#charles needs to prioritise himself

[aaanyaajpg]

How did we go from the sf 24 to this piece of trash gang? We had it all after summer break last year. Who tf decided to change the entire car? 😭

[valyrfia]

The Sainz Effect on Media: What the Hell is Going On?

Last weekend, Carlos Sainz Jr. won the 2024 Australian GP, and subsequently, almost every single F1 media outlet has seemingly lost their minds. From the aramco power rankings giving him a perfect score (despite Max not getting one for a grand slam last weekend), to motorsport.com acting like a fan account, everyone is tripping over themselves to sing his praises.

F1 is a complex sport, it requires several different aspects to even get a car moving, even more to make it competitive, and even more to enable a championship fight. From driver line-up, to aero, from international politics, to tyre deg. There's no other sport like it. To truly be an expert in Formula 1, you have to have knowledge of how a track works, an understanding of combustion engines and aerodynamics, a grasp of interpersonal and sports psychologies, and a sense of international relations. This is why, even more so than any other sport, good journalism is vital to the sport's ecosystem. No one person can be expected to be an expert in all these areas, you need a team of people who are willing to pool their knowledge and resources before coming up with conclusions to disseminate to their audience.

But media also likes narrative, and media likes an underdog, that is undeniable. And you can create an excellent underdog narrative with Carlos. From losing his seat despite his teammate keeping his, to him having to get his appendix out in Jeddah, the circumstances are there to set up an underdog narrative. But the crux of the issue is this: anyone with any sort of F1 wheel knowledge understands why Charles was kept over Carlos (a better driver even in a car built away from his driving style, who is revered almost as a messiah figure amongst the traditional fans of the team), why Sir Lewis Hamilton is a much more desirable asset to a top team than Carlos (7x world champion, who brings in a massive draw for talent that will far outlast his stint with Ferrari). So what do you do with these characters who don't match the narrative that you want to push?

Simple. You discredit them.

Make no mistake, this is what we're seeing across every major F1 news outlet in the past week. A plain journalistic choice to choose narrative over integrity. There's all sorts of rumours whizzing around as to why that could be: from possible covert payouts from Sainz Sr, to possible misogyny towards Leclerc fans to pundits simply not being bothered to do their research. But the why of it, although important, doesn't matter nearly as much as the fact that however you look at it, these journalists are failing the sport they claim to love. What's even worse, is that it takes a simple glance at numbers to tell us that these media outlets are digging themselves a hole, and are going to have to backtrack or try and excuse their belief in this narrative in the coming months.

Let's take a common line that Sky Sports like to use as an example, "Carlos Sainz is driving for himself. How incredible would it be if Carlos could compete for the championship this year." Max Verstappen will likely win the championship this year, there are no ifs and buts about it. Red Bull are still developmentally leaps ahead of their rivals, and even if Ferrari were to catch them, Max is still at the wheel. And if Ferrari were to catch them, why would Ferrari prioritise Carlos over Charles? The only driver who has been proven to be able to beat Max in his current form at Red Bull on pure pace is Charles Leclerc, which he achieved in Las Vegas last year, and would've gone on to take the win at that same race if not for the safety car. The most likely championship fight this year is Max Verstappen vs. Charles Leclerc, and that's hinging on Ferrari matching Red Bull development. This outcome is blindingly obvious to anyone who knows how this sport works, and yet the current media angle seems to not be to explain how the sport works to the general public, but rather to double down on narratives that are certainly going to be proven incorrect in a manner of months, if not weeks.

Let's look at another common angle the media seem to like to take, "You have to ask, did Ferrari make a mistake swapping out Carlos Sainz for Lewis Hamilton?". Now, if you've been even near a TV showing F1 in the past ten years, it's pretty obvious this answer is of course not. Lewis Hamilton is likely the greatest driver of all time, his name in a lot of cases outshines the sport itself. No other driver on this grid even comes close to his level of acclaim. This reason alone is enough for Ferrari to sign him. Ferrari has not won a championship in close to two decades, the best and brightest engineers want to be working where they know the results are going to come from, and right now, as a stellar engineer, Red Bull or Mercedes or even McLaren would be a choice over Ferrari, which has the added hurdle of moving to Maranello (considering nearly all the other teams are located in the Midlands in the United Kingdom). Acclaim aside, Lewis Hamilton is still a very impressive driver. P3 in the championship last year to a Red Bull 1-2 is not something to be taken lightly, considering his teammate finished in P8 in the same car with only one more retirement. It does make pure racing sense to sign him over Carlos, who finished in P7, especially since Ferrari have an up and coming talent in Ollie Bearman, and what they need is someone with experience to fill that gap until Ollie can make it to Ferrari, and will likely happily step aside when that time comes at some point in the next five years.

However, has there been a single major F1 news outlet calmly and rationally explaining this thought process for those who may enjoy the sport but are not experts? No. Instead, what we get is Sainz sensationalism, and bias so explicit it tips right over into unprofessional. From The Race saying that a Sainz/Leclerc civil war is Leclerc fan hysteria, despite their own outlet running an article just months ago about tensions in Ferrari, to motorsport.com creating a CV for Carlos, and then proceeding to harass fans who ask why they are so keen to ignore facts. Every single F1 outlet seems to have lost their minds.

The sad thing is this will only backfire massively on Carlos himself. Charles will outperform Carlos, every metric from the past year indicates so. Ferrari may be in the running for the WCC by the midpoint of the season, but Carlos's win will fade into distant memory long before we reach Spa, and the average enjoyer will look back on all this crazy media hype and go "hm, well he didn't live up to expectations did he? He was massively overrated." And this too, will be the fault of F1 media.

In conclusion, F1 media sensationalism has failed Charles, Lewis, and Max, it will fail Carlos in the coming months, but most of all, it has failed the fans of the sport, by choosing to focus on far-fetched narratives, rather than deliver proper journalism and build equally compelling narratives out of the data on the table. It highlights a lack of skill and awareness, which threatens the entire ecosystem of the sport that we all know and love.

