#why even try VCARB?

[yuki-shipnoda]

No matter how many times the Visa Cashapp social media accounts try to convince me that Yukiel is a thing, I am undeterred. Your words do not move me over what basically constitutes as business partners & colleagues

[giuseppe-yuki]

pr videos

logan sargeant x hawk shapeshifter!reader

w.c.: 1.2k

warnings: a few curse words, one suggestive innuendo

part of my shapeshifting!reader series

summary: you join logan while he is doing his pr videos for williams

picture credits from pinterest :)

from your perch on the VCARB building, you could see your boyfriend on the roof of the williams building, filming a pr video. with your acute vision that allowed you to see over half a mile away, you could see the strands of his blonde hair waving in the wind, the way the sleeves of his williams team kit stretched over his arm muscles, the shine of his blue-green eyes in the sun, and even the light stubble on his chin. oh, and alex was there too, but why would you look at him when your perfect boyfriend was standing right there? 

you technically weren’t supposed to be sitting on a pipe next to a big ass poster of daniel riccardo’s face on the VCARB roof, but you were getting a little hungry. less than an hour ago, logan had left you in the hotel room, explaining that him and alex were filming pr videos all day and didn’t want you to be waiting in the hot sun. it didn’t hurt spying a little bit on them. besides, you were blending in, because in austin, texas there was always a shit ton of hawks for some reason. 

shaking yourself out of your logan-induced trance, you peer over at alex and see him holding a- piece of tomato? in logan’s hands are some tongs and a metal spatula, making you realize he is currently flipping burgers in front of a smoking grill. great, you think, williams has your boyfriend playing the typical american again. before you can continue your line of thought, your stomach grumbles, so you immediately spread your wings and jump off the building. there’s no harm in capitalizing off of logan’s americanness, you suppose.

gliding smoothly towards the williams roof, you hear logan talking fighting for his life trying to defend himself.

“mate, look at my burger compared to yours! its way better. look at the cheese, the lettuce, the tomato, the juicy meat! your patty is literally burnt and you don’t even have lettuce in your burger! that’s a literal crime.”

“you don’t even have lettuce in your burger” alex mocks. “whatever logan, you’re so american!” 

you can tell the banter between them is playful, both of them shooting pointed remarks at each other as the timer countes down. they're filming an alex vs logan burger challenge, you speculate. 

when you see your chance, you fly at full speed towards the pair, and snatch logan’s burger right off of his plate. clutching the burger in your claws, you circle back and plant yourself on an expensive-looking linen sofa. you give the burger a few experimental pecks. perfectly cooked, and honestly, really good. 

the camerawoman, several members of the williams crew, and both alex and logan’s pr managers all stare at you from behind the camera in surprise, mouths open. alex lets out a sound of pure shock, but his eyes show a little bit of recognition. perhaps logan has mentioned you to alex before? logan, however, looks at you with a small smile and a singular eyebrow raised. 

“mate,” alex starts, “is that your g-” 

logan immediately cuts him off. 

“wow, that was so weird! my burger looked so much better than yours, a real-life american hawk swooped in just to try it.” 

as if coming to her senses, the camerawoman steps in to redirect the focus of the video. “we are totally keeping that in. that was so fucking cool.” she exclaims. she turns around to her camera, and fiddles with it for a little bit before turning back towards you, logan and alex. “by the way, note to the video editor, logan totally won that one. the hawk really sealed the deal.”

“baby there is no way you just did that,” logan says, closing the hotel room door. 

you were lying in a cocoon of sheets with on the giant bed, having flew back to your balcony suite a couple hours ago. 

he takes off his shoes before continuing, “after you flew away, i had to spend over half an hour explaining to the williams crew members that no, i did not somehow summon you using my americanness and burger cooking powers, then fifteen minutes conversing with alex about planning a hangout with him and his girlfriend- who by the way is a cockatiel shapeshifter- and then fourty-five minutes leaving the paddock because i was stopped every two seconds by yet another person who wanted to ask if a hawk did actually steal my burger.” 

you can’t help but to start laughing. “awe i’m sorry logan, i was just a little hungry and i wanted to go see you!” you say in between giggles.

logan leaps onto the bed on top of you and wraps you into a warm hug. “fine, i forgive you. only because i love you,” he says earnestly. he pauses before continuing, “and also because you gave me a great truth to tell for two truths and a lie,” prompting you to burst into laughter again. he puts a well-placed kiss on your cheek. “so what do you want to do next?”

you look into his eyes, a few inches away from yours, and whispers into his ear. “i’m feeling… a little hungry.” 

logan peels himself off of you, and walks towards the hotel room phone.

“i know exactly who to call.” 

later, you find yourself sat in front of the most mouthwatering, scrumdiddlyumptious layout of texas barbeque, coleslaw, and cornbread. god, you loved logan so much. 

the next day, you find yourself in a similar position as the day before. this time, you are perched on a tree on the edge of a beautiful lake. you watch in amusement as logan and alex struggle to put bait on the hook of their fishing rods. logan seemed to have a little bit more luck spearing the worm onto the end of his fishing rod. 

“this is so rigged.” you hear alex complain to the gopro set up in front of him. “logan clearly got a bigger worm than me so its easier to put on and plus, he probably has ages of experience from fishing when he was younger!” 

it was yet another pr video day, but this time williams had them out in the middle of a lake- fishing for content. ‘don’t come back until you caught a fish,’ you had heard the team member jokingly say to the williams drivers as they launched off the dock. currently, it seemed as if alex and your boyfriend were taking his words seriously.

thirty minutes later, both of them were still stuffed in bright red lifejackets sitting in the middle of the lake. it seemed the cameramen that were filming them from a separate boat were having more luck them them, as they had a few minnows swimming in a bucket compared to logan and alex’s zero. 

you swoop down from your tree branch and use your ability to see uncannily well to spot a big bass swimming below you. lighting quick, you snatch it up in your claws and fly toward the williams boat. 

this time, the cameramen see you before logan, and all point their cameras excitedly at you, no doubt getting some high quality content for their upcoming video. 

you drop the still-wriggling bass onto logan’s lap, and perch proudly at the tip of the boat. 

“why thank you birdy,” logan says to you, giving you a big smile. he turns to alex, fighting the urge not to laugh. “i guess i win this challenge yet again.” 

alex wears a smug smile back though. “i just had my birdy go catch me a fish too.” he says, pointing his nose in the air. as if right on cue, a gray and yellow cockatiel whips past you, and drops a mosquito fish in alex’s lap.

logan takes one look and bursts into laughter.

taglist: @ilivbullyingjeongin@ale-522@formula1-motogpfan@aceyalonso@my0hmary @mbappebby

[lalunalando]

FMRN - LN4

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————

warnings: 18+! minors dni! smut, teasing, unprotected sex (wrap before you tap), dom!lando, dj lando

songs referenced: FMRN - lilyisthatyou | Eat Your Man (feat. Nelly Furtardo) - Dom Dolla

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————

As the bass from the clubs speakers pulsed through your chest, and your seventh vodka orange tipped towards your lips, this is the first night you’d had out with your friends in a long time and you felt amazing.

Jimmyz was a popular club at the best of times, but tonight was extra full with no more admission due to celebrations for the Monaco Grand Prix that had been held earlier that day, and the drivers after party being held in the venue being DJed by none other than Martin Garrix.

