notacoolkid

[notacoolkid]

If you want a overall sum of how deep rooted and broken Mclaren is this is it. They don't defend their driver, they don't support their driver and they actually contribute to the toxic narratives surrounding their drivers mental health by painting his teammate as cold and a mentality merchant.

The only time they seem to remember about mental health is when it is PR opportunity. But otherwise nothing, not only nothing but they do not support him. They leave him to struggle, to get chewed alive by the media, by the press, by "fans".

On track their is no support, whether its monologues by his race engineer or literal emotional abuse. They insist on prioritising his teammate disregarding data, statistics and sense.

What is going on inside Mclaren right now is fucking sinister and upsetting. By not defending Lando they are showing (again and again) that they do not care. They do not value him. In fact recently ity seems they find pleasure in his discomfort - see Zak's reaction to Lando's breaks failing in China and his Crash in Jeddah that led to some very concerning concussion symptoms. And the sooner people realise that they better. It is not an easy situation to see but we still need to see it.

The inner workings of Mclaren right now are toxic, abusive and run by politics. No longer is the workings run by pace and talent, it is poisoned by politics.

Also these narratives and misinformation spread by the media, (especially Australian), the official F1 account, numerous F1 podcast and youtubers, etc... are not just harmful and disingenuous to Lando. They are harmful to all of the people who struggle with Mental Health, to all of the people that see themselves in Lando. The stigma that Lando has risked so much to try and break.

Mclaren and other bodies neglecting to do anything is reinforcing this stigma and allowing for the continuous ableist and toxic masculinity to be spread.

Mental Health struggles does not mean you are weak. And talking about Mental Health and the struggles/crisis that go with it is one of the strongest things you can ever do.

Be kind. It doesn't owe you anything!

[notacoolkid]

This Post Is Brought to You by Rage

TLDR: Ralf Schumacher decided to publicly guess about Lando’s "mental weakness" based on vibes, not data. The media runs with it, fans misread it, and I’m feral.

PlanetF1 cooked up the headline “Norris at risk of being blacklisted by ‘top teams’” and then passed the mic to Ralf Schumacher who said: “We don’t see the data, but yes, it looks like a mistake [referencing the Q3 crash] on his part.”

Sir. You just said you haven't seen the data. You admitted it. Out loud. And still pushed the narrative like you were delivering gospel.

Then had the audacity to say things like:

“It’s a mistake that could be indicative of Norris’ ability to operate under pressure.” “He knows that if he doesn’t perform this year, it will be difficult for him with other teams at some point... once they think you’re a rubbish driver or not mentally strong enough to become world champion, then of course, you no longer have access to the top teams.”

All of this. FIVE races in. With Lando second in the WDC. Four out of five podiums. Worst result? P4. And all his “mistakes”? Publicly confirmed by McLaren to be because of them.

And yet, Ralf, with not a shred of data and barely a thought to rub together, is out here suggesting this man will be blacklisted from top teams?

Blacklisted.

Lando Norris.

This entire article might as well have been titled: “I have nothing of substance to say, but here’s a reckless opinion about a 25-year-old outperforming his car.”

And the worst part? McLaren’s silence lets this garbage grow legs. The longer they let people paint Lando as fragile or unworthy, the harder it is to undo that image, not just for him, but for them as well. Because it paints McLaren as both incompetent and indifferent. They're publicly admitting their car is the issue — their failures are costing their driver — but instead of correcting it, they let Lando take the fall in the press. It looks like they’re either unwilling or unable to protect their own talent, which signals to other drivers, teams, and sponsors that McLaren won’t stand behind you when it counts. And in a sport where reputation is everything? That’s fatal.

Anyway, I saw that headline, rage-read the article, and now I’m going for a walk before I scream. Lando Norris is elite. Always has been. If you’re going to throw around accusations about pressure and performance, maybe start by looking at the data — or at least wait until McLaren builds a car that doesn’t actively sabotage him.

