#two hamilton mentions in a row…

[st-twitter-sillies]

:/

[leclercss]

Tainted Love, Part 5 (Charles Leclerc ft Lewis Hamilton)

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Masterlist

plot: in an attempt to fix your marriage, you've reluctantly agreed into being in an open relationship with your husband. so far, it's only been your husband that has taken advantage of your recent arrangement until one night out you meet a man who makes you begin to question your marriage.

pairings: charles leclerc x fem!reader

warnings: (+18) mentions of smut, cheating and some swearing

authors note: sorry for taking so long to post part 5. Life has been life-ing and it’s been so busy. Thanks for all of your kind words in the mean time x

word count: 4.5k

taglist: @ironmaiden1313, @ru-kru, @buendiabebeta, @flwr-quicksilver, @ravioli19, @julesandro, @hornedravenclaws, @thatobsessedreader @pinkangelavenue, @queenofshinigamis, @notleclerc, @paullinne, @bisexualbith, @tempo-rary-fix, @bbygrlllllll, @teenagedreams-cl, @lunamelona, @leclerc16s

“Are you sure you’re okay with us doing it in my car?”

You can’t help but giggle at Charles' question.

“Charles, it’s fine,” you reply in between your giggles. “I’ve had sex in worse places than this”.

Charles furrows his eyebrows at your response. “Like where?”

You giggle again. “Charles, we snuck out of the party so we could have sex. Are you really using the limited time we have to ask me about the random places I’ve had sex?”

“Good point!”

After you and Charles’ close call with Whitney in his bedroom, the two of you put your heads together to find a place where you could have sex without getting caught. And somewhere as far away from Whitney as possible.

And so with the limited options you had thanks to the apartment upstairs being filled with partygoers, Charles had suggested that you guys could go to his car in the garage. And while it wasn’t the most comfortable of places for you two to get busy in, it was much better than your suggestion of finding somewhere behind the apartment building.

So that’s how you ended up here, on Charles’ lap in the passenger seat with your legs either side of his. Your skirt and underwear are somewhere in the backseat after Charles practically tore them off your body.

He’s currently pulling at your top so he can have a front row view to your boobs, which he’s become very attached to in the short space that you’ve known him.

Deciding that you’re not the only one to be practically naked in the car, you start to unbutton Charles’ shirt. He helps you by pulling his arms out of the sleeves before you throw the clothing into the backseat, finding space alongside your discarded clothes.

“You look so beautiful, amour,” he tells you as his eyes are fixated on your body. His hands feel like ice against your skin before they make way to your boobs. He runs his thumbs over your exposed nipples and they harden at his touch. A shiver runs through your body, once more your body instantly reacting to his intimate touched. He gropes your boobs for a little longer before his hands make their way down to your stomach ever so slowly. Your skin is tingling at the sensation of feeling him touching you.

His next destination is your thighs where his fingers dance across your skin ever so lightly, enough for you to start to feel heat in your core. Even in the limited time that you two have down in the garage before you have to account for your whereabouts, he still wants to savour every millimetre of your body.

You can't help but smile at the sight before you. It's almost like he's obsessed with your body. His tongue slightly poking out the corner of his mouth. He's concentrating as if he's studying you so he can remember the image and feel of your body for later.

“If you’re enjoying the view so much, you can take a picture,” you tease him.

He looks up at you with surprise in his eyes but the smirk on his lips tells you his true feelings.

“Are you serious?” He asks. He feels a twitch in his pants at the idea of taking photos of you naked. Until now, he’s been using his mental images from the night and morning you’ve spent together. But to have a photo of you on his phone to keep, how could he turn that down?

“I’m serious, Charles. You can have it for when I’m not around”.

Your hands find their way to his bare shoulders before you run them down his chest, towards his torso and they stop, just resting above his belt. His eyes are fixated on you and your movements. You slowly unbuckle his belt, at an agnoising pace. You hear his breath hitch in the back of his throat as you unzip his jeans.

“The offer won’t last forever you know,” you kindly remind him and flash him a wink. The alcohol that’s still in your system giving you the confidence you need in this moment.

Wasting no more time, Charles digs his phone out of his jean pocket before slowly reclining his chair to get a better angle of you. You help him out by leaning back on your heels. As he opens the camera app, you run your hands through your hair and start to pose for him.

You can’t help notice the smirk that’s plastered across his face as he positions himself. Reminding you of some horny teenager. You thought it might have been a bit of a silly idea to have Charles take some naked photos of you but seeing how joyful he is has reassured you that these photos won’t go to waste.

“Give me a little smile, amour”.

You follow his instructions and he begins snapping away, sniggering to himself as he does so.

“Can you stop laughing at me?” You whine, tempted to grab the phone out of his hand.

“I’m not laughing, [Y/N]. I’m just thinking about how I’ll be using them tomorrow,” he retorts.

You roll your eyes slightly before posing for a few more photos. Once you’ve had enough, you grab the phone out of his hand and throw it into the drivers seat so you have his full and undivided attention again.

You take his face into your hands and lean in to leave a wet, sensual kiss on his lips. He hums slightly into your mouth as he reclines the chair further before his hands find their way back onto your body. Grabbing and pulling at any skin he can get his hands on.

You find your seat again on his lap and slowly begin to rock your hips back and forth against his clothed crotch, feeling his hardness growing beneath you. You continue to rock back and forth as his tongue slips into your mouth. Your tongues meet and move alongside each other with slow but purposeful movements.

You reach out for the top of his boxers and jeans, pulling the material down. Charles lifts up his hips so you can pull them over his bum and they soon find themselves bunched around his ankles.

You take his hard cock into your hands and stroke it a few times. He’s ready to go.

You pull back from the kiss so you can position yourself so you're hovering over the tip of his penis. Your eyes meet and you feel your breath catch in your throat. His eyes feel like they’re staring into your soul.

You feel a twitch down below and so you make sure your hole is lined up with his tip before you push yourself down. His cock begins to fill you up and you both let out a deep sigh.

You place your hands on his chest for leverage and begin to move your hips back and forth. Your pace is slow at first, getting used to the position in the passenger seat and you feel your heart beat start to speed up.

Charles’ eyes never leave yours as you gradually pick up your pace, grinding your hips against his.

“You look so good on top of me, baby,” he mutters, loving the sensation of you riding him.

You’ve now found your momentum and pick up your pace further.

“Mmm… Charles, fuck,” you groan and bit your lip at the sensation you’re feeling down below. Charles’ hands find their way to your hips so he can guide your movements.

The car begins to rock around you, the moment run carrying you and you begin to pick up your pace even further.

“Oh, fuck!”

The sensation of Charles inside of you combined with the thrill of getting caught at any moment by another resident passing through the garage has you throbbing down below. Your moans are rolling into one another.

You feel Charles’ mouth wrap around one of your nipples. His tongue swirling around the sensitive nub. He bits down a little, causing you to squeal in pleasure. One of your hands’ now finds its way into his hair, the other on the ceiling of the car to keep you steady. Your hips still being guiding by Charles.

“Fuck, baby,” you groan in pleasure.

“Do you want me to fuck you?” Charles pants from beneath you. You manage to open your eyes and look down. Charles is looking up at you, his pupils dilating through all of the pleasure.

You nod, not able to string more than a few words together at this point.

Charles tightens his grip on your hips before thrusting up into you.

“Fuck!”

You practically jump at the movement. But Charles doesn’t give you time to come around as begins to thrust up into you, his movements are hard and fast. Skin slapping against yours and you find yourself bouncing on his dick. You try to grab onto anything at this point to hold yourself up. Mouth open as you continue to moan on top of him.

“Keep going,” you sigh.

Charles’ obeys your orders and thrusts into you even harder and faster than before. The car now moving erratically around you.

“Charles, baby”.

You miss the feeling of him on your lips and so you reach down to place your lips on his. The kiss is sloppy, thanks to the movements he’s making beneath you. He wraps his arms around you in a hug and thrusts up into you, he's now hitting your spot over and over.

You squeal against his lips, trying to muster a “fuck”. He slips his tongue into your mouth once more.

You reach down and begin to rub your clit with your fingers to add to the sensation that you’re feeling down below.

Charles is clearly delighted by this and continues at .

“Are you touching yourself, amour?” He whispers into your ear. A shiver runs down your spine.

“Yes”.

You can feel him smirk against your ear.

“And what do you think about when you touch yourself?”

Oh God!

“Yo-“ you can barely get your words out without moaning.

“Come on, you can say it”. He’s teasing you at this point but it’s turning you on even more when he talks to you like this. “What do you think about, amour? When you’re touching yourself”.

He’s somehow thrusting into you even faster now. His movements are getting erratic.

“Fu-, you fucking me, Ch-Charles,” you whine.

That seems to do it as Charles groans and gives everything he has to thrust into you further but he’s at his peak.

“I’m gonna cum,” he grunts into you ear and with one last deep thrust, his cum starts to spill inside of you. French profanities roll off his tongue but you’re too reaching your own peak that you can’t understand what he’s saying.

As Charles begins to come down from his climax, you place your hands onto his chest and pull yourself back up, with the little energy you having remaining, and begin moving your hips against his once more until you feel the knot tighten in your stomach.

“I’m cumming, Charles”.

You let one last moan before your eyes give way and you collapse onto Charles’ chest, his body acting as a cushion for your fall.

You lay in each others arms panting, trying to regain your breath after you both orgasmed. Your head is laying on Charles' chest, rising and falling with each other as he's breathing heavily bender h you. His skin is slightly damp from what you've just done but you don’t mind at all. You can feel his fingers tips dance along your skin as he glides them across your back, soothing you.

As you begin to regain your energy, you look up at him through your lashes and notice him staring at the roof of the car, his chest still rising and falling below. You place a soft kiss on his chest. He feels this and looks down at you with a soft but tired smile on his face.

"I don't think I could ever get tired of this," you don't realise that the words have left your mouth until you see Charles' smile widen. He leans down so he can place a kiss on your forehead.

"Me too, amour," he replies, his voice a little rasp. "I think I could just lay here with you all night".

You reach up and place your hand on his cheek, softly running your thumb over the smooth skin. He's looking at you with so much affection and you feel like you could stay in this position forever. Your body on his, legs intertwined, your heart beating so close to his. You'd almost forgotten that he was still inside you. His penis has softened at this point but it feels so comfortable to have him inside you like this.