Luckily for you, being a Monaco resident now as well as hometown bestfriend to the ever-so-smiley VCARB driver Daniel Ricciardo, your name was front page of the list for admission to the celebrations, as well as a +3 for your friends so you didn’t feel so alone when Danny would eventually get swept away.

What you failed to notice as you danced with your friends, head thrown back in laughter as one of them tried their best provocative moves on you because that’s just the way you all were to each other, was a certain curly haired brit by the bar watching your every move as he chatted to your best mate.

“Lando are you even listening mate? I just told you the funniest story about how I scared the shit out of max in the bathroom and you didn’t even flinch!” Daniel chuckled as he nudged the shoulder of his former teammate, trying to regain his attention.

“Sorry mate I was zoned out, what were you saying?” He responds, trying to focus on the conversation but failing as his eyes keep straying back to your spot on the dancefloor.

“Oh I was just saying I saw a purple cat with blue stripes talking to a crowd of toddlers out the back of the Ferrari garage” Danny said with a grin, waiting to see if he would take the bait.

And he did.

Lando fake laughed like he had been listening and responded with a quick “oh yeah? And then what did max do?”

Daniel couldn’t help himself, booming laugh heard even over the clubs sound system as he catches his friend out.

“Lando you freak, why don’t you stop staring at her and actually go talk to her? It’s better than standing here being a creep while you don’t listen to me anyway” Daniel nudged him

“Wh-who? I was listening to your story? I don’t know what you mean?” Lando stutters out as a blush creeps on him, silently thanking the darkness cloaking the club so no one could see hopefully.

“No you haven’t, you’ve been staring at Bunny since she walked in and I could almost feel your glare through me when I was with her” Daniel chuckled again, nodding his head towards his friend who was still totally unaware on the dance floor.

“Bunny? Is her name really bunny?” The younger driver asks in awe.

“Oh no, but I’ve called her that and only that since we were little, it feels wrong to call her anything else”

”Since you were kids?” Lando pushes for more information. How long has Daniel known the angel dancing in the middle of the club with not a care in the world, totally unaware how she was making him feel.

Were they dating? Has Daniel been lucky enough to touch her? To taste her? Lando wasn’t sure he could handle the answer but he needed to know more.

“Yeah her family moved into the farm next door when we were kids, and even though she’s a few years younger we became best friends. She wasn’t afraid to get on a dirt bike and get a little messy and I liked that about her.” Daniel reflects fondly, the girl being 7 years his junior becoming a sister to him almost instantly back then. Him being her protector ever since.

“So did you ever date? I see how close you are any time she’s around the paddock.” Lando pushes further

“OH GOD NO, I get she’s a pretty girl but that’s my annoying little sister, I could never think of her that way. Plus I’ve been sneaking around with her friend Julie, didn’t want the media to know or to make her uncomfortable about it.” Danny says smiling as he tips his usual cowboy hat towards her friend that had just looked over towards us at the same time, hand in hand with bunny as she twirls her around to the song playing.

“So is she..” Lando starts, feeling a little embarrassed to even ask.

“Single? Yes. Look I’ll even help you out, I’ve been looking for a way to sneak Julie away anyway” And with that, Danny was pushing Lando by the shoulders towards the group of girls.

Unfortunately time was not on Lando’s side, becauses moments before the two could even reach the girls, you were being lifted off the ground by none other than the youngest Leclerc of the pack, Arthur.

As Lando got closer, he couldn’t help but instantly feel jealous of him as he caught bits and pieces of the conversation you were currently engrossed in.

“Did you see me up in the DJ booth!?”

”Yes tutur you were amazing!”

”Did you see I played some Dom Dolla for you? To remind you of home?”

”I loved it, you looked so good up there and you know how much I love a good dance to some Dom!”

Giggling to each other like no one else was in the room, Lando was starting to see red.

Before he could do anything stupid, Daniel noticed and his reflexes kicked in to help his young friend out.

“You know bunny, Lando is going up with Martin in a few minutes, you should join him and check it out!”

“Oh I’m sure Lando doesn’t want me bothering him up there, he has an entire club to amaze with his skills” You respond, smiling at him sweetly.

You couldn’t deny, Lando was one of the most beautiful men you had ever laid eyes on. Being former teammates with Daniel meant you got to watch him back in the garage, preparing for sessions intently, mesmerizing you with how much he cared about his team as well as his sheer determination and passion for the sport.

And post-race sweaty glow Lando? That was a whole different type of god for you to worship.

But you knew he never spared a glance towards you, you were just “Daniel’s annoying little adopted sister” after all.

“No it’s totally fine, I’d love to show you what it's like up there!” Lando couldn’t get the words out fast enough

Holding your hand tightly as to not “lose you in the crowd” or so he said, Lando took you up towards the booth where an eager Martin was waving you both down.

“Bunny! I haven’t seen you since Danny’s birthday in Texas! How’ve you been?” He asks while engulfing you in a hug, ever so familiar with you.

“I’ve been great, Danny’s plants here in Monaco no so much though…” you said with a giggle, confirming the joke he’d made back in Texas about you moving into Daniel’s Monaco residence to “look after it and his plants for him” to have come true.

He lets out a laugh and gives you a sympathetic pat on the shoulder before turning to Lando

“And you my man! P fucking 2 in Monaco! How are you feeling?” Martin asks Lando as he pulls him into a massive hug and pats his back

Lando grins so wide even the Cheshire Cat would be jealous of it.

“Better than any sex I’ve ever had!” Lando laughs and you can’t help but blush at the comment.

You don’t know why, but that made you feel a little jealous and a little intrigued wondering if he truly meant that.

“So what do we owe the pleasure of bunny’s presence up here? She never lets Dan bring her up!” Martin asks, eyeing you curiously with a smirk on his face, not blind to the way your eyes will always find Lando in a room.

“I wanted to show her what it was like, she seems to love it from the floor so why not show her the other side” Lando responds, slipping his arm around your shoulder to pull you into his side, setting butterflies free in your stomach.

After about 20 minutes of Martin and Lando doing their thing and having the entire club on a high, you’re interrupted from your thoughts of watching Lando’s skillful hands at work when he leans closer to you to talk.

“Alright next songs yours princess, what are you feeling?” Lando asks, his hot breath fanning across your neck as he leans down to speak into your ear, making you shiver.

“Oh no it’s okay, I’m enjoying just watching, I wouldn’t even know what to play..” you respond, hoping he can’t see the blush on your face from how close he is.

“I heard you and Arthur talking about that Australian artist before, Dom something? What about one of his songs?” He smiles back before pulling you in between him and Martin.

“Dom Dolla? Yeah that would be cool! Ummm…” you start trying to think of what song could keep the currently energy of the club going as Martin pulls the artist up for you to have a look through. In seconds it catches your eye.

“OH THAT ONE! EAT YOUR MAN! THATS MY FAVORITE!” You say excitedly say as you grab Lando’s arm and point to the screen, before he smiles and nods, beginning to match it’s BPM and tempo to the currently song playing to seamlessly transition it in.

Before you know it, the familiar tune starts flowing through the speakers and you can’t stop yourself.

You’re singing and dancing as best as you can in the small space, as your friends go wild and cheer for you.

“I’ll eat your man, devour him whole

Lickin’ my fingers, I’m in control

Fly like a bird, I’m takin’ it home

Movin’ my body like a nympho

I say it right, now do what I say

Apply the pressure into your veins

Blood on the floor, I’m pushin’ the pain

I let the creatures out of the cage”

Lando can’t help it, he’s looking at you like a man starved.

