#Random FP1 thoughts

[laura1633]

Interesting FP1. Monaco wasn’t expected to be a good track for Red Bull so we will see how it goes. If the field genuinely has closed the gap then it’s going to be a case of maximising those weekends where the car doesn’t suit the track.

I still think the RB20 will be very fast on certain tracks but it looks like it’s just hard to get the balance right and can be difficult to drive!

But also, Max and Checo didn’t run the softs so it’s hard to know what the soft run pace is like and they have tended to start the weekends slowly and build towards qualifying. And yes Max didn’t sound particularly happy but it’s still early and he is trying to get the car dialled in.

Basically, who knows what is going to happen 😂🤷‍♀️ Charles is looking quick though 🏎️

[onboardsorasora]

Mechanic Daniel usually wears the suit that all the other mechanics wear and when he doesn’t have that on he’s wearing pants so no one really knows that he has thigh tattoos

Except on a random Thursday it’s hot and he’s wearing the tiniest shorts he can get away with in a professional setting and the tattoos are on full display. In the background of weekend warm up, everyone sees Daniel doing pit stop practice with the crew and Max eying Daniel like he wants to devour him right there for all too see

Maybe when Daniel just started with the team he opted to just get pants for his uniform because, well he's new and he's just trying to gel with them, get his job done, ace the pit stops. life would be good.

Then it starts to get warm and he knows the 'rules' are pretty like lax when it comes to what they have to wear during the weekend. He orders his team issued shorts, knowing he'll be able to wear them Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings. All good all ways.

Except.... the shorts are like a 5 inch inseam when everyone else's are 7inch. The shorts are hitting him mid-thigh when everyone else's goes to the top of their knees. And like...he's fine with that, loves his shorts on the shorter side normally. But this is work and he has to kneel and shit. Yeah he has his kneepads but there's still a high chance of like singeing the hair off his leg or something.

there's nothing to be done for it. the shorts are here and they're team issued so he shouldn't like get in trouble for it. There's maybe a cat call or two because this is the first time he's wearing shorts after like working with the team so long. He expected the ribbing, the teasing. Even the butt slaps. it was fun and funny and he was still able to work.

So what if the shorts rode up and exposed like all of his tattoos and so what if Brad is yanking the fabric up in the middle of the garage while the drivers and engineers are in debrief, so they can all ooh and ahh. it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be.

That was Thursday.

Friday, he ignores the cheers and the cameras while they do pit stop practise during fp1. all goes well, everything is going smooth until Max's car comes back with an issue and then Max is standing around the garage watching. Daniel doesn't think about it, just gets on his back under the car like normal. he needs to remove the floor and get in there. He's on his back with his legs bent and open for stability, doesn't feel any breeze on his thighs while he's getting shit done. There's no time for that.

He and the guys work and get everything fitted back together, there's cheering and high fives. Daniel slides from under the car and sits up, wiping sweat off his face and replacing it with grease. He grins and looks up, Max is staring right at him. His eyes are dark and his lip is between his teeth.

Daniel blushes, winks, then gets up to finish working.

A video gets sent to him later that evening- a tiktok, zoomed in from somewhere on the broadcast. His concentrated face and lots of bulging thighs while he does the pit stops, Brad lifting him up and roughhousing in the garage, His almost naked legs sticking out from under the car, thighs completely on display.

Max watching him like he's a piece of meat.

[saintescuderia]

welcome to the mini series of the random, mindless thoughts had by a poet disguised in an orange jumpsuit watching cars speed by all weekend. enjoy!

--- note: 5am starts, 7pm finishes. all four days. gotta love formula 1!

thursday: media day!

i want the ferrari jacket

there are school kids here?

i don’t want the ferrari jacket

$7 for a small can of red bull is THEFT

especially since they broke the cost cap

me walking through the “accredited personnel” gate and tapping my special lanyard is a CORE memory

i think my uber driver dropped me off on the opposite side of the track

*stressing about being unable to admire the sights of albert park bc i’m stress-running from the opposite end of the track to my station*

pls don’t be a dick and say i’m late - i know

how is a 5am wake up not early enough HOW?