"It's a shame that we couldn't spend more of the night together," he tells you, a slight pout on his lips.

You let out a little sigh. "I know. I'm sorry, Charles. I know things are a little complicated when it comes to my situation".

He turns his cheek so he can peck the palm of your hand that's against his face. "I knew what I was getting into with you, amour. You don't have to apologise".

You smile at him. "Are you sure it doesn't bother you?"

"I'm sure," and the tone in his voice doesn't lie. He's confident with what he's saying. "I know how I feel towards you and I can see how you feel towards me. I promise you it's okay".

You rest your head on his chest so you can hear his heart beat against you once more.

"Maybe we can do something more romantic?"

His chest vibrating as he speaks beneath you.

"Like where?"

"I don't know. As much as I've enjoyed having sex in my car, it's not exactly the comfiest place," he chuckles. "Maybe a weekend away, just the two of us."

He has you smiling once more. "I'd like that, Charles”.

A little while later, you and Charles had managed to peel yourselves off each other and decided to return the chaos upstairs before Whitney sent out a search party on your behalf.

You definitely weren’t going to look as presentable on your return as you had when you first rocked up to Charles and Joris’ apartment tonight. But by now people would most likely be heavily intoxicated or high and so your disheveled appearance would be the least of everyone’s worries.

You cherished the last private moments that you would have with Charles this evening before finding your way back into his apartment. Your fingers intertwined as you kissed each other softly in the elevator. Your bodies enjoying the last few moments of intimacy.

“I’m not sure how I’ll be able to keep my hands to myself now,” Charles mumbled against your lips.

You smiled into your kiss.

“Well, if you’re feeling a little lonely, you can always check your camera roll,” you teased.

Charles pulled your bottom lip between his teeth and bites down ever so slightly.

“Don’t tease me like that, amour,” Charles growls. “Not after what we’ve just done”.

You smirk up at him, the Dutch courage still coursing through your body. You decide to toy with him a little more, “Even when your cum is still inside me?”

“Merd-”

His whine is interrupted by the ding made by the elevator and you both find yourselves on the 8th floor, music and voice still going.

You place a final kiss on Charles lips before making your way to his apartment.

“Good night, Charles”.

Your disappearance had gone unnoticed, Whitney was too busy in the birthday boy’s bedroom. Your appearance hadn’t been judged. People were far too drunk to remember your name, never mind the fact that your make up was now half gone from your face.

You’d lightly integrated back into the party but your best friend was up to her own mischief and you were trying to keep your eyes and hands off Charles. But as the drunken partygoers slowly started to filter the way out of the apartment and the night slowly came to close, the two of you found yourselves in the kitchen alone.

You were in a similar position to the one you found yourself in the last time you were here. About a week ago now. Your hands wrapped around his neck. Your lips and tongues moving in synchronisation. Charles’ fingers had found their way inside of you once more. Your soft moans rolling onto his tongue.

The two of you are lost in the intimacy, lost in the moment and lost in each other. The fear of a random person, or even Whitney, walking into the two of you doesn’t scare you. It just feels too good for you to care about anything else.

Your lips leave his and your head falls back as a moan leaves you. Your chest slowly starting to rise and fall.

It doesn’t take much for you to come undone onto his fingers this time, it’s just so natural for you at this stage. Your energy is spent and you hold onto him, held still thrown back. Your heavy breathing is starting to slow down but your eyes are still closed from the euphoria you’re feeling. You don’t even notice his fingers slide out of you, you’re just so lost in your own world.

That is until you feel Charles place a soft kiss on your lips and his voice pulls you back to reality, “Are you okay, amour?”

You slowly peel your eyes open and smile at him. He’s looking at you - you’re not sure if it’s with affection or with concern. You’ve been absent for a little while.

“I’m good. Just enjoying this feeling,” you exhale softly.

You find the energy to pull yourself upright and place your head against Charles’ chest. Your arms wind their way around his torso and you let your body melt against him.

Charles is quite for a moment. You feel his heart beat quicken against you.

“Amour,”

His voice is so soft and gentle.

“Will you stay with me tonight?”

You look up at him and he’s looking down at you nervously. Your mouth slightly agape as you’re not sure what to say.

It’s the first time you’ve ever seen him nervous. And his lack of confidence isn’t helped by the fact that you still haven’t found your words.

You blink.

“Charles, I ca-,” you begin but he shakes his head.

“Don’t worry about it”.

You let out a little sigh as you feel his touch loosen around you.

“Charles, you know I would. But Whitney is here and she doesn’t know,” you begin to explain but he stops you by placing a kiss on your lips.

“I forgot, [Y/N],” it feels weird when he doesn’t call you amour now. “She doesn’t know. It’s okay, you need to get home tonight”.

You flash him a sympathetic smile and you feel guilty for seeing the disappointment in him. He wants you to stay. And you want to stay but you can’t.

Whitney doesn’t know and if she caught you with Charles you’d have to find a million answers to a million questions you weren’t ready to answer.

After reassuring Charles that you would see him soon and one more deep, meaningful kiss, you find yourself outside making your way home and you’re now at your apartment door.

You send a couple of texts before you go inside, one to Whitney to let her know they you had gone home and you’d be getting all of the juicy details from her tomorrow. And one to Charles to let him know you were safe and that you had missed him already.

Once you finally made it inside, you noticed that the apartment is dark and quiet. The only sound you can hear is the ticking of the clock in the hallway. You shut the door quietly and make your way towards the bedroom with your heels in your hand so you don't disturb Roscoe in his sleep.

You're not sure if Lewis is home, it's not like he was keeping you up to date with his itinerary these days anyway.

As you reach your bedroom door, You slowly push it open, it's dark in here too. And you're met with the snoring of Roscoe who's asleep at the foot of the bed. But he's not the only one snoring. You look towards the top of the bed and see a figure in the dark beneath the sheets, lightly snoring away. It's Lewis and he's home, much to your surprise.

You're not sure if you're relieved or nervous about seeing him here after the night that you've just had at Joris' party with Charles. But you don't feel any guilt and you're surprised at the lack of guilt that you've felt since you've started to sleep with Charles.

Rather than wait in the open doorway any longer, you make your way to the ensuite bathroom. Deciding that a quick shower will not only make you feel better in the morning but will feel slightly more respectful when you climb back into bed with your husband. You were already on the edge with Lewis as it was without bringing the scent of another man onto your shared sheets. You were growing to dislike Lewis and his behaviour towards you but you didn't dislike him that much.

As you stand under the hot shower, glass steaming up around you, you shut your eyes and let the hot water soak into your skin. And you begin to think about the night that you've just spent with Charles. You can still feel his touch and kisses on your body. Your hand travelling down to between your thighs and you lightly touch yourself at the memory of him thrusting deep inside of you, filling you with his cum. It was the first time he had done so with you, previously he had always pulled out but last night he was so lost in the feeling of you that he seemed to forget. You didn't mind too much, if anything you felt that it brought you closer to him.

You hadn't known him too long but in the short amount of time you could feel a deep connection, one that you hadn't felt in a very long time. He noticed you and he made you feel seen. But most importantly, he made you feel important. And you only craved to feel him touch you once more.

You let out a little hum as you feel a twitch down below, you're still touching yourself as you think about Charles. You pick up your pace and press harder onto your clit, thinking about how if Charles was here right now, and oh how you wished he was. He’d be taking you from behind. His skin wet and slippy from the shower. He'd have his hand in your hair as he bent you over. You'd be gripping onto the tiles to keep you upright as he thrusted into you. His cum spilling into you once more.

"Fuck," you whine as you realise that you've brought yourself to your peak. As you slowly catch your breath, your mind drifts to Charles once more. If he was here right now, he'd kiss you, arms wrapped around you. It’s almost as if he’s in the room with you, calling you amour.

Was it a mistake not to stay him tonight?

Realising that your shower has taken much longer than planned, you quickly turn off the water and begin to dry yourself off. You take one last look in the mirror and notice the faint marks on your neck that Charles has left. Your fingers find there way to the bruised area and you can't help but smile.

You make your way back into the bedroom, slipping into an oversized tee before slowly climbing into bed. Roscoe still snoring away. As your head hits the pillow, your body finally relaxes and you let out a deep exhale.

Just as you're about to shut your eyes and drift off into sleep, some movement beside you stirs you out of your slumber. You feel Lewis roll over in the bed.

The room falls quiet once more. But not for long.

"You came home," Lewis whispers. You're not sure if it's a question or a statement but it takes you by surprise. You take a moment, deciding on what will be the best course of action to take. Do you pretend you're asleep or engage in a conversation with Lewis? But you feel like the decision is almost being made for you as you feel Lewis' eyes burning into the back of your head.

You roll over and through the darkness you seem him looking at you, his eyes wide open. You feel your stomach drop as he's looking at you and you notice his eyes glisten with some sort of hope.

Your mind lingers back to Charles and the look he gave you tonight when you told him you couldn’t stay. You’re feeling conflicted, you’d worked so long to keep your marriage to Lewis as happy and healthy as possible but these last few weeks have been the reality check that you needed. And you finally find love and passion and meaning again, but this time it wasn’t with Lewis.

But as you lay in bed, and your husband is looking at you like this, you can’t help but find yourself cave.

You know his words have a deeper meaning than what they sound like on the surface.

For so long, Lewis had pushed you to the side. You were so young when you met him and so in love that no matter what he did, you thought. that, through your own naivety he would always come back to you.

And in this moment, he has come back to you. After this past week of him ignoring your entire existence after shouting at you like he had never done before, he's suddenly seen you again. But you're not sure if it's out of love and care or because you're now a different person in your marriage, something he thought you would never be. You were starting to have a life outside of him and maybe this was his last chance to hold onto you, to fight for the version of you that would love you unconditionally.

You’re pulled back to reality when you feel Lewis reach out for you as his thumb starts to stroke your cheek. You're not sure why but you feel your eyes start to well up at the feeling of him touching you like this, looking at you like this.

“You came home,” he says once more, “for me?”

Those two words surprise you.

Your breath catches in your throat but somehow you manage to lie,

"I came home".