The way your head is thrown back as you sing along, showing off your neck that he wants nothing more than to leave marks on right now.

The way your hips are moving the the beat, while your hands follow the contours of your body perfectly in the already revealing outfit, calling him to just reach out and touch.

He can’t pull his eyes away, his hands reaching out to grab your hips so he can dance with you, and he’s almost coming undone when you don’t pull away but instead lean back into him closing the gap between you both as you throw your head back onto his shoulder with a laugh and keep your hips moving now in time with his own.

Just as quickly as the embrace started, it was ending with the song.

Having exuded so much energy having a blast up there, but also feeling a little embarrassed that you’d been grinding on Lando without even realizing once you regained yourself post-song, you decided now was the time to excuse yourself for another much needed drink.

“Hey uh, I’m going to head to the bar, thank you so much for bringing me up here, have fun!” And before Lando could stop you or offer to join, you were running away, grabbing your friends on the way through as they laughed and followed.

“So, bunny huh?” Martin asked his friend with a big smirk

“Yeah, bunny huh…” Lando smiled, still watching after you.

After a few round of shots and grabbing another vodka orange, you decided to head back to the dancefloor, now feeling a little less nervous about the earlier exchange.

Lando was saying farewell to the decks, and decided that after grabbing a few shots for confidence he would join you and your friends for a dance, dragging Daniel and Oscar with him. Papaya past and present, a united front to help Lando.

You couldn’t help but keep catching his eyes on you, having been looking around for him as well.

There was no denying it, his hands almost felt like they were burning holes in your skin with how warm they made you feel up there. Causing butterflies in your stomach as well as awakening something in your core.

Martin watched on from the booths, waiting for the perfect moment to put his plan into action to help his curly haired friend.

A few songs after joining your group, Daniel was pulling you slightly away to talk for a moment.

“Bunny, I love you but I’m going to head home now…” He says, trying to put together the best words to ask you the awkward thing he needs to ask.

“Oh that’s okay, I’ll say goodbye to the group and we can go” you say with a smile, not wanting to bother Danny with coming home later and making noise.

“NO - I mean - um - could you possibly stay out a big longer? I was kind of hoping to bring someone home with me right now…” He said shyly, looking over your shoulder at your friend that he thought you were still blissfully unaware he was sneaking around with.

You couldn’t help but let out a laugh that caught Lando’s attention, zoning into the conversation you and Daniel were having off to the side.

“Danny, I love you but I’ve known about you and Julie for a while! I’ll find my own way home later, just let me know when it’s safe to return and be safe!” You say light heartedly as you push Julie towards him.

“Don’t worry Dan, i’ll take care of her and make sure she’s safe” Lando cuts in, throwing his arm around your shoulder again and pulling you into him.

Daniel gives him a knowing smirk, before turning to you and giving his famous smile and kissing your cheek, instantly running away with your friend in tow.

“So its just us now, drinks?” Lando smiles, making you laugh as he grabs your hand and leads you to the bar for another round of shots.

Half an hour later, you’re back on the floor dancing with Lando, a lot closer than you could have ever imagined you’d be.

Your back is against his front, his fingers digging into your hips as his head lays on your shoulder breathing in your perfume again.

Dancing along to some remix currently playing, you feel content and safe with Lando. You want more, but you don’t want to embarrass yourself by telling him and getting rejected.

From the DJ booth, Martin has been watching and knows now is the time to put his plan into action.

As he slowly fades out the song currently finishing, he starts a song he knows you love, and knows it’s the perfect message to convey how you and Lando are so blindly feeling towards eachother.

“Oh. My god. I haven’t heard this in forever” you say as you catch onto the familiar beat, Lando has no idea what he’s in for as you start singing along.

“Can you come fuck me right now?

Parents are home, but my beds too loud

I can take it on the ground

If I get too loud, you can shut my mouth”

Lando has had enough, he can’t hold himself back anymore and he can always blame it on the alcohol if you push him away.

In an instant, he’s flipping you around to face him and crashing his lips to yours.

You are immediately reacting to him, your hands sliding up his shoulders and tangling in the curls on the back of his head, as you grant his tongue the access.

Roaming hands continue down to your ass as the heated kiss only breaks so he can nip at your neck like he’s been wanting to do all night.

As he pulls away, he can’t at smile at the sight in front of him.

Your eyes hazy and filled with lust, mouth still slightly open trying to process it all.

He needs to get you out of here now.

“I know I told Daniel I’d get you home safely, but do you think he’ll mind if it's my home?” He asks with a smirk, you just give him a wild smile back and shake your head.

That’s all he needed, and he’s dragging you out of the club and hailing a taxi.

Barely making it though the car trip with his wandering hands creeping up your skirt, the moment you make it through his apartment doors his lips are instantly attached to yours again as he walks you backwards towards what you assume to be his bedroom.

As your knees hit the edge of his mattress, you fall backwards onto it, dragging him down with you.

Desperate kisses, wandering hands, neither of you can believe this is finally happening.

He pulls back finally to look at you again and make sure you’re okay.

“Hey if you don’t want to do this it's okay, we can put a movie or somethi-“ before he can even finish you give him another kiss.

“Lan, I want this. I want you. I need you.” You don’t care how desperate you sound, it was true,

“God you don’t know how long I’ve waited to hear you say that” He growls, attaching his lips back to your neck, biting and bruising, making sure that by tomorrow everyone knows not to touch what’s his.

Hands wandering back up your skirt, he can’t help the growl that comes when he feels the wet spot having formed along the crotch of your thong.

“Who got you this wet angel? You’re already soaked through the slutty piece of lace you pathetically call underwear”

“You Lan, it was all you” you moan out as his fingers brush over the part you need him most again.

He lowers himself down the bed, bunching your skirt up around your waist before ripping your panties in half, not wanting to waste anymore time.

“HEY I really liked that pair” you said with a pout

“I’ll buy you a pair in every fucking colour, now shut up before I shove them in your mouth to keep you quiet.”

Before you can protest, his mouth is on your pussy making you almost scream in pleasure.

Lando is like a man starved, and if you were to be his final meal he would die a happy man.

His tongue lapping your folds, savoring the taste he knows he’ll never get enough of now that he’s had it.

It doesn’t take long and you can feel your orgasm approaching, and almost like he can sense it too, he slips two fingers in and works them in time with his tongue on your clit, making you see white hot stars.

Within a minute you’re screaming his name, coming undone as he laps up every single drop, not wanting to waste a single bit of his new favorite drug.

As you try to regain your breath, Lando removes your top, leaving you in nothing but your bunched up skirt as he leaves a trail of kisses up your body.

“Such pretty sounds you make baby, can’t wait for everyone to know who’s getting them out of you though” he smirks against your neck

“Lan can i.. can i return the favour?” You ask nervously, knowing he’s probably a lot more experienced than you and not wanting to disappoint him, but being too greedy to stop yourself.

“Princess i would love to get head from you, but only for a little bit because i don’t think i can wait to feel you around me much longer” he says with a quick kiss on your lips, before laying down and letting you take the same position he just had.

Unzipping his pants to pull them down, your mouth is already watering at the sight of his pretty dick as it finally springs free from the painfully tight confines of his pants.

“Do you think you can take it baby? Be a good girl and suck it.” He says devilishly as he pulls your hair into a ponytail to keep it out of your face.

Clenching your thighs at the request, you lick the tip to catch the precum already dribbling out, making him hiss.

“Don’t be a tease now princess, you’ve done enough of that tonight.”

