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#dr christian horner
blamemma · 4 months
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Daniel Ricciardo with Christian Horner, Geri Halliwell and Heidi Berger in Dubai | via
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charleslelurk · 21 days
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Every reaction from the grid and principals to the Christian Horner case (source):
Daniel Ricciardo:
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Valterri Botas, Lance Stroll, and Nico Hulkenberg: (during Saudi Arabia Wednesday press conference)
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George Russel:
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Lewis Hamilton:
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Sergio Perez:
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James Vowles:
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Zak Brown (can't find a video but supposedly said live on Viaplay):
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Alex Albon:
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Lando Norris:
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This was posted and deleted from his story
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(hm I wonder why McLaren only posted videos of Norris talking to Bianca Bustamante today, the McLaren F1 Academy driver hmmmm *cough* damage control)
Max Verstappen:
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This was in response to the tweet giving a vague translation
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vroomvroomvettel · 2 years
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I hope Red Bull burn down and everybody in this whole organisation ends up in hell
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thef1girl · 1 year
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The code for the Japanese Grand Prix is now available.
PDKSUZ
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fcb-mv33 · 2 years
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Unpopular opinion: Max deserved DOTD
But anyway I'm so happy 🥳🥳🥳🥳
-Christian Horner anon 🧡
Max literally spun, his drs was fucked, and still won the race….
DOTD in our hearts bestie🥺🧡🧡
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herohimbowhore · 5 months
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The revolving door of Red Bull drivers within the past decade has always been a topic of discussion.
Webber retires and Ricciardo's in. Vettel leaves for Ferrari and in comes Kyvat. Oops, no Kyvat out, and Verstappen takes his place. Ricciardo leaves and Gasly is promoted to the main team. But Gasly isn't it, and in comes Albon. Nevermind, Albon out and Perez is the man. Or is he?
It's a neverending cycle of one driver in and another replacing him only for rumors about replacements to swirl.
Hundreds of years earlier, similar patterns existed with Henry VIII and his six wives.
This brings forth the question: which wife's narrative suits the most for some of the former and current Red Bull drivers.
Based on the song Ex-Wives from Six: The Musical.
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My name's Catherine Of Aragon
Was married 24 years, I'm a paragon
Of royalty, my loyalty is to the Vatican
So if you try to dump me
You won't try that again
The initial thought for Catherine of Aragon, based solely on being the first wife would be Sebastian Vettel. He's the first Red Bull junior to make it to the main team, take the first win for both Toro Rosso and Red Bull, and win the first championship with the team.
However, Catherine of Aragon is Max Verstappen. Lyrically and based on the narrative, Max Verstappen is most like Catherine.
Paragon of royalty:
This could be translated into a racing lineage. Both of Max's parents were in motorsport. Jos is a former Formula 1 driver, though undeniably nowhere as good as his son. Sophie is a karting and race car driver who competed against Jenson Button, Giancarlo Fisichella, Jarno Trulli, and Nick Heidfeld. Christian Horner in a recent interview on Dax Shepard's podcast eff won with DRS said that he used to kart against Sophie and she beat him.
My loyalty is to the Vatican:
In this situation, the Vatican would be Red Bull. Max's current contract ends in 2028 and he has mentioned many times that he could possibly retire when that contract ends. Max has never talked about a desire to race for another team.
Also, Max is rarely spotted not wearing the team kit. The man is dedicated to the team.
I'm that Boleyn girl
And I'm up next
See, I broke England from the Church
Yeah, I'm that sexy
Why did I lose my head?
Well, my sleeves may be green
But my lipstick's red!
Anne Boleyn is undeniably Sebastian Vettel.
Lyrically and based on the colors mentioned in the song, Sebastian has the makings of the Boleyn girl.
See, I broke England from the Church:
Breaking England from the Church for Sebastian is ending the Red Bull/Sebastian Vettel partnership that had won the team four drivers' championships and four constructors' championships.
Red Bull back then was Sebastian Vettel, they were one and the same. Sebastian got them their first everything and it seemed like a solid partnership until Sebastian signed with Ferrari. Thus, breaking England from the Church, or in this case leaving the team he won with.
Why did I lose my head?:
This is 2020.
Nothing is going right, Sebastian's dropped by Ferrari for Carlos Sainz Jr. Commentators are talking about how he isn't the same Sebastian Vettel and he doesn't have that same level of skill as before, especially in comparison to his younger teammate, Charles Leclerc.
Well, my sleeves may be green but my lipstick's red:
Sebastian retired in Aston Martin green, but he's not going to be remembered as the Aston Martin driver, he'll always be a core piece of Red Bull's history in Formula One.
Another way that this can be interpreted is Christian Horner telling Sebastian that he could always take a year off and come back home (Red Bull) if he wanted after Sebastian was dropped by Ferrari.
Jane Seymour, the only one he truly loved
Rude
When my son was newly born, I died
But I'm not what I seem
Or am I?
Stick around, and you'll suddenly see more
Now, Jane was a difficult one because she could be connected to three different drivers (Sebastian, Daniel, and Checo) at different points in their respective careers. But, in my opinion, based on how the 2023 season has played out, Checo is most like Jane Seymour.
the one he truly loved (rude):
While Checo is probably not the most loved of the drivers for Christian (see: Max, Sebastian, Daniel), the lyric does fit him when put into comparison with Pierre and Alex. Of Checo, Pierre, and Alex, he is the one that was truly loved.
Checo, when not performing to the level that Red Bull wants, has gotten a lot more support than Pierre and Alex. He's also lasted much longer than the other two.
When my son was newly born, I died:
This is Checo's championship aspirations earlier this year.
Just when it looked like Checo could be a legitimate challenger for Max in the drivers' championship, he had a fall in form. After two race wins and only a few points separating them, there was hope that maybe, just maybe Checo could beat Max. But following Miami, Max went on to have a record-breaking amount of consecutive wins. Thus, killing the newly born championship dreams for 2023.
