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imthebadguyyy · 3 years

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Temporary Fix

Pairing - Lewis Hamilton x Reader (fem!F1 driver!reader)

Fandom - F1

Summary - You're the only female F1 driver, and you're damn good at your job. Oh, and you also have a friends with benefits relationship with a certain 7x World Champion.

Warnings - smut, best friends -> lovers, slight exhibitionism

A/N - you have the second merc seat in this, so Valterri isn't here : (( not proof read

Sometimes, you hated yourself for following your passion. Driving a F1 car had been your dream ever since you could remember. The long process from karting to F1 had been a difficult one. When you were seven, you had a go kart track manager that you couldn't race there because you were a girl. That had cemented your will to be the best you could be, and you had done it.

You had made it into a Mercedes F1 seat after spending two years in Williams. It was safe to say that you were one of the best drivers, with killer instinct and an excellent eye for overtakes. The likes of Mika Hakkinen, Niki Lauda, Jacques Villeneuve and others had praised your skills, naming you one of the best talents in the current driver pool.

But the glory, the fame, the praise, sometimes you wished you could just evaporate into thin air. This was one of those times. Press conferences sucked, they really did. Reporters and journalists thought they were entitled to ask you the most sexist of questions, brushing them off by saying it was 'just a simple question'. Sometimes the drivers you were paired up with defended you, like Seb or Pierre or Lewis or even Kimi. Sometimes people didn't want to say anything, or they just laughed it off or answered for you.

This was not one of those times. Charles was supposed to be your partner for the press conference, but he wasn't feeling too great so you were on your own. It had started off fine, with the usual questions like 'how are you feeling about the race?' 'is it gonna be a good weekend for Mercedes?' and then it had gone to 'Do you think you being the only woman here, you should have a special suit?' or 'Are you sure it's a good idea for you to continue another year in F1?' that's what had irked you off.

With a roll of your eyes and a shake of your head, you bit back the cutting response that had sprung to your lips, opting to simply look disapprovingly in silence, speaking more words in the quiet. Eventually, the conference was over, and you made your way out of the hall, deep in thought, so lost in your own world, you didn't notice when a pair of arms wrapped around your waist, pulling you into one of the nearby storage closets.

Your protest of "Hey!-" was cut off by a pair of lips pressing to yours, strong arms wrapping around your torso. "Heard you had a bad day with the press" Lewis mumbled against your lips, brow furrowing when you sighed and let your head drop onto his shoulder. "Yeah they're such fucking jerks" you replied, closing your eyes. "I'm sorry you have to deal with them every time" he continued, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead. "Eh, I mean I'd rather not talk about it" you continued, letting your fingers trace a pattern on his chest.

The silence in the room was disturbed by the ringing of Lewis's phone, making you jump softly. "Bono" he answered, looking down at the screen. "Pick it up"

"Hello?"

"Lewis, we're waiting for the meeting? And is Y/N with you?" Bono's voice rang through the tiny closet, as you turned to look at Lewis with wide eyes. Shit, the debrief. "Yeah, I'm coming! Oh, and I'll see if I can find Y/N" he replied, making you suppress a smile. The moment he put the phone down, the both of you burst into giggles, before he leaned down to press another kiss to your lips. "Well, we should go" he said, biting back a smile when you sighed, and cuddled into his shoulder. "Fine"

"But I'll make it up to you tonight baby" he continued, as a shiver ran down your spine. Oh yeah, you two had a friends with benefits situation going on too. No biggie

Except, well, you know you couldn't tell anyone, and you were definitely in love with each other, but I mean, of course it was better to be stupid and just simply refuse to acknowledge those feelings for each other.

♥︎☾☁︎

It had happened, when Lewis won his championship in Turkey. The team had thrown a (socially distant) party, and you had gotten just a little more drunk than you should have, but the champagne was flowing, tequila shots were being taken, beer was being chugged so you just jumped in and had a few more glasses of wine than you should have, and participated in a few rounds of shots.

Before you had known, a pair of hot lips had crashed onto yours, and your arms had tightly held onto a broad pair of shoulders, as the pair of you had stumbled up to your hotel room, crashing backwards onto the bed. Your drunken mind had been sober enough to recognise the 'Still I Rise' tattoo across his back when he tugged his shirt off.

At the same time, Lewis had recognised your face, heart speeding up ever so slightly because holy shit he was making out with you, and he really, really liked you. Before he knew it, your dress was down to your knees, and his shirt was a rumpled mess on the floor, your friendship gone far beyond repair, but only in the best way possible.

The next morning, you had let out a groan when the sunshine had flashed into your eyes, rolling over to find Lewis lying next to you, his arm wrapped around your waist as he slept peacefully. Your heart rate had sped up, and you had shot up, scaring the living day light out of Lewis. He had awoken with a start, confusion present in his brown eyes, before realization had sunk in, and he had shot out of bed, wrapping one of the towels around his lower body.

But before the two of you could get awkward, he had strutted over to you, grabbing your face in his hands before pulling you in for a kiss that made you feel weak and light headed.

And then the both of you came to the conclusion that you two wanted something loose and flexible, something fun with no commitment.

But was it what you wanted?

♥︎☾☁︎

Sometimes debriefs could drag on. And on. And on. Eventually, the engineers left the room, leaving only Toto, Lewis, Bono, Angela, James and yourself in the room. Over the years, it had become like a family for you, and you loved them to absolute bits. The mood in the room had changed, as you all joked around for a while.

Watching from the other side of the room, Lewis couldn't help the smile that etched itself onto his face, when he saw you throw your head back with laughter at something Toto said, inhaling sharply when your neck came into clear view, a sudden urge to mark you up settling in on his body.

It was a thrill, to think of how many times you had come undone on his fingers and his tongue, how many nights you begged for him to fill you up with his cock. It was a thrill to think of all the times he had cried your name out in ecstasy while your tongue worked wonders around him. And yet, here you were, acting as if you two were just best friends, not two people who could barely keep their hands off of each other.

Just two nights ago, he had made you scream his name so loud, the person the next room, who just happened to be Daniel, had not let him hear the end of it. Thankfully, the Aussie hadn't realized it was you in his bed. Two nights ago, he had made you see stars, and after that you had rewarded him with the performance of his life to Nights Like This by Kehlani.

Snapping back to reality when a slight poke was applied to his shoulder, Lewis looked over to see Angela looking at him with a slight smirk on her face. He strongly suspected that the woman definitely had some sort of inkling about the both of you. How ? No idea. But she was a crazy smart woman, and was bound to have figured out that he was seeing someone.

It didn't help that atleast half the people on the grid had at some point teased him, telling him the both of you were made for each other. It was like the universe was pushing the both of you to be together, and he kept pushing it away

"So are we feeling confident going into this weekend?" Toto asked, grabbing his attention from the smirking blonde.

"Yup!" Your cheery answer elicited a smile from everyone in the room. "Yeah I think so" he said, watching as you flashed him a quick smile. "Okay, then, I think we're done for now. Any questions?" Bono asked, scanning a data sheet in front of him. "No, i'm good" you replied, reaching over to grab your phone. "Yeah me too" Lewis said, far too concerned with what was going to happen later that night to pay his full attention to Bono.