You smile up at him through your eyelashes, before taking as much of him into your mouth as you can.

Almost whimpering at the feeling, his hand tighten in your hair as you start using your hand to work the parts you can’t quite reach.

“FUCK that’s it baby, just like that, you’re so fucking good at this holy shit”

Hearing the praise only makes you want to please him even more, as you push yourself to take more of him in, hitting the back of your throat over and over.

“Bunny I’m not going to last much longer with you doing that, need you on my cock already” He growls as he tugs your hair, pulling you off his cock and making you whimper.

“On my lap, now.” He demands as he pulls you up to hover over him, sitting up himself to get a better angle.

“I watched how much of a cocktease you could be all night, making every guy in the room drool over what’s mine. So why don’t you be a good little slut now and ride my cock like i already know your going to be so good at huh?” He says with a smirk as he lowers you onto his cock, making you whine at how full he’s already making you feel

“So full Lan, you’re so fucking big.” You whimper as your head drops to his shoulder.

“Come on baby, you’re taking me so well, just start moving when you settle” He says a little bit softer as he kisses your shoulder

After a few moments, the pain subsides and you can already feel the pleasure building, so you start moving your hips in the same fashion you were moving against him in the club.

“That’s my girl, fuck you feel so good little bun.” He says as he nips at your chest, your back arching in pleasure as you feel him hitting your core with each movement.

You start to feel brave, and decide the grinding isn’t enough for either of you anymore.

Before he can even ask if you’re okay as he feels the position change slightly, he’s faced with the most pornographic scene he could ever imagine.

Your tits are bouncing in his face as you bounce up and down on his cock, feeling his tip hit your g-spot brutally every time you lower, but nothing has ever felt this good before.

Your head thrown back in pleasure, as you grip onto his shoulders for support, nails digging in as a slew of swears and moans come out fo your mouth.

“Fuck bunny just like that, keep bouncing just like that, gonna cum soon” He moans, slapping your ass a few times for good measure and taking note at the sounds you make as he does so for next time.

“Fuck lan I’m gonna cum”

“Me too angel, fuck, where do you want me to cum?” He lets out a strangled moan as he fucks up into you, feeling you start to lose focus as you can no longer think from the pleasure you’re feeling.

“Cum inside me, please lan, need to feel you dripping out of me” you wimper, no longer able to think for yourself

“going to fill you up and make sure everyone knows who you belong to” he grunts, and that’s enough to make the band in you snap.

He feels you tighten around his cock as you’re screaming his name, over and over, causing him to let go finally too as you chase your highs together.

After a few moments of trying to catch your breaths, he drops back down onto the mattress as you remove yourself from him and wimper at the loss of fullness you just felt.

Pulling you down to lay on his chest, he plays with your hair as you lay in silence for a while.

Thoughts are swirling around his head before he finally decides to speak up, not wanting to lose the courage from the post-sex bliss.

“I know its kind of backwards, but would you maybe want to go on a date tomorrow? I’ve been wanting to ask you for a while but didn’t think I had a chance” He asks nervously, still running his fingers through your hair.

“I’d love to Lan, and if we’re being honest I thought you just saw me the same way Danny did, I though I was the one who didn’t have a chance” you say while laughing slightly, before leaning up to give him a peck on the lips for reassurance.

“Well now that that’s out of the way, why does Daniel only call you bunny? Do you even have a real name at this point?” He asks as he pokes your side, making you squeal

“He started calling me bunny when we were little because when we would go dirt bike riding really early in the morning my nose would go pink like a bunny, and he also use to make fun of me for my nervous nose twitch thing” you tell him, the story making you smile

“Oh I mean i get it now, at least you got stuck with a cute name. But do you ever wish he’d just call you by your name?”

”Nope, i like bunny. Besides, after i bit him one time and solidified the nickname, it only made sense to keep it.” You said with a big grin, making Lando burst out laughing hearing that you actually bit Daniel.

“So….” He starts after you’ve both been laying in bliss for some time now, “Are you up for round 2 my little rabbit?”

[slutforpringles]

If that retirement thing is true, i'm most baffled about what is red bull's plan going forward. Because:

1. Yuki has never been considered for promotion to rbr, mostly everyone agree that he's in vcarb only to appease honda.

2. Putting rookies hasn't payed out really well as well

3. Reports suggest Daniel is not very willing to have anything to do with red bull

Has the team lost all their braincells and didn't really think through the consequences of dropping Daniel (well we do know for sure they didn't consider consequences to their public image) or are they that convinced that liam is the next Max? It just doesn't seem logical at all

I will say if the retirement rumours are true (although Checo's story is kinda telling in terms of how confident he currently feels in the second RB seat) then I think it does suggest there is some truth to the Daniel was actually Red Bull's plan for the 2025 seat before whatever the fuck happened over the last couple of weeks.

The latest The Race podcast had some really interesting comments on Lawson, namely that he has repeatedly throughout his career adapted very quickly to a new car/environment but also very quickly reached his own ceiling. So given that, it's not entirely surprising he did a good job hopping into the AT last season, but I think Red Bull are aware that just because he did OK for five races, that doesn't necessarily point towards him having long-term high level success in F1. I think they KNOW he's not the next Max, and Horner's comments about Lindblad (or even Hadjar) show they are both more exciting prospects to the team I think.

The Yuki situation is tricky, because I think the Honda connection is obviously part of it, but I think it's his temperament more than anything that's stopping Red Bull trying him in the second Red Bull. And I do think he has improved a lot in that regard (and I think Daniel has had a very large influence in that), but even the difference between Daniel and Yuki's reactions to the team orders situation in Singapore made it abundantly clear why Red Bull still have reservations.

Personally I think Daniel very much deserves to be as far away from the people that treated him like absolute crap as possible, BUT if Red Bull came crawling back needing him and he was in a good negotiating position then I wouldn't blame him for wanting that final shot at a few more race wins and to finish off his career properly.

I think Red Bull is so caught up in their own game of power and toxic politicking that many a decision this year has been in furtherance of someone's agenda as opposed to actually about being the right/best decision for the team.

[blorbocedes]

it’s crazy that redbull use to love chopping drivers’ heads off mid season because they got the ick, but now they are just unwilling to sacrifice anyone, on top of promising lawson a seat and having another driver on the come up who’s a championship contender in f2. they don’t have solid plans for yuki, but keep extending his contracts with the sister team, they’re letting dr hoard the seat with his nasty asscheeks. checo seems to have his place secured too, but it will probably bite them in the future, because this gap between him and max will be punishing as others have been catching up

if you want 'my source: I made it up' take on it all it goes like this:

the redbull power struggle from earlier this year hasn't ended. it's merely at an impasse. redbull's thai owners stopped horner from getting fired, and max credibly threatening to leave and tying his contract to helmut's means CH can't get the old man fired either. and remember, helmut used to be in charge of who gets the seat when deitrich was alive and still holds considerable influence

if DR performed like yuki is this year, you would've absolutely seen him in the redbull car by now because he was brought in as Horner's pet project. they would happily mid season chop Checo's neck. then lawson who proved himself in the car could fill his seat in vcarb

you'll see conflicting narratives where redbull/DR sources like medland will say yuki's not in contention for redbull, yuki's shopping for other seats and he doesn't even want the seat

and then yuki himself saying he's happy to be in vcarb until he gets a shot at redbull, and helmut saying he is being looked at.