[love-studying58]

happy Masters of the Air release week. In honour of the series due to release on the 26th, I wanted to list a few faces we’ll be seeing throughout the series. I want to particularly note the crewmen of the 100th in hopes this makes sense to viewers who either a) didn’t have time to read any books based on the 100th bomb group, or b) want to read Masters of the Air by Donald L. Miller during/after the tv show aires. My lovely friend on tumblr @kylaym was happy to message me on instagram regarding who’s who for most of the 100th bomb group posts. She gets that everyone in uniform looks the same; same haircut, moustaches, masks, everywhere, etc. She mentioned it is always better to remember a bunch of lads as groups and crews than as individuals!

Here we gooo..

Colonel Neil “Chick” Harding

A West Point graduate and the school’s football coach prior to the war. Harding was a seasoned aviator who truly emulated much of the 100th’s attitude. He exhibited an appreciation for his crew’s mental and emotional well-being.

Major John C. “Bucky” Egan and Major Gale “Buck” Cleven

Two of the squadron commanders, Majors John “Bucky” Egan of the 418th Bomb Squadron and Gale “Buck” Cleven of the 350th, had piloting skills which matched their personalities. (Found top row 3rd and 4th members from left to right).

Captain John D. Brady

He served as a pilot in the 418th bomb squadron and was shot down during the mission to Munster on October 10th, 1943. (Shown here on the far left). He flew overseas in A/C #42-30071 “Skipper” as 1st Lt. Pilot. 2nd Lt’s being Lt. John L. Hoerr [Co-Pilot] and Lt. Harry Crosby [Group Navigator and Captain].

M/Sgt. Kenneth A. Lemmons

He served on the 351st Bomb Squadron and was one of the first crew chiefs assigned to the 100th Bomb Group. After being a part of the U.S. Air Force's ground crew, he was subsequently promoted to the position of flight chief. (Shown above in the front).

Harry H. Crosby

Harry served as a navigator in the 418th Bomb Squadron and later became Group Navigator for the Hundredth, however, his struggle with airsickness often hindered his ability to navigate. (Found above beside Brady on the right). Harry Crosby replaced Lt. Payne on the crew of Douglass.

Payne is found above on the right, beside Harry Crosby.

Lt. Howard B. “Hambone” Hamilton

He was a bombardier mostly known for flying with Brady’s crew.

On the October 10th Munster mission, crew #32 was led by Major John C. Egan as Co-Pilot. Near the initial point “Mlle Zig Zig” was hit by Flak, resulting in the following:

- Sgt Clanton passing away

- wounding Howard Hamilton and Roland Gangwer. (Both ended up spending a long time in the hospital).

- the surviving crew members bailed out but were taken prisoner.

Hamilton is seen above on the far left. Beside him on the left is Lt. James Douglass and Captain Frank Murphy.

Captain James Douglass

Served as a bombardier in the 418th Bomb Squadron with the Everett Blakely crew. (Seen above in the first picture beside Blakely).

Major Everett E. Blakely

Was a career officer of the United States Air Force. He was a highly decorated pilot of the B-17 bomber with the Bloody Hundredth Bombardment Group of the 8th Air Force. He is most commonly known for his crew’s plane “Just a Snappin”. On a mission to Bremen on October 8th, 1943, his plane was severely damaged by flak and enemy fighters. He later became the Group Training Officer (Shown above on the right and next to Major John Egan in the second picture above).

Blakely’s Crew:

Major John Kidd- Command Pilot

1st Lt. Everett Blakely- Pilot

2nd Lt. Charles Via- Formation Officer in the tail (SWA on the mission during Black Week)

1st Lt. Harry Crosby - Navigator

2nd Lt. James Douglass - Bombadier

T/Sgt. Edmund Forkner - Radio operator

S/Sgt. William McClelland - Ball Turret Gunner (WIA on the Black Week mission)

S/Sgt. Edward Yevich - Waist Gunner (WIA on the Black Week mission)

S/Sgt. Lyle Nord - Waist Gunner

S/Sgt. Lester Saunders - Tail Gunner (KIA on the Black Week mission)

Lt Roy Claytor

Roy Claytor was part of the 350th Squadron. Above, he may be flying as a command pilot in this mission or practice with the Claytor Crew.

He is seen above on the left, beside Cleven.

Major Robert 'Rosie' Rosenthal

Rosie joins the unit in late 1943. He becomes one of the 100th's most reliable pilots.

Rosenthal's Crew:

[Shown left to right; top row than bottom row]

Sgt. Loren Darling - Waist Gunner

Sgt. Michael V. Boccuzzi - Radio Operator/Gunner

Sgt. John H. Shaffer - Waist Gunner

Sgt. Clarence C. Hall - Top turret gunner/engineer

Sgt. William J. DeBlasio - Tail Gunner

Sgt. Ray H. Robinson - Ball Turret Gunner

Lt. Ronald C. Bailey - Navigator

Lt. Robert 'Rosie' Rosenthal - Pilot

Lt. Clifford J. Milburn - Bombardier

Lt. Winifred 'Pappy' Lewis - Copilot

Lt. Curtis Biddick

Lieutenant Curtis Biddick was known as a ‘hard luck’ pilot but was recognised as exceptionally expert and courageous. ‘Every time he went out something seemed to happen,’ said one of his buddies. On one raid he brought his plane back with 1,700 shell and bullet holes in it and two wounded men aboard.

He clashes due to his English colleagues embarking on night-time raids.

Richard Snyder

Biddick's co-pilot and was part of the 418th Bombardment Squadron.

Okay.... So I truly hope this helps going into Masters of the Air tomorrow. I can't wait to see all the bomber boys spread their wings and fly. This tv series is going to be an absolute wreck (in the best way possible). Thank you to everyone who enjoys my posts. Love y'all.

[sennaverstappen]

personal favorite thing that happened today: read a big ass comment on a senna video about how the commenter wasn’t old enough to see ayrton in his prime before he died and his legacy has always bothered him (because he seemed ‘superhuman’ and ‘without any flaws’ because of his sort of martyr death), but that this video made it clear that ayrton IS human.

that’s not my favorite part, though. my favorite part is the conclusion, in which he says: “there are some drivers that i believe are a notch above (the rest of the drivers, red.), of which senna is one. others are: fangio, clark, stewart, lauda, prost, schumacher, hamilton, and verstappen.”

and to see max, who’s only 26 being mentioned alongside the greatest drivers of all time, even though i personally know that to be true… it just broke me positively. somehow the casualness of this comment made me tear right up. we are truly seeing a one in a generation driver right now. and this person, who has been watching for many years knows that too.

26 years old. already one of the greatest in his field ever, no matter what. 10 wins in a row. 3x wdc. one of only two people who could beat prime lewis. most dominant season EVER. 19/23 wins. jesus christ. jesus fucking christ.

[mysteriouslyjovialcolor]

Malaysia 2016

-Cause I want to see more of Nico Roseberg

-The Malaysian circuit is so aesthetically shaped

-Mercedes 1-2

-“Lewis Hamilton: Second man in history to have a hundred starts from pole”

-Red Bull row 2, Ferrari row 3, Force India row 4

-Now that’s a lineup

-“Plenty of fans here for Nico Roseberg” Yes, me too

-I forgot how bad radio clarity was in 2016

-Massa just didn’t start the formation lap?

-Palmer losing power too?

-“The engine switched off” And Carlos?

-Oh no, Max and Sebastian making contact?

-Sebastian out!

-Wait he made contact with the Mercedes??

-Nico p21? What?!!

-Max: “Sebastian is crazy” Haha I missed him being a menace

-The thing about these 2016 races is that there is guaranteed to be a safety car, virtual or otherwise

-“Carlos Sainz restarted his own car” let’s go baby!

-*sigh* I already miss the leaderboard

-So cool watching Checo and Kimi race each other

-Nico overtake masterclass?

-Woah! Alonso up to p10! Didn’t he start last?

-Yay Nico p12! “Not too bad a recovery”

-Red Bull team drama incoming?

-Ah Grosjean out

-“We think he’s been told not to continue dissing the car” Already predicting the swear ban, they were ahead of their time fr

-Nico: “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah I’m getting the positive” So much sass

-Force India double stack!

-“Nico Roseberg having a little go on Nico Hulkenburg” Aaah who do I root for??

-Nico R back to points!

-I really miss the leaderboard

-“There goes Roseberg, down on the inside on Perez” p8!!

-“Mercedes Achilles heel is when they’re running in dirty air”

-Aw Kevin out

-Kimi vs Max!

(Watching Kimi race it out with anyone is always very fun, but apparently these two have been clashing for a few races now.)

-Haha, nvm, he’s in the pits. No battle here

-Oh? Max leading? Red Bull 1-2?

-I asked for it the last race I watched, so this is great!

-Never mind, Daniel pitted and now we’re back to Red Bull sandwich with Lewis in the middle

-Tracking the drivers with these old graphics is so hard

-I’m surprised Nico R has been stuck in p5 for a few laps now.

-Haha Romain’s “Yeah thanks” after being asked how he is was cute

-Oh Max now pitting?

-Where are the Force Indias, I feel like they just dropped down all of a sudden

-And Carlos too

-“Verstappen and Hamilton: Story of the rest of the race isn’t it?”

-I mean only if Max goes past Daniel- which he could, with the new tires, but let’s see

-“Roseberg can’t make an impression on Raikonnen” How???

-“With a race like this, he surely would be out of the championship lead wouldn’t he?” Boo

-Oh he pit. Perez is through

-“The guinea pig Nico Roseberg” Huh, where did that come from?

-And Perez is gone

-Nico is back behind Kimi in p5

-“Fernando Alonso defending from Carlos Sainz” Let’s go Spaniards

-“Blue flag!”

-Go Nico (H)! He’s in the points!

-A moment of silence for Carlos, who’s out of the points

-Ugh James Vowles mentioned

-How is Nico (R) still p5

-Okay not him getting past Kimi as soon as I said that

-He did make contact tho :/

-Red Bull teammate drama incoming pt2?

<pause>

-That was amazing!

-I haven’t really seen Max and Daniel battle it out like that before!!

-“From the scene of Multi 21, can Christian Horner give a Multi 333?” Yeah no

-Aww young Gasly

-“It’s Lewis Hamilton! It’s a fire!”

-Lewis: “Oh no! No!”

