#Lestappen is taking over this account

[bandi-off]

Don't be surprised when I start a side account for F1 and MaxCharles and specifically my Pacific Rim AU with the drivers as jaeger pilots

[hyacinthsdiamonds]

WAIT, HELP, WHY DON'T CHARLES AND MAX FOLLOW EACH OTHER ON INSTAGRAM? WHAT DID I MISS?

It all starts at the Red bull ring, better known as the temple of lestappen. It's where our boys shared the podium for the first time in F1 in 2019 and that race in particular is also the reason why they don't follow each other on social media lmao.

So our boys start 1-2, Charles in pole position starts well while Max has issues with his antistall that cause him to drop down to eighth after the first couple of turns. Max recovers and starts marching through the field. Around lap 23 Charles pits and Lewis takes the lead of the race but he damages his front wing by going wide and driving over a sausage kerb so he had to pit for a replacement and Max, then p2, inherited the lead. He then pits the following lap, handing the lead back to Charles and the stage is set for him to charge through Seb and Bottas to battle Charles for the win. And that's what happened with three laps to go, when Max managed to pass Charles. Now lap 69 - I'm not even kidding lmao - is where the drama happens, ofc Charles is going to fight Max for the win and Max is going to fight to hold onto the win, so Max takes a wide line through the corner on the inside of Charles, they do make contact and Charles leaves the track and drives over kerb as a result. Max holds onto the win and Charles is absolutely pissed.

Now these pictures are hilarious to look at when you think about how they were theree years later, the second time they shared the podium in Austria;

But yeah 2019, Charles pretty pissed and he felt Max should've gotten a penalty or something from the stewards but the stewards deemed it a legal move.

Now this is pivotal, not just in the story of Max and Charles, but in Charles' own story and career in formula 1. It's a turning point for him. He takes note of this situation and is very much like "well if he can do it, so can I" and "I'm just as good as him and I'm going to prove that to myself, to him and to the world" from then on out. He's more aggressive and takes more risks post Austria 2019, and he goes on to win in Spa and Monza that year. Max finishes in P3 in the championship, Charles finishes P4, just twelve points between them. They finish the year in Abu Dhabi with another podium, this time Max is in P2 and Charles is in P3.

During the media exchanges post race Austria 2019, Max is asked about Charles and gets "is this going to affect you two" type questions and Max is like "why wouldn't we be ok? we're going home on the same flight so*shrugs*". At some point post the race Charles unfollows Max on social media because until then, they had followed each other and it should be noted that Charles typically follows everyone on the grid with the exception of Max (+ Bottas, he likely unfollowed because of the bowling incident of the Hungarian gp 2021 lmao, Charles is many things, consistently petty included 😂😭). So they do share a flight home to Monaco, on Max's jet I'm pretty sure lmao, and it's just so funny to imagine a petty, pissed Charles sitting across from Max, who is most likely completely unaware about the unfollowing, and waiting for him to notice lmao. Max or whoever runs Max's account majority of the time, also unfollowed Charles in turn. They've tagged each other in posts over the years (such as Seb's leaving dinner) so they know the others @, and they like posts about the other, but neither has made the move to refollow the other on their public Instagrams which is funny and so petty and so annoying all at the same time lmfao. The follow button is too much for them lmao.

[xiaoluclair]

20. clumsy attempts at flirting for lestappen pretty please?

okay confession, i have no idea what clumsy flirting even is beyond accidentally knocking over an avalanche of canned jalapeños onto you and your crush in the middle of a bend and snap. so i have a feeling this probably is not quite clumsy flirting but also i did not want to let the flow get away from me so eeeeeeenjoy!(?)

clumsy flirting attempts // lestappen // [ rating: T ] word count: 2.5k . yeah. not beta read either or checked over very well 😁

Max opens his front door and steps on a green bean. It's lying a foot away from a litre Tupperware box of... Max squints. Green beans.

He gives the hallway a cursory glance, then hefts the box into the kitchen and shuts the window his sister must've opened before she left the evening before. Something about needing more fresh air. Whatever, thinks Max, and grabs a pen to tick get green beans off the to do list on the refrigerator. He's not trading pneumonia for a tablespoon of chilled plant piss.

"Hey." Dilara gives him a smile, little Jerry stood between her legs and intently jabbing at a Samsung screen. Some garbled trumpet plays whenever he presses it. "How much were the beans?"

"Beans?" asks Dilara. "Oh, for your shopping? Around nine euros for a pack from Vie Claire."

"And you had, what, nine hundred euros to spend?" laughs Max. "Can you text me your account details for money transfer? My mum would probably shunt my d— um, dining table if I let someone spend that much on me."

At first, Max thinks he is about to get a smack for nearly cursing a three year old's ears. Then Dilara says, "I think. I am not sure what you are talking about."

So Max paints the picture from this morning and little Jerry stops trying to break his mum's phone with his thumbs to listen too. "You were the only one I talked to about it," as the elevator doors open and the three of them spill out into the little lobby.

"Someone might have overheard?" offers Dilara.

"Piano has beans," little Jerry informs Max sagely and Max.

Max snaps his fingers and says, "Of course, thanks mate."

