#I’ve always been a tifosi

[lizablackthorn]

Charles doesn’t deserve to drive 70 lap race without water in 50 degrees

Charles doesn’t deserve an engineer who is not doing his job

Charles doesn’t deserve a teammate that always comparing himself with Charles and sickly obsessed with him

Charles doesn’t deserve to ride that shitbox

Charles doesn’t deserve to get his strategy fucked by his own team over and over again

Charles doesn’t deserve to having fucked up pit stops

Charles Leclerc doesn’t deserve any of these and all the shitty things he has been through the seasons

And most importantly

Ferrari doesn’t deserve Charles Leclerc

[fangirl-dot-com]

Charles Leclerc - Arthur, you are not French...yeah Charles, drag his ass!

I’ve been excited to write this chapter! I know that reader is a Red Bull driver, but I am a Tifosi through and through. Charles holds such a special place in my heart (but so does Max). I feel like one of those “breaking my silence – how I got into F1,” low and behold, I got into the sport from that one Ferrari thirst trap where Charles is lying on the couch. Yeah, you know, that one. 

Anywho, I write these little things before I even get to writing the story and sometimes I don’t even know where I’m going with it. I know it's not Christmas yet, but the people spoke - SO HERE WE GO!

Sadly, the tag list is closed to do us reaching the 50 people mark! I never thought that I’d get there though with my story! So thank you to every one of you for making that happen! 

Like always, comments, questions, concerns, likes, and reblogs are always appreciated! Love you all <;3 

Your beanie had started to itch. You had needed it outside due to the cold weather, but now that you were in the car with the heat cranked, it was starting to get a little too warm. As you pulled up to the red light, your hand quickly yanked the hat off. Not to your surprise, your hair was sticking in all directions. That’s ok, you could fix it before you walked into the house. The light turned green, and you had to remind yourself that this was a regular car, on a regular street. Not a hybrid-engine-ran rocket ship that exceeded 300 kilometers per hour on sweet Grand Prix asphalt. 

This year, you had finally accepted Arthur’s invitation for Christmas. Earlier, you had done Christmas morning and afternoon with Max, Kelly, and Penelope. It was everything you could have wished for. And now you were going to spend the rest of the evening with your best friend and his family. You were a tab bit nervous. Sure, you had met them on a handful of occasions, but you tried not to get too close. They were always at grand prixes for Arthur, not you. 

You glanced at the presents that were stacked on the passenger side. The most important one, however, was placed in a bag on the floor. You were not about to let that fall over and possibly break. You knew it was made to be sturdy, but you couldn’t be sure. Arthur had given you the gate key. You pulled up to the little black box and pressed the numbers. You rolled your eyes as you realized that it was just Charles’s and Arthur’s racing numbers squished together. 

Arthur had also reminded you that Lorenzo was not going to be joining due to him being at his wife’s family’s for the holiday. That was one less person to impress you had told yourself. 

You pulled into their driveway and parked your car. It was not as impressive at Charles’s custom 488 Ferrari Pista Spider. It wasn’t as if you were almost drooling at the sight of it. Knowing yourself, you’d probably be too scared to drive it to actually enjoy it. Max also had a Ferrari, maybe he’d let you drive it. 

In a parking lot and not exceeding 5 kph. You snorted. Yep, that was Max. 

You did however, have your eye on two special cars. But you wanted to wait a bit before purchasing. You Pinterest board was full of different ideas, but you had to be careful. Maybe Christian could help you out with purchasing. You technically hadn’t bought this car, it was a gift from Lorenzo. You wouldn’t trade it for the world, but it might be nice to have more than one car. Besides, multiple drivers had multiple cars. You’d just join their ranks. 

Juggling the presents, you walked to the front door and pressed the doorbell. Your face was hardly visible over the tops of the boxes. The door opened and a familiar voice sounded. 

“Mon Dieu, let me help you.” Presents were being taken from the big stack. 

“Thank you Charles.” You prided yourself on being one of the few people who could recognize the difference between Arthur’s and Charles’s voices. He didn’t reply as he took the presents farther into the house. You followed him through the door and toed off your shoes. Your eyes caught all the lights and decorations in the house. Growing up, you didn’t have such things. Your family always said that being in karting was always going to be your present. Nothing more, nothing less. There were no cookies for Santa and no tree to decorate. 

As you walked more into the warm house, the decorations just kept getting better. Where Max’s house was decorated by Kelly who like a clean Christmas aesthetic, the Leclerc household leaned towards the warmer decorations. The lights didn’t necessarily match and flickered colorful light. The stockings weren’t the same color: they showed personality that matched their owner. Even the ornaments weren’t all from the same container. You found Charles staring down at the presents that he had taken from you. 

“Who are these for?” he turned his head to look at you. 

You snorted, “They’re for your family.” His eyes widened as he rubbed his chin. 

“You didn’t have to.” 

You only shrugged as you began to take off your coat, “I felt like I did. You all have been so kind to invite me here on a holiday that I couldn’t come empty handed.” Charles gestured for your jacket and you gave it to him. 

“You can look around some more if you’d like to. Arthur and maman will be back from the store soon.”  Your cheeks heated at the thought of him catching you ogling at his home. You shook the thought away and looked at everything a little bit closer. 

Like all homes seemed to have, there was a wall filled with picture frames. Some were of each child; some had the full family. It was nice to see all 5 of them together in the center one. You cocked you head at one of them though. You all but tiptoed to get a closer look. It was one of Charles and Arthur, and then an unfamiliar but familiar man stood between them. 

“That’s Jules. If you were wondering.” 

You jumped in place, not noticed that he had snuck up behind you. You looked over and saw that a sad smile had graced his face. Arthur had told you little about him. Charles and Lorenzo would always have been much closer to him. 

“I met him once. During karting,” you trailed off. Charles raised his eyebrows. 

“Really?” It seemed as though the breath had been knocked out of him. 

You gave him a comforting smile, “Yeah. My race was right after yours. I think it was back in 2010,” you looked back at the picture, “and you won that day. I watched him cheer for you like he was the proudest person there that day. He was in a racing suit and had a helmet. I thought that he had come straight from a race or something. But, I only remember wishing that I had someone there for me like you had.” 

Charles now had a guess as to what day that was. He vaguely remembered finally beating Max and feeling so happy. But, he didn’t remember Jules having a helmet. He took the picture down so that the two of you could look closer. It was definitely not taken the day that you were talking about, but the way you talked about him intrigued Charles. He gave you a head nod, silently saying to continue. 

“That day, I also won my race. It hadn’t been the easiest, but the boys were too busy pushing each other off that they didn’t even notice me. I was able to overtake and win. The boys though, weren’t the only ones who didn’t notice. My parents weren’t around when I looked for them. I must have turned around so many times, just trying to find them, but I never did. I had taken my kart back to my station when someone tapped me on the shoulder. He scared the ever-loving crap out of me, but he held my shoulder and told me that I did a great job.” 

Your eyes were slightly watering at the confession. Charles just continued to look at you. 

“I knew who he was. He was the man who always cheered for the Justin Bieber look-a-like who liked to push a certain Dutchman off the track, into a puddle, and claim it was just an inchident.” Charles snorted. 

“I did not look like Justin Bieber.” 

“Whatever floats your boat.” He gave you a look. “American expression. Anyway, after he said that he gave me a hug before my dad came stomping over, complaining about something, I don’t even remember. But all I know is that he made my entire day. My godfather wasn’t able to visit that much or come see me race. So, it was nice to have someone in my corner, even if they weren’t truly there for me.” 

Charles hung the picture back on the wall. The two of you stood there for a quiet moment before Charles spoke up. “How’s your godfather?” 

You inhaled sharply. “He died in 2020. Caught some illness in 2018 and wasn’t able to recover.” 

It broke Charles’s heart to hear you talk about it so nonchalantly. 

“Does Arthur know?” 

You nodded your head. “He caught me crying the first year of his anniversary. Made me spill the beans about what happened. He thought he needed to go beat someone up.” You let out a wet chuckle. When did you even start crying? Looking at Charles, you saw that he was crying too. You continued, “Lorenzo, he, uh, died the day before I debuted in F2.” 

Memories hit Charles like an 18-wheeler. That was you? He remembered that most of the F1 drivers had been invited since the F1 and F2 races were so close together. Hell, even Max was given the opportunity to give the winner the trophy. He remembers watching you dominate that race. He watched you offer that trophy to the sky. He saw a hunger that he hadn’t seen in a long time. 

He finally spoke up, “You were incredible.” 

“Thank you,” you paused before adding, “he’d be proud of you. Jules, I mean.” You looked back at the picture and how it seemed right at home amongst the others. 

“Lorenzo would be proud of you as well.” You flashed him a grateful smile, full of teeth. He mirrored, dimples prominent. 

You threw your head back and laughed. Charles cocked his head. 

“What’s the matter?” he barely got out as he began to laugh as well. 

You poked his cheeks, “You and Thur have the same dimples.” Charles rolled his eyes and ruffled your hair. You pouted. “Rude.” 

He was about to reciprocate but the sound of the door opening caught the two of yours attention. Charles quickly pushed you into a dark room. You gave him a confused look before he put a finger to his lips. You smirked back and stayed silent. 

Pascale walked in first followed by Arthur. Charles greeted his mother and then brother. 

“I saw Y/n’s car in the driveway. Where is she?” Arthur looked around the house. 

“She went to the bathroom, but hasn’t come back. I think I scared her off,” Charles faked a sad look.  

Arthur flashed a comforting smile to his brother. “I’ll go find her. Hopefully she didn’t fall in or something.” That almost made you laugh. 

Arthur flipped on the lights to the hallway. This was your chance. He barely got past the doorframe before you jumped out onto him. 

His squeal echoed through the room, laughter following it. In your grand scheme, you had accidentally fallen on top of him. Your giggles continued as Arthur tried to push you off. He finally gave up after a few moments. You knew you probably looked ridiculous, but honestly you didn’t care. You swear you heard a click of a camera, but you disregarded it. 

“Are you done?” Arthur sarcastically asked. 