-What the hell? That was so sudden

-“The ever reliable Mercedes engine has forced Hamilton out of the race” That must be devastating

-Red Bull double stack?? Now?? Crazy!

-Oh dear, another Haas has retired

-I’m convinced Lewis’ bad luck came from James Vowles being mentioned over the commentary

-*sigh* Roseberg 10s penalty

-At least my Red Bull 1-2, Maxiel dream podium is back

-I don’t care which one of them wins at this point, as long as it stays a 1-2

-“Do Red Bull feel that actually there’s a sense of justice to Daniel Ricciardo winning today, given what happened in Spain?”

-What happened in Spain?

-Also do the teams really care about poetic justice

-“Does Max Verstappen care?” I mean, I don’t think so

-“Good strategy for them today” Williams??

-“The gap for the championship will be 23 points for Roseberg going into the next race” Yay!

-Have a drink, 11 laps to go” Drinking a warm drink while driving hundreds of kilometers per hour really does not sound fun

-“Okay Roseberg has a 10s time penalty for the collision, you know what you need to do, stay within 10s and we go to the podium” Ha

-Just now noticing how weird the rear wings of these cars look

-Mark Webber somewhere cringing over the fact that they keep bringing up Multi 21

-Oh, Nico’s made it to over 10s?

-Ohmygod Mark Webber is at the race?? That’s hilarious

-Daniel win!!! Let’s go!!! I miss him so much!!!!

-Red Bull 1-2!!

-“Best of the rest after the Mercedes drivers. Number three in the championship battle”

-“Max has turned up and moved the game forward.”

-My favorite teammates fr

-Ohmygod he hasn’t won since 2014?? This win is so sweet then!!! Let’s go!!!

-“The first team other than Mercedes to get a 1-2!”

-Ayy not bad for Force India as well! Nico p8!

-Oh Lewis in his interview sounds so sad

-“I just can’t believe there are 8 Mercedes cars right now and only my engines are the ones that have been going this year. Something just doesn’t feel right” Oh?

-Wow he really sounds defeated

-Aaah Daniel happyyyy

-“Well, I need a drink. Thanks guys! We did bloody good!”

-“One of the most popular man in the paddock and on the grid” Yes baby!!

-“Embraces for Verstappen and Ricciardo” ❤️😭

-(✨post-race Max✨)

-DR: “Told you I’d win one” 😭

-CH: “Thanks for keeping it clean” haha

-Gotta admit Nico going from p21 to p3 was really cool

-Aww Pierre looking on at the podium

-Haha people waving their shoes

-Aaaah the shoeyyyy

-“I just wonder where it goes from here, for the shoe” ahahaha

-Ohmygod they all did it!! Max and Nico too!! Haha!

-Ahaha Mark mentioned Multi 333

-Threw away the shoe too!

-Aww Daniel almost being emotional

-I like these three on the podium. Very fun.

[mediumtires]

no one even mentioning it’s two race wins in a row for merc lmao i am all for goat lewis hamilton supremacy man he deserves all this love and attention and celebrations he did it!!!!!!!! but also. merc back? 👀

[umgeorge]

pole-sitter george russell is interviewed during the post-qualifying press conference, britain - july 6, 2024 (transcript under the cut)

Interviewer: "A very warm welcome to the top three qualifiers for the FIA FOrmula 1 British Grand Prix. In third place, Lando Norris; in second place, Lewis Hamilton; and, taking his third pole position in Formula 1 and his first here at home at Silverstone, our pole-sitter, George Russell. Many congratulations, George. What a performance by you and Mercedes. You won in Austria last weekend. You're on pole here at home. Just how good does this feel?" George: "Yeah, this is definitely one of the best feelings I've ever had on a Saturday afternoon. The car was just insane. When we went out in Q3 it just really came alive and, without doubt, one of the best feelings I've ever had, driving this circuit and crossing the line, seeing my name P1, and then seeing we're both on the front row. We couldn't have even dreamt of that after the first three or four races, so yeah, it feels good." Interviewer: "Have you been surprised by the pace of the car today?" George: "It's been feeling great since Canada, when we brought these upgrades. The two of us have been qualifying in the top three consistently, but it really came into its own today. We were really quick in FP1 yesterday, we struggled in FP2 a little bit, but these conditions just really got the car into a perfect window, and the lap was just really, really nice. And there's no guarantees for tomorrow, for sure, but we feel like we're riding this wave at the moment and, I mean, obviously, for us as a team, I don't know when the last time was we were on a front row, but… 2021, maybe. Maybe before." Interviewer: "George, you say that last lap in Q3 was really, really nice. Just where did you find the time over that first run in Q3?" George: "From turn six to turn nine I gained a lot. Turn six and seven was mega. There was a big headwind through there, so I braked really, really late and I just could carry the speed through the corners. But it was just on rails, the car. I just felt so confident in it, and Q3 we really turned it up, because Q1 and Q2 was very, very challenging. I felt like I was about to get knocked out at various points. The track improving in every single lap, and probably going into Q3 was the most pressure I've ever felt in a qualifying session, because the whole Q1 and Q2 runs, it was, like, on the verge of getting knocked out every single occasion. And I wasn't feeling that confident with myself, but as soon as I went through turn one and two in Q3 I felt good and managed to do the laps." Interviewer: "Well, George, let's throw it forward to the race. With practice being so affected by the weather, just how much confidence do you have in the long run pace of the car?" George: "Yeah, I think realistically we know we're probably a tenth or two behind Lando and Max, but I think we've got a good fight on our hands. But the weather's gonna play a huge part in that. It's been raining and drying up throughout the last couple of days. There's a bit of rain on the forecast tomorrow. We're probably on course for another Montreal-style race, where it's gonna be very changeable, so it's going to be a long race. As I said, we're riding this wave right now, but it doesn't mean anything because tomorrow is where the points are scored, but we're obviously in a great position to fight for victory." Interviewer: "Alright, look, best of luck. Well done today. Thank you."

[time jump] Journalist: "Alex Kalinauckas, Autosport. A question to George, please. Actually, a couple of questions, please. Just going back to that last lap in Q3, I think you started off a little bit slower through the first couple of corners. It was slower at the end of the first sector, but then purple by the end, so can you just explain what was going on at the beginning there? And also, you mentioned the struggles, Q1, Q2. Did the car change much ahead of Q3, for that big transformation? Thanks." George: "The wind picked up on that last lap and you had a bit more of a tailwind through turns three and four, so I think a few of us were brown in that first sector, but then suddenly you picked up so much more downforce through turn six and seven, and in the last corner, as well, when you're going into the wind, so that was probably the reason for it. But no, Q1 and Q2 we were just not trying to use our new soft tires, to allow us to have the two new sets for Q3, and I think we've also saved one set of new softs for the race tomorrow, so the soft is a potential race tire. So when you've got cars that are slightly slower than you throwing tires at it, you're just always on that back foot and that was kind of the reasoning for it. But yeah, the track dried up, and we got into the groove, and the lap times came."

[time jump] NOT SHOWN: Journalist: "Fred Ferret, L'Equipe. A question to the three of you: Do you have an explanation why the Brits are so good in Formula 1?" George: "Yeah, I think, like Lando said, just grassroots in the UK is the most advanced for motorsport, and we're so fortunate to have so many great drivers, and you just push one another along that journey. And I think, also, so many great British drivers in the past who've inspired the youngsters to get into racing." Interviewer: "Okay. Next one." Journalist: "Simon Abberley for Nevis Radio. Question for George and Lewis: You said on Thursday you weren't too sure if you had the car for this weekend. Obviously you're doing quite well with where you're sat, just now. With that in mind and the changeable conditions for tomorrow, have you maybe geared your car more towards the rain, or is this something that you thought could be potentially possible on Thursday but weren't too sure about playing your cards out to the media yet?" George: "I think, if anything, we actually geared up slightly more for the race, which is normally a trade-off you'd always take. You can qualify P4 and get into the lead on lap one, or vice versa. It feels so great for us to be here now, but the race start, things can change very quickly, so we'd always sort of gear it up slightly more for the race. But yeah [laughs], I mean, nothing's changed since last weekend and the car's been performing so well here, so you need to look into it and try and understand why it's been so good, especially in these high-speed corners, because in Austria, Red Bull were miles ahead of everybody, and at the moment we've been the quickest. So yeah, [laughs] it's a difficult sport sometimes."

[time jump] Journalist: "Will Wood, Race Fans. Question for George, please: George, you mentioned that this could be another Montreal-style race. That obviously didn't go quite the way that you wanted, from where you started. How do you make sure that tomorrow works out better for you?" George: "Yeah, thanks for that question. [laughs] We're all racers, we're pushing the limits. I said after Montreal, my sort of risk-reward dial was turned up to the max and that sort of played against me at certain points, and just remembering that the race is won right at the end. It doesn't matter what happens beforehand, so… Yeah, that was a good learning for me. We still came away with a podium, but every single scenario is so different, and… Today, for example, in qualifying, it was raining in just three corners and the rest of the track was bone dry, but those two corners, three corners, people were going off the track, so very, very challenging."

[time jump] Journalist: "Carlo Platella, Formula Passion. Question for the Mercedes drivers: How different is this car to drive, compared to a couple of months ago?" George: "I think we've made some small changes, which has had a big impact. We knew from the start of this year, the baseline of this car is substantially better than what we've had in previous years, but we went from having an oversteer car last year, then to an understeer car this year, and now we've just dialed it back and found the happy medium. And when you've got the balance in a good place, the tire temperatures are in the right window, and the lap time just really snowballs positively. So it hasn't been a substantial change, but it's made a massive difference to the lap time."

[time jump] Journalist: "Taylor Powling for Motorsport Monday. Question to George and Lando: With a mixed conditions race possible tomorrow, will you be encouraging your teams to review what happened in Canada to make sure you nail those changing conditions, if they do occur?" George: "I mean, yeah, absolutely. But as I said before, it was so difficult in Canada. On the grid I increased my tire pressures because rain was meant to hit in twenty minutes' time, which is about twelve to fifteen laps, and it hit in forty minutes, and then that's… Lando was ten seconds behind us, and then ended up ten seconds ahead of us and clearly was low on tire pressure. So [laughs] if the rain hit when it did, we would have been in a good place. As it turned out, Lando was in the right place, so we can do all the reviewing we want. The fact is it's very, very difficult to predict."

