#the interview in the quali pre-show

[onthebirdroads]

The Sky coverage just put the Australian flag next to Liam Lawson's name 💀😂

#f1 #formula 1 #ll40 #suzuka gp #suzuka gp 2023 #japanese gp 2023 #japanese gp #the interview in the quali pre-show #swooflia posts #liam lawson #jpn23

[rebelwrites]

I Will Never Stop Loving You || Part Three

Charles Leclerc x Reader

Final Part

Summary: It was the last race of the season but there was one thing missing for Charles.

Part One || Part Two

As always reblogs and feedback is highly appreciated ❤️

Softly you closed the back door behind you after going for a smoke, making your way around the kitchen you flicked the kettle on before getting out two mugs. One for you and one for your dad. Ever since your call with Charles on Lucy’s birthday things had started to change, you didn’t cry as much and you were hiding yourself away from the world.

You put a post up on your social media apologising for your sudden absence and any orders that had been placed would be fulfilled but you weren't accepting new orders.

“Kiddo, you are gonna miss it if you don’t hurry up.” Your dad shouted from the living room.

“Be through in a min, making a coffee.” You smiled, just as the kettle finished boiling.

Charles had been respectful of you needing space so any contact you had was because you sent the first message. But most of it was wishing him luck for the rest of the season.

Entering the living room you placed the two mugs on the coffee table before flopping on the sofa, picking up your sketch pad as you made yourself comfy on the sofa.

The moment Charles appeared on the screen for the pre-quali interview, you were sure your heart skipped a beat. He looked better than he did on the call, like he actually managed to get some decent sleep and the fire was back in his eyes.

Pulling your phone out you pulled up the conversation with Charles, letting your fingers dart across the screen.

To Charliebear 🐻❤️

Good luck this weekend, smash it like I know you can. Doesn’t matter if you come first or last as long as you put your all into it then that’s all that matters. We will be watching from the sofa x

Charles was in the middle of the interview when he pulled his phone out of his pocket, glancing at the screen when a genuine smile crossed his face as he read your text.

“Well, someone knows how to make you smile.” The interviewer said.

“Yeah, they really do.” He nodded, slipping his phone back in his pocket before winking at the camera.

You felt a smile tug at the corner of your lips as you dropped your gaze to the sketch pad on your lap. Suddenly the world felt like it was going to be right again one day.

“Did you just text him?” Dad asked with a big grin on his face.

“Don’t know what you are talking about.” You shrugged hearing your phone go off. Glancing at the screen you saw Charles had text back sending a string of red hearts and blowing kiss faces.

For the next couple of weeks you had started texting Charles more, at first it started with texting good luck for the race, then it was texting him after the race until you found yourself starting to text him throughout the days. Asking how things were going, what he was up to, telling him about your day etc.

Everyone had noticed a change in you, your smile was coming back and so was the sparkle in your eyes. Everyday your heart called out for Charles, each day that passed you missed him even more.

As you were lying in bed one Friday night rewatching One Tree Hill, you saw your phone ringing out the corner of your eyes. Grabbing the remote you turned the TV down before accepting the FaceTime call from Charles.

“Tout va bien? Everything okay?” You asked, adjusting your position in bed so you were now leaning against the headboard.

“Je ne peux pas dormir. I can’t sleep.” He sighed, running his hand over his face. “J'espère que ça ne te dérange pas que j'appelle. Hope you don't mind me calling.”

“Not at all, I was only watching TV anyway.” You smiled, pausing your comfort show.

“Let me guess, One Tree Hill.” He smirked, propping his phone up on the nightstand.

“No, I was urm watching,” you paused trying to think of another show but your mind went blank. “Okay, yes One Tree Hill.”

“Vous êtes trop mignon. You are too cute.” He grinned, reaching over for the TV remote. “What episode are you on?”

“Urm season one episode 21.” You whispered. “It’s only just started.”

“Okay, wait there.” Charles smiled, flicking onto the streaming service finding the show and loading up the right episode. “We can watch it together if you like?”

“Yeah, I’d like that.” You breathed, propping your phone up on your bedside table before snuggling down in bed.

“Is this the episode of the rain kiss?” Charles asked as he got himself comfy.

“You remember the episodes?”

“Sweetheart, how many times have we watched this show?” Charles hummed, raising his eyebrow at you.

A comfortable silence washed over the pair of you as you watched the show together, albeit in different countries and not exactly together but in this moment it was perfect. However Charles wasn’t really watching the show, his attention was purley on his phone watching how you were snuggled down in your bed clutching something in your arms. Squinting at the small screen he quickly realised it was one of his hoodies, the one that went missing after the night of the argument. A smile quickly spread on his face as he fiddled with your engagement ring that was still hanging around his neck.

In that moment he realised that he didn’t care about racing and the championship as much as he thought he did. He could have that life any day of the week and he was living his dream but what was the gut punching realisation was none of it mattered if you weren’t the one by his side. The only reason he hadn’t flown out to the UK was because you said you needed time and space so he was giving that to you, just like the reason he hadn’t given up on the rest of the season was because you didn’t want him to throw everything down the drain because of everything that had happened over the last couple of months.

The sound of soft snores brought his attention back to his phone, his heart melted at the sight of you sleeping, making him realise how much he missed you. He missed sharing the bed with you, the moments first thing in the morning when you were making the coffee, the late night talks.

He couldn’t bring himself to end the call, this was the most contact he had gotten since the argument.

“Fais de beaux rêves mon ange. Je t'aime pour toujours. Sweet dreams my angel. I love you, forever and always.” He hummed, switching the TV off feeling himself getting sleepy. Taking one last glance at his phone screen he found himself smiling as he drifted off to sleep.

Morning rolled around and the sound of soft snores coming from your left caused you to turn around, your heart melting at sight of Charles peacefully, his hair was now all fluffy. But you couldn’t get over the fact at how relaxed he looked, every time you saw him for the last couple of weeks he still looked like everything was tearing him up a pang of guilt washed over you as everything you both had been going through was because you walked out.

Running your fingers through your hair you came up with a plan. Grabbing your old laptop you waited for it to kick into life. Cursing at the speed it was going. Eventually it sprung into action, opening up the internet browser, you started searching for flights to Abu Dhabi. The plan was to surprise Charles, no matter if he won or lost you wanted to be there. You couldn’t live without him any more, he was your soul mate, the one you wanted to grow old with, the one you wanted to marry.

Smiling to yourself as you booked the flights, all you needed to do was speak to Pierre to arrange the grid passes.

“Qu'est-ce qui te fait sourire? What's got you smiling?” Charles hummed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“Nothing,” you giggled, closing the laptop and turning to face Charles. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you last night.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Charles smiled, pushing himself to a sitting position.

That’s when you caught sight of your engagement ring hanging around his neck.

“Vous avez toujours la bague? You still have the ring?” You whispered, feeling the tears prick your eyes at the fact Charles really meant it when he said he wasn’t giving up on you.

“Bien sûr ma chère. Je savais qu'il finirait par revenir à sa place un jour mais pour l'instant il restera autour de mon cou jusqu'à ce que ce jour vienne. Of course my dear. I knew it would end up back where it belongs one day but for now it will stay around my neck until that day comes.” He smiled, fiddling with the ring.

Before you could say anything your dad walked into your room with a freshly brewed cup of coffee, smiling at the saw you were on FaceTime with Charles.

“Good to see you, son.” Your dad nodded towards the camera. “Are you doing okay?”

“As well as can be.” Charles nodded. “I’d love to stay and chat but I need to get ready for the day of press conferences.”

“I will text you later.” You smiled at him before the call ended. Your dad smirked at the time of the call, he knew that you had been on the call all night whilst you slept, it was something you both used to do at the start of the relationship.

Ignoring the look from your dad you picked your phone up, instantly calling Pierre.

“Pierre, j'ai besoin de ton aide. Pouvez-vous me trier avec des laissez-passer de grille pour Abu Dhabi. Pierre, I need your help. Can you sort me out with grid passes for Abu Dhabi.” You said in a rush the moment he answered the call.

“S'il vous plaît calmez-vous, je viens juste de me réveiller. Please calm down, I've only just woke up.” He chuckled down the phone.

Wander through the house with your phone held against your ear with your shoulder, you swiped your cigarettes off the counter before heading out into the crisp UK autumn air as you babbled away to Pierre about your plan.

This was the best you had felt in a while but now you just had to wait a month for the final race of the season without spilling the surprise to Charles.

-

Standing in the arrivals of the airport your heart was pounding against your chest. This would be the first time you had seen Charles since you first walked out of the hotel those months ago. Everything had gone to plan so far, Charles still had no idea you would be greeting him at the end of the race no matter if he won or not.

You had a good feeling about the final race of the weekend, he had secured pole position for the race and he was looking strong out there.

Pierre had already texted you saying he was outside but you needed a moment to calm your thoughts. Over the last month it felt like you and Charles were getting back to the old versions of yourself, you were constantly texting or on FaceTime. Taking a breath you wrapped your fingers around the handle of your suitcase dragging it behind you as you made your way through the crowd. The hood on Charles’ hoodie had been pulled over your head, and the baseball cap was securely in place. The last thing you needed was the press catching on to you being here and spoiling everything you had planned.

Over the course of the months you had learnt to ignore the press, there was always some new article about what happened between you and Charles, it was laughable really they obviously did have anything else to report because they were focused on you.

The moment you stepped out of the airport you placed a cigarette between your lips scanning the pick up bays trying to spot Pierre’s car. Frowning when you couldn’t see him you felt your phone start ringing. Rolling your eyes you answered the call.

“Où es-tu? Where are you?”

“Tournez-vous à droite, je suis dans une location. Turn to you right, I'm in a rental.” He chuckled, watching as you turned around smiling when you saw the car ending the call.

Finishing your smoke you chucked your case into the back of the car before you clambered into the front seat.

“How is he doing?” You asked, watching the scenery change.

“Recently a lot better.” Pierre smiled softly, glancing over at you. “Ever since you FaceTimed him on Lucy’s birthday everything changed.”

“Truth is it took a lot for me to text him that day, I did it more so for me than Luce.” You admitted, leaning your head against the window.

“I know,” he winked, “Je ne suis pas aussi stupide que tu le penses. I'm not as stupid as you think I am.”

“Ferme-la et conduit. Shut up and drive.” You giggled, pulling your phone out finding yourself texting Charles with a huge smile on your face.

-

The crowd was going mental as Charles crossed the line with Pierre close behind him. Your smile was wide as you watched from Pierre’s garage. Everyone on the team had been so accommodating, setting you up so you were hidden out of sight.