“No, I’m actually quite comfortable. Thank you for asking though,” you smirked. After a few more moments later, Arthur quickly rolled you off and got up. You let out a huff before making grabby hands at him. He rolled his eyes and pulled you up. 

You were finally able to greet Pascale. She brought you into a hug and did the two kisses. You reciprocated. It came naturally after being teammates with Arthur for so long. You smiled at the memory of him doing it to you for the first time. He was so embarrassed after until you calmed him down enough to say that you didn’t mind. You knew it was a part of his culture and that he shouldn’t feel embarrassed to do so. 

“Thank you for inviting me.” You shot her a shy smile. She rubbed your back before exiting the hug. 

“There is no need for thanks. Arthur has been begging for years.” A noise of protest rang through the air. 

“I have not.” 

“Non, it’s true. He has.” Charles looked at his brother. Arthur had a look of betrayal that sent you spiraling into another laughing fit. 

By the time you were finished, Arthur gave you a look. 

“Where’s you Christmas sweater?” You looked down at the one you were wearing. You thought it looked just fine. It was a nice dark green and Kelly had complimented you many times. 

“I thought this looked nice?” You were beginning to doubt. Maybe you couldn’t do this Christmas thing. 

Arthur shook his head before disappearing down a hallway. 

You glanced at Charles and whispered, “I ruined it didn’t I?” You looked down at your feet. 

“Non gosse, you didn’t ruin anything. Just look.” You looked back up and saw that Arthur now had another sweater in his hands. (translation : no kid)  

“I can’t believe I forgot to give you this. Sorry Y/n, we normally wear ‘ugly’ Christmas sweaters to celebrate. The one you have on is fine, but this is the Leclerc celebration now.” He all but shoved you towards a bathroom so that you could change. You slipped the other dark green sweater on after you took off your first one. 

The front made you laugh. It wasn’t ugly per say, Arthur must have toned it down for you. On the front was the Grinch. It was actually kind of cute if you thought about it. You folded your first sweater and walked out. Now you noticed that Charles’s had a bright orange sweater with a gamer Santa on it; Arthur’s actually lit up; and Pascale had a cute one with a reindeer on it. 

When he noticed your return, Arthur’s arms shot up. “Now you look festive!” 

“How long did it take you to find that one TurTur?” You motioned your finger up and down, pointed at his sweater. 

His arms crossed protectively around it as he let his jaw hang. “I’ll have you know that this is imported.” 

You gave him a bombastic side eye. “Sure.” 

Pascale clapped her hands, “Picture time by the tree!” 

You kind of awkwardly stood there as she took pictures of the two boys. You warmly smiled as she gushed over the two of them. You made your way to the kitchen and picked up two bottles. Were these alcoholic? You squinted at the label. 

“Y/n!” You froze and looked at the family of three. Arthur was snickering. 

“You know you’re not allowed to drink yet.” You rolled your eyes. 

Charles shot you a mischievous smile. “Gosse, come, we’ll send a picture to old Maxy. Maybe give him a heart attack.” 

You smirked back as you walked with the two bottles. You posed in front of the tree with the glasses on either side of you. The four of you laughed as you set them down. You wanted to make a run for it, as to not ruin the pictures, but Pascale insisted that she wanted one of the three of you. 

Your heart swelled as she took a picture of you in the middle of Arthur and Charles. She also insisted to get one of just you and Arthur. Your cheeks heated as you caught her muttering about a picture to show your kids one day. You only hoped that Arthur hadn’t heard. 

He did and his heart soared at the thought. 

Once the pictures were done, everyone was able to have a few snacks and drinks, yours of course being non-alcoholic. 

Then it was time for the presents. The thing you were worried about the most. You soon found yourself seated on the floor in a half circle. Pascale was the only one in a chair, but you didn’t blame her. The boys were the ones to pass out the presents. To your surprise, you had received three presents. Your eyes wanted to water, but you blinked the tears away. 

They all opened the ones from you first. 

Arthur lit up like a Christmas tree (pun intended) when he saw what you had gotten him. The two of you had been shopping earlier in the year, when you had come across a watch shop. Arthur had wanted to buy a specific one, but was heartbroken when they said that they were sold out. But, while Arthur was having a crisis about it, you secretly asked to be put on the waitlist. They had said that they couldn’t be 100 percent that you’d get one, but there was no harm in asking. 

Surprisingly, when you got back for a small break, there was a package from the store waiting for you. You had also taken it to another watch store to have something added. 

“Turn it over,” you whispered, scared of his next reaction. He inhaled sharply at what the engraving read. 

January 25, 2020 – Best Friends for the Rest of Our Live, Keep at it TurTur! 

Arthur quickly clamored over to you and wrapped you in a deep hug. Again, you heard the sound of a camera, but dismissed it. 

Next Charles opened his. It wasn’t as sentimental as Arthur’s but you tried your best. Before hand, you had asked what type of jewelry Charles likes. You knew he was a ring and bracelet guy, but had rarely seen him with a necklace. So, you got him a simple one that he could wear with any outfit. 

He thanked you with a warm smile. 

Pascale was very happy with hers. Knowing that she had a hair salon, you googled many gift ideas for her. But every sing one of them to come up was always a pair of scissors. Wanting to do better, you did some more digging. Finally, you decided on one of those fancy circle vacuums that moves by itself. You knew how your back hurt after sweeping up a floor. You couldn’t imagine how her’s might feel. She also gave you a hug. 

Now it was your turn. 

The first present was from Arthur and it had you in tears. There in a rectangular box was a new pair of Lightning McQueen crocs. 

“You know this is like my third pair right?” 

He only nodded, “Yes, but are those pairs signed by Lightning McQueen himself?” Your eyes bulged as you turned them over. 

You were expecting Owen Wilson’s signature, but when you read it, you laughed even harder. There on the bottom, in fancy script, was Charles’s signature. You looked over at Charles as you wiped your eyes. 

“I’m honored sir.” 

Charles rolled his eyes, and touched his heart, as to accept the thanks. His present wasn’t as funny, but it was appreciated. You guessed that Arthur had told him what your favorite restaurant was because his gift was a hefty gift card. Your eyes widened when you saw the total. 

Pascale’s was very sentimental though. In her present were multiple pictures in frames. Some you noticed that she must have gotten from the internet or had Arthur reach out to Vito. The one that made you tear up was one of the last pictures taken of you and Lorenzo. Your smile was so bright as you held you trophy. You were looking into the camera, but Lorenzo was looking and smiling down at you. Your fingers traced his face. 

You placed the pictures down and brought her into a giant hug. After you were done, you wiped your eyes, overcome with emotion. Arthur clapped his hands to bring everyone’s attention to him. You almost jumped out of your skin. 

“All right, party time!” He raised his arms and started to walk toward the kitchen. 

Your eyes widened as you remembered something. “Wait!” 

The three of them stared at you. You inhaled. 

“I have one more thing. For all three of you.” They looked at you with a puzzled look. You walked over to the counter where you had placed the black bag that you came with. You gestured for them to come over. 

Arthur cocked his head, “Y/n, why’d you bring a helmet bag? We swapped helmets already.” His accent got thicker as he got more confused. 

You shook your head slightly as you let out a shaky exhale. You carefully started to unzip the bag. It was true, what Arthur said. The contents were a helmet. 

“Gosse, is this your new helmet for next year? It’s very outdated and I don’t think this is safe, ” Charles questioned, confused as to why you’d bring a helmet to Christmas. 

However, Pascale let out a gasp as her eyes danced over the helmet, now in your hands. She put her hands to her mouth. She had recognized it immediately. 

“Is this?” The rest of the question went unsaid, but you knew what she was going to say. You nodded you head and handed it to her. She turned it around, expecting all the angles. She let out a wet laugh as she carefully and slowly handed it over to Charles. Arthur stood close, looking at it as well.

“Arthur, before you got here, I was telling Charles of how I was able to meet your godfather,” you started. “And I wanted to tell you how thankful I was for his encouragement. I knew that he had come straight from a race, because he was still wearing his suit and he carried a helmet.” 

Charles made a confused face, “But he didn’t have a helmet. His hands were both empty, because he caught Arthur when he ran over to him after he showed up.” You could tell that his mind was trying to connect the dots.

“Well. He wouldn’t have had the helmet,” you trailed off. Arthur’s head shot up. 

“Because he gave it to you,” Arthur finished. Charles inhaled sharply as he looked over the protective gear in his hands. 

Pascale had come close to you, a hand around your shoulder that rubbed up and down, trying to give some comfort. 

The two boys looked as if they were going to cry. Charles let Arthur hold it. 

“How? Why?” Charles questioned, tears threatening to fall. 

“Well, I thought it had gotten destroyed or thrown away. I left it at my parent’s house, and when I told them I was moving out for reasons, they didn’t react well.” You didn’t want to give too much away. “I was sure that they were going to burn all of my things. But, I went back to see just in case. I was mostly correct; except they didn’t touch my closet. It was hiding in the back behind some clothes.” You remembered crying when you found it, holding it close for comfort. It had been one of the few things that you took from the house back to your apartment in Nice. 

“I also wanted to bring it back, where it belongs.” 

Charles glanced at you and then the helmet between Arthur’s fingers. “But, he gave it to you. You need to keep it.” 

You shook your head. “Jules told me to keep it safe and to hold onto it for safe keeping. I always thought that I’d be able to give it back to him one day. I guess this is the closest thing I can do.” 

Arthur gave the helmet back to his brother and walked over to you. You looked into his big blue eyes, filled with tears. Unable to hold back, he tucked his face into your neck, holding you tight. You squeezed your eyes closed, tears falling down your cheeks. 

You knew that Arthur always felt bad about not being as close to his godfather, like Charles and Lorenzo had been. He had been 15 when Jules died, and you always wished that the family had had more time with him. Pressure was added on your other side. Looking over slightly, your eyes caught sight of Charles’s brown hair. You managed to put your other arm around him. You held the two brothers close, your heart melting. 

Is this what a family is supposed to feel like? 

Max’s family was a different dynamic. Yes, they enjoyed hugs and being close, but it wasn’t like this where you could hold each other for hours. Well, maybe Max would let you, he was so overdue for a giant group hug.