since yuki would be helmut's pick, horner doesn't want to consider him and thus lose out on the driver selection process. that's why you'll also hear so much "oh yuki goes wherever Honda will take him" yuki also has never been allowed to test in a redbull, ever. so whenever there's narratives of put DR in the car he's the fastest in the sim -- yuki hasn't ever been allowed to test for that car!!! and they've had everyone in their junior programme including f3 drivers test it!!!

so checo. the car is worse this year, and hes showing for it by being 5th in the standings rn. If redbull loses the constructors, esp with Ferrari catching up, it will be because of checo. but checo brings in the most sponsors after max and lewis, so the math horner has to justify to the board is he brings in more $ than losing first in the constructors will give us (around 20 mil). the redbull also being harder to drive means you don't want to risk an entirely new driver getting to grips with it when you have someone for the past few years who has reliably driven it where you want (checo was 2nd in standings last year).

checo getting the 1 year extension means once again he'll have to prove his worth for the team, and will be expendable after 2025. 2026 is when new regulations kick in! that changes the whole game... max allowing the merc flirtation to happen this year and redbull (horner) saying they're looking at fernando and carlos and whoever else is in chess when both sides make forward pawn moves. max is showing he's not married to redbull until 28, esp if the engines aren't good, and redbull going fine! we can look at other drivers too~ (not in their own junior programme tho 💀).

that's why they're keeping the status quo for 2025 and trying to keep EVERY driver available, cause then 2026 with new regs and Ford becomes the game changer.

[hulkscannibal]

⋆·˚ ༘ * saw someone on tiktok comparing max’s aggression on and off track to liam and lando’s, stating he had a reason and they had none.. soooo, i’ve written a little rant.. it’s below the cut!!

word count : 399

i hate when people only bring up max’s childhood when speaking of his anger or comparing it to the same anger that other drivers hold. if max is allowed to be aggressive and angry for a valid reason, then so is everyone else. this mostly goes for lando and liam, and they both have very valid reasons to act the way they do on and off track. starting with liam, who is actually pretty sweet and doesn’t say anything bad off track, but aggressive enough on track and rude there, too. he’s spent the entirety of his f1 career only thriving off of others failure. he can only race when something bad happens to someone else, like daniel losing his seat due to underperforming. he has come to the mindset that he has to benefit off of someone else’s terrible mistakes or failure, so he causes it. he gets angry and aggressive, almost like he’s fighting for his seat, which he really is. hes been trying to show vcarb and even redbull that he deserves the seat. i think that obviously he’s happy to have gotten daniel’s seat, but now he knows how easy it is to be replaced, even if you were once good, like daniel was. i also think part of it is him mimicking max, because the seat is something he needs. he must drive like max to earn that seat. he’s young and impressionable, it makes so much sense.

then on to lando. he’s been with mclaren since his rookie year and has never been with another team. for him, i think it’s like mclaren is his only option. he’s gone through teammate after teammate, and i think this is such a huge impact. he knows it’s so easy to be replaced in mclaren. another key point of why he’s always whining when his teammate outperforms him or begging to switch is because all his teammates lost their mclaren seat due to not performing as well as him. he doesn’t want this happening to him, not at all. he obviously has the chance to get another seat because he’s so talented and he if he wasn’t, mclaren wouldn’t have kept him. but i also think that he is so stuck in staying with mclaren, that it’s all he knows, so he doesn’t want to go to another team. he is mclaren and mclaren is him.

[mysteriouslyjovialcolor]

United States 2018

-Just me trying to get familiar with this circuit before the weekend

-Oh also I’ve just realized they’ve finally added the halo this season

-Charles going up to Q3 in a Sauber, I know a qualifying genius when I see one

-Whyyy is Max starting p18

-Can I manifest a Daniel podium here or is that too ambitious?

-“This could be Kimi Raikkonen’s last chance to win a race with Ferrari” MAYBE he’d have had more chances if he didn’t have to always play the team game

-YESSS KIMI

-One Ferrari having a great start and another spinning around 90 degrees

-Wow people have already pitted lap one

-Wow Max is already up to p9

-Dammit Charles is down to p17

-Alonso out??

-Renault is 4th in the constructors?? How on earth!

-Red Bull is having a great race right now, I have an eerie feeling that’s all going to go away very soon

-“Lewis can win the championship today if he out scores Vettel by 8 points” I always somehow end up watching championship deciding races without meaning to

-Would be cool to see him win his 5th championship here though

-Yeahh, the feeling was right, Daniel is out

-“The man who smiles the biggest of all when he comes to Texas” AND HE WONT EVEN BE THERE THIS YEAR

-Screw you RB, VCarb and literally everyone else

-Virtual safety car and no one in the pit lane?

-Oh never mind, there’s a few people

-Oh is Lewis coming in too?

-Ahahah that bluff from Kimi

-Did Checo and Ocon ever stop squabbling? The answer I think, is no

-Somehow Max always makes overtaking a bunch of cars look so easy. How did he go up 14 whole positions that fast?

-“Let’s not do anything stupid” Yes Kimi!

-Let’s go!!! That was great defense!!!

-Ohmygod why defend like that only to pit

-Okay I’m just going to trust…the Ferrari strategists

-Going to un-curse RB for a second because that was some great strategy

-Please for once tell Sebastian to let Kimi through

-Yesss

-Verstappen p3!

-Sainz steadily making his way up the points

-It’s so funny watching the leaderboard and seeing Carlos fight Hartley and go from p9 to p8 to p8 to p9 while the commentators just talk about something else completely

-Sadly Charles has not gone up from p16

-George Russell!!

-Ah Charles has retired

-Ferrari playing the long game and it actually paying off??

-Lewis pitting, which apparently means the championship won’t be decided this race

-He came out p4 behind Bottas, which probably means he’ll get past him quite easily

-I actually need Kimi to win this race

“2044 days since he’s last won a race” Yes please win again now

-How are there 15 more laps? This race feels like it should be over now

-Max Verstappen: an interference for championship contenders since 2016

-Come on Sebastian, close that gap

-“Wouldn’t it be great for the romantics out there if Kimi wins the race here” Yes, yes it would be

-Oh god the top three are so close together

-“He’d actually be able to drink the champagne in the United States legally, because he’s 21 now” Haha

-So close togetherrrr

-This is nerve wracking

-Those zig-zag turns (I think turns 6-8) make everything look so much cooler

-Completely forgot there are others in this race aside from these three

-I’ve been trying not to say anything about Nico this whole time so as to not jinx him finally doing well, but there are only 5 more laps to go, so I should be okay (I hope)

-Anyway, Nico p6!!!!!

-Renault in general is doing well rn

-Carlos is right behind in p7

-If Lewis gets past Max, he wins the world championship

-I hope he doesn’t cause I need Kimi’s win to not be overshadowed rn

-Lewis can win the championship in the next race

-Milly Bobby Brown?? What are you doing here??

-Ohmygod!!! I don’t even have any words!! That fight between Lewis and Max was everything!! I had my hand over my mouth the whole time!!! I actually kinda need to see that again!

-Ohmygod Valterri going wide right after Lewis did, Sebastian up to p4

-Kimi Raikkonen Race Winner!!!!!!!

-Those last few laps were everything!!!!!!!

-Aww Kimi taking a moment in the car

-I’m almost in tears, that was amazing!!!

