#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?”

[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.

[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!! ✨🫶🏻🙏🏻👏🏻

[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.

[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

[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.

[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.

[gayf1hoe]

Part 9

“So I've been thinking about your predicament with Sauber and the transition to Audi which has resulted in you not having a seat. It is clear you can work miracles with an underperforming team, and given you are nowhere near ready to be in a top seat I would like to offer you a place at VCARB”

I am stunned into pure silence. On the one hand I'm elated at the job offer but I'm also a little offended at the way he offered it to me. it was like he wanted me to feel appreciative that I'm even getting an offer, which don't get me wrong, I am. 

My brain takes a few more seconds to compute what exactly has just been said to me and it doesn't take long for me to say:

“I would love to accept the offer” 

He clasps his hands together and says “perfect”. 

I find out I'm replacing Danny at VCARB and at first I'm apprehensive, I assume he doesn't have a seat for next year which makes me feel bad as he's my idol and someone I have looked up to for ages, but I'm quickly reassured when Helmut informs me that he's going to Red Bull. 

The second I leave the Red Bull building I make my way straight to the hotel to tell Max. I push past the huge flock of people still crowding on the usually quiet and tranquil  streets of Monaco. 

The sun is setting and the dim street lights have come on, but as I approach the hotel the abundance of lights stick out like a beacon of grandeur. I enthusiastically push the elevator button repetitively before the doors eventually open on the third floor. 

I lightly knock on the mahogany door and await for Max to open which doesn't take long. He has a towel draped over his shoulder and his hair is still slightly wet from the shower he had obviously taken moments before my arrival. He quickly invites me in and I stand in front of the bed, smiling ecstatically. 

“What are you so happy about?” He asks.

“Well you know how next year I don't have a seat, well I do now” 

“What?” He asks his tone of voice increasing a little. 

“Helmut has offered me a seat at VCARB”

“Oh” is the only thing he can mutter. 

“What's wrong I thought you would be happy for me”

As I finish my question he takes a seat on the edge of the bed wiping the towel across his face, avoiding all eye contact with me. I take a seat next to him and repeat my question. 

“What's wrong?”

“It's nothing” he replies 

“It's clearly something” 

“It's just with you going to VCARB I don't think it's the right choice for you” 

I am totally stunned to silence, the man who should be happy and supporting me is telling me I made the wrong decision. 

“Why is it a bad choice?” I ask standing up from the bed. 

He can't even look up at me or mutter anything. 

“Max Emilian Verstappen if you don't answer me I am walking out that door and we are done and we have only just made up” 

I give him 5 seconds and when he doesn't change anything I walk out leaving him where he is. 

TW - SH

In my room I block Max on every social media account I have and I block his contact and remove him to avoid temptation. Lying in my bed I can't help but have these festering thoughts that seem to mount up. I would go to Ollie as he's not far from here but I don't want to bother him. I finally have enough of the guilt and pain and go into the bathroom. I pull my shorts down to reveal my thighs and look at the linear scars that are a constant reminder of my past. The only one who knows about it is ollie, sure Max has seen me without my clothes on but I have always somehow managed to hide them from him. It was my way of releasing my emotions. Ollie tried to make me go to a doctor and I said I did but I never did. I knew that once I had a label on my medical record such as ‘depression' no team or sports board would ever medically clear me to join their team. I am lucky that there aren't that many, maybe 3 or 4 on each thigh and they overlap and are easily hidden by my underwear so at every medical examination I have been able to hide them.

I look at my razor that's sitting on the side trying to stop myself from even fathoming up what I might do, but temptation gets a hold of me and I do it. I cut myself, displaying how truly weak and pathetic I am.  I don't cry. Maybe I'm used to the pain. Or maybe I deserve it, I mean I have probably hurt Max. I have hurt Ollie by being a burden to him. I have hurt my friends and family by lying to them. I have hurt everyone around me, so maybe it doesn't matter if I hurt myself.

I clear myself up and place bandages around my legs and miraculously I manage to get some sleep when I get into the bed. 

The next morning I wake up to a knock on my door. I get up from my bed whining about the slight stinging sensation coming from my leg that makes me remember everything about last night and as I open the door I put on my best fake smile and see Lando standing there. 

“Can I help you?” I ask.

“My shower is not working, can I use yours?”

"Sure” I say, opening the door wider to let him in, pointing him in the direction of the bathroom. 

He isn't in there long before he comes out and says 

“Y/N is there a reason there is a bloody tissue hanging out the bin?”

I start to panic and try not to let it show. 

“I cut myself shaving last night” 

“Well where's the cut on your face?”

‘I wasn't shaving my face I was shaving my chest”

With that he goes into the bathroom and doesn't emerge for about 35 minutes before he thanks me and heads back to his room allowing me to get changed for my day out today with Ollie and Kimi to celebrate all of our amazing results and I can't wait to tell him I'm staying in F1. 

We meet in the lobby, I try my hardest to walk without a limp and when I see them I say I will be back in a second. I just need to go to the toilet. In reality I need to check my bandages haven't come loose. 

OLLIE'S POV

As I see Y/N walking away I notice he has a slight limp and he's a lot quieter than usual but I assume the limp is down to some cramp or muscle ache which isn't unusual for racing drivers. 