Arthur couldn’t get over the fact that you were so close. He hoped that you didn’t hear his heart racing. He’s waited this long; he can wait a little longer. His tears had dried up, but he never wanted to let you go. Your heart was too big and too fragile for anyone else to have it. But here you were, opening it up to his family. He couldn’t have asked for someone better to hold your place in his heart. He could only dream that you held him close to your heart, as he did with you to his. 

You would never tell him, but you did. 

Charles on the other hand could not stop the tears. He wondered how long you had waited. Shy, quiet you. Before this, he had seen you a couple of times before with Max at the beginning of the break. He’d often run into the two of you shopping or getting groceries. You’d always find a way to give a small wave, before turning to do something else while Max talked to him. He wondered what was so special about you. Max, in all his life, had never looked at something as he looked at you. It was different than the way he looked at Kelly. Heck, he even looked a Penelope differently. Charles had rolled his eyes a few more times than he’d like to admit whenever Arthur would bring you up in conversation. But now, as you tried to comfort him and his brother, he finally understood. You were the family that they were missing. 

Pascale watched as the three of you broke your little hug. Smiles adorned your faces as you held the other close. She wished Lorenzo would have been here to meet you. She had a feeling that he and Charlotte would like you, as her other two sons did. 

Their little celebration started moments after, the helmet at the center. Your smile never left your face for the rest of the night. You were sad that they didn’t let you sneak in one sip of the bottled drink. 

“It’s probably not even good,” you told them as you took a sip of your drink. 

“Y/n it is good. We French know what good alcohol is,” he took a sip. You raised an eyebrow and smirked as you saw Charles gawk at him. 

“Arthur, you are not French,” you watched as Charles put an arm around Arthur’s neck. You were quick to grab his drink so it wouldn’t stain the carpet. “Yeah Charles, drag his ass!” 

Arthur held out a hand, dramatically going down. “My best friend betraying me for my brother. Could this day get any worse?” 

“Charles, you should have heard all the times he said that he was French when we would do videos.” You smirked evilly at the two. 

“Y/n! You weren’t supposed to tell him!” 

“Arthur, how many times to I have to tell you? WE ARE NOT FRENCH, WE ARE MONAGUESQE!! 

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ATTENTION: TAG LIST IS CLOSED

[valyrfia]

I am VERY skeptical about the RBR Charles thing but they (see: Charles, RBR personell of all kinds) keep being SO WEIRD AND SUSPICIOUS about it

Yep yep yep. I go through cycles of being completely convinced and then calling myself delusional, but the fact remains that Max changed his tune on being teammates with Charles recently, Charles keeps talking about Max in interviews praising BOTH his performance and the car, Christian Horner is posting Max and Charles on Instagram as is the RBR account. I genuinely believe Red Bull are at LEAST trying to seriously poach him.

I'm still unsure as to whether they're working towards 2024 or 2025 (as Red Bull have proven with the recent talks with Lando, they're more than happy to buy out someone's contract), but I am leaning more towards 2025, and I believe that Charles at RBR is a real, serious possibility in 2025. Let me explain why.

First, Checo still has a contract through 2024 and while Red Bull aren't always great with honouring contracts, I think the recent popularity and love they've witnessed first-hand for Checo in Texas and Mexico might change their mind on letting him go early. Ultimately, Red Bull Racing is marketing for Red Bull, and Checo obviously brings in sales in North America, and them mistreating Checo might lead to a sales dip in that region. This is why I think, despite the media frenzy, RBR are highly unlikely to drop Checo for 2024. There is no way that RBR is renewing Checo's contract, but at least he can see it out and they can part ways without much damage to either of them at the end of the F1 2024 Season.

Charles's current contract with Ferrari is also up at the end of the 2024 season. Again, even though 2023 has been absolute dogshit for Charles and Ferrari, I don't see that contract ending early. For one, Charles has apparently been promised that the 2024 car will be developed according to his needs and preferences, and it is ridiculous to leave a team who has made you that promise, even if that team is as flakey as Ferrari. I think Charles is waiting to see if the team does change in 2024 before he pushes for contract renewal. It's important to note here that contrary to popular opinion, I believe the ball is completely in Charles's court here when it comes to renewal. He is the Ferrari golden prince, he is Ferrari in a way that no driver really ever has been before, I think it was evident in Monza this year most of all. Carlos drives for Ferrari, and Charles is Ferrari and you could see it in the way that the tifosi treated them. They love Carlos, they adore and worship Charles. This is how Charles managed to convince them to build a car for him in 2024, and it's how I believe Charles is putting off the contract negotiations. This is a key point. Carlos's extended media team and family have complained several times about Carlos not being able to begin contract negotiations because of Charles in some way and Ferrari unwilling to negotiate with Carlos until they've settled Charles (I think this is due to the fact that they only intend to keep one of them and they'd like it to be Charles, but that's an essay for another day). So Charles has himself in a position where he doesn't have to commit to the team unless he sees that it is going to grow in the way he wants it to.

To quote Charles, "I view it in a way that whenever I won’t believe in the project anymore, that probably will be the time when I’ll have to go away. Because it’s in these kinds of situations that you don’t get the best out of yourself, that you don’t help the team as much as it needs to be helped. But this is definitely not the case at the moment. I believe in the project as much as I’ve ever believed in the project before. Especially since Fred arrived. So for now it’s clear. Then it’s also clear that I want to win. But I believe in this project and I’m sure we are working in the right direction.”

So maybe 2024 happens and Ferrari brings a championship-contender car, in which case Charles signs with Ferrari, they get rid of Carlos and probably bring in Alex Albon as a n2.

But I'm not interested in that outcome, I'm interested in what is (in my mind anyway) the far more likely outcome, sheerly due to money and Ferrari internal politics (which again, whole other essay!) which is that nothing really changes for the better at Ferrari. Maybe Charles gets a win by sheer luck and a slightly better car, but overall the strategy continues to not favour him, and Charles in general loses faith in what he refers to as the project. And we know from Charles himself that when this happens, this is when he goes away.

So I've presented an argument for why Red Bull are going to let Checo see out his contract, I've presented a strong possibility for why Charles might be looking to leave Ferrari at the end of 2024. Now I'm going to try and convince you of why out of all the options it'll be Charles joining Red Bull.

First of all, from Charles's point of view regarding teams. I'm going to rule out Alpha Tauri, Haas, Williams, Alfa Romeo, and Alpine, either because they're junior teams or I don't see them willing to fork over huge amounts of money to get Charles onboard. This leaves Mercedes, McLaren, Aston Martin, and Red Bull.

Out of all the non RBR options, I'd say that Mercedes is the most likely, but both their drivers are signed until 2025. There is always a possibility that Lewis Hamilton decides its time to leave the sport and buys himself out of his own contract, but I think that's not likely to happen next year.

Similar to Mercedes, both McLaren drivers are signed until at least 2025 and both look likely to honour that contract. Red Bull have tried to poach Lando multiple times, and Lando doesn't seem too keen on it yet, so we can assume that he intends to at least see his current contract out. Aston Martin is slightly trickier because I see them as being willing to fork over the millions needed to get Charles Leclerc to drive for them, but on the other hand they don't look close to producing a championship car, and Charles Leclerc is not switching away from Ferrari to not win a championship.

So, this leaves RBR as Charles's best destination for 2025 were he to leave Ferrari. Not only do they have a seat opening up, but they also have shown themselves capable of constructing recent championship-winning cars, and outclass every other team almost every weekend on strategy at the moment. Now that we've established that Charles's team of choice would be RBR, the final point of the argument has to be establishing why Charles would be RBR's driver of choice over let's say, Lando or Daniel.

To me the answer is simple, as so eloquently illustrated by my great friend and scholar Nat (@tsarinablogs) in her The PR of Lestappen in 2023 Essay (also known as Lestappen Gate 2023), Charles is not just good at PR, he's brilliant, and Red Bull isn't a racing company, it's a marketing venture. Having Charles on board would be their greatest asset and Charles has done much to make himself desirable, from being personable in almost all fan interactions to building a solid digital following, to being sometimes sneaky and subliminal with his sponsorship messaging (him always putting on APM Monaco immediately after a race, even before the podium and interviews, hell even Charles and Privateplanegate yesterday), to signing with a literal US entertainment agency. I cannot stress enough how the timing of the WME signing is not accidental, this is Charles making himself be seen as a highly desirable PR asset. Charles has the second highest following on social media out of any current driver, second to only 7 TIME WDC WINNER LEWIS HAMILTON. That sort of audience, and the kind of exposure it can bring to your team and your brand is insane.

Also, as an addendum to Nat's essay using something she herself brought up to me yesterday: any PR for RBR is good PR because it means that Red Bull as a concept is sticking around in people's heads, which means they're more likely to notice and buy the drinks off the shelves. Extrapolating from this we can see that Red Bull signing Charles would ultimately be better marketing than Red Bull signing Lando just because of the absolute uproar it would cause. Whether you think that Red Bull saved Charles from Ferrari, or Charles betrayed Ferrari for Red Bull, or Charles saved himself from Ferrari, or Red Bull as the Big Evil Team poached the Prince of Ferrari, there's a compelling narrative in there and people will talk about it for years to come.

Finally, not to talk about the driving aspect of motorsports, but Charles is the best fit for Red Bull driving-wise as well. Him and Max have spoken in the past about how they both prefer very similar types of car (ie. strong oversteer, borderline undriveable to anyone else) which would make car development much easier for the team. Christian Horner has also been pretty candid about wanting two n1 drivers à la Lewis and Nico (although without the toxicity), and whether you believe that Charles matches Max in equal machinery or not, Charles's racing record is a lot stronger than Lando's or Dan's (the two other possible competitors for the RBR seat). Charles fits the bill, driver-profile-wise, of the complement to Max that Christian Horner is looking for.

So, long story short, I am watching Ferrari VERY closely these next few months. If the SF-24 doesn't make Charles happy, I am going to make a bold claim that we will see Charles Leclerc driving for Red Bull in 2025.