[alianoralacanta]

Everything You Never Needed To Know About The Two Race Engine Rule (24-10-2007)

Context: Once upon a time, a driver could use three engines in the same day and simply risk a DNQ for not meeting the 107% rule. (Damon Hill, France 1999 qualifying day. Turns out that if one wishes to set a good time, one's has to do sufficient speedy laps on the track and not on stands in the garage). Then it was decided that was too wasteful and teams were banned from swapping engines between qualifying and the race. This was followed in 2005 with a requirement to use engines for two consecutive races before replacement, unless a race was not finished. In 2008, the requirement increased to 3 consecutive races on a single engine. I received a request to provide some statistics about the two-race engine era. Nowadays, each engine must last an average of 6 races, but teams can arrange that running how they want. A driver who wanted to do the first 3 and last 3 races on the same engine, but not any of the ones in between, is nowadays permitted to do so.

Thanks to neil for coming up with the idea for this entry, and especially to concentrate on the successes. To celebrate the fact that the two-race engine rule is now consigned to history, I will be doing some analysis of how the engine rules have influenced the grid.

Three seasons of careful management, impressive calculation and inopportune explosions will be celebrated in what I think is the most fitting way possible… …a ream of annotated statistics.

Victories Against The Odds

It has been mentioned in Autosport (March 23 2006 edition) that a new engine is worth 10-15hp over a used engine. Therefore, to win with a used engine suggests that the driver didn't have everything in their favour. And we all love drivers who win against the odds, don't we?

The following wins were achieved with a used engine:

2005

Fernando Alonso, Renault, Malaysia 2005 (the first time used engines appeared in a Grand Prix weekend was also the first time they won!) Fernando Alonso, Renault, San Marino 2005 Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren, Monaco 2005 Fernando Alonso, Renault, France 2005 Fernando Alonso, Renault, Germany 2005 Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren, Turkey 2005 (the start of a three-race chain) Juan Pablo Montoya, McLaren, Italy 2005 (the first time both drivers in the same team win at least one race with used engines - and consecutive ones to boot!) Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren, Belgium 2005 (this chain of three events, ending with this race, is the first time used engines win more than one race consecutively) Fernando Alonso, Renault, Brazil 2005

2005 used engine win total - 9 2005 new engine win total - 10

2006

Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, Europe 2006 Fernando Alonso, Renault, Spain 2006 Fernando Alonso, Renault, Britain 2006 Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, USA 2006 Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, Germany 2006 Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Turkey 2006 (first race to be won by someone with a used engine in two consecutive years) Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, Italy 2006 Fernando Alonso, Renault, Japan 2006 Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Brazil 2006

2006 used engine win total - 9 2006 new engine win total - 9

2007

Fernando Alonso, McLaren, Malaysia 2007 (first driver to have won the same event with used engines twice) Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Spain 2007 Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, Canada 2007 Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, France 2007 Fernando Alonso, McLaren, Germany 2007 (second driver to have won the same event with used engines twice) Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Hungary 2007 Fernando Alonso, McLaren, Belgium 2007 Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, Japan 2007

2007 used engine win total - 8 2007 new engine win total - 9

Grand total Used engines 25 v 29 New engines

Masters of Used Engines - Drivers

Fernando Alonso (11) Kimi Raikkonen (5) Felipe Massa (4) Michael Schumacher (3) Juan Pablo Montoya (1) Lewis Hamilton (1)

Fernando clearly takes the crown of Master of Used Engines. Admittedly, being in a championship-challenging car for three years in a row does help a little. That said, he is Master or Joint Master of Used Engines in each individual year as well (he shares with Michael Schumacher in 2006, and is the outright winner in both 2005 and 2007). This is quite a statement of skill.

Kimi Raikkonen would probably have done better had his engine been reasonably reliable in 2005 or 2006. Or indeed if he'd ever been on the top step of the podium in 2006. However, he plainly does not require a fresh engine to demonstrate his talent.

Felipe Massa is consistent, having two used-engine victories in both 2006 and 2007 (being in a non-victorious Sauber didn't help his 2005 rating much). Don't be surprised if he shows well in 2008's three-race engine environment.

Juan Pablo Montoya and Lewis Hamilton, in a sense, represent past and future. Juan Pablo used to be an exciting F1 driver. He's still exciting, but he's doing NASCAR now, where they don't mess about with multi-race engines as far as I'm aware. Since he's also refused to return to F1, don't expect him to add to this tally in any series.

If Lewis Hamilton doesn't add any used engine victories in the three-race engine era, then I'm an apple tree. The main reason why he's only had one win in this era is because he didn't compete in 2005 or 2006.

Two drivers have won a race with a new engine in this era without winning one with a used engine: Giancarlo Fisichella and Jenson Button. Jenson is not in the used engine winner list largely because his engine blew in free practise on the Saturday of Hungary 2006. Had it held on, he would a) have had an easier time of winning that race and b) be on the list.

Masters of Used Engines - Teams

Renault (8) McLaren (7) Ferrari (7)

The Masters of Used Engines team award has been hotly contested between three great teams - so hotly that no other team has a single used-engine victory to its credit.

Renault's position in the list is particularly remarkable, since only one driver contributed every single used-engine win to its effort. McLaren and Ferrari required three drivers to achieve their results.

All three of these teams won in two out of the three years the rule was in place.

Poles for Used Engines

Wins with an engine that is minus 10-15bhp are challenging, but what about carving perfect laps with imperfect engines? Surely that's got to be pretty tough.

2005

Fernando Alonso, Renault, Malaysia 2005 (again, first pole at first attempt for used engines) Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren, San Marino 2005 (first time a pole-sitting used-engine user didn't win the race pole was obtained in - that comes later for Kimi) Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren, Monaco 2005 (start of a three-race chain) Nick Heidfeld, Williams, Europe 2005 (first time a used engine is taken to pole by a driver who doesn't win a race with a used engine during the two-engined era) Jarno Trulli, Toyota, Canada 2005 (this three-race chain, ending this race, is the first time a used engine is on pole on consecutive occasions) Fernando Alonso, Renault, France 2005 Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren, Turkey 2005 Juan Pablo Montoya, McLaren, Belgium 2005

2005 used engine poles: 8 2005 new engine poles: 11

2006

Fernando Alonso, Renault, Monaco 2006 (first race where pole was obtained by someone with a used engine in two consecutive years) Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, USA 2006 Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren, Germany 2006 Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Turkey 2006 Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Brazil 2006

2006 used engine poles: 5 2006 new engine poles: 13

2007

Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Malaysia 2007 Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Spain 2007 Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, Canada 2007 Felipe Massa, Ferrari, France 2007 Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren, Germany 2007 (first driver to take pole with a used engine at the same race twice) Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Turkey 2007 (second driver to take pole with a used engine at the same race twice) Fernando Alonso, McLaren, Belgium 2007 Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, China 2007

2007 used engine poles: 8 2007 new engine poles: 9

Grand total Used engines 21 v 33 new engines

Clearly new engines are a more significant factor in qualifying than in the race. This was especially the case in 2006, where developments were being completed quickly in anticipation of the 2007 engine homologation rules. Notice that in 2007, new and used engines are more evenly matched in qualifying.

Kings of Used Engine Speed - Drivers

Felipe Massa (6) Kimi Raikonnen (5) Fernando Alonso (4) Lewis Hamilton (2) Nick Heidfeld (1) Jarno Trulli (1) Juan Pablo Montoya (1) Michael Schumacher (1)

There is a lot more competition for this contest than the Master of Used Engines award. The winner of the award is Felipe Massa. He appears to be an expert at teasing speed out of a used engine when qualifying comes around. He was better at it than Michael Schumacher in 2006, and he has held his own in 2007. Very impressive, especially in this era when the pole-sitter often goes on to win.

Kimi Raikkonen's moments of brilliance are more spread out, but you can count on there being at least one in each season. Unfortunately, the poles rarely led to victories (his used-engine victories tended to be born in the adversity of second-row starts - or worse).

Fernando Alonso is a much better racer than he is a qualifier. That said, he won the world championship in 2006 without getting one pole with a used engine, so maybe there's a lesson in that for his rivals…

Lewis Hamilton is, in theory, a better qualifier than racer on used engines. That said, with such a small sample it's difficult to tell.

Michael Schumacher seemed to need a new engine in order to get pole. That didn't stop him from being at the sharp end of the grid a lot of the time, though.

Nick Heidfeld and Jarno Trulli never won a race in the two-engine era despite both getting poles with used engines - surely indicating that both qualify better than they race. While this probably isn't news to Trulli observers, those who observe Heidfeld tend not to mention this when writing about him.

Juan Pablo Montoya's single pole with a used engine is probably because he got most of his poles before the rule was introduced. Qualifying used to be a speciality of his.

Kings of Used Engine Speed - Teams

Ferrari (10) McLaren (7) Renault (3) Williams (1) Toyota (1)

The titans in the 2007 championship fight are the ones that are at the head of this list. That said, the clear Masters of Used Engine Speed are Ferrari, largely because Felipe Massa has driven so many pole laps for them. It's almost as if he needs a used engine before he fully lets himself go. That said, Kimi Raikkonen has also found the Ferrari environment conducive to his natural abilities. Even Michael managed to get pole with a used engine once…

McLaren despite having had four drivers help them get their total, are definitely behind Ferrari. This is largely because none of their drivers got consistent poles in the first place (they kept getting let down by their machinery, then polemeisters Massa and Raikkonen got together at the red team).

Renault can credit their entire presence on this list to Fernando Alonso. Williams and Toyota likewise only had one driver contribute to their totals.

The "It'll Be All Right On The Night" Award for Reliability - Engine Suppliers

BMW (1.67/car/year, 5 total) <1 in Williams; 3 + 1 in BMW Sauber> Renault (1.75/car/year, 7 total) <2 + 2 + 2 in Renault; 1 in Red Bull> Ferrari (3.43/car/year, 24 total) <4 + 8 + 1 in Ferrari; 3 in Sauber; 3 in Red Bull; 0 in Toro Rosso; 5 in Spyker> Toyota (3.5/car/year, 21 total) <1 + 8 + 0 in Toyota; 5 + 3 in Jordan/Midland/Spyker; 4 in Williams> Mercedes (3.67/car/year, 11 total) <8 + 2 + 1 in McLaren> Cosworth (3.75/car/year, 15 total) <1 in Red Bull; 2 + 4 in Minardi/Toro Rosso; 8 in Williams> Honda (4,25/car/year, 21 total) <5 + 8 + 3 in BAR/Honda; 2 + 3 in Super Aguri>

The BMW engines are most likely to be "all right on the night", with Renault closely following. This is a significant factor into both team's successes during the two-engine era - BMW's improvement was helped because it could chase up pesky gearboxes and speed instead of engines. Renault's tendency to stay in one piece helped Fernando Alonso's championship campaigns considerably. Renault is statistically the best engine on offer to customers - lucky Red Bull for having that supply!