"Okay then. We'll see you tomorrow"

And with that they departed. Before Lewis could follow you, a hand grabbed his and he turned to see Angela, Toto and Bono looking at him expectantly. "So whose got you all distracted and flustered?" Angela asked, earning a smirk from Toto. "What? No one" he replied, slapping himself mentally for being all day dreamy during a meeting. "Oh really? I'm willing to bet you didn't hear anything I said during the meet except the last bit" Bono said, smiling when his driver got visibly flustered.

"So do we know her?" Angela continued, watching him closely for any giveaway reactions. "How would you know her if I don't like anyone?" Lewis said, hoping to God it didn't come across as awkward as it sounded.

"Never said you liked anyone. I'm saying you're in love with someone" Angela said, watching as her friend's eyes widened in shock, and he shook his head profusely. "Okay are you on something? I'm just gonna head back to the hotel now" he murmured, confused, and somewhat taken aback by her bluntness.

Ignoring the looks on the others faces, he made his way out to the paddock, trying his hardest to make sense of his feelings. Was a casual relationship with you what he wanted? He wanted so much more than that.

Lewis knew, deep down in his heart, that he wanted to hold your hand in public, and kiss you right on the lips in front of everyone when you shared a podium. He wanted to be able to call you his, to not just spend the night with you, but to spend all his days with you. But you didn't want that.

Or so he thought.

♥︎☾☁︎

Back at the hotel, Lewis busied himself with working out, trying to push all his frustrations out via the workout. He knew that you were going to turn up in the night, and he looked so damn forward to seeing you each night, but god, he hated it when you left in the morning. Every morning when your warm body slipped out from under the sheet, his arms would tighten for a moment, before your giggle would bring him back to reality and he'd hastily draw back, smiling at you. His favourite moment was when he came to your hotel room in Spain. In the morning, he had woken up before you, and before leaving, he had pressed a little kiss to your forehead. The most gorgeous smile had curled onto your lips, and his heart had melted into a little puddle when you rested your cheek on his hand

And then in Monaco, when he had taken you to his apartment, you had woken up before him, and he had woken up to the sight of you bringing a tray of pancakes and fruits, followed by a soft kiss to his cheek.

It was those moments he cherished, but it was those same moments that confused him.

His train of thought was broken when a knock echoed in the room, as he walked over to the door, opening it to find : you

"Hey" you greeted him, walking in and shedding your jacket. "Hey" he replied, reaching for a towel to wipe the sweat off of his body. "Wow um, is this a bad time?" You asked, eyes trailing down his abs, watching as his body glistened in the fading sun light. "No its fine, I just finished my workout. You hungry?" He continued, biting back a smirk when he saw your eyes roaming his body.

"W-what? Yeah, i, um, suppose - yeah" you murmured, mind already far down the gutter.

"For food darling, not for sex" he said, making you blush and let out a small gasp. "Lewis!" You chided, shoving him softly. "You know you were thinking it" he mumbled, pushing you up against the wall. "Yeah I was" you whispered back, yanking him forward by his shoulders, slamming your lips against his.

Lifting you up from the waist, he pressed his body further into yours, one of his hands wandering down to your ass, squeezing harshly, earning a moan from your lips. Taking the opportunity, he pushed his tongue into your mouth, groaning when you let your core grind against him.

Leading you towards the bed, he stopped in confusion when you stopped him, maneuvering him towards the balcony. "Want you to fuck me against the window or in the balcony" you gasped out, earning a moan from him.

"Right where anyone could see us, hmm? Didn't know you were into that baby" he growled, grabbing your earlobe in between his teeth, earning an airy gasp from you, as the wetness threatened to seep down your legs.

"Mmhmm" was all you could muster, your mind so clouded with desperation you couldn't form a single coherent thought. The only thing you were aware of was that only Lewis could make you feel the pleasure you wanted to feel, only he would take you to that little piece of heaven, only he would hold your hand and fuck you into oblivion, and he would still be there to clean you down with a sponge softly.

"If you insist"

Grabbing you roughly, he slammed your body against the massive hotel room window, ripping the mercedes team shirt you were wearing off of your quivering form, letting it drop to the floor, before he hooked his fingers into the material of your jeans, tugging the denim down your legs

With a soft groan, you pulled his nike shorts down his legs, moaning when his cock came into view, the throbbing in between your legs making you whimper, arousal and need growing tenfold in your tummy.

"Please" you whispered, meeting his eyes, so he could see the pure desperation in your eyes. "Please what?" He said, a certain roughness you hadn't heard before creeping into his voice

"Please fuck me" you moaned, gasping when he brought his hand up to your neck, squeezing ever so slightly. "Oh trust me doll, i will. But first, i want to have you dripping wet and ready for me. I want to make you cum on my fingers, so you're wet and ready for my cock. Do you want my fingers princess?" he continued, feeling his arousal grow when you whimpered and whined.

"Words baby girl. Or I'll just leave you here with your pathetic fingers. I bet you can't even reach all those spots inside you that make you scream, when your tiny little fingers try to please yourself. I bet you just feel like sinking into yourself, but the thought of my fingers keeps you awake. Do you do that, sweet girl? Do you pretend your fingers are mine when you're touching yourself, hmm?'

When you didn't answer, he delivered a smack to your ass, groaning when you moaned at the pleasurable sting. "Yes" you whispered abashed.

"Don't be shy baby. Its okay. I know you feel so good when I love on you. I can see it when you scream my name" and with that, his pointer finger began circling your clit, rubbing circles around it before shifting so he was rubbing the sensitive bud directly.

Your moans of ecstasy were music to his ear, a smile gracing his features, as he let his middle finger slip into you, thrusting it in and out of you. Your soft cry of "fuck" cracked when he shoved his pointer into you as well, scissoring them in and out of you

"Oh fucking hell Lew-" "Shh my darling, i didn't say you could talk, did I?" He said, fingers working at an indescribably quick pace, as the knot in your tummy tightened and threatened to loosen. "I'm gonna-" "go ahead baby" he murmured, using his pointer and thumb to pinch your clit roughly, as you came around his fingers with a scream

"Good girl. You wanna put that pretty little mouth to use somewhere else?" he asked, watching as you dropped to your knees eagerly, (just like I would do irl) reaching up to rest your hands on his hips.

"Someone's eager to suck my cock hmm? Be a good girl for me, and don't waste time" he ordered, a shudder running down his body when your nails traced the veins on his cock, and then as they reached downwards, your thumb circling his tip, collecting his pre cum on your finger. Then you shoved your thumb in your mouth, swirling your tongue around it, before sucking softly on your digit, rolling your eyes back. You were snapped back to reality when Lewis roughly yanked your head up, pure arousal clouding his pupils

"You better use your mouth right now, or i swear i will leave you here alone to pleasure yourself" he threatened, moaning when you took his tip into your mouth at once, sucking softly before swirling your tongue upwards.