[charles-leclerc-official]

!! here (if it fits):

first of all, he’s the living proof of that dream all little kids who are obsessed with formula 1 and ferrari have: that one day, if they work hard enough and have enough luck, they too can become a ferrari driver. he’s never been shy about how much he’s always loved ferrari, how much it means to him and more especially to his family that he is driving for the team. he made his way up through the ranks, through ferrari’s driver academy - the first fda driver that has signed with the team, he is the literal manifestation of that dream.

he’s also insane about racing, kimi raikkonen style. i’ve heard it said that kimi was the best driver behind a wheel that many had seen, and the only reason he kind of dropped off going into later seasons as set up and sims and driving configurations became more and more complex and important is because he would get 100%, 110% out of whatever car the mechanics put in front of him, but he was not so good at predicting how best the car needed to be set up for the race - he’d outperform the car every time, but as the sport moved away from purely turning the wheel, braking, accelerating and choosing the best line, the switches suited his driving style less and less.

charles, to me, has the exact same attitude towards racing that kimi did, in that he’s insane enough about the racing itself that he’ll go on and on for as long as the sport will have him. whereas lewis and fernando can be reasonably expected to retire once they get another wdc, whereas max seems deadly serious about only racing for another four-ish years, charles seems to me like he’ll go down kimi’s route - he’ll keep racing until the teams drop him, or until he physically can’t keep up anymore.

i think perhaps that’s why ferrari and the tifosi are so incredibly insane about him? because on a purely spiritual level he bleeds motor oil in racing red, he lives and breathes rosso corsa because ferrari is, more than any other team, the heart and soul of formula one.

he also embodies the spirit of of ferrari more than any other driver on the grid right now - he’s sacrificed, lost so much for this sport and because of this sport, and how does that quote about enzo ferrari go? that he loved his drivers as his sons, yet sent them out to face death in a metal shell. ferrari is this feral beast of desperate love, desperate hope and animal self preservation - it loves it’s drivers so much, it does anything for them to win, and yet will rip them apart and cast them aside for another who it believes can bring them victory. it puts the hopes and dreams of a nation, the decades of prestigious history and endless past victory on the shoulders of it’s drivers, and waits to see if they’ll sink or swim. in that regard, charles was ferrari from the minute he arrived in formula one, fresh from past victories and past loss during formula two - it seems a sick confirmation of that that he won his first race in the shadow of his friends death, and won again in the home of his beloved team. loss and victory, in equal measure.

Forza Ferrari, Forza Charles, Forza Ferrari Sempre!

[theferrarieffect]

soy lago

masterlist

lando x carlos (carlando)

summary: since carlos left for ferrari, lando has spent the last four seasons trying to move on. but then the world learns that carlos might end up anywhere next year, and lando dares to let himself hope...and puts some of those hopes down on paper.

warnings: plenty of ✨angst✨

soy lago

Sweaty, exhausted, and covered in stubborn pieces of green and yellow crepe clinging to the sticky champagne on his race suit, Lando does his very best to stand up straight, holding his P3 trophy with stiff arms. He doesn’t smile; it’s hard enough as it is remaining upright. Then he feels an arm around him. He knows its owner is clad in red—although once upon a time, he wore papaya orange. And the feeling of that arm is what lets him scrape together the will to put on some semblance of a smile as the cameras flash, capturing Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, and Lando Norris in their podium photograph of the 2024 Australian Grand Prix.

Dear Carlos,

I���ve always been rubbish with words—hell, I showed a million people on Youtube that it took me three tries to spell “heights”, in English, no less. So it shouldn’t surprise you that, when they told me I needed to go on camera and speak Italian, I downloaded Duolingo and didn’t open another app for a week straight. Never mind that it was one single sentence. I could not mess this up.

Ai nostri amici della Scuderia Ferrari ed ai loro tifosi.

I could say it in my sleep.

And yet, when the camera started staring into my soul, I still managed to fuck it up. On the very first word. They asked me later, you know, if I wanted them to edit it out…but when I watched it again it seemed right somehow. Because the truth is, they could’ve asked me to say “to our friends at Scuderia Ferrari and the famous tifosi” in plain English, and it still would have been the hardest thing I’ve ever had to say. So I figured it’d at least be honest.

When I joined F1 my rookie season, you had already raced for four. Two other teams. McLaren was not your whole past. At Melbourne, the season opener, I already knew by the way your eyes sparkled so hungrily talking to the press, that it would not be your future either. But for me, it was all I had, my precarious shot at making it in F1. I had something to prove.

So why was I so nervous when they stuck a camera in front of us to play that stupid game of ‘Would You Rather’? I can’t even rewatch that video now, because I already know I’ll cringe seeing myself slowly dismantling the sole of my shoe with my fingernails, hardly even able to make eye contact with you. You had a reputation of charming every teammate you got with—I won’t pretend like I didn’t scour the internet for every video you filmed with Max with Toro Rosso. You made Max Verstappen giggle like a little girl on video. I couldn’t—wouldn’t—let that happen to me.

But at the Chinese GP, after Kvyat crashed me out, you came up to me in the paddock. “Wanna go on a walk?” you asked. As if you’d seen me crying in the garage. There was a little lake, a pond really, near the track, and I don’t know how many laps we must have taken around it. What I do know is that you pointed to the water, told me that in Spanish, it’s called “el lago”. And that you stopped me from feeling like I didn’t belong, didn’t deserve to be in F1.

I had a lot of retirements that first season. And after each one, I knew I’d hear your voice, or see a text on my phone, or once, a little paper airplane in my driver’s room. Every time, the words were the same. And every time, I wanted it more. I just didn’t want to admit to myself that at some point, it became less about debriefing the race failures and more about the person I had an excuse to see off the track. Away from the cameras. Away from everybody else.

On the flight back to London, Lando scrolls through headline after headline, all pondering the next move for the triumphant Spaniard. Red Bull, Red Bull, Mercedes, Red Bull, Kick Sauber—Lando chuckles at that one—Red Bull, McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull…

The speculation about McLaren is clearly a joke. And yet, it makes Lando’s breath catch in his throat…fuck, if Max Verstappen can DNF on Lap 2, give Ferrari a 1-2 podium with Lando in 3rd after the team told Oscar to give it up for him…clearly, crazier things have happened in F1.

The pandemic hurt, a lot. It’s all a blur now, logging onto my computer day after day, gaming with George and Alex and Charles to pass the time, refreshing Instagram in case you posted a story from Madrid. Until one day, the first day of May, the phone rang. You told me you were in Woking, that you were going to be at the MTC but you’d explain later. And then, those five magical words.

“Wanna go on a walk?”

Maybe we were all a little crazy during lockdown. Let’s just call it that. How else do you explain the fact that I spent twenty minutes picking a pair of jeans after spending four months in sweatpants, another twenty picking a shirt that wasn’t bright orange? What excuse do I have for dumping every beanie I owned onto my bed, cursing myself for shaving my hair off, even if it was to raise money for COVID? It was a miracle I made it to the MTC at all.

You were already outside by the time I skidded into the parking lot. The sun was low in the sky, not quite setting, turning the lake lavender, cotton candy, papaya. You faced the lake, just a dark silhouette against the colors. Suddenly, it felt hard to breathe. I just knew you were going to say something…big. I wanted to tell you so many things, how I’d been counting down the days until lockdown would be over, how not a day went by that I didn’t wonder what you were doing, how you had become someone that I could never be close enough to. You made me greedy.

I knew something was wrong when you saw me and smiled. It was happy…but not the smile I knew. This smile was tainted, as if someone had poured a single drop of vinegar into a glass of milk, and you could taste it starting to curdle just a bit.

“Lando,” you said. Another red flag. Normally, you drew out the “o” in my name in a tantalizing singsong. “My muppet friend, I have something to tell you. Something exciting.”

I wished time would stop right then. I didn’t want to hear what exciting thing you had to tell me. But no amount of wishing could stop what came next.

“Ferrari. They offered me a contract. Two years in their fastest car…I cannot believe it, my muppet friend. I will race for them in 2021.”

The sun hadn’t set yet, but there were stars in your eyes. Stars that I had seen since your—our—very first race with McLaren. Carlos Sainz, destined for champions, for greatness. There would not be room for slow cars, midfield teams; there would not be room for Lando Norris. And I knew this from day one. So why, looking at the stars that filled your eyes, did mine start to fill with tears?

I smiled in the hopes you’d think I was simply overcome with happiness on your behalf. “Aren’t you going to say anything?” you asked.

I had wanted so badly to find the words that would’ve made your journey all the way from Spain to see me worth it. But even if I had them, all of those words were useless now. And in the moment, I could only think of one thing.

“Soy lago,” I said. You furrowed your brows in confusion. “I am lake?” you laughed. “Your Spanish has always been terrible.”

Then I told you that my tears could fill the very lake we were looking at. Watched the realization dawn on your face. Heard you call after me as I ran back to my car, so you wouldn’t have to see any more of those tears.

In his room in the MTC, Lando sits, clicking his pen compulsively. Balls of crumpled-up paper surround him, ghosts of past attempts at penning a letter worthy of its reader. He curses his messy penmanship, curses his inability to spell anything remotely non-phonetic correctly. He resorts to writing in pencil, then painstakingly tracing each letter over with ink. By the time he’s finished, the sun has begun its descent towards the horizon. Just in time, he thinks.

Later, I texted you my congratulations, assured you how happy I was for you, how much you deserved it. I meant it. But maybe you sensed that something was up, because even when the new season started and we no longer shared a garage, you kept sending me texts after every race. Each one was the same: “Wanna go on a walk?”

I couldn’t tell you if it was an act of self-preservation, because of how badly it hurt to see you with Charles at Ferrari, or if I wanted to feel the twisted, bitter satisfaction from knowing that I got to reject you after you left me. Either way, the excuses were simple enough. Meetings with Mark. Last-minute training sessions at the gym. And my favorite—dinner with Danny Ric, my new Carlos Sainz.

Come to think of it, I never did end up getting dinner with Danny while we were teammates.

When I did show up, I’d make sure to tell you about how charismatic Danny was, how good the banter was, how hard we made each other laugh off-track. Only later did I realize that everything I was saying was what I would see in your C2 videos with Charles, which I followed with a level of manic compulsion that scared even me.