Ich bin Anna of Cleves
Ja
When he saw my portrait he was like
Ja!
But I didn't look as good as I did in my pic
Funny how we all discuss that, but never Henry's little
One thing Anna of Cleves and Pierre Gasly had in common was that they both only had a short union with Henry VIII and Red Bull. However, after the breakup, they continued to be tied to their ex.
Anna of Cleves stayed in England and was a present figure in Henry VIII's life after their divorce, sometimes called his sister. Pierre Gasly was demoted to the junior team, AlphaTauri, and stayed there for a few years.
When he saw my portrait he was like, Ja!:
When Daniel left Red Bull, they needed to bring someone in to replace him, and out of the two drivers on the junior team, they picked Pierre. They saw his portrait (his record with the junior team) and thought it good enough to be promoted.
But I didn't look as good as I did in my pic:
Pierre's time with Red Bull is short-lived, just like Anna of Cleves' marriage to Henry VIII. He wasn't performing like Red Bull wanted, therefore, didn't look as good as he did when they signed him. Which led to a premature end and quick replacement just halfway through the 2019 season.
Prick up your ears, I'm the Katherine who lost her head
For my promiscuity outside of wed
Lock up your husbands, lock up your sons
K Howard is here, and the fun's begun
If Pierre is Anna of Cleves, then Alex Albon is Katherine Howard. Much like in the song when Katherine Howard begins singing halfway through Anna of Cleves' verse, Alex Albon began his time with Red Bull halfway through Pierre's contract.
Prick up your ears, I'm the Katherine who lost her head:
Alex's version of losing his head is not getting a contract for 2021 and becoming a test driver for the team. He spent the year without a race seat and it could have been a forever thing.
Katherine was young and married early, Alex was promoted before his time in his rookie year. Both of them were punished for something that was beyond their ability.
K Howard is here, and the fun's begun:
This is Alex with Williams, but still going to Red Bull events like Wings for Life and hanging out with drivers in the Red Bull "family." He's having fun, showing off his ability as a driver, and just making them think about offering him a contract when his contract with Williams ends.
Five down, I'm the final wife
I saw him to the end of his life
I'm the survivor, Catherine Parr
I bet you wanna know how I got this far
I said, I bet you wanna know how I got this far
Now, Catherine Parr, most would think is Sergio Perez. It would make sense, he's still with the team and he was a factor in winning the 2021 drivers' championship and has scored points for the 2022 and 2023 constructors' championship wins.
But Catherine Parr fits with Daniel Ricciardo. He is, in the sense of Red Bull, the survivor.
I saw him to the end of his life:
Daniel coming into Red Bull in 2014 saw Red Bull at the end of the team's first block of domination and the end of Sebastian's career with Red Bull.
This was the Red Bull downfall era as Mercedes was emerging as the top team. Daniel was the only Red Bull driver to get wins for the team. Daniel was there at the end.
I'm the survivor:
Daniel, unlike Pierre, Alex, and now Checo, was able to leave Red Bull with his head held high and a highly regarded driver. When he left, there weren't rumors of him losing his seat. It was on his own terms. He is, to this day, the only one of Max's teammates at Red Bull to beat him and challenge him over the course of a season.
Additionally, even after a downfall after the McLaren stint, Daniel's come back to Red Bull and is considered to be in contention for the second Red Bull seat. He is the survivor of the six Red Bull drivers. When his career seemed like it was going to end, he came back. In Mexico, he was in the top 10 in all sessions during the weekend and gave AlphaTauri their highest Grand Prix finishing of the season. In Brazil, despite rear wing damage that led him to be a lap down and spending most of the race behind Yuki, he was the third-fastest driver.
More on Red Bull Drivers:
Red Bull Industrial Complex: A timeline of all lineup changes in RB and TR/AT
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sbdskate · 9 months
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Laws Of Attraction (Part 5) - DR x lawyer!fem!reader
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Summary: McLaren is in breach of contract, dr3 hires a lawyer to deal with the aftermath. Tropes ensue. Slow burn. Enemies(kind of) -> Friends/colleagues -> Lovers
Pairing: lawyer!fem!reader x Daniel Ricciardo
Warnings: language, angst, mature themes
Word Count: 4,371
A/N: In a shocking turn of events, this is in fact not the last part. I really wanted to put something out there this week but I’m still not quite finished with the last bit of the story. That being said, I think I found a good break point. I’m not even going to jinx myself by saying the next part is going to be the last, so TBD. Thank you again for your support. Please don’t be a ghost reader, and please feel free to comment or DM with any positive or constructive feedback. Enjoy!  
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Epilogue 1
You woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. Perhaps that was your fatal flaw all along. The entire time you spent trying and failing to suppress and divert your feelings for the driver, you would have been better served leaning into them and letting them go in a controlled space.  
In clearing the air with Daniel, you felt a weight lifted. You were still shocked by the revelation that the feelings were mutual at least in part, but there was comfort and stability in the understanding that had been reached. The lightness allowed you to finally stand in your confidence and share in the excitement of the next phase of negotiations. The season would be over in less than a month, with only two races left including Brazil. You were grateful for the light at the end of the tunnel.
You discreetly made your way to Red Bull hospitality on Thursday morning, bright and early in Sao Paolo before the chaos of media day began. There was only an admin there who greeted you showed you around. You made yourself comfortable in the empty kitchen area, where it was immediately obvious the difference in resources. It felt opulent yet comforting, especially compared to the aggressive orange and sparse theme of McLaren. Then again, spending any excessive time around McLaren hospitality or their garage nowadays just made you depressed and resentful.
It was early, even for you, and you desperately needed to caffeinate before the meeting. You saw the coffee machine, but no mugs in sight. You began opening drawers and cupboards in search of a vessel, cursing Christian Horner in your head. You finally found them, but of course they were on one of the upper shelves. You strained your body to extend as far as it would go, everything you needed just out of reach. While adjusting your balance on your tiptoes, you felt a warm body press against you and a shadow of an arm reaching over you. You closed your eyes and sharply inhaled, relishing the pressure on your back and the smell of familiar cologne. You opened your eyes again when he peeled away from you.