As we are waiting for him, Lando sparks a conversation with us and I notice he has a small plaster on his chin. 

“Another party accident” I say pointing at his chin.

“Nah I cut myself shaving” he replies.

“You must be pretty bad at shaving,” Kimi jokes.

“Not as bad as Y/N he cut himself pretty badly shaving his chest, there was such a bloody tissue in the bin… anyway I best be going have a good day guys”

How could I be so stupid and not notice the signs like last time. Y/N shaving his chest is the biggest lie he's ever told, but I suppose only I would know that man can't grow a single hair on his chest to save his life. 

I tell Kimi to wait where we are and I go into the toilets, locking the main door behind so we don't get interrupted. 

“Y/N” I call out and just as I do so he opens the stall door. 

He walks over to the sink and washes and dries his hand making out like he actually went to the toilet.

“Pull your shorts down” I declare

“if this is your way of trying to get with me you are doing it all wrong” he says trying to humour the situation. 

“Just do it Y/N” I say sternly, his face tells me that he knows that I have caught on. 

Y/N’S POV 

Ollie stands there expecting me to follow his command, but I freeze. We have been in this situation before and I promised him that if I ever felt like that again I would talk to him. But as usual I have broken my promise and let him down. 

I start to explain the whole chain of events to him and once I have finished the only thing Ollie could say is “Max is a dickhead”, normally I would be the first one to defend Max even if I knew he was the one in the wrong. But I guess when you love someone you turn blind to their mistakes. Ollie spends a good 5 minutes giving me a pep talk about how I must go to him if I am feeling down and that I will not be an inconvenience to him. After a few hugs we go out to see Kimi still standing waiting patiently for us. 

It took us ages to decide what we wanted to do today, but as it's our break before the triple header I wanted to maximise my free time and do anything apart from racing, so we decided upon going on some cool boat excursion and we decide to invite some other drivers such as Paul Aaron, Zane and somehow Zhou ends up with us. 

Zane decides not to tell us he gets seasick until we have left the harbour and are beyond any point of return. For some reason I am delegated with the responsibility of looking after him as I'm older than him and Zhou can't stand seeing people be sick. He only throws up once and then he seems to get used to the motion. We have brought parasailing equipment which is where you are attached to the boat and get pulled along. As it's only 2 at a time we take it in turns and the pairings are Ollie and Kimi, Paul and Zane and me and Zhou. As the eldest me and Zhou let the others go first but secretly I am having to prepare myself to get over my fear. I don't have a fear of heights but I have seen so many videos of the rope snapping and people falling into the sea which scares me. But much sooner than I would have liked it's our turn. The harness is fastened incredibly tight, you would think I would be used to it being a racing driver who wears these type of harnesses on a regular basis. As the boat gradually builds up speed I feel my heart start to pound against my chest wall. Time seems to pass by so slowly when you are suspended hundreds of feet in the air squeezing your teammates hand. 

As the speed starts to reduce, so does my heart rate and the tight grip I had on Zhou's hand does so too. Back on the boat my legs feel like jelly and I can barely stand up so I take a second to sit down and to calm my nerves as my hands are shaking tremendously. For the rest of the day we sunbathe and do some diving off the boat and enjoy some great food that was brought from some cheap convenience store. I know I said I wanted a break from racing but I reply to some emails on my phone including some contract negotiations with VCARB. When I told Ollie earlier when explaining the whole situation with Max he seemed more excited about the whole thing than me. Don't get me wrong I am happy and appreciative but I'm not looking forward to having Helmut Marko breathing down my neck every minute of the day. 

As well as all of that I take a chance to organise some stuff with the moving company that is bringing my stuff to my new apartment in Monaco. Much like most drivers I have decided to move to the infamous place for its history and lack of taxation on income. 

“Y/N wake up” 

I feel someone nudging my shoulder lightly, I must have fell asleep at some point or another because the last thing I remember was Zane and Paul playing Tug of war with Kimi's t-shirt but somehow amidst all the chaos I managed to fall asleep. 

The one good thing about Monaco is that all the drivers from different racing series share the same hotel so it's easy to meet up. But the bad thing about Monaco is all the drivers share the same hotel, because you have a load of drivers who all believe they are best in a close area so in the past there have been a few fights between drivers, including myself. 

I walk through the entrance and see Nikola Tsolov who I had an argument with in F3. He said I was a bad driver but all I will say is one of us is in F1 and the other is still stuck in F3. In my career I have had my fair share of confrontations but none as big as the one I had with Nikola. He averts his eyes towards me and smiles and I do the same back - despite our argument, over the past 2 years we have slowly been making up, we still aren't as good friends as we used to be but we are taking small steps to get back to that. 

In the corner of my eye I see Max walking by with Charles so I do something that me two years ago would never have done, I make conversation with Nikola. 

“Hey Tsolov,” I say. 

“Hello L/N” he replies. 

For some reason me and Nikola call each other by our last names, there is no real reason behind it. We speak until Max has left the front lobby and I start to feel at ease again. I'm also glad at no point Ollie saw him as he said he would quote, “make him suffer more than Jos did” which is both a cruel joke but also quite funny.