Because piano has beans. Duh.

Max does not so much forget the bean incident as have a million other things piled on top of it. And then it gets lost somewhere. Maybe under a cupboard, or shoved between the radiator and the wall.

"It is broken, I think," says Max. "And the plumber said he is not free until the twenty second, so I guess that is me in socks and coats for the next three days."

Peter makes a delighted sound, a very different reception to Max's earlier lamentings on the lack of cat food in stock. "Did I ever tell you how my wife and I met?"

"Yeah," says Max, "on Gwyneth Paltrow's second cousins's niece's friend's friend's yacht's coach."

"Really?" say Peter. "Wow, that must have been fun. But the other time we met was — can you guess?"

"No."

"When my plumbing broke, of course! She was my neighbor, said I could take the left side of her bed for sleeping because the guest room had a fresh coat of paint. Of course," his jaw makes a quaint leer, "there was not much sleeping at all."

"Lovely," says Max, "I am going to get more gin. Happy birthday again."

Cue the next evening, and the doorbell rings. The peephole shows a slightly stretched suit, slicked back brown hair into a dramatically wide ponytail. Max sets down the last of the bean casserole, opens the lock, loops out the chain.

"Hello," he greets politely.

The woman with, actually, a normal sized ponytail gives him a grin. "Broken radiator?" She picks up the handyman's box of utensils next to her foot. G. MANNI, reads the orange block along the side. "I've got you covered."

"Are you a friend of Peter's?" asks Max.

"Who?" she says.

"Just a— never mind." Max waves her in.

What a bewildering scenario, he thinks later as he tugs off the three pairs of socks from his feet.

The radiator scenario would probably have suffered the same fate as the beans if Max did not, only the next morning, find 7kg of cat food waiting on his doorstep.

"Like angels dancing on my eardrums," Arnaav is saying when Max goes to wish them. "I asked him to record me a song as a present as a joke and he actually said I could listen to a demo."

"Wow," says Gertrude, "you lucky thing, you."

"Arnaav," says Max, "congratulations."

Arnaav beams. "Thank you."

"What was it, three years? Four?"

"Five actually. Masters with industrial placement. A dockyard up in Andora, lots of very ripped Italian men."

Max grins. "That sounds very lovely."

"Of course," continues Arnaav, "it seems like very ripped men are closer to home than I remember."

Gertrude giggles at that. Max feels his eyebrows arch together.

Arnaav gestures them both to follow into the kitchen. "Seriously," they say as they pass Frankie tying up a bright blue sausage balloon into a bright blue sausage dog to little Jerry's delight, "do you think I should shoot a shot? There is no way a guy like that is single though."

They are looking at Max imploringly. Max says, "Go for it." Then, "Who are we talking about?"

Gertrude chokes mid-chew on a bite of grape and gouda. "Gamer boys," she sighs, "always stuck in their computers."

"For once, I agree." Arnaav shakes their head. "I would point him out, but he's at his brother's for the weekend."

Dilara and Mag come laughing in then. "Mag," says Gertrude urgently, "Max does not know about the new tenant."

Which is how Max finds out, in the following five minutes, that the hottest man on the planet (Dilara's words, not his) has apparently been living two floors down from him since early November.

"Always fingering his music into late hours of the night," says Mag with a flushed sigh. "Have you ever wanted to be music so bad."

"Okay," says Max, and he takes the bottle of vodka and chugs for a little while.

The scenarios keep scenarioing. Max finds a wheel of cheese and two pounds of tomatoes in the mail. A couple days later, thirteen rolls of cat-patterned wrapping paper to replenish his dwindling stock. Then a stack of coupons for free petrol refills at any Shell in France.

It comes to an apex when he gets called down to the lobby to pick up an €800 gaming headset. Max takes it back up to his apartment and leaves it by the couch while he unlocks his phone.

Whoever keeps buying me things, it is very kind but please stop.

It is pretty late, so Max does not expect any replies. Does this have anything to do with the beans? says Gertrude barely a minute after he has sent it.

I think so, says Max.

amx is being sent things? asks Peter. *max.

Do not be jealous peter, says Dilara, I am sure we can find you your own courter.

Max blinks. Courter?

Person who courts someone else. Gives them presents to woo them that sort of thing.

I do not have a courter.

Sure you don't ;D

I don't.

HEY, Arnaav comes barrelling in, SHUTU P AND LET ME ENJPY THE MISIC.

its very lovely, agrees Peter.

Hey, has anyone added Charles? asks Mag.

Max, who does not particularly care for any person named Charles at the moment, least of all whether or not they've been added or deleted, whacks up the heating on his way to bed. He is about to turn off the light when a smack sounds from the balcony. Sassy makes a petulant expression when Max turns on the outside light.

"Idiot cat," he tells her, then slides opens the door. Immediately, the lethargic sound of piano floods into his ears. Sassy slinks inside as Max blinks.

His phone buzzes again. Mag: God I want him to play me like that.

So apparently Max's entire apartment complex spends their nights having a massive orgy to the new guy playing the piano. Charles, he gathers, playing the piano.