“I think you were looking for this?” Daniel handed you a mug. You took it, feeling your fingers brush again. The epiphany you had earlier was dispelled in an instant. Engaging in self pleasure may have acted as a momentary release, but it did not subdue the feelings that had taken firm root over the last few months. Masturbation was simply a light pruning for the sturdy tree that now grew in your garden that refused to be moved by earthquakes or hurricanes.   
“I could’ve gotten it,” you grumbled avoiding eye contact. You had told yourself you had no reason to feel awkward about the other night, but you felt yourself shrinking in his presence nonetheless. His voice went up several decibels and he batted his eyes to mock you.
“Good morning, Daniel! Thanks so much for helping me! Good morning to you too, no problem, so happy I could help.” You rolled your eyes.  
“Good morning. I promise I’ll be nicer in ten minutes once I’ve had my coffee.” You haphazardly raised your empty mug. He raised his hands and backed away, a small smirk on his face, but did not leave. He found a seat elsewhere in the kitchen, and you felt his eyes on your back as you went about your business.
You locked eyes when you turned around with a full cup. He innocently smiled and waved, while you forced an aggressive smile back. Leaning against the counter, you took a few sips of coffee without breaking eye contact. After a few minutes you joined him.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi.”
“Are you done being a cunt?”
“Are you done being a douche canoe?” He snorted.
“I guess not.”
“Likewise.” You paused. “Sorry. I wasn’t expecting you to be here so early before the meeting.”
“Yeah, I don’t know. Me neither. I’m excited, I think. And a little nervous.” He looked like a child on his first day of school, fidgety and unable to contain the energy requiring release. He couldn’t help the growing smile on his face. It was contagious, and you quickly found yourself smiling too.
“You should be – excited! Not nervous,” you quickly clarified. He looked down while he continued to bounce his knee.
“What if I make the wrong choice again?” he timidly whispered, though it could have been a question directed at you or the universe. It was no secret that many thought him leaving Red Bull in 2018 was the worst professional decision Daniel Ricciardo ever made, his short stint with Renault followed by his experience with McLaren as evidence. However, hindsight is 20/20. Perhaps he had too much hubris at the time, but he very validly thought he was being forced into a second driver position. How could he have known the series of unfortunate events that would follow? You did not fight the urge to hold his hand this time, gently placing yours on top of his in the middle of the table as you leaned in.
“There is no wrong choice this time,” you whispered back.
You truly believed that Daniel was in a win-win situation. Mercedes was a well-oiled, professional machine. The relationship there would be a symbiotic one. You thought they could help ground and focus Daniel, while Daniel could improve their public image and perhaps allow them to shed their somewhat stuffy, mechanical persona. Moreover, it would represent a clean slate with a new team. Conversely, you couldn’t deny how poetic a return to Red Bull would be. The place where Daniel spent so many years at the beginning of his career, it would be a momentous homecoming.
The Red Bull kitchen was quiet and empty. He looked at your hand. You were about to pull away but he lightly took hold of it before you could.
“Thanks,” he said in a soft voice to match the soft smile that graced his features.
“Of course. You know I’m always here for you.”
“I know.” He lazily rubbed your fingers with his thumb.
“Do you want to go over anything before the meeting?” You feebly attempted to redirect the conversation to be more professional, but you both knew there was no real effort as neither of you moved.
“Not really. I feel good this time.”
You remained in comfortable silence for a beat, lost in the exchange of energy that passed through one another. Your phone buzzed, pulling you away from the moment temporarily. Your face fell slightly. He looked at you expectantly.
“Well, you’re stuck with me today. The partner’s tied up with something.” You raised your gaze to meet his, searching for some kind of approval. He feigned distress.
“Oh no, what will I do? You’ve only handled 70% of this whole process on your own.” You squinted, skeptical of his confirmation.
“You trust a meager, low level associate to handle the entire trajectory of your future?”
“At this point, I trust you with my life.”
It was hard to tell whether he was being overdramatic for comedic effect or genuine. Foot steps in the distance pulled you from your trance, your hands quickly recoiling. With his back to the entry, he didn’t miss the chance to give you a wink and a smile that made you want to melt into the floor. Instead, you rolled your eyes in response but your bashful smile gave you away. You stood up when you saw your expected hosts enter.
“My two favorite people!”
“Good morning, Christian. I appreciate it, but you know flattery doesn’t work with me,” you quipped as you shook hands. When he wasn’t pissing off the rest of the grid, Christian really was quite the charmer when he wanted to be.
“On the contrary, it will get you everywhere.” The smile didn’t leave his face when he turned to Daniel, arms wide open. Their energy was well matched as they embraced in a warm hug. As happy as the driver was last week with his points finish, he seemed immensely more comfortable now.
When they separated, Christian looked at you again.
“What is this? Coffee and no Red Bull?” he teased.
“Sorry, had a bad experience in law school with energy drinks I’m afraid. Nothing personal. Though I was beginning to wonder whether the coffee machine was for decoration only.”
“They hide the mugs on purpose,” Daniel chimed in. Given the dimply smile and his tone, you would think he was joking but knew he was absolutely telling the truth.   
“He leaves for four years, comes back, and thinks he owns the place and can share company secrets.”
You had seen it several times now, but it amazed you how easy their relationship seemed. Although technically Mercedes was not out of the question, you already knew where Daniel’s heart was. It was now just a matter of ironing out the details.
Christian and the Red Bull lawyer joined you at the table in the kitchen. It was a nice change of setting, the informality of it made the weight of the discussion feel a bit lighter. The process with them was easy, especially compared to McLaren and even Mercedes. While it was slightly less formal, at all times you felt respected. Not once did anyone assume you were an admin or paralegal, which admittedly is a low bar. But even beyond that, especially with the partner’s absence, you were never treated as a subordinate and your professional capabilities were never called into question. Of course this process was not about you, but in your opinion you believed choice of outside counsel was an extension of the type of work environment your client could expect. Red Bull had been a pleasant surprise in this respect.