Your heart was racing so fast you thought it was going to burst through your chest. Keeping your eyes glued to the screen you watched as the cars pulled up to the podium. All you wanted to do was run over to Charles but you had to wait. The plan was you were going to slip into the crowd blending in whilst he took the podium.

“Y/N, it’s time.” Pierre’s manager grinned, wrapping her arm around your shoulders. “Go get your man.”

Taking a deep breath you silently prayed that this didn’t backfire. Pushing your way through the crowd you found the perfect position in the sea of people, you still had the cap on so your face was shielded for now.

Watching your man brought tears to your eyes as you watched him pull the black cord from his fireproofs, squeezing his eyes closed before kissing your engagement ring, once he had done that he lifted the trophy in the air. That was your queue.

The crowd fell silent for a split second as they watched in awe so you took that to your advantage, wolf whistling causing Pierre to grin, nudging his friend, leaning into him and whispering something to the Monégasque.

You wasn’t quite sure what Pierre said to Charles but he started scanning the crowd until he locked eyes with you, even from this distance you could see the tears that rolled down his cheek as he was trying to determine if this was real or not. Pulling the Ferrari cap off you ran your fingers through your hair, throwing him a wink.

Everything happened in slow motion from that point, as soon as Charles was off the podium he passed the trophy to Pierre before pushing his way through the crowd ignoring everyone that was shouting at him to come back.

All that mattered to him was getting to his girl.

Fumbling with the sleeves of the hoodie you watched as the crowd moved out of his way, you knew the camera’s would be following but you didn’t care.

As soon as he was within touching distance you ran into his arms, jumping so your legs were around his waist and arms around his neck. Automatically you nuzzled your face into the crook of his neck inhaling the smell of after shave. Once again the world felt right again.

“Je suis désolé. I’m sorry” you cried over and over against his skin causing him to hold onto you tighter.

“Tu n'as pas besoin de t'excuser, je suis celui qui t'a conduit au point de rupture. You don't need to apologise, I am the one who led you to breaking point.” He cried, refusing to let you go even when your legs dropped to the ground, his arms securely wrapped around your waist.

The pair of you stood in silence with the whole world watching you reconnect.

“Just kiss her!” Pierre hollered, making you both chuckle.

“Il y a quelque chose que je dois faire d'abord. There is something I need to do first.” He grinned, moving so he could pull the black cord from under his fireproofs.

Your eyes fixated on him as he undid the clasp letting the diamond ring fall into the palm of his hand.

Tears rolled down your cheeks as he dropped down onto one knee in the middle of the crowd.

“Je sais que je l'ai déjà demandé, mais je sais que j'ai été un connard et que je passerai ma vie à me rattraper. I know I have asked this before but I know I have been a dick and I will spend my life making it up to you.” He grinned, taking your hand in his, his eyes shining bright with love. “Je t'ai laissé t'éloigner de moi une fois et je ne laisserai plus jamais ça arriver. Y/N tu es mon monde, rien d'autre n'a d'importance si tu n'es pas à mes côtés. I let you walk away from me once and I'm not going to ever let it happen again. Y/N you are my world, nothing else matters if you aren't by my side.” He cried, taking a deep breath. “Je ne peux plus supporter d'être séparé de toi. Y/N allez-vous me rendre l'homme le plus heureux une fois de plus et accepter de reprendre ce stupide monégasque et de devenir sa femme. I can't bear to be apart from you any longer. Y/N will you make me the happiest man once again and agree to take this stupid Monégasque back and become his wife.”

Tears streamed down your cheeks as you looked down on the one person that made everything better. The last couple of months told you that you would rather be by his side no matter how shit times are or how hard they got.

Slowly you nodded your head as a huge grin spread on your face. “Yes.” You breathed, watching his smile grow ten times wider as he slid your engagement ring back in your finger.

Once he was happy it was securely in place he pushed himself to his feet, placing both hands on your cheeks, wiping the tears away with his thumbs.

“Back where it belongs.” He breathed against your lips, before capturing them in a steering kiss.

#Charles Leclerc #charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc x you #charles leclerc imagine #f1 #f1 x reader #f1 x you #f1 imagine #formula one imagine #formula 1 x reader #formula 1 x you #formula one x reader

[chattahoochiecoochie]

Third Counts

Summary: Kimi’s girl promises to give him anything he wants, so long as he keeps a promise of his own.

Word Count: 2k

Warnings: dom/sub undertones, switch behavior, penetrative sex, greedy!kimi

Translations: I’m American what do you want. Google translate. Kultsi / Gold   Ole Hyva Tytto / Be A Good Girl  

A/N: Brainworms for real. Minors DNI. Yeah, I’m h*rny on main, what are you gonna do about it? I’ve been flat out of shape for a while now, my keyboard and I are going through a divorce, but I am back and sicker than ever. The rest is here.

They’ve been in the pen for a while now, he’s one of the last to go for his pre race interview. It makes sense, he has the least to say—he’s built a career around the fact. Nonetheless, despite how used she might be to waiting with him, she is starting to grow impatient. Toying with the quilted cotton of his racing suit, she tilts from one heel to the other, trying to stay cool.

It's hot here in Budapest, and humid, her head has started to fog, almost literally. “Be nice, remember your answers about the engine?” The barrier in front of them has been filled in by Sebastian, they’re next, finally.

“I’m always nice.”

“What are you saying about the engine?” She hardly skips a beat on his snarky response, too hot to have one of her own.

“I’ve been working with the guys, we have confidence in our improvements. Pace has improved over qualy, obviously.”

“No attitude on the ‘obviously.’” Laura presses a kiss to his cheek, winding her fingers through the fist he’s curled at his side.

“So bossy.”

“Yeah, thanks, see you all after, hopefully with a win!” Sebastian is grinning, waving to the crowd of journalists hanging on his every word.

“If you’re good, I’ll let you boss me back later.” She nips at his ear when she whispers to Kimi, breath hot against his skin. Laura catches a blush on his cheek before putting a hand on his back and shoving him towards the barrier.

Recorder out to catch his answers, she follows him forward, slinking off to the side to stay out of sight. Be good, she mouths. A flush crawls up his neck as the questions start.

“Hello, always good to see you Kimi. We’ll keep it short. Any thoughts about the race ahead?”

“No. Good track, will be good to drive.” His mouth sets into a line, and he lets his eyes slide towards Laura for approval.

“Ha, right. You’ve had some engine troubles over the season so far, but expectations were high for Hungary, how are you feeling in regards to the improvements?”

“I’ve been working with the guys. It’s been hard of course to keep having such troubles,” His eyes slide, taunting her as he ad libs his way through the question. The quirk in her brow puts a smirk on his face. “It’s about reliability now, we have confidence in the improvements. Pace improved in qualifying, obviously.”

His tone is attitude free at the end, and Laura fights a smirk of her own when he glances at her.

“Alright then, good luck, we’ll see you after, hopefully with a podium of some kind?” Will Buxton looks expectant, offering the mic one last time as if Kimi might transform into a fountain of speech.

“Yeah, okay.” A toothy grin breaks across Kimi’s face as he turns away, arm out to take Lauras as they start their escape back to the garage.

“You’ll do what I say now, yes?” Kimi has an arm wound tight around her waist as he steers them both into the garage, beelining past the car to press her into a corner.

Bringing a hand up to his collar, Laura lets her back flatten against the cold wall of the garage, trying not to groan as the air conditioning begins to hit them fully.

“Kultsi?” His voice is even, but his face tells a different story. Hands tight on her waist, he drives his hips into hers. Both arms up, hands on his collar, the fabric rippling, she finds his eyes before pulling at the suit. Dragging his head down, she hooks his chin with her shoulder, planting a kiss on a vein that's started to show along his neck.

“If you bring me a trophy,” Laura presses her mouth to his neck, tongue sliding over the tattoo of her name that covers his skin until she lands beneath his ear. “I’ll let you do whatever you want to me.”

“I think P3 was a realistic ending for you, baby. Two slow pit stops, and that safety car threw everyone off. I think everyone is happy with P3.”

“I’m not mad. P3 is good.” Kimi holds open the door to his motorhome, waving her through with his free hand. “P3 still gets a trophy.”

The door shuts behind him with a dull whistle, locking them in for the first private moment they’ve had all week. Laura can feel her heart skip a beat, and then another when he steps towards her.

“Is that so?”

The heat is starting to affect her vision too, she can’t remember watching him cross the motorhome to stand in front of her, but he is. Looking down his nose into her eyes, smirking as he shifts the trophy into her hand.

“I’m not sure this counts.” It definitely does, it’s a pretty white vase with blue leaves and gold on the trim. It's heavy too, ceramic maybe. She’s not arguing because she disagrees, or even because she wants to stall. Only to rile him up, to make his blood rush, to make him desperate and needy and hungry—hungrier than she knows he is already.

He’s warm, feet planted between hers, hips digging at hers as he tries to maintain his composure. “You promised, Kultsi.” His voice is tight and raspy, frustration evident, just how she likes it. Hands on her waist, his fingers dig into the fabric of her skirt, nails threatening to rip through it completely.

Weak at the first sign of him begging, Laura presses a kiss to his mouth, smiling into him when he moans into her. “Tell me what you want then, baby.”

“I want you to ride me.” He kisses the words into her mouth, tongue sliding across her bottom lip as he speaks. Fingers still rigid, he moans again before clawing fully at her skirt, rushing for the zipper and shoving it down her thighs before its undone properly.

The black fabric is a puddle at her feet, soon joined by a bright Ferrari red blouse. One hand on his tattoo, the other pressed flat over his boxers, she is too busy kissing him to notice as his racing suit is lost in a similar frenzy.

Clothing on the floor, he slides his hands down her back, pulling her up off her feet until he’s holding her up against his chest, guiding her legs around his waist. Cock straining, she can feel the tip of him between her legs as he stumbles towards the back of the motorhome, mouth on her neck as he walks.

They’re a mess, limbs hitting the narrow walls, drool on his lips as he leaves a mark on the twine of muscle between her collar and shoulder. The end of the bed takes him off his feet and threatens to send them both flying to the floor. It’s unmade, a mess from when he woke from his nap earlier in the day. The sheets tangle between their legs as he drags her up towards the headboard.

“Here, Kultsi.” Tucked between a mountain of pillows, boxers kicked off to the floor, he puts a hand out to guide her into his lap.

Laughing lightly, she tugs at the sheet that's caught on her foot before crawling the rest of the way to him. Legs spread across his thighs, she sits in front of him, baited and waiting.