As it's the triple header of the season In 2 weeks time I'm looking to focus more on myself and my performance rather than my petty argument with Max so from this moment forward he doesn't exist to me and nothing he does will affect me. 

The one great thing about being a driver is companies are always looking to use you for sponsors which is great especially when one of them is a private jet company. A private jet company based out of America has chartered me an aircraft for the rest of the season which means I get to travel by myself on my own plane. The triple header this season consists of the UK, Austria and then Spain. They decided to put the UK first in the hope that the weather will be dry and sunny at the end of June but as experience tells me the UK weather is anything but predictable, I always tell people that the weather is always the opposite of the weather forecast so if they say it will be sunny and warm it will be cloudy and cold. 

And as much as I had expected when we touch down in England it is torrential rainfall and it feels like winter, but I prefer these conditions to the stifling heat, it makes driving so much more comfortable as you aren't sweating. In the European leg we don't stay in hotels, we have our own motorhomes and for some unknown reason they have decided to put Sauber next to Red Bull, it's like they want to constantly remind me of him, but I'm going to pretend he doesn't even exist. 

I quickly dump out my stuff and head to the team building for a quick meeting which goes over the plans for the weekend, the strategies and any developments or upgrades on the car. At the end Alessandro asks me to stay behind which immediately sends alarm bells ringing through my head. 

“Y/N I just wanted to clarify two things. Are you and Max still together? You haven't been seen together since the day of the Monaco GP”

“No, we decided to end things” 

“OK well I'm sorry and number two I'm hearing rumours that you are doing VCARB can you confirm” 

“Who told you that?” I ask. 

“I just heard it, but is it true?” 

“Yes”. 

He gives me a few words of wisdom and then informs me of all the data protection and stuff I can't say about the car to VCARB although with the new regulations and stuff that's coming next year I don't think it will be of much use, plus no team in F1 has ever said “I want to design a car like Sauber” if they did they must be pretty bad, but this year the team have proved themselves. 

When I entered the team meeting it was daylight and when I leave it's dark so I assume the meeting wasn't as “quick” as I thought it would be. Luckily the hospitality team have already set up and I am able to get some food before heading back to my motorhome. For the rest of the evening I watch some TV and get some much needed sleep for media day tomorrow. 

Media day is and will always be the worst part of being a racing driver and since the FIA has made it mandatory for all drivers to participate in media day there is no escaping it. I walk into the paddock at 9 in the morning and see Kelly Piquet who is the daughter of 3 time world Champion Nelson Piquet. I don't pay much attention to so-called celebrities in the paddock as I have no interest in meeting famous people. And Nelson Piquet has never been my most favourite F1 driver, in fact he doesn't even come close. 

My first interview is with an Australian sports channel that I have never even heard of. 

Interviewer: “Y/N you have 1 career win. Are you hoping for another this weekend?”

Y/N: “Well of course, I wouldn't be a racer if I wasn't always fighting for the top step of the podium”

Interviewer: “You are P3 in the standings. Are you in the fight for the championship or are you leaving it to Max and Lewis” 

Y/N: “I think I prefer to perfecting my skills for next year” 

Interviewer: “Well talking of next year we know you don't have a seat but in an interview with Max Verstappen earlier when he was asked to provide an insight into next years seats he said “VCARB are taking on a driver who is talented but still not worthy of a top seat but has been trying too hard to prove that this year” was he talking about you?” 

Y/N: “Well I don't know who VCARB is taking on, we don't even know if Red Bull and are keeping Perez so I think for now I would rather focus on the present and not make childish rumours and speculations”

That dickhead. He knew exactly what he was saying during that interview. It takes a lot from me not to go and find him and punch him in his face. But I have already made myself quite unpopular with the FIA so I suppose I better be on my best behaviour and not antagonise them any more than I already have.

When I finally get back to my motorhome at the end of the day I do my regular routine of aimlessly scrolling through my social media accounts and all I can see are posts labelled:

“Max Vertsappen seen with Kelly Piquet in the F1 paddock”

“Y/N L/N and Max Verstappen have not been seen together since the Monaco GP”

“Could Max Verstappen be dating Kelly Piquet?” 

I decide to just switch off my phone and I ignore it, if he's dating her I don't really care, if he's moved on that quickly I guess I never really mattered to him so why should I cause myself to be enmeshed in a net of complex emotions because of a man who just uses people and tosses them to the side like they never existed, for someone who tries not to be like his dad the similarities are uncanny, I guess the “apple doesn't fall far from the tree”. 

Rain. It's a wonderful thing when you are trying to gather slick tyre data on the track. Since last night it has been non stop raining but the FIA have still given the go ahead on Free Practice. In FP1 I get soaked and Pierre, Oscar and Alex all spun out but there were no red flags. 

The times don't change much with me finishing P1 in FP1 and then P2 in FP2 behind the home hero Lewis, but we will see what happens in Qualifying tomorrow. 

Q1 is the easiest part of qualifying, most drivers know they can go faster than Williams and Alpine and one of the Haas cars is bound to be out in Q1 so it gives all the other drivers reassurance that they will make it to at least Q2. And my confidence is well proven as I make it to Q2 with ease. Q3 is harder to achieve but the rain makes it hard for most drivers but I prefer driving in the rain so I manage to keep my car under control and excel through Q3. 