It was all smiles when you exchanged handshakes as you parted ways. You and Daniel were shown out the back door to avoid a few media that had just started to arrive at the paddock. You walked behind the teams’ hospitality stations so that you could join the main entry of the paddock without raising suspicion.
“So. How do you think it went?” you casually asked. You didn’t want your own opinion to taint whatever his genuine response may be.
“Honestly… I think it went really well.” The dimply smile you had become so fond of returned to his face.
“Honestly… me too.” You allowed yourself to show your enthusiasm, feeling yourself break into a wide grin. Away and hidden from the main walk of the paddock, he grabbed your hands and you both quietly squealed and jumped up and down. After a few seconds when you stopped and regained composure, he asked:
“So, what’s next?”
“Well, that depends on you. If you think you’re ready to pull the trigger with Red Bull, you let me know ASAP and assuming we’ve already nixed any dealbreakers that would’ve been in their offer, we go through everything again with a fine-tooth comb, see if they’re able to come up on anything and sign.”
“And Mercedes?”
“We keep them in play until everything is in writing and executed. No need to have a PR disaster like Alpine.” You were, of course, referring to the unfortunate circumstances of Alpine prematurely announcing Oscar Piastri as their second driver for 2023. He chuckled as you continued walking towards McLaren. You could hear the hustle and bustle from the press getting louder as more people began to arrive. He paused just before you were about to turn the corner and enter the circus.
“I want to be at Red Bull,” he said definitively. You smiled.
“Ok then. I’ll get to work.” He gave you an encouraging fist bump before taking a deep breath, knowing this would be the last bit of downtime you both had for the rest of the weekend, reluctant to leave the nest of the quiet sanctuary you shared just behind the organized chaos.
“Shall we?”
You sighed. “No time better than the present.”
-
Brazil was an eventful whirlwind. It was no surprise to you that Daniel continued to skillfully navigate an onslaught of questions about his future in the sport on press day and the rest of the weekend. On Saturday, the two of you gossiped excitedly when Kevin Magnussen got pole in qualifying despite Daniel’s own mediocre performance. Obviously the sport was cut throat, but everyone couldn’t help but root for the Haas underdog. There was a buzz during the sprint, Daniel just out of reach of the points in p11. Unfortunately, the race itself ended up resulting in a DNF for both McLaren boys. With each day of events, Daniel’s mood seemed to sour despite the positive steps being taken behind the scenes. Of course DNF-ing on what could be his second to last race ever is not what anyone wanted. However, while you sympathized for Daniel, that’s not what you were focused on. There was the celebration of George’s first win with Lewis also on the podium, but then there was the internal team drama you watched unfold at Red Bull.  
You anxiously waited out the post-race interview process so that you could update your client. If there was any question on what the path forward was before, it became crystal clear today.
As he walked through the paddock eager to get to his drivers room for some solitude, he saw you practically bouncing on your toes. He was a little annoyed to see you in such high spirits after an abysmal race, but it also made him relax a bit.
“I should DNF more often if it makes you this happy,” he dryly joked as he approached you. You should have been used to this song and dance by now. He makes a questionably flirtatious comment, you blush and get flustered, and after a bit of fumbling you redirect course and get back to business. You knew he wouldn’t change his behavior, no matter how many times you halfheartedly scolded or ignored him. It shouldn’t make you flustered any more, but there was excitement in not knowing whether there was any truth behind it. And as much as you hated to admit it, you liked it. But that was before your conversation in Mexico, where you divulged so much about your own inner turmoil. You had made yourself vulnerable. After that, you had assumed he would stop out of respect. What was a thrill before now felt like a cruel joke at your expense.
“Very funny,” you deadpanned. “I have some important news to share with you, can we go somewhere private to discuss?”
“You’re not going to buy me dinner first?” He had said this before, but it wasn’t landing like it used to.
“You’re going to have to buy yourself a new lawyer if you keep this act up.” For someone who didn’t finish the race, he was being awfully cocky today. And by goodness, did it make you feel things.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re the one who said you wanted to be alone with me -”
“Daniel.” He usually stopped after the first rebuttal.
“Not that I’m mad at it-“
Your previous excitement began to sour in your mouth as your heartbeat quickened. You grabbed his wrist and dragged him through McLaren hospitality to his drivers room. You didn’t care who saw or what it looked like. You practically pushed him in and shut the door behind you. His eyes widened as you got in his face.
“Oh shit, is this actually happening?” he began to pull at his shirt.
“What?! No. Shut up. What is wrong with you today?”
“Oh come on, I was just joking! You know I always do this.”
“No.” You pushed your pointer finger into his chest. “Today, you’re being an ass. I don’t know if this is you acting out after a shitty race or what, but pull it together. You are not a 21 year old frat boy, you’re a 33 year old world class athlete with a fully developed frontal lobe - who is now wasting my time, and rest assured, I am billing you for it. And if you stopped your inappropriate jokes for two fucking seconds and let me do my job, I would have told you that there’s a solid chance you can be on the grid in 2024 in a fucking Red Bull. Thought you might want to know.”
You had backed him into a wall and were inches away from his face, huffing and puffing. You were so mad, that one man could make you so infuriated and horny at the same time. His eyes were still the size of dinner plates, but his expression had fallen slightly. It was his turn to blush. He had been surrounded by yes-men for so long, he couldn’t remember the last time he had been chastised like this.
“I’m sorry-” You continued, your tone somewhat more even.
“Max wouldn’t let Checo through today despite what it would mean for the driver’s and constructor’s championships because he thinks Checo purposefully sabotaged him during qualifying in Monaco. The girls are fighting which is more bad PR for Red Bull, Checo’s contract is up next year, and if this dynamic continues between the two drivers then there’s a good chance they won’t renew it.”
“That’s great news-” You cut him off again.  