The feel of your tongue on him made him buck his hips into your mouth, the unexpected movement pushed him quite far back in your mouth, looking up at him, you hollowed out your cheeks, taking more and more of his cock into your mouth, the sounds he was making above you fuelling you. You took him as far back as you could without gagging, as a strangled moan of "Fuck Y/N!"left his lips. He grabbed your hair, tugging upwards, the tingling on your scalp sending shockwaves of pleasure through you. "Fuck baby, you're gonna have to stop now, I really want to fuck you now" he growled out, pulling you up before pushing you towards to balcony railing

Lining up with your entrance, he watched as you let out a shaky breath, eyes falling shut, as you clenched in anticipation.

"Are you sure you want this Y/N?" he asked, eyes searching your face for any sign that he was being too rough, or that you didn't want what was coming next

"Turning your head around to face him, you pulled him in for a passionate kiss. "I've never been more sure baby" was your affirming reply.

Kissing you back with the same fervour, he slowly pushed into you from behind, the both of you groaning in sync when your walls enveloped him. "fuck you feel so good darling. So fucking tight" lewis moaned, making you moan as well as the pleasure coursed through your veins.

Reaching around you, Lewis rubbed your clit while he continued to snap his hips against yours, making your breasts bounce against your chest, your hands gripping the balcony railing for dear life. Thank god it was dark.

He continued to rub and pinch you clit, before swiping his fingers through your wet folds. Then he shoved his fingers into your mouth, prompting you to suck on them

"Be an angel and suck on my fingers for me" he growled, moaning when your mouth eagerly closed around his fingers, sucking them with fervour.

Snapping his hips into you desperately, his hands encircled your waist, pulling you back to meet his thrusts, swishing his fingers around in your mouth. "Fuck baby thats it, i'm gonna cum" he groaned, capturing your earlobe in between his teeth, moaning when you clenched down on him again

"Oh fucking hell-" with a moan, he came into you, pulling his fingers out of your mouth to rub your clit again, sighing with satisfaction when you came around him with a scream of "Lewis!"

Panting, he dragged you back to the bed, both of you collapsing into the covers.

Your chest rising and falling rapidly, you curled up into his chest, letting your head droop onto his shoulder, as his fingers traced his initials onto your hip.

"Well princess, we seem to have a problem here" he said, as you snapped your head up to look at him in confusion.

"I think i'm in love with you"

♡☾☁︎

A/N - part 2? Also feel free to drop a comment, i'd really appreciate it 🤍 thank you so much for reading 🤍

#lewis hamilton #f1 #formula 1 #sir lewis hamilton #lewis hamilton smut #lewis hamilton imagine #lewis hamilton imagines #lewis hamilton x reader smut #lewis hamilton x reader #f1 imagines #f1 drivers smut #f1 drivers imagines #f1 drivers x reader #f1 x reader #smut #imthebadguyyyfics

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jacepens · 3 years

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Apologia

No...I didn’t forget to make the tumblr post again...

Anyway, this one is rated E on AO3 but it’s only because of one scene. For tumblr, I will be cutting that out and just picking up where we left off. It might be a little awkward but it’s not like you’re really missing stuff necessary for the plot. (Also it’s a little western au! because why not!) Oh! so for reference, without the smut it’s rated T:) annd for your benefit, this one has major character death, guns, and (I can’t think of how to word this) someone in a position of power having sex with someone underneath them (But it is cut out!! So just implied!!) keep yourself happy and safe! :)

Apologia: A defense of one’s opinions or actions

Charles Lee was murdered in his mansion on June 2nd, 1873. One eyewitness claims Gilbert de Lafayette was the one who exited the room after the murder. Fooled by the pretty face, Sheriff Washington believes Lafayette when he claims he is innocent.

***

Charles Lee was killed in his mansion on June 2, 1873. The gunshot wound was dead center in his skull, so they looking for either a marksman or a lucky shot. There were scratches on the floor, and bruises to Lee’s neck and arm. Eyewitnesses say they heard shouting and fighting before a gunshot was fired. Only one person actually saw who left the room.

Washington hated to make an arrest based off of one witness, but if he didn’t arrest someone there would be fear and commotion in town. People liked their justice whether it was right or wrong, they always wanted a guilty party to point their fingers at.

Lafayette had looked terrified when he woke him up, showing him his sheriff badge and said he was arresting him for the murder of Charles Lee. His eyes had grown wide, his hands started shaking as he cried that it was not him, he was framed! Washington told him it wasn’t an official arrest, they needed to hold him in custody until a more thorough investigation could be done.

Murder was nothing new to Washington, out in the West there were always gunfights and crime, the people never seemed to know how to settle their disputes like adults. But Lafayette was different.

He wasn’t the first man to cry that he was framed, but he was one of the first people George felt inclined to believe. Maybe it was the way he quietly sobbed as Washington walked him back to the station, how he didn't even put up a fight as he locked him in the lone cell in his office.

As he continued his work throughout the day, he was always aware of Lafayette sulking and crying. He had never seen a man accused be so despondent. He hoped the evidence worked in his favor.

“Sir?” His unsteady voice spoke up. Washington looked up from his desk, surprised to hear the voice at all. “Will I be allowed to eat anything?” His heart ached at the quiet question, so innocent and sweet. He was confident someone like this could never kill another.

“You will.” He nodded, getting up to walk to Lafayette’s lone cell. “You will tomorrow morning.”

“How long will I be here?” He sniffled, standing up to meet Washington.

As he edged out of the shadows Washington could make out the redness and puffiness of his eyes, his beautiful face covered in red splotches from all the crying he’d done. Lafayette rested his hand on the bars.

He swallowed, wanting to cheer him up but not wanting to lie to him. “It’s a high profile case, so you won’t be here long.”

“But it wasn’t me, sir! I swear!” Washington watched the desperation strain his face, saw how shiny his eyes became before fresh tears started slipping down.

“It’s alright, Gilbert.” George pushed his hand through the bars to nuzzle and brush away his tears. A content sound escaped Lafayette as he leaned into the touch, his face warm. Washington stayed there a moment longer, admiring his long lashes, his cute nose, his big eyes.

He awkwardly cleared his throat and removed his hand from Lafayette when warmth began to bubble low in his stomach at the sight of him tenderly pressing his cheek to his hand. His eyelids fluttered open and he stared at George, eyes dark and hungry.

“Are you sure there is nothing I can do to convince you, sir?” He bit his lower lip. He shuddered at the way the words came out, low and quiet, in that gorgeous accent that only made the heat grow.

He couldn’t hardly remember the last time he allowed himself such pleasantries. What consequence could there be? He wouldn’t open the cell door, no one was going to come knocking on his door that night. Everyone was gone. They were completely alone.

Lafayette’s heavy gaze looked him up and down, settling on his trousers before slowly meeting his eyes again. It should have bothered George that this man knew all too well what he was doing, but he pushed those feelings aside, allowed his wants to overtake his minds. Such a sweet face offering him such a sweet gift. What man could refuse?

~(some smut later, laf asks him to open his cell door for reasons)~

He was supposed to be smarter than this, he was supposed to weigh all his choices before he made a decision. It was his job to not be a fool who did whatever pretty boys said.

He fumbled for the keys and unlocked the cell, hands still shaking from the heat this man made him feel.

The air was pushed out of his lungs as the man’s elbow blew him back and then there was his gun pointed right at his forehead.