“Recharge on, that's P2, good job the cars around you are Hamilton on Pole, Verstappen P3, Norris P4 and Russell P5”

“Good job guys, we will push again tomorrow” 

The weather forecast for today is looking a bit weird, there's a huge uncertainty about whether it will rain or not so we start the GP on dry tyres. 

“Y/N we are expecting rain within 10 minutes at Level 1 then around 5 minutes after that it's looking to be a level 2” 

Perfect. A race in the rain is what I love the most. And that's actually not sarcasm. But I know I'm next to Lewis who performs just as well in the rain so it won't be a breeze. 

“It's lights out and away we go”

I get a good start to the race, but so does Lewis but leading into turn one the Red Bull behind me tries to push me wide and touches my side pod. 

“Guys what's the fuck is this idiot doing he just crahsed into my side”

“Yep copied we are reporting it” 

3 laps in and the order is still the same with me trailing behind Hamillton. 

“Y/N Verstappen has a 5 second time penalty for the incident” 

I secretly let out a cheer of joy. But as I do it gets better as I see specks of rain on my visor but it's still nowhere near the changeover point. Lap by lap grip falls away. And then the command comes.

“box, box”

Everyone boxes except from Max who is now leading the GP by 9.4 seconds but I guess that was a mistake as the next thing I hear is:

“Red Flag, Red Flag. Delta positive Vertsappen has had a shunt in Stowe” 

Typical Max arrogance thinking he could do better on the slicks than everyone else. I follow the common driver's courtesy of asking if he is okay, but I don't ask it in a sincere or concerned tone. 

The race restarts after 25 minutes and the rain has picked up and is showing no sign of clearing so the team predicts we will run the wets to the end. 

“And again is lights out an away we go” 

I get off the line better than Lewis and lead into turn 1 and start to build a gap. Lap by lap Lewis is chasing me down then I hear something I was hoping not to hear. 

“Y/N we have floor damage from one of the curbs expect to see performance to fall away” 

And my performance just does that. On the last lap the gap between me and Lewis has gone from 3.2 seconds to a mere 0.5 and in the last corner he dives and retakes the lead of his home GP to win. I come in a respectable 2nd. 

“P2 recharge on” 

“Yep good race, apart from the damage but congratulations to Lewis for another home win it's well deserved” 

On the cool down lap I drive alongside Lewis to congratulate him and then I drive to parc ferme to park in front of the number 2 sign. 

In the cooldown room me, Lewis and Carlos watch the race replay and see that Max was the only one who didn't pit, every other driver did and the all the teams pretty much double stacked so I don't see why Max believed he was any different when it come to the amount of grip he could find if 19 other drivers couldn't.

Unlike the past when me and Max had fallen out and I had a podium he wasn't in the crowd but I'm not concerned. Champagne and rain soaked we all leave the podium to get changed ahead of more interviews. In the pit lane I see Kelly flaunting herself around Max and the desperation she has for some affection is embarrassing to see and I even feel embarrassed for her, and I feel sorry if that's the only way she can get attention. As I walk to my garage I have to pass the Red Bull one and Checo sees me and approaches.

He pulls me into a hug and starts a conversation. 

“Good job with P2 you were on fire on the wets, shame about the damage”

“Yeah but that's life I guess” 

“So I hear you are going to VCARB from Helmut” 

“I am. And where are you going?” 

“I'm going over to Aston Martin to replace Fernando as he's retiring this year” 

“Damn Aston Martin is turning into the retirement home for drivers” 

With that concluding moment I give Checo a hug goodbye and see Max and Kelly glaring at us. It may surprise people to learn that me and Checo are good friends and I remember when I was younger I had a photo of me meeting him on a grid walk with my family and ever since then he has been an amazing role model for me. 

Entering the garage the team Cheers for me and I thank them all for their hard work and apologise for the fact I didn't win but we have another 2 races to improve and it's clear our upgrades are really working. 

Back in my motorhome I get a notification from a news site and see the title and it angers me even though it shouldn't.

“Max Verstappen spotted kissing Kelly Piquet, not long after separation from Sauber Driver Y/N L/N” 

Part of me isn't even surprised and when I'm about to switch my phone off I hear a knock on the door. I open it to see Ollie and Kimi standing there in the rain with boxes of chocolate, ice cream and canned drinks. 

“What's all this for?” I ask.

“Well it's a celebration for your P2 result but it's also a depression feast because of that dick” Ollie explains.

“Guys I'm fine honestly” 

“Nonsense we are coming in and eating our body weight in food whether you like it or not” and with that they invite themselves in, and begin taking off their rain soaked shoes and coats placing them by the door before placing all the food on the counter. 

“It's going to be a long night”. 

In the morning I wake up feeling a little sick but we ate so much ice cream and snacks filled with sugar so it's understandable. Kimi slept on the couch that turns into a bed and Ollie shared the bed with me. Which for some may seem unusual but it's something we have done since we met in F2. 