[notacoolkid]

seeing how the australian media is talking about lando is the reason why we will never make a step forward regarding mental health, why in so many countries this is still a taboo subject, why people like andrew tate are still relevant. every time i like to think that we are a step forward to being ok with men showing emotions, talking about their struggles, i’m always reminded that no, we are actually taking 100 steps back because we are giving a platform to the wrong people, and that’s why so many man’s are keeping so much in them, because we made the norm that man should be powerful, they can’t have problems, they can’t complain, and things like this.

i live in a country where if you try to go to therapy is seen as you’re going to a mental institution, like you are crazy. members of my family made fun of me because i said that there might be a problem with me, that i might have anxiety, depression, and they only laughed in my face and said that i had a lot of time to think and that i have nothing, that it’s all in my head. also therapy is so expensive here so it’s really hard to afford it. the only time i came close to a diagnosis was when one of my friends who is studying psychology needed someone she could exercise doing an diagnostic.

i really hope that media and also people on the internet will see that lando speaking up about those things are really helping the next generation, that maybe they will have access to a good sistem, where they don’t need to pay a fortune, that only by speaking up he is making a lot of people feel better because they feel seen, they feel understanded, that we see that they are people like us, not perfect, just people because we usually perceive those celebrities as some higher beings who are so perfect, that they don’t have problems, that they have everything

i know this doesn’t make a lot of sense, but i was so upset when i saw that interview in the news and the quotes, call me parasociall but i felt like they made fun of me

and the fact that mclaren is so silent this says a lot about the team. if this subject can’t give them money anymore then they will keep their mouth shut

[notacoolkid]

If British media treat Oscar how Australian media treat Lando there would be riots. In the past month and a half they’ve said

“Lando’s evil”

“He has an evil looking face”

“He’s a weak person”

“Weak mentality

“Coming out with all this nonsense about, like he’s got a bit of a mental thing” (this is a direct quote too)

That’s only the past month and half. After Hungary they called him a “villain”

There’s probably more I’m missing from 21/22 as well and more from current too

[notacoolkid]

i know i’m gonna get hate for saying this (cause that seems to be way way tumblr works now), but lando deserves, yes deserves, all the love and support mclaren has been throwing towards piastri for the past year now. he’s been the backbone of their comeback: consistent, relentless, and loyal beyond belief.

let’s not forget how both red bull and mercedes tried to court him, and he stayed.

i don’t want to hear one word about how his teammate ‘helped’ with the rise. be serious for all of five seconds. he did like nine races in a midfield car, and since then has spent his time in a podium-finishing, and then championship winning car.

not only is piastri reaping the reward of someone else’s hard work, but, for some reason, he is getting everything he wants in a car while lando, who said he only wanted to in mclaren, who brought home the teams first championship in 26 years, is getting everything he doesn’t want in a car.

i know some people who follow me are going to roll their eyes, filter my username, block me and call me a conspiracy theorist (or make a post directed at me, has happened before) but i don’t understand how you can hear what lando is saying, hear what oscar is saying and then hear what both stella and brown are saying and disagree with the core of what i’m trying to say.

remember how both karun and will said that everyone at mclaren believed piastri had a higher ceiling and they would be throwing their support behind him in 2025. remember how stella said “the future is oscar’s.” remember lando’s radio comms in hungary. just remember.

[notacoolkid]

i know i should just leave it alone because this is never going to reach its intended audience (and lbh they don’t care) but i’m so tired of people who clearly don’t even like lando using him just to prop up their faves. the way he gets written, always feeling inferior to max or oscar or charles, always the emotional support punching bag, the afterthought, the one who exists solely to make someone else look better, it’s exhausting.

it’s always the same forced narrative where he’s the insecure one, the one who’s never quite enough, the one who gets hurt so their favorite can have some kind of fake redemption arc. and let’s not even talk about the ones who solely post him when he’s at his lowest cause “they love to see the tears in his eyes.”

these are the ones strip him of everything that makes him complex. his ambition, his humor, his sharpness, his loyalty, and reduce him to this one-dimensional person, and then act like they’re being generous by including him at all. these are the ones in fandom who use him to push a toxic, tired story that does nothing but undermine him and then act shocked when people push against the narrative.