Eventually, the texts stopped coming. I thought I’d feel…relieved, or at least like I was moving on. And maybe I tried to tell myself I felt that way, but in reality, everything was just empty. I couldn’t have all of you, and I was so greedy that I chose rather to have none of you at all.

Lando searches his contacts for a name that doesn’t exist. Carlos Sainz: Not found, his phone tells him infuriatingly. With an exasperated sigh, he starts to swipe. And stops short, realizing that he had saved Carlos under Chili.

His thumb hovers uncertainly over the keyboard. He presses send.

Me Wanna go on a walk?

Time, teammates, and races passed, and as you got used to seeing yourself in red, I got used to being a Formula 1 driver, then a team leader as Oscar came in. I buried us deeper and deeper with each passing season and perfected the art of a casual hug on the podium, a cheerful clap on the back if we happened to pass each other on the paddock. I had only just come to terms with the realization that we would likely never be the same again when I woke up on the first day of February, 2024, to the news that Lewis would be taking your seat at Ferrari next year. Leaving the question of what color you would wear, if not red, open to every shade of the rainbow.

Then the dreams started.

When you came off a surgery hardly two weeks ago and snatched P1 at Melbourne, I dreamt that I walked into the motorhome, saw someone wearing a papaya cap with his back turned to me. And I knew it wasn’t Oscar, because those broad shoulders, the shock of hair that even a cap couldn’t contain, could only belong to a certain Spanish driver I knew so well, once upon a time.

You turned around, just like I knew you would. Smiled in a way I haven’t seen in four years. “Landooo…my muppet friend,” you crooned, drawing out the “o” the way you always used to do. You wrapped your arms around me…you always did have such strong arms.

“Chili. I should have done this long ago,” I told you, before the kiss…

A little gray bubble appears on the screen. Three dots, pulsing to the time of Lando’s pounding heart. Then:

Chili Can’t today 😞 dinner with Charles!! Celebrating that Ferrari podium 🥳🇮🇹

He stares at the messages. A minute passes, then two. He gently folds up the note, tucking it into his pocket as he stands and walks out of the MTC.

Lando looks out over the manmade lake in front of the building. The sunset reflected in it has uniformly turned it the exact shade of his hoodie. There will be no lavender, no cotton candy pink tonight.

He tugs the letter out of his pocket, unfolds it, and reads it one last time. A weary sigh. Carefully refolds it. A little airplane takes shape in Lando’s hands.

Four years of pushing you, thoughts of you, my feelings for you away, all gone with one headline. I hated myself for falling again so easily, but nobody can deny how addictive the feeling of hope is. Carlos, Chili, I had so many regrets, and maybe this is a sign that I should stop living with them from now on.

And if there’s one thing I regretted the most through all this, it’s not that I didn’t ask you to stay that evening at the MTC. It’s that I didn’t give you enough reason not to leave in the first place. Didn’t tell you what you meant to me when I could, didn’t try to make you see that there could be something here…something bigger maybe even than racing itself.

I don’t know if you’ll be wearing papaya, or navy, or (god forbid) highlighter green next year, but it doesn’t matter. I should have done this long ago, but that doesn’t matter either. All that matters is that you know how important you are, and have always been, to me. Know how the best podium celebrations and the fizziest champagne paled in comparison to the little blue bubbles of texts from you on my phone. Know that my trophies sit on a shelf collecting dust, but the paper airplane you made me never leaves my sight.

You are the stars in my eyes. In my wildest dreams, you’ll give me the chance to convince you that I can be that for you too. Teammates or not.

But until then…

In one fluid motion, he sends the plane sailing into the air, watches it catch the breeze until, robbed of its lift, it skims the surface of the lake, sending ripples emanating from where it first made contact with the water.

The plane bobs gently in the lake until it soaks up too much water to stay afloat. Lando watches it list gradually to the side, slowly disappearing from view as the paper disintegrates.

He turns and walks away from the lake.

Soy lago.

—Lando

part 2 here!

notes: saw carlos explain lando’s comment on carlos’ mclaren → ferrari announcement post back in 2020 and have been unwell since also, yes, the mclaren building (mtc) does have a lake and boy the sunset does do it a lot of favors… easter eggs: lando not being able to spell, the damned ferrari video (where lando actually did have to start over and it RUINED ME), Would You Rather

more fics here! thanks for reading as always :)

[maranello]

I’ve looked at at so many pictures of Michael Schumacher— my memories of him from childhood are fuzzy with television static and I always wondered what it must have been like to be there for his journey to five championships with Ferrari, every step of the way, alongside him.

That’s what Charles Leclerc is with Ferrari to me. What Michael was to the tifosi of the late 90s and 00s around the same age, what Charles is to me now. What Michael was to me as a child watching that red car on the screen, Charles is to some child today looking up at a screen with a red car and learning how to dream.

[a-la-rascasse]

Nigel approaches some Tifosi // German GP 🇩🇪, 1990.

“[The Tifosi] loved me. I stayed at Maranello only for two years, but they always made me feel like I’ve always been one of them. Even today it’s like I’ve spent 30 years at Maranello. This aspect is extraordinary. I was their fighter, their lion on track, the man that represented them and that always gave everything. Even when the car wasn’t at the top of its performance, I always gave everything, i’ve never spared myself. The fans, the ones on the trackside, don’t forget these things. Fans love you if they realise you’re not tricking them, that you do your best according to your possibilities.” 

[ilprinciperosso]

Let’s go on another rant. So here’s the thing: I’m a strongly believer in the fact that, as long as you’re respectful and don’t insult anyone, it’s completely ok to have a favourite driver inside the team you support.

I’ve recently seen on socials people debating wether it’s right or wrong that fans have a favourite, more specifically the dilemma it’s about tifosi preferring Charles over Carlos. So here’s why, in my opinion, tifosi, especially Italian ones (being Italian that’s where I feel like I can give a bit of insight), may like Charles better.

1. Charles is a home grown talent, he went through the minor categories being a FDA driver. He’s been part of the academy for years and he’s had a connection with Ferrari even prior to that. Obviously fans of the team would love for someone the scuderia has shown faith in, succeed.

2. He’s a Ferrari fan. As Seb said “everybody is a Ferrari fan” on a certain level. The thing is: with Charles you can truly see he’s a tifoso himself. I’m sure Carlos loves Ferrari, but do I see in him the same love Charles carries for the team… I’m sorry, but I really don’t. I believe one of the reasons why tifosi love Charles so much is because we can see ourselves in his love for Ferrari (I may argue he may love it even more than the majority of tifosi)

3. He’s loyal. It’s no secret that he received offers from other teams, but he never had a doubt and stayed with Ferrari. He did so ‘cause his dream is to win a WDC with Ferrari and I feel we’re lucky ‘cause other drivers may have changed team already. He stayed with scuderia trough the horrors of 2020, dragging that red tractor to remarkable positions. He worked trough 2021 when wasn’t lucky at all and new fans where praising Carlos for beating him (I don’t even wanna go there, ‘cause that's just another rant waiting to be written).

He never said anything bad about the team, even when everybody would have justified it. Like in Monaco, he just said “WE can’t be doing these mistakes”... I would have honestly been okay with him killing the strategists, but he didn’t. In Silverstone you could see he was down and he wasn’t probably agreeing with the strategy. Was he screaming bloody murder, as he should have? No, he said “He was no one to ask Ferrari for clarification” and that “he didn’t want his sadness to overshadow Carlos’ win”. I could never do that, and I feel a lot of current drivers couldn’t either.

4. He’s humble, to the point he’s almost self-deprecating sometimes. He will blame himself first, work on what he could have done better, and then check if it was also someone else’s fault. With Carlos, and in this case I feel like it could be a wrong perception I have of him in interviews, he’s kind of taking the blame, but then adding he was unlucky and that it was also not his fault. 

I’m not saying a driver should take the blame for something that’s out of their control, but Charles does it and to tifosi it feels as if he’s protecting the team doing so.

5. This may be something I perceive, but other people don’t. Charles feels more like an Italian than Carlos does. It may be due to the fact that there’s a lot of Italians in Monaco, or simply because he grew up in Ferrari, but I swear... Italians are this close to adopt him as one of our own.

6. He won in Monza. Do I need to add anything else?

7. His personality is very soft and endearing. Is he really like that? We’ll never know, but the perception you get of Charles is of someone kind, soft spoken and, at the same time, goofy, silly and funny. This in an environment were, up until a few years ago, you were supposed to be brash and arrogant, to assert superiority. I couldn't say if his PR team deserves more money, or if he’s really like that, but I’m prone to believe that’s the way he is. 

He’s always kind to fans, down to earth and polite... to the point where sometimes I’d like to see him get angry, but he doesn’t. He’s tifosi sweetheart and if he won’t be rude and defend himself, you can be sure we will.

8. Last, but not least, he’s insanely talented. We wouldn’t be here discussing why tifosi love him if he wasn’t a good driver.

He’s been incredibly fast from the beginning. And that’s the talent he was born with: you can see it in qualy when he manages to find those extra tenths where nobody else can. But the problem is that people will say he’s relying on his talent only, and that’s just not real. He had areas where he wasn’t just as gifted and he worked hard to get better (like tires management). He worked on his mental strength. He learnt from his teammates, focusing on areas where he was lacking something. And that’s why he’s become the driver he’s now.

Also, and this is where my analysis will become 100% subjective and kinda philosophical, Charles in Ferrari feels like fate. I don’t know weather it’s because of his personal history or not, but he’s destined to be in red.

This is where “il predestinato” or “il principe rosso” come from. He’s Ferrari, as much as tifosi are. He’s both the heartbreak of a loss and the indescribable joy of a win.

And if all of this reasons weren’t enough… he’s faster than his teammate. Since f1 is about winning that alone would justify why tifosi are picking him over Carlos.

[fcb-mv33]

Maybe that Anon needs to get their head checked because I do remember Team LH sending Death and racist threats to Latifi for crashing last year 🤷🏼‍♀️

I live in England and I’m honestly embarrassed at some of the fans here that support Lewis they seem to think he walks on water, I remember his early years my older brother used to say that he was dangerous driver with how he used to act there has been some interviews he’s admitted to crashing into other drivers because he had a shit car 🤷🏼‍♀️, and for the Lewis fans just to point out if Lewis never moved to Mercedes he would be a one time champion 🤷🏼‍♀️.

