wearing, over the pretty little legs and the pretty little curves he’d admired in the school hallways long before he ever took a chance on asking their owner out. The pretty little hands he used to watch tapping pencils against frustrating chemistry problems, the pretty little hands he’d squeezed under the table during that one disastrous dinner with his parents. The pretty little hands that once held a gun in his face, while the pretty little voice that just lied to Nancy’s mom had told him to get lost.

Nancy’s hands. Nancy’s voice. Nancy’s legs, moving when Steve shifts. Nancy’s hair, tickling Steve’s nose.

Nancy’s body.

Oh, Nancy is right.

There’s one tiny bright spot, though, Steve thinks, as Nancy’s mom starts rocking gently from side to side and stroking a hand over his hair and he tries not to drop dead from mortification on the spot. If he’s here – somehow – then at least he knows Nancy must be there. At his house. Waking up in his body. With his permanent headache. And – oh, shit. And with his brand-new, hard-won job to get to.

Steve’s got to get over there. He’ll talk to Nancy, and she’ll – she’ll probably talk to Jonathan, honestly, but that’ll be okay so long as it means Jonathan knows what’s going on and doesn’t try to kiss Nancy’s body hello with Steve in it. And then Nancy and Jonathan will figure it out the way they always do. And they’ll drag Steve along for the ride via their weird network of siblings and mutual monster-fighting acquaintances, the way they always do. And everything will be fine.

Everything’s going to be fine.

...

[ask me about a WIP!]

[leagueofleaguesff]

Taurean💪🏾 Juan

QB/RB/WR TE/K/DEF/IDP BENCH

T vs Juan was a battle about injuries.

First, Juans IDPs all did well keeping him close in this matchup.

Taureans end, Khalil Mack fell short in comparison but Roquan Smith & Love went off.

The flipside of this was Juans RBs compared to Taureans. Both Javonte&Kyrein both had monster games for Juan while Taureans RBs fell way short.

Between IDPs and RBs the matchup was about even. Add the fact both Flex plays amount to 2pts for each roster kept this battle 50/50.

Although kickers were about even, the defense began to give Taurean the edge. Even though Saints did relatively okay... the Bills dominated and gave T a 20 point advantage.

But Juan had a chance when Aiyuk went down for Taurean with an unfortunate season ending injury.

That flex I mentioned had deebo out due to illness and made matters worst when Jayden Daniels went out with a rib injury. Juan couldn't afford his QB to go down as well.

This is when Taurean to a "chokehold" of the situation and Jordan Love produced enough to give him the win.

Take a look at Taureans finisher on Juan⬇️⬇️

Congratulations to Taurean on the win. Both teams are now 3-4.

The silver lining for Juan is the fact that even with a matching record, he is ahead of Taurean in the standings.

Juan is in 6th place wildcard position while T sits at 8th due to tiebreaker points smh 🤦

Let's keep the last matchup below⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️