Charles gets added to the WhatsApp group too, renamed JDM GC (NOT FOR THIRSTING). His profile picture is black and white and contains three people, none of whom Max has seen before. He thinks they must be brothers.

not for thirsting? is the first thing Charles says. is this an inside joke i need to beg to be updated on? 😂. Max sees Mag is typing... pop up then disappear.

A few minutes later, he finds himself in a new WhatsApp group. JDM GC (FOR THIRSTING). Charles is not in this one. I'd make him beg, says Arnaav into it.

Same, says Mag, 💧.

Max thinks the exclusion is probably for the best.

He flies back in from iRacing contract negotiations a day before the Christmas Party. In the time left, he unpacks, laments to Dilara on the lack of green beans in store (“Christmas time,” she sympathizes), streams until two in the morning. Periodically checks his doorstep just in case. 

Everything is fine. Then he returns from another green–beanless escapade and on his mat, is a parcel. Inside the parcel, is a dark blue wooly sweater with an outrageously bright design of red and green animals and a manger on the front, yellow sheen emitting from the neck hole.

There is a note.

Merry Christmas x.

Max takes it in, puts it on. Stares at himself in the mirror. Takes it off, wraps it up, and leaves it on the torn parcel paper to return later. He can give the money to the New Year's party.

When he takes the elevator down to Dilara's apartment, he is immediately accosted by Gertrude and slightly less accosted by little Jerry. "Max!"

Mistletoe hangs from the ceiling. Max takes the kiss she plants on his mouth with his hands on her arms to make sure it does not turn into Human Bowling, then blows out a breath. "Do you know who keeps giving me shit?"

Gertrude's brow furrows. "The beans?"

"The same person, yeah." Max rubs his temple. "It is starting to piss me off. I asked them to stop and they have not."

"Maybe it is someone not in the building?"

"Unless they bugged the place, no." Max sighs. "It was always ridiculous but now it is even more ridiculous. The whole 'courting thing' too is just stupid."

Litter Jerry looks up, Samsung held slightly precariously in his chubby fingers. "What about—"

"Charles!" erupts Gertrude brightly, looking into the distance. Max twists on the spot but there's just empty hallway. The stairwell door swings a little. Gertrude sways on the spot slightly.

"Let's get you inside," says Max and herds her back into the celebrations. At the jerk of his head, little Jerry sighs a great sigh and ducks under his arm, back into the loud apartment.

Nothing. Max opens the door: nothing. Max enters the lobby: nothing. Max gets his mail: nothing.

Max gets on with his life. Nothing.

Max sits on the balcony at night and listens to the silence. He checks the messages on his phone. Maybe he broke his hands, muses Dilara.

both of them at the same time? says Peter.

I just saw him, reports Mag, in the elevator. His hands are fine. Really really fine.

Back in JDM GC (NOT FOR THIRSTING), Charles simply says he has taken a break due to 'lack of inspiration'.

I will gladly inspire him, says Arnaav in JDM GC (FOR THIRSTING).

Not if I inspire him first, replies Mag.

Max keeps out of that one. Max keeps out of most of it, and: Nothing. The little Merry Christmas note stays in his nightstand and Max just. Forgets to take it out every single night. Whatever.

By the time Peter's New Year's party rolls around, life has settled and Max starts the year off drunk, happy, and listening to little Jerry toot Anaconda on the trumpet while next to him, Peter makes out with his new fiancée as of three seconds ago. Max has never seen her in his life.

The next morning is a slow one. For one, it is already eleven when Max cracks open his eyes. He rolls over. A chilled breeze stirs the hair on his arms.

He blames the alcohol for accepting that as he does. Getting out of bed, taking the wrong door to the bathroom and finding a closet instead. Taking the right door to the bathroom and the Palmolive soap has been replaced by a pot of L’Oreal Paris hair mask. 

Then the cold wind comes back again and Max peers past his headache to see the window cracked wide open. He looks back to the mirror. He is naked. 

“Shit,” says Max, with feeling.

A snore comes from the bedroom. Apparently Max bypassed an entire human being too. Stupid, useless alcohol. He’s going to go back to his place, take his stash of gin, chug it to forget this ever happened.

For now, he puts on his clothes. Rumpled, clearly discarded without much care. But on. Then he takes a look around. Lots of red. A centerpiece of fake roses sits atop an electric piano. The front door is the same as his. A shelf of photos over the TV contains the same three recurring men. In the corner of the kitchen, there is a large cardboard box held shut by a loaf of 50/50. Max moves it off and takes a peak. Inside is roughly two hundred bags of green beans.

The mop of brown hair forms a person eventually. Max has found an OralB tube by then and used his finger as a makeshift brush. 

"Morning," says Max when they arise.

Charles takes one look at him before falling back onto his pillow. "Shit."

Max spends the first afternoon of 2024 swallowing Aspirin and slightly burnt Eggos. Suffice to say, Charles is a terrible host. And yet Max is still here. Pretty privilege. Hottest man on the planet, remembers Max. Yeah, okay. 

He swallows, nods to the box in the corner and its counterpart bread loaf. “So were you the one stalking me?” 

Charles chokes on his protein smoothie, glowers. “I was not— stalking, I was just. Courting.”