Lafayette cocked it with a click.

Shit.

“Gilbert, put the gun down.” Washington warned.

Lafayette narrowed his eyes at him.

“I do not want to do this, George.”

He was frozen where he stood, heart hammering so loud it made his chest ache. “There is a better way to do this, we can come to an agreement-”

“It is nothing personal, but I cannot stay here.”

“You don’t have to kill me.”

He shook his head, “I do. You know too much now.”

“Lafayette they will know it was you, what do you accomplish by killing me?”

He laughed, shrill and dangerous. “What I accomplish is buying myself some time.”

“For what?” He gasped.

“That’s not something you get to know.” He growled. “I’m not going to apologize for doing this, I don’t regret doing this at all, in fact.” He titled his head to the side, his little smile not so cute now. “I am going to get my revenge no matter who stands in my way.”

“Lafayette, wait-!”

He fired the gun, shot so loud it sounded as if it cracked the air. The last thing Washington saw was Lafayette’s face, looming over him and frowning in disgust before he blacked out, never to wake up again.

***

And that concludes this fun week!:) Thank you so much for joining me and you can read the full fic here https://archiveofourown.org/works/28536639 !

#my word of the day challenge #washette

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artificialqueens · 5 years

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Free Falling, Chapter 10: Working as a Unit (Branjie) - writworm42

A/N: Last chapter, Brooke and Vanessa’s feud got to a ridiculously bad level, so their coworkers locked them in the Snoezelen room together until they kissed & made up. This chapter, the unit gets to work on planning the fundraiser.

This took a WHILE whew but I’m really happy with how it turned out. That being said, it wouldn’t have turned out the way it did without Holtzmanns kicking my ass and being the best beta, cheerleader, and brainstorm-buddy I could ask for <3

Also, writing A'keria take on entitled old white men is my new favourite pastime

As early as the next morning, the vibe around the unit had become unrecognizable from the way it had been for what seemed like forever. It wasn’t just that things had returned to normal— because well, they hadn’t.

They’d gotten even better.

The minute that Brooke and Vanessa had been released from the Snoezelen room by their colleagues, the team hit the ground running - and there had been no stopping them since. Brooke had to admit, in a way, that she was taken by surprise by how quickly, efficiently, and effectively everyone worked.

Sure, Ra’jah was an amazing team lead who wrangled patients and fellow nurses alike without so much as blinking, but who knew that she’d be just as fearless on the phone haggling with vendors? And Vanessa knew that Shuga spent most of her time with parents, but who knew that she’d be able to generate so many RSVPs and reach out to so many community members and partners so quickly? Or that Soju had connections with almost every major public event and performance venue in the city, making it easy for Brooke to book a space? Even A’Keria and Ariel pitched in, somehow convincing 1712’s family to cater the event with a wide menu full of nutritionally-balanced, gluten-free, allergen-free, vegetarian, vegan, halaal, and kosher options.

In fact, Brooke actually had very little to do except sign forms, balance the budget, and get administrative clearance for the event.

It was nice, knowing everyone had her back. Plus, it left her plenty of time for what was fast becoming her favourite hobby: watching Vanessa work.

Maybe it was the honeymoon phase, or maybe Brooke just got excited when others did. Maybe it was that Vanessa’s passion for her work really was infectious. Either way, the more Vanessa became involved with the fundraiser, the more Brooke found herself wishing that she’d known about occupational therapy sooner.

“I finished the floor plans for the booths, everything should be up to code and completely wheelchair accessible.” Vanessa beamed as she slammed a roll of blueprints down on Brooke’s desk, so giddy with excitement that she didn’t even notice that Brooke was taking a phone call. “Ain’t this great?”

It was, and Brooke had never been so eager to get off the phone to tell her so.

“I’m trying to build an adaptive dunk-tank,” Vanessa bounded up to Brooke with an excited flush across her face when she entered the office the next day, the smaller woman’s hair disheveled as if she’d been actively wrestling with prototype materials. “Can I liaise with the building maintenance and engineering staff to steal wood from them or what?”

Brooke said yes, and not even a day later, Vanessa gave her no reason to be disappointed, a fully functional tank ready to be painted and moved out to the venue, its builder ready to accept her thanks in the form of more than one enthusiastic kiss.

In fact, the more Vanessa let Brooke into her world, the prouder Brooke became of her. After all, how many people could say that their girlfriend’s job was encouraging kids like Kam to work on reaching by practicing reaching for prize stuffed animals, or helping a kid like Monet’s fine motor skills by practicing face-painting and readying her to be Soju’s face-painting assistant?

The best part, though, was that it gave Brooke an entirely new perspective not just on Vanessa’s job, but on Vanessa herself.

Vanessa wasn’t just compassionate–empathy came off of her in waves, her heart constantly worn on her sleeve for everyone to see from the moment she walked into the therapy gym. And she wasn’t just creative–she was resourceful, her mind fierce in its ability to look at nothing and make it into something in a few seconds flat. And even though Vanessa could be stubborn, even though she could be a bulldozing pain in the ass when an idea came into her head that she just couldn’t let go of, Brooke came to realize that Vanessa only ever brought her claws out to protect the people she loved.

Brooke really could see why everyone so dearly loved Vanessa right back. She could only hope that others would love her like that one day, too.

As the day of the fundraiser crawled closer, Brooke couldn’t help but feel like the unit was growing stronger and stronger every day with every task that got checked off their to-do list. The adrenaline was starting to get to her and Vanessa too, making them get even bolder, even closer than ever. It was as if their brains had become synced over late-night planning sessions with more than a few kisses shared between pages of blueprints.

“Brooke, that’s it.” Vanessa collapsed back into Brooke’s desk chair two days before the fundraiser, her whole body going slack as she relaxed into the obus-forme backrest she had insisted Brooke add onto its surface ( “trust me, baby, it’ll prevent lower back pain in the long run” ). “That was the last form. We ain’t got nothing left to do. We’re finished.”

Brooke looked over to the papers on her desk, scanning for any plan left unexamined, any to-do list item left unchecked, any i left undotted or t left uncrossed. Vanessa was right - she couldn’t find anything of the sort.

They were done. The event planning was finally finished.

“I can’t believe it.” Brooke laughed, sighing with relief. “One day ahead of schedule, too. Oh my God.”

Vanessa moved out of Brooke’s chair and gestured for Brooke to take her place. “I’m proud of you, baby.” She climbed up onto Brooke’s lap, running her fingers through Brooke’s hair. Brooke hummed as she melted back into the chair’s cushioned surface, melted into the smooth, gentle feeling of Vanessa’s hands against her scalp.

“All we have to do now is keep everything running smoothly.” she sighed contentedly. It was interesting–a few months ago, she was confident that everything had come together, that she’d finally fit as a piece in the unit’s puzzle.

Now, though, watching everyone work together so eagerly, so seamlessly , it was like a whole different vibe. They weren’t pieces making a picture anymore; they were the picture right off the box, the picture everyone else tried to make.

And the most satisfying part was, none of it was Brooke’s doing, not really. Not individually, at least.

It was everyone who made that possible. And they did it without even trying.