“Am I a joke to you? Because I know you wouldn’t be making these comments if I was a man. I know you thought I was some secretary when we first met, but I really thought I had earned your respect throughout this process.” He looked at you now wearing the pink pantsuit you’d worn on that fateful first day.
“Can I just-”
“I’ve had to deal with so many mediocre men with undeserved self-inflated egos my entire life. I’ve dated them, I’ve been in class with them, I’ve worked with them, I’ve worked for them – especially the last five years at this godforsaken law firm. Lord knows I don’t need another one. I’ve had to work twice as hard and be better than them to prove myself as an equal. And even with all that, no matter what, as soon as I leave the room I’m the punchline of some joke I never asked or wanted to be a part of because I have boobs. Maybe we got off on the wrong foot initially but I really thought you were different. But no-”
One second you were ranting, the next you were cut off by lips crashing into yours. In your fury you missed his warm brown eyes darting between your eyes and your lips. In a flash he had grabbed the lapel of your suit jacket to bring you towards him, your hands landing firmly on his chest. Fireworks flashed behind your eyelids and for a moment you forgot what day it was, where you were, and who you were. You don’t know how long it lasted. You should have pulled away. You definitely shouldn’t have kissed back. But the taste of saline on him from the demands of the day and the scruff of his beard on your chin and cheeks made you want to stay. You smelled his cologne mixed with musk and, what was that, aftershave? Instead, he pulled away first.
You blinked a few times, jaw slack. You brought a hand to your lips, half to make sure they were still there but also for confirmation that you didn’t just hallucinate.
“Sorry, it was the only way I could think to get you to shut up so I could get a word in edgewise. If you’d let me talk, I would say I think you’re the most brilliant person I’ve ever met. You’re smart, witty, funny, and no, it doesn’t hurt that you’re as good looking as I am. You think I give a fuck about billing? I would spend my entire fortune down to nothing if it meant I got to spend more time with you. I’ve known for weeks I wanted to go to Red Bull and I didn’t tell you until three days ago because as excited as I am about figuring out what I’m doing next year, I’m equally dreading it because as soon as I sign that means you leave. When you’re not in the room I only sing your highest praises. So yes, of course I respect you. And I realize, kissing you just now may have proved your point, and I’m sorry about that. And you’re right that I’ve been a cunt today and a lot of this weekend, and I’m sorry about that too.”
There had been very few times in your life where you were left speechless, and this was one of them. It was literally your job to be good with words, and right now they failed you.  
“And I know you’re going to say ‘let’s forget that this ever happened’ and I’ll move on and get back to business, but I can promise you I won’t. I’ll never tell another soul for your sake, because I don’t want you to lose your job, but I refuse to forget this, our conversation in Mexico, or that Sunday in Austin. You’re unforgettable f/n l/n.”
You stood there in silence for a few moments. Your adrenaline was through the roof and your mind was blank. He was clearly looking for a response, yet you had none. You did your best to break the tension.
“Well if your goal was to get me to shut up, you succeeded.”
“Honestly, I’m as shocked as you are,” he said with a small laugh. There was another long pause. “I shouldn’t have said all of that, I’m sorry.” You gave him a knowing smile.
“No you’re not.” He smirked.
“Yeah, not really.” You had become particularly focused on a speck of dirt on the floor, but finally returned his gaze.
“You know nothing can happen,” you whispered. It wasn’t a question, it was a statement of fact that was directed at yourself as much as him. You unsuccessfully tried to hide the disappointment in your voice. He refused to look away from you even when you continued to avoid eye contact.
“Yeah, I know.”
Silence descended again. There was nothing else to say. You realized through your tirade and this whole exchange you had been standing dangerously close to one another, and you hadn’t backed away after the kiss. You could feel his heartbeat on your chest, and you were pretty sure he could hear yours. You separated yourself and tried to pick up whatever pieces of dignity you had left. You straightened out your suit jacket and cleared your throat.
“I’m going to try to add some clauses in the contract for 2024 primary driver placement. They’ll almost certainly come back with red lines to make them conditional, perhaps based on Checo’s performance and/or your own performance in the sim, but Horner loves you so much that I think they’ll be receptive to the idea overall.” Your heart hurt at how crestfallen he looked.
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
“I’ll send you a draft before it goes to Red Bull. You can expect deliverables by tomorrow.”
“Ok.”
“Assuming everything goes smoothly, I anticipate the agreement to be fully executed by Abu Dhabi. Does that sound like a reasonable timeline?”
He was incredulous at how quickly you could shut everything off. He had spilled his heart to you and in return he received merely an acknowledgement before you put an abrupt end to the conversation. You had done it so many times before to a lesser extent that he shouldn’t have been surprised by how quickly your walls went back up, but he somehow thought this time would be different.
“Yeah,” he finally answered. “But… I want to wait until after the race. I don’t want to have to worry about sneaking away in the middle of practice or qualifying.” It was his way of saying he wanted you there for the duration of the race weekend, he had gotten used to your presence over the last three months. Despite whatever this altercation did to your relationship, professional or otherwise, he couldn’t imagine finishing the tumultuous season without you by his side. He hoped you would pick up the subtlety, but it went over your head.
“I don’t know Daniel, Red Bull probably has a million celebratory events immediately afterwards seeing as their driver won the championship and they won the constructor’s. I imagine McLaren also has a bunch of end of season events planned as well that you’ll have to attend.”
“Can we ask if they can spend an extra day in the country?”
“If you want to wait until after the season is over I totally get it, it might just be easier if we try to schedule something at Milton Keynes the following week.” For someone so smart you were also awfully dense. He tried to come up with a logical explanation that you would be willing to go along with.
“I just thought it would be smart to be able to announce this within a few days after the end of the season, where there’s still buzz and interest and before we get too far into winter break. Plus then it would give the team a few days to come up with a press release still within that timeframe.”
You couldn’t argue that such timing would be better publicity for both him and Red Bull.
“Hmm, I suppose you’re right. No promises, but I’ll reach out to Red Bull to see what their schedule is like.”  