“Courting,” echoes Max. “Dilara’s going to have a fit.”

Charles stares at him. He was not in the WhatsApp group at that point so he wouldn’t know. Real funny, Max thinks to the universe. Great planning. 

“So you, what,” he says, “bugged the building?”

“I just overheard sometimes,” says Charles. His cheeks are a vibrant, sick red. Fucking fresh air lovers. 

Max thumbs his own temple. “What do I owe you?”

“What?” asks Charles, stupidly handsome and stupidly stupid. His fingers wrapped around the bottle are messing up Max’s already messed up mind. 

“For all the shit you got me. If you say anything less than a thousand, I will know you’re lying so what do I owe you?”

A moment passes in which Charles blinks at him, Max realizes Jimmy and Sassy are probably upending the microwave, and Charles blinks some more. Then: “A date?”

“You are the worst flirter I have ever met in my life,” Max tells him sincerely. He slides off the stool and kisses him on the mouth. Charles drops the protein smoothie. The bottle breaks all over the floor. 

Max buys him sixteen more.

[tetralea]

Umm, this is inspired by Charles posting shit on his main account more than once in the recent weeks. 😂 Max is pretty done with it.

Lestappen smut and fight over being stupid. 🤷‍♀️

Max walked into the kitchen, already annoyed. He barely used social media, but any time in December he did it, Charles was trending for some stuipd reason. Like this morning too. He was not even supposed to be there, in this stupid airbnb, in this stupid kitchen, with the Ferrari driver. He tried to keep it together, but when he saw the brunette he lost it.

“What is wrong with you? You are not supposed to post shit like that! What if you accidentally exposed us?” Max goaned, startling the other man. He was beyond pissed and that post which didn't even concern him just made it even worse. Before Charles had a chance to answer he kept going. “And then you post sponsor stuff like nothing happened. Like you are not becoming a mess of a human!” He shouldn’t have gone off like that, he shouldn’t have to be this upset, yet here he was. Charles really brought the worst out of him these days.

“What does this have to do with anything? I didn’t post you, I never would!” The burnette put his phone down on the kitchen counter turning to Max, crossing his arms around his chest. He was ready to defend himself. He was ready to tell. Max that everything was a mistake even if he didn’t feel like that, clearly, Max did. He braced himself as the blonde stepped closer.

“Oh, like you never would have what you did last night?” Max mirrored his position, setting his own phone on the counter, turning it towards Charles, with a careless motion. Like he said ‘look at the mess you have made’.

After a small pause Charles answered, quiet and small. “It was by mistake.”

“Because you are becoming a mess!” Max pushed loudly, locking his phone screen, gesturing wildly towards Charles.

“You didn’t complain about it last night!” Charles could take only so much, he was done with whatever Max’s problem was. It was time to move away from defence. “Do you know what your problem is?” There was challenge in the hazel eyes, his back was straighter, chin lifted and Max suddenly felt like they were the same height, or maybe Charles had the advantage. “Is that you want to fuck me again so bad it makes you look stupid!” The pretty lips spit out of spite. “You kissed me last night!” The emphasis was on the first word and the intense gaze of Charles was burning Max’s cool skin.

“You said I should do something stupid. So that’s what I did. I did you! Because you are stupid!”

Max froze, eyes searching the handsome face in front of himself to see how much he hurt Charles. The strong shoulders deflated, long fingers slid onto the counter for support. “Wow, yeah? Really? That low?” The words were barely more than a whisper. “Well you didn’t complain last night when you fucked me.” There was venom in those words and something else Max felt in his bones, but he was too worked up to listen to it.

He stepped closer and squared his shoulders, wetting his lips for the words to slip out easier. “Neither did you when you came twice on my cock.”

Charles was speechless for at least the third time in this conversation but he didn’t have anything else, no smart comeback, no retort. Maybe the kind reminder of their night together and the instant hot shiver down his spine settling in his stomach didn’t help either. “Fuck you, Max!”

“I will, I will fuck you again.” The blue eyes flashed with something threatening yet Charles swallowed to the promise of it.

It wasn't much, maybe three steps until he was pressed against the counter, eyes trained on the plump lips and the man cornering him into surrender.

The strong hands on his hips moving to his back brought back not so distant memories and his thin cotton shirt was too thick on his skin. Max’s lips pressed to his firmly, moving against his in such an undeniable, unapologetic way his weak attempt to control the kiss malted away. Fuck this, fuck Max, and fuck himself that he was so weak for it, so weak and easy for the blonde he would have denied it in front of anyone any time.

It wasn't long until his naked chest was pressed against the counter top, eyes rolling back, his own forearm against his mouth to quiet himself. Who thought that Max leaving his backpack there last night would come so handy. He tried to be quiet, mostly because he was sure everyone in the house was eavesdropping to their fight earlier. They didn’t need to know even if it was obvious from the constant noise of skin slapping against skin, on Max’s groans, of the sudden quiet turned muffled cries and dragged out moans. Max was fucking him good, so good.

After a particularly perfectly angled thrust he still tries to act like a sassy kitten. “Fuck you!” He tries to sound angry but he sounds soft and breathless, almost pleading for more.