“last year i was stationed at the corner where charles spun out.”

sole thought = 💀💀💀💀

i. fucking. love. cars.

the whole SENSORY experience of a race ffffffffffffuuuuuck

“be careful taking pictures because that security camera is on us and is straight to race control and the FIA.” is such a cool sentence to hear

a porsche gtr should not be covered with branding idc

i’m definitely going to abuse caffeine this weekend

friday: FP1 / FP2

the sun is rising over the lake as i walk on the albert park track and i’m happy to be alive

especially as i found a toilet that isn’t a port-a-loo

ah, a cafe that does good decent coffee thank GOD

am i going to pay $10 for a croissant?

i'm going to pay $10 for a croissant.

i lived in paris but this one fresh lune choc croissant has topped it all

no like there will never be another croissant experience to beat me eating a fresh pain au chocolat on a f1 circuit as the sun rises over the water with the melbourne skyline in the background

aramco engineers are walking behind me as i shit talk about f1, nice

“it is an increasingly unique experience peeing in a port-a-loo beside a formula one track as cars race by.”

120’000 is a LOT of people

how has the float not broken yet?

metro boomin has released an album as i stand before live formula one. life has PEAKED

fernando alonso is the first F1 driver i ever saw live

there is a shift in formula one as the heritage fans of motor racing are on the out as the next generation of fans absorbed in driver hype and social media takes over and we see this in how F1 has created the new US tracks and made them all into spectacles and fans are here because of it being “cool” instead of caring about cars

… maybe i should buy the redbull jacket instead?

bonus: sole thought during the pitlane walk for the marshals

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

saturday: FP3 / qualifying

the relief of thinking you’re late and then seeing someone you know HA

commentators are now contractually obligated to bring up saudi arabia every time they talk about ollie bearman

jesus they’re as bad as the f1 girlies

i have to watch the grand prix replay after all of this i have no idea what’s actually going on

CHARLES GOES FASTER THAN MAX HA

kimi spinning out has me actively wanting to cry

a safety car FROM THE PIT EXIT

welcome to F2 everyone 👏👏👏

not me lying to the cute irish guy hitting on me about @saintescuderia

a big fat ha at the eshays holding their puffer jackets - even they can’t stand the heat

don’t flex on me that you’re here at F1 when you don’t even know what’s going on yourself bruhhhh

to the red bull fan telling me i’m “dramatic” for rolling under the fence (it’s how marshals have to do it) pls get help

$7 for a calispo is a JOKE

recording F1 quali isn’t even worth it bc they're TOO FAST

JOKES I GOT A PHOTO WITH ALBONO

i’m very lucky for my team of marshals :))))))))))

i’m only going to eat half my muffin

*finishes the whole thing*

sunday: race!

KIMI ANTONELLI!

do i ask for a photo?

*every photo of charles leclerc being abused flashes through my mind*

nah leave him be

five minutes later: i regret not asking him

the group of aussies dressed as lance stroll drunk at 9am have my heart and my respect

i need a coffee

seeing kimi walk right by me has now made so much invested for f2

i really need a coffee

yep they screwed kimi with all those safety cars

i really, really need a coffee

we get to go ON TRACK? for the DRIVERS PARADE

*starts practicing “get well soon” in spanish*

my heart is BEATING

lol jokes carlos didn’t even look at us

*checks footage to see that i accidentally just recorded guanyu zhou next to carlos the whole time :))))*

lol are they putting lewis and charles together all the time?

every marshal: “that was the shittest parade ever.”

i need a drink

pls don’t talk to me for the next two hours

don't meet your heroes kids

but also why the fuck did they do the float in one big car? and do INTERVIEWS? this is legit the one time the drivers can be there JUST for the FANