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umseb · 9 months

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(extremely long interview that i fed through google translate under the cut)

Life at the limit was yesterday, after retiring Sebastian Vettel got to know each other again. But Seb is back in competitive mode. It's just not about the World Cup now. But around the world.

When he retired at the end of last season, everyone was suddenly good friends again with Sebastian Vettel, the racer that so many colleagues had lost their teeth over for years; who had become world champion four times with Red Bull Racing, then moved on to Ferrari and finally Aston Martin and after 299 F1 starts, 53 wins and 122 podiums, it was good. "Love you, man," said Lewis Hamilton at the end, Mick Schumacher and Lando Norris described him as an "inspiration", Checo Pérez, Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Rosberg in unison as a "legend".

Other things had become important in his life, and in some cases he let us take part in them as an active participant: when he rode his bike to the paddock or drove a historic 1992 Williams with synthetically produced, climate-neutral fuel, it was clear what one of the most intelligent pilots of the present.

Yes, Sebastian Vettel is committed to the environment. And yes, he enjoys driving fast – still. We'll soon be able to see him in action again: at Red Bull Formula Nürburgring on the legendary Nordschleife. He will tackle the 73 corners at the wheel of his no less legendary RB7 - dubbed "Kinky Kylie" - and will do so in a climate-neutral manner thanks to e-fuels. "It's important to me to show that racing cars can drive just as well and quickly with CO²-neutral fuel." Seb sets an example of how to do without a little, be happier and do your part to not burden the world more than necessary.

SEBASTIAN VETTEL: The first few months passed quickly and it was nice to be able to enjoy the freedom to organize my time. Many factors went into my decision to resign. I didn't stop because I didn't like the sport anymore, was too slow or really wanted to do something else. Resignations are very individual. For me, time was one of the determining factors: the many races; knowing how much effort it takes to do the job properly, in my opinion. At the same time I have small children at home. That time will not come again. To answer the question: I enjoyed the driving, the competition, right up to the end. When you only have one shot left in qualifying and it has to hit the mark. racing duels. These are the moments I miss the most.

But? I no longer wanted to make certain compromises. Plus: My children have a right to me being there for them more. I must have outgrown a bit of a world that I used to think was great. Things that I once saw as pure white had been given a certain tint.

In what way? In the context of our time. This is related to interests outside of motorsport that I have developed. Anyone who does not close their eyes perceives social developments. Although F1 has taken up a large part of my life, it is not central to the people of the world. If you think outside the box, you can see the signs.

How are the environment and climate changing? Environment is the issue of our generation. We are in the decisive decade for the climate, and everyone is needed. We have to pull together. I'll take a look at my own nose first. This attitude comes from sports.

What did you do specifically? A few years ago I started measuring my carbon footprint. Car kilometers written down, every flight, every overnight stay. Seeing that number compared to that of the average Joe blew my mind! After that I took action to get the value down.

Do you want to name these numbers? I started with 400 tons - only in connection with the F1. In the end I was down to 60 tons. (Note: The average in Germany in 2021 was about 8 tons.)

How did you do that? Most of the reduction was the elimination of flights. With the exception of Silverstone and Budapest, I drove to all of the European races last season. I don't want to dictate to anyone or portray myself as an angel, but that's how I started with myself. This step didn't feel like giving up anything, but completely logical - like all the other smaller ones that I had taken in parallel. I felt very satisfied.

Because you experienced travel again as being on the road and not as a purposeful movement from A to B? Absolutely! As a teenager, your driver's license was your ticket to freedom. In motorsport, I used to drive a lot at first and soon got tired of driving long distances on the road. That's how the plane came into play, and later the private plane, because the time savings were extreme. But the step back felt good. Plan things better, take things into your own hands. Sure, I couldn't have sailed to Australia, otherwise I would have missed the race, or at least the one that followed. But whenever I could, I enjoyed being back on land and seeing things I would have missed on a plane. I noticed that the supposed loss of time is not actually a loss. Okay, cars are more environmentally friendly than planes, but there's a wide range when it comes to four wheels. What cars do you drive? Porsche Taycan, i.e. electric, and a VW bus with a combustion engine. The bus has the advantage that everything fits in, from bicycles to children. But I think that a decisive factor in the – very exciting – current mobility discussion is missing. Many ask themselves: What am I not allowed to do anymore? The more important question is: How could things look better in the future? When I look ahead, I see more livable cities than today. When I imagine that public transport will be denser and more fluid if the alternative rail is better than it is today, the question of car or plane may no longer arise. As soon as the offer is right, the majority will go along with it. Many lack the vision of improvement. That it will be good. Change scares them at first. It takes imagination how things will be better in the future than they are today.

As an example of improvement that was unthinkable for years: Working from home means fewer commuters, means less CO² and cleaner cities… Like that? Exactly. Change should be perceived as something positive. The change started a long time ago. It's not a question of if, just a question of when. There is no longer any doubt. The majority understands that too. Now it's time to design and make. It might be a bit more difficult, but it takes courage to try something. Like work at home.

How do you determine this change? In my generation, significantly more young people got their driver's license than today because the car is no longer such a central topic. In the fathers' generation, it was still completely clear that you get a driver's license and own your own car. change happens. There were already skeptics when switching from horse-drawn carriages to cars.

What new technologies will help us shape the future the most? In the big picture: artificial intelligence. In mobility, the change to e-mobility is the first step - due to the currently unbeatable efficiency. Hydrogen is super exciting. In general, I don't believe in a single solution, but in a combination of many building blocks. As far as I know, the transition to electric in the aviation industry is not as imminent as in the case of cars. Therefore, a different way of thinking is needed here. Without wanting to restrict freedom: Do you have to fly to New York for three days? Yes, there are actually people for whom this is necessary. But just for fun? I'm the last person who wants to ban anyone from anything. But if you are aware of the bigger picture and know how many people are already suffering from climate change, you probably no longer have to ask yourself this question.

Do you sometimes drive around the area just for fun? Yes, sometimes with my old bikes. That still gives me a lot of pleasure. On the other hand, I understand people who see the climate catastrophe as an existential threat to themselves. I personally work very hard on this balancing act of not letting myself be guided by fear and being able to enjoy the moment. Again: I think it's important not to talk about bans and waivers, but to emphasize the alternatives, and they often already exist. Motorcycles can be operated with synthetic fuels. They still produce pollutants, but only as many as were previously bound. I'm not a fan of biofuels. Land is used here to grow fodder to produce fuel - not so great. We can do better. Cars and motorcycles are cultural assets. A lot of good has come of it. We should not abolish them, but keep them alive. In any case, there is no need to explain to motorsport fans how great it feels when a V8 is fired up. You can feel something there. We just have to make it better.

Okay: The 20 F1 cars will be CO²-neutral from 2026. However, the large production of pollutants happens through the arrival of the spectators. In this respect, motorsport is no different from other major events such as football games or concerts. Aren't 20 CO²-neutral racing cars just greenwashing? F1 has always been at the forefront of technology. The current question is how relevant the highly complex and exciting current drive technology is for series production. More could be done here. But electric drive will not be suitable for F1 in the foreseeable future. The races are too long for that and the required power output is too high. Weight always plays a major role in F1, which is another reason why electric drive is not practical. Synthetic e-fuels are therefore indispensable in the short term. It’s good that this will happen from 2026 – now would be better. But yes, it is even more important to get the emissions under control: How do the teams get to the track? Of course it would be great if everyone came by bike. But it would take far more to put the calendar in order. Flying all over the world and flying to Europe for a few days in between makes no sense and is no fun either. How do the fans get to the track? What is consumed there, which ideals are lived? Water, in my opinion, should be something that is available to everyone at all times. Are these plastic cups needed everywhere? I think organizers of major events have an obligation to ask themselves these questions. You start with the big things and end up with the small ones.

What do you think of the theory that you F1 drivers are like kids who got too much chocolate and ate your fill? Cue Nico Rosberg, who was at Fridays for Future, or Lewis Hamilton, who cleared beaches of plastic. I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we are very privileged as representatives of a global sport. We experience a lot, see a lot, earn a lot. For a long time, the belief in our society was: the more, the better. Our role model culture also aims to do this. Perhaps the chocolate comparison is correct insofar as the equation itself is often incorrect. More of everything doesn't mean more happiness. Even role models often have major challenges in everyday life, even the seemingly ultra-successful ones. Many of them are not happy, on the contrary. Nevertheless, a large part of society is chasing a goal that does not result in satisfaction: more, faster, nicer, further, richer. My experience in F1 certainly helps me to put things in perspective. Still, I think you can understand them even if you don't have a full bank account.

You mean because you've seen a lot... … I realized that things are going well for us in Central Europe. I have experienced parts of the world where it was completely different. Families who live in cardboard huts and also run a hairdressing business there. Uniform palm plantations where last year there was still a jungle. Seeing all of this not just on TV but with your own eyes triggers something, at least for me. I see it as a responsibility to share these impressions and question our role model culture. I find constant optimization dangerous. Much and many remain on the track. Nobody looks like they do on social media. There are photos of me where I look really good. But I know exactly what I really look like when I get up in the morning.

How do you measure happiness? I can walk up the stairs and don't have to take the elevator. For people after accidents, such trifles are a long way off. There will always be people who are better off - and many more who are worse off. An important thought: to classify how you are doing.

Would today's Sebastian still advise his 16-year-old alter ego to become a Formula 1 driver? I don't want to miss anything in my time. What would I do differently, better? I would have liked to have become more aware earlier. The themes that are dominant today were already there back then, but not as present. Second: I would use my voice more for the positive. I wasn't too aware of the power involved at first, and I felt a little uncomfortable raising my voice. In terms of sport, it was a mega time. The up shaped me as much as the down. Both were important.

Where do you find your fun after your F1 career is over? This question has occupied me for a long time. I was very well prepared when I made this decision. But one unpredictable factor remains. I like doing sports outside. As of today, there is nothing that pushes me to the limit like F1. That's what I miss the most. I have to put the brakes on myself here, because that's exactly what I wanted to get to know about myself: What happens when I'm not in competition mode? At some point, this adrenaline rush of a career at the top of the world will come to an end, whether freely chosen or forced - for example due to injuries. Then it's all about moving on, taking the thrill and tension into the next section. I'm not saying it's easy or saying I've done it. I'm searching, and this process itself is exciting.

Do you want to make the world better? The primary goal is to be there for my family. The dynamic at home is different because I'm present. This is new for me and also for the rest of the family. In general, I look ahead. This comes from my time in sport: How can we improve? I'm way too small to go and save the world, and the world is way too big for that. But I find tasks that excite me. Hopefully I can take other people a little bit with me.

Are you still interested in F1? Very! The first race was a bit weird, but now I really enjoy watching it. I know the sport inside out, I still love it. Maybe I see things differently, but I don't feel sad when I look at ex-colleagues, not at all.

Not even when the green car is performing so well? The first reaction of many people was: The fact that the Aston Martin is so fast this season must frustrate you? Okay, maybe it would be easier if the car was total garbage, in the sense of: I'm not missing anything anyway. No, I'm primarily happy for the team. And I'm happy for Fernando Alonso. For many years he had no car in which he could show his driving skills. Now he can and is up there. Red Bull Racing dominates, and I still have a lot of friends and acquaintances there. I'm really happy when they win.

#sebastian vettel #f1 #formula 1 #fic ref #fic ref 2023 #not a race #2023 not a race #between belgium and netherlands 2023 #summer break #summer break 2023 #retirement #sewis

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blorbocedes · 1 year

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hi nicologist blorbie, i like nico but i find his media personality kinda... too polished? like george russell but with more personality. like he's doing a performance but maybe it's just his overly therapized self-awareness. ur thoughts?

hshdjdj hello anon... welcome to the pantheon of the same complaint nico has faced his whole life 😫😭 from 2013-2016, to all the way back in Williams he was called ranging from "doesn't have a sense of humour/too German" to "too stoic/wooden/PR focused" the George Russell before George Russell. let's break down your question

the 2016 media narrative was actually "Lewis Hamilton parties every week vs Nico Rosberg has given up all pleasures to life to eat oatmeal and train" and their press con pictures were Nico being 😶. couple that when he was put against the other German on the grid, the naturally charismatic and joking seb vet, nico absolutely came across as a stick up his ass.

now, obviously, as you have called me a nicologist I'm going to have a biased take. let's talk about media personalities -- everyone has them. even the most animated of blorbos, daniel playing up being funny, lewis with his peace and love, even fernando refusing to explain what el plan is everytime 😈 (this is a man who owns being a menace)

some people refuse to play into theirs as much, like max, and accordingly the media characterises him as blunt/straightforward/harsh. the media is nicer to you when you work with them, which is why Daniel is such a media darling and the face of DTS, despite not being a top 5 race contender.

nico has always been aware of how he's perceived. there's a will buxton article about it that's pretty fascinating. even before entering f1, he knew he'd be World Champion's Son and his media personality while he was a driver reflected that; diplomatic, uncontroversial, says the right and boring thing (and yes, even lying about it 🤭 my darling care has the receipts). my fav nico moments are when he'd break off it a bit — the iconic "if Lewis wants to change something then he can drive cleanly himself" agdjjd while jenson went O_O [obv media personality =/= how they actually are]

present day nico, as an f1 commentator, I'm very curious what your idea of polished media personality is. cause to me, that means someone who is milquetoast, wouldn't rock the boat, impersonal and says the 'right' thing. nico is the guy who said Ferrari's current strategy team is worse than an F2/F3 team live on air 😭 (as he should), the guy who asked lando point blank what the difference is between p3 and p4 (who didn't know 😭 bless his heart), who said yeah why should max go into a corner thinking lewis is gonna miss the apex

peak rosberg shit stirring hehe

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I actually don't even agree with nico always, like for instance when he said merc should've prioritised lewis over george in dutch (?) gp. like don't make me defend george but he was right on his call for softs and prioritising His race, but that's whatever

not a huge fan of the term overly therapized~ cause a lot of Nico insults is "this man needs to go to therapy" and when they find out he HAS they're like "this man has had Too Much therapy" like 😭😭😭 he cannae win...... I do call him the most therapized man of all time, but that's gentle ribbing. when people say it anonymously w/o any way for me to extrapolate intent I'm a bit hm 🤥

cause like if he was saying things like emotional labour and 'speaking my truth' that claim would have more weight... but you know who Would say things like that? [redacted] 🔫

coming back to your question. every f1 driver is doing a performance with their public persona, some are better some are worse. Nico is no longer in f1 as a driver and doesn't need to be careful and measured anymore, and To Me is one of the few fun personalities in f1 as a commentator. you can totally disagree cause it's a matter of personal preference.

Post retirement Nico, having a YouTube channel for Years and playing into the memes (his ig comments are a nightmare of the same equal machinery joke) is perhaps more aware than most how people see him. he also doesn't need to care as much, he can laugh at himself -- at his own expense. he even posted what is essentially a taking L's compilation

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if his polished persona is coming across as a cringe girldad who is way too excited about electric cars then by god he's the greatest male manipulator out there

obv if you find him too curated/inauthentic that's your prerogative, but I I would ask; have you actually watched the guy or are you going off public consciousness/someone else's interpretation. i wish he was as conniving and calculating now as people gave him credit for, unfort this is a dude who geeks out over finding a charging station in Italy.

love him, hate him, you can't deny he's fun

#why is this answer so long 😭 sob #nico rosberg #added a bunch of links so we can all watch and have fun :3 #you can totally think he's fake/inauthentic/too polished this is just my take that you asked for #blorbocedes ask

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vro0m · 5 months

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vro0m's rewatch - 183/332

2016 Malaysian GP

Round 16, we are in Malaysia. Lewis is on pole for the 57th time.

Here's how they line up behind him : Nico, Max, Danny, Seb, Raikkonen, Perez, Hulkenberg, Jenson and Massa. Max has outqualified Daniel for the third time this season.

In the drivers' parade Lewis praises the support he gets from the fans, as usual. He says the team has been doing a great job this weekend and the car feels great. It's gonna be a tough race. It's a long run down to turn 1 and the track is very hot, they'll be melting their tyres.

Oh and Mercedes can win the WCC already. The drivers have an interview. Separately of course. Lewis says he's been 43 points behind in the championship, and he's been 50 points ahead, he's been in all sorts of scenarios and he doesn't know "what's planned up ahead" and he's just gonna make sure he's as prepared as he can. He says he's had an incredible amount of support during the year and he's very grateful for that.

Nico says despite the fact he won last time and that feels good it doesn't make a world of a difference when it comes to confidence either. He's motivated and he knows he has the opportunity to win. He's going all out for sure.

Lewis says in terms of fighting for a championship with a good enough car to do so, it's definitely been one of the most unusual ones. But he's hungry and he wants to win the championship, not only for himself but for the people traveling the world and supporting him and who want this championship just as much as he does (that's cute!), because he wants to be able to share that with them.

Nico says for him what's important is being in the moment and focusing on what's at hand and not something that's two months down the road and could or could not be. He doesn't find it helpful.

Lewis says it's the closest fight Nico and he have had at this point of the year, and Nico has been driving fantastically well the last few races and generally most of the year.

They tell Nico Lewis said he's been driving incredibly well this year, I'm looking closely but he has absolutely zero reaction. He says he doesn't feel different at all this year, he just keeps fighting, he's massively motivated and there's the opportunity to win races so he's pushing all the way. Kind of half-heartedly, it feels like, he adds that Lewis is of course driving really well as always and he's always tough to beat. "Beating him is even more of a thrill because he is the world champion." She asks like she asked Lewis if it's the closest battle on track they've had. He's amused. They've been fighting for years, he says, and it's not different this year. "It's the same. Every race you get to it's a massive challenge to beat Lewis, and everybody else who's out there, but especially Lewis, of course, because he has the best car together with me. So same as always." She asks if he thinks he has the car to win the championship this year. He says he doesn't want to focus on that, he has the car that he needs to win the next race, that's what's important. It's incredible that they can win the WCC already with so many races left.

Lewis thinks it's more satisfying and valuable than any other year because of what he and his engineers and his side of the garage have achieved because of what they've been through.

She asks Nico if he can win this year. He says he's fighting to give the best he can out there, he's going into it optimistically. He'll push all the way to the end. Lewis is his team-mate so nothing has changed, it's always gonna be difficult against him to win races and for the bigger picture. He beat him the previous year and nothing's changed but he'll give it everything.

She asks Lewis if he thinks he has the car he needs to win the championship. "We've definitely got the car," he says. "The car YOU need," she interrupts. He thinks. He sighs. "Time will tell," he smiles. "I mean honestly it's definitely been an interesting one as I said compared to the previous years so… Do I know for sure? I don't. But I'll do the best job I can with what I can and push as hard as I can as the guys with me will." At the end of the year they'll have to evaluate and see how they can make sure that the next year is better.

See the thing is, in the end Nico will always have won against someone he saw as better than him and Lewis will always have lost against someone he saw as not as good as he is.

Oh apparently there were rumours Max fainted after FP1. Horner says he just got light-headed because he got out and up a bit too quickly.

There's a whole segment about F1 rivalries, of course they show multi-21, Piquet getting physical with Salazar, and Schumacher on his way to punch Coulthard. Brundle brags about trying to punch two drivers himself : Jonathan Palmer (but they became friends instead) and Bertrand Gachot (but when he got there the queue was too long). He says Alesi threatened to kill him because they came together too many times. Of course he compares that to Massa and Lewis in 2011 (remember? Massa wouldn't talk to him anymore and Lewis was kinda sad about it). We also see Prost and Senna colliding in the first lap, Mansell remembering how Piquet would say things about his family and children and pay media people to attack them and then he paid people in the team as well, what a piece of shit. We also review Max's record sheet already.

Alright we're ready for the race. Formation lap. Massa's car doesn't start, he can still go if he's able to leave before the last car passes him. He can't. He'll have to start from the back if he can start at all. He got it going from the pitlane now. Palmer reports he's losing power. Now Lewis is already in his spot and waiting.

Okay here we go. Oh no wait. The green flag has been waved and we're waiting, and waiting… Just as the first light lights up, we hear Sainz reporting his engine has switched off.

But they're racing!

Everybody gets going. Lewis has a decent start, he stays ahead of Nico, followed by Max and Seb who got ahead of Daniel. OOOH in turn 1 Seb takes the inside line and gets ahead of Verstappen but they touch slightly AND NICO SPINS! Crofty can't keep up, it's chaotic and also for some reason they're showing us Max's on-board even though we're not even past the second corner and now is not the time for it. Seb is down all the way to the back– oh yeah. His front axle is broken. He stops by the side of the track. He says he made contact with the Mercedes. Nico is still going but he's down in 21st apparently. It's a virtual safety car. Max : "Really Sebastian is crazy." It was a daring move I agree but it's not like Max is not pulling similar stuff every other race. Oh and right as I press play again Crofty reminds us Max did the exact same thing in Belgium and got a lot of heat from Ferrari for it. Alonso went from last on the grid to P13 in the meantime. And Gutierrez has a fully delaminated puncture. Magnussen might have a problem as well, with his floor touching the ground even at low speed. Kvyat and Massa are in the pits, they're getting rid of the soft tyres and fitting hards. Magnussen is in as well, and Gutierrez, and they're both able to go back out. Max again : "Yeah mate I mean he fucking crashed into Rosberg like an idiot". Careful now going around insulting people, child.

Watching the replays. So Seb got a good start and took the inside line as I said. He gets slightly ahead of Max before the corner, and so Max is on his left side, and Nico on Max's left side, also slightly ahead of him. As they turn, Max is sandwiched. His front right touches Seb rear left. Nico and Seb are on trajectories that will obviously cross, not parallels. Nico puts his car ahead of Max and Seb is right there, on his line, and collides with him. His front left catches on Nico's right rear which sends Nico spinning while Seb is forced to go straight because of the contact, instead of taking the corner as usual, taking Max, who's still on his left side, to the other side of the track with him. Thankfully no one collected Nico while he was facing the wrong way. From the aerial view, Crofty thinks Max turned in on Seb but I disagree. Nico turned in on Max who had nowhere to go but into Seb. I think the issue is Nico. I mean it's a racing incident and it warrants no penalty or anything but the accident happened because Nico turned in on them and got in their way. Classic three car start shenanigan.

While we're watching the replays, the virtual safety car is ending. Ted says Sainz was able to go because he restarted his own engine and Magnussen lost his front wing in a contact with Gutierrez probably, which would explain the damage on both cars. Incredibly Max still manages to be P3 behind Ricciardo and Lewis. Then it's now Raikkonen, Jenson, Hulkenberg, Valtteri, Grosjean, and Sainz. Raikkonen overtakes Perez for P4. Nico is P15. P14. Daniel is closing on Lewis, he has DRS. Alonso is in P10, up TWELVE places already. Lewis sets the fastest lap, and Ricciardo is out of DRS range. Alonso up in P9. Massa is told he has a front puncture and he has to box again. Lewis keeps pulling away from Daniel. Nico up in P12. And that's Grosjean out in the gravel, while we hear Max say it's difficult to stay behind (Ricciardo, editor's note), and he's getting closer. He's told to just manage the gap for the moment then. He answers "yeah but I can fight Lewis." So basically asking for team orders. Virtual safety car. It's probably a brake failure for Grosjean, he got to the corner and couldn't make the turn nor slow down, it seems. He's walking away. On the radio he said : "Okay I braked but the brakes 'breaked'."

It's lap 10, they pit Max. I'll update you on the order once the stops are over. Crofty says the skysports team has analysed the start again and they can confirm there was no contact between Max and Seb at the start. I told you he wasn't the problem this time. Perez pits as well. Nico tells his team to keep an eye on his left front because he ran over some debris. "Okay delta positive first," he's told. "Yeah yeah yeah yeah," he shrugs off, "I'm getting the delta positive." He pits as well. Okay so : Lewis, Daniel +4.6, Raikkonen +5.6, Max +14.9 after his stop, Valtteri +0.5, Sainz +1.0, Ocon +6.7, Ericsson +0.4, Perez +6.3 and Palmer +0.9. Nico is P14. They go again as the VSC ends. P13. P12. Max has clear air to close to the top 3 and as things stand he'll be ahead of them after their pit stops. We'll see if that early stop plays in his favour. Shortly after they note he only matches Ricciardo and he's not faster. Fastest lap from Lewis. And actually Max fastest lap now. Daniel is told Lewis is slowly pulling away. But he really isn't pulling away all that much. The gap is pretty much stable at 3.6. Nico up in P9 in the meantime. Ocon is under investigation for speeding in the pitlane. Oh nvm the gap to Daniel is up to 4.4 now. But Max is still gaining on them. Nico attacks Perez, P8. Ocon gets a 5 second penalty. Nico up in P7. Magnussen has to retire the car. Nico up in P6. Max is told it would be good to catch and overtake Raikkonen. He's 1.4 away.

It's lap 20. I can't tell you the times because they're showing the number of pit stops instead. Max is 0.8 behind Raikkonen now. He's ready to attack. Almost, almost. DRS. And Raikkonen pits. Lewis as well. It was a 2.4 stop. Nico is up in P5 and Raikkonen gets out just ahead of him. Valtteri is also half a second behind them. Daniel pits. Verstappen is told to push a bit more. Lewis gained 0.3 on his out lap on hard tyres. Max is on softs, and they're getting old now. Here's the situation : Max, Lewis +7.8, Daniel +9.1, Raikkonen +7.8, Nico +1.6, Valtteri +3.1, Perez +6.7, Jenson +4.6, Hulkenberg +1.0, and Alonso +1.5. Gap at the front : 7.0. 6.8. 6.6. He's kinda stuck behind Gutierrez, who's seen 2 blue flags already. He gets ahead finally. It cost Lewis half a second, but he gains it back quickly. Max says he's losing grip. 6.5. 6.1. Max pits. Excellent stop as usual. He's out behind Daniel, and Lewis is back in the lead. Here's the thing now, everybody is hoping to one-stop, but we're just halfway through the race. Max is now the one with the fresher hard tyres. Can they really stay out?

Lap 30. Valtteri pits. Lewis, Daniel +12.4, Max +4.5, Raikkonen +4.3, Nico +3.0, Perez +17.2, Jenson +7.1, Valtteri +10.5, Palmer +4.4, and Sainz +1.6 is under serious pressure from Ericsson. Lewis is completing fastest lap after fastest lap. They're trying to get a gap that would allow them to pit if necessary, I imagine. Nico, who was one of if not the first to pit for hard tyres, is now losing pace. He pits again. Out in P6. Other people start pitting. The one-stop won't work. Raikkonen is in. He's still ahead of Nico. Lewis is still extending his gap ahead. 18 something seconds now. Lewis says his tyres are starting to drop a bit. Nico gets DRS over Raikkonen. Ocon is investigated for speeding in the pitlane AGAIN. Lewis is literally yelling blue flags over radio. Mercedes is stressed out, we see Vowles nervously shaking his legs on the pit wall and then winking to the camera.

Raikkonen asks for all the power he can get to defend against Nico. Max is very close to Daniel now as well. Bono reassures Lewis : "OK Lewis these are great lap times. Just keep your head down, mate, you’re doing a great job." Nico attacks Raikkonen. They touch! Ocon gets a 5 second penalty AGAIN. Nico is ahead. Max is half a second behind Daniel. Daniel defends. Max overtakes him but they're wheel to wheel! Daniel stays ahead! The contact between Nico and Raikkonen is under investigation.

It's lap 40. Lewis, Daniel +22.3, Max +0.5, Nico +28.3, Raikkonen +1.4, Valtteri +23.7, Perez +3.5, Alonso +1.4, Hulkenberg +4.0, and Jenson +13.1. Max attacks again but can't make it. There's a very young Pierre looking on from the garage.

(Blunder years)

OH NO, NO FUCK NO. Oh I quit. I hate this fucking sport.

Okay I've taken a break but Lewis' engine is on fire. He's out. I'm losing my mind. Oh fuck that shit honestly. How unlucky can he get? It's a virtual safety car.

"Lewis is stopped, okay? Lewis is out of the race. The two RedBulls are leading now," Nico is told. Both RedBulls pit. Max lost just a bit of time in the car stacking. Nico pits as well. Gutierrez is also out of the race. His front left is missing. He lost it. It wasn't bolted in correctly I think. The VSC is ending. I so do not care about the end of this race. Thankfully Max is closing on Daniel so hopefully they at least pull off something funny.

10 laps to go. Nasr retires. Oh and I missed the part where Nico got a 10 second penalty for his collision with Raikkonen. But well he almost has a 10 second gap to Raikkonen now. And the RedBulls aren't being funny after all. Boring to the end.

It's the end of the race.

Daniel wins ahead of Max and Nico.

Unfortunately we get Lewis' interview during the celebratory lap so it's a tiny image in an image type of thing and I can't gif it. He says he just gotta move on. Everybody did a fantastic job during the weekend and they all did everything they could. He did everything he could. "I just can't believe," he says, rubbing his forehead, shadowing his eyes, "that (? I can't understand what he says) and only my engines are the ones that have been going this year. I just uh… Something just doesn't feel right but. There's nothing I can do about it." She asks : "in terms of luck or…?" he shakes his head "Something just doesn't feel right." (Seriously what are you insinuating this is insane.) She asks if he was turning up the engine to get a gap at all, he shakes his head. No, she says for him. He says it's a brand new engine, he's done one race with it, he did, he thinks, FP3 with it and qualifying. It's one of the three brand new engines he took in Spa. He chuckles somewhat. He says it is what it is and we move forward, and try to continue driving as he drove this weekend. "It's just odd. There's been like 43 engines from Mercedes and only mine have gone." (Didn't Nico have insane bad luck in 2015? It's very frustrating, also as a viewer, but that's just how it goes sometimes.) She says he told him in their interview that he's had bigger gaps before in the championship and he came back. He says right now he doesn't even believe– he corrects himself : “I don't even know if my car is gonna make it”. He says for these next 5 races he knows he, his engineer and his mechanics have it in them but who knows what the next engines that he has are gonna do, he chuckles dryly. He's just gonna keep his head down and hope for the best. But this wasn't a good day.

I don't really care about this podium and the shoeys. Nor Webber multi-21/33 joke.

Paddy finds himself talking to Ted and saying no engine failure is planned and it's a tough sport and there's no intention or individual performance reason for what happened.

Now it's Niki talking to skysports. He says he's really upset about himself and his organisation because they let Lewis down with this engine failure. He says anything can happen but they have to analyse carefully what happened to this fairly new engine. He is very sorry. He's asked how he's gonna appease him after this. He says he's taking him to Japan the next morning in his plane. He chuckles. He says he hopes he can "bring him up" because the "champion(ship) is over when the last race is over". He now has to make up 23 points which is a lot, "but you never know what happens to the other guy". She asks how he's going to convince him that it is just bad luck and not someone doing this to him. Niki says he can convince him that certainly they (he says we) haven't done anything against him. "They're people working for him, we are proud of him, and these things happen." He says from their point of view they do everything to make sure he finishes his races "and he had finished so many races, he won already two championships so on this side we are well balanced." Unfortunately this has happened, he understands Lewis is upset, he will apologise to him, and they have to keep going.

Toto says they all talked and they need to keep pushing and not let Lewis or Nico down. He also says Lewis had different failures every time, it's a mechanical sport, and he thinks Lewis knows that no one is sabotaging him, basically. He doesn't use the word sabotage though. Simon says clearly Toto is aware of Lewis saying someone or something doesn't want him winning this championship. "You know what he meant," Toto says, and he points his hand to the sky and looks up. Simon says "fair enough, so you think if we spoke to him now he would probably have a different opinion." Yes, Toto says in a tone I've never heard him use. He says he understands that in such a situation you're so frustrated you're trying to find an explanation. There is no rational explanation for what's happening. Everything comes to your mind. He says it's completely understandable and acceptable. He apparently told the team that they're really awesome and got applauded for it in their meeting just before this interview or something. Brundle asks if Lewis is going to have to take a new engine and a penalty again. Toto says no, they still have two engines for him. One brand new and one 3 races old.

Btw it was Jenson's 300th start and McLaren turned their hospitality in a British pub for the occasion. Lewis dropped by to celebrate at some point in the weekend. Alonso also did but well, they're teammates.

Finally Mercedes apparently tried to cancel Lewis' written media duty and the written media was very unhappy about that. Eventually Lewis came out to do his thing and skysports' written media colleagues said he said he's very happy with the team, it happens, bla bla bla and by something or someone not wanting him to win he really did mean a higher power like Toto said.

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

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maxemilianverstappen · 5 months

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I’m not a fan of Charles but I don’t mind him. I also don’t see a WDC for Charles in near future and I doubt Fred will make a big difference everyone hopes for👐🏻I know Charles is young and have a lot of years to win but it’s crazy for me how Ferrari ruined his reputation in nearly two years, people rather put him in same calibre with Carlos and George(both an ok drivers but nothing special or outstanding to me) rather than Max/Lewis.

Some people are looking at the statistics and seeing the number of wins and all other jazz and making a list mostly based on that. I don't give a damn about that kind of "outlook" at the sports. Charles is talented and it is highly acclaimed both by his peers and by the gurus in the industry. What a keyboard warrior might say or think about him, actually about any of these drivers, do not matter at all.

As I said before, talent and hardwork is of course, the first ingredients of a champion, but also that guy needs to be at the right place at the right time and also the right car.

Seb, for example... Since 2012, almost every year there was heavy rumors about how Mercedes wanted to sign him, how they had a pre-contract or whatever. He possibly got offers from them, but chose his path differently. Which costed him the opportunity to get another two or three WDCs in theory. He was never an "average" driver as some people tried/still try to paint him as.

Charles isn't an average driver either. He has some weaknesses, but that's due to him trying to compensate for the car and taking greater risks.

I don't believe this "if he is a great driver he should adapt" thing. I don't think after 20 sth years of doing some shit you can find the same edge in every set up and in every type of car. Lol, you can't "that" easily change your second nature and hope to be equally as good as before.

Even Max and Lewis and Seb struggled in different amounts in cars that they didn't find to their liking. But everyone immediately screamed "they should adapt". Look, I am not a Chirlie either, but, cars make champions, too. Maybe more than the drivers' talents and hardwork can ever.

Seb tried so hard in 2020 to drive a car with no rear end (which was his preferred balance) so, out of anyone, if Seb couldn't find a way to be faater, then sorry but nobody could because that guy's work principles parallel no one's. That car suited Charles's style, so he drove it well. Later years, the car's rear got more stable and had more understeer, which didn't suit him. Even then, he drove those cars to poles. But Ferrari has always sucked at race interim since Seb and Kimi's times, mostly because they have never solved their tyre use issue. But whatever.

What I mean is, to show your talent, you also need the machine that reacts to you the way you want it to. When Charles gets a car like that, he is no less than Max or Lewis or Seb or Nando or other WDCs. But stars must align as Ferrari must suddenly decide to stop clowning and live up to their "image".

I am not holding my breath about Ferrari getting their ahit together soon, but if Charles really can't win at least one WDC, it will be such a waste of potential.

#eri.exe #i answer things

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milflewis · 1 year

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or can you make sewis toxic

the gc said what if seb n lewis were teammates at merc during baku 2017 earlier today and my brain is fucking melted and this came out. what if lewis went to ferrari after 2016. what if baku happened while they’re were both in the title fight for a wdc with ferrari and make it be the worst possible scenario. what then

“I’m not very nice today,” Sebastian laughs, titling back in his chair, smile bright and toothy, red shirt loose and too big along his shoulders. His fingers are ringless, tapping away on the arm of his chair, no bracelets either excerpt for a thin material one, faded blue, and a thick sensible watch. “Sorry.”

He doesn’t sound sorry but then again, Sebastian never does. Lewis only shrugs, letting his eyes soften, reaching over to bump Sebastian’s chest with his closed fist, light and easy. Mattia is peering over the file in his hand from across the room. “It’s alright, man. Losing can be difficult to swallow.”

Sebastian is far too good at his job to glare at Lewis. His smile simply widens, chin tilting down so he can glance up through his lashes. “You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?”

Lewis laughs, stretching his legs out in front of him, feet crossed at the ankles, until his back clicks quietly. “I would,” Lewis says and the helmet painted in Lewis’s colours on the shelf behind Mattia holds the exact same number of stars, one grey, two silver, one red, as Sebastian has titles. You’re not special, Lewis thinks. Not to me. I see you. I know you as a racer. As a human being. I. See. You.

I’m not Mark Webber, Lewis had said to him, last year after they had handed him the trophey and he’d become the first Ferrari world champion since Kimi. Sebastian had only laughed, furious and spitting and grinning, no?

Nah, Lewis had leaned in close, smelling his sweat and champagne and the race track that always seems to cling to Sebastian. I’ve beat you in your own team, haven’t I?

That hadn’t wiped the smile off of Sebastian’s face, nothing had that year, not once he started losing and never stopped, but something in his eyes had flickered, got you, and he had said, they aren’t my team, like it was awful and terrible and the worst thing he could think of. He didn’t say they’re yours because apart from the very few times Sebastian very distinctly is, he generally isn’t much of a liar.

Lewis had known him a long time at this point, as a friend and stranger and colleague and rival and teammate and ally and rival, and had just shrugged. Yeah, they are, man. They’re Ferrari, they’ll never be mine. And they’ve got to be someone’s — too needy not to be.

Then why are you here. It was the first time since Lewis signed the contract on the heels of 2016 that he saw Sebastian desperate and it was even partly real. Maybe I just want to win with every team, Lewis had watched Sebastian’s fingers pull at the sleeves of his race suit, the material damp and thick. That’s what the papers are saying, anyway, so it must be true.

Sebastian hadn’t said anything to that, jaw still set and tight, knuckles white where he had twisted them into the material. Lewis could’ve forgiven him for choosing Nico over him, or at least, not choosing Lewis. Could’ve and did. He was even able to forgive him for not saying anything when the shit stupid jokes came back after he signed and the Tifosi lost their shit, bouncing back and forth between ecstasy over getting Lewis Hamilton in Ferrari, stealing him from Mercedes as if Lewis hadn’t walked away on his own two feet, and the horror of having a black driver in their beloved team.

What he is not able to let go, and probably couldn’t even if he tried, is Sebastian not taking back what he said after Baku, never telling anyone that he was wrong, even after the FIA of all people stood in Lewis’s corner. It wouldn’t have hurt so much except —

Well, Lewis had thought, hadn’t he, and —

— it didn’t matter. Not in the end.

Sometimes, Lewis looks at Sebastian, beside him on the podium, across a team briefing, staring in front of him, behind, right there, and he hates him. He’s pretty sure that they could’ve, maybe, possibly, been something.

Sometimes, he even catches Sebastian staring back but for all that he swans around, all open palms and look here, look, look, I’ve got nothing to hide, I swear, he can be so very difficult to read. And it’s been a over a year since Lewis has trusted himself around the other man.

#i have so many thoughtsaboiythis btw if u haven’t realised #idk where this goes !! no where !! anywhere !! mybe they never get over it. mybe seb never wins n get look at lewis. mybe lewis loses n seb #can stomach that n they become smth. pale in comparison to what they could’ve had but. smth. or mybe they don’t. idk idK !!!!#also. nico is still in merc btw. with val. bc i think it’d be fucking hilarious #just. what if sebs sense of fairness n right n wrong came up against his need to win. to beat his teammate. to best lewis in a way that was #not there in our version of baku. what if what if what if #left it v open ended and vague on details bc i haven’t figured them out lol but no one is good in this. no one is v nice.#they all want to win n be loved n can’t have both. nope. sorry. basket is full next pls. i am so tired pls ignore this should probably sleep #nowdays ignore any spelling mistakes !! pls n thank u #sewis #stuff i wrote #one! braincell bestie #fic.asks #niamh.asks

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comraderoscoes · 1 year

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See this is the thing about everyone pitying val for ending up playing second fiddle to Lewis that baffles me, don’t get me wrong at all, I love val, but like, to imply he didn’t know what he was signing up for would be to call him an idiot, he joined merc next to a then triple world champion, he must have known he’d be second unless he proved he deserved otherwise and with every championship that passed and the closer Lewis got to making history, he must’ve known when signing contracts that while they weren’t stopping him fighting Lewis, he would be expected to give way and play second fiddle if he couldn’t immediately assert dominance which he never did, it’s the same with people who act like it’s wrong to expect George to be second to Lewis atm, he’s literally the goat, seeking history in a team he’s been with for a decade, who also want him to make history, ofc Lewis will take priority, and George must’ve known what he was signing up for, like Reubens knew with Michael, like Felipe knew with fernando, like mark eventually figured out with seb, when you partner a great, you’re going to be second fiddle, the only time shit like that hasn’t happened really is Prost and senna at mclaren and that was a notorious shitshow, so like… yeah Lewis damn well should get priority and there’s no way George shouldn’t be expecting it? It’s not in his contract that he HAS to give way, ofc, that’s not merc’s style, but he must’ve known the situation, I mean he doesn’t tend to act like it, but he has SAID it multiple times, Lewis is team leader and he respects that position, it’s in his best interest to support Lewis as hard as possible now and hope that they can get him the eighth and he can take over, people are ridiculous to think he didn’t know this would be the situation, and it WASNT even what happened today

(Sorry this was a rant haha)

hahaha no need to apologise!! my answer's fairly long so i've read more'd

i mean, i don't even think lewis is being prioritised at all? if that was the case then why would they have gone in a completely different direction with the cockpit position than he's comfortable in (NOT saying that this has anything to do with gr). and none of the race strategies point to it either - like if they were prioritising him jeddah would've been a great chance for them to actually give team orders and put him ahead of gr lmao

and idk if that is the situation - im biased as hell and would love to see merc put all their eggs in lewis' basket (and i think unless they have a car that's as dominant as the w11 then you HAVE to do that in order to stand a chance), but i don't see merc assigning number 1 and 2 drivers unless they're actually fighting at for the wdc

and valtteri...valtteri did try and i think people only say he rolled over as a way to detract from how good lewis is - i don;t think valtteri did roll over unless it was absolutely essential for the WDC. valtteri just wasn't good enough

but anyway yeah, i don't really know where they're coming from today with the criticism tbh. like lewis has had SO MANY strategy calls go against him in the past year - but i don't think that's bc they're favouring gr, i think the strategy team can just be a bit wank sometimes and isn't good at juggling 2 drivers

#anon #ask #sorry for the long answer!!

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f1 · 2 years

Text

Norris feels lucky to race in era defined by Lewis Hamilton before French GP

Lewis Hamilton has defined an era in Formula One that will be recognised alongside those of other great drivers, the McLaren driver Lando Norris believes. The seven-times champion reaches his 300th race at the French Grand Prix this weekend and Norris acknowledged his achievement, but also emphasised the importance of Hamilton’s influence across the sport and beyond. Only five other drivers have reached 300 races and in doing so Hamilton’s career has stretched across 16 seasons since 2007, during which he has already broken a series of records. With seven titles the 36-year-old has matched Michael Schumacher’s tally but stands alone at the top of the pack with 103 poles and 103 wins. The 22-year-old Norris is in his fourth F1 season and speaking at the Paul Ricard circuit was pleased to say he had raced during what he thought would be known as the Hamilton era, one defined by his competition with drivers such as Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen. “You always hear the stories of when there was Ayrton Senna or Michael Schumacher and in this period it’s been Lewis,” he said. “You hear about the battles he has had, and those guys had with [Alain] Prost and [Nigel] Mansell. In 20 or 30 years time its going to be the same about Lewis racing Seb and Max. Then somewhere there’s my name a bit further down … You take it for granted initially because you are doing your own thing but in 30 years time that’s when you realise you were in a way lucky to be racing in that time.” Norris, who has shown no fear in battling Hamilton on track, has earned his respect. He praised the youngster when he led the Russian GP last year only to lose out as the rain intervened and Hamilton went on to take his 100th win. He also described him as a great driver after they went wheel to wheel in Austria. Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris celebrate their 1-2 at the Russian Grand Prix in 2021. Photograph: Getty Images Behind the scenes Norris said Hamilton was both popular and personable. “He is well-liked,” he said. “He is a nice person, he seems to always to want to help the Brits and the young drivers. He does give advice with little things, asks what I am planning. He has been through everything so he knows what teams try to get out of you and what you should get out of teams. It’s small things but he is always willing to help.” Norris also praised Hamilton’s role in highlighting issues beyond the sport. “His commitment to equality and diversity and actions in attempting to improve both in F1.” He was a role model then? “I would say so, he has shown that you can be seven-time world champion and go and do other things in your life,” he said. “It’s an incredible achievement to be in the sport for so long to achieve the amount that has. You respect that he does all those other things, a lot of people have criticised him for these things but it’s not like he has to only focus on F1.” Sign up to The Recap, our weekly email of editors’ picks. Perhaps Hamilton’s most singular achievement is having won one race in every season he has competed in, a feat unmatched by any other driver but one that is under threat this year with his Mercedes off the pace of front-runners Red Bull and Ferrari. Although he and Mercedes remain optimistic they may yet challenge for wins this year. Indeed, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc led the timesheets in first practice just nine-hundredths up on his title rival, Red Bull’s Verstappen. Hamilton sat out the session as Nyck de Vries took his seat as part of the required rookie driver programme. In the afternoon Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was on top, one-tenth up on Leclerc, with Verstappen in third. Hamilton was in fifth with his teammate George Russell in fourth. via Formula One | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/sport/formulaone

#F1 #Norris feels ‘lucky’ to race in era defined by Lewis Hamilton before French GP #Formula 1

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maxverstepponme · 2 years

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I know we all love Daniel

But let’s see the things from the teams perspective

Yeah Daniel is a good lad sure for the cameras and content but as a driver well…

He won in Monza yes, because the team had a great strategy that kept him on a very podium situation oooh and Max and Lewis crashed

That weekend the Mercedes engines happened to be extremely good we are talking about both Mercedes and the Mclarens (Lando was also for the win)

People are mentioning his win like he was from p20 in a haas and was miraculously

And it was, and that was it. A bit of luck if you ask me. And everyone was so happy because we all love Daniel

But his competitive years are behind him

From a team perspective, you have the chance to have the most promising talent available out of nowhere and you can have probably the most young promising drivers on the whole grid together for you

Sucks for Daniel, yea but he is not longer a driver that it’s as valuable as a 2019 European champion, 2020 F3 champion and 2021 F2 champions. Piastri has won a championship every year since 2019. That’s badass. Not saying Piastri is a better F1 we are yet to see him perform and time will tell

Also behind the scenes he is a bit arrogant and shady. Like saying that with Lewis car the W12 he will easily win any championship, or that he was at the level of Lewis and Seb. When Nico left in 2016 (after beating Sir Lewis Hamilton on the WDC 2016 on the same machinery hahaha I had to sorry) Daniel was one of the drivers that called Mercedes and proposed himself to take that seat and Lewis allegedly said HELL NO! Everyone but Daniel Ricciardo, this left Daniel very very salty. Also when he was leaving Red Bull no team jumped to signed him, that hurt his ego he thought that all the teams will kill for him. Looking at the salary charts he was the 3rd most expensive driver in comparison with Vettel and Lewis his performance is no way close to the two of them. So you’re paying a lot for a driver that it’s more a performance act than a F1 driver who delivers the results. He never adapts to the cars since Renault. And considering that if Vettel leaves this year, he’ll be along with Alonso and Lewis the oldest on the grid, he doesn’t seem like a mentoring figure for a young driver like Lando.

Sorry for my long ass explanation. But my point is. Daniel is an amazing driver he is, not to win a WDC, but hes more entertaining than any other thing. And as teams you need a driver that can take you to the top, not just be popular. So I don’t blame McLaren for their decision from the business side it’s the right one and it hurts.

Looks like a stab on the back, the same way he suddenly moved to Renault without telling redbull. This moves are common and you only hope it’s good to you.

Thank you nonnie. But once again, we’re not saying Daniel is performing at Max’s level but that the way the team is handling the whole thing is not it. I don’t understand why people think we’re complaining about him leaving 😂

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eh-33 · 2 years

Text

I’m bored, so I’m going to talk about my ‘unpopular’ f1 opinions.

These might not actually be unpopular, but I feel like they could potentially annoy some people.

I don’t like George Russell - there, I said it.

And the sad thing is, it’s not even for any proper reason. I just don’t like him, probably the same as how some people just don’t like Max.

He irritates me, I don’t enjoy watching his interviews and I generally don’t care about how he performs - if he does incredible, I can appreciate his talent, but I wouldn’t go off about it.

In my mind it’s probably because he feels like such an opposite person to Max - he feels very media trained, always seems to be very calm, says what his team would always want him to say and really projects himself in a specific way to appease certain people or his team (ahem… after Abu Dhabi and merc). He also completely contradicted himself with his Spa take and his Abu Dhabi take which pissed me off.

Whereas Max who is my favourite driver is rash, blunt and sometimes doesn’t say the exact right thing or what the team would want, and can rub people the wrong way, and is just purely himself at all times, no mask, no filter, just him

So because of this I’m definitely not looking forward to George in a merc, however I do think there hopefully will be an adjustment period when he underperforms compared to the car - or the merc just isn’t on pace with the new regs🤞🤞, because I don’t think I can handle seeing him be immediately fast, I wouldn’t enjoy it. But I doubt it, because as much as I’ve only properly seen it on like 3 occasions (spa, Sakhir and Sochi) he can be lightning fast, and he does outperform that Williams, and a Max/George fight may be good to see, as long as Max wins 😂😂

Secondly - I quite like Christian Horner.

I feel like Christian is very protective of his team and especially his drivers. But then every team principal is.

But he always is talked about as a ‘Karen’ which I don’t feel is entirely fair. I think he goes about racing in a cutthroat way - and sadly it backfired on Gasly - but he will always try and somehow protect his drivers until they begin to badmouth him or the team.

He can go too far, he can be a bit whiny, but so can every team principal on the grid, we just don’t hear it as much.

And finally my most controversial take - Daniel Ricciardo screwed up leaving RedBull and after that with his next teams - and hasn’t been able to recover.

Now this is the take that has quite a lot of thought going into it - and I’m not saying he shouldn’t have left, he had reasons and they are valid if they were impacting him that much that he thought leaving would help him. However I don’t think leaving actually helped Daniel in many ways.

Now the reasons Daniel supposedly left RedBull are

because he felt he was becoming a no.2 driver to Max.

because he didn’t trust Honda (big mistake 😂)

because he wanted a new challenge and to ‘lead’ a team.

Now I loved Daniel at RedBull and I still love him as a driver now. But I think moving to Renault was a bad move especially after Renaults 2018 engine - if that wasn’t a sign I don’t know what would be. At RedBull he was known as a could-be world champion and was up there in terms of driver rankings with Lewis and Seb and now 2 teams later he’s known for having a freak win at Monza and being generally disappointing every other race - when he ‘should’ have come in and absolutely led that team and beat Lando - not what I thought would happen anyway, but lots of people did think that.

But here’s the other thing - Daniel was not going to beat Max, even in 2017, Max was clearly getting faster - he just kept making mistakes or DNFs - and by 2018 Max was better than Daniel. The only thing that I think brought them together was Renaults shit reliability. I genuinely don’t think Daniel could have handled Max being clearly better than him in the same car in 2019, because by the end of 2018 Max had taken a turn in his career and sort of got himself sorted, and Daniel main claim to fame a lot of the time was in quali and Max has sorted that issue, so I believe Daniel would have left anyway - because he would have been consistently out performed, except from a select few occasions.

Renault just didn’t do it for Daniel and I think even he knows that, but now at McLaren he has put himself back into the same situation as he was at RedBull - his teammate, a young driver getting faster every season - not as impressively as Max did but still, the point stands - and a supposed future world champion with the right car, then there is Daniel, not getting faster, struggling with the car in some way, getting a few good results to show his worth but overall not getting faster or dominating in the way that is maybe expected.

It’s disappointing when you think about how good Max and Daniel could have been, especially with the Honda engine and the RedBull of this year. But it’s also interesting that Daniel has had problems with each car he’s driven since he left RedBull, and every RedBull ‘second driver’ hasn’t been able to fully manage the car since Daniel left. No one would come close to Max, especially after this year, but I think that RedBull was set up very well for Daniel and he’s struggled since. I can’t say what he should have done, as I don’t think Max and Daniel would have had a good relationship if they stayed teammates, they always raced each other too hard, but I don’t think the years after he left have been good for him, and I think he left RedBull thinking he would be getting better every year and getting podiums and winning, but instead it’s raised further questions about his ability to adapt and perform.

Thanks for reading my ‘Eve rants about f1 post’, if I’ve offended you with my takes, don’t be a dick about it, leave a respectful comment or an ask and I’ll expand on what I mean about anything I’ve said.

If this absolutely slaps, I’ll make more, cause I enjoy talking about f1 and I have many many opinions that would probably piss other people off.

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tubbietommo · 3 years

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MY TOP 10 F1 HELMETS OF 2020 (AS A GRAPHIC DESIGNER)

With finally that dumb rule about amount of helmet changes out of our system, I’ve been enjoying seeing all these different helmets this season. There have been beauties, some that I’m still thinking about till this day and there have been some uglies.. some also which I’ve been thinking about till this day and literally thinking: WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!?!? to the drivers that wore them.

As I’m getting my official graphic design ‘papers’ I wanted to give my opinion about my top 10 helmets of this year:

10: Daniil Kvyat Abu Dhabi helmet

This is his last helmet and honestly I’m a fan of this one. It’s a pretty simple design and usually I’m not a big fan of the colour red being used in a helmet. Mostly because I find that colour a bit overdone in helmets. But it being sparkly makes it extremely beautiful and it’s the first Alpha Tauri helmet that I’ve seen that match fully with that big ass logo on there. With most of the Alpha Tauri helmets I feel like the helmets designs have two parts to it, the design and the big ass logo. But with this one I find it matching extremly well. Good job on that, love it.

9: Pierre AustrianGP helmet (fan made)

Oof, the front and the upper part of this helmet is just so fun. I’m a big fan of using a dark background with a very bright color scheme combined and I love the fact that this was a competition where fans could design Pierre’s helmet and that a beautiful design was chosen. I would have loved it even more if the alpha tauri logo wasn’t there. Especially that big. It would have looked so cool and given me an 80′s disco vibe if the whole colourful design was fully around the helmet, without the logo. But I guess with this one I just pretend the logo isn’t there. It's still so good though.

8: Sebastian Vettel Abu Dhabi (ferrari tribute) helmet.

Now I wasn’t sure which helmet of Seb I liked more, this helmet or the Styrian helmet. I decided on this helmet, because it’s such a Seb helmet and reminded me of one of his Red Bull helmet (which is prettier than this one tbh). But also because I think there’s a special concept to this helmet. This obviously could be wrong but to me this helmet is a bit of ‘self reflect’ for Seb. You obviously have the achievements with Ferrari on there and his famous quote ‘grazie ragazzi and the helmet has a bit of a mirror effect. but the colours to me that especially are being used in the number 5 tells me his F1 adventure (past and future). The colours start (in the number 5) with the Redbull colours, than goes into the red(Ferrari) which blends in with a little pink and goes straight to the green(AM). So I really like this little detail even if it wasn’t on purpose, which sorry but I am convinced it is.

7: The pink Hulkenberg helmet

I’m not gonna lie, I kind of had forgotten about this helmet, but as I’ve been looking back at these helmets this one has been really catching my eyes and is so well done. I find Pink a very hard colour to work with anyway, definitley the bright pink that just screams at you. And the fact that the bright pink isn’t overpowering with the pastel pink and white makes this helmet just nice to look at. The things that needs to grab your attention, grabs your attention and the fact that it has stripes going vertically over the helmet is one of my favourite design choices you can do with helmets so I absolutely love that. If a driver is doing a pink helmet, then this is what I love to see. Very beautiful.

6: Jack Aitken Abu Dhabi helmet

Now this one I was pleasent surprised by. Lets just put it this way: It’s a busy helmet well done. This is also a helmet that is just nice to look at it. Using these kinds of shapes that go from small once to big once is not easy to make it not look messy and the way they've done the white spaces inbetween the shapes is really well done. It looks like a puzzle that fits well and I have nothing bad to say about this. The color scheme with this one is just amazing. Really really love this one.

5: Lewis Hamilton purple helmet (bahrain)

I haven’t been a fan of Lewis’s helmets before BUT LET ME TELL YOU, this season he has really been bringing it. I am in love with the use of purple. Such an underrated color in this sport. And why? I have no clue. Purple is creative, magic, rich colour. How has it not been used more? It looks so good on this helmet, especially the Bahrein one with the glitter. Very pretty, good job Lewis. Finally! I have nothing bad to say about this helmet. The stars for his champions, the blm message on it. A good helmet right here.

4: George’s Abu Dhabi GP helmet

I guess a lot of drivers saved their best helmet for last... When I saw this helmet for the first time I was legit in love with it. I love that this helmet is for Frank and Claire and showing the success of Williams which haven’t been showed the last couple of years. But the use of the two dark blue shades with the white lines is complimenting all three colours so beautifully. I really hope George keeps those three colours and make a different kind of design as his main helmet because this looks beautiful to me. I wouldn’t even know anything bad to say about this helmet. Love it.

3: Alex’s Abu Dhabi GP Helmet

Now this one might come as a surprise and I don’t think anyone would’ve picked this one out as a number three BUT HEAR ME OUT. I’m absolutely OBSESSED with the cartoonish design that’s going on with this and it stands out a lot more compared to all the other Red Bull helmets that have been designed since 2015. To me they’ve been all looking kind of the same but this one to me is just so unique while still being a very RedBull helmet. The black outlining makes all of the colours pop out so much more and just the whole cartoon vibe is just right up my alley. If I were to design helmets, the whole cartoon vibe would be what I do and I think that’s one of the main reasons why this helmets speaks to me so much. Like I absolutely love it.

2: Seb’s Tuscan GP helmet

This was the hardest decision, because to me this is a clear number one. I have something with old designs coming back. And I LOVED Seb’s 2019 Monza helmet which was a love letter to the old helmets and I LOVE this helmet for the same reason, but even more so of how creative this is. Obviously it was the 1000GP for Ferrari so there was the inspiration. But I’m just obsessed with the way the old side looks. How they used an old drawing of the old racing car and made it really work. Like it almost looks like an old world map but to a racing driver. I’m obsessed with this side. But also I’m obsessed with the way it goes from the old side to the new with the old looking colours to the vibrant almost neon ‘now’ colours... is just amazing. I probably would’ve loved it even more (if that was possible lmao) if the old side was all around the helmet, but you just have to love this concept. For a 1000gp celebration it’s so good and well thought while still keeping your main design helmet in there. I would love to have this helmet. So cool.

1: Sebastian Vettel diversity helmet

Is it really a surprise that this one is on number one though? Now I’m gonna be honest with you, even though I absolutely love this design, it’s the combination of the design and the extremly strong message this helmet brings to the table that makes this helmet a number one of the season. This helmet is so special I will be thinking about this helmet in probably 10 years still. Now let me talk about the design. The stripes of rainbow where usually the German flag is (which I said before) something I’m obsessed with. I really love a helmet that has stripes going vertically over the helmet. I don’t think a lot of drivers use that and obviously Seb’s Ferrari helmet is known for that design and is so iconic. Your eyes will go straight to the vertically stripes, which in this case are the rainbow colours. But that’s not all. On the side you have all these unique illustrated people. Every character on there is differently that you almost could say you could ‘find yourself’ in there. It really shows the message of this helmet. What I also love and probably is a detail that is a forgotten detail, is how the number five slowly fades with the background. I’m very curious if that’s just a design choice, but I almost would think there’s a concept in that alone. Overall this is just a mind blowing helmet. I have nothing bad to say about it. It’s a beautiful design with an amazing message that should be talked more about in this sport.

#f1 #sebastian vettel #Alex Albon #george russell #Lewis Hamilton #Jack Aitken #nico hulkenberg #pierre gasly #daniil kvyat

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mickstart · 3 years

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Hello hello bestie, I just wanted to rant and ask about something so I hope this makes sense…I’ve seen some discourse just now about max being ‘the greatest driver on the grid’ and subsequently undermining and disregarding everything lewis has achieved; absolute double standards with the ‘it’s the car’ debate too 😡 so I just wanted to ask for your insight: do you think, since red bull has the better car this season there’s a chance that everyone’s right and max will get his first championship, or it’s not the car and lewis will again (unnecessarily) prove he’s the goat and just demolish the other drivers now that we won’t have street circuits (and thus show mercedes supremacy and dominance and his immense talent and ability) and set new records and solidify himself as the goat??

(Tbh this is me kind of worrying about max winning this year and it might be irrational since we’ve still got more than half the season left … but I just wanted to hear your thoughts) thanks bestie! 💕

fdjgjgdfsfdjh bestie.... bestie I'm afraid to tell you this bestie but I took a vow like 3 hours ago that I was not going to engage in max slander for a week bc I feel bad that I'm talking about that more and want to go back to politely ignoring drivers I don't like and just focusing on drivers I do like. Y'know, Positive Energy. So I am going to be Fair here.

TL;DR below the cut: the comparisons between them aren’t what we should focus on

Red Bull DO have the better car and that means there's every chance max could win the championship this year, and I really think that will be a possibility up until the very last race. Especially if red bull keep improving their car whilst merc keep their focus on the 2022 car. Lewis will absolutely be the goat but I don't see him 'demolishing' max this year the title lead is imo going to trade hands multiple times. Lewis himself proved in 2008 that in a tight championship it's not over till the final corner. I don't personally WANT max to win this year either but it's definitely a possibility. We're so early in the championship that anything could happen so try not to stress yourself too much about possibilities! Also like you say, the removal of Singapore IS a huge boost to Mercedes' chances.

That said I COMPLETELY understand what you are saying about the double standards and the comparisons between Lewis and Max. By the time Lewis was at the point in his career Max is now at, he had a championship. He'd defeated a two time world champion, taken control of his own career and moved to a new team, and generally done a lot More. I'm not saying that to shit on Max because you know, there are reasons for that and it applies to literally the entire grid. It applies to Charles, it applies to Daniel, it applies to Seb, it will apply to Mick. I'm saying that to show just how unfair it is to either say Max is a BETTER driver or to portray this title fight as two titans of the sport battling it out.

Lewis is on another level to everyone else on the grid, that gets ignored or downplayed and I COMPLETELY understand why it's annoying you bc it annoys me too. When max wins in a faster car some people will say "oh he's the greatest driver on the grid" and deny the red bull is faster, but when lewis wins those same people will be like "it's the car" even though they were probably gloating about the merc being slower in pre-season testing. The lack of respect Lewis gets is infuriating but what's pissing me off most is that when he DOES get respect this season he gets it so people can big up max / because he's challenging max, as if his greatness comes from comparison to max.

That kind of brings me to my main point here which is... don't let these people and this whole Lewis & Max comparison get to you or consume you or define how you perceive this season. Lewis is a host unto himself and he's proven his greatness and is continuing to prove his greatness every race. It's not about comparisons between him and max. It's about him being able to go fast enough to pull off merc's insane strategy in Spain, it's about him being so good at defending in Bahrain that he forced another driver into a mistake without doing anything dangerous, it's about him extracting EVERYTHING possible out of the car in Baku, figuring out and choosing his own set-up, and dragging it up to the podium when we KNOW how shit the car was in Baku because Valtteri was struggling to even get points.