“What do you say I drive you home, baby?” Vanessa’s voice roused Brooke from the dozing state she had begun to slip into, the smaller woman’s hands still keeping time as they stroked through Brooke’s hair, “I think you’ve earned a good night’s sleep.”

Brooke yawned, a slow, milky sense of fatigue finally overtaking her as her face smoothed over into a peaceful smile.

“Sounds good to me.”

–

The shift in energy around the unit the next day was unmistakable. The air was giddy with excitement, and one could barely turn a corner in the hallway without hearing fundraiser or carnival fall from someone’s lips.

Volunteers asked each other if they were going to go, trading stories of what they were most excited about and whether or not they were manning a booth. Parents chatted excitedly about how they couldn’t wait and how it would be a nice break. Kids called their friends to make plans for getting together, many of them practically bursting with happiness at the thought of doing something that didn’t have the word therapy attached, something they could invite everyone outside the hospital to do with them.

The vibe was also leaking to other parts of the hospital. Volunteers passed out tickets to early-bird RSVPs and sold last-minute pre-entry in the lobby, and inpatients and outpatients alike spotted the flyers and caught wind of the talk, resolving to go to themselves in support of the kids.

The most palpable change, though, was in the staff. When Brooke walked into the unit that morning, everyone was crowded around Plastique’s desk with a large tray of cupcakes, already celebrating their success. When Brooke had started at Charles-Visage, she probably would have popped a lung yelling for their waste of time, resources, and disrespect for hospital policy. Now, though, she took a cupcake from the tray, her eyes fluttering closed in pleasure when the rich taste of dark chocolate frosting melted onto her tongue.

They hadn’t even done it yet, technically, but they’d done it.

No matter how tomorrow worked out, Brooke was sure that in many other ways, they’d already won.

“Am I interrupting something, ladies?” A sneering voice suddenly burst the team out of their happy bubble, all of them turning to see a tall, older man in a neatly-pressed business suit standing behind them with his arms crossed, a half-crushed fundraiser flyer in his hand.

“Gary.” Brooke nodded curtly, a hush falling over the group as tension set in.

“No, no, please, continue, don’t let me stop this, hm, fun you all seem to love up here.” He sniffed derisively. “Enjoy it while it lasts, since apparently, it’s not going to last long.”

“Now, hold on, Geoffrey, what’s that supposed to mean?” Ra’jah challenged from behind Brooke, hand already on her hip. “You’re holding one of our flyers, you’ve clearly seen it.”

Gary, for his part, seemed nonplussed, though the twitch in his eye at being called Geoffrey was unmistakable. “I don’t know, girls, it just seems a bit, you know, desperate. ”

This time, Brooke didn’t have to bristle at the condescension–everyone behind her was already doing so.

“What do you mean, desperate?” She rolled her eyes as she said it.

“Well, I mean, we at high intensity outpatient never have to do this. Besides, it’ll never work.” he scoffed.

“Never work? What kinda nonsense you talkin’, Garfield?” Silky snorted, barely stifling her smile as Gary’s eye twitched again.

“A lump sum like a donation can only go so far. Eventually, the funds you raise will dry up, and by then, all you’ll have done is raised funds for a service that’s going under anyway. A waste of time and resources.” He shrugged.

If Brooke hadn’t been so seethingly mad, she would have been impressed at his ability to be staring fifteen grown women in the face and speaking to them all like children instead of like the educated professionals that treated them. But before Brooke could so much as think of something to spit back at him, he turned to her with an almost completely contemptful smile.

“Really, Miss Hytes, I would have thought you would understand finances a little better, given your position. Although, I suppose a bunch of kids wouldn’t notice inexperience, would they?”

That was it. Brooke felt something else take over her; her head began to spin and rage rose in her throat, indignation bubbling on her tongue. Her team?Inexperienced?

Not Yvie, who had been hired straight out of her placement because she’d achieved top marks and had made such a good impression on all the staff there. Not Plastique, who had everything Brooke needed done before Brooke even realized it was a task that was still outstanding. Certainly not Shuga, who had over twenty years to generate a mile-long resume that she kept as a record of all the different experiences she’d had, all the lessons she’d learned and brought to the unit in her present practice. How dare he, how fucking dare he.

She was just about to tear Gary a new one, when she noticed his gaze. He was only looking at Brooke, his eyes full of contempt and something dangerously near some kind of put-on pity.

He wasn’t talking about the team.

He was talking specifically about her.

This wasn’t the first time Brooke had been underestimated. It wasn’t the first time her efforts or her achievements had been discounted. It more than likely wouldn’t be the last, either. She was used to it–used to rising above it, used to showing rather than telling, used to proving her adversaries wrong and making them eat their own words. To watching them squirm and letting their discomfort be her victory prize.

But apparently the team took a different approach.

“Sorry, Gabriel, who the flipper do you think you’re flipping talking to?” Scarlet shouldered her way to the front of the group, standing practically right in Gary’s face. “There’s no one inexperienced here.”

“That’s right,” Honey spoke up, coming to stand right behind Scarlet, “Brooke is the best manager we’ve ever had, and I dare you to say anything different.”

“Well, in that case, I feel sorry for–” but Gary didn’t have a chance to finish the sentence before A’keria was in his face, her short stature suddenly stretched to about six feet just by virtue of the threat in her posture and edge to her words.

“You ain’t feel sorry for nothing or nobody. You think you’re oh-so-mighty, well let me tell you somethin’, Mr Gregory, at least here, we ain’t gotta rely on our daddy’s name to get our positions. Brooke ain’t no exception to that.” She began to walk forwards, effectively forcing Gary back a step with each word.

“Brooke works harder than anyone else in this hospital, and ever since she been here, we been doing better than ever. Now I know we ain’t no rich people’s playground, but what do you wanna bet that if we pulled up the numbers, we’d see an exponential growth here, while you sittin’ pretty at half a billion but been in a plateau there for ten years?” She takes a step closer. “‘Cause we got your number, Gordon, and it ain’t a good one. Brooke is a better manager than you’ll ever be, and if you want to see it for yourself, tickets to the fundraiser are ten dollars each. Now get the flunk out of our unit.”

“Reginald.” Gary growled in correction, but before he could say anything else, there were the sounds of wheels rolling fast on the ground, followed by the tell-tale squealing of a five-year-old having the time of her life and the loud protests of a grown occupational therapist who wasn’t supposed to be running a scooterboard race in the inpatient hallway.

This time, when Gary went down, Ra’jah had nothing to say about it.

#rpdr fanfiction #vanessa vanjie mateo #branjie #lesbian au #hospital au #free falling #writworm42

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f1chronicle · 4 years

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Hamilton Pips Bottas To Tuscan Pole

Lewis Hamilton has taken the 95th pole of his Formula 1 career, pipping teammate Valtteri Bottas by 0.059s in a Mercedes front-row lockout, their seventh consecutive lockout of the 2020 Formula 1 season, and just two shy of their 2014/15 record.

The Red Bull Racing duo of Max Verstappen and Alex Albon locked out the second row, setting up an intriguing opening to tomorrow’s race.

Charles Leclerc provided a bright spot for Ferrari, celebrating their 1000th race, by qualifying in fifth place.

Listen: Formula 1 Grid Talk Podcast Qualifying Analysis

Results: 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix Qualifying Results

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95th Pole For Lewis Hamilton

By taking his 95th career pole, Lewis Hamilton claimed his 69th pole for Mercedes, more than any other F1 driver in their career, a staggering achievement for the six-time World Champion.

‘I’m so happy to be up here. It’s been a tough weekend, to be honest. This is a phenomenal track and it’s very challenging. You’re going through Turns 6, 7, 8 and 9 at around 275 to 285 km/h and the g-forces we’re pulling through there is just insane.

‘Valtteri has been quicker than me all through the weekend, so I’ve been working hard in the background to try and improve my lines and set-up. And finally, I got the lap together that I needed in Q3.

‘The wind picked up a bit for the second lap, which is why I wasn’t able to go any quicker, but the first lap was good enough. Valtteri did a great job and has been pushing me really hard, so I’m glad I could pick up the pace once I got to Qualifying.

‘I’m looking forward to tomorrow, it’ll be difficult on such a high-speed track but that should also make it pretty interesting,’ said Hamilton.

2020 Tuscan Grand Prix, Saturday – Lewis Hamilton (image courtesy Mercedes-AMG Petronas)

Disappointment for Valtteri Bottas

After being fastest all weekend, Valtteri Bottas was disappointed he couldn’t turn that form into a pole position start for the race.

‘It’s disappointing to miss out on pole, especially by such a small margin and after I had to abort my final lap.

‘The yellow flags definitely hampered my Qualifying, as I still had more to come with the last lap and was just waiting for the time to get it all right.

‘The first run was okay but not perfect, so I was looking forward to going again but I just didn’t get the opportunity.

‘Coming into the weekend, we thought it would be nearly impossible to overtake here but during practice, we’ve seen how wide the track is and the different lines you can take through the corners.

‘So, I’m hopeful I’ll be able to take the fight to Lewis tomorrow and have a good battle. There’s a long run to Turn 1 as well, so we’ll see what happens,’ said Bottas.

2020 Tuscan Grand Prix, Saturday – Valtteri Bottas (image courtesy Mercedes-AMG Petronas)

Christian Horner Delighted With Second Row Lockout

Red Bull’s team principal Christian Horner was delighted to lockout the second row, as Alex Albon improved his qualifying performance to finish fourth, just behind Max Verstappen.

‘It’s great to have both drivers up on the second row in qualifying with Max third and Alex fourth and we extracted the most out of the car today.

‘We were just a couple of tenths shy of Mercedes but it was one of the closest sessions this year and hopefully we can race well from there.

‘Alex has had a strong weekend with his best F1 qualifying result to date which will provide him with confidence ahead of the race.

‘We’ve been quick in sector three all weekend so our first opportunity will be on the run down to Turn One and then we will see what we can do from there.

‘It’s going to be interesting to see what effect the warm weather has on strategies and of course there’s no historic data here so you’ve got to be prepared to be reactive. The drivers are really enjoying this circuit, it’s a fast old school track so let’s hope it produces a great race tomorrow,’ concluded Horner.

2020 Tuscan Grand Prix, Saturday – Alex Albon (image courtesy Red Bull Racing)

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giantsfootball0 · 7 years

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Who said what after qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix

2:23 PM ET

ESPN staff

ESPN rounds up all the reaction from up and down the Marina Bay paddock following qualifying for the 2017 Singapore Grand Prix.

Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton (5th): “Every year it has been relatively difficult for us in Singapore, so we knew that we would come here and it would be tricky. I thought Red Bull would be as quick as they were, but I didn’t anticipate Ferrari to be that strong. I gave it everything today but I could not get any more out of the car, I squeezed it until it was dry.

“There are no points for today, so we will focus on doing the best job we can tomorrow and remain hopeful. But this is a horrible track for overtaking; it will be a long race. I will have to try and see if I can get a good start to pick off at least one car. Sebastian has Verstappen next to him, so anything can happen at the start.”

Valtteri Bottas (6th): “So far, it’s been a difficult weekend for us. We’re clearly third quickest around here, that’s just not enough. We’ve been chasing the setup of the car and made big changes yesterday and today, but we still haven’t found the optimal setup. You can see it in the lap times that I can’t really drive the car with the setup that we’ve got. We were a bit surprised by how big the gaps to Red Bull and Ferrari are.

“Two weeks ago, we had a great weekend in Monza and now we are really struggling. The result today highlights that we still have issues producing enough downforce and mechanical grip on a track like this; it’s an area we clearly need to work on. We know our pace alone isn’t enough to score a podium tomorrow, so we need a clean race, a good strategy and bit of luck as well.”

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “Days like this are the tough ones. We know that our car is not at its best on these tight circuits and Lewis extracted the maximum today from the package we had. It looked close at certain stages of the session, and we kept hoping for a little bit more, but it’s never nice to see a gap like that in black and white on the timing screens.

“The end result, with three cars between Sebastian and Lewis, obviously makes the situation even more difficult; likewise, Valtteri has been some way off Lewis this weekend, never really feeling confident with the car, and we need to dig down into why that is. The challenge now is simple: to extract the maximum possible from tomorrow’s race, grabbing every opportunity that comes our way. It will be a long, tough race for everybody.”

James Allison, Technical Director: “That was a very disappointing qualifying session with both cars. We knew this would be a tough weekend for us but we had nevertheless hoped for better. It was clear that we didn’t have the pace to compete for pole today. Now, we have to put this result behind us and start to think about how we can limit the damage tomorrow, or perhaps better still make the most of the opportunities this track routinely creates on race day.”

Lars Baron/Getty ImagesRed Bull

Max Verstappen (2nd): “All weekend has been a good build up, getting faster and faster and finding a smooth rhythm so to come away with second is a really good result. I took a little bit of risk to put down a good lap as we had predicted the others would improve from yesterday and this morning’s sessions. Perhaps there was a bit of time in the last sector to find but in general I am very pleased with how the car and I performed.

“That was the best balance in terms of set-up I have had with the car in Qualifying all year and that is a big positive. My quickest time was more or less the maximum I could do, Sebastian just had an even better lap. Race pace is good so we have a chance tomorrow but it looks like Ferrari have found quite a lot. The start will be important and maybe if there are a couple of safety cars that could impact the result too.”

Daniel Ricciardo (3rd): “I really thought I could get on pole position today so I’m a bit disappointed to be honest. Seb’s last lap was strong and we couldn’t run with that. That pace was good for us in Q3 and it seems like he did most of his time in the first sector. I didn’t really know what else we could do. If we get the start right tomorrow then we can put some pressure on him through our strategy.

“I still believe we have a good chance to win this race. I do enjoy a street circuit and the challenges that come with it, brushing up against the walls and all that. I feel I can do this lap after lap for two hours tomorrow and still hold my concentration. I really want this one so hopefully that hunger prevails tomorrow.”