-Not Kimi asking Lewis if he won the championship or not 😂😂

-Aww the mechanics singing the Italian national anthem with such enthusiasm (reminds me of Monza this year)

-This race turned around so fast, it was actually perfect

[not-that-syndrigast]

The Kimi Antonelli strategy

With Lewis Hamilton leaving Mercedes and the silly season being in full force all year long, one name has become big like no other; freshly eighteen year old Kimi Antonelli. After Toto Wolff, Mercedes team has practically admitted Antonelli would fill the second Mercedes seat next year, there are quite a few questions and talks around him. Why not put him in the Williams for a season? What does Mercedes see in him? And most importantly; What is their plan for the future?

Let's start out with the easiest one; Why not put him in the Williams first? 

A lot of people forget that Williams is not the junior Mercedes team, but their own independent team. While most Mercedes drivers have come from Williams, that is mere coincidence. Unlike Red Bull with Vcarb, Mercedes and Williams don’t work together besides the engine. To compare, let me explain Red Bull GmbHs strategy; both teams get funded from the same company, Red Bull GmbH, which results in the two teams being incredibly close. Oracle Red Bull racing, the ‘real’ team is supposed to bring in championships and wins, while Vcarb is supposed to be a midfield team to figure out future talents for the first team. The upside of this is, that even if Vcarb does not win and does not perform, they still get funded, as long as they work as a junior team, but that's a problem for another time. Williams does not get funded by Mercedes and does not profit by Mercedes winning, they are not one brand and Mercedes most likely does not want them as a junior team in the case of Antonelli;

First of all, the Williams car is bad. Even an experienced driver like Albon, who showed he can drive for podiums and probably even wins in a good car, has to scrape for points. This weekend in Zandvoort, the car seemed to be better. Only for him to get disqualified because it's illegal. I think my point is pretty obvious here. Currently, Williams are rumored to be thinking about replacing Sargeant and since the Williams has no open seats for Antonelli next year, with Sainz in the second seat, some people think Antonelli should get the last nine races as experience for next year in the Mercedes, but Toto Wolff has clearly stated that would not happen. 

As mentioned, the Williams car is bad, so he would not get as much experience as one would expect but even worse, his confidence would be destroyed and people would only see him place 20th because nothing else is possible in the car and fault Antonelli. Furthermore, Mercedes has a clear strategy with Antonelli which would not be allowed anymore; they try to give him experience in F1 cars, by letting him test old Mercedes cars in many testing days. It’s one of the strategies that are claimed to have helped Piastri get as good as he is right now, with not as much experience in grand prixs but many in testing. If Antonelli would compete now, though, he would not be able to test these older Mercedes cars anymore. Last but not least, he still drives in F2 and Mercedes and Toto Wolff most likely want to avoid ruining his confidence by throwing him in a car he is not used to. 

To the next question; What does Mercedes see in him?

A lot of people are confused; Antonelli is only seventh in the F2 standings and is being beaten by other drivers who are also rookies. I’ve talked about it before; F2 is not as fair as people think it to be. Antonelli has one of the most prestigious junior careers, sadly many of those categories are pretty new, so it's not comparable with F1 drivers, but if you compare him to other current F2 and F3 drivers, he has the most titles by winning a bunch of different series, like the italian F4 and ADAC F4, in the same year and also the motorsport games F4 cup and although i still do not quite understand what exactly that is, he did win with a broken wrist, which is a feat in itself. He also won the formula regional middle east championship and FRECA. The whole point is, he did all of that in two years, was a rookie in quite a few of these categories and would have most likely won F3 by a margin. He is one of the most promising young drivers and all of these things still exclude the extensive private testing Mercedes has made him do. Only considering that he has made multiple, I'm convinced his times are good. His results may not seem as bright in F2, but you need to keep in mind that Mercedes themselves are aware of the engine problems in F2 and can evaluate a good driver far better than any fan.

Last but not least; What is their plan for the future?

Some people still think Antonelli is too young and Mercedes should take another driver for a year, let Antonelli do a second season in F2 and give him more experience, but that would be most likely a waste of a seat for a full year. If you compare Sargeant and Piastri, the last two rookies that have made it to F1, you’ll see that even though Piastri has done what's now FRECA, F3 and F2 in three years, he doesn’t lack as much as experience as Sargeant does, because as mentioned multiple times, Piastri did testing in old F1 cars and got put into an F1 seat. No matter how many years drivers do in lower categories, they will need a bit of adjustment time and my guess is for Mercedes that they want to get Antonelli adjusted to the car in ‘25 so that they can focus on the championship in ‘26. 

I think the situation around Antonelli is quite interesting and I hope that by bringing him in, Mercedes will start the trend again of trusting young drivers even in good cars. In recent years, most young drivers had to go through midfield teams before even getting the chance in a good car, but with the cost cap, many midfield teams don’t want to dare getting young drivers anymore that are more expensive.

But I would really like to hear what others think of Mercedes' strategy; will they be able to get him good as quickly as it was managed with Piastri? Or will his situation turn out closer to Sargeants? As always, I'd love comments on the matter.

[theimpoliteone]

currently trying not to throw up at work bc of the danny news…

literally what sense does this move make? even if danny wasn’t performing up to the standards VCARB had, why switch him with lawson now when there are SIX races left??

VCARB is 52 points behind Aston Martin in the constructors. there’s no way they could make up enough of that gap for it to matter in just SIX RACES

not to mention Danny is marketing GOLD. hell, his management team was the one that got VCARB the Cash App sponsorship in the first place!

at the very least, they could have been respectful about this and let him finish out the season and then signed Lawson for next year

danny is a man who is an impeccable ambassador for the sport — literally the first driver we meet on Drive to Survive — who always has a smile on his face even when he’s trying not to cry. after everything he went through at red bull, renault, mclaren… we thought him coming back to the red bull family would only help him

i hope his life becomes much easier now that he doesn’t have to deal with red bull’s bs

[pit-2-podium]

Imola GP highlights

hamilton and perez immediately making moves

vcarbs seem to be qualifying well but when it comes to the actual race they aren't holding

Max is leading but hasn't pulled a gap yet

"Yes come on" - a happy hulk

Albon, Bottas both pit to try and force others to pit

Williams didn't put Alex's wheel on properly - team will be fined (is this karma for their shenanigans towards Logan? - their season is getting real expensive)

poor Alex was on track going so slow trying to get out of the way of the mess that is fourth and fifth place

Yuki pulls ahead of Hulk when he exits the pit

Max has officially fucked off into the sunset with a five second gap

Checo out into the gravel (he's having a rough weekend)

max's tire isn't vibing

after lando pits he gets caught behind perez - he's probably going to be stuck there -Never mind he passed him

Max may have fucked with track limits and got a very stern warning

Lewis is apparently pretending he's on a slip and slide and into the gravel

both oscar and charles pass checo who didn't even try and fight him

mid field doing midfield things

carlos overtakes checo then george does a minute later

Oscar chasing his second ferrari

Yuki has had some overtakes, very clean

Lewis overtakes stroll on the chicane

Perez actually wants to fight lewis?? after letting like five other drives just pass on through

Lewis overtook him around the outside with some late breaking

the final few pit -and checo is back in 11th - then 10th - then 9th

this is a boring track. im bored.

Zhou defends magnussen - kmag if he didn't have 10 points he would have fought more - maybe that's why im bored

"Speak up" - mclaren radio with crackling from the devil himself

zhou and kmag battle gets interupted by lando and charles

Stroll is having a good weekend with clean passes on kmag and yuki

Chalrles cuts some grass on the chicane

radio shenanigans - max and gp sound like an old married couple and Lando sounds like he may strangle someone

Albon has to retire for some reason??