And it looks like Max gets him like no one else does. “Don’t worry I’m planning to, a few more times until you calm down and forget to use your phone when you really shouldn’t.”

———————

I’ll upload this to AO3 later. 😊 let me know if you liked it plssss! 🥰🥰🥰

[lestappenforever]

going through the lestappen tag and seeing all those anons in your inbox with a similar take, something has clearly shifted between charles & max. before they were more, awkward around each other but since last week they are more…blatant and confident in their flirting and interactions. idk what changed, i mean the people leaning towards it being for pr have a point but i don’t see why they’d be doing that being that the championship has been won so it’s like they are fighting for one rn and their teams need to keep things cool to avoid a war. and this effort has been 99% on rbr’s side re-emphasizing that yes they are indeed posting lestappen. also i know maxiel is popular too so they could’ve use that for the engagement not use their main rival team’s no. 1 driver. i mean if it’s for pr also why not use yuki and pierre? i mean pierre was with them for so many years so it would go to show that there was no bad blood. why not max and carlos? they have their moments too and carlos used to be in toro rosso with max. why not max and lando? i mean???what is going on? and no it’s not about ea sports because if it was about just racing, there would be race related activities and teasing. yes, there’s a 70% they have a ea sports collab coming up but this is so much more than that. and no, this ask/unsolicited opinion has been sent with my lestappen rose colored glasses removed. the way charles is looking at max and engaging him is something else entirely. and whatever it is, i’m here for it.

psa: i sent this to you because you are the most level headed lestappen blog out here. ilysm jsyk

🌸

I very much agree with your take on this, anon. Something has definitely shifted between Max and Charles recently, and I firmly believe it’s because they both have wanted it to. Their relationship and their interactions have a whole other vibe to it now than it did a few months ago, and given both their personalities and how they are both definitely mostly in charge of their own brands and how they’re coming across, it appears to be 100% genuine. It’s because they genuinely do like and respect each other, and they enjoy each other's company. That much is clear as day on both their faces whenever they’re in each other's vicinity. The change in their relationship, I believe, is entirely organic and genuine.

Now, as for RBR and Ferrari posting Lestappen content on their social media channels lately? Part of my full-time job includes quite a bit of marketing, and over the years I've garnered quite a bit of knowledge about the topic. And one thing that is very important to remember is that any and all content posted to social media channels belonging to big, famous brands such as Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Ferrari is in some way, shape, or form a markering ploy. For those types of brands, there is PR value in just about everything, and the people running those accounts are not idiots. They’ve seen the impact and engagement Lestappen content triggers, and they are absolutely seeing it as an opportunity to profit off of it. But what I do find incredibly interesting about this, though, is that we have no idea why they're doing it. Exactly what their end goal with this type of content is or what it’s building up to, only time will tell. And I, for one, am very excited to see where this will end up going.

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts, anon. Your brain is a truly wonderful place.

Babe, you are far too kind, and I'm so glad you think my blog is a level headed place! I do try my best to be. There are so many wonderful Lestappen blogs out there, so it’s such an honor that you chose to send this beautiful ask to me. 🥹

I love you, and hope you will have a beautiful Sunday. ❤️

[inchidentally]

tricky asks below! pls do not rb as that removes the readmore for some reason and I want to keep these out of tags <3

the fact that we're having to to discuss friendzoning about two friends anon we're really in it now aren't we

I want to take a moment direct ppl to this interview if they like Carlos tho bc his interviews are always so intelligent and thoughtful. you also get a much more authentic persona out of him when he speaks in Spanish. there are more videos on that account from that interview too.

I love that he listed Checo and Fernando so highly bc of course he gravitates toward ppl he can speak to in his born language. the three of them personality wise are pretty different but whenever they move toward each other you can tell they're in compatriot mode.

but yea what he said re Lando and racing is exactly what Lando says - and what nobody ever wants to post except begrudgingly. the 'bromances' are dressed way up by fans and media but there is no deeper narrative and it's not that serious. when they're driving, all friends disappear bc winning is the only reason to even be in F1 let alone the only way to stay in it for certain. even the comments on videos like that are next to nothing bc they're not "shippy" videos. but it's authentic and true that these guys are F1 drivers first and foremost and wayyyy after that it's nice to have some regular buddies to hang with. we should all be able to put shipping aside and appreciate the actual drivers these guys are and the fact that they can put aside their intense competitiveness to be so friendly.

asgfkasgfksag I love that last part anon. fr I've found it so funny that the larrie carlandos class Oscar in with all the women they despise bc it threatens their ship. it's like sexy Brazilian woman, sexy European woman, sexy IG Baddie, and... Oscar.

that's wild though about lestappen having their own larries. how in the hell do ppl look at Charles and Carlos and even bother pretending they dislike let alone hate each other. we literally have real life F1 examples of teammates who are neutral/uninterested in each other w KMag and Hulk and teammates who bitterly hate each other w Ocon and Gasly. if Charles and Carlos were even in a dislike/disinterest category we wouldn't see them giggling and touching right up to the last day at Abu Dhabi this year. and side note but we also wouldn't see their gfs enjoying spending time together during races and events either, which Alex and Rebecca do.