There is a large gap to the next engine supplier, then you reach Ferrari. In its own cars the engines have worked quite unreliably until the homologation rules kicked in. That said, three of the eight failures in the works team happened to Felipe Massa during the Malaysian GP weekend, which reduced the pain somewhat. For that matter, apart from Spyker, all its customers got more reliable units than the works team. Maybe the customer engines were slower, but at least the teams could depend on Ferrari to clear out some of the bugs that appear to be inherent in Ferrari engine design.

Toyota is slightly worse than Ferrari, much of which can be attributed to an atrocious run of unreliability in 2006. In general, the customer units do not appear to have had many of the reliability flaws removed - not a good sign, since this means progress is relatively slow.

For all Mercedes developed a lousy reputation for reliability, this would appear to only be justified for 2005. However, eight failures in a year when no other works team had half that many said a lot. Since then, it is clear that lots of effort has been made to send out working units to the drivers, which has been particularly helpful in 2007.

Cosworth was the customer of last resort, which may go some way towards explaining its poor record. Integration into teams was not very high, simply because teams expected to be using another engine as soon as possible and therefore didn't work so well with the engine supplier. Though it is true that lack of money didn't help.

Honda should be embarrassed. Clearly it can send a reasonably reliable unit to customers (as Super Aguri can happily testify), so why can't it send something functional to its own works drivers? No wonder Button and Barrichello look like pulling their hair out at times…

The "It'll Be All Right On The Night" Award for Reliability - Teams

Red Bull (5) Super Aguri (5, across two seasons only) Renault (6) Minardi/Toro Rosso (6) (BMW) Sauber (7) Toyota (9) McLaren (11) Williams (13) Jordan/Midland/Spyker (13) Ferrari (13) BAR/Honda (16)

For the most part, customer teams had more reliable engines than their works providers. The exceptions are Williams and Spyker, who have chopped and changed a lot. Integration, or lack of same, explains their woes quite eloquently.

[bohnsky]

Okay my dear people of the internet. I have thoughts. A lot of them, so prepare for a long ramble post.

First of all I feel like I didn't make it clear that I'm not including Sebastian Vettel in these because the others wouldn't stand a chance. I just love him too much. That being said, welcome to my favorite drivers after seven weeks of liking f1:

1. Alex Albon

My love. I am embarrassed to admit that Lewis almost pushed Alex from 1st . There were a few days in the last two weeks when I honestly thought about putting Lewis on 1 and then I watched the never have I ever and remembered why I love Alex so much.

The sprint race made me sad. I believe that if he hadn’t changed to slicks he might’ve stayed in the points. And for the race today (also very embarrassed to admit that) I almost forgot to be stressed about Alex’ position because I was so busy stressing over the Ferraris and Lando being in the Red Bull sandwich.

2. Charles Leclerc

I thought a lot about putting Lewis on 2nd as well but then I remembered how much I love Charles lol. You cannot imagine how happy I was to see both Ferraris starting top three and seeing Charles taking P2 today. Obviously, I wanted to see him win but Max is just unstoppable.

3. Lewis Hamilton

Now finally Lewis. I spent most of my free time the last two weeks reading Sewis fanfiction and that kind of influenced me a little bit. Lewis is such a sweety and my heart can’t handle him. Him having a bad weekend made me sad. And my brother saying that he wants the older drivers, like Lewis and Fernando, to retire so that younger drivers get a chance made me sad as well. I understand why he said that, but I don’t agree. F1 wouldn’t be the same without them.

Honorable mentions:

(I have so many thoughts on that never have I ever video, so this is going to be about that a lot lol)

Checo. I really don’t know what it is about him. I’ve been annoying everyone about how I want Checo to be able to prove himself again and now he did. I’ve been manifesting it and now I don’t know if I’m happy or not because him being good means that someone else is one place further back. Alex for example. If Checo didn’t drive as well as he did today then Alex might’ve gotten a point. But either way, Checo deserves it and I’m happy he found his form again.

Also the never have I ever. Checo was literally the cutest in that damned video. I melted when he admitted that he practiced a celebration before. And his accent drives me crazy. Now thinking about it, it feels weird that I have so much to say about Checo and for Lewis nothing but ‘I just love him’ lol.

Lando. I love Lando. He’s been on my mind a lot lately. He’s funny and so genuine. And I’ve been kind of obsessed with Carlando somehow. They’re just the most realistic ship in my opinion. And, I know I’m probably the only one but Lando interacting with Carlos Sr makes me really happy. But then again, I’ve been a fan of Carlos Sr way before getting into F1.

Carlos. Yes, Carlando. Especially Carlando on 2nd row for the race made me happy (not as much as Lestappen in front row but still 😀). And the race.. Ferrari fucked him over so bad and I was so mad. He deserved to be on the podium. And again, Checo being good makes me happy but I wanted to see Carlos on P3.

Mick. Reading so many Sewis fics did that to me.

Lance. I just think I like him now and I feel like I have to mention it because last time I wasn’t sure about that.

Nico. Again, I’m German and I like to see a German driver doing good but honestly what he achieves in that Haas is crazy. Damn I had no idea he is that good.

Max. I’ve been thinking a lot about Max lately and if I like him or not because there’s always that little voice in the back of my head saying that he can be really rude but he’s proved that voice wrong so many times. And most of the time when I see him the first thought that comes to my mind is that he is 1) gorgeous and 2) so freaking cute and 3) really nice. Also I’ve been obsessing over his hair. Somehow it drives me crazy.

Also (I hate myself for thinking that way but) I don’t like that no one has even the slightest chance against him but then again, he is just that good and he deserves it. There are so many awful and unfair thoughts in my brain and I have to force myself to see how sweet Max really is but I think I’m finally getting there.

Speed round:

Nyck somehow being very sympathetic, idk don’t ask.

Esteban's accent, I don’t know why his accent in particular but I love it.

Pierre, laughs in Pierre.

Everyone who confidently said that they cried during a movie.

That wasn’t as much as I thought it would be but I’m tired so I’m going to leave it here lol

[professor-g]

I took my internet break right before Beetlejuice broadway closed, so for a long time it didn’t really hit me how much I would miss it. But now I’m back on here and seeing all the posts. It’s doing a number on me.

Beetlejuice the musical got me through hard times, as I know its done for a lot of us. It’s kind of ironic how it’s a show about death yet I really don’t want to accept that it’s over lol.

I’m struggling with envy. I got to see it only once, even though I live a mere two hour’s drive from broadway, and I had to sit in the farthest row in the cheapest seat, since I could barely afford it. And I didn’t get to see Alex Brightman (Will Blum was performing that day. Nothing against him he was awesome but I wasn’t expecting that and I’m a super fan of Alex)

I heard two girls discussing it in the line for the bathroom after the show. I swear they actually casually mentioned about three other broadway shows they’d been to, then said “I expected more from Beetlejuice that was kind of disappointing.”

And I stood there like 😐 you gotta be kidding me. These people are here and they don’t even appreciate it, and they can afford the good seats and to go to Hamilton and wicked and phantom and whatever else too??? The shows that I dream about and can’t afford?? And a whole bunch of mixed emotions flooded me. I wanted what they had. I wanted it because it meant more to me than it did to them. I felt inferior. I felt stupid.

Because it is stupid, right? It’s stupid to be upset. It’s cruel to be upset. At least I got to see it, that’s something not everyone can say. I should be grateful! And I am, I mean— that was a huge dream, and I finally got it! But why did I still want more?

And now that it’s over, I can’t do anything about it. The show is dead. I’ll never go back, I’ll never sit close to the stage, I’ll never see the original cast. It’s this strange emotion, like… like I was so close yet so far. I have this problem with accepting that things aren’t forever.

Maybe it’s okay. Maybe soon I’ll accept it and be happy. But for now I’m not. I’m just sad.

[umlewis]

lewis hamilton is interviewed after qualifying, australia - april 1, 2023 (transcription under the cut)

Interviewer: "Lewis, good to see you, and good to see the improvements from the team and for you two putting it on the front two rows for tomorrow. How pleased are you with this depth of performance?" Lewis: "How what, sorry?" Interviewer: "How pleased are you with this depth of performance?" Lewis: "So, so happy. We haven't made a step in performance, as such; we haven't brought an upgrade this weekend. We've just extracted more from the car this weekend, and I don't know if it's the cool temperatures or what, but it's definitely an amazing feeling. I'm really proud of everybody for just keeping their heads down and continuing to push, and yeah, third and second is epic, so we just hope that tomorrow we can hold on, hold position, and fight these guys." Interviewer: "You mentioned 2007 and that double overtake into turn one. I mean, it would be great to recreate that tomorrow. What chance, and if not there, what can you do to stop Max tomorrow, do you think?" Lewis: "I mean, I came from fifth back then, so it's not gonna be so easy passing the two ahead, but I'm... You know, we've not done a lot of starts, we've not done any of the long runs, so tomorrow will be really taken lap by lap and yeah, it's gonna be a long, tough race." Interviewer: "Good to see some smiles again, though." Lewis: "Yeah." Interviewer: "Thanks." Lewis: "Thanks."

[elfs-secret-library]

Riordanverse High School AU

*Please note that I made Hazel a year older than she is supposed to be to make her high school age.

Percy(Grade 12): He doesn't have particularly high grades, but is pretty enthusiastic about school events. Especially since Annabeth made it president, he goes to every event to support his wise girl. He and Annabeth was prom king and queen. He is the captain of the swimming team, and is amazing at rowing.

Annabeth(Grade 12): She is the "super involved" person, maintaining high grades while juggling a bunch of extracurriculars. She plays tennis and badminton, is a literal legend in debate club, and is the student council president.