Kimi cups the back of her head with his left hand, wedding ring pressing against her neck, drawing her in so he can kiss her again. “I want you,” His right hand finds her slit, fingers dipping inside as he tilts her head so he can whisper into her ear. “To ride me until you come. And I’m gonna hold you down when you do, until you give me another.”

Pulling his hand from her, he brings it to her mouth, watching closely as she sucks on his fingers. Covered with saliva, he holds her head steady against his, eyes locked on hers. Dropping his hand low he touches himself, wetting his cock with her spit.

There's a moan shared between them when her hips sink low. Lip between his teeth, he lets his eyes shut, falling against the headboard as she starts to rock back and forth.

It’s slow at first, a gentle bucking motion. He’s buried to the hilt, and she lets herself adjust to the sensation before daring to lift her hips. Arms around his neck, Laura holds herself straight until she finds the right pace. He’s quiet beneath her, eyes cracked slightly to watch her.

“Faster, Kultsi.” Pressing his hand against her ass, he lets his wedding band dig into her skin until he’s certain it has left a mark. She strokes faster, hips bucking as she lifts off of him before sliding back down, her pace heightened at his request.

She looks angelic on him, eyes shut, head rolling, her pretty hair fanned over her chest, the roots sweaty. He watches closely, focused on her face as she scrunches her nose. In quick succession, she clenches around him, faltering as she slides down his shaft, leaving him deep inside her as she nears the edge.

Putting two fingers on her lips, he waits for her to part them before dipping against her tongue, letting her suck at them until they’re coated with spit. Satisfied, he lets them drop between her legs, stroking her clit as her legs begin to twitch around his thighs.

“That’s it.” Using his middle finger, Kimi presses against her clit, scraping his nail across the bud gently. “Come on me, Laura.”

There are tears forming in her eyes when it happens, and he pulls her to his chest soon after, planting a string of kisses along the crown of her head. A moment of stillness passes before he shifts inside her, blissfully aware of how sensitive she must be now.

“Kimi—”

“I’ll do it myself if you don’t.” His thighs move beneath her, and he can feel himself twitching inside her, the head of his cock aching as he strokes into her. She whimpers, her mouth against his shoulder, teeth grazing skin as she tries to sit up.

“Kimi I—”

“Anything I want. One more and I’ll fill you up.” Pushing upwards, he finds a fistful of her hair and eases her back, tugging slightly at her scalp until she’s upright again. “Ole hyva tytto, please.”

It’s quicker than the first. Sloppier too. Her hips throb as she bounces up and down on him, skin slapping loudly as she fucks him into the mattress. His hold on her hair stays, though his arm goes slack when she kisses him, drool passing between the two of them before dripping down her chin.

A wet spot is left on the tattoo on his neck, the faint mark of a shallow hickey over the letter ‘U’ when she finally pulls off of him. All this followed by the slow forming beads of sweat on the crown of her head. She knows they must look filthy, but as a second orgasm nears she can’t bring herself to care.

“Baby, baby I—oh god.” Her back is pin straight as it starts to swell inside her. Laura lets her eyes shut, hands on his chest as the wave begins to roll.

“Good girl, such a good girl.” She can feel him, every inch, inside of her. He’s throbbing, and then, just like he promised, come spills as the wave crashes.

Where she left a mark earlier on his stomach, there is now a puddle, a slick shine across his skin as fluid spreads out over his adonis belt. She crumples almost instantly, collapsing onto his chest, too tired to move.

“Imagine what I'll let you do for P2.” A small laugh falls from her lips, drowning quickly by a gentle kiss as he lifts her jaw between his thumb and forefinger.

“I like it better when you boss me around.”

A/N I need a shock collar. And a leash. Good god almighty y’all. I’ll kiss you on the mouth if you reblog this.

#i am sick in the head #but like #I'm good like this #chattahoochiecoochie writes #kimi fic #kimi raikkonen #f1 smut #f1 fic #f1 fanfic

[bunnieshoneys]

hihi!! which accounts do u find helpful for keeping up with f1? been searching but there’s loads of news i still miss so i was curious! 🥰

long post ahead!! but these are the accounts i find most useful for keeping up on F1, primarily on twt.

first off, the actual teams, on both instagram and twitter. they'll post live updates. I don't personally follow all the teams because I pretty much only care about Ferrari and McLaren, lol, but if you want live updates during quali or a race, then teams will post updates on their drivers in real time.

The formula one twitter account does the same thing for ALL drivers in one during races/quali (i also follow F2 and F3, along with prema, to keep up with the feeder series!)

of course, the actual drivers' accounts will post some interesting stuff, but it tends to be late, and not in very much detail, lol.

all of those are pretty given, though, so let me provide some personal favs for news, baring in mind i have mostly been focussing on news i.e. upgrades/pace/data analysis. im a leclerc fan, lol, i have to have the numbers to fight the sainz fans (joking... mostly)

@/fiadocsbot posts all the FIA documents post and pre-race, regarding component replacements, penalties, etc. its super useful to see them as soon as they release.

@/formularacers_, @/fastestpitstop both post all breaking news. the one thing i would say about this is that they provide the source / article (which are often foreign language e.g dutch, french, spanish) and it's up to you to kind of decide how reliable that source is. for example, during the horner scandal, they reported on articles coming out of de telegraaf, which is intensely unreliable, but is still breaking news. not everything will be accurate, but all paddock rumours come from somewhere!

There are also news accounts for each team. @/fanaticsferrari, @/RBR_daily for example. I don't follow any others, but they definitely exist. They post news only pertaining to the team in question, often data from races, driver performances, or TP/driver interviews and press conference transcripts. PLEASE bare in mind: these are FAN RUN, and intensely biased in favour of the team!

the rest of the accounts i list are primarily not news, per se, but for data/race pace, all of which have to be taken with a pinch of salt due to bias in data analysis, and due to the fact they are fan accounts.

For data, there are a lot of different accounts, but @/FDataAnalysis is the most comprehensive, and the least biased/objective (yes, there is still bias in data analysis, even when looking at raw numbers). They primarily compare teams, though, and the best account I've seen this year for comparing teammates is @/FormulaPace. They display the fully tyre/fuel-corrected lap times in a race and analyse pace. there is always some bias, but this one shows where the data comes from.

@/fiagirly - a lewis hamilton fan, but she provides some great news and analysis, particularly on mercedes: that's where her bias lies.

@/_allthatglitz - a leclerc fan, provides some good laptime stuff on ferrari in particular, and some opinion stuff.

@/vetteleclerc - translates ita and ger articles on f1

@/feeder_series - news on ALL feeder series across the world! they're brilliant, and update on F2 right the way down to various F4 series and F1 academy, and super formula lights in japan.

and of course, the FIA accredited journalists all have twitter. However, I personally avoid most of the broadcast journalists (mostly Sky Sports) as recently they've been very weirdly biased to the point even I'm noticing it. they tend to really push british drivers and particuarly after bahrain, they just spread straight up misinfo about leclerc's braking issues. The written media journalists tend to be a bit more trustworthy, but everyone has their biases. Unfortunately I don't have any particular @/s for them, they pop up on my algorithm a lot, lol. @/ChrisMedlandF1 is great, though!

Sites that are worth following:

RaceFans - brilliant independent coverage of all things motorsport including WEC and feeder series

AMuS (Auto Motor und Sport - German) - reliable source for rumours.

The Race - motorsport coverage, all series.

There's also a good few reliable italian sources, but most of these are reported by formularacers/fastestpitstop and i get the articles there. the only one i follow individually is racefans. im a big fan of their content.

hope this helps!! most of my news is curated by my algorithm, teehee, but there's defo interesting stuff out there!!

(there's also a lot of content here on tumblr, but i tend to avoid it, for reasons..)

#bunny answers #bunny talks f1

[vro0m]

2015 season summary

FINALLY! Sorry this took so long, but as you know I was drowning in classes and thesis writing. Now that it’s done let’s get back to it, starting with the 2015 season summary.

Winning his second title really put Lewis at ease at Mercedes. He’s relaxed, he’s comfortable, he’s confident. He turned 30 during the break. His relationship with Nicole finally ended for good. He talks about growing up, enjoying every day. He’s doing even more beside racing than before (and yes, it starts discourse again). In particular in the first half of the season there’s also a recurrent theme of him wanting to be a team leader (but maybe he also means first driver, he is out of a contract at the end of the year after all).

Lewis is maturing for sure, but he’s not fully grown yet. There’s no big drama during the year, though. Nico is unhappy with Lewis in China and then there’s a couple of arguably aggressive starts in Japan and in the USA. Things are pretty chill overall. Mercedes is dominating (except for that horrible mistake in Monaco and the struggle in Singapore) although Ferrari comes through here and there. And in the team, Lewis is on top. Easily. 11 poles, 10 wins.

But 2015 might just be the eye of the storm between two spicy seasons. Nico is on pole for the last 6 races, and although he’s only able to convert them into wins once Lewis has won his third title, the shift is palpable. As soon as he feels it, Lewis' attitude changes as well. He’s less positive, more defensive. As I was saying he’s not there yet. Maybe he just can’t be wise in the face of Nico. Maybe these two just bring the worst out of each other and that’s all there can be. (After all Nico also showed he can’t take the high road either with cap gate.) At the end of the year, Lewis shields himself from the questions with his third title (“I think being world champion sounds a lot better than winning the race.”), but that won’t work anymore once the next season starts 👀

Other important events of 2015 are the RBR - Renault engine issue, and also Max’s F1 debuts. Everybody is already adamant he’ll win a championship someday and indeed, he is very impressive.

Now let’s see if the storm indeed resumed in 2016 (but yes. yes it did. we all know it did.)

Let’s talk numbers : so far, I’ve completed 52.5% of my rewatch. In total, I’ve made 1,558 GIFs to illustrate it.

Here’s a list of the 2015 GPs with a quick summary and the link to the actual recap if you wanna read it or take a look at the GIFs I made :

1. Australian GP : 2015 season context. First season at Ferrari for Seb and Alonso went back to McLaren. Also Max’s first season. Loads of messy stuff happening in the pre-season / first GP weekend. Lewis interview. Lewis pole. Lewis win. Extremely boring race. Seb making fun of Nico.

2. Malaysian GP : Race n°150! Wet quali + controversy. Lewis pole. Natural vs. analytical driver rant. Lewis P2. (Bonus : “good boy, good boy” - the famous sewis podium moment - pegging Hamilton)

3. Chinese GP : Lewis pole again. Eventful race. Lewis win. Brocedes drama. (Bonus : Lewis and Nico’s postrace interviews)

4. Bahrain GP : Lewis pole. Nico interview. Lewis win. Stressful ending. Baseball celebration. (Bonus I found later on : joint Sewis interview)

5. Spanish GP : There’s a whole “Lewis is too distracted” thing again ugh. Bad race start. Bad pit stop. Moody Lewis. Several pit stop dramas. Lewis P2, his 75th podium.