Lando is actually catching max - come on Lando

more great radio's - mad max makes an appearance as he yells at Yuki who was in the way

Lando just demolishes those corners

Ocon with an unusual but well done overtake

Max's battery is almost empty

It is sooooo close

If we had one more lap...

Max wins with 7 tenths of a second gap - that is insane

That's that see ya'll next week

[cecoeur]

the only thing I don’t understand about Red Bull cropping out Daniel is that they still did it even when Daniel went back to rb and vcarb, I remember specifically looking to see if they’d start keeping him in the throwbacks they posted w max but they still left him out. And that doesn’t fully make sense, like yeah he’s not technically your driver but what do u lose by including him when u can literally hear him talking. It’s more work to crop him out than just posting the original

I didn't really pay that close of attention during the start of the season but I would imagine it has really always had to do with the underlying "threat" to checo and the response of his fans. RBR couldn't be seen as idealizing max and daniel as teammates when checo is their other driver because they'd never hear the end of it. I do think that's still partly why they're not posting daniel now anyway. Like in the immediate aftermath of singapore it was because of people coming for them about daniel deserving better but at this point I honestly think they're trying to avoid checo's fans abusing them (and maybe even daniel, though its not like he would see it) in the replies (because they would).

[race-week]

What is your take on Red Bull seemingly being so against Yuki? At this point, I don't see an excuse for him not getting a chance in their second seat.

He's from their own youth, he's not only doing better than Daniel, but also better than Checo, at this point, it feels like. He's been nothing but consistent this season and I don't think ignoring his performance sends a good message to their other junior drivers.

I just really don't see what they're trying to do here, what their issue with Yuki is. That he may be too emotional doesn't cut it for me anymore, I think this is a terrible argument, based on nothing but speculation, at this point, too.

I'm sure Yuki would do better than Checo and looking at how the other teams are closing in, surely they need someone better than Checo now that Max isn't winning the team championship on his own anymore?

So I think in part, the reason why we won’t see another driver in the second Red Bull seat (or the second VCARB) seat anytime soon is down to money, specifically sponsorship.

It’s no secret that Perez brings a good chunk of sponsors to Red Bull and also approximately 65% of Red Bull F1 merchandise is sold to Mexico [X] I’m not saying that’s the only reason why they keep him on, just that there is a significant financial draw that is likely taken into consideration.

It’s also been reported by multiple sources that Ricciardo’s management team (CAA) helped to broker the sponsorship deal with VISA and CashApp.

Realistically I don’t think there’s anything that Tsunoda could do for Red Bull to promote him, I expect that he’ll stay in the VCARB next year and then maybe go elsewhere for 2026 (Honda are partnering with Aston Martin) but I don’t see him sticking around in the Red Bull fold for too long.

Even with the cost cap money plays a huge part in F1 and if you can get a somewhat decent driver who also brings money then great.

Also just to play devils advocate a bit, yes we’ve seen some really strong results from Tsunoda this year, and he’s been a lot more consistent, I can’t for certain say that he’s necessarily got the right mentality right now to partner Verstappen, especially in the way that Red Bull want. Like I can’t say 100% that he would take team orders if they were asked of him, or that he wouldn’t get caught up being overly self critical if the media were harsh.

[rickybaby]

The Oscar to Red Bull thing is definitely very interesting. I feel like Mark is not gonna get Oscar in there next to Max, either full stop or without knowing Max is on the verge of leaving. Otherwise, he might as well stay at McLaren since he has a better chance against Lando than Max.

I imagine Mark is talking to a lot of teams really, if he's good at his job. I guess everyone is stuck on the Red Bull thing because of his own history there.

I think the fun thing about it is that it is yet another driver not from their own talent pool that they're talking about. Oscar, George, apparently James Vowles is trying to shop Franco to Sauber or VCARB for next year. But oh no, we need vcarb to be a junior team. You know for our own juniors. So we can fill our seats with our own drivers.

The only reason why Oscar would consider leaving McLaren is to stop playing second fiddle to Lando. So it wouldn’t make sense for him to go to red bull unless there are strong indications Max is leaving, especially as you’ve said he has a better chance against Lando than Max.

Or Mark Webber just wants to capitalise on the fact that red bull looks like they don’t know what to do and get Oscar in there. He’s young enough to wait out Max leaving in a few years or even a few uncompetitive seasons in 2025 and 2025. Except if he isn’t very close to Max or at least beat him from time to time, his reputation as future wdc will suffer terribly.

Re your last paragraph - the way things are going, red bull having to literally beg checo to retire and it looking like they won’t be making any decision regarding their line ups roll after the season, there’s someone else who’s going to get fucked over soon … and unfortunately, I have a bad feeling on who that could be :(

[earthtokhal]

I read the article and I have some thoughts.

Sacked or Promoted.

From multiple sources we've read that Daniel is very much in the running to get that seat which means he is showing some form enough for them to consider him so how can someone who is actively being linked to the seat in the MAIN team simultaneously in danger of losing his current seat?

2. Lawson in for Ricciardo midseason (Rumour we've been hearing from race 1)

Vcarb has been marketed as a sister team and no longer a junior team. They were able to pull in big sponsors like cash app and Visa. Daniel is in Visa's current ad.

So I assume that when RB were trying to get in these sponsors, they obviously would have used Daniel and the shift from being a junior team to a sister team. It would make no sense to remove him midseason for no reason.

They must not think we forgot about the articles everyone wrote about Daniel losing his seat in Miami.

3. Help or Hindrance.

"It's fair to wonder whether if this version of Ricciardo would be a help or hindrance to Red Bull in the constructors' fight."

Honestly, anyone who is wondering this right now has a bias against Daniel because surely nobody thinks he would be worse than what they currently have. In the VCARB he is qualifying around the same place as SP and even better at times. He is able to keep it clean and out of the walls. There is no way he would be qualifying p9 in a VCARB and do worse in a RB.

4. Missing something.

"Ricciardo is missing something from the form he showed between 2014 and 2018."

Yeah, the car.

5. Only one without a contract.

It is of my personal opinion that he was not announced because they knew they might need to change their drivers considering SP's form last year.

In addition to that, the timing of both the article where Marko said that LL has a seat next year and that it is still a junior team and Yuki's contract announcement was odd, rushed even.

Everyone, including upper management and Daniel give wonderful PR answers when asked on race weekends about any of this and they dance around the questions.

6.Regutitated news and Daniel's form.

A lot of the articles are basically the same thing with a new opinion worded as an option or a new "source"

F1 twitter would love to say that the better driver is the one who gets the points and yes, usually it is but Daniel's form has picked up since that chassis change and he has been on form ever since. He has put his best foot forward in every race weekend but continues to be let down by the team and that is why it was so important for VCARB to take accountability in public because writing it in your post race debrief that barely anyone reads isn't it, not when people are seeing that he went from p9 to p12 and writing think pieces on why he is "washed."

Also, if the team can look at data and strategy from Hungary to determine that Daniel had a faultless weekend then I am pretty sure they can look at data and strategies from past weekends.

7. The upgraded RB and high pressure.

There are concerns that Daniel might struggle in the upgraded RB but I don't think this upgrade will last long. Max hates it and surely, they won't continue with something he hates. A car that Max likes to drive is also one that Daniel likes to drive.

In general RB is a high pressure team but the situation they are currently in is even more high pressure than a normal start of the season situation. Daniel already knows the team, he knows the pressure situation there. He knows all the off track things, he just needs to get it together on track whereas someone else might still need to deal with the off track pressure and getting used to it.