Christian Horner, Team Principal: “A very strong qualifying performance from both of our drivers. Max and Daniel have been showing great speed around the streets of Singapore all weekend, and indeed we’ve topped every session apart from the final one that counts in Q3, where Sebastian put in a great lap. Starting second and third on the grid gives us strategic options for tomorrow in what will be one of the hardest grands prix of the year. It’s great to have both cars right up there and we are looking forward to a hot and humid race tomorrow night.”

Sutton ImagesFerrari

Sebastian Vettel (1st): “Yesterday I wasn’t smiling, today I am. When you belong to a team, you need to believe in each other and this is the perfect proof. Our Friday was messy, but our team has worked all night long and I am grateful for that. Here the guys worked all night and got to sleep around breakfast time, I believe. Meanwhile, back at the factory, Charles Leclerc worked at the simulator and other people analysed the data. Yesterday it seemed that we were not competitive enough and a lot of answers were missing. At the beginning of qualifying I was just thinking about doing my job. Then in Q3 I attacked, and I am very happy it worked.

“For us it’s important to turn up the day. If it’s a bad day, we want to change it making it a good one because we always try to have good days. I think yesterday was very important for us because we learnt from it. It was a hard lesson but we improved our understanding of the car and the track evolution came to us. Now we probably have a better idea what the car needs. There are always lessons that need to be learnt and I am quite happy that we had a bad day yesterday. We are happy we got the pole today because it always helps. But the race is tomorrow, so we’ll see what happens.”

Kimi Raikkonen (4th): “It has been difficult since yesterday and even today it was not easy. The whole track felt very tricky to drive, it was hard to be quick and put the car where we wanted; in some sectors we were more competitive than in others. In qualifying it was a bit better compared to yesterday and this afternoon’s P3 practice, but I was still far from feeling comfortable to push. I was still fighting trying to do a good lap and it was easy to make mistakes and lose lap time.

“To finish fourth is not ideal but I’ll take it considering all the struggles that we have had so far ; it could easily have been worse. At least we gave ourselves a chance for tomorrow and hopefully with a bit of luck we can gain some positions. We’ll tackle it as a new day. Lately our starts have been quite decent, so we’ll try to make good progress and see where we end up”.

Getty ImagesForce India

Sergio Perez (12th): “It was a difficult qualifying session. All the way up to my final run in Q2 I was struggling with the front end of the car. We made some changes which helped the front, but I lost rear grip instead. I’m not really sure what went wrong so we need to look into the data to really understand why we didn’t deliver tonight. It’s going to be a long and tough race tomorrow, and we need to be patient. We are only a couple of positions away from the top ten so we will fight for as many points as possible.”

Esteban Ocon (14th): “It’s been a disappointing day for the team – the first bad qualifying session in quite a long time, actually. It’s not something we want to see, obviously, but sometimes that’s the way it goes. I felt comfortable with the car until qualifying, but the track evolution went away from us. I struggled under braking and it was very easy for me to lock the fronts. We now need to focus on trying to recover in the race. Points are still very much possible, even starting in P14, so we will just go for it. There has been a 100% record of Safety Cars here over the years so there may be opportunities. Our car is better in the race than in qualifying and it’s my birthday tomorrow so I really want to get a good result for me and the team.”

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal: “We certainly didn’t deliver on our potential today and, as a result, we have missed out on the top ten. Sergio struggled with rear grip, while Esteban didn’t manage to deliver a clean lap in Q2. It’s a shame because grid position is very important on this circuit and we face a big task tomorrow to bring the cars back up into the points. However, like any street circuit, there are likely to be incidents and opportunities that we need to use to our advantage. The race pace is strong and both drivers are determined to make up for the disappointment of today’s qualifying session.”

Clive Mason/Getty ImagesWilliams

Felipe Massa (17th): “It’s been a very frustrating day to be honest. On my first run I had big oversteer, I hit the wall and got a puncture. I was lucky enough to have the problem at the last corner, before the pit entrance, so I changed tyres and went out again. Unfortunately, I had big oversteer in the last corner on my next run and lost half a second, and the chance to go into Q2. I am very disappointed because today Q2 was possible. These mistakes are frustrating and every day of this weekend has not gone well. We will try everything tomorrow and hopefully it can be a different day.”

Lance Stroll (18th): “I didn’t get everything out of myself, and so I am not happy with the session and myself. Coming into it I predicted more grip, so I locked up and touched the wall. It was a scruffy session, I needed to risk a lot to try and get into Q2, but instead I just went backwards. The track was changing so much and it was very different to all the other sessions this weekend. We just really got it wrong, but for sure the car is not as good here. It is frustrating going from the front row to the back. We had some hopes to get into Q2, but the pace was really not there. We are just missing a lot and that is going to cost us until we fix it.”

Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer: “The circuit evolution in Singapore is normally very high but today was particularly extreme because of oil put down from one of the earlier support races. That certainly caught Lance out. He’s already on a learning curve at the circuit so despite three attempts on three new sets of tyres, he didn’t manage to set a good enough time to get out of Q1. In Felipe’s case, unfortunately he hit the wall on the exit of Turn 21. This was probably promoted by the oil that had been put down at the entry to Turn 20, so that lost his first-timed lap.

“Luckily, the damage wasn’t too extreme, although it was a very big hit. The car had survived with minor damage which we repaired. Felipe went out for the second run and that would have been good enough for P13 at that stage of qualifying, but he had a big oversteer moment in the final corner sequence, which lost him about half a second. With an evolving track, I’m sure Felipe would have been in a position to improve in the later sessions, as did everyone else, so it is unfortunate that we missed the cut for Q2. I think the car had better pace than we showed today. We will see what we can do tomorrow. We can still race well, it’s a long race that is usually filled with incidents. Cars and drivers suffer a lot in the final half hour so if we can hang on until the end, and be in a good state, there’s still potential to score points.”

Mark Thompson/Getty ImagesMcLaren

Fernando Alonso (8th): “The first target of having both cars in Q3 has been achieved, so 50 per cent of the job is done. Now our second target is to get both cars in the points tomorrow, which I think is possible from these starting positions. Race pace here is always a bit of a question mark; it’s difficult to read. Yesterday’s long runs were not long enough and, added to the difficulty of overtaking on this track, positions will be more or less set after the first lap.

“That means we need to concentrate on making a good start and having a clean first corner. After that. I’ll keep focussed and not make any mistakes. It is a very demanding race but hopefully we can bring some points home. The first six cars are too far away in terms of race pace, so our aim will be to defend our positions and possibly climb up to seventh. I hope we can complete the job tomorrow.”

Stoffel Vandoorne (9th): “We came into the weekend more or less expecting to get both cars into Q3, and we achieved that today. We were always on the pace throughout Q1 and Q2, but perhaps we lacked that little bit extra in Q3 compared to our rivals. But nonetheless it’s been a smooth and solid effort from the whole team. While today is a good starting point, tomorrow is where it really matters. I might be hoping for quite a few Safety Cars in the race, but I still think we can conclude the weekend on a high.”

Eric Boullier, McLaren-Honda Racing Director: “This is a track that we knew would play to the strengths of our package, so it was pleasing to see our drivers pushing the limits right up at the sharp end of the field. Getting two cars into the top 10 today sets us up well for what is always a difficult, demanding and unpredictable race. We hope to come away from it tomorrow with more valuable world championship points.