Whoever wins this season doesn't matter for Lewis or my opinion of him in the grand scheme of things. I've said it before and I'll say it again: because of the car being slower and his performance contrasted against that, THIS will be the season that in 5/10 years time people tell you to rewatch to see an [X] time world champion at his absolute peak. Moments from this season will be in some future f1tv "top ten moments of Hamilton brilliance" compilations. The winner of this season isn't guaranteed but this - the response to lewis and what he's ALREADY done - is.

TL;DR: Be prepared for a tight, nail-biting title fight, but don't let the constant Lewis slander get to you. Just because other people make Lewis' talent revolve around Max doesn't mean you have to let yourself engage w/ that mindset!!

Anyway, I now give you a picture of Lewis when people say Max is the greatest driver on the grid:

#sir lewis #f1

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weraceasone · 3 years

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Hiya! I don’t know if you’ve answered this before but I was wondering who on the grid do you think has the potential to win a world championship? Do you think that there could be some surprises in the future? Personally, I think there is a pretty good chance that Max never wins one considering Red Bull and his other options for teams, which would be a shame because even if I’m not his biggest fan I think he would deserve to win one.

Thanks, just wanted to say I super appreciate you and all your answers! 😊

hey Anon! that’s a really interesting question, I honestly don’t think I’ve ever answered something like this before!!

I’m going to go from most obvious one to the least obvious one, so... George: I know everyone and their mother always says this, but if I would have to bet money on it, I would also say George is most likely to become a world champion. of course, because of the Mercedes he will probably be driving very soon, but also just because of his incredible, incredible driving. what I saw from him during the weekend he drove for Mercedes, it was just flawless. also when he drives the Williams, every single time I’m just so impressed by him. George is still very young and of course, he also still makes mistakes (like the crash behind the safety car in Imola), but I honestly think we are watching a future multi-world champion in the making.

Max: like I said in the answer I gave before this one, I think Max and George are comparable drivers, but Max is probably a bit more aggressive which can sometimes be a good thing, and sometimes a bad thing. at the moment, I think Max is being held back by the car he’s driving, as I truly think the Red Bull is an unreliable and inconsistent car. I honestly think the only thing Max needs to really be able to compete for that championship title is a better car, as I think the ‘aggressive’ part is just his driving style and that won’t change. it’s a shame he’s in that car, cause I think the championship could be a lot more exciting if he was in a better one. Charles: don’t get me wrong, I think Charles is an incredible driver and that’s also why he’s number 3 on this list, but I think he makes way too many mistakes. I think he too often wants and tries to go for a gap that isn’t there and tries to make up for Ferrari’s lack of pace in that way. I think it is a pity that situations like those often ruin his races and I truly hope he’ll learn from that. like Seb said, Charles really is a talented driver and a potential world champion, but he really does need to improve a little bit more. Daniel: I think Daniel is amazing, just like his driving. I really think he is currently one of the best drivers on the grid. however, I just kind of have a feeling it won’t ever happen. he’s getting a bit on the older side and I just... I don’t really know how to explain, but I just don’t see it happening.

Lando: I think Lando has potential, but I think as of last year he was still making too many mistakes. I also think his tendency to panic in some situations is not really a good thing. that being said, I saw a huge change in Lando’s driving between 2019 and 2020, he literally improved so so much. I hope for Lando that he can continue that upward trend, but I honestly really believe he will be able to. I truly think the potential is there, he just has to get the best out of himself and make it reality!!

I do want to add that these drivers are all still very young and the fact that they’re still making mistakes is not necessarily a bad thing. I think it’s very good to make mistakes, as long as you learn from them. Lewis also became a better throughout his career and I hope the same thing will be true for these young drivers!!

Anon, thank you for you kind words about my answers, I try🧡. it makes me really happy to know you’re enjoying them!! I really hope this explains my thoughts well. thank you for the interesting question and I hope you’re having a good day! 🧡

#elle answers

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charanteleclerc · 5 years

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love is found in crowded streets and coffee shops

For Quagswagging as part of the Summer Break Fic Exchange 2019. As usual, crossposted to my AO3 (Charante_Leclerc). Prompts are always open. Enjoy! ❤️

The residents of Stirling Street were, for the most part, good friends. They were a tight knit community of five shops, and possibly a little co-dependent for their own good. Seb owned Horse & Bull Repairs Shop, fixing anything from watches to car engines. Kimi and Kevin were next door at Iceman Tattoos, which sometimes also did alcohol (it was never advised). On the other side of him was Restaurant de Monte-Carlo, run by Romain and his trusty crew, and kept very traditionally French. Across the road was Jenson and Fernando’s Champions Coffee Shop & Bakery, once started as two separate shops, but they had ended up sharing so many customers they’d eventually given in and taken down the inbetween wall. Next to them was Jev and Andre’s shop, which was… well, they seemed to change it every week, the rest of them had given up trying to predict what shop it was going to be.

Stirling Street was great. Except for the fact that Seb and Kimi hated each other.

No-one knew how the rivalry had started, not even the two of them. It was just a fact of life by now. They opened their shops, argued about where their poster boards were situated at 9.15 exactly, sniped their way through their lunch break at Champions, and yelled at each other through their shared wall about their choice in music.

“We need to do something.” Jenson groaned, after Seb and Kimi had left following another tense lunch-break. “They’re always at each other's throats, and frankly, it’s driving me insane.”

“I can’t hear myself think.” Kevin muttered. “I need to stay out of there as long as possible.”

“Romain said he has heard them yelling three time this week. Three times. It is insane.” Fernando said glumly. “And they argued over what was the best flavour muffin. And they were both wrong.”

“They didn’t choose my Key Lime Pie muffin?” Jenson sounded wounded. “What did they choose?”

“Seb said chocolate chip.” Fernando flinched at Jenson’s sharp intake of breath. “You do not want to know what Kimi said.”

“Tell me what he said.”

Fernando sighed. “Vanilla. He said vanilla.”

“He said what?” Jenson yelped. “Is he open? I need to have words with him.”

Fernando watched Jenson leave, shaking his head. He’d said that he wouldn’t want to know. People really should listen to him.

“How can we stop them fighting?” Lando asked, clearing plates. “They’re pretty much always at each other’s throats.”

“You’re missing the point.” Lewis said from a nearby table, who had before looked completely asleep. He still did, except for the part his mouth was moving.

“What’s the point then?” Kevin asked curiously.

“It’s not that they hate each other. It’s that they don’t.”

“What do you mean, they don’t?” Lando frowned. “Of course they do. They fight all the time!”

“It’s because they’re scared.” Lewis shrugged. “They don’t actually hate each other, but they’re terrified of not-hating each other. It’s comfortable, it’s a relationship they know.”

“That makes sense.” Fernando shrugged. “I can work with it.”

Jenson stormed back in, eyes suspiciously red. “He won’t apologise. Said his opinions are his own and that vanilla is a valid choice.” His voice sounded wobbly. “It’s fine.”

“Did you cry during or after this discussion?” Fernando raised an eyebrow. Jenson shuffled.

“During.”

“You do know that he’s going to remember that forever.”

“Yep.”

“Just checking.”

“So,” Lando leaned on the counter. “So we need to convince them that they don’t hate each other? How hard can it be?”

~*~

It was pretty hard.

Romain kept on complaining that he could hear Kimi shouting at Seb, and had even sent his waiters over to try and calm the situation.

It hadn’t.

Pierre, Charles and Esteban had stumbled back to the restaurant terrified, Kevin alongside, and needed two shots each until they stopped trembling. They looked shell-shocked for another week.

Jenson tried talking to Seb one afternoon, bringing muffins as a go-between (chocolate chip included). Seb had taken the muffin’s, had listened as long as it had taken to eat them, before turfing Jenson out. (He’d agreed to mend the bakery clock free of charge though. It might have something to do with Jenson lying in the doorway, holding his muffin tub, determined not to move. Bribery was sometimes needed).

Even Jev had tried. Which was something that no-one had ever imagined happened, as Jev and Andre acted like the cool kids that thought everything was beneath them. Jev had wandered into the bakery at lunchtime, looking unconcerned, and had attempted to mediate one of their arguments. When he’d left, his usually perfect hair had been sticking up on end, and something was popping in his jaw.

Everyone had tried, except for Lewis, who refused to get involved. Something about them figuring it out for themselves.

“What are we going to do?” Jenson moaned. “It’s like everything we do makes things worse!”

“No more meddling here.” Fernando threatened. “Look at George.”

Jenson looked over to where George was lying with his head on a table, cheesecake in his hair. Lando was patting him on the back, while Carlos was trying to brush as many crumbs as possible out of his hair. Alex was playing gentle music from his phone, making comforting noises.

“Look at him Jenson.” Fernando repeated. “He has cheesecake in his hair. I don’t even know how they got cheesecake, we don’t sell cheesecake.”

“It was fantastic aim though.” Andre shrugged. “Can’t deny that. Two double espressos to go please.”

“Those are going to keep you up all night you know?” Fernando said. “Or give you superpowers, you’ve been getting those everyday for a year.”

“Betting on it.” Andre winked. “Plus, gotta keep looking hot somehow.”

“Amen.” Lewis chimed in from the back of the bakery. Jenson jumped a little, staring at him.

“I thought he was asleep, didn’t you think he was asleep?”

“Maybe you should convince them of the things that they like about each other.” Andre suggested. “Vodka, racing, ice-cream. Start slow.” He picked up both espressos, downed one after the other, before grinning. “See you later.”

“He’s going to die.” Carlos said in admiration. “He is insane.”

“Do you think that would work?” Jenson asked. “Slowly warming them up to each other?”

“Cannot do much worse, can it?” Fernando replied. “It will either stay the same or they will want to bang each other in a week.”

“Challenge accepted.” Jenson looked determined. “Better than the arguing.”

~*~

“So, Seb.” Jenson leaned up on Seb’s counter, grinning. “Ice-cream?”

Seb gave him a weird look. “Sure.” He said slowly, taking one of the offered ice-creams. “What do you want?”

“I can come and hang out with you, can’t I? We’re friends.” Jenson laughed. “So, vodka? What’s that about?”

“Are you trying to make me like Kimi?” Seb raised an eyebrow, tapping a finger against the counter. “Because it’s not going to work.”

“What, no! No, no no…” Jenson trailed off. “Well, good chat.” He backed away towards the door. “Lovely, lovely chat.”

“Tell them it’ll take more than that to sort out your problem.” Seb called after him. “And I want a free coffee for that attempt!”

~*~

Jenson spent twenty seconds in Kimi’s shop before something was thrown at him. He didn’t stop to find out what it was.

Valtteri, who was in the shop of the time, only shook his head when asked.

~*~

“We’re doomed.” Romain said gloomily. “I’m going to need to buy earplugs.”