I've seen that too it's insane. when has Lando NOT considered Silverstone the most important race on the calendar for him?? and nothing will beat his high over that podium until his actual win, nothing. (the fact that he kept saying how Oscar deserved to be up there with him was just the icing on the cake)

and like can they please just remember here that Lando was excited and happy on that podium in Singapore for himself as well???? that his own result meant more to him than a Ferrari driver?? yes he was happy for Carlos but Lando is sort of an actual F1 driver and if he could've knocked Carlos' ass aside and gotten that top spot for himself he very. much. would. have!! and that the double podiums that followed meant more to him bc y'know the team he drives for get more points?? carlando is a miniscule part of Lando's F1 career and Carlos is less a part of his life than Max V in terms of drivers who spend non-driving related time with him. after that being George, Alex and Daniel. and then Carlos.

yea honestly I'm not sure if the larry element has always been in carlando fandom and the latest Netflix/Liberty Media commercialization of the ship has just amplified it or if these are a bunch of new ppl who only go for the unhinged accounts. but that side of the ship literally view Lando as someone who responds to Carlos and does nothing else so huge shock that they try to override his actual choices and his actual race weekend with Carlos literally years after Carlos left him for Ferrari.

I'm guessing it's enraging watching Carlos do with Charles all the jokey sexual/romantic things they kept wanting him to do w Lando but sorry folks for all that we slow down certain moments and obsess over them sharing an umbrella to walk down the pit lane it's literally brotherly behavior. I've got another anon who brought up my tags of carlando being Charles and Arthur and it straight up is. all the physical carlando stuff is what they do. and I say this as someone who fully does twist all those carlando moments into something romantic/sexual lol. but gotta be able to keep that line between reality and fantasy.

fortunately Lando is chronically online enough to brush this crap off and Carlos just sees the carlando fan stuff as decent publicity. but fingers crossed it doesn't escalate even further to Sky Sports or F1 pushing it and fans getting so crazed that Lando or Carlos has to put their foot down. if it's already swamping McLaren social media and Lando's fan accounts then expect it to get even worse.

the lack of Oscar's presence in all of these places is probably the lamest thing bc good lord the guy has a long term gf can they all admit that as Lando's ACTUAL teammate he has more relevance to Lando's career than any former teammate? and can McLaren please get their act together next season and bring back Unboxeds and stop splitting up Lando and Oscar content when they never did this with Carlos or Daniel?? sorry Oscar ain't a wacky character but we all happen to love his dynamic with Lando.

you just answered that question anon and it's exactly why I can't believe they want carlando back as teammates. as things are we get to have a nice sprinkle of carlando content throughout the season and no drama! do they truly want silly challenges videos so badly that they want to watch the entire friendship sink like a stone now that Lando would be challenging and beating Carlos AND that now it would be Lando as first driver and not Carlos? the Sainz family's warmth is there bc they never had to see Lando as a direct competitor or hindrance to Carlos' success. they'd turn on him in a fucking second when Carlos didn't get an update and Lando did or Carlos wanted to change the car but Lando didn't or Lando was the reason why Carlos missed out on a podium. the main reason why Charles and Carlos work so well through the drama is that they're such similar people and can keep a level head and distance from it all. Lando is n o t h i n g like Charles' personality. Lando cannot translate frustration and misery into anything, it just sits with him until he does better. Carlos literally said he didn't know what to do with Lando when he'd get into those funks. imagine all the god awful repeats of that carlando "breakup" clip from 2021 bc Lando can't hide anything on his face and he'd be fed up with Carlos or his family or himself and christ.

it would be so. so very bad. can they at least be happy that Lando's got a nice placid easygoing guy in Oscar as a teammate and carlando content still rolls in.

I could def see the fact that Oscar is neither older brother or younger brother age for Lando and they do all the same gen z references and the same hobbies is probably part of whatever they perceive as a "threat". like it's still such a reach but it would explain the way Lando fan accounts try to post as little Lando with Oscar as possible but dredge up 2019 slowed down Carlos shoulder bumps and shit lol.

truly I personally don't know if the Oscar and Carlos dingdongs play much of a part for carlando fans bc honestly Carlos has quite a few regular enemies on the track alsgfjlsagf. by this time they've got to know that. Carlos sometimes can't drop the red mist even hours after a race so Oscar just happens to have come in for a share in his rookie season! but especially with how much Carlos has actually seemed to chum around with Oscar before and after drivers parades etc (even ignoring Lando a couple times to do so !!!!!! gasp horror etc)

side note that I'd honestly be glad if Oscar chose never to get into golf bc ohhhhh the shit fit if he went golfing at the same time as Lando and Carlos. even though Lando golfs with tons of people and they always play in fours anyway.

I still personally think that the mostly straight women who buy into the bromances to the point of thinking this is how gay relationships actually look are pretty cold toward Oscar bc even Lando has said that Oscar's brought out a new level in Lando's driving and that he likes how calm Oscar is. so the fact that Oscar and Lando aren't fake gaying it up and they're also not doing a bunch of physical touch that can be edited and slowed down to look gay to those women has got to look like Lando being I guess unhappy or like they have no chemistry. so they'll allow that Oscar can be cute sometimes and maybe sometimes he can be cute with Lando. for a treat. but that in their mind Lando is meh about Oscar and is just dying to have the guy back who... actively chose to leave ??