He was satisfied with the victory, no matter how small.
“Is there anything else?” The words felt hollow as they left your mouth. He looked away, shaking his head in disbelief.
“No, I guess not,” he said in defeat. You felt terrible. There were so many things you wanted to tell him, but saying them out loud would only serve to stoke the wildfire you so desperately wanted to put out.
“I’ll see you next week in Abu Dhabi,” you said meekly. You left the room, ending the exchange in a stalemate with neither party satisfied.
Taglist: @ravenqueen27 @leslizzle @zendayabelova @eitak-t @chiliwhore @wewoo1233
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slutforpringles · 5 months
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Christian continuing to show Daniel the most love this weekend. Also my god have I missed DR having a team around him, and team bosses behind him, that actually support him when he needs it, and talk him up to the media instead of talking shit about him to the media.
via: Christian Horner comments on Daniel Ricciardo as paddock rumours swirl | PlanetF1
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karlmarxverstappen · 20 days
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bella sorry for the venting in your asks but im rly struggling to understand the max hate coming from his own fans lmao things were smelling rotten around rbr and its politics since early to mid-2023 when the meddling with at/vcarb started (ndv fired/dr suddenly pulling a super duper lap on testing and getting his seat/rumours about yuki being fired)...not even newey (supposedly his friend) or ford are backing that man, what is so hard to understand about the fact that max might know more about what is happening than the average outsider?
do people really think he's naive, dumb, gullible or something? first the outrage at jos for maybe the first time ever speaking common sense telling the media "christian horner should leave he's making the team look bad" and the uproar about max having to drop his father because of it. lmao. I'm sure jos verstappen has done much worse than pointing the obvious and max still maintained him as an integral part to his career. then max himself came and said "my father is not a liar" when asked about this so maybe he's inclined to agree with what jos was saying? maybe since dietrich died and a split occurred in red bull and reports went out of horner trying to get rid of marko things are really unsustainable inside the team? now with this "if marko is out I'm out" maybe he's also trying to secure that the one person that has 100% his back to the point of having a tied contract with him stays? grandpa is the worst but looking at the state of red bull right now is he really though? we know max isn't exactly the forgiving type - brazilian gp 2022 "I gave you my reasons" after checo allegedly bottled that lap in monaco on purpose comes to mind - so perhaps horner trying to stab marko in the back to get rid of him when dietrich died isn't sitting right with him as a guy who values loyalty and the previous status quo at red bull. and all this without mentioning the head of the FIA trying to force him to back up horner which is wild lmao. I would be livid.
I don't think he's stupid. I think he's playing his hand and using whatever influence he has in order to have the best outcome for him in this internal war. and if he ends up leaving be it in 2025 or 2026, just look at the state of this team, can you really blame him?
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zyxwl2015 · 1 year
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F1 drama never disappoints
I can’t believe no one is discussing this article, it has ALL the details of behind the scenes on DR’s situation ever since 2018
Stories with Red Bull: 
Max’s contract in Oct. 2017 made him higher paid than Daniel, and Daniel wasn’t happy about it
In contract negotiation just before Monaco 2018, Helmut Marko said “I want to win the title with Daniel in 2018, and then win it with Max in 2019 and 2020.” which SHOCKED Daniel’s then-manager
A few days later Marko said this again, in front of Daniel and Christian Horner, which shocked Horner also, who slapped Helmut Marko on his leg
A “prominent TV presenter” also told Ricciardo’s camp that Red Bull is becoming Team Verstappen
Daniel was waiting for an offer from Mercedes or Ferrari which never came; Ferrari thought he laughed too much, whereas with Mercedes, Toto’s talk with Daniel was “used as an incentive for Valtteri Bottas”
Daniel signed the contract with Renault on his flight to US, just after tyre test in Hungary, which shocked Red Bull, Zak Brown and everyone else
Stories with Renault:
Daniel quickly found out that Renault’s management was a mess, so he was willing to jump ship
Renault was not happy about this, so in 2022 when Daniel was looking for post-McLaren deals, Renault (now Alpine) quickly shut that down on him
Stories with McLaren:
At the end of 2021 McLaren wasn’t happy about the performance, Zak Brown told him that he needed to drastically improve his performance in 2022, otherwise they would look for someone else in 2023
Daniel also underestimated how good Lando is, before the move
After Monaco 2022 (Daniel finished 13th) Zak Brown made up his mind to move on
McLaren signed Piastri in July and told Daniel in the evening of Hungary GP, then finalized Daniel’s leave during summer break
the relationship between McLaren and Daniel remains good, because Daniel feels the exit settlement is fair to him, and McLaren think Daniel has been very professional throughout
On his future:
Daniel’s role with Red Bull is less of a reserve driver role, that went to Liam Lawson; with Mercedes though they did offered a full reserve driver role, but Daniel doesn’t want to travel to too many races
He’s also keeping an eye out for possible Audi seat in 2026
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dear-ao3 · 5 months
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Re your RB cursed second seat post, just wanted to add a few things and make a couple of corrections because this stuff really does add to the uh... flavour
First, while I know it's not entirely relevant, the whole Racing Point driver swap was SO MUCH more dramatic because Lance Stroll and Esteban Ocon are like. Besties. Like BFF friends forever since childhood. Poor son of mechanic and rolling in cash son of billionaire true friendship story. Esteban was fired in favour of his best friend, by his BEST FRIEND'S DAD. PEAK drama. They're still besties, bee tee dubs, because Esteban only makes enemies with his teammates.
F1 Invisible Moustache Twirling Supervillain Christian Horner also has a history of 'we're fully supportive [x driver] to be the best they can be and have no intention of changing our driver line up' and then oops, sorry. We lied. Like... five minutes later. Happened to Gasly, happened to Albon, and the former is currently where we're at with Checo. Christian has admitted that they were too hasty with Albon but oh dear how sad too bad boy's thriving now oopsie doopsie.