Jason(Grade 11): He is in council as the vice president. He and Annabeth had a epic battle for the council president role by trying to get the most roles. Even though Annabeth won he doesn't feel any resentment towards her, and thinks their friendly competition was fun. He also plays soccer. He is a favorite in the book club.

Piper(Grade 11): She is a theatre kid, and especially loves musicals. She can recite all of the lyrics to every Hamilton song by heart. She had the lead role for the school musical, and everyone fell in love with her voice. She deliberately avoids drama and sticked to this policy even when she and Jason broke up. She also does dance.

Leo(Grade 11): He's the president of the robotics club, and won so many awards over the years that he is practically a legend. He always helps out with the younger grades in the club, giving them excellent pointers. He is the class jokester. Everyone is afraid of him at April fools, especially after that one year when he and Percy teamed up and destroyed everyone in the school with their pranks. People love him and find him annoying at the same time. He loves drama in a non-toxic way. He can often be spotted discussing "the latest tea" with people that tell him all about the latest events. He is the perfect person to go after a breakup, and he is weirdly good in relationship advice.

Frank(Grade 11): He started the archery club at school and is a legend there. He is also a mathleathe and has won so many trophies. He is mostly quiet and awkward, kinda in a more friendly Mr. Darcy way. Did I mentioned that he loves Jane Austen? He read all of them numerous times, but his favorite is Emma. He and Hazel are like an old married couple, and literally everyone ships them. He decided to get out of his comfort zone more and joined student council. It turned out that he had amazing ideas and now everyone is begging for him to run for president next year. He is also good at acting, although he has terrible stage fright.

Hazel(Grade 9): She is amazing at art. Her drawings have won so many competitions. She doesn't like digital art or graphic design, though, so she sticks to her watercolors and oil paintings. She is timid and sweet, but will turn into a tiger if anyone dares to bully her or her friends. She is that one grade nine that has a friend group of grade elevens and twelves. Since she is so nice and kind to everyone, she is a favorite among everyone.

Should I do a part two with Solangelo, Reyna, Calypso, Grover and etc??

[seabreeze2022]

2023 Bahamas Cruise, Part 16. April 7. Driving Long Island.

April 5th we rented a car and drove south to the end of Long Island. At 0800 start calling SeaSide Car Rental on VHF ch. 16. Many businesses here in the Bahamas handle business by VHF. Turns out she had gone to the airport.

Once we got the car, Nancy stopped at the Beauty Salon. Marcie who we met by chance a couple of days earlier gave her an appointment for the next day. Marcie will not only cut your hair, but set you up with fish or crawfish. As she was doing with her customer at the time. No she does not have the fish actually in the shop. That is the beauty salon in the fish market in George Town, Exuma does that.

This is Dolly Fox, Marcies Mother in law. Dolly and Basil own the dock that us cruisers are graciously allowed to use. Her son Roger fishes the Jumentoes and Ragged Islands, you can make an appointment for fish at the beauty salon.

Looking through the windshield of the rental car. Don’t you hate getting in a rental car and having to figure out where all the buttons and switches are. This car is driven from the right side, so the gear shift is on your left. My turn blinker is on the left in my truck. Consequently I turned on the windshield wipers all day long before turning. They kindly put a sign at the top of the window, reminding you to drive on the left side of the road. This is most important when turning on to a road from an intersection. The roads in Long Island have many a pot hole. After avoiding a couple of pot holes in a row, it is easy to end up with the old habit of driving on the right side of the road. To make matters worse, the oncoming car might be avoiding pot holes and is not on their side of the road. P.S. After getting in the first time, never saw the “Keep left” sign again.

The yellow building above is the tourist information building. After picking their brain and armed with maps we headed south. Of course trying to keep in the left lane.

The building on the right is the Museum of Long Island. Patsy Cartwright, the curator, was a wealth of stories. She told us where to find a flock of 50 flamingos and the map to get there.

These young ladies run the public library in Buckly. Lauren, on the right, used to work at Gordon’s bar. So when we got there we mentioned her name. More on Gordon’s below.

“Six degrees of Kevin Bacon” or on Long Island, “Two degrees of separation”. There is a little over 3,000 Bahamians on the island . Most are related somehow. We always ask what their last name is. Here Lauren connects us to Gordon’s Bar.

You can’t say you have been to Long Island, if you haven’t been to Hamiltons Cave. Leonard Cartwright gives tours through the largest cave on Long Island. We spent an hour with Leonard while he showed us one of the three types of bats. Blind crickets, termites trails winding down from above. Lucayan pottery, Money Bats which are the large moths we have in the Keys. This cave has been in his family’s property for generations. People would hide from hurricanes here.

Two degrees of Long Island separation: Just spent the day with James Knowles. We mentioned Leonard Cartwright. James says, yeah he is my cousin.

This cave is not on any tourist map. It is in the Dunmore settlement area. Caves in this area were used by the Lucayan Indians. Directions were given to us by Patsy. Sign…what sign? Address…what address? You go past the blue house on the right, look for a house under construction on the left. Next left is the road to the cave. So here is the real life interpretation of the above instructions we received. There is a blue house about every 2 miles. The house under construction was stopped at least 3 years ago and is now overgrown. Seriously, this island does not have a single address for a building. There are no mail boxes, only PO Boxes. They had a “party line” up until 1992. Salt Pond, one of the bigger settlements only recently received running water. All houses are set up with cisterns.

This is St. Peter and St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Clarence Town. Designed by the famous Father Jerome Hawes and built in 1908. It has twin 55’ towers. Which were purposely designed round like lighthouses. I find it interesting that the majority of older churches on the island all face East. The older graves are a good compass since they face east. Ready for the day of resurrection.

When you live in the islands you have to be inventive. I believe this is the local Jiffy Lube franchise. Note the rock on each ramp ready as a wheel chock.

“Slave canal”, there are two canals in town to flood inland ponds with seawater to produce salt. These canals were hand dug by slaves. Probably 5 ft wide and up to 15 ft deep in a few places. There must be hundreds of miles of dry laid rock walls on this island alone. Most done by slaves. The rock walls were used to fence in livestock and mark property boundaries. Some extend out into the water where it is shallow.

The lady at the tourist bureau, told us about the two flamingos at Doctor’s Pond outside Clarence Town. Flocks of flamingos migrate through each year. But one flamingo hurt its wing and can’t fly. One flamingo has stayed over the years to keep it company. The one on the right has its wing hanging down.

This is Charlie and his roadside straw work stand. Nancy sorted through several baskets and bought a small one for $18. Chickens were running everywhere and she asked about getting some eggs for her basket. No eggs today.

Patsy at the museum told us she saw 50 or so flamingos out at the abandoned salt ponds the week before. With map not drawn to scale, we go off roading with the KIA rental car. Among other things we drive down the abandoned runway on the right side of the photo. Carefully fallowing the map towards a beach with the hope of seeing the flock of flamingos. We are in the middle of nowhere. Only 3,000 people on the whole 57 mile long island. I am worried about the car breaking down. How do you explain where you are, when you don’t know where you are?

Here comes another car at us, on the only section of dirt levee we can pass on. Who would of thought that. We keep going. Turning here and there, looking for the lost flight of flamingos. Then we see a vehicle towards the end of the road. Great, at least if we break down they can help us!

You know what Nancy, that vehicle looks familiar. There are two people. One is wearing a familiar color shirt. I think they were parked on the beach while we were at the blue hole in the dinghy.

Two degrees of Long Island Separation: These two Americans rent a house here for vacation and bonefish from shore each day. We were within sight of each other 21 miles up the coast two days earlier.

Gordon’s Bar and Restaurant at the very southern end of Long Island. Earnest is the proprietor. He recently was in a vehicle accident, that has restricted his ability to run the restaurant.

Cracked Conch with peas and rice, with the Bahamas beer “Kalik”. Kalik is the sound of cow bells clanging during Junkanoo festivals. If you look closely at the label you will see two cow bells.

Two degrees of Long Island separation: This is Lori. She is just volunteering for Earnest and tends the tables. No Bahamian accent. Uh….Lori where are you from? She answers, Jamestown N.D.. She was a nurse in the USNavy. Nancy was a nurse in the USAF. She went to the same nursing college as Nancy’s good friend. Within a year or so of each other.

Nancy mentioned the story about meeting Lori to Marcie during her hair cut. Marcie said they had a Low Country boil at Lori’s house the week before. Two degrees!

This is the famous “Deans Blue Hole”. The second deepest blue hole in the world at 663 ft. . The white raft in the middle is where people conduct free diving competitions. The only person to scuba dive to the bottom did it in 1992, James King. The Bahamas Cave expert is Brian Kakuk. Here is a link to the youtube video he shot on side passages.

The red lines on the above photo are the caves heading off underground starting at 150 ft. With the blue hole at the top left next to the cliffs.

S/V Sea Breeze, Thompson Bay, Long Island, Bahamas

[in-the-wrong-direction]

Fringe Day #4

Tit Swingers

One of many shows inspired by the success of Six, this show uses the music gig conceit to deliver a punk rock show about the infamous Anne Bonnie and Mary Reed. The Hellcats perform all their own music supported by Calico Jack on drums. A heady mix of punk rock sea shanties and aggressive anti-establishment bangers bring two under sung pirates to the fore.

The drums were a little loud, drowning out some of the tunes, but that may have been down to the size of the venue and might've been different if we weren't sitting so close to the drums. The cast were fantastic and playing Calico Jack as a himbo sidelined by the Hellcats was a stroke of genius.

44 Sex Acts In One Week

Easily the weirdest show I've seen so far. An aspiring writer barely making ends meet writing articles for a shitty clickbait site volunteers to write a feature article to earn some quick cash. The feature? Reviewing a best-selling sex guru's book by performing all 44 sex acts in it before a 5pm Friday deadline.

What follows is a mad examination of human relationships and how we affect each other as well as the world around us. Over the top characters and live, radio play sound effects make for a very entertaining watch.

La Clique

One of, if not the, best circus show at the Fringe. Can't fault the show, only the venue which packs 'em in to the detriment of sight lines. The acts were all fantastic with some spectacular aerial performances and amazing gymnastics, not to mention some very memorable clowns. If you're not shelling out a premium for a front row seat though, you might have to settle for simply listening to what is undoubtedly a stunning performance by a very talented tap-dancer.