6. Monaco GP : Lewis pole. Hill has to swallow his words about him being too distracted. Great Lewis x Thierry Henry segment. Big crash then terrible strategy decision. P3.

7. Canadian GP : Lewis pole. Boring first half then slightly less. Lewis win. Bono lost his dad.

8. Austrian GP : Lewis pole. Bad start. A terrible scary crash. Some stupid mistake. P2.

9. British GP : Lewis pole (yes, still). Lewis drifting with Johnny segment. Horrible start but good race. Lewis win. He is absolutely buzzing.

10. Hungarian GP : Lewis pole. Minute of silence for Jules. Terrible start. Suspenseful but bad race. Lewis P6. (Bonus : “you’re very quiet Bono”)

11. Belgian GP : Lewis pole, for a change. Lewis win. The crowd chanting his name. Talking about retirement. Finally admits he might win the title again.

12. Italian GP : Bleached blond Lewis! And guess what? On pole. Lewis interview. Rowing competition. Weird, weird end. Lewis win. Nice cooldown room / podium.

13. Singapore GP : Lewis surprisingly not on pole! Mercedes is struggling. DNF. Also someone is walking on the track? (Bonus : Seb being a flirt)

14. Japanese GP : Nico pole + interview. Aggressive start. Alonso’s “GP2 engine!” Kinda boring race. Lewis win. Matches Senna’s record. Nice sewis podium.

15. Russian GP : Nico pole. Briatore talking about Lewis. Crash start. Another bad crash. Lewis is a good man. Lewins win. Gayest sewis scene I’ve seen so far. Ferraris getting strong. It finally truly dawns on him he might win a title again. Controversial WCC decider. 

16. US GP (part 1 - part 2 - part 3) : Wet quali, Nico pole. Starting on inters. Aggressive start again. Loads of issues. Good race! WDC decider! Famous cap controversy. Nice Niki interview and hug. “Hopefully he’s proud.”

17. Mexican GP : Nico pole again. Rock star racing driver. Mansell x Lewis interview. Lewis not happy with decisions. Lewis P2.

18. Brazilian GP : Nico pole. Alonso meme weekend. Nico interview, some stuff about their rivalry. Boring af. Lewis P2. Different strategy discourse.

19. Abu Dhabi GP : And another Nico pole. Lewis interview. Max interview. Max VS. Lewis debut rant. Slight engine modes controversy. Lewis P2. Lovely podium moment with the Merc rep. Weird press conference. Weird Lewis fancam.

#f1 #lewis hamilton #vro0m's race reviews #2015 #2015 season summary

[39oa]

hi! i’m slowly getting interested in f1 but i don’t really know how to start. so i was wondering if you had any content to recommend (except for the races of course) to get into the fandom, or anything else that could help, really.. thanks :)

oh anon i would love to help!!! are there any drivers/teams you're already particularly fond of or things you want to learn more about? i feel like it'd be easier to narrow down content if i understood your interests better since it's really something you can mold entirely to your own tastes and there are a million different ways to Enjoy and Consume the sport LOL. tbh i call myself an f1 fan but i mostly just rep oscar and in reality enjoy junior formulae more as a whole because i find the process of getting to f1 more intriguing than actually being in it... so it's really whatever you make of it! i'll try to divide my notes categorically so hopefully that helps a little bit but lmk if there's anything specific you're looking for :') and as always apologies in advance for my rambling 💔

getting into the actual sport

having a baseline understanding of the sport is obviously useful but i'm not sure how much you already know so i'll assume you can find super basic info about how seasons and points work! if you want to delve just a Bit further then:

i think chain bear is a decent youtube channel for easy explanations on some technical aspects and little things you may not have picked up on yet that will help when watching races

drive to survive is of course Not Great but it can be a nice and quick window into learning names and faces, even if a lot of it is ridiculously simplified or overexaggerated. it's basically like using duolingo for learning a new language in that it should be regarded as a semi-reliable supplemental material readily packaged for convenient consumption. if there are specific drivers you're interested in you can always pick and choose eps to consume decent Background Lore for, e.g. you can just watch s1e8 if you're a sharl fan

honestly not to shill for official f1 media but i do think f1tv is a pretty decent streaming platform when getting into the sport... definitely not saying you should subscribe to it (if it's even available in your country!) but just as an aside and maybe for future reference i do believe it's very friendly for new watchers because live races have different feeds that let you track race data (gaps, tyre usage, granular sector data during quali, etc.) and it also lets you switch between driver onboards which can be cool. moreover it has pre-race/post-race shows, technical analyses, archives of past seasons, all the f2/f3 content, documentaries, etc. so it's a pretty complete package! although a good amount of stuff gets x-posted to the official youtube channel so it's not a big deal

if you like podcasts, i think beyond the grid is cool because it has a fun variety of interviews (current drivers, retired drivers, tps, engineers, etc.) about both past and current events so you can basically seek out whatever you're interested in learning more about. otherwise i don't really listen to f1 podcasts regularly because i have weirdly low patience for them compared to hockey, but my friend told me that shift+f1 does yearly primers so that could be something useful to check out! (here's the 2023 season preview, i haven't checked it out but i thought i'd link anyway)

keeping up with news

obviously an important part of fandom is trying to keep up with current affairs, so if you haven't already then i would of course follow the f1 youtube channel + twitter account (or whatever other social media you use), f1 nowadays is extremely effective at marketing itself so it's not like hockey where you're fighting for your life waiting for the unfunniest puck personality video in existence to drop every 8 months. not that all f1 driver content is necessarily funny but there's probably a touch more investment in maintaining the illusion! anyway.

if you use reddit then r/formula1 is honestly probably the best aggregate source of f1 news and up-to-date info, i don't read everything there but it's pretty useful and easy to navigate. plus sometimes when i want to cause myself irreparable psychic damage from something that already pissed me off i can venture into a 500-comment section to get my blood boiling even more... 10/10 would recommend

other than that it's really like — follow official channels for any other drivers or teams you're fond of tbh, i do have a few motorsports journalists in my twitter list but since i respect the fact that some people don't enjoy endless news spam i'd maybe just recommend chris medland if you want a succinct live feed during races for the moment? f1 journalism is kind of godless so you don't *need* to follow that many reporters on a whole.

driver personality content

unfortunately i'll be showing my age when i say i don't have a tiktok account but now that i think about it that's probably a great source of information because it seems like f1 fandom is thriving over there!!! regardless the official f1 youtube does have a lot of little driver personality videos you can watch to get to know them more, and again i'd recommend checking out official team + driver channels for more tailored longform content. for ex just from very recent mcl fan pov they have an unboxed series with behind the scenes of select races and also loads of fun minigame content; every team should have at least SOMETHING to nibble on but certain teams are definitely more marketing-savvy than others (aka big 3 + mcl) 🥲

official f1: f1 has a yearly series called grill the grid with just mini quizzes that all the drivers compete in, some are less interesting but it's overall not bad content. the channel has a playlist for the 2021 gtgs which includes the iconic sebvettel world champion video LOL... actually if you sort the f1 channel by Most Viewed there are probably some fun classic videos in there (looking now it's a lot of crashes but you can ignore those lol), like press conference highlights and other convenient top 10 lists. for a random rec i was just nostalgically revisiting the 2019 rookie of the year video and it was getting to me a little bit!

sky sports f1 will also occasionally have good interview/inside content that you can check out, a lot of it is geolocked though (same with canal+ content in france). but for example i felt so much experiencing this random alex interview from last week... he is truly guy of this world

fan compilations: again if there are any drivers you like then you can just search up their names and there will be a ton of comps with Funny MomentsTM, sometimes it helps to just pick a guy and see how you feel about him as you consume content because your true interests will organically develop and surface eventually... sorry i feel like i'm writing a manifesto on fandom in general which is definitely not what you asked for LOL. but like twitch quartet (aka charles, george, alex, and lando) have a ton of silly streaming highlights you can find on youtube, lando has a gaming company called quadrant that he does videos with which can be uhhh hit or miss depending on how much you enjoy Lad Culture, etc...

really it's so easy to get hyperspecific with content once you pick a team or driver so i'm not sure what else to recommend on a general level but that's what i've got off the top of my head! fandom definitely skews a lot toward rb/merc/fer/mcl so it's easiest to consume both video content and fic for them, but if you're willing to go trawling for interviews then you can really get invested in anyone... fandom culture also varies so wildly depending on how you follow the sport and which drivers you invest in emotionally. my closest friend is a "chirlie" as they say and it really is an experience rife with organizational trauma and TFW You're Beholden To The Stranglehold Of Your Legacy so that's always a great pick if you're craving maximum narrative evisceration, or if you're in it for the fic then you could literally just get really into maxiel, but i'm basically chilling in my land of rookie stonks and sit down to watch non-mcl content maybe once a month.

honestly i only follow like 3.5 f1 fans on tumblr because i'm objectively terrified by the size of the fandom HLSHDFLKH so i mostly consume things in a vacuum and talk to like one friend 😭 but there loads of cool creators out here and you can always find a few gifmakers/fanartists/etc. and just follow the rabbit hole from there!!! best of luck and hope this helps >__<

#a

[dizzyduck44]

Yes British lads are really like that

So I saw an ask that @landhole-norris had and it reminded me of a post I’ve been meaning to write for a while.

Lots of people seem to perceive either Lando or George as arrogant and bratty, or worse, jealous of the other. However I think if you see past your initial hate for either of them, there is a logical explanation, in fact they have told you it themselves.

George effectively inherited Lando as a friend from Lando’s older brother and they never really raced each other till F2. They have a similar path to F1, both having driven for Trevor Carlin at some point. However I think it was F2 when they really started getting to know each other properly. Not only were they fighting each other for the championship, but Mercedes and McLaren were sending them off to places for tyre tests and media commitments at the same time.

Not only is there a lovely interview with them in F2 when they have to grade each other’s season, (and they are so complimentary of each other), they also did a lot of press together when it was announced they were joining F1.

Hence why George has cracked gags about Lando talking to multiple girls, traveling with as much luggage as a girl and let’s not forget the sticky magazine comment. They spent a lot of time together pre-F1. They weren’t in school with other friends, they were at some track somewhere together.

Now Lando is a sarcastic shit. George only cracked these jokes because he knew Lando could take it and give it back.

At the same time, when Lando had zero self confidence in himself, George was always quick to say how well he was doing.

George has never been shy about the fact he was never sure F1 was a possibility for him. Lando went the opposite way, always believed he’d make it F1, got there and felt so out of his depth. Ironically they have always believed in each other.

Remember Sakhir. Lando told anyone who would ask, George can stick it on pole. George could win this race. Not a flicker of doubt in his mind. After the race George went to Lando, as he would let him vent and rage and break down if he needed to, BUT would also give him a reality check of you just drove Lewis Hamilton’s car and smashed it!

Or how about Spa 2021. Lando saying he watched George’s epic quali lap in the ambulance on the way to hospital. These are not the actions of bitter rivals.

George wanted that Mercedes seat so bad. Last year Lando was killing it, podiums, collecting points like Pokemon. Whilst it was great to see them together when Lando got his first pole, it must have eaten George a little. Give me the car and I’ll do that to.

This year Lando called out George for being “no fun anymore” which George seemed a bit snappy about. In his defence he has said some things in the last couple of weeks that might explain things.

Firstly last week he admitted he was overthinking and over complicating things this year. He’d basically done a 2019 Lando. So when Lando called him out on not being fun anymore, he knew something was up with his friend, but obviously George wasn’t saying what.

Then today, George’s throwaway comment of “first time in 4 years I’ve beaten Lando in the championship”. On some level that has been eating away at George. Not in an I hate Lando way but frustration of never being able to show what he could do. He knew he’d beaten Lando before and was never going to do it in a Williams.

Last week you saw the smiles on their faces. Lando does not resent George for winning a race before him. It will hurt, but he knows how much he wanted it. George’s immediate reaction, “you next”.

Then today they stood there unprompted and congratulated each other on the season they have just had. The fact Lando has out performed his car this season has not been lost on George (and probably Lewis and Mercedes) and he wanted to say that.

They have shown us over and over again who they are. Yes they bicker a bit like brothers, yes they are competitive, but woe-betide the person who tries to chat shit about the other in front of them.

No they are not going to be going on holidays together, barely share an interest off the track, but they know they have each other’s back. Yes that means they will throw a bitchy comment at each other now and again, how people perceive that is their issue. These two will walk side by side through their F1 careers (same number of starts), celebrate the highs, commiserate the lows and end up doing donuts side by side in Abu Dhabi some day. And one will probably drag the other for being shit at that as well.

#lando norris #george russell #long read

[paddockpatrol]

My 2 cents on the great sky boycott (great name)

Australia, Canada, Ireland, and the USA all use the Sky UK commentary. Some have their own journos for pre/post race but not all. Apart from Ireland those are big F1 markets. We all know F1 is trying so hard to get more and more American F1 fans.

At quite a few races it is a Sky UK employee doing post race/post quali interviews for the top 3. Massively embarassing for the sport if Max refuses to talk. Because those interviews are shown in most countries, translated over by each nation's commentators.

Sky Germany gets the notebook as part of their post race package (and we've all seen the clips of ted being ignored). If them and Sky Italia are being boycotted too thats 2 more huge markets that lose out on Max/Red Bull.

Now there are alternatives, but they are either geoblocked/region exclusive, not live, or show a very limited amount of interviews.

I raise my glass to Red Bull for saying enough is enough, someone needed to take Sky off their high horse.

I think you worded it perfectly, anon. That's my thinking as well. It's why I figure that this matter is already at the highest levels of FOM/ Liberty.

As you said, this impacts huge markets. And with Sky having just extended the deal till 2029 AND everyone and their mother knowing from DTS that Max does not fuck around and will simply ignore them, well....

I also think Sky still don't understand Verstappen genuinely doesn't care about the fame aspect and would love absolutely minor to zero media exposure. Because of that alone they're at a disadvantage; they don't hold the cards they have with many others.

Right now, it's advantage Red Bull and I am very very curious to see how it finishes.

#max verstappen #oracle red bull racing #the great sky boycott of 2022

[rickybaby]

again – those were three races in an absolutely ridiculous season of attrition that gave them opportunities under exceptional circumstances, not the pure team performance, which is what norris is referring to.

the other races norris could have won would also have been in exceptional circumstances; that he was even in the conversation for the pole (and sort-of race win) in belgium was because it was a wet qualifying session, which puts less of the onus on the car's capabilities and strengths. and then there wasn't even a race.

and in sochi, no matter how you feel about how it ended, he put it on pole in wet-to-dry qualifying conditions (where, again, the onus is less on the car) and also had other front runners messing up (lewis hamilton in quali, had to come back in the race, perez not performing well) or taking engine penalties (verstappen, bottas post-quali, even leclerc in similarly-rated machinery).

sochi was a day where everything didn't go right – for both norris and daniel. yes, some of norris' inexperience showed at the end (see from the interview: “We want to continue with the improvements that we’ve made so far, maximise our opportunities and make a couple fewer mistakes from both my side and the team's"), but similarly the team were floundering and didn't know how to interpret the oncoming weather clearly enough and communicate to someone being driven down by lewis hamilton himself – but they also gave daniel a poor strategy and pitstop that likely cost him a higher position by the end of it.

you can debate about monza and how close the two were on pace there, and daniel did not win just because of the strategy and pitstops, but they, alongside the circumstances of the weekend, opened the window of opportunity for daniel's own performance. yes, he likely would have won without verstappen and hamilton crashing, but that still doesn't take away the exceptional circumstances pre race. without rear gunners in perez and bottas, neither of the top teams had much to play with strategy wise – which is where mclaren got it right.

daniel had a nearly flawless weekend; and norris just about had one or two things not quite go his way (namely getting crowded out at the sprint race start, which had a knock-on effect across the weekend due to how big your pace advantage must be to overtake both with those regulations and at monza), but he was still there, right behind.

under those three weekends, norris was (even just slightly) in the conversation for the win – but similarly they were all under exceptional circumstance, not "regular" race weekends.

to be able to win on a "regular" race weekend, from the get-go, week in week out, is what mclaren and norris want, are working towards, and are seeing the evidence of progress for.

as norris said in the interview:

"...in the past there were always times when the hopes were raised, but we didn’t continue on some of the improvements we made,"

immediately after sochi, in turkey, they were nowhere near winning. and they never came close again for the rest of the season, the following season or even up until silverstone this year.

from silverstone till now, the progress mclaren have made as a result of seidl moving on, key being fired, and the technical restructure happening means they are closer than they have been in a long, long time to being consistent front-runners. to qualify top 3 in multiple weekends and have actual podium-running race pace without it just being down to others having a penalty, the weather, or some other unfortunate circumstance like someone going bowling and taking out half the field.

strategy and pitstops are a part of this progress too – their pitstops have improved dramatically since 2021, and while their strategy still is their stumbling block, having all these other building blocks in place makes strategy easier as well. to make sure they don't need the perfect strategy, pitstop or circumstances. to be able to win consistently.

that is all that is meant.

sorry for the long message, but hopefully you still read it through.

babes, mclaren has been on a supposedly upward progression since Lewis left, but they do the whole one step forward, two steps back dance every second season

funny how you talk about a win on a ‘regular’ weekend and a win on an ‘exceptional’ weekend. A win is a win. Shouldn’t all f1 drivers have the belief they can win if someone else stumbles in the race, even if their car is not the best car in f1 history? I guess you need to have that killer instinct to be able to grab these kind of opportunities and not leave a win on the table

#anyway read the whole article again and sure let’s say he didn’t mean it any other way #but someone in the communications team whose job is most probably literally just that didn’t go umm no. better rephrase that??? #anyway — #anon ask

[mountinez]

Yesterday he said he usually isn't happy with p3 but it was impossible to not be with all the support from the tifosi. So I think he's happy with the support and the whole environment and with ferrari having a good result, but deep down he's probably still disappointed with himself for the p3.

You know whats funny, after quali he went straight to congratulate Carlos while he was still on the car, but many people didn't saw that.

They only saw the moment where Carlos go to charles and they compliment each other, so I saw many people acting like charles didn't went to congratulate charles like he was jealous or something and it was carlos who had to go to him.

I just think it's funny because people wants so bad to believe the worst about him. They can't deal with the fact he is a genuine person so they always try to see the worst. I think many people put in their head that carlos is like this underdog in ferrari, while charles is the spoiled prince of monaco. So it fits their narrative that charles was being petty and didn't complimented carlos, when in the reality he was praising carlos in every moment he could !!! You never see Carlos doing the same and showing this support when Charles gets pole or podium. It's the opposite actually, he usually ends up shading charles in those spanish interviews...

I think I'm ranting by now, but it annoys me so much how general audiences seems to see charles as this spoiled selfish kid, while carlos is the humble hard working man.

You know I actually would like charles to be a little less nice

"You know I actually would like charles to be a little less nice" -> me too, bestie. i think all of us miss the pre pr trained charles. at the same time i love him for being a nice dude, i think he needs to stand up by himself more often. but well, i won't complain... these are the cons of being a fan, we can't protect of interfere in what our faves do or say.

he actually went there and congratulate carlos first thing as we can see here. he is a team player and he is fair. carlos in the end coped well during the weekend.

i feel like people have some sort of dissociation from reality when in fandom. they picture carlos as a poor man who is mistreated by the team but this car is perfect for him, the setups are perfect for him, charles struggles with terrible luck and ferrari strategies and still is the one to always face red bull to this day. there is no 1st driver at ferrari anymore, so i don't understand the complaints. carlos has always benefitted from the team since last year *shrugs* we never see charles complaining about it though, can we say the same about carlos?

and yeah, remember monaco 2022? when he blamed charles... it was not the first or last time but it's what comes to mind. anyway, i think it is what it is. we need to wait and see.

in any case i have been seeing a lot of people who call themselves charles fans back stabbing him since yesterday. so next time charles gets a pole or a win most of us will remember that.

#anon #asks

[ladyperceval]

Hi can I make a request for Daniel Ricciardo, prompt 20 and 22 please.

Something like: after a bad quali he's upset i try to hug him but we're not public yet, so I wait fo him in his motorhome room? (Or anything you like, that's the first thing I thought about lol)

Thank you 🧡

20. I can teach you

22.Not here meet me in 10

Warnings: smut

You knew how upsetting it was for Daniel, Monaco was either extremely forgiven or it absolutely hated you and this year, it seemed to have it out for Daniel. You had only arrived yesterday but on Thursday you saw how much he struggled, the usual carefree Dani persona was gone and instead of being the king of Monaco he was now the little prince who didn’t know what to do. He just seemed off and it wasn’t because of the team. You knew that you may have had something to do with it. You fought with him before he left, knowing he loved you but not understanding why you were such a big secret in his life, he had met your family although virtually and everyone knew you were the best of friends but when it came to so much as meeting his family, it turned out to be an argument or Dani completely changed the subject. You knew why, you knew he didn’t want them to blame you for his distracted mind but when it was true you didn’t know what else to do. On Friday night you had decided to fly down, you arrived at Dani’s apartment early on Saturday morning, he was still asleep and deciding not to wake him you went to the guest bedroom.