Also not forgetting that while Daniel was twiddling his thumbs waiting for his metacarpal to heal, Liam Lawson, the AT and RB reserve, got the highest placing position for the Alpha Tauri team this season (up until Mexico, anyway) while driving in Daniel's seat, and also threw himself into the RB second driver conversation.
And a couple of minor corrections:
DR didn't just leave RB because of the unreliability, it was more about being pushed aside for Golden Child Max Verstappen (affectionate, maybe slightly derogatory), which of course he knows all about because DR did the same thing to Vettel back in 2014. Who also had experience in that field because you could argue the cursed seat actually started with Mark Webber vs Seb Vettel back in like... 2010
Honda has been in F1 before. They sold to Brawn GP for the princely sum of one euro symbolic cash when they were going under, because Ross Brawn knew they'd built a MEGA car and couldn't bear to see them not run it for the 2009 season. Brawn GP won that year, it was Jenson Button's one and only championship win.
F1 drivers can't really go back to F2. If you've won it before, you can't compete again, but it's a feeder series so there's no way some ex-f1 driver is ever gonna be in F2 (or any of the lower formulas) because it's specifically for young talent. IDK maybe you meant Formula E? They also often go to WEC or IndyCar. Even rallying.
RB didn't give Checo another car at Suzuka he went out in the same car after they fixed it up enough for it to drive around one lap. Worth noting he was like 32 laps behind by this point (IDR the exact number but it was LORGE). spare cars haven't been a thing in F1 since 2008
Finally, the Fernando and Charles rumours are so fucking funny ain't no way either of them are gonna go to RB only to be a second to Max. I can see Carlos doing it though, trying for the grand return a-la DR. He's just Like ThatTM (affectionate, again also slightly derogatory). They've also been hardcore courting Lando Norris, who's way too smart and aware of his mental health to put himself into that depression spiral.
ANYWAY this isn't intended to be a big GOTCHA i just wanted to, as I said, add some extra flavour because F1 is so much more insane than anyone who doesn't follow it can POSSIBLY comprehend. Thanks for the post, I love seeing people explain the bonkers bullshittery.
yes yes thank you for pointing out all my mistakes and all that i j ew i was going to be getting Peer Reviewed (again, tumblr deleted my damn post so the first version was more accurate but i was pissed and i was also 1am so…) but yes. i am also new here in terms of the f1 drama. but yes it’s totally positively bonkers do you guys See now why fandom people are attracted to it???
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blamemma · 1 year
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Australia Grand Prix Team Principals Conference ft. Christian Horner taking a swipe at Zak Brown over Daniel Ricciardo | 31.3.23
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landthatplane-blog · 6 months
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Another steam of consciousness on Mr Daniel Ricciardo and no sleep so apologies in advance if things are a bit scattered.
A little scared to post because tags have been intense.
Anyways....
Happy for Daniel. Everyone criticized him for taking a break last year (which he clearly needed) and not taking a Haas/Williams seat. People thought that he thought he was too good. Well, he's now taking a seat at the last place team, to rebuild and prove himself. He sees a pathway, but he's taking the step down in hopes for a long view move. He is a multiple race winner and probably could have retired but of course, unfinished business. Beauty of the sport. The comeback. He's allowed the chance to rebuild and is literally starting with a back marker team now and knows he has to prove himself. But now, people are pressed he is in a seat. Again, obviously Red Bull see something in him. If they weren't seeing some indication - based on Red Bull's history of being cutthroat - this wouldn't be a conversation. Even on that Simon Rennie/RB podcast, Simon mentioned not wanting to basically lie or hype Daniel up if the results weren't there. There's a trust there. Luckily, they saw something. They literally can't hire Daniel solely for markeing/PR. Does it help? Of course. Everyone has to find value wherever they can. There's only 20 seats people have to take their opportunities where they can.
Alpha Tauri is a junior team narrative. It was but they've obviously repeatedly put out there they're looking for a restructure with one experienced driver and one younger, and they're going to be using Red Bull parts. Two young drivers (unless you're a generational talent like MV) could very well result in little to no points and they're dead last right now. Haas had to bring back two experienced drivers to make up for the previous years of two young drivers. They need an injection of experience.
Pay Driver - He has not had a family member nor a huge corporation buy his way into the sport. He's built a career where people are interested in him - over 10 years - how can people find a way to penalize that? Again, he can't win. Just because he can pull in interest from huge sponsors - again, after years of building a career, that's just the business. If it was based on that person's definition alone - Lewis, Lando would also be pay drivers. But it isn't based on that factor alone. There's so many factors.
A lot of people deserve things, but this is a competitive sport, so nothing is ever guaranteed. Liam may very well deserve a spot on the grid, but you could also say he never would have had this opportunity if not for DR's accident. Also, if he’s as great as people think he is - I’m not too worried for him. People keep going back to Alex Albon's appendix causing the string of recent events but sometimes I think - this all wouldn't have happened if Daniel hadn't left Red Bull in first place lol. Maybe he'd still have his Red Bull seat now! I don't mean that in a he shouldn't have left, just that his leaving kind of caused a similar effect and gave all these other people opportunities lol. But again, that's not really how it works. They're making decisions based on today's circumstances. And now, he's come back but has to re-earn his spot. His leg up is Christian Horner supports him, but he still has to perform to get back. Just think it's funny people are acting like, there won't be hard work or there's no talent (again, drivers don't forget how to drive). It's complicated and impossible to identify who "deserves" a seat more or less. So many variables and impossible to be definitive (the way some people speak as if they know everything/must be right). Guess, we could argue forever which is what's entertaining. That said....