[babybearnation]

lewis + race engineer!reader = banter on the radio :D

lewis my beloved!!

lewis hamilton x gn!race engineer!reader

whilst it hurt to leave bono behind at mercedes after so many tears working together, lewis knew greater opportunities awaited bono there and he couldn't force his friend to abandon that

however, to his surprise, his new race engineer at ferrari was... you

his partner

you two had been dating in secret for a year and a bit and he knew you were a race engineer at haas but when he'd announce he was moving to ferrari, you sneakily took your shot and got your place as his race engineer for the foreseeable future

he knew you two would create some suspicious yet unexplained chaos on the radio if you acted the way you always did, so you two went public before the season began

after that? you two are having so much fun on the radio together

when lewis gets into battles with charles, you remind him to fight safe and fair and prioritise double ferrari points instead of selfish gains if the risk gets too high

when lewis says he always does, you laugh and tease him about nico & 2016 & brocedes drama until he huffs out a laugh and begs you to stop

podiums and wins and poles are celebrated with you praising him over and over and congratulating him on being just as perfect as always

you don't say much when he dnfs or needs to retire the car, you just apologise and pull your headphones off to take a breather

you keep the in depth, low mood conversations for when you two are together in person

if he's upset or frustrated, either with you or the car, he'll might lash out, but he'll always apologise privately once he gets out of the car

he hates being so mean to you and will often curse himself for doing so, knowing exactly what sort of comments it'd produce

lots of playful and silly comments come from you when he gets insecure during races or starts to doubt himself

you two flirt during free practice sessions all the time to the point that people might start telling y'all to stop

wins with you on the podium are his favourite and you best bet he's ignoring the other two people on the podium to instead rush over and dump his whole bottle on you

if you're not on the podium for whatever reason, he's spraying the champagne down on you without discretion

you two always work hard to keep on track issues from affecting your relationship off track

doesn't care what people say, he's happy with you and if they don't like it, they can fuck off

© all rights to babybearnation 2025.

[xxblairexxss]

I’m sorry

Pairing : Charles Leclerc x asian!reader

Theme : Angst

Just a timeline of Charles’s girlfriend throughout the years, how she went from a girl who migrated to France when she was 6 years old to becoming a girlfriend of the Formula 1 driver, Charles Leclerc.

I’m not entirely sure about this one but I just wanted to clear my draft. I’m only tagging those who told me they wanted to be included in my general tag list! Please don’t be offended if I didn’t tag you because it’s not Jealousy part 3 😭 so I thought you don’t want to be tagged but please let me know if you wish to in all of my stories!

﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎

2018

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2019

yninstagram

Liked by charles_leclerc and 98,765 others

ynusername dropping a selfie bcs it’s been a while

charles_leclerc Mon amour 🧸🤎

ynusername 🤎

user1 SO PRETTYY

user2 LOVING THE HAIR COLOUR!!

user3 she’s asian? can she speaks french?

user4 she has lived in france since she was 6 so yes she can

ynusername

Liked by charles_leclerc and 78,072 others

ynusername a quick stop for mirror selfie before rushing to class

charles_leclerc my pretty girl 🤎

user1 oh to be called my pretty girl by charles too 😭

user2 does she always dress like that?

user3 other wags just scream old money with class. this one..i’m not sure myself 😣

user4 lol she can wear whatever she wants

user2 i just wish she wear something more relevant since it’s affecting charles’s image too

user4 that doesn’t make any sense

﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎

2020

ynusername

Liked by charles_leclerc, and 103,665 others

ynusername rainy season 🌧️

charles_leclerc I miss you

ynusername I miss you too 🥺🥺

user1 I love how she still look stunning without all those expensive brands

user2 PRETTIESTTT ❤️

user3 is it just me or she looks so out of place compare to other wags?

user4 how i wish she paid more attention to her style

user5 too simple 😕

﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎

2021

ynusername

Liked by charles_leclerc, and 277,231 others

ynusername loving this dress! 💛

charles_leclerc beautiful princess

ynusername love youu! 🥺

user1 meeeh tried too hard

user2 lol all those stuffs but still don’t look on par with other wags

user3 omg you look so pretty in a dress!!! AAAAA

user4 charles’s princess ❤️

user5 girl you ate and left all crumbs

“I can’t.”

Charles furrowed his brows to your answer. “What do you mean you can’t? Y/N, we have been together for more than 6 years. Don’t you think it’s time for us to start living together?”

“I got a job offer in London. I’ll be moving away in a week.”

“What? What about us? Don’t you think you should have told me first before you accepted the offer?” He blinked in disbelief, part of him was hoping that you were just pulling a prank on him.

“It was a job that my mom had always been dreaming of, Charles. She sacrificed a lot for me.”You tilted your chin to avoid the tears on your waterline to spill. “She sacrificed her life before she could play with dolls for me. I spent my childhood waiting for the sound of her keys jingling as she came back from her night shift, waking up with just a small note sticked on the side of my breakfast plate because she couldn’t wished me a good morning for having to rush to work. She gave up on her dream, crying from missing her parents in South Korea every night just to make sure I got a chance to draw my life with colours so I wouldn’t have to suffer like she did. I need to accept this job for her. Everything I have been doing and ever will do is for her and you know this.”

Charles remained silence. He had always known your mom’s struggle, raiding you alone as a signle mother and part of him had always known that if you were put in a situation where you had to prioritise your life or your mom’s life, you would always choose hers. He knew it but he was never prepared for the day to come. He couldn’t find himself to say anything else and pulled you into his embrace instead.

“And I’m tired. I’m so, so tired of the constant pressure from everyone. I can’t even wear anything that I want without getting comments about how incompatible I look, how messy I look. I– I don’t know what they– what everyone wants from me. It’s either I looked out of place, an outsider or I looked like I’m trying too hard. I don’t know what everyone expect from me. I’m happy, I’m so goddamn happy that you got to be where you are right now but the more you are building yourself, the more I’m falling apart. I’m losing myself, Charles. I feel like I have been helping you to build your garden while mine is just getting abandoned and forsaken and just full of wilt flowers.”

“I’m sorry.”

That was the last word you remembered him saying as he kept you in your arms, holding you so you wouldn’t fall on your knee from the way your body shook within every sob.

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2022

ynusername

London, United Kingdom

Liked by charles_leclerc, and 277,663 others

ynusername took a day off to play tourist!

comments have been disabled

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2023

lancomeofficial and ynusername

Liked by charles_leclerc, and 377,620 others

lancomeofficial Lancôme newest global ambassador, ynusername lookingall glammed up by jaime.creates.

user1 OMG OMG OMG

user2 THAT’S MY GIRRLL

user3 been here since day 1

user4 She looks unreal

user5 it’s been a while since the last time i saw her in my feed 🥹

user6 still using her ex bf fame to build her name lol she’s worse than other ex wag

user7 are you high???

✧.* tags! @i83andrew @cltrlne @karmabyfernando

[backgroundnoisewithaview]

Okay we're throwing canon out of the window, right into the bin, and we're setting that bin on fire.

Asexual Will Halstead. That's why his relationships never work. He keeps getting into highly sexual relationships, incompatible sex drives and relationship what's, where he slowly realises the friendship isn't there to keep it going once the problems set in over the incompatible sex drive.

Yes he finds people aesthetically pleasing and he'll stupidly do a lot to keep people in his life. After all, he can be normal about this, right? Normal people have sex and therefore it makes sense Will should too.

And then Natalie says one night that she feels like whilst he's into her, there's something missing and she's not sure they're into each other enough. And Will's thinking it's the platonic stuff that's missing. He wants to spend time with her as a person, but she wants to spend time with him as a sexual partner. So he suggests more dates but for her, time and availability and responsibilities as a mother, means she has to be available for that and sees it a precursor to the sex they're going to have. So Will stops planning the platonic dates and can't keep putting himself through the sex that Natalie is prioritising and their relationship gets strained. And of course Will can't put the problem into words because he yoyos between not even knowing what the problem is - how can you know you're missing the sexual attraction element of life when you never had it to miss? - and acknowledging there is the problem but he's the problem and he's got to fix himself. And Natalie gets frustrated because she can tell Will is going through the motions to some degree but doesn't know why. To her it's like having a friend who co-parents her kid and they have sex sometimes. And the sex is dwindling and Will is unhappy.

So they break up.

Enter Connor.

Connor is like the breath of fresh air Will didn't know he needed, once he gets his head out of his arse and stops being a dickhead to Connor at every turn.

The friendship is so easy.

And then one night theyre out and Connor grimaces. He doesn't go so far as hide or leave but Will can tell he's doing his best to not be noticed by a guy going passed them in the burger place. And that's when Will finds out Connor had a boyfriend before he left and it's another reason why Connor doesn't get on with his Dad and even though they're on talking terms, one reason is since being back in Chicago because Connor had two girlfriends in a row and his Dad doesn't understand the concept of bisexuality and thinks the boyfriend was just a phase they will put in the past.

And Will's like, "Okay but why the grimace?"

And Connor then confesses he didn't break up with the guy in a very good way before he left for med school.

Cue weeks later Maggie teasing Will about his and Connors weekly date night and wills like wait wait wait these are not dates. And then Will has The Crisis. Is he gay? Is he bi? Is his potential interest in men why his relationships with all the women didn't work? What would Jay say???

So then he tries to do the "hypothetical what would you say if I siad I have a friend" thing but he just gives up and plainly says to Dr Charles he's not sure about anything anymore but the months he's spent with Connor have been more fun than anytime he's spent with any girlfriend he's had since he was a teenager but whilst he finds Connor attractive in some way.... He really doesn't think he's gay.

And Charles asks him does he think he really found his girlfriends sexually attractive and the thing is, Will has to think about it. Did he find them sexually attractive or did he find them aesthetically attractive and then convinced himself that was enough to have sex with them? Did the fear of not having relationships with them make him think he had to have sex with them to keep the relationship going? Also did he enjoy the sex *with* them, or was it like going on a rollercoaster ride with your group of friends with some parts to enjoy but at the end you'd be happy if you didn't actually have to go on it again?

And Dr Charles is a genius, he points Will in the direction of attraction axis and Kinsey scale and Will finds a certified questionnaire with results which suggests he's some sort of asexual.

And then he has the Next crisis. If he can find men attractive, aesthetically, but he doesn't have to force himself to have sex with people to keep the relationship going, what does that mean for future relationships? 1% is a lot of people considering world population but he has more chances of finding other red heads than he does other asexuals. If it's a toss up between relationships nobody is happy in or no relationship at all, he's not sure he can't be tempted to keep trying to "fix" himself.

And what does this mean for any feelings he may have for Connor?

(and that's all I have)

[sixbynine-da]

Hey ill been loving meet me by the try line, but the latest chapter hating on Masons mum for wasting her universal credit (which is a goverment service i personally use) just didnt really rub me the right way. I just dont know if its necessary to use it like that in the text when in the uk the demonisation of using goverment services is so prevalent? I understand Mason could have internalised ableism and its more about how shes selfish but id just ask you to reconsider how youre writing working class characters and their parents, as it feels like playing hard into stereotypes. Thanks for sharing your writing and i hope you have a nice day!

Appreciate your response! 

But it was absolutely intended to be interpreted as a negative portrayal of his mother. 

That particular part was primarily written by me and I gave it a lot of consideration - including the risk that people may take it as my own views or even a baseless stereotype.

For what it's worth it's NOT my view of working class people HOWEVER it has been my lived experience of SOME people.

Part of this fic is highlighting the differences between the two schools and the social dynamics between them, as well as following the boys (specifically Edwin and Charles. Mason actually wasn't intended to become such a character !) as they addressed their own prejudices and the environment they've been raised in that have fed into them. 

Simon himself is battling with his own parents rhetoric that, by the very nature of going to state school, Mason is beneath him and Edwin and Simon are obviously both grappling with their parents opinions on homosexuality whilst Charles is walking a fine line of his abusive homelife. 

Mason is 'stuck' in his 'social class'. 

He's a product of his environment and of his mother's apathy and a generational expectation that there is no point in hoping or trying for more - an attitude I'm unfortunately very familiar with in part of my own family and friends. 

Perhaps it wasn't framed as well as I'd hoped! But the intention here was not to 'hate' on working class people or recipients of welfare but to highlight the type of environment that Mason comes from and where his own (occasionally abrasive and kind of prejudiced) attitude comes from. 

His mother isnt particularly wasting her money - the bills are all paid and the kids are looked after - it's more that her attitude towards life is exhausted and ultimately she was a young mother with two kids who doesn't always have the maturity/mental space to prioritise them over herself. 

It's also worth noting this is from Mason's perspective - what teenager HASN'T thought their parents were wasting ‘spare’ money just because it wasn't being spent on them!?

A couple of paragraphs are doing a lot of lifting here! That's fair! And I'm sorry if you felt it was a slight against working class people - it wasn't intended that way at all.

It was intended to contexualise Mason's thinking and the Eastfield’s team (and school) in general and perhaps to make people consider a little and be a little uncomfortable with the stark difference between Mason’s home life that is almost parentifying him and his very real problems (his sisters hopes and dreams being his problem because he knows his mother will let her down and his own expectations for life after college that just aren't practical because ultimately he knows he'll need to work) compared to Simon's privileged home that provides him multiple international travel opportunities, luxuries like game tickets and a guarantee to a high tier university.

Yet both of them are still held down by prejudice and parental expectations/blinkered beliefs.

Again I'm genuinely sorry if you felt it was a slight, that wasn't my intention!

But it also isn't my intention to portray all the wealthy individuals in this fic as evil caricatures of ‘the rich’ whilst the ‘poor kids’ all have hard, honest, working folk at home with no problems or negatives.

I both don't feel thats a realistic portrayal and also the fic IS from the boys viewpoint and it's written in their voice (to the best of our ability!) with the immature and ill informed understanding of the world that seventeen year olds have whilst they try and navigate forming their own opinions when faced with this sudden exposure to culture and society different to the one they were raised in and people who are in direct opposite to their stereotypes they have been fed from the adults around them.

I hope this explains somewhat and I'm not invalidating your feelings or interpetion. If anything the way you feel (I think) shows the writing conveyed what I intended.

Masons POV of his mother isn't entirely fair or accurate - he only sees what pertains to him not the work she DID do to raise him or the things she DID sacrifice or the battles she DID fight before giving up.

In the same way Simon's POV (and Charles and Edwins) are also self centred and flawed and unfair to the people around them (including each other)

And honestly a chunk of this is about them learning that. 🙂

(apologies for the lengthy reply I really felt like this was important for me to over explain 😅)

[vamos-chilli]

ok. carlos at williams is a good thing.

i cant fucking find it, but im pretty sure carlos was talking about looking fora team that would offer him stability in his career, support and the opportunity to work towards a rewarding project- williams offers him that.

of course all drivers are heavily involved in their teams and the development of their car across the season, but carlos seems to go a step further every time going as far as to seek out classes on the engineering and mechanics of formula 1 cars during quarantine form Tom Stallard . his dedication and passion have lead to jenson button and the mclaren mechanics calling carlos 'basically an engineer'.

this is extremely attractive to williams- theyre a smaller budget team (throwback to the no spare chassis) looking to make advancements up the constructors standings, they need this kind of insight from a driver who is passionate about and fundamentally understands all aspects of the car on and off the track. for carlos this is an opportunity for his efforts and insights to be heard, considered and valued contrasting a ferrari reputation of ignorance and dismissal towards strategy calls and upgrade commentary made by sainz across his 4 seasons.

despite his wide eyed dazed no thoughts appearance the cogs actually do turn pretty quick in carlos' head, he's been appraised by many for his strategical masterclass races even if it means ignoring team orders to put himself ahead. he has proven that he is willing to fight for placements- a competitive seat like red bull or mercedes would be great for him in that it gives him a better chance to fight for a win, but here he is never going to be given the opportunity to lead a team and compete to his fullest potential because he is not the prioritised driver. the development of cars at top teams tend to lean towards a specific driving style- for ferrari their cars (although shit) lean towards a driving style favoured by charles, for red bull they build theirs FOR max to win with and if carlos were to join mercedes its unlikely he would be able to assert himself between the bond of george and toto into a first driver position. Being at williams with a number of race wins, pole positions, podiums and fastest laps under his belt places him in high likelihood of being their primary driver (sorry alex) and in so we have the potential to see carlos come to his own in a car that is made to his advantage and with his technical input.

alongside alex, who has been working at williams for the past 2 years and has an extremely positive relationship with the team and the tp, this team has 2 dedicated drivers with high potential to advance in the standings. we are already seeing williams put in decent one lap pace reaching q2 and q3 several times this season (and logan putting in the second fastest lap in hungary lmao) despite their race pace seriously suffering. the drivers have the speed, the car is clearly suffering, i believe and james vowles believes that carlos has a perspective that can push the car further into the midfield.

2026 brings a whole new ballpark with the new regulations. the mercedes power unit that williams are to receive has been appraised as the expected top performer for the season.

the team looks promising and it provides carlos with the opportunity to improve himself as a leader within a team and to work with the team to improve as a whole and put williams back into consideration.

is the car shit yes. are we expecting to fight for wins or podiums lmao no. but this is a partnership that is going to be lasting a few years at minimum and we have the opportunity to see how the team can improve with one of the top performing drivers providing the perspective of a driver, an quasi-engineer and a race winner.

[f1-ferraero]

This is just rambling, but I'm still thinking about Monaco and the "guess the ea f124 ratings" video, and the very odd dynamic between Leclerc and Sainz, and what it might mean for both this season and the next. It is such a complete 180 from the beginning of the season, with the extreme push from Sainz and the media to portray him as the number 1 driver at Ferrari.

The attitude in Monaco was understandable: Charles's home race, he was on fire throughout practice, he started on pole, so much misfortune in the past... Obviously the team would have made it clear that for this race Leclerc was the priority, especially since it's almost impossible to overtake.

So Carlos's comments about prioritising Charles was expected. But the amount of praise from him towards Charles's performance that weekend was definitely not. It was clear that Charles was on it from fp1 while Carlos struggled more, and the gap between them was big because of this, but I've never heard him so repeatedly say that Charles was just faster, rather than trying to explain why he was struggling (Yes, he did explain, but that explanation was essentially just "Charles was faster and more confident", rather than focusing on any issues). It could still just be because it was Monaco, but then the video dropped:

Sainz about Leclerc's pace: "You're considered the fastest."

Sainz when guessing the overall rating: "[Charles gives him 89] I think it's fair. I think you gave an honest judgement, so I'll go... 89... I'll give you 90"

Sainz when both of them were rated 89: "I think at least a 90 something they should give you if you're considered- [cut]"

Overall rating Charles higher than himself? The praise? I'm not saying that they're not allowed to rate each other highly, but is a strange shift in attitude. I'm very curious as to what has changed. I don't think that the Carlos of a couple of weeks ago, when the media hype was at its highest and the seat rumours were flying around, would have said absolutely anything that could be interpreted as "Charles>Carlos", but now he himself is saying this?

I really want to know where the contract talks are at. Going as a n1 driver to the top teams didn't work, so maybe it's an attempt to show that he is ready and capable of being 2nd? Or maybe he has secured a seat now, but not for a top team so he no longer feels the need to push for this narrative and image?

He isn't as comfortable with the sf-24evo as Charles is, this is obvious, and now that Ferrari might be in contention for both championships maybe he has decided that helping Ferrari and Charles win them both is better? He is too far behind in the standings to start a title fight against Max and Charles in a car that he isn't comfortable with, but maybe bringing the championship back to Ferrari is a good way to end their partnership? If so, is this a decision he has made himself or has the team decided to push for a clear 1-2 now that Charles is only 31 points behind Max?

So many questions. Perhaps I'm making something out of nothing, but still. I'm curious to see how they're going to act in Canada.

[willboland]

A dumb little thing about who i think the f1 boys would main in overwatch based on my own perception of the idiots.

Max - Absolutely the annoying Genji main who spams I need healing but will also get a 5 stack on his own when he's on crit bc he's just that good.

Sergio - Mercy bc he'd just pocket Max all game and heal NO ONE else and get angry messages from the rest of the team about him not healing them. There's two healers for a reason in his eyes.

Carlos - Reinhardt but he's very chaotic and charges in swinging his hammer on his own and then kicks off when he immediately dies.

Charles - He'd play Echo and always flank the enemy healers when they were out of position so the rest of his squad can capitalise on capturing the point.

Lewis - Sombra bc he loves hacking everyone and pissing them off and then just yeeting out of there with his translocator. Absolutely stands invisible next to the enemy team spamming boop

George - He'd be that annoying Lucio that just wall rides everywhere and boops everyone off the side of the map and then do the dj emote he paid 8 quid for.

Lando - Widowmaker for sure. He's got a really good shot on him and would terrorise the poor enemy Mercy and snipe them out of spawn all the time.

Oscar - Junker Queen. Half bc she's an aussie and half bc no one else will play a tank. He only hopped on the game one time with Lando and now he's 400 hours deep.

Daniel - I think he'd like Orisa. He's definitely played a few different tanks bc he hates playing healer and Lando and Max would always hog the dps roles.

Yuki - Definitely DVA. He loves getting play of the game with his DVA bombs that he definitely just yeets into the enemy team and hopes to get a few kills.

Kevin - Torbjorn. He'd run around with his little hammer trolling his team and the enemy team and get no kills himself whilst his turret has 100.

Nico - Moira but a dps Moira. He hates playing healer but its the only role left so he picks the most dps healer and is a nightmare. Gets the most kills on the team and has 800 healing in a 10 minute match.

Esteban - Wrecking ball. He's actually good at him too but will still just swing around a point and keep hitting the enemy team off to stop them contesting.

Pierre - A really REALLY good Tracer. He jumps around everywhere and knows exactly which target to go for and when to back out and use his recall.

Zhou - Life weaver bc he isn't the best at aiming and wants to help the best he can so he plays healer. He's pretty good at prioritising his tank and other healer and lets the dps just do what they usually do.

Valtteri - Symmetra. Definitely spams the sentries outside of spawn so the squishes will just instantly die and the team gets staggered. Actually pretty good and skilled with her.

Lance - Junkrat bc he's annoying af and he loves just standing behind a wall spamming his bombs into the air in the hopes he might kill someone. Would only end up with like 3 kills too.

Fernando - Mauga. Man's a machine and so is Fernando. You know he loves terrorising tf out of the enemy team with his massive machine guns.

Alex - Reaper main through and through. He's really good too which makes it even more annoying bc he can wipe a full team on his own if he really tries. Definitely in a mini war with Max to get the most kills in a game.

Logan - Soldier 76 sorry not sorry. He's not very good at OW and is more of a COD boy so picks the most generic easy to play hero he can.

[laura1633]

Sugar Daddy Charles fic 👀

Yep 😁 I hope to start posting it relatively soon.

It's going to be a slightly longer multi chapter story. Right now I have random scenes written so I need to start piecing it together.

Charles is an attractive successful 40 something multi millionaire business man who has prioritised his businesses and not had time to look for a romantic relationship, he does however like the idea of having someone pretty he can take to events and spend his money on.

Max is a twenty something bartender who wants to find a way of making some extra cash. Someone jokingly suggests he finds himself a sugar daddy and he ends up joining an agency. Initially he is nervous about having to dodge the advances of a much, much older guy but quickly realises the real danger is falling for his sugar daddy and potentially getting his heart broken.

[stateofcharles]

Did you see what Toto said post race to sky Italy: ⬇️

https://www.tumblr.com/dellovestorant/759799148222529536/toto-at-sky-italy-confused-max-with-lewis-and

He’s actually unhinged and full of red flags at this point. So much going wrong within the team and he’s just obsessed with Max and Kimi, at the expense of George. I genuinely think that George does not have a seat at that team in 2026, it will be Toto’s wet dream of a lineup.

Also a a side note I cannot bear the idea of Lando overtaking George in poles and wins, which looks likely to happen giving the performance of the McLaren & Mercedes….

ok so, let's talk about it seriously for once:

toto wolff wants max verstappen in his team, but a contract is two-sided, what makes him so sure that the latter will accept his offer? (is redbull in such deep shit? if yes, i'm throwing a party)

verstappen said just this weekend that he doesn't plan to stay forever in f1 like alonso is doing, therefore he might even have retired when toto gets to him, who knows

mercedes might have great history but it's thanks to lewis and who designed the car between 2014-2021, surely not thanks to toto. they remain incompetent when it comes to strategy and management - see today. if verstappen chooses to sign the infamous contract, he will likely find himself amongst idiots, he will not like it, will throw a tantrum (understandable here) but he'll soon learn that things are not like they are at redbull where everyone is at his feet, because toto (idiot) doesn't want to change his management. consequences: tension within the team, driver who will look elsewhere.

i already said briefly why i think the whole kimi-mercedes is not gonna work like everyone hopes, so who knows where he will be by 2026

(HUGE personal opinion) verstappen-antonelli is a dynamic that doesn't work in my head. don't ask me why, i can just sense it and i normally get it right on these things

george is a talented driver, that's beyond question. he of course needs to keep his options open. when the occasion arises, he will leave mercedes and go where he believes it's better. between him and mercedes there is not a destructive relationship that reaches the charles-ferrari level (fortunately, i should say), although it's true that he grew up in mercedes, aiming the spot he has now. i hope he knows that he's worth being prioritised and that mercedes (read: toto) right now is not doing it properly.

lastly, from a huge and proud hater, norris will never reach the level of george. just consider that a real talented driver would dominate every FP and grand slam every weekend with the current mclaren. what does he do? loses pole on turn 1 because he has not yet learnt how to start a race in 5 years?

(also, i like to remind that it was george (and charles and oscar🙃), not norris who won GP3 and GP2 back to back during his first year in the category, so everyone should think it twice before calling someone a generational talent❤️)

[houseofbrat]

The latest installment of KP and their media lapdogs trying to gaslight the public into believing them working less is actually superior to everyone else.

What’s left unsaid is that the only statesman part of his tour, meeting the President, is a staple of any royal tour or visit. The rest of the time, including with the military, are just regular engagements.

And what happened to Willy’s statements that Cathy Antoinette would start joining him on tours again? Is this latest course correct because she’s refused to travel with him? You’d think shorter trips should make it more likely she accompanies him no?

I’m sure this latest plan just like everything else they announced will be abandoned. But it’s insane how this middle aged man child is coddled and praised in the media for the bare minimum, and allowed to denigrate the hard work of every other member of the family especially has father who HAS CANCER!!

Yeah, well, they got this article out and pictures hailing William's work before he runs and hides on vacation for another FOUR WEEKS.

When the Prince of Wales recently outlined his approach to the monarchy, he spoke of aiming for “impact” and “trying to do it differently”. With a whistlestop trip to Estonia last week — where he spent less than two days on the ground and was home in time for a weekend with his family — the prince gave another indication of what his “different” approach to monarchy means in practice.

Less than two days! But THE KP TITANIC will fill their instagram with all sorts of accompanying slo-mo video about it.

Some royal watchers have questioned why the Waleses appear to have moved away from the traditional model of two overseas tours a year — one in the spring and one in the autumn — which the King adhered to for years as the Prince of Wales and has continued with as monarch. Charles, 76, who is still receiving cancer treatment, visited Australia and Samoa last October with the Queen and will undertake state visits to the Holy See and Italy next month. For William’s deployment of soft power on the global stage, he will increasingly opt for short foreign trips rather than the traditional lengthier royal tours. A source close to William said: “What you saw last week is a short, impactful trip that showcased an important issue. It’s a model you’re likely to see more of.”

LOL! The truth is that William is TOO CHICKENSHIT to go on a week's long tour by himself. He needs his wife to come along and hold his hand through it all, and Kate doesn't appear to be able to mentally handle multiple days of work right now, given by how she looked last Monday.

THE KP TITANIC has found their chosen word for this bullshit: "impactful." He's making an "impact" by barely doing his job, and visiting a regiment he's honorary colonel of. Of course, William could have done this visit back in January at the beginning of the year; however, instead THE KP TITANIC chose for him to do this visit a week before Workshy Will goes on another month-long vacation.

You know what would really be "impactful"? If William visited a different place UK troops were stationed abroad every month for the rest of the year. Except that would mean William would have to work! Which is why he won't do that. That would genuinely be "impactful," showing the British military that they mattered more than his precious vacation time, particularly after that pissing contest last year.

The Waleses have prioritised not spending extended time away from Prince George, who is eleven, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six. The children’s weekends and school holidays are seen as special family time, which the couple try not to let work interrupt.

Ah, yes, Will & Kate's TWENTY WEEKS OF VACATION per year! Let's not forget that most people only get six to eight weeks of vacation, which is less than half of what Will & Kate take. "The couple try to not let work interrupt." WHAT WORK?! William couldn't even spend a full two days in Estonia. He was flying back home Friday afternoon.

At every meeting, discussions about geopolitics and a range of world issues were on the agenda. “I think he is more confident and he takes it in his stride,” said the aide. “That role of global statesman is really important for him. When asked, he’s always willing to do what’s needed to support the government and His Majesty.”

Because William seems completely unable to do engagements unless his pet causes are always highlighted.

William’s visit to Estonia last week was at the request of the Mercian Regiment, of which he is colonel-in-chief and whose soldiers are deployed in Estonia, and was supported by the government. As with all of the prince’s overseas trips, he ensures his own cause-driven work on issues, including the environment and mental health, is reflected in the programme. During a visit to the Tapa Camp military base where the Mercians are stationed, the prince, wearing military fatigues, played table football and pool with the soldiers in the Naafi canteen, but also visited the camp’s welfare facilities to hear what emotional and mental health support is available for troops.

William has already beat the mental health and environment topics to death. He can't talk about anything else unless his security blankets of mental health and the environment are there for him when he's outside of palace grounds.

He voiced his surprise on hearing that there is only one welfare officer at the camp. In the “cinema room”, comprising a television and some sofas, he was also surprised by the lack of facilities. On hearing from soldiers they had no access to a fridge there, he said: “You don’t have a fridge? You’re joking? You do need a fridge. I’m definitely getting you a fridge.” William has since arranged for a personal donation to the Tapa Camp for the soldiers to spend how they like on enhancing their facilities. “In his role as colonel, he wants to lean into the welfare more,” said an aide.

Well, well, well... if it ain't reality smacking Mr. Delicate in the face. This is how real soldiers cut it in the real world, with which the small r royal is clearly not acquainted. He's going to buy them a fridge, y'all! This is William doing public noblesse oblige, just like his wife, The UK's Marie Antoinette, did last week when she bought around at the pub! And as a friend said to me recently, "How is this different from Harry's wife buying her staff ice cream?"

William publicly committed to getting them a fridge! I'm sure the hard-hitting, royal reporters of the UK will be updating us in the future on the status of this fridge, right? RIGHT?! I'm sure Mr. Delicate, who takes home £20+ million per year, should have no problem having that fridge delivered before he runs off to vacation in a few days. "Arranged for a personal donation" is code for ALL TALK, NO ACTION!

GAWD, this article is so pathetic. HE is so pathetic. They all know William can't do his job. Won't do his job. But the UK press is all so spineless in pointing out the obvious.

[theemporium]

i wish lando would just start being selfish and show those bitches at mclaren what he's capable of instead of being slated and risking friendships bc mclaren keep fucking him over 😭💔

I mean, he said himself that he wouldn’t have wanted oscar to hand him the position over because he wouldn’t want to win like that. and whether it was him or oscar, they wouldn’t have been able to catch up with charles today. I fear this was just a blunder on mclaren’s strategy for both boys but also at the end of the day, there’s still eight races to go and plenty of time for lando to claim the wdc points without needing team orders to be pulled. I don’t think the way to go is to let them race and then at the end be like, “okay oscar, let lando through!” if he’s ahead until we get into the final races, if a point difference really needs to be closed asap.

idk I just feel like mclaren are being equal now and I hope that when it comes to it, they will start to prioritise lando and the wdc. but with oscar also gaining on charles in the standings and needing to hold him back from also joining the fight, I don’t think team orders and prioritising needs to happen at every single race (like today, especially when max was already behind lando). if max was ahead, then it would’ve been a different story

but I’m aware that many people may not agree with me and that’s fine. it’s just how I generally feel about the whole thing

[prebeat]

about.

NAME: Charles Sun, 孫國偉 (Sūn Guówěi) A.K.A.: Chairleg Sun AGE: Twenty-nine (1995) SEX & GENDER: Cis male SEXUALITY: Unlabelled

CANON: The Brothers Sun (2024) CANON POINT: Post-series, but willing to write in other timelines

BUILD: Fit, athletic; has well-used muscles all around HAIR: Black with a long top and shorter sides, often slicked back EYES: Dark brown FEATURES: Trimmed beard, multiple combat scars on his body ATTIRE: Favours collared shirts with subtle prints, khakis, and open suit jackets with Mandarin collars WEAPONS: Excels in hand-to-hand combat, but can also turn anything in his immediate surroundings into a weapon VOICE: Deep, full, gravelly, deliberate; Charles keeps it low, monotonous, and quietly authoritative

ORIGINS: Taipei, Taiwan OCCUPATION: Bodyguard and assassin to the head of the Jade Dragons Triad

DEMEANOUR: Non-confrontational, but gives off the impression you probably shouldn't fuck with him. Charles is easy to speak to so long as there's mutual respect, but he isn't likely to say any more words than he needs to in a conversation. He stands tall and proud not out of arrogance, but because of confidence. His sense of humour is also skewed, sarcastic, and borderline mean. PERSONALITY:

Though polite unless angered, at a glance Charles seems to be dark, brooding, and intimidating, and frankly he'd rather people believe he's exactly that. Trained from a young age to numb his feelings and be the perfect assassin to a Taiwanese crime lord, these three qualities encompass exactly who he needs to be. He's dedicated to his duty above all else and lives by a code to "protect the family". Considering the family is an involved triad, he stays away from sentimentality not out of choice, but out of necessity. He'd learned early on that having no strings to tie him down makes him a more efficient killer; with a sense of self-worth tied to how well he can serve the Jade Dragons, being able to kill is all he needs. Everything else that defines his hobbies are similarly related to being an asset to the triad: he's got a sharp business acumen, a curiosity for investigation, interests in martial arts and weaponry, and a burgeoning desire to understand the history of his people. The idea of prioritising any personal wants hardly ever crosses his mind, and when it does he's quick to squash it. The only times he ever allows himself to indulge are when he's alone in a kitchen, and even then this doesn't last very long. Morally-speaking, Charles couldn't care less about his soul. "Good" and "bad" are nothing in the face of "duty", and the opinions of others mean little to him when they aren't his blood. His sense of right or wrong centres around that core ideal drilled into him-- if it's beneficial to the family, then it's right. If it isn't, then it's wrong. Guilt isn't necessarily a stranger to him, but neither is the ability to lock it away; emotions like pity or sympathy are, much like his own personal interests, destroyed as soon as he senses them coming. Deep down, however, there's an arrested sense to his growth as an adult. Charles doesn't know what it is to be cared for, or loved, or thought of as anything other than the killing machine he was groomed to be. He hasn't experienced a lot of life's simple pleasures, and in child-like ignorance can react with significant gravitas to joys most would consider ordinary (tasting sweets he's never had before, bingewatching television shows, so on and so forth). It's impossible to think for himself when forced to consider anything outside his unwavering duty to his family, though, and with a sense of self tied to the violence he commits, he hardly thinks himself a person at all. Being less than human doesn't bother him, though, necessarily. He may be prone to immature flights of fancy, and imagining what life would be like outside the seedy world of crime he was raised in, and even feeling resentment towards people who could choose their own path. At this point in his life, however, he wouldn't really know what to do with this idealistic notion of "freedom", anyway. Charles was born to uphold his duties as the eldest son of his parents-- discovering who he is outside of that has never really been his priority, and what sadness might arise from it never lasts long enough to be significant. Bursts of feeling may come and go, but in the end he's most comfortable doing his work in an easy state of semi-numbness. Some may find that sad, or even "fucked up", but as far as Charles is concerned they can mind their own fucking business. He doesn't want anyone's pity, and he doesn't need their sympathy either. He'd rather die than become someone's charity case, and there's nothing wrong with choosing the comfort of a violent life over the unfamiliarity of safety.

HISTORY:

Charles' personal mantra was drilled into him from the moment he was born: "protect the family". He grew up well-aware that his priority above all else would be to uphold his family legacy. While this isn't necessarily unheard of in Taiwanese families, especially for a firstborn son, not everyone's claim to legacy would be the most powerful triad in Taipei. In Charles' case, his parents built the Jade Dragons to be the most feared organised crime group in the country, and as such it was his destiny to serve it. Long before he could even speak or read properly, his father began training him to be the perfect killing machine. This all came to a head when, at the age of fourteen, he committed his first murder with the leg of a chair, which earned him a permanent place in the Jade Dragons and the moniker "Chairleg Sun". Since then, he was his father's most trusted right hand-- a personal weapon whose feats his father spread through the seedy underbelly of Taipei and beyond. The triad and its workings became Charles' life, and each day that passed had him growing number and number until he stopped feeling at all. Still, he worked without complaint. As the dutiful firstborn, Charles didn't fight his destiny, nor did he seek anything outside the fulfilment and reward being the Jade Dragon's most lethal assassin could bring. Even when a brief stint of injury had him develop a hobby for baking, this was all pushed aside in favour of the work he swore to give his life to until violence became more familiar to him than peace. His everyday life became the stuff of edgy crime fiction novels, but none of these terrible things mattered so long as his family stayed safe. And for over a decade, they did. Though his mother and younger brother had to leave for the United States for their safety, the Jade Dragons ultimately continued their work largely unimpeded. Charles came of age and then some with no dreams but the ones his father instilled in him, but he'd never really wanted for anything, anyway. This all changed when, in Charles' mid-twenties, a major injury put his father in a coma. After that Charles wanted only one thing: to kill whoever was responsible for it. Unfortunately, duty required him to find his mother and brother to ensure they weren't caught in the line of fire. Protecting the family came before everything, after all, even revenge for the sake of his father. Though Charles never expected it, being away from Taipei-- and from the man who raised him in particular-- slowly began to chip away at him. And while he'd never admit it out loud, the two weeks he spent in America had him coming home not a changed man, necessarily, but certainly an affected one. (See: The Brothers Sun on Netflix or Charles on The Brothers Sun Wiki for more details on series events.) Now, with the events in the U.S. turning the Jade Dragons into the highest ranked society among all the Taiwanese triads, his job has become significantly more dangerous. Being the right hand of the Jade Dragons' leader is one thing, but being the right hand of the Dragon Head-- the leader of all the triads in the country-- is another entirely. Fortunately, Charles has trained his whole life for this, and there isn't anything he hasn't been able to kill his way through so far. As the challenges around him become steeper, he only has to become stronger, and as far as he's concerned the only way to go is up.

[slow-button-off]

"... the team has publicly made it known through strategy and whatnot that they set Charles up as no1 driver and it is unfair to Carlos..." I don't think it's unfair, I think "finally", do many people think that way...?

I mean the entire thing is false.

When have they actually done that?

What they did was "prioritise" the guy ahead on track 3x. 2 of those that was Charles and 1 was Carlos. And in Canada they just needed data so why get in each others way when you aren't actually fighting for anything and there is no threat from behind?

And in Austria no team would swap in the first 10 laps with only 3s behind and no chance in hell of catching the guy ahead.

That's not "making it clear through strategy that Charles is the Nr1" That's all normal stuff.

And the whole quali thing, they swap priority each race so that one guy gets to choose if he wants to be in front or get a tow. That's also something the other teams do. And having to let Charles go past in the pitlane of all places has just about no impact on Carlos tyre temps. He messed himself up more with the overtake than anything else.

Charles isn't even getting prioritised. They are doing what every other team that isn't fighting for a championship is doing which is guy ahead on track has priority strategy wise. That's perfectly normal.

If this is "making it clear that Charles is the nr1" than what tf was all that last year?

[annika-f16]

Who needs haters when his fans are like this! He spends his free time signing her shirt, taking photos with her, according to her answering a lot of questions (who knows if that’s true now) and how this woman repays him is by lying and getting him and his girlfriend slandered again. Charles should start telling people to fuck off when he’s not work.

///

Hope you all don't come at me for this but I feel like it's Charles fault as well. This availability of his with fans is setting him up in so many ways. He should learn to set boundaries. So for me this is on him. Besides that Charles please, learn to read people! Not everyone has good intentions. Even the fact that he accepts gifts from so many strangers freaks me out, not to mention the stalkers who have like hundreds of pictures with him, like this is not normal. I can't baby him on this matter because he is a grown man he should stop the people pleasing and prioritise himself.

.