I am heavily biased and I want Daniel to get the seat HE wants but I also want him to in the sport until HE is ready to let go and currently, he is not ready to let go. He has shown he still has it and he has shown that he can get the results even in difficult situations (ie: whatever the hell that quali was on Saturday.)

But putting my bias aside, I don't think Red Bull are ready to lose him and I think he would be the best choice for their current situation.

[slutforpringles]

I see everyone cranky about the article about perez's sponsors and the constructor's bonus. But i feel like it's gonna work out ok. Or ok-ish at least. The chances that daniel gets in the car and immediately makes up the difference in the constructor's is low. Max is struggling with the car and he's been in it all year. So either way the constructor's is likely a write off. This way, the bonus is covered. And they can still put daniel in for next year, especially if perez bottles the rest of season. Sponsor's or not, if he fucks it up and doesn't meet his contract clauses at least they're seen to have tried to help him meet the targets. So not totally pissing sponsors off. Maybe daniel doesn't have the exact same money behind him, but he is a big sponsor draw. Obviously it's bullshit on daniel's side to keep getting the goal posts moved, but I'm trying to hold on to the hope that it'll actually work in his favour! What do you think?

Yep I definitely think there are upsides to Daniel not being in the Red Bull. As you said it is a tricky car to drive currently, and while I wholeheartedly believe that Daniel would be doing a better job than Payrez currently, I also don't know if he would be able to wring performance out of it to the same degree that Max has been able to. He would be under mountains of pressure to perform immediately, and I can easily see him being blamed en masse by fans if Red Bull were still to lose the constructors.

I won't lie, a small part of me still worries that if there's absolutely zero improvement post-summer break that Red Bull won't suddenly go 'oh shit we have to do something now' and put Daniel in the car after Singapore - which would make the pressure/situation even more challenging. Honestly though in that scenario my biggest concern would be his safety and security at COTA and in particular Mexico - some of the absolute fanatical lunacy I have seen online by Mexican journalists/commentators and the amount of hate it has stirred up is quite honestly bonkers, so I really hope for Daniel's sake he's not parachuted in post-Singapore.

Also to be honest I'm quite excited to see Daniel's continued progression at Vcarb. I've been really impressed by how he and his engineers have knuckled down and found solutions to issues he was having and they have really made some pretty huge steps since his early season struggles. I think he clearly gets on well with Pierre and they've found their groove, and it'd be nice to see Daniel get a full season with Vcarb to continue that trend and really prove to people he deserves that Red Bull seat. I also think the next big lot of Vcarb upgrades are likely to be quite impactful, especially since they seem to have understood why the last upgrades didn't work out.

So while I do find the Red Bull/Payrez situation infuriating, it's definitely not all doom and gloom. I think there's still a huge amount of positive momentum going Daniel's way, he just needs to continue to put in those solid performances we saw from him before the summer break!! ✨🫶🏻🙏🏻👏🏻

[sseung00]

last month i flew to singapore for my 1st ever gp experience and some mildly funny stuff happened, so might as well archive it somewhere 🙂‍↕️

things that happened during singapore autograph hunting: posting as backup before i forget the details

starring: the entire grid but cr55 lh44 gr63 cl16 ollie and kimi mostly

before i saw any of the drivers i got interviewed by fujiTV as i was the only person who was able to speak japanese at the fence (first row bc miracles happen in life, also my japanese skills are closer to nonexsitent) and still to this day i cannot bring myself to search for any clips bc i'm pretty sure i looked half melted half baked in sg heat

the guards at the entrance were kind and hardworking, people did push a lot during signings but the fence thankfully held the weight and i survived so the security(and the metal fences) apparently did their job very well

checo max and papaya boys came to work early but didnt stop for an autograph🧎‍♀️ which was bit sad but kind of understandable

carlos was pretty early and his sign was the first one i got; he actually signed charles' merch cap even tho i was also holding a small blank postcard watercolor pad thingy to get autographs lol

he was sweet and kind and had this look of a bull who lost its way (/pos) which was quite endearing in a funny way

also body hair. so much hair right in front of my eyes. my friend commented "why didnt u take a bite of that fur" yea i shouldve

carlos also didnt know the owner of the pen he was using so a ferarri employee gave it to me and that's how i ended up with two pens

current pen count: 2 (one capless)

during waiting hours i made some friends and they told me about the different routes drivers were taking:

the drivers who stayed at hilton hotel walked to the gates and others who stayed at marina bay sands or diffrent hotel drove to the circuit; merc williams redbull(+vcarb) and alpine stayed at hilton, ferrari at marina bay, lewis at god knows where. a LH fan suspected that lewis might have a house at sg bc no one seemed to know where he was lol

anyways walking drivers were coming in a slightly different lane and i was at the parking lot side so i didn't have much hope of getting their autographs 😔

then lewis showed up and the crowd went WILD

george also came by our side despite walking to the circuit after seeing that lewis was here �� he approached as across the grass like a tall deer

merc drivers & employees were by far the most sweet and friendly people i've met this day !! especially george russell !! he is an absolute angel a babygirl and my pretty princess 😔😔

he took time and effort to sign as many people as possible & he was smiling so brightly throughout the whole thing so it really made my day after the whole waiting process under singapore heat ugghhhh i love him so much!!! next time(if there happens to be one) i WILL bring a big ass banner for him i swear. THE BIGGEST ONE

i didn't have time to turn the page after george had signed bc i was trying very hard not to get squeezed to death between the fence and the people behind... also i was holding a charles photocard(which a girl i met there gave me!! thank u sm sol) in front of that page so lewis looked at the page and hesitated for a second like 'there's not enough space🤨' then pushed the pc aside a little bit to make space and signed there which was kind of cute

i was kind of nervous bc i heard that lewis would not sign merches he didn't seem fit (some fan told me that he refused to sign her mclaren cap before) but yeah !! managed to get one !!

then george left with my pen, which wasn't even mine it was my mom's (lol) she was actually happy to hear that bc george is her favorite driver haha

one gained one lost, current pen count: 1

during that chaos vcarb drivers passed by, oscar too showed up around this time but didnt stop by (but waved and smiled tho) i really don't know what happened to aston drivers but they seemed like a rare occurance from what i've heard, understandable

alex was also walking by & was having an interview so no pics of alex 🥺🥺

but then a navy porsche rolled in and charles stepped out !! he was very concentrated on signing and had a serious face on which kind of made me worry if he's in a bad mood but apparently he was just v focused bc he smiled at fans comments later on 🙂‍↕️

(look at him!! locked in asf) he both signed on my sketchpad and photocard so i ended up with two autographs (〃⌒▽⌒〃)ゝ

pierre walked by and esteban too, so we sang a happy birthday song for him 🙂‍↕️ zhou also visited & a fan was desperately trying to get his sign on a water bottle but he kind of. pretended not to see it lol

an hour or so later kimi and ollie also gave a visit too! they sure took their time signing and taking selfies & tried to answer everyone's questions and sign everything 🤭 kimi also wrote #12 in every autographs he signed haha

there was an ollie fan with a poster at the fence so kimi pulled him towards her and checked it out together which was v cute, i could see they are close friends

most importantly they gave back my pen after using so pen count stayed as one

final pen count: 1 capless

that's pretty much the entire experience! it was soooo humid and tiring but it was totally worth it. especially thanks to george 🫶 angel from heaven i hope it didnt hurt much when u fell from the sky 😔