I never see Max flaring up his fans like how Lewis and Toto do theirs, yes max has bad fans in his base but oh my god the amount of good max fans I’ve seen they ALWAYS call out the wrong ones, it’s honestly stupid at how Max always get asked about his fans why the fuck can’t other drivers get the same, the orange army do something small the media makes it a big deal, team LH send death threats it’s quite nothing from the media, the Tifosi calls Max’s mum a bitch and whore and one chucked something on Max’s car everything is quite again and the F1 insta posts about how they are a great crowd.

I don’t like Lewis because of his fans and with some of the stuff he has come out with in the past he is a hypocrite.

Max legit has called out the shit some of his fans did, Austria especially but that is ignored…meanwhile you have Toto creating a conspiracy against Yuki, you also have nobody calling out the abuse against Hannah or Calum yet if it was a certain driver Max would be held responsible?

Max fans were harassed in Silverstone and Monza yet fuck all was said, you then had the misogynistic chats against Max’s mother which were never mentioned by media, someone actually tried to fuck his race by throwing an item at his car which is super dangerous yet nobody was held responsible?? Yet a certain team principal cried about the flares, claiming that was aimed at his driver….you then had the booing which was laughed at by English commentators even tho they called a whole fanbase racist for booing their English driver but when it’s Max it’s okay.

“We race as one” unless your Max Verstappen or a member of Red Bull Racing.

[nnato]

Aaaah you're doing prompts again, we're getting lucky again!!!

Charles Joris with 28, please? 🥺

Requests are always open!! It just takes me a little longer sometimes lol and ofc <3

28. "There is something between us."

Joris can’t deny it anymore. Truth is, he stopped pretending a long time ago, at least towards himself. It’s a different story admitting it to Charles, telling him how he feels. At first it was easy because he didn’t even realise it himself. But now, two decades into their friendship and dozens of hookups later, Joris reached his limit.

But it’s not only the sex that gets him. It’s everything else. He follows Charles through Europe and half around the world, watches him drive, takes care of the small things to make his life easier during a race weekend. And the adoration he sees in Charles’ eyes every time he looks at Joris, how he sticks close to him wherever they go, the hidden touches and stolen kisses in driver rooms and behind garages. It’s becoming too much. At least for just friends.

Joris just posted the latest race week photo dump. Monza. It’s a crazy experience, almost like a fever dream when you’re with someone who drives for Ferrari, who is so loved by the Tifosi. And yet he was the one Charles went to for moral support. He was the one who got to hold him close when he missed out on a podium yet again. And even though they spend hours at the track afterwards, Charles signing things and taking pictures with fans, it was Joris he followed back to the hotel.

So looking back at the pictures now, it’s clear to Joris that he has to make a move. He can’t be stuck in this weird in-between anymore, doesn’t want to.

It’s a short way from his apartment to Charles, he doesn’t even have to leave the building. Joris uses the key Charles gave him to get into the apartment, not caring to knock or ring the bell. They never do these days, which is only one more reason on his list.

Charles is sitting at the dining table with his EarPods in, the laptop open in front of him. His eyes only flicker up briefly when he noticed Joris, sending a gentle smile his way but not saying anything. Must be an online meeting with the cameras on then.

Joris gets himself a coffee from the kitchen, settling down on the sofa and out of sight for the camera. It gives him the chance to watch Charles, how he’s staring at the screen in concentration, throwing in a nod or sentence in Italian every now and then. Joris loves when Charles speaks Italian.

It takes them another half an hour to finish up the meeting, and Charles heaves an exasperated sigh after he closes the laptop.

“Finally. I don’t know how one person can talk so much about such boring stuff,” he says, getting out his EarPods and putting them back into the loading case before he gets up. Charles walks over to the sofa where Joris is sitting. He kneels down next to him and presses a kiss to his cheek.

“Sorry I kept you waiting.”

“I don’t mind,” Joris smiles. He hesitates for a second but then takes Charles’ hand in his, taking a deep breath. “Actually, I came over because I wanted to talk about something with you.”

Joris feels Charles’ eyes on him but doesn’t dare to look up. It’s hard enough to get the words out as it is.

“I need you to let me finish talking before you say anything, okay? This… isn’t particularly easy.”

“Okay,” Charles says, and he sounds so patient Joris actually dares to hope.

“I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, probably spent one too many nights sleepless over it. But I can turn it around however I like, it doesn’t change anything. There is something between us. I can feel it, and I hope you can feel it too. Because… because every time I look at you, or am close to you, or even think of you, it feels like my heart is about to burst out of my chest. And this can’t just be me. Please tell me it isn’t just me.” Joris presses his eyes shut, holding on to Charles’ hand like his life depends on it.

It why he doesn’t see it coming when Charles bonks their heads together, resting his forehead against Joris’.

“Cheri, can you look at me, please?” Charles says, his voice soft and low, like he’s talking to a scared animal. Joris does as he’s asked, even if it’s careful, hesitant. When their eyes lock, there is nothing but love in Charles’.

“You know, I thought I was the one without any brain cells between the both of us. But I guess you officially earned that title because I thought we’ve been dating for the past few months already. Joris, even my mom asks how my boyfriend is doing when she’s asking for you.”

“Oh… oh.” Joris looks at Charles with big eyes, incredulously. Could it be that easy?

“So I guess we’re on the same page?,” Charles smiles, cupping his cheek with his free hand, his thumb caressing the soft skin.

“Yes. Yes, we are.” Joris leans in at that, pressing a gentle kiss to Charles’ lips. And Charles? Charles kisses him back without hesitation.

[dobbiamo-capire]

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A WEEK CAN MAKE!

I’m back again with the summary that this website makes about the best bits of italian press, long translation but worthy!

Title of the article: LIBERATION

“It seemed like it was all against me” Charles Leclerc had 5 difficult races without a podium where he experienced how various unluckyness or the cruelty of the destiny could be, between mechanical problems and extremely harmful strategies for his winning ambitions both in Monaco and Silverstone. Yesterday in Austria victory seemed secured thanks to a enormous superiority against Red Bull, but at the end of the race the monegasque had to deal with a problem with the throttle pedal. Last laps made Mattia Binotto’s heart racing, like the ones of his men and all Tifosi, but at the end it came a victory for Leclerc that sounds like a liberation. But the ko of Carlos Sainz -engine on fire- left a red light on regarding the reliability.

“A joy that was intese because of the tension. Veins popping around your eyes, on your face, like after an extreme effort. The face of Leclerc was the same of who cheered and suffered with him inside a memorable race” writes Giorgio Terruzzi in his editorial in Corriere della Sera who opens the pages dedicated to sports with the title ‘King at their home’ talking about the win of the monegasque on the home race for Red Bull “like in a true sport drama, flames surrounding Sainz, on the road for a 1-2 that would have been a blessing; the throttle pedal on Charles’ car that had a tantrum in the final laps. At the end, a not perfect triumph that makes it even more perfect; a race that seemed at (Ferrari’s) favor in all aspects, changed in a collective agony and so in a relief that felt like a deserved lukewarm shower”

‘Magician Charles’ is the title from La Stampa: “so fast, so fragile. Ferrari leaves the Red Bull Ring as a winner, the home race circuit in the middle of Styria. One week ago it conquered Silverstone, track symbol of English motorsport. But only one car makes it to the finish line, the one of Leclerc with a stucked throttle pedal and the driver that screams on the radio with joy and relief. At the end in the red box there were more faces happy for the success. The first thing we see is the championship standings: Leclerc gains seven points against Verstappen, who overtook several times and came second at the finish line. Second important thing, the performance: Ferrari is always competitive and this time in particular, on a circuit where they didn’t win since 2003 with Michael Schumacher, it showed it’s superior in everything, from the tyre management to the strategy and pit stops”.

‘Magic Leclerc, triumph and chills’ is the opening of La Repubblica: “the necessity of the win. To shake away doubts and disappointments, make order in the mess of adversities. Charles Leclerc from prevarication and heart. He’s the raging bull in the middle of the Orange ring for Max Verstappen. Chasing the dutch, he rams him with three overtakes, he’s tearing up the track to pieces. He has an uncatchable Ferrari, like he is. No one can stop him, not even the friendly fire: strategies and pit stops work, fast and precise. Of course, he missed this joy since April, last win in Melbourne with a car he said it was a beast, he had to sweat (for the win). The beast has a tantum on the perfect time, he’s leading with 10 laps to go, his throttle pedal is stuck”

As always, I’ve done this translation on my own so every mistake is my fault. If you see some interesting italian articles that you want the translation of, feel free to submit it via comment, private message or by anon ask✨

[hey-kae]

anon of the long rant here: i'm italian, i know the tifosi (or most of them) currently care more about charles than ferrari, bc he's literally the driver who brought back hope after years and the fact that ferrari is fucking him up every single weekend is just 🫠

my discourse about prost was to point out that people expecting charles to shit ferrari every single time won't change shit, but hell it could make his position even worse and i was honestly overjoyed he showed to be upset during his first interview (even tho he went into a more soft approach during fred's interview, but yeah we all agree what he said in the first one was what he honestly thought)

also the 2021 thing: the year of nee regulations being introduced for 2022, the cars already in the wind tunnel and it was clear that some teams were too sure of themselves already (mercedes). also starting from last year, but especially in 2023, red bull doesn't eat the tyres like AT all. i'd say what caused this is the fact that in 2021 everytime pirelli put out the different strategies and stints of the tyres the teams would complain they were too short. so sometimes they didn't listen on how long the tyres would last and that's what happened to verstappen in baku: they kept him out too long, the rear tyre exploded and he dnfed. red bull and somebody else complained to pirelli about this and it's very likely that pirelli was like "alright" and changed the hardness of each compound, up to where we are now. red bull in 2023 has a flawless car, but also i'd say that if you have an amazing car itself + harder compounds of tyres even when they're supposed to be softer you have te result for an unbeatable team (and driver). mercedes has been good with the tyres too and so some other teams (ferrari is struggling bc after years they still can't make good suspensions, so we won't consider them in this situation 💀)

(Saw this earlier but it was race start and i wanted to take time to actually understand so sorry for not replying then even though i was active)

Honestly, what us non-italians see in comment sections is enough to feel that charles is really loved and defended by tifosi so I can’t even imagine what’s it like being italian and actually seeing it hands-on.