The majority of the Stirling Street residents (minus the significant two) were sat around a few tables pushed together, nursing various coffees and teas. Charles, Pierre and Esteban still looked jittery. George was still finding crumbs in his hair. Jev still tensed up when he heard their names mentioned. Kevin was just starting to pretend that he didn’t exist.

Lewis was still asleep in the corner. Or maybe he wasn’t, they weren’t sure.

“Wait, here they come.” Jenson shushed the group. They all turned to watch out the window as they came out of their shops, scowling as they saw each other.

“Your board is in front of my store.” Seb snapped, locking his shop. “Again.”

“Well, it’s not like I’m stealing your customers. How many people did you see today?” Kimi countered, crossing his arms.

“Don’t change the subject. Also, why do you have to play your music so loud? It’d be nice not to have it drill into my head.”

“Well, I’m sorry... “ They continued bickering down the street. The group turned back to look at each other, dismally.

“Doomed.” Romain repeated sadly. “Doomed.”

~*~

Jenson picked up his tub of muffins, steeling himself. “Half for Seb, half for Kimi. As an apology of sorts.”

“They need to learn for themselves.” Fernando agreed. “We cannot have anymore scared kids. They do not need to see that ever.”

Jenson sighed, picking up the tubs. “I hope Romain buys those earplugs.” He said, walking towards the door. “Really hope.”

He crossed the street, opening the door to Seb’s shop. It was before opening time, but Seb never locked his shop (which was probably a really bad idea considering his shop was filled with valuables).

“Hey Seb, just brought some more muffins, five chocolate chips and one of my new inventions, Blackberry Crumble muffins. Thought you might one to try it, and - er, what?” He stopped as he finally took in the scene in front of him. “What is happening?”

Seb looked up, blinking. “Huh?”

Jenson gaped. “But… you’re here! And… and him!” He stuttered, pointing at the other guy in the room. “It’s Kimi!”

Seb turned to Kimi sat next to him. “Huh, it is. Funny that.”

“But… you hate each other!” Jenson clutched his muffin box to his chest. “You hate each other!”

“Well, we did.” Seb said, tapping away at his laptop. “For ages.”

“Arguing is the way to a man’s heart.” Kimi muttered from behind his coffee. Seb nodded absentmindedly.

“Exactly.”

“So, we’ve been trying to make you two not hate each other when you don’t actually hate each other?” Jenson asked. “I think I need to sit down.”

“The floor is just there.” Seb said helpfully. Kimi snickered.

“How long has this been going on?” Jenson looked between them wildly. “How long?”

“Since those poor French boys walked in.” Seb replied. “I really am sorry for traumatising them.”

“I’m not.” Kimi shrugged.

“Oh my… oh my god.” Jenson put his tub on the counter, resting his forehead on the counter. “Does anyone else know?”

“Lewis.” Kimi yawned.

“Lewis?!” Jenson screeched. “He knew?!” He took a deep breath, looking at the two men in front of him. “Give me a minute.”

~*~

Jenson would later admit that running back across the street, screaming words with no coherence at Lewis, and then promptly fainting was not his finest moment.

However, he’d also say that his emotions were running high. It was justified.

~*~

“So, they don’t actually hate each other?” Lando asked. “Wow.”

“All this time?” Andre said. “Wow.”

“I think it is sweet.” Fernando said. “That Seb and Kimi - do not flinch -” as Jev, Charles, Pierre, Kevin and Esteban all involuntarily shuddered, “that even they can get over their differences.”

“I can’t believe they let me find out like that!” Jenson still looked haunted.

The door opened, and the usual bickering being heard again. “If you move that sign one more time …”

“Love at it’s finest.” Lewis said smugly. “I said to leave it to themselves.”

“I swear you were asleep a second ago!” Jenson yelped. “You were asleep!”

#sebastian vettel #kimi raikkonen #jenson button #fernando alonso #kevin magnussen #romain grosjean #charles leclerc #pierre gasly #esteban ocon #lando norris #george russell #alex albon #valterri bottas #jean-eric vergne #andre lotterer #carlos sainz jr #simi #f1 summer break fic exchange #f1 fanfic

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f1chronicle · 3 years

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Lewis Hamilton Wins Record-Equaling Seventh World Championship

An emotional Lewis Hamilton overcame qualifying a lowly sixth, a poor start, and treacherous conditions to win the FORMULA 1 DHL TURKISH GRAND PRIX 2020 and with it, his record-equaling seventh Driver’s World Championship.

The race win was Lewis Hamilton’s 94th F1 career victory – his tenth of the 2020 season and his second at Istanbul.

Championship Win Beyond Lewis Hamilton’s Wildest Dreams

Moments after taking the chequered flag in Turkey, an emotional Lewis Hamilton could be heard thanking his team on the radio, lauding everyone involved on an achievement that was beyond anything he could have imagined.

‘I know often we, or I say, it’s beyond my wildest dreams, but I think my whole life I secretly have dreamt as high as this. But it always felt so farfetched.

‘I remember Michael winning those championships, and all of us drivers here are doing the best job we can, and just to get one, two or three is so hard to get. So, to get seven, is just unimaginable. But when you work with such a great group of people, and you communicate, and trust one another and listen to one another, there is just no end to what we can do together, this team and I together. And I’m so proud of what we’ve done. And them trusting me out there today like they did, that comes with experience.

‘This year has been so tough… I haven’t gone out, I haven’t gone for dinner, I’ve just stayed in my bubble. Getting room service every day, and not really anything exciting and that’s naturally because I’ve got a championship to fight for.

‘I think this year I’ve sacrificed more than ever before in my whole life. That’s made it quite difficult. Making memories like this, I want to wait until I can be around my family, be around all my friends, because I want to share it with them.

‘I feel so proud of this race today. I was thinking about moments when it went wrong before, like China 2007 when I lost the championship on worn tyres in the pit lane. All these things I’ve learned along the way, I was able to apply today, and that’s why you saw the result and the gap you did today.

‘At the same time, I feel like I’m only just getting started, it’s really weird. I feel physically in great shape, and mentally this year has been the hardest year for many people, for millions of people. I know things always look great on here, on the big stage, but it’s no different for us athletes. And it has been a challenge I didn’t know how to get through. But with the help of great people round me, with the help of my team, Team LH, I managed to keep my head above water and focused.

‘I’m hopeful for a better year next year. And I’d love to stay, I feel like we’ve got a lot of work to do here. I am working to push to hold ourselves accountable as a sport, to realise we’ve got to face and not ignore the human rights issues that are around in the countries that we go to, and how we can engage with those countries, and how we can empower them to really change, not 10 or 20 years from now, but now.

‘And I want to help Formula One, I want to help Mercedes in that journey to become more sustainable. I hope to be a part of that, at least the initial phase, for a little bit longer,’ said Hamilton.

2020 Turkish Grand Prix, Sunday – Lewis Hamilton (image courtesy Mercedes-AMG Petronas)

Torrid Day For Valtteri Bottas

It was a horrible day for Valtteri Bottas who saw his hopes of keeping the championship fight alive dashed on lap 1 as he spun, the Finn then spinning several times before ultimately being lapped by his teammate in the closing stages.

‘That was a long race. Such a long day. From the first lap onwards, everything went wrong.

‘I don’t know who it was, but someone was spinning in front of me in the first corner and I was avoiding, and then I spun as well.

‘Then I had contact in Turn 9 and then the car wasn’t the same anymore. I struggled to stay on track. I couldn’t stay on track, the steering wheel was like this, and there was a piece missing from the front wing. It was just about surviving from then on, not good.

‘Congratulations to Lewis as well. He deserves this title completely: he was the better one of us this year overall and seven titles is a very impressive achievement in our sport,’ said Bottas.

2020 Turkish Grand Prix, Sunday – Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton (image courtesy Mercedes-AMG Petronas)

Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG

‘Huge congratulations to Lewis on this seventh World Championship – what an incredible achievement!

‘Lewis has been a part of our Mercedes family for over 20 years now. He joined us as an incredible karting talent; today, he’s one of the best drivers of all times.

‘Lewis keeps improving even when it might seem like there’s little left to perfect, and I’m excited to see where else his journey will take him.

‘It’s not just Lewis’ development on track that is impressive, but also his inspiring journey off track. Lewis has become a passionate advocate for more diversity and inclusion. He has also taken tangible steps to support this important cause. As a team and as a company we stand with him.

‘We’re proud you’re part of our family, Lewis. Thank you for seven world championships powered by Mercedes!’

Toto Wolff

‘Today once again showed how Lewis is capable to cope with a situation that went against him in the beginning, he was the one who kept it on the road, looked after the tyres and let the race come to him. And that made the difference today, he was hungry as a lion.

‘Driving a car on slicks at the end, with the risk of rain, he just brought it home for a 94th win in Formula One and to take the seventh title – it’s such an impressive achievement.

‘This year has been very special because it was so difficult for everybody in the world. I hope we have been able to bring people some joy, some entertainment, and coming out on top after a race like this feels incredible.

‘Looking at Lewis, we have such a strong relationship that has built up over our years together; the team is 100 per cent behind him, he is 100 per cent behind the team, and this was one of those days where that trust really shined, taking the win against all odds.

‘We simply need to say congratulations to Lewis and to recognise the amazing job he is doing, setting new benchmarks in this sport. We will be flying home together, so we will have to see how we celebrate – I’m sure we will find a way!’

2020 Turkish Grand Prix, Sunday – Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff (image courtesy Mercedes-AMG Petronas)

Andrew Shovlin

‘We didn’t need a reminder as to why Lewis deserves to be a seven-time champion today, but he gave us one anyway. He deserves every bit of success that he has had, and it was a privilege to see him celebrate that championship on the top step of the podium.

‘The race itself was pretty unpredictable. We were able to make some changes to the car with the rules around ‘change of climatic conditions’ and for the first time this weekend managed to get the tyres working.

‘The opening laps were clearly quite tricky, and it was surprisingly hard to get close to anyone to pass, especially when we didn’t have DRS.

‘Valtteri had a good start but spun trying to avoid a Renault at turn one and then had contact later at turn 9 causing some damage that compromised his car for the race.

‘Lewis also had a good start but ran a bit long into turn 9 and lost a couple places which made his day more difficult as he spent a long time stuck behind Seb.

‘The strategy ended up being more straight forward than we’d expected, the biggest point of discussion on the pit wall was how far we could go on a set of inters and we didn’t really know the answer to that as we’ve not gone that far before.

‘Lewis did a great job of looking after the tyres and managed that stint well avoiding the need for an extra stop. We’ve still got three races to go and are looking forward to some warm weather in the Middle East and hopefully finishing this season with some strong results.’

2020 Turkish Grand Prix, Sunday – Lewis Hamilton (image courtesy Mercedes-AMG Petronas)

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