I never saw that cartoon but I remember one from the summer that had Lando and Oscar together in a boat - SHIP CONFIRMED???? CARLANDO OVER??

jesus christ thankfully the drivers never see these comments.

and yikes at the meltdowns over that Carlos trip to Monaco bc he was with Rebecca the whole time and rumors were that they were looking at apartments. I do hate myself for liking gossip but it's literally in a sit back and enjoy the madness way lol.

askfgakg anon are you by any chance part of the sainz family?

(if I didn't answer your ask here it's probably bc it's something I'd rather discuss privately/don't want to stir up in fandom. feel free to message me tho <3 tumblr may also have devoured it bc it still does that sometimes)

[maxemilianverstappen]

thankfully it’s not on tumblr but on twitter

https://x.com/leclercgasiy/status/1715860958789190084?s=46&t=6DnanuAG9XtIiIZrdAdrQQ

this account has been making hate tweets almost everyday since lestappen played padel

rosbergcore on twitter also makes a lot of hate tweets on lestappen as well

hating on lestappen won’t make their ships more real

I don't know if these two asks are from the same anon, but they are related, so....

Like, what level of clownery is this? Is that leclercgasiy person aware that his guy openly said I WOULD DO THE SAME. My brother in Christ, if Maxie doesn't know how to race wheel to wheel, then your guy admitting he'd fucking do the same, doesn't know either??? Lololol, this person should also go back and remember how many times Charles took out/almost took out Pierre during a race while trying to pass him ahahahaha.

One can argue that Charles was frequently "going for the gap" that didn't exist during 2020/21 because he was heavily trying to compensate for his inferior machine by doing daring and risky moves, but then so was Max, lol... So was Lewis when he used to be a safety hazard on track. Skills are not only honed by practicing but also by taking risks, and these men have to do it. And if they are over the line, they are punished for it. So what the hell?

And after getting out of his car, their guy literally looked like he was riding a magnificent post orgasm bliss while talking to Max. I bet it is killing them to see Charles literally falling over himself to interact with their behated ahahaha.

Also the PR bit... Yeah, what kind of gain will Charles get from being polite to Max when he was sassing Carlos and rolling his eyes about how much his help serves him? He doesn't think of PR while talking about his own team mate but he will act cute for his rival???

M*xiel fans who shit on Lestappen girlies should first focus on their guy getting better results than Liam, lol.

[oxygenpdf]

can you stop posting gifs that you didn't make

Just when I thought we went over this already. (I’m really hoping you aren’t the same anon from before. Cause that would be hella annoying if you are. If you looked in the comments of the original ask, you’d know I talked to the owner. Offered to take the post down. AND apologized, twice. It’s really nice that you’re looking out for accounts. But also try looking at the post itself and the context, thanks)

A) I talked to the owner of the Lestappen gif and cleared everything up, I even apologized AND offered to take down the post—because I originally didn’t even know if was their gif. Hence me editing the post and giving credit (which you’d know if you looked at the actual post itself)

B) I haven’t post any other gifs that I didn’t make. If you’re referring to the Lance stroll one from a long time ago, I made that on using the tumblr gif feature and it was from the F1 intro video.

C) if you’re talking about the recent Charles gifs I didn’t post them. A mutual of mine did, and I reposted their post. Whether or not that mutual stole those gifs, take it up with them. Not me.

Now if you could stop and actually read my posts or context, then you’d know that information. Thanks have a lovely day.

[serve-cunt]

Match In The Gas Tank, Oh, That's Wretched is suck a banger title please tell me more

!!!!!! rebs !! this is my first attempt at lestappen and it may never see the light of day !! it's a bit angry and bitter at the moment lmaoooo

(it's an On the Run From the Mob AU lmao)

Just outside of Denver they hit some bad weather and decide to huddle up in a hotel for the night, earlier than usual but not so early they feel like they've wasted a day. The hotel is small, off the main road, nestled into the front range of the Rocky Mountains, and terribly quiet. It has an air of seedy abandonment undiminished by the fairly consistent stream of people walking, heads down, through the shabby lobby. This, in the end, would be the place where they fucked for the first time although neither had designs to that end when they saw the hotel—a shambling structure, riddled with termites probably and definitely with prostitutes—and neither were what you could call prepared. They had only decided on the room with a single bed because a room with two beds was four times as expensive. “That math doesn’t work,” Max had argued and the desk clerk had only shrugged. A ‘what do I care’ kind of shrug. An ‘I didn't do the figuring’ kind of shrug. Charles had seen immediately that it wasn't worth fighting over, not with the desk jockey anyway, and pushed past Max to take the key: “We'll take the single.” Max had opened his mouth and Charles had stepped on his foot and that had been that. The room is small and it's not even clean, but it is four walls and a roof against the elements which is more than what they’d had in the Pontiac on account of the Pontiac not having one of its rear windows, or anyway not intact. Since it's about to snow Charles doesn't much care about the blooming rug stain and the smell. And the bed. Singular. "Could've done better," Max says, looking around at the room with distaste. "Not for any less," Charles counters. He's right so Max lets him have it.