But definitely, you have a point. Trash talking the team in the media won’t do him no good. I like that his approach is “what i say to the team stays between me an the team” but i’m just saying they sometimes need an earful from him like yesterday. Obviously, pushing it won’t put him a good position cause what team wants a driver that talks down about it openly? I’m totally not saying he should go crazy on them in his interviews but just stop blaming himself for things that everyone sees aren’t his fault cause i hate how people ridicule him over it. The discourse of him being too soft for a championship is just annoying to me.

And about 2021, what I’m understanding is pirelli kinda adjusted the tires more or less to suit rb? (not saying they did it on purpose tho cause I don’t know enough to claim that) I honestly don’t know much about that transition phase into the new regulations so I won’t say much about it but you’re definitely right that the rb doesn’t use up its tires but rarely while the ferrari snacks on them with mercedes being an in between. It just never occurred to me to think about that from Pirelli’s side instead of the teams’ side. Like to me i just always thought “ok rb built a car that maintains tires well while some other teams like ferrari or like has couldn’t”.

(Japan last year blew my mind with how charles’ inters looked at the end actually and it wasn’t even a full race)

I’ve also read complaints about the newer tire compounds so i guess you do have a point.

But just to clarify, I do have moments where I’m angry and trash talking ferrari on here, but really at the end of the day it’s because i love this team so much and i really want charles to be able to get at least a championship with them😭

[leclerc-s]

of ice cream shops and puppies

series masterlist

isabella perez why did i just see a tweet saying charles is opening up an ice cream shop?

pierre gasly he’s coming for lewis’ brand. what’s next, getting a dog?

max jones-verstappen he’s gotta compete with him somehow. off track that is.

charles leclerc okay, fuck you. i may not have the best fashion sense but i can compete with him off track.

arthur leclerc i getting a business so charles must get a business. i get a dog so charles gets a dog. i get seven world championships, he cannot afford, great success.

logan sargeant sometimes it be your own siblings.

zoya torres in his defense, his fashion sense is doing much better

natalia ruiz it could be better but we’re working up to that. the questionable quali pants are gone now, so there’s that.

isabella perez and in milan of all places?

pierre gasly what’s wrong with milan? dulce perez most of us live in monaco or travel to monaco frequently. it just makes sense to open one in monaco?

fernando alonso he’s gotta keep the business in italy. the italian men will eat his ice cream because it’s him.

mae jones-verstappen how will lewis ever compete with ferrari’s golden boy?

carlos sainz believe me i’ve been asking myself the same question since i’ve been his teammate

sebastian vettel he’s like so loved by them

carlos sainz i’m convinced they love little jewel more than they love me and i’m a ferrari driver.

freya vettel it’s witchcraft it has to be

charles leclerc or i’m just a likable person?

arthur leclerc that can’t possibly be it. little jewel i would understand but you? no fucking way.

oscar piastri well ollie’s like up there with how loved he is by the tifosi

lewis hamilton with that performance he gave? of course he is!

isabella perez my son made us all proud that day. so proud.

isabella perez SHARL ECLAIR! ARE YOU OPENING A FUCKING ICE CREAM SHOP OR NOT? BECAUSE I JUST GOT FOLLOWED BY YOUR SHADY LEC ACCOUNT ON INSTAGRAM!

oscar piastri please tell her, she's freaking out man.

charles leclerc where's the fun in that?

liked by charles_leclerc, natalia_ruiz, zoyatorres and others.

lec 👀

view all comments

isabellaperez why is this man always doing the most random shit?

user12 this is plan b incase the whole f1 thing doesn't work out

↳ user25 bestie, the formula 1 thing did work out.

↳ user12 bestie, it will not work out until he is world champion with ferrari.

maxjonesverstappen what the hell is this man doing now?

↳ user30 they're just as confused as we are

user82 who's bingo card was this on? it sure as hell wasn't on mine.

jensonbutton i expected a better dad joke from you charles. you're a dad now. get your act together.

user05 bro is out here doing random ass side quests.

user34 so that random post of him eating ice cream in the snow actually meant something? you've got to be fucking kidding me.

↳ user71 he went to the daphne jones school of easter eggs.

pierregasly i still don't know what this means

↳ arthur_leclerc i thought we all agreed he was trying to one-up lewis and his business. he's getting a dog next. i can feel it.

↳ dulceperez please stop bullying your brother. i don't think we can handle another meltdown in the groupchat.

rhysjones no way we got leclerc's ice cream shop before gta 6. i expect this on every set i'm ever on.

zoyatorres king of side quests!

zoyatorres, logansargeant, freyavettel, and natalia_ruiz posted new stories

successful kidnapping attempt done by logan and zoya! this is the most spoiled dog ever and i know roscoe, angie, and churro. quick how do i convince mick that yes, angie does need a tiny friend like this guy to my beloved daughters and their co-conspirators that have stolen my dog, please return him asap. charles is convinced he's about to receive a ransom call.

isabella perez i demand a playdate with churro and leo as soon as possible.

max jones-verstappen he named a dog after me. natalia, your husband-to-be is madly in love with me.

mick schumacher i told you max would say something about the name. he's obsessed with charles. max jones-verstappen i can still fight you schumacher.

charles leclerc please return my child as soon as possible.

ollie bearman how many children do you and natalia have now?

natalia leclerc well, there's freya, zoya, you, little jewel, and now leo. so five.

isabella perez well, ollie is split custody between you two and me and oscar.

ollie bearman do i not get a say in this? arthur leclerc no, you don't.

rhys jones so is that a yes on an ice cream shop or not?

carlos sainz it's so hard to tell with him.

zoya torres they call him the king of side quests.

lando norris he's a grammy winning artist + piano composer and now a business man.

dulce perez if the whole school thing doesn't work out can i get an application to work at the ice cream shop?

charles leclerc don't you graduate soon? the school thing is clearly working.

daphne jones-ricciardo well charlie, are you opening an ice cream shop or not?

charles leclerc no an ice cream shop but an ice cream brand.

mae jones-verstappen HE'S ON THAT FUCKING KING SHIT GUYS!!

isabella perez HE'S AN ICON!!

lewis hamilton where the hell was this energy when i started almave?

lando norris you're talking to a bunch of alcoholics

bailey winters oh shut it lando nowins

isabella perez oh we were thrilled but we just love ice cream a bit more than alcohol. churros and ice cream together is life changing.

oscar piastri no one tell my trainer but she's right.

liked by user13, user96, user04 and others

F1GOSSIP turns out people were wrong when they said charles leclerc would be opening up an ice cream shop. above are picture from leclerc's promotional video for his ice cream brand LEC

tagged: charles_leclerc, lec

view all comments

user81 this man is so random.

user16 okay but this video is so cute? and who dressed him? ain't no way charles picked his own outfits for this.

↳ user85 we just have no faith in this man when it comes to dressing himself. i bet natalia dressed him.

↳ user16 we call that the fiancé effect

user67 he is quite literally f1's barbie. he just does everything.

user26 i don't even know who this man is but why are a specific group of people freaking out over him starting an ice cream brand?

↳ user79 he's a formula 1 driver who just does the most random things all the time. he just dropped an ep of piano tracks and he collabs with daphne jones-ricciardo frequently.

↳ user03 of course this man would get the most attention out of all the f1 drivers to do something this random.

isabellaperez ain't no way this man actually started an ice cream brand.

↳ maejonesverstappen this is why he ordered us all to italy asap.

rhysjones this barbie is a successful businessman

freyavettel a lifetime supply for the return of leo leclerc.

maxjonesverstappen1, landonorris, danieljonesricciardo, baileywinters, and maejonesverstappen posted new stories

hey maximillian's followers, follow me zoyatorres and go stream the deluxe version of my album guts (spilled) these guys are so fucking gross. get a room oscarpiastri and isabellaperez fulfilling the godparent duties oh i'm plotting how to internationally fly with a puppy that isn't mine. never beating the weird kid allegations i fear

penelope trevino as isa says, the girlies are screaming charles.

zoya torres he has an american daughter and a german daughter and won't sell ice cream outside of italy

arthur leclerc his wife-to-be has argentinian parents!!

logan sargeant just say you hate everyone but monegasques and italians.

rhys jones BOOOO!! GET GOOD LECLERC!!

daphne jones-ricciardo everyday you people convince me more and more that you're insane.

fernando alonso i thought that was a given.

charles leclerc WILL YOU PEOPLE CALM DOWN?! I DON'T HATE ANYONE OF YOU!!

isabella perez that's debatable charlie.

alex albon okay barbie, calm down.

natalia ruiz does this make me ken?

george russell no, you're also barbie. charles is just insane.

isabella perez GIVE US THE GOODS LECLERC - 🦆

dulce perez HAND OVER THE GOODS LECLERC - gael

oscar piastri i'm being held captive. free me.

isabella perez NO SEAS DRAMATICO WEY! - 🦆

fernando alonso PATITO!!

pierre gasly what the fuck is going on.

isabella perez FERNANDITO!!

lando norris YOU'RE HANGING OUT WITH PATO?

dulce perez FAMILY REUNION FUCKERS!!

isabella perez WE'RE ON OUR WAY TO COACHELLA FUCKERS!!! - 🦆

isabella perez on my way to steal your girl verstappen - gael

daniel jones-ricciardo oh i seriously love these two

oscar piastri i'm being dragged against my will

isabella perez added two people

gael perez i was kidding please don't stab me with a fork

mick schumacher FOUL!! mae jones-verstappen it's okay, he laughed!

pato o'ward COACHELLA HERE WE COME!!

pato o'ward I WANT A NONSENSE OUTRO DEDICATED TO ME!!

gael perez apologies for him. he's not trained properly.

pato o'ward callate pendejo!

isabella perez everyday since i was little. the only time i've known peace was when they weren't talking.

dulce perez you have no one to blame but yourself. you're the one who got them to reconcille.