Professionalism/Kindness. While I think everyone knows that the way McLaren handled Daniel's exit was in poor taste, never once did Daniel complain or make excuses. He was professional and continues to be. The results weren't there. When he was fired (let go, released), he understood it. Acknowledged the results weren't there and this was part of the sport (I'll get into that NY Times article another time - but it was clearly not for a lack of trying). Daniel called Oscar Piastri to tell him no hard feelings. Wanted him to still have a positive start. Even Checo has been asked about Daniel "coming after his seat" and presumably under a lot of pressure for 2025 and his response was also professional and an understanding of the sport. He said Daniel's a friend and there are only 20 seats, there's no hard feelings. It's up to him (Checo) to perform. They all understand. Nobody inherently deserves or is guaranteed a seat. Wish some fans would understand. If the drivers aren't publically pressed about it themselves - maybe everyone just calm down. People are just so nasty, and without actually knowing all the information. Twitter/X is the worst. This should be fun, juicy, competitive but no need to bring hate or be nasty.
That's all for now🤷🏻‍♀️. As always, happy to discuss but please be kind (or funny).
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vroomvroomvettel · 2 years
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Fuck Verstappen, Fuck Perez, Fuck Horner, Fuck Marko, FUCK RED BULL RACING
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formulatrash · 9 months
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hi hazel!
i know this is probably annoying to ask so extremely sorry about this in advance but i’ve been seeing this debate on twitter and it’s so conflicting and I can’t pretend to know enough to understand what people mean by it.
max and christian horner had their opinions that came out about the 2026 engine regulations (as did Damon Hill, Karun and Alex Brundle) and i know they weren’t the most positive. I’ve seen BrrrakeF1’s opinion of it isn’t great either. but i’ve also seen some tweets from others that the regs aren’t bad. (i haven’t really seen any other team mention anything about the 2026 regs except redbull and maybe toto said something)
so are they bad? or good? i know it’s not as simple as that, of course but there seems to be a bit of a fight brewing around this now which i wasn’t actually aware of before.
I think the main problem is that 2026 is effectively tomorrow, in terms of developing a completely new power unit concept and that some ambiguities and potential changes are still in the works.
(this got long)
(also this is not an annoying ask anon! I actually know about power units haha - it's the wag stuff I don't know anything about)
2026 moves to 50-50 internal combustion and electrical power to the drivetrain. That is a big shift from the current hybrid systems, which are somewhere around 8-11% electric power. That's not an exact number; the overall output of an ICE and of course the hybrid system is both down to how efficiently it's running and any constraints on its performance (needing to run the ICE lower for reliability etc) as well as a regulatory maximum of 120kW contribution from the motor.
But it's somewhere, ideally, around there. At most tracks, obviously some of them like Monaco there's less call for maximum power output but you get the idea, it's going to be a big shift.
There are lots of other changes, in how that number is got to; MGU-H is going, which is a pretty uncontested idea. MGU-H is (basically, I'm oversimplifying but) a turbine that runs off exhaust gases and given that, of course only applies to hot-running petrol/diesel combustion engines.*
That's not a technology that's either practical for road cars or the direction that OEMs are taking development in, as well as being expensive and complicated. It was repeatedly cited by manufacturers as a reason not to come back or join F1, so removing it was a done deal.
MGU-K is a non-negotiable part of a hybrid system, it's the part of the powertrain that recovers energy from braking but is also the motor, like in an electric car. Nothing goes to the drivetrain from the electric parts without MGU-K, so that was of course staying and the increased importance of it comes with the development of motors for EVs. Especially recovery systems from braking and lift/coast for range extension.
With that, you need a battery and an inverter and a control system, etc. The scale-up of that to be a larger percentage of the overall power does add weight to the overall power unit and there isn't a way around that, although cars will also be lighter (at race start) due to lower fuel loads.
(worth saying that F1 is currently heavier, at full fuel load, than Formula E; trying to have both is in some ways the worst option)
None of that is really bad or good or what's being argued over, which is a second set of regulations around active aero. In order to compensate for the cars being heavier, in theory at least, the bodywork will actively shift to reduce drag on straights. Like DRS but in a more complex, whole-car way.
"Wait, that sounds insane and also like it would need lots of additional wiring and movement systems to engineer" yea.
I personally think it's a driver aide, if it's not entirely controlled by the driver and also that it's unnecessary. The 919 LMP1-H ran at close to 50% electric energy a lot of the time and it only had a few different aero configurations for the year, let alone a lap.
The active bodywork will need to work closely with the PU, which of course is always the case with a car's bodywork; airflow and cooling the power unit (or even just a pure combustion engine, which of course literally needs to breathe) are essential parts of making a car efficient. But this is more than packaging, it's that parts of the chassis will need to respond to the same ECU as the power unit.
And none of that is really clarified yet. Which given the development lead times is a huge problem. So: it's not that the regulations are good or bad yet, per se it's that they are not yet settled. *Differentiating between hot and cold running because race cars obviously run like blast furnaces compared to a road car, even if you compared two V6s. But also because if you were to apply MGU-H to, for instance, a hydrogen combustion engine, then it would be very inefficient and not generate anything because of the different exhaust outputs.
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herohimbowhore · 2 months
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My fyp is filled with Lewis x Hamilton the Musical edits and they’re all very good. It led me to rewatching Hamilton. And again really good, I always forget how good the songs are.
But something that’s been stuck with me since I watched Hamilton, is that You’ll Be Back is so Christian Horner to Daniel Ricciardo coded.
Here’s a few lyrics that are the most CH to DR coded:
Remember, despite our estrangement, I'm your man
You'll be back, soon, you'll see
You'll remember you belong to me
You'll be back, time will tell
You'll remember that I served you well
When Daniel was dropped by McLaren in 2022, Christian Horner reached out and the whole Mexico hotel room conversation. It had been years but Red Bull was willing to take Daniel back into the fold.
You say our love is draining, and you can't go on
You'll be the one complainin' when I am gone
Daniel leaving Red Bull in 2018 and Christian saying that he’s running from a fight. Then Daniel not having as much success with Renault or McLaren as he did at Red Bull.
And no, don't change the subject
'Cause you're my favorite subject
Christian Horner has favorites and one of them is Daniel Ricciardo. The things he does for Daniel would not be done for most of the other Red Bull drivers. The honky tonk during the Nashville show run comes to mind because that was so over the top.
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