When you woke up a few hours later he was gone, but a paddock pass was on the table, showing that he knew you were there.

You were currently in the stands, you in one of his McLaren shirts, you hand fiddling with the bracelet Dani got you, he was on a flying lap, going purple in all the sectors, until the tunnel, he went through and after a few seconds of waiting and nothing you knew something had happened. The camera cut to the one in the tunnel and the sight allowed you to breath, Dani was okay, his car stopped in the middle of the tunnel, a Haas had spun out in front of him, luckily the driver was okay but Dani’s quali was ruined, the red flag would mean the end of the session and the end of Dani’s day. You knew he would be upset, he would be blaming himself and you knew you couldn’t run out and hug him, instead you made your way to his driver’s room, ready to pack up and be there for your man in any way that counts.

You had sent him a text telling him to meet you there in 10.

You were still waiting for him a few hours later, his interview replaying on the screen and his broken words and smile about “how he could’ve done better but the sport is unpredictable” broke your heart. You looked to the door as it opened, your feet walking towards him and your mouth on his before he could even say anything.

You spun him around while kissing him, your foot kicking the door shut as Dani locked it. You pushed him towards the couch, him sitting down as you sank to your knees. Your hands were on his suit, pulling it down the rest of the way as he lifted his hips to help you, you pulled his cock out of his boxers, Dani groaning at the feeling of your hands wrapped around his length.

“Let me show you how important you are babe; I can teach you.” You say as you look up at Dani, his adam’s apple bobs up as he gulps and shakes his head, letting you know that he wants your mouth on him.

You start off slow, kissing his thighs and gently playing with his balls, his head rolls back onto the couch as his hand comes up into your hair, you lick a strip up the length of him towards the tip, you take the tip into your mouth, swirling your tongue over it, tasting the pre-cum as you gently suck on it before licking a strip down the other side. You lick along the length of him, enjoying feeling his girth and veins along your tongue. he pulls on your hair, indicating that he wants to be in your mouth. You look up at him as you take his length into your mouth, your hands coming up to jerk off the part that doesn’t fit in your mouth. You hollow out your cheeks and start to suck him off, your own hand creeping below your skirt to rub yourself off at the groans coming from Dani. He sees your hand, grabs your hair into a loose ponytail and stands up, he starts fucking your mouth, him moaning about how amazing you are.

“Fuck yourself faster baby,” he says “I’m close”

You moan around him, enjoying how he talks down to you. He picks up speed and at the same time your fingers start to move faster, you let him fuck your face, knowing that he is close.

He cums in your mouth without warning and the sensation and your fingers is enough to send your spiralling after him.

“You know I love you right? And I think we should announce this.” He says his arms around your waist as you lie on top of him on the couch.

“Really?” you say, a grin splitting your face.

“I love you too, my champion.”

#daniel ricciardo smut #daniel ricciardo imagine #daniel ricciardo #prompts #smut #f1 smut #formula 1 #f1 #mclaren

[donaidk]

Rhythm of Time - Part II

Happy New Years everyone! Wanted to get at least one more part out before the end of the year 🤪 so here it is, before I get back to the other two in the works. Next one will probably be a bit more action filled, but I just wanted to let you guys into the background story behind the main character, for now 😉

As always, every kind of feedback is appreciated ❤️ Thanks for reading!

Part I | You’re here | Part III | ...

Getting back from the winter break was a lot more exciting this time. Knowing that I will have a bigger role in the team’s life meant I couldn’t wait to finally get back to them. For example pre-season testing was usually not the most interesting part of the season, I still felt like it was the biggest event of the year. I knew it would just get better with the races, but at that second it was everything I was hoping for. I couldn’t even care less about having to work with Mick, as it felt like I was floating over cloud nine because of the few days I got to work in a position that gave me so much control. The only thing I hoped for was it not getting into my head too much. No one really needed me acting like a bitch who knew she could easily break someone’s online character before getting kicked off the team. Mick was a tad bit lucky that I wasn’t truly angry at him.

Travelling to Australia made everything seem even more real as I had to manage all the press day activities even before we got to the country. I knew it won’t be easy work, but I was still looking forward to it and was able to do everything with a smile staying on my face as I actually enjoyed planning everything and not just looking at the plans someone else put together. That was fun too, and the only way you can learn, but after experiencing what it’s like to manage everything myself I would have never changed it back to the original setup. Only if it was the only way to fix a horrible situation.

Arriving at the hotel I knew it would be a night full of turning and tossing as my excitement over the top for the whole flight and car ride to the hotel. I tried having a shower so I could calm down my mind, but as soon as I met up with the team again it just started racing all around the space in my head. We had a little meeting about the next few days in Mick’s room, before everyone called it a night and returned to their rooms. As I wanted to still ask about some of his preferences I stayed with him, as he was packing out a little from his suitcases. I was now just watching him after noting down his answers for my probably dumb questions.

„ Do you usually pack out even for just a few days? ” I asked curiously and saw as his movements stopped for a moment. Thinking about it he probably didn’t expect a question that wasn’t about something professional after what we just went through.

„ Yeah, usually. It feels more organized. ” He shrugged a little, getting out some more t-shirts as I realised I should probably leave. It wasn’t something that strangers should watch you do. At least that’s how I felt like. Just as I was about to stand up and leave he spoke up again. „ Are you comfortable with working next to me? Working with me? ” He asked, still looking only at his clothes.

„ Why wouldn’t I be? ” I asked back immediately before I could have thought about it. If I had waited just a second longer I would have realised what he’s talking about. Or more like implying. „ When I told you I’m over it, I meant it. I would never say something like that without it being the truth. ” I shook my head gently, still standing up from the chair because I felt like it would be better if I leave after this is over.

„ I know, or more like I hoped so. It just feels shitty to know that I acted that way and now you’re almost forced into working with me. ” He sighed, finally turning to me, although his fingers were still fiddling with one of his sweaters. „ I just know that this is still fun and games but will be a lot harder as the season goes on. I just want to make sure that we’re okay and that you know I can be trusted, even if I fucked up in the past. ” He let go of the cotton, coming closer to me but just as my breathing would have stopped from his proximity, he sat down on his bed.

„ Quite literally, yeah? ” I tried joking with him, but as soon as his expression changed I knew it wasn’t the best decision. „ Hey, I was just joking, we’re okay. I have never thought of you as someone who’s irresponsible just because you did something most teenagers do at least once in their life. ” I shook my head, still smiling so he could be sure that I meant what I said.

„ I know most people take part in it at least once, but I have never been like them. I can’t really be like them ever. Still I don’t want to be treated better than how they would be. ” He sounded anxious and I felt like he wanted me to be mad at him, because he thought he wouldn’t deserve how I treated him.

„ I don’t give a shit about who you are. ” I blatantly told him, probably stopping his rambling. „ I’m not mad at you, because you did nothing wrong. If you would do something stupid and would have treated me wrng while we were together, you wouldn’t like to be in the same room as me. Your name couldn’t have saved you from my fury. ” I shrugged looking him straight in the eyes so he would finally understand and accept the situation. „ The only thing I want you to do is to forget about it finally. The quicker we stop talking about it, the less awkward situations we’re gonna have in the future. '' I added as a last thing, so we could fully close this chapter of our life.

„ Understood. Never bringing it back up again. ” He let out a sigh but was finally accompanied by a smile on his face. I was about to stand up and leave finally, when his expressions changed again and I knew he will speak up. „ When did you change your name? ” He asked, making my eyebrows furrow as for a second I didn’t understand his question.

„ Oh… a little after we met. After my birthday. ” I answered, but felt like it was the perfect moment to leave, before we would go too far with this topic. „ It’s my mum’s. Felt more comfortable living with this one. ” I shrugged a little, as I got to his door and opened it so I could finally leave. I quickly wished him a goodnight before turning towards my own room and crossed the hallway to get to it in just seconds.

The next few days still felt awkward, even more because of him bringing up my dad in a way, but I tried to get over it and hoped he wouldn’t ask a lot more about the person I always tried to close off from my life. Even if I could never fully accomplish my plan as he would still be my father and he will be connected to me in a way forever. Luckily with the race weekends time seemed to fly by at 5 times speed and forgetting was a lot easier when you had to focus on your job and tasks. We were already at the fifth circuit when I realised that we finally got over our past and could have conversations without even touching onto it.

As for racing, Mick was doing quite well. He was still deemed new to the F1 cars and the other drivers, but he took on the challenges and did his best. We all knew he won’t be winning the championship this year, also with a Haas car, although we never really talked about this in front of Günther, but he still pushed it to the limit and got everything out of it. Sometimes he asked for more than what it had, but he always caught it in time and got it under control, before anything could have happened. I was mostly just happy that my job only involved the outside world, and not the one inside the cockpit. My nerves could barely handle watching the races now that I knew someone quite personally from the grid. I knew most of the drivers and had talked to them on several occasions, but I never really got close to them. Mick was really something else compared to them, as I spent almost everyday following him, and we never really stayed silent as we attended interviews one by one before and also after practices, qualis and races too. I could say that I did not feel regret when I thought about my decision I took just a couple of months ago.

Even when we arrived in Spain at the beginning of the week, and realised how hot it will be on the weekend, I did not regret having to walk around the paddock almost 24/7 for three days in a row. I wasn’t the only one affected by the heat wave as everyone in the garage moved around slower than usual. They mostly got themselves together for Sunday, as I was quite surprised to see the speed at which everyone was running around when we entered after all the interviews were done. While Mick had to go get ready I took a seat next to the engineers and let everyone else work around us while I took one of the headsets so I wouldn’t lose my hearing this soon.

„ Everything good? ” Pete, Mick’s engineer asked from next to me, as he turned towards me with the headset pushed off of one of his ears.

„ Yeah, he’s doing well. Composed but still confident, whatever they ask him. ” I nodded a little, while I almost blindly got the team profile open so I could make sure it was up to date. „ Is she already here? ” I asked back, knowing that Corinna wanted to attend today’s GP to support Mick.

„ Yes, I saw her talking to Günther but she tried to stay away from the garage. She probably wants Mick to focus on the job and not her. ” He shrugged a little, looking back at the screens in front of him when someone from the mechanic crew came up to him with a question.