[lestappenficssearch]

Hiii 🌞

You may have seen the post I made on my main acc (@matchtaco), maybe the name and the username already indicate what this account will be about, this idea occurred to me during the early morning added to the fact that this season ends on Sunday and the World Cup begins (so I'm going to need moments to relax from the 26 men who are going to represent my country and what better than posting things related to lestappen?)

There are over 1300 "Charles Leclerc/Max Verstappen" fics at the time of writing this on AO3, so that's a lot, which not only means we're getting close to third and second place (and within a few years the first) of the ship with the most stories in f1 but also as a consequence many stories are lost among the constant increase of fics, and their search becomes very difficult when you only remember what the story was about or some characteristic detail, or also because of the number of fics, it may be that you want to read something specific with Max and Charles as the main couple and you simply want recommendations…

At that moment I come in, basically you ask me what you need my help with and I'll take care of looking for you and/or recommending you the lestappen fics you want, and if I can't find it or it's not the one you were looking for, ask me again if it's still there available, i'll find it lol.

If you are looking for a fic that you do not remember its name or its labels or its summary, you can request it in the link that says "ask" describing what you remember, for example: an ABO one shot where Charles and Max are divorced.

If, on the other hand, you want me to recommend a specific story, like the one above, in "ask" to write me what kind of fic you are looking for and I recommend up to 3, if possible (or tell me how many you want), for example: a forbidden love fic with sex for favors.

And finally, if you are an author and you allow me to download your story in case one day you delete it so that people who liked it can continue reading it, let me know also through "ask" or through my main page/account, I want to clarify that I will only download the fics of people who allow me, I will not do anything without the express consent of the authors (with the fics of anonymous authors I still have the doubt of what to do), as if you first allow me and then you don't want it anymore, I'll delete it and send you screenshots if you need to review it.

In these days I will upload a card explaining everything better (if I don't get to upload it today, I will upload it before Tuesday since my country plays that day and I will only be able to think about it haha) with the ways to request, the characteristics, etc.

That would be all, I really hope to be of the greatest possible help, if you need any kind of thing that I have mentioned in the previous paragraphs just let me know and I will gladly do it.

[hyacinthsdiamonds]

The reason why they don't follow each other lmao, I still cackle thinking of Charles - literally on Max's freaking plane going home to Monaco after Austria 2019 - looking over at Max to see if he noticed that he'd unfollowed him.

(this point from a post of yours btw)

is there any proof to that point? i'm genuinely asking

Hi Anon,

So I don't have any screenshotted proof from this pre & post Austria 2019 era myself, but maybe another blog does (I've only been active myself in f1 tumblr since 2021, despite following the sport my entire life and looking over the tags every so often before setting up my blog here) so I'll throw this in the tags so if someone does have that type of evidence, they can add it here.

Here's what we do know and have evidence for;

We do know that Max and Charles did follow each other on their various social media platforms until circa 2019, as - (if you scroll back far enough) - you can see different interactions between them pre 2019, pre Austria specifically. [Unrelated note: the unhingedness of them and the rest of the then teenaged members of the grid at this point of time is beyond hilarious. Genuinely, if you have the time it's worth the scrolling because they're such teenage boys tm it's ridiculous, and we kinda forget how long their lives have been interconnected, and it's before they got proper pr training and before certain drivers - most recognisably Max - gave their socials to a media team to run. There was a good period of time around 2017/18 when Victoria, his sister, ran his accounts as well as he wanted to include her in his team, before a proper media team took over. Objectively, the idea of Victoria noticing Charles unfollowed Max and then being the one to unfollow Charles in response, while Max remains oblivious to the entire situation is killing me lmao].

Now we do definitely know that they shared the flight home from Austria as during press after the race, Max was asked if things were going to be awkward with Charles now and he was essentially like "??? We're literally sharing a flight home???" This was Max's "It was just an inchident" ngl. Meanwhile, this was Charles on the podium:

... so he certainly did not share the same sentiment. It was his "it's just unfair" era. You can see a clear difference in Charles' driving post Austria, he started taking more risks and was more aggressive afterwards, because he felt if max was allowed to take risks and be aggressive, so was he. In the story of Charles' racing career, Austria 2019 is a significant race in his journey, even though it wasn't the win he wanted it to be. He would win his first two races in the aftermath of it.

It would not be the first or last time Charles would pettily unfollow someone on the grid after feeling he had been dirty by them and/or the FIA. In 2021, he followed every driver on the grid bar Max and would unfollow Valterri after what Charles dubbed the bowling incident in Hungary. While Bottas caused the main chaos of that opening lap, Stroll was the one who actually took Charles out of the race, but Lance has Charles following him as of 2024. Bottas also may have been unfollowed because of his preference of being as little clothed as possible in his insta posts lmao, but Charles did follow him before Hungary 2021 and quickly unfollowed afterwards.

I hope this provides some help, anon. And I'm sorry that I don't have the relevant screenshots to validate and accurately fact check this section of lestappen lore.