“Fernando and Stoffel have both driven outstandingly well all weekend, and it was a joy to watch them attacking this difficult and uncompromising street circuit. Likewise, the whole team has performed at an extremely high level throughout this busy Singapore GP week — whether that’s been in the sweltering pit garage, the hospitality suite or back at the factory. When these things come together, it’s worth emphasising that, as a race team, we operate as a singular unit, and it’s days like today that remind us what we can achieve together when we have the merest sniff of a competitive package.”

Yusuke Hasegawa, Honda R&D Co. Ltd Head of F1 Project & Executive Chief Engineer: “Both drivers started the day well with a solid performance in FP3, leaving us feeling positive about our car heading into qualifying this afternoon. Fernando and Stoffel then maintained their momentum, and were both able to successfully go through into Q3.

“Although we knew this was a circuit more suited to our package, it is still good that we were able to show some competitiveness and secure top 10 grid slots for the race. Despite this, we can still see a gap to the frontrunners so we will continue to make further improvements. We think we have decent race pace, but it’s very difficult to overtake at this track, so if we can get away well at the start we can hopefully be in the fight for points.”

Lars Baron/Getty ImagesToro Rosso

Carlos Sainz (10th): “I’m very happy with making into Q3 today! If I say the truth, after yesterday’s FP2 and today’s FP3 we didn’t look that competitive and I thought that Q3 was a bit out of hand for us today, but in the end we managed to put a very good lap together — the pace came back in qualifying and I’m very satisfied! We now need to think about the race because it’s not going to be easy. Unfortunately for us, a few of our closest competitors are quite a big step ahead of us here so it will be a race more on the defending side tomorrow, looking in the mirrors, but I’m up for it and will try my best to keep this point-position!”

Daniil Kvyat (13th): “The start to my qualifying wasn’t that bad — I had one run in Q1 which was particularly good, but then in Q2 the track evolved and the car just got worse. I felt it sliding everywhere, had a lot of understeer and I just didn’t manage to warm up the front tyres, which is all quite disappointing. This is something we have to analyse, because it’s very frustrating for me. Regarding tomorrow, it’s hard to say what we can do as we haven’t had much pace this weekend. We just need to do our race, follow a good strategy and see where we end up.”

Jonathan Eddolls, Chief Race Engineer: “This is a track where it’s all about giving the driver a consistent car, lap after lap, because there’s an awful lot you can gain from the driver at a street circuit like this one. The main focus of FP3 was to build on what we learnt on Friday, fine tune the balance of the car and really focus on and understand the tyres. Track conditions here change significantly from session to session — they start in daylight and then you qualify when it’s dark, so it’s a lot about data gathering and analysis and the guys have done a really good job in getting their heads around the tyres.

“FP3 was therefore spent trying to understand what was going to be best going into Qualifying, which pretty much went to plan. It was great to get one of the cars into Q3. Carlos did a great job and managed to build it up throughout the session. We were a little bit tight on the timing on the very last run — I think we crossed the line with only five seconds to go — so it was a little bit nerve-wracking at one point, but he kept his head down and put in a good lap.

“Unfortunately, with Daniil, he didn’t quite feel the grip on his very last set in Q2, so we’ll spend this evening trying to understand the reasons for that. We also had a small issue in Quali where a small amount of oil found its way into the exhaust system and ignited, causing the plume of smoke you saw as the car entered the pit box. These conditions were quite specific so we have no concerns with reliability for tomorrow. Starting from P10 and P13, there’s definitely the potential for a good result here tomorrow.”

Clive Mason/Getty ImagesHaas

Romain Grosjean (15th): “As long as you do your best in qualifying, that’s the most important thing. I think from both of us it was the maximum we could’ve hoped for. We pushed pretty hard but, unfortunately, we don’t have much balance here. I’m sure we’re going to learn a lot from this weekend for the future but, of course, when you’re deeply into it, it’s a bit painful. From yesterday we’ve made some improvements. I’m proud of the work. It’s a long race, a tough race. Hopefully, the car will work better tomorrow. We’ll aim for the best strategy, maybe we can get lucky with a safety car, and try to get to the front somehow.”

Kevin Magnussen (16th): “I don’t think Q2 was out of reach. I caught a Renault in the last corner of my last lap, which cost me the margin I needed to get through to Q2. It’s been a tough weekend. We’ve not been strong enough, but we’ll fight anyway. It’s hard to say how the race will go. We’ll wait and see tomorrow.”

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal: “I think that was the most we could get for us this weekend. The midfield is so tight. We know a lot of things can happen here on a street circuit. Let’s see what happens. For sure, we will try our best to get into the points.”

Sutton ImagesRenault

Nico Hulkenberg (7th): “We have a strong package here this weekend. I had a nice battle with McLaren in qualifying today. They had the upper hand until the last lap where I managed to squeeze a really good lap out. I’m very happy to start seventh, it was a good effort from the team. Everyone gave us the best possible chance to have a good race. We know the Singapore Grand Prix is unpredictable, anything can happen, you just have to be ready and stay on your toes for the entire race.”

Jolyon Palmer (11th): “We found a lot of pace in the car, especially in Q1 where it felt like the car came alive. Q2 was also looking good but we overheated the rear tyres in the last run and I ended up losing a lot of time there and wasn’t able to improve. I am eleventh but I’m not too dissatisfied with that, we get a fresh set of tyres and we are in a good position to score some points tomorrow.”

Clive Mason/Getty ImagesSauber

Pascal Wehrlein (19th): “I did the best job I could during today’s qualifying. My laptime is quite alright considering that I lost some time by slightly touching the wall. As a team, we are all working hard to make progress.”

Marcus Ericsson (20th): “It was a difficult qualifying for me. I had to abort my first stint, and return to the garage early-on to pick up a fresh set of tyres. That made for a tricky start to Q1. In the end I only managed to complete one decent flying lap. It was a disappointing qualifying. Let’s see what is possible in tomorrow’s race.”

Sutton ImagesPirelli

Mario Isola, Head of Car Racing: “The track got progressively faster quite quickly, once the oil on the track had cleared. This allowed an incredibly fast and closely-fought qualifying session, with plenty of drivers beating the previous all-time record at Singapore. On a circuit which favours the mechanical grip like this one, the wider 2017 tyres offered an important contribution to this result. As tyre wear and degradation is low on all three compounds, one-stop should be the favoured strategy; however, with a 100% safety car record in Singapore and unpredictable track conditions, teams will need to remain versatile and adapt their strategies to the circumstances of the race.”

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Who said what after qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix

2:23 PM ET

ESPN staff

ESPN rounds up all the reaction from up and down the Marina Bay paddock following qualifying for the 2017 Singapore Grand Prix.

Mercedes

Lars Baron/Getty ImagesRed Bull

Sutton ImagesFerrari

Getty ImagesForce India

Clive Mason/Getty ImagesWilliams

Mark Thompson/Getty ImagesMcLaren

Lars Baron/Getty ImagesToro Rosso

Clive Mason/Getty ImagesHaas

Sutton ImagesRenault

Clive Mason/Getty ImagesSauber

Sutton ImagesPirelli

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