I have a shower and get dressed before seeing that Ollie is awake but Kimi is still fast asleep but that may be down to the fact we didn't go to sleep until 4 AM. So I get some water from the fridge and we pour a little onto his face causing him to groggily awake, cussing at me and Ollie. 

As we begin throwing water around there is a knock on the door and ollie opens it and I hear the indistinguishable Dutch accent of Max. Thankfully it was Ollie that opened the door and not me but it would have been better for Max if I opened the door. 

“What do you want?” Ollie asks in a provoking tone. 

“Can I speak to Y/N” he asks. 

“No” Ollie simply replies 

“OK well can you give him this” he says handing a grey box to Ollie. 

As Ollie closes the door I rush over to open the box but Ollie stops me and says 

“if it's a gift give it to me and I will take it back to him, no way does he do all that to you and apologise with a small gift” 

As I open the box it's the key to my apartment that I had given him to help me move, and part of me realises that our relationship has truly come to and end but part of me is grateful to be free of Max and the pressure that comes with dating him and if Kelly likes the pressure and attention she's welcome to him. 

Next up Austria and I plan to ruin Red Bull's home race. 

[silentreigns]

Sooooooooo many people have had their think pieces about VCARB and i feel like I'm in an episode of the Twilight Zone. Seen comments saying that Yuki is the RedBull's golden boy which was why he was given a favorable strategy (in what world is a one stop in a hot ass circuit a favorable strategy like it's actually a very terrible one) to conspiracies about how this was done to prevent Daniel from getting a RedBull seat. Like we have seen VCARB AlphaTauri fuck their drivers out of points for years this isn't anything new.

Just last year in Zandvoort they had Yuki run on softs for 50 laps and he was in the points for a lot of the race. Then they pit him laps after all the cars around him + that massive rainstorm effectively screwed up his race even though he did everything right. Like VCARB just suck at strategy and nobody was intentionally trying to make Daniel look bad.

You should be happy that the team is bouncing back after those disastrous upgrades and look at the positives. There's a lot of opportunities in Spa since it's a track that really demonstrates a driver's skill

[surfacelvl]

with daniel involvement in developing the car, why do you think it seems like he still struggling with his performance, while yuki is doing fine? do you think the car is developing towards yuki's driving style or anything? i want him to do well it's really sadden and frustrate me out

Honestly, a really good question. It also saddens me when his results aren't where we were hoping.

If you're asking me personally, I think his luck has been poor and the car suits Yuki's driving style more. Strategies from the team have also been questionable, not just this year (see Imola 2024), but also last season as AlphaTauri (see Austin 2023).

Laurent Mekies has stated that VCARB's biggest developments with Ricciardo have come from his age, experience, and demeanor. He's won his races. He's driven for teams at the top, as well as in the midfield and farback. Daniel can give quick feedback to the team that requires less "well, let's try to figure out what's wrong." He knows what's wrong. Then the team knows too and can fix it faster.

Of Daniel's struggles this year, Mekies says: "It's not unique to Daniel, it's also very much the name of the game that we do every year."

I get a little tired of the spotlight on Ricciardo that comes with his notoriety. In fairness, he is reaping lesser results than we expected. But there is less press surrounding Alonso, Hamilton, even Albon, all drivers that have been performing arguably below expectations this year. Ironically, perhaps the only driver in the most similar hot seat to Daniel is Checo.

I recommend following @mereeedithh on Twitter. Meredith watches every grand prix through Daniel's onboard and posts news specific to Daniel and VCARB. Per my last post, we spectators haven't been able to get much in the way of specifics about Daniel in the car, the best and least PR-regulated info comes straight from Daniel's mouth when he reports to his race engineer about the car during free practice and qualifying.

As a side note, Yuki Tsunoda is driving like an absolute beast. The last thing I'm here to do is slight him or his skills. It's not lost on me that we are witnessing Yuki's career-best drives every weekend. When you support Daniel at VCARB, remember that VCARB is also Yuki!

[lestappenforever]

Is it almost 2:30 AM rn? Yes

Am I still hyped for Max? Also yes and I guess here’s my post race analysis for this rollercoaster of a race that (not just the race, but the while weekend since Friday) almost gave me a heart attack but we won’t get to that

Let’s start with both teams that were the most heart broken today. Ferrari pulled a pre-2024 today and honestly all weekend. It was evident in Charles’ radio all throughout and his reactions post quali and race. From not giving either drivers the extra set of softs or enough time in q2 to do a proper run, to a strategy today that did not make any type of sense, especially for Charles, like I couldn’t understand how and why and what were they thinking when fitting slicks when rain (granted it started as some showers then the predictions showed it was possibly going to be heavy rain) when anyone on that wall or in Ferrari’s operation room would have heard that all teams are telling their drivers to stay on the current inters or when the safety car was deployed for Logan, to change to a new set of inters because of the rain, hell GP told Max they might go on full XWets because of the way they saw the rain coming. But Ferrari did pull a disaster class this weekend. And honestly started showing the cracks, from unclear radio messages that Charles got mad at Bryan for to tell him how much he’s loosing, to the PU issue that cost him the chance to race even, to the strategy and the ridiculously slow stops Ferrari pulled. And to top it all off, Carlos crashes into Alex, and knocks them both out, while knowing Checo retired, and Carlos being lose to points that would have put pressure on Red Bull. Ferrari were truly Ferrari-ing this weekend by cracking under pressure, and they have no one to blame but themselves

Williams however, is a very VERY different story. The team was on the right track, Logan pulling some insane times in Q3 to be right behind the Ferraris, Alex making it to Q3, both genuinely fighting fir points and the cars looking somewhat good, which we haven’t seen much of this year, to a slip off the race line got him in the wall, and contact with Carlos caused Alex to crash, which is heartbreaking on a whole different level than Ferrari, and honestly I hope they bounce back.