logan sargeant ZOYA! WE HAVE TO GO TO COACHELLA!!

zoya torres oh my god. we're in fucking italy logan.

natalia ruiz ALL ABOARD THE JONES-VERSTAPPEN OR JONES-RICCIARDO EXPRESS. LET'S GO TO COACHELLA!!

sebastian vettel oh you people are going to regret this so much.

taglist: @burningcupcakefire @arkhammaid @applopie @sunflower-golden-vol6 @lorarri @bb-swift @thewannabewriter @mypage-myfandoms @stopeatread @hobiismyhopeu @lilsiz @alessioayla @niniluvsainz @au-ghosttype @six-call @justtprachisblog @nichmeddar @landonorizzz @unluckyyoshi @cool-ultra-nerd @kami10471633 @1nt3rnetgf @fernandoswarcrimes @arieltwvdtohamflash @brekkers-whore @natcha888 @camdensreg @mycenterfold @dear-fifi @georgeparisole @dan3avocado @nikfigueiredo @bella-1 @namgification @jensonsonlybutton @weekendlusting @trouble-sistar @lesliiieeeee @leclercsluv @33-81 @theseus-jpg @sarah-thatstings-ann @minmira95 @casperlikej @formulaonebuff @hopenshaw @ijustgomessitupx @hwalllllllelujah @doodlehunz @prongsvault

¡leclerc-s speaks! this was mostly written because as a charles girl, a lot has happened these past few days. that man is barbie with the number of things he does outside of f1. still unsure if i'm going to do a coachella part but enjoy this for the vibes!!

¡disclaimer! this is in no way making assumptions about the people involved in this story, this is all fake. it is a fanfiction please don't take any of what is said seriously. this is all for entertainment purposes and as a creative outlet for me. enjoy!

[brawn-gp]

2, 31 and 42 for the f1 ask !!

2. How did you get into it?

my grandad was a huge prost fan (taste), then my dad started watching it and became a ferrari fan. naturally i always knew about f1 and i watched some pieces of races here and there when i was really young, and i called myself a ferrari fan (i used to say all i wanted in life was a red ferrari lol). but my dad stopped watching f1 for a while, and then one sunday morning in 2018 i woke up early and saw my dad watching a race… he was very nostalgic and started telling me about how he watched races with my grandad and that it was “their thing”, he told me about gilles and how fantastic he was, he told me about sena and michael and so we stayed there watching the race and reminiscing about his childhood. i decided to watch the rest of the season with him, but it was tough to watch the races bc we didn’t have a channel for it (we usually watched it after the races had ended and with awful quality). then in 2019 i forgot about f1 for the first half of the season (i was swamped with uni), until my dad saw that the italian gp was happening —and as every ferrari fan knows— if there’s one race you have to watch, is monza. and in that race i saw charles winning, i saw the tifosi screaming, i saw ferrari bliss in the form of this nice guy who was driving in the red team… and that’s when i was sold. we purchased f1tv and i watched the full season back (and even further) and here i am!

31. Do you have a favourite driver rivalry? If so, which one and why?

uh.. currently not really? it’s one of the reasons i’ve find this season so boring… like it would make sense to like the rivalry between my favorite driver and the driver i don’t like, but so far it really hasn’t been that inspiring ://. i liked lewis and seb’s rivalry, and OFC charles and seb’s…. this year im like. meh.

42. What was one of your personal highlights of F1?

other than monza 2019? i would say turkey 2020… i stayed up all night with my friends after a very very shitty year to watch the race, and it was fucking amazing. lewis winning the title, seb’s last ferrari podium, checo in the podium (i was a fan of him before rbr) and just every emotion that came with it, both in the race and in my personal life

[interlagosed]

Hi Hibi! (Sorry if this will end up being kinda an essay, it's a very long text, but I think it's important for all the Carlos fans out there).

I just read the other anon talking about Ferrari fans. I'm Italian and I live in Italy, I'm a Carlos and Ferrari fan as well, and maybe I can give you more information about this particular topic, considering that the team is Italian and, as you can imagine, there's plenty of Tifosi here.

It's true, some Tifosi support more Charles than Carlos, but in this case I think it's a matter of preference and you know, the "Predestinato propaganda" of the last three/four years. Some other fans, as anon said, are really toxic towards Carlos, but usually they're not real Ferrari fans, they are biased Charles fans or "fake" Ferrari fans who think that Charles is the only valid driver of the grid, usually they hate Carlos for "not helping Charles enough" or because "he's making too many mistakes", (don't get me wrong, I adore Charles, but parts of his fans are insanely toxic), also they really hate Max because of the fighting for the championship. And yes, they think that Mick is better than Carlos or Ferrari should sign Giovinazzi (Giovinazzi. Really? I like him, but nope. I think that they want him in Ferrari just because is Italian and not because they believe in him to be honest, similar to Mick, they want him for his surname and not because they really support him). They're just so toxic about everything and everyone, sometimes they're even hate or criticize Binotto. Basically they're not the clowns, they are the entire circus.

Said that, I want to talk about the majority of Ferrari fans here in Italy and all the people who just love the team and watch the races every Sunday. The majority of Ferrari fans (even the ones that prefer Charles), really support and love Carlos. As a Carlos fan myself, I was afraid of the reactions after Imola and all the bad luck Carlos was having, but I was pleasantly surprised when I saw all the support on social media and how people really "protect" him from the hate and comments of certain people. I think that the majority of people really learned their lessons after all the drama with Seb, (I still feel sorry for him). The real Ferrari fans know that we have the best duo on the grid, and they know how Carlos is extremely hardworking, consistent, fast and talented, all combined with his humility, his composure, his kindness and his visible love for the entire team and for Ferrari. Last year and this year, we really feel like we are a family again more than a F1 team (finally!), and this is all thanks to Binotto and of course thanks to Carlos, who brings his amazing personality everywhere. McLaren (and Lando) can confirm that as a matter of fact. Maybe the haters can be the loudest, but they're not the majority, at least here in Italy. Our support to Carlos will always being stronger than all the hate. Through thick and thin.

P.S. I love your Carlando works and your interpretation of their relationship. 😭💕

P.P.S. Sorry if my English is not perfect, even though I studied languages in high school, and I read papers in English for university, (and Carlando fanfic😌) every day, I'm still struggling a little bit. I'm sooo much better and fluent in Spanish.

This is so incredibly comprehensive and enlightening. Wow. Thank you for taking the time to write all of this out. I’m not surprised that the people who hate Carlos aren’t actual tifosi. That has been the sense I’ve gotten from everyone who actually loves Ferrari - they take the “we’re a family” thing seriously. Plus anyone with two eyes and a brain larger than an apricot recognizes the value Carlos brings to Ferrari. Thank you so much again, AND thank you for your lovely compliment. Also, your English was gorgeous beloved ❤️ never apologize for being a polyglot on my blog!!

[maranello]

You got most of the Ferrari assessment right! I’ve been watching since the Schumi era and what can be most frustrating as part of the tifosi is knowing that the drivers cannot blame the car. Either you work with what you have, or you outperform the machine. Seb in Red Bull had one of the most stable cars on the grid. The Ferraris rarely have been. The Ferraris were/are beasts, and you had to learn how to tame it. That’s where a lot of the disconnect between Seb and the team, imho, was. And I guess it worked out well enough when he was getting good results on his own — but then a younger, crazier guy signed on and started proving that there’s more you can get out of the car than previously thought. Definitely Ferrari could have handled the Seb affair better, but there was always a precedent to how Ferrari has handled all their affairs with drivers who, in their eyes, have failed them. There is a very good reason why Kimi is held in such high regard by the organization and the tifosi. They sign you to either win championships or help your teammate do so. I think it’s partly why they signed Charles for that length of time. They saw what he could do with a car as bad as the SF1000, and started salivating at the thought of what he could achieve in a car that worked as perfectly as the F2004. But I also think that if his performance starts to dip, or gets overshadowed by his teammate (whether it be Mick or Robert or someone else), chances are, it’s gonna get even messier than the Seb affair. It’s annoying, yes. Toxic, most of the time, hell yeah. But that is Ferrari F1 lore for you (unfortunately). I hope this makes sense. English isn’t my first language and the thoughts are getting scrambled in my brain as I write this

!!! anon, people like you who are f1 veterans and have so much lore and longer term insight/sanity are my favorite people here, and I salute you for it ❤️ and thank you for confirming my tentative Ferrari analysis and providing us lore, you definitely did a great job and it all makes sense to me!!

I suspected that the Ferrari car has been more finicky and harder to really pin down/extract the most out of it without having that mythical “feel” for it? which I do think Charles as a driver seems to have more of with the Ferrari compared to Seb, so it definitely makes a lot of sense that that’s where the disconnect is. and andjdj yeah, you said it far more clearly than I had (instinctual pr??)—that “Ferrari signs you to either win the championship or to help your teammate to do so.” They’ve really always done better when there’s a clear 1-2 internally even if they deny it in the press. Seb and Charles would never had worked long term when Seb is used to being prioritised but Charles was also never going to give anything less than his most from the moment he was signed (or just, in any car he’s been in really). And Ferrari did what it had done, as precedented.

Ahshdhf and you really voiced that fear at the back of my mind of a Charles-Ferrari fallout too that I don’t like to think about much less say out loud 😭😭 I know it’s probably the case if the scenario arises that Charles gets outshined by a teammate at Ferrari, and I absolutely agree that it’s going to be way messier bc Ferrari was all Charles had ever known really and he is so integrated and has such a stubborn drive to win that they would literally have to drag him kicking and screaming out of there. I hope it doesn’t happen because Charles has become so…synonymous with Ferrari to me like the vibe just matches, he is Ferrari, and I desperately hope he has a long, happy, and illustrious career there that either ends in retirement or him walking away of his own accord. I haven’t been following the junior categories that much, but so far, within their juniors, I don’t think there has been quite that comparable of the performances he put in so I don’t expect this to realistically be a solid concern for a few years?

But, who knows, F1 is unpredictable, and it is Ferrari, so I’m sure it will continue to give me far too many emotional rollercoasters to be healthy either ways 💔❤️🤡