i’m gonna be real with you, i’m not one to tell people what not to post. i post my own thoughts on my own blog and i’m not about to be censored so i get it (but just to add, i follow tagging etiquette, which is more than i can say for a lot of max, oscar, charles, and lewis fans who seem to relish tagging their anti posts with lando’s name so they show up in his main tag and then get combative when asked to remove them). but let’s be real. you can’t constantly push this narrative that lando is weak, inferior, or depressed, and then pull the shocked pikachu face when the internet eats it up and starts parroting it like fact.

i’ve been recommended so many landoscar and norstappen blogs lately, ones that get hundreds and thousands of notes, and the way they talk about lando? it’s grim. he’s always sad. always insecure. always the one hurting. never the one standing his ground, never the one being chosen, never the one who’s enough unless he’s crying over someone else’s greatness. and these blogs have huge followings. they shape fandom perception. and what they’re doing is subtle character assassination wrapped in a “poor baby” bow.

if the only version of lando you engage with is one where he’s small so someone else can be big, ask yourself why. because whether you mean to or not, you’re not just writing fanfic or making an angsty edit or a performative little text post for clout, you’re feeding a larger narrative that undermines him, and then acting shocked when people start treating that narrative like it’s canon.

lando isn’t your punching bag. he’s not a pity project, and he sure as hell isn’t the collateral damage in your obsession with someone else.

[notacoolkid]

he looks more comfortable in the car right now thank god

[notacoolkid]

last time it was easter (for me at least) lando won in miami so this easter lando will win in saudi arabia

[notacoolkid]

lando wearing pink shoelaces which represents women’s and lgbtq+ rights. in saudi arabia. i picked the right driver to support. sorry you didn’t.

[notacoolkid]

i never hated someone or something as much as i hate mclaren right now. no one left one of their drivers to take the blame to that extent and to get that much hate. i feel like the car right now it’s the worst they ever made because before even tho the cars weren’t the best you had the ability to do what you want with it, like both drivers were to some extent comfortable with her and they could apply what they knew but right now only one can do that thing and the other feels like he just learned how to drive. the only time something like that happened was with red bull and we saw how that ended. so i think this year will be the downfall of mclaren as well. he doesn’t even want a car that is fast, he just wants a car that is more comfortable because he knows he can do the job, and he really can, but for that you need the instrument to perform a little in your direction too

i just wish stella will stop playing favourites because right now it’s not looking good for them for the long term. you always used lando to develop and that gave you last year the championship but right now oscar it’s not your guy to do that and that’s the truth last year he used the datas and info from lando so that speaks a lot. somewhere inside me i still have some hope left that they will do something for him as well, but the other, bigger part is afraid that they will give him the second place and leave him out, not give a chance to compete

[notacoolkid]

Dude doesn't even ask for the fastest car. He just wants a car that's drivable and he can do the rest of the work. Tell me that standard isn't horribly low for a f1 team.

[notacoolkid]

the funniest part about the lando norris debate is people thinking they have more wheel knowledge that former wdc who continually praise lando’s driving

[notacoolkid]

and he is telling us that he is not racing for piastri f1 team sure

Oscar has NEVER put team's need above his. once again I'll ask everyone to remember what happened in abu Dhabi 2024. McLaren would have lost wcc because Oscar has been told he's a better driver than he is so he went against Verstappen (and then franco for some reason) and chew more than he could swallow. Lando saved their butt and this is the thanks he's getting. They should make a norris shrine in mtc after everything he's done for this team.

[notacoolkid]

waking up to that on board from oscar and the data from quali and now everything makes so much more sense on why was his lap so bad and why andrea suddenly came and defended lando, it was damage control at its finest

i am so sick of this team, and i’m starting to think that those updates that were supposed to help lando will never come

[notacoolkid]

me and twin because we both have back problems

[notacoolkid]

whoremembers

[notacoolkid]

me and my mom were talking on the phone the whole race because we couldn’t watch it together and at the start she said that he is going to be on the podium and at the end she said that she really understands why i like him so much because he never gives up even when they throw everything at him