The show is still worth seeing, no matter what seat you're in. La Clique are absolutely fantastic.

Mary, Queen of Rock!

The comparison to Six is obvious and does this show a disservice. This is a phenomenal musical telling the story of Mary, Queen of Scots, supplanting her Catholicism with rock music and her role as a monarch with that of a rock star. It's a little odd, but works really well.

Like I said, the comparisons to Six are inevitable. There's a core cast of women (all Marys; it was a popular name, apparently), delivering greek chorus narration and a contemporary score. And they very knowingly play up to this similarity in their depiction of Queen Lizzie, but that's as far as it goes. The show stands on its own, and in places even surpasses Six, particularly the finale. Where Six rewrites history for an upbeat fantasy ending, Mary, Queen of Rock! opts for the Hamilton approach and finishes on a celebration of a story that only ends sadly if we stop telling it. It's fantastic.

[fashioneditswebsite]

Fashion giant Pierpaolo Piccioli steps down from Valentino

Pierpaolo Piccioli with Valentino brand ambassador Florence Pugh (Alamy/PA) Italian designer Pierpaolo Piccioli leaves a legacy of craftsmanship and a provocative approach to color. Pierpaolo Piccioli is leaving Valentino after 25 years. Valentino named the Italian fashion designer as its sole creative director in 2016. In a statement, Piccioli thanked the people he worked with during his time at Valentino. Italian designer Pierpaolo Piccioli is leaving Valentino (Alamy/PA) "I owe everything to the people I met, worked with, shared dreams with, and created beauty alongside. Together, we built something lasting and immutable - a heritage of love, dreams, beauty, and humanity. Today and forever, I carry it with me." "This is the beauty we've created: life, hope, opportunity, and gratitude. My people, my heart, and my love give you endless possibilities. Mr Valentino and Giancarlo Giammetti trusted me. Thanks to everyone who made this possible. It was an honor to share my journey and dreams with you." Throughout his tenure at Valentino, Piccioli established himself as a giant in the fashion industry. Supermodel Naomi Campbell has become a close friend of the fashion house (Alamy/PA) His collections spanned womenswear, menswear, and couture, emphasizing classic designs. Piccioli championed craftsmanship, telling American art magazine The Gagosian Quarterly in 2023 that this was "the DNA of the brand." Piccioli also made a name for himself with his unique use of color. For the label's autumn/winter 2022 collection, models wore one of two things: an eye-searingly bright shade of fuschia or all black. This shade of pink, Valentino Pink PP, was explicitly made in collaboration between Piccioli and Pantone. It started flooding the red carpets—worn by everyone from Dua Lipa to Drew Barrymore—and became a Valentino signature. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Valentino (@maisonvalentino) In 2022, Valentino's creative director, Piccioli, opened up about his obsession with monochrome colors in an interview with AnOther Magazine. According to him, "Monochrome artists used to paint everything in one color to give visibility to other things." This statement highlights the idea that monochrome colors can serve as a canvas, allowing other elements to stand out and shine. The purpose of delivering different things and emotions varies from person to person. "For me, it's like a black and white picture book, after a chapter, you understand. And you go deeper into surface, the hands, the expression, the emotion. So I wanted to use one colour in order to highlight the idea of fashion as cut, design, silhouette, shape, volumes. Patterns, textures. You're obliged to see more." He's built relationships with prominent brand ambassadors, including The Devil Wears Prada actor Anne Hathaway – who dipped into the label's archives for The Fashion Awards 2023, wearing an ivory gown from the early 1990s – and Dune star Zendaya. Before signing a deal with French luxury brand Louis Vuitton, Zendaya was a regular face on the Valentino front row. She wore a Valentino haute couture creation to the 2022 Oscars and appeared in multiple brand campaigns. Zendaya wore Valentino haute couture to the 2022 Oscars (Alamy/PA) Some of fellow brand ambassador Florence Pugh's most memorable fashion moments have been in Valentino—including the sheer pink gown she wore to the label's couture show in July 2023, which caused a stir because the top was entirely see-through. Furthermore, it is worth noting that Piccioli injected a youthful energy into Valentino by setting up a group of brand ambassadors in 2020 called the Di. Vas – meaning 'Different Values' – including racing driver Lewis Hamilton. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Valentino (@maisonvalentino) It seems like the fashion designer mentioned in the previous statement has been making quite a name for himself in the industry. In fact, last year he was a familiar face at the Met Gala, where he dressed multiple celebrities for the event. One of the most notable outfits was worn by Rihanna, who donned a custom white bridal-inspired cape studded with camellias. Piccioli leaves Valentino on a high. Earlier this month, his most recent womenswear collection at Paris Fashion Week was met with rave reviews, as he presented a subversive all-black collection. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Valentino (@maisonvalentino) Although no official statement has been released about who will succeed Piccioli, rumors have been circulating in the industry. One name mentioned is Alessandro Michele, the previous creative director of Gucci. He left the Italian fashion house at the end of 2022. Piccioli has yet to reveal what he will do next. Read the full article

[skiptvads]

[caption id="attachment_1475" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Closest Race of 2023 - Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix 2023 - Personal Thoughts[/caption] Source Singapore 2023 was Carlos Sainz Jr his second win at a Grand Prix but as he very well mention this is his first "Smooth Operation", Carlos IQ went through the roof as he on purpose made Lando Norris defend the front row for him, in this case it was Carlos Sainz getting away when he needed to keep the gap against Lando but on those slow corners giving it back so he could defend his position, at the same time hold up the Mercedes cars; with DRS, I would say that the only two other drivers that have this mind set on the grid are Fernando Alonso, George Russell, Alex Albon and Checo Perez, for the rest of the grid there are very individualist drivers, yes its a sport that you have to be that way to stay on top but this time Carlos Sainz proof its not all the time you need to race just the guy behind/front of you. Ferrari, their car is improving by a lot and as I expected since last year, the superior driver will be Carlos Sainz once he had the car suit him, all Leclerc had before was a fast car design around him, some may say the same thing from Red Bull Racing where the car is design for Max but it is what it is for every second driver on most teams, Sainz all 2022 and 2023 has demonstrate to be the most cold head and smart driver from the two, in Ferrari there is no democracy, its straight dictatorship and it would not be a surprise if we see the team turn the table for Leclerc, after all F1 is a sport where money talks, sports of billions and every single team on the grid is there to win and make a ton of money, as for the car it does look a different animal since Monza, they still have degradation problems but not as bad as before. Over all this is what every Formula 1 driver wants to see, top five cars battling out, I'm not a fan of Verstappen iron fist ruling, its just boring, now that we got McLaren and Ferrari in the Mix is way more interesting and I'm not falling sleep half the race. I have said before, I'm not a Ferrari fan, even if Red Bull Racing got it right Ferrari was still a strong car during the weekend, I thought tradition would continue as Ferrari is for a the most part a one lap car. https://leofinance.io/threads/view/skiptvads/re-leothreads-2p7fs2rqx Here a comment I made on Friday about Ferrari been the two fastest during FP2 [caption id="attachment_1479" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Closest Race of 2023 - Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix 2023 - Personal Thoughts - www.skiptvads.blog[/caption] Source In my personal opinion another driver that did great in Singapore GP was George Russell, after a brilliant/lucky pit stop to put up Medium Compound Tires 2023 (Yellow) after Esteban Ocon car broke down on lap 44 , on this shot he clips the wall right at the corner of this banner but you cant tell how close he was and then broke the right front arm of the car, got no steering so goes into the wall, small mistakes that can end the race in any second but that's just part of the game, during this time Russell was in a lot of pressure from Hamilton, all this happening on the last lap to finis the race. [caption id="attachment_1483" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Closest Race of 2023 - Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix 2023 - Personal Thoughts - www.skiptvads.blog[/caption] Source The most obvious question is, What Happen to Red Bull Racing?, from my understanding their setup was totally wrong, the car would not turn, the car had no grip, you could see how many times the rear complains and basically drift when either Max or Checo demand power, this was not a driver problem, both drivers could not make it to Q3 having same grip difficulties, the resurface areas of the track didn't help them but this was the same for all teams. [caption id="attachment_1484" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Closest Race of 2023 - Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix 2023 - Personal Thoughts - www.skiptvads.blog[/caption]

Source [caption id="attachment_1485" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Closest Race of 2023 - Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix 2023 - Personal Thoughts - www.skiptvads.blog[/caption] Source In my opinion Red Bull Racing took the wrong approach as trying to reverse changes like rear wing and new floor from the car on a track that have change and so did the car, its not the same car from 2022 and both Max and Checo are not the same drivers, specially how Max has dominated the car for the entire year, going back and forward with parts thinking that could be the problem puts them in a position probably of guessing without much time to proof their theories, the team already knew Singapore GP was a race the will have problems based on simulation, from what I have read online their suspension was too soft for this track, not sure if they made such extreme changes where the bumps of the make the car loose grip either when the suspension expands or contracts making the car to bottom out, probably if they had not change the car a bit from Italy they would have perform better. This was not a car design problem nor a driver problem, it was their setup, Red Bull Racing have done a lot more than other teams in history of Formula 1, the only thing that end their winning streak was themself have the car setup so wrong for this race. [caption id="attachment_1486" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Closest Race of 2023 - Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix 2023 - Personal Thoughts - www.skiptvads.blog[/caption] Source With ten laps to go Sainz radio was "Gap to Lando every lap", this was on lap 57 after they were notified Mercedes had new Mediums, closing the gap, not only this tells how smart Sainz was to use Lando as his main defense weapon but how good the McLaren is, this is probably a moment Lando has been waiting for a very long time, McLaren finally has a car with a winning shot to win a race, since Silverstone their car finally wake up and drivers like Piastri and Lando show the world how now their car is a true contender to win races so things are not as easy as before for Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen, yes in Monza they won by a six second gap that could be more and Checo did a good race too for the one two but still things are changing, there still 2025 with the same car concept, who knows if they could keep improving their car but the truth is that Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari are improving too, even at Qualifying you have one lap cars like the Williams with Alex Albon improving by a lot. Source #formula1 #sports #f1 #redbullracing #ferrari #mercedes #landonorris #hamilton #carlossainz #singapore #grandprix