Mick was already in the car, seconds away from leaving the garage when his mum showed up. She still stayed in the background until they were given the sign and both cars could enter the pitlane. I sent her a small smile when she passed me, giving up my seat gladly, so she could watch the race and be close to the radio, as I was completely fine with watching it on the screens that were set up for the mechanics. I didn’t really get to talk to her yet since the start of the season, but she seemed kind and I looked up to her for coming to races, even after everything that happened to their family. It meant a lot to her son, every time she came out to support him. Even I could tell, seeing it from the outside.

Both of the Haas cars took the start perfectly, taking up better positions for most of the lap before they all started fighting each other. After the first few laps I went to get myself a coffee, before sitting back down in the garage out of the way as I didn’t really want to block the mechanics if there was going to be a pit-stop or anything. They were just about to call both of them in when we saw Mick spin at turn 10, sliding off the track into the gravel trap, right until the tyre barrier caught the car. My hand stopped in the middle of lifting the mug to my lips, as I watched him crash and hoped that they would show him getting out of the car as soon as possible. I let out the breath that was stuck inside my lungs when I heard Pete talking to him as it meant he was fine enough to communicate. I immediately felt pathetic about my reaction and tried to just slip into the background before someone would spot the worry on my face I was experiencing inside.

Turning towards the engineers I saw Corinna shift in her seat uncomfortably, probably listening to Mick explaining what happened. It wasn’t a horrible crash but there was always a possibility for injuries whenever they hit each other or the barriers. We watched relieved as he finally climbed out and left the car with the marshals, and got onto a golf cart that brought him back to the garage. He was checked out by the team doctor as soon as he got back and was fortunately cleared by him for any serious injury. I let Corinna talk to him before I would bring up having to talk to the reporters.

I only went into his room when the race ended and I knew we would have to leave for the media pen if we wanted to be on time. He was already changed back to team clothing with a little ice pack on his left wrist while holding his phone in his other hand. I cleared my throat to get his attention and he immediately looked up at me, before pushing himself off the bed. I let him leave the garage hallway first, following him as we aimed for the people already standing around the cameras.

„ You only have two. If you feel dizzy or anything just let me know and we can leave immediately. Everyone will understand. ” I told him when I caught up to him. I always hated how I was almost running next to everyone if they were walking at their normal speed, thanks to my shorter legs.

„ I’m fine. ” He answered shortly, looking mostly at the ground in embarrassment. He didn’t seem happy, and I knew that his mood probably won’t change for the day.

He still forced a small smile onto his face when we got to the pen and he held it right until he answered the last question. I was proud of him for how he held himself together even though I knew inside he was angry at himself and how the day went. I followed him back to the garage, being the first one to enter so I could get my things from inside. I waited for him to get his backpack and we left together.

„ What a shitshow of a race it was. ” He let out a sigh as we were walking through the paddocks, towards the parking lot. „ And in front of my mum… ” He added with a sigh, pushing his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

„ Everyone crashes once in a while. Corinna was probably just happy to see you get out of there. ” I shook my head a little looking up at him. „ There’s always next week when you can try again. ” I added, trying to lift his spirits even though I knew it probably won’t help.

We were just about to get into the car when someone called my name from behind us, and I knew from just the voice who it was. Stepping away from the door I motioned for Mick to get in so they could leave before my dad caught up to us. I let out a sigh as I watched the car leave and I turned back to see my dad just seconds away from reaching me. I really wasn’t in the mood to talk to him, although I couldn’t remember the last time I felt like talking to him for longer than exchanging a quick ’hi’. Somehow I felt like this won’t be a simple conversation about me getting a real job or about how my siblings are. It was never that straightforward with him.

#mick schumacher #haas #f1 #formula one #mick schumacher fanfic #mick schumacher oneshot #mick schumacher imagine #formula 1 fanfiction #formula 1 #rhythm of time #bydonaidk

[leqclerc]

Hi! Where do you watch f1 live? Any streaming sites?

Hello! 🥰

I'm currently paying for Polish coverage on this one streaming website. I also have access to F1TV (shared account) but only really use that for onboards and the "extras" like the pre and post race shows, the analyses (sometimes there's extra content in there), interview clips, etc. I just find our native coverage a lot more palatable even if they don't have as exclusive access to the paddock as the Sky/F1TV team. They're generally a lot less biased and don't have a boner for "back in my day" stories like Crofty and Brundle and that gang. The FP and qualy sessions have ads but the race doesn't.

F1TV is probably still the best option in terms of being legit and providing access to all the sessions in several languages (German, Spanish, French and Dutch I believe), but it's a pay service and the Pro version isn't available in every country, so you'd have to check first if it's available for you.

As for streaming sites, I guess your best bet is to Google something along the lines of sky sports f1 livestream and check out the results. Just from a cursory search I found the cricfree.pw stream worked for me. I also found this but haven't really tested it out. If anyone else has any suggestions feel free to chip in!

#replies #anonymous

[the-toasted-teacake]

Hey, just wanted to pop by and say thank you for uploading all the Channel 4 F1 stuff! I absolutely adore their coverage and they do so many great things which I just don’t see on my dash (most folks will watch live so Sky I guess). So just wanted to say thanks! 🤍

Hope you have a great day ✌🏻

Thank you for the lovely message, anon! 🥰 And you're very welcome—I'm glad you enjoy the C4F1 stuff as much as I do.

I must admit, I caved in and started watching coverage live on Sky last year, because I was too impatient to wait for the highlights on Channel 4, but I still always watch their pre- and post-quali/race coverage afterwards. I'm also a big fan of the vibe of the C4F1 coverage, and they have some great interviews and features. Plus, I kind of love Steve Jones 😁

I miss the days when they use to show half the races live (damn you, Sky broadcasting rights), but at least we still get highlights and Silverstone live!

Thanks again for the message, and I hope you have a great day too 🧡

#thank you lovely anon!

[pierregasly]

idk if you saw it but there's this bit on Sky F1 pre qualy where they show an interview with Brendon and at some point Pierre jogged past them, came back and tapped Brendon's shoulder while he's talking to try distract him and it was quite fun

Ah! I will try to find a video! I don’t watch Sky haha, I live in Ukraine. But thanks for telling me! Love my boys

#my favorite teammates no question #residentsheeper #pressles musing

[vro0m]

vro0m's rewatch - 184/332

2016 Japanese GP

Five races to go. It seems wet. It was the tightest quali of the season, and it's Nico on pole. The Ferraris had penalties so it's again Merc vs RedBull. 

Johnny is talking with Lewis while he's trying to adjust his seat for the parade and again he's talking to him from wayyy too close. He says nothing special. It's always a tough race and it's difficult to overtake, some spots are still wet he's hoping they dry. He hopes reliability isn't an issue. Johnny says it's a great battle against Nico and surely he must be enjoying this. He doesn't look convinced but maybe it's just because he's annoyed he needs to talk to people before the race, he usually is. He says he's a racer so of course. 

Here's the grid then : Nico, oh yeah. Lewis is only 0.013 behind him, that's tight indeed. Then Max and Daniel, Perez, Seb is 6th he apparently had penalties from the last race I imagined because of the collision at the start?, Grosjean, Raikkonen is 8th with a penalty as well, Hulkenberg and Gutierrez. Grosjean and Perez also did the exact same time but because Perez set his time before Grosjean he's ahead. 

Huhhh wait. Simon just said they had something called Snapchat gate? Oh. So I'm looking it up and Lewis was using Snapchat during the press conference (we've all seen photos of the drivers with the filters, you know the ones). Lewis was criticised heavily for that because of course he was. Lewis then said he was trying to make the press conference fun and less dull, and he was criticised for that as well (the article I'm reading about it says this incredibly insulting shit : "At worst the comments carried more than a whiff of a naughty school boy trying to extricate himself from trouble." The author saying whether or not the press conference needs spicing up is not up to Lewis but to the journalists). He tweeted about it that it was supposed to be fun and not disrespectful and the press conference has been the same for 10 years and fans should be asking the questions. Then after qualifying Lewis said : “I’m not here to answer your questions, I’ve decided. With the utmost respect, there are many of you here who are super-supportive of me and they hopefully know I know who they are. There are others unfortunately that often take advantage of certain things.” and walked out of the press conference. Jesus Christ this article I'm reading is really infuriating. I'm not gonna keep quoting it because it's straight up insulting and the journalist is extremely haughty about it. Lewis instead did a 30 minute fan forum. In a Guardian article they claim Alonso was embarrassed when Lewis showed him the results of the photo in the press conference whether in the Dailymail they say he was amused, and on the photo you can clearly see him smile earnestly with Lewis. Sainz also laughed and tweeted the resulting photos of him and Lewis saying : "Hey Lewis no offense but my mum says I'm the cutest of both". 

Anyway back to the broadcast, Simon says things looked "frosty" between Lewis and British media in particular which yeah no shit. With the type of absolute nonsense they wrote about him? Come on. Ted explains that after quali, they give the FIA press con, then a written press FIA press con, then they go to the FIA media pen and all that is mandatory and that's 3 press cons then (I might add : with the same old questions. Remember when I didn't have the pre race and post race content and I had to look for interviews on YouTube and such? I often found both skysports and F1tv interviews and they'd ask the same things and he'd say the same things.) After all that he still has the Mercedes press con to do. Ted says Toto had been on his session for 10-15, and Nico had been on his session for 10-15, and then Lewis arrived, circled the room, looked at all the media people there who looked back at him, and some people smiled and he said you're not gonna be smiling at what I have to say and he said the thing about not wanting to talk to them. According to them he said the thing with Snapchat was supposed to be lighthearted, and if he was disrespectful to them or they felt he was disrespectful to them it wasn't his intention, and what was more disrespectful was what was then written. He apologised but said he wouldn't sit here and talk to them and keep doing these things for them, he apologised again and said he hoped they'd enjoy the rest of the weekend. 

So the bit about some of them being supportive of him etc. is kind of irrelevant imo because whether they are or not is not the point. I’m pretty sure I would hate to be forced to speak to people every other weekend who then write insulting and incendiary articles about me based on what I’ve told them. That’s such a weird and annoying facet of their job, isn’t it? I’d never really thought about it before. I understand the journalists are here to do their job as well and I imagine it might be a bit distracting to have one of the drivers on his phone and taking pictures of the others and laughing with them but like. I also understand Lewis being bored to death in these endless and repetitive press cons + he was probably also trying to deflect from the difficult previous weekend and the things he said then + he wasn’t interrupting questions or whatever, it wasn’t that disruptive. In any case, the Snapchat thing isn’t even the subject anymore. The subject is having to repeat the same things 8 billion times and having to give your time and energy to people who then use it to hurt you. And fuck that. 1000 times fuck that. Also huge chances that if it was someone else it wouldn't have made such a story, of course. 