Honestly speaking, I don’t know or have the slightest clue what the Saubers are doing, they are still pointless, still the bottom of the pack, and honestly you can just feel like the they are waiting for Audi so bad, and are just kind of giving up.

Alpine is coming in HOT. That car is starting to show speed, and not be the tractor we all saw at the beginning of the season, fighting for points, now 2 consecutive points finished for Pierre and the first double points for them this year. You could feel like they’re trying to get by, and their hard work is showing. Also Esteban Masterclass from P18 to P20 to P10, man was ON FIREE (now has more points to prove to snatch himself a seat next season)

Haas were mixed today, that start on the XWets by Kevin, who gained like 10 places in less tab 10 laps and Nico who was also gaining A LOT(though not as Kevin). But their strategy didn’t work today and that pit stop for Kevin was a disaster. Though they are still a team to be reckoned with especially with finishing P11 and 12, just missing the points, and still in contention for that midfield fight

VCARB showed UP today. Speed, present, strategy, present, the really high chance of double points, extending their lead and chasing Aston Martin even more, also present. But luck was not on Yuki’s side in lap 66 when he lost the car and almost crashed. But he had a really REALLY good race till that lap and so did Daniel, who got 4 essential points for the team.

Astons are there, are getting closer to the top, and were really good today, with the fight between Lewis and Fernando, that ended with the slight edge Lewis had with his better car, and Lance really good, gaining positions, and finishing his home race yet again in points, they’re getting there for sure. Also we love hometown heroes scoring at home.

Mercedes, welcome back to the top, it’s been a while. That updated cars looks so good, with the speed, and just how well both George and Lewis looked in this car, and how confident they both felt in it. George was an absolute beast all weekend and definitely deserved that P3, and tbh you could see he was disappointed because he had hoped for a better finish, but granted he did give Mercedes their best finish of the year. Lewis from the very start with the fight with Fernando to the fight with Oscar, and getting him, then the fight with George as to who will get the podium, granted George was on a faster tyre and was a bit better. But Mercedes for sure are on a right foot. And it’s not something we hate to see.

That McLaren (as a Red Bull fan myself) gave me a heart attach, man they are quick. But you could see, for sure, that their strategy wasn’t there today. Pitting Lando late both for fresh inters and slicks, then blaming the safety car, yeah it was on them. No one to blame but themselves since clearly they were the fastest car on track and don’t convince me otherwise. Oscar did really REALLY good, and I won’t blame him for the Lewis overtake simply because Lewis was on fresher tyres, but his race was so good today, with his constant battles with George and a potential if a podium. He was impressive. I won’t go into what happened post race from that team, but I am upset, simply because that team and that driver has been defended non-stop since the start, yet now is disrespectful of the suppoter.

Now last but certainly and definitely not least. Red Bull. First, I’d like to say very very clearly that this team has been the source if my insomnia and my anxiety since Friday, and today’s win will definitely be one that won’t be forgotten for a while. Fridays was scary after the ERS on Max’s car failed, which therefore limited his dry running. Checo did have multiple runs Friday and Saturday, but these tracks with kerbs (Imola, Monaco, Canada) did show he wasn’t 100% confident with the car. His source of stress is now removed with the contract extension and we have a triple header of classic race tracks, and from what we’ve seen so far, he’s excelled on classic track with 4/4 podiums in RB20-suitable tracks, so he needs to wake up. As for today, yeah, loosing grip and shunting the rear into the wall was NOT something that should have happened especially after he saw Charles DNF and a chance at getting closer, while increasing the team’s gap. He just needs to find the form of the beginning if the season, that’s the most important thing. Now for the man, the myth, the legend himself, the goat, the number 1 in this damn grid for a damn reason. FP1 consisting of like 5 minutes of running, 4 laps in FP2 for an electronic issue, FP3 just the proper runs he had. No worries. Q1, Q2, Q3 anxiety attacks from all Max fans to then Match the pole, but start P2 because it was set later. No worries. Not the best start because if the rain, then gaining but no DRS enabled to then be overtaken on DRS, to then gaining the lead and winning the race with a strategy masterclass (I mean you could see that because the Red Bull representative was one of the Senior Strategy Engineers) and CLEAR communication with GP. Helmut Marko said it, tracks and races like this, when the car isn’t the fastest and it just doesn’t seem to work as well as for others, we can rely on the Max Factor. He is the best driver on this damn grid and no one could convince me otherwise. Also, the team is his family and you could tell from his reactions post race. Protect him at all costs.

But yeah, Canada was actually the best race of the season in terms of racing honestly and so much has happened in just 70 laps. To then end with Max being the youngest driver to reach 60 wins (Lewis was 32, Michael was 33 when they reached this number) and the fact that Max is the kindest in the grid. And Now GIVE ME THE CLASSICSSSS

Just leaving this here. 👏👏👏

[thebirdsareafterme]

Lately there’s been a lot of talk surrounding VCARB’s driver situation and how they are “technically” supposed to be RBR’s junior team. People use this argument a LOT when trying to justify their opinion on why Daniel should be replaced by Liam next season.

HERE’S THE THING: VCARB or Toro Rosso or AlphaTauri have NOT been a junior team since Red Bull Racing signed Sergio Perez as their second driver in 2021. Checo, as a driver who did not go through the Red Bull driver academy and has never driven for the junior team, being signed to the main team defeats the purpose of having a junior team. There’s no point in having a junior team if you’re not going to sign someone from the team onto the main team once the seat is empty. The fact that RBR keeps extending his contract also makes the junior team even more useless. There was no chance of Yuki even having a chance at that seat even though he’s been with the junior team for 3 years. It’s one of the main reasons Pierre Gasly left, because he knew there was no way he was getting on to the main team. Although the junior team has been useful in the past in training new drivers to inevitably get chewed up by Max Verstappen, it became obsolete when they chose an already experienced driver to take the second seat instead of a trainee from the Faenza team.

At the beginning of the year, when VCARB was rebranding from AT, they made it very clear that they were trying to move away from being a junior team and becoming more of its own team that could stand on its own two feet. One of those moves was by choosing to retain Daniel for 2024. They said that they wanted one experienced driver to help develop the car and one younger driver to potentially be trained up for RBR, which fulfills both sides of their mission. But now, all of a sudden, Helmut Marko is saying that it’s once again a junior team whose only objective is to train new drivers for RBR. Laurent Mekies and Peter Bayer say that it’s not and that they would like to continue developing the car to be its own midfield team. Obviously there is some disconnect between Marko’s perception of the team and the team’s actual mission, but at the end of the day, Mekies and Bayer have only had positive words for Daniel and his contributions to the team. After reading Peter Bayer’s most recent interview, it is clear that Marko’s comments about the team are not accurate and that no decisions have been made yet. I think we can all chill out a bit and stop listening to what the media has to say about this whole situation because it’s pretty obvious that no one really knows what they’re talking about and are just talking out of their asses.

[cobraonthecob]

just remembered that i haven't posted my merc 2nd seat predictions so here they go, i made them before fernando signed to stay with aston martin btw

REMEMBER. this is all for fun and for merc to deal with. some will be funny, others serious

SERIOUS PREDICTIONS: 1. carlos: easy swap, also, i'd scramble to grab carlos. he has a good brain under that pretty hair and why not. swapsies!

2. fernando: harder to get, as he has said that he'll consider going to merc if aston is a flop this year and merc is stronger this year. as we all know, he is choosing a stable future...hopefully.

3. alex: even harder, as he'll want to be the number 1 driver nurturing williams into a top-contending team. something drastic would have to happen to make alex consider moving

UNLIKELY, BUT POSSIBLE

antonelli: IF he makes top three in F2 and a lot of persuasion, but i feel like merc will try and persuade williams to take him on and take on another, more experienced driver. or merc will just put this kid fresh out of school in merc itself.

esteban: if alpine remains at the bottom of the standings and pierre is dominating, then i can see esteban trying to say 'hey merc, take me, i'll be a second player, idc, just get me out of here'. i doubt it though, considering his history of not getting along with his teammates and i think he and george would kill each other in a way that'll give toto a giant headache

I WOULD BE SURPRISED 1. mick: we love blonde nepo babies, don't we? IF mick is to return to the grid, i can see him getting strong-armed to williams and pulling alex to merc, or merc says 'fuck it, let schumi junior warm the seat for the next coming of max verstappen', then that's a possibility. his second year at haas (aka when the car was in a place to score points) showed that he can score good points, but he wasn't very consistent. he really should've gotten a third year to finally prove his skill, but alas. kmag and nico have way more experience. realistically speaking, he's going to have a hard time coming back to the grid unless he pulled a daniel and gets a P2 time or better in a merc in a tyre test. now, mick's job as reserve and i think he also helped develop the car means that he could be pulled to williams if that's an option, but i don't think mick to merc or williams is a possibility

2. logan: if he can score points this season and alex is not willing to play second and seat warmer at merc, i feel like logan would take it. currently, the way the season's going? if i were logan, i'd start looking to formula e, f1 has nothing for me going on if i can't turn the car in a corner without it attempting to fling itself into a wall

3. valtteri: idk if he'd be willing to gamble on being the better driver when merc has been slowly putting their eggs into the george basket. also why would he go back there. used to be in SILLY but now moved here since hulkenberg has taken a seat at sauber, though a driver of his caliber would be able to easily beat hulkenberg

SILLY 1. sebastian: he retired to be a girl dad, but then deciding 'fuck it, i'll pull a fernando' would have me laugh for a grand total of two seconds before i'm like 'no'. we have plenty of older drivers and no new fresh talent on the grid already, like keep your promise and be with your family

2. rosberg: why would he do this. he retired to be a father and he's happy doing other things. f1 is NOT the end all be all. let him be happy running an ice cream shop with his wife and an extreme e team

3. nyck: what i'd give to be a fly on the wall for that phone call. i can see it. toto calls nyck. nyck picks up. toto is begging on his knees. nyck smiles. 'you left me out of a williams seat for so long that i went for alphatauri. now i'm happy in formula e and wec. thanks, but no thank you. good-bye.'

4. yuki: after all the disrespect alphatauri/vcarb has put him through, he can go to merc and claw his way there. or maybe not. idk how i'd feel about yuki playing second driver to another white man

5. pierre: given alpine being a flop, i wouldn't be surprised if he showed up to the merc/williams auditions. i can see him going to williams to replace alex should alex move to merc, or pierre going to merc, but i don't know he's WANT to be a second driver at merc or williams despite the fact that maybe i do want a pierre-alex lineup. ex teammates of max verstappen let's fucking goooo

6. daniel: after all the smoke and mirrors and the reason why nyck's therapist can afford their kid's motorsport career, daniel makes a move to merc. this prediction is so impossible (merc and daniel wouldn't even consider it for different reasons) but thinking about it made me laugh

[mcl38]

they haven't quite turned on vcarb the way they did mclaren but from what i've read that seems to be bc daniel keeps saying "it's not the same problem as mclaren" when like idk dude if the only time you've finished a race ahead of yuki was bc you got put on softs at the end of the race it is smelling very shades of mexico '22 to me. just without the having to make up a time penalty bc u punted yuki off the track.

i can say yuki is already getting the lando treatment though. "hOW MANY RACES HAS HE WON AND YOU DARE SAY HES PERFORMING BETTER THAN AN 8 TIME GP WINNER?" (ya i'll go to the top floor of my apartment and shout it into the void through a megaphone too what are you going to do about it) only this time there's a heavy dose of racism added in. the amount of people i have seen calling yuki a "pokémon" derogatorily and refusing to admit the racist connotations there are wild. not to mention the ableist terms i've seen be used to refer to his height. it's all very gross and yet again daniel says nothing to even try to prevent it. it's wild how someone always has to get harassed by his fans regardless of if he fails or succeeds.

ok so like first of all yikes. i rly rate yuki but im v selective w my online (especially my tumblr)

experience so i rly almost never venture out of my mclaren-centred bubble, which means i never rly see what ppl say abt him. 'pokemon' is actually vile like thats so clearly racist bc its not even a pun of his name at all or any sort of reference to his personality?? AND the fact that its a cartoon w the infantilising implications of that... ku's essay on the infantilisation of east asian drivers u will always be famous.... like u guys ever noticed how nyck is also rly short and has a youthful face and nobody ever talked abt him in the way they talk abt yuki? much to think abt

now. permission to be mean here but even if its 'not the same problem as mclaren' is the problem not STILL the fact that daniel in his 10+ year career hasnt bothered to understand the way the engineering of f1 cars works in like any material way and thats the reason he always struggles to identify his driving issues / has a disconnect with his chassis unless its tailored exactly to what he already likes and knows how to drive? i saw that bit from newey's book about how max and checo give rly good feedback and so did webber and vettel and it was kind of subtly implying that during the bit in between (the daniel era) he designed less effective cars be he wasnt getting enough precise feedback.... i genuinely havent been able to sleep at night since. like it felt like smth slotted in my head like aaaah this has been the problem all along. if only daniel wasnt so busy going on podcasts making fun of the idea of women in motorsport and actually spent some time to do some way overdue physics homework... lol. Imao even

the truth of the situation is yuki is in the best form of his career and also wiping the floor w daniel. like factually so. EVEN with team orders favouring daniel so his fans cant say its bc of that like they did with mclaren. i genuinely think its quite sad the amount of personal stock daniel fans have clearly invested in this mans career and how much it bothers them when he doesnt perform to their expectations - like he's ur driver, swallow it and accept it, because thats what he's been doing to try to move on. doing all this intense online hate bullshit only makes him look bad bc it highlights how badly and for how long he rly has been embarrassingly underperforming. but by this point it feels like they WANT him to underperform bc they crave that martyr underdog victimised figure to root for and fight for - which is why ur totally right anon, that someone always inevitably gets harrassed regardless of if daniel is failing or succeeding. 

i will say one thing which is that i rly dont think daniel is at all aware of whatever the fuck his fans do on twitter and instagram (and deffo not tumblr lmao). so i dont think this is an issue of like him telling his fans to chill out - and it doesnt work anyways, bc lando literally has made talking abt how much cyberbullying sucks a part of his personality and theres still some rly mean and hateful lando fans (not in a fun way like me<3 lol) (i hate on my own blog and in discord groupchats). so like thats not necessarily on him, its more on netflix for making him the lowest common denominator guy to like, ykwim? also the unfortunate reality is that despite the tshirts and the kneeling (or no kneeling) no one rly seems to stand up to defend the drivers of colour who literally constantly get SUCH vitriol thrown towards them w any occasion. im not expecting daniel of all ppl to say anything abt it ngl