Brundle says several times he said "I've already answered that on Instagram" and he thinks he's trying to get his story out via his social media. He says he's at war with the written press and not them, TV people, and says "he's very generous with us I must say". Ted and him don't really care about it and wonder rather if it's gonna drive him during the race or distract him. I like that better tbh. I think it's good they're trying to recenter the debate on what we're actually here for. Ted adds, and he's right, that the issue now is that if he wins all will be forgotten but if he doesn't, for whatever reason and even if it's not his fault, more questions are gonna arise. Basically it'll be used against him and he's right. He says going against the media has never worked out well and cites Senna and Mansell and Piquet as examples. Lewis shouldn't have to fight the media to begin with but he is forced to do so, though. 

Not a fascinating build up apart from that. 

On the grid, Lewis is seen grandpa walking with his hands behind his back around his car and Nico's. Let's get to the race. Formation lap. 

And they're racing. 

Oyyy. Okay. First of all Ricciardo seemed to be a bit out of his box but whatever. Not a great start from Lewis, right in front of him, so he has to take evasive action to the middle line and then right behind him is Seb who has to do the same thing to avoid running into Lewis as well. Oh god it's a really, really bad start for Lewis, actually. That's at least 5 cars overtaking him. He's down in the midfield by the time they reach the first corner. It's catastrophic. He's now 8th, behind both RedBulls and both Ferraris and both Force Indias, not in that order. Seb overtakes Perez for P3. "Sorry guys," Lewis says softly. "No stress, Lewis," Bono answers. Raikkonen overtakes Hulkenberg for P6, and now Lewis is attacking for P7 and overtakes him. But he's losing wayyy too much time over the leaders. Max is already reporting his tyres are degrading. 

Lap 10. Nico, Max +5.8, Seb +1.6, Perez +7.0, Daniel +1.0, Raikkonen +0.6, Lewis +1.1, Hulkenberg +3.5, Grosjean +3.8, Gutierrez +1.7. RedBull pit both their cars. Grosjean is in as well. Daniel overtakes a Sauber for P13. Hulkenberg pits. Nico pits. Seb pits. Perez pits. Raikkonen pits. It's chaotic. Lewis finds himself in the lead but he won't stay there for long. There's a lot of midfield racing and overtakes as a result of the pit stops. Lewis pits. He's out ahead of Raikkonen and Ricciardo actually, that's pretty well done from Merc. Or lucky. A bit of both maybe. He's now chasing Daniel. And he overtakes him for P6! Beautiful! Next stop is Massa, and he overtakes him as well for P5! Let's go Lewis! I haven't seen that in a while and I love it. And Lewis overtakes Valtteri for P4! So many overtakes from Ricciardo and Raikkonen as well it's crazy! 2023 could never. Ricciardo overtakes Bottas as well. Raikkonen is attacking him now, and that's P6 for him. Hulkenberg is also making his way through from the midfield. And Perez. Max reports both under and oversteer? Ted reports that although Nico seems to have it under control he's actually lapping at the same pace as Seb, in P3. 

Lap 20. Nico, Max +3.8, Seb +3.0, Lewis +13.1 (that's a lot of time to make up for…), Ricciardo +5.7, Raikkonen +1.6, Perez +4.9, Valtteri +2.4 (hasn't pitted yet), Hulkenberg +0.2, and Massa +2.7 (hasn't pitted yet either). Oof Gutierrez spins briefly. Then there's still racing in the midfield but it gets kinda boring at the front, expectedly. Alonso pushed Sainz wide. Max pits. Daniel doesn't, although he complains of his tyres. Hulkenberg pits. Sainz gets overtaken by both Williams. Nico pits. 

And it's lap 30. So at the moment it's Seb, Lewis +7.1, Nico out in P3 +6.5, Max +4.8, Daniel +4.0, Perez +12.1, Raikkonen +1.9, Grosjean +17.0, Hulkenberg +3.7, and Valtteri + ?, because Perez pits and so I can't see the timings anymore. Seb and Max both are complaining about blue flags. Seb in particular has a lot to say : "Blue flag, make that Sauber go. Make him go! For pity’s sake make him go. I mean, what do you want to know? Suzuka is a quick track, it’s difficult to pass, you lose behind another car. I mean, it’s ridiculous." Daniel comes in and it's a bad one. 5.1. They struggled to take the front right off. The gaps at the front are closing very quickly and Lewis pits. They put him on hards again even though he has a brand new set of softs, still. I do guess 20 laps is a bit much on softs, Max was complaining about them less than 10 laps in. He's out on P4, just ahead of Raikkonen. He has roughly 15 seconds to make up for to get to Max. More importantly, are they gonna pit Seb? Yes they are. Did it work? It did! Lewis is ahead in P3 BUT Seb is on the softs! OHHH he's right on Lewis very quickly… Attacking, with DRS, but he can't make it as Lewis uses the battery boost. Seb closes again but he's further away now… Lewis is still gaining on Max as he's defending, what an insane race. Seb : "Ah… He's pulling away. He's pulling away on the straights." – "Keep your head down, the race is not over." He loses more time in traffic. Lewis is still closing on Max. It's too late for Seb now. 

We're on lap 40. Nico, Max +4.1, Lewis +5.9, Seb +1.6, Raikkonen +6.3 (oh and he's on hards as well, are we gonna get a Ferrari battle at the end?), Ricciardo +14.1, Perez +14.1, Hulkenberg +3.1, Massa +21.0, and Valtteri +3.2. The gap to Max is down to 2.5 very quickly now. 2.1. Seb and Max are still yelling about blue flags. Nico is warned his tyres are getting to the bottom of the temperature window and Max is shortly after told to also look after the temperature as he lost a bit of pace with the backmarkers. The gap is 1.2. There's 9 laps left. 0.8. 0.6. 0.5. 0.4. DRS, 0.3. It's not enough. 0.7. 0.5. 0.3… But Max uses his battery boost to defend, like Lewis against Seb earlier. If he doesn't make a mistake Lewis won't get there. The whole garage is focused, riveted. 5 laps to go. 0.5. 0.6. They're gonna hit traffic. 0.8. 0.6. 4 laps to go, Lewis lost out with the backmarkers. He's back over a second behind now. Frustrating. 0.9. 0.6. 3 laps to go. He's not gonna make it, is he. 0.7. 0.6. 0.4. 2 laps to go. 0.3… Fuck. Come on. 0.5. 0.7. 0.6. 0.5. 0.4. 0.6. I think he's closer? 0.3! 0.2! OH NO. Oh it was a good try but Max moves late in one his borderline illegal moves again and Lewis misses the corner and has to cut the chicane. It's the last lap. "Max moved under braking," Lewis says. But they never held him accountable for that shit did they? The commentators are insanely arguing that because Max consistently does it, it means Lewis knew it was coming, so it's not penalty worthy. Which is. Not how rules work. Like they're literally saying if you consistently break a rule then others expect you to do so so it's okay? Come on now. It's ridiculous. 

That's how the race ends. 

Nico wins, ahead of Max and Lewis. At least it was good racing. And Mercedes wins the WCC. 

Niki Lauda is very happy about the title. He waves directly into the camera for the factory workers watching from the UK. "Everybody at home, thank you very much," he says. He thinks Lewis stalled at the start but he fought back. He thinks the stewards should look into the "Verstappen incident", he says he doesn't know if it was just a racing incident but they said they'll look into it.

Meanwhile Nico and Lewis shake hands in the cooldown room and as we join them Nico tells Shov "three in a row, huh?" It's very awkward again, Lewis hides when the camera pans to him. Nico is all smiles and pretend-fights Shov and the camera. Then we see Lewis literally in a corner and Max. It's so silent we can distinctly hear Nico's heavy breathing. Then Max asks Nico questions that we don't hear the answer to so it stays extremely awkward. And again pure silence. For like a whole minute. So uncomfortable. They just won a constructors’ title and the atmosphere is freezing cold in there.

Shov is pretty much crying as he raises the trophy above his head.

Lewis barely manages a smile as he raises his.

They soak Shov in champagne, Max a little bit, then Lewis hands his bottle over to Shov so he can take revenge upon Nico.

In the podium interview, the interviewer asks Nico how important it is that Daniel is not up there right now to have a shoey again. Deadpan, Nico answers he's gonna make sure he never wins again this year because he doesn't want to drink anymore out of his shoe. Then he smiles.

Lewis congratulates his team, he says he's proud to be part of it and very happy he won them some points. He says he did what he could from where he was in the race but he's happy for the points. He doesn't look like it, ngl. The interviewer says all that's left is the battle for the championship and asks if what we're gonna see next is the best of Lewis Hamilton fighting back. He says of course he'll give it everything he's got, and we'll see what happens. 

Of course Toto defends Lewis when Simon suggests maybe he wasn't focused. He saw him in-between races and he seemed alright. Whether what happened in Malaysia still affects him, Toto doesn't know. He still has a chance at the championship. "He will recover," he asserts. He says 33 points is a big gap to catch up but just one DNF and it's open again. Interestingly he adds he's sure Bernie would want that, for it to go all the way to the end. 

Lewis says he's happy with the recovery and getting points. (It seems that's all he's saying, "I'm happy I got points". He's in a mood, obviously. His answers are short.) She asks what happened at the start. "Just got some wheelspin".

She asks if it was a clutch issue or because the track was damp. He says he's not sure, he'll have to talk to the engineers about it, but he fell back a lot and had to claw back. She asks if he can take positives from the racing back and the team did a good job with the pitstop. He gets a bit more animated.

He says they did a fantastic job and a big congratulation to everyone back in the factory and to all of Mercedes-Benz for winning three years in a row. He's proud to be part of it, and happy he could contribute to it as well. She asks what his feelings are as they leave Japan with a 33 points gap. He plays dumb : "Looking forward to getting home. And onto the next race," he adds. She asks what he's gonna do during the week-long break. He says he doesn't know, he's sure he has a busy schedule but he doesn't really know, he'll be moving around a bit and then in Austin. 

The whole team is taking pictures in the garage of course but Lewis moves back as soon as the first champagne bottle pops and we see him disappearing quietly in the back of the garage. It's okay. It's not really about the drivers right now anyway. 

In other news Seb is apparently in disagreement with Arrivabene but I don't know what about and Massa may or may not be replaced by Lance Stroll? Maybe we’ll learn more about it in the next few races.

#f1 #lewis hamilton #vro0m's race reviews #2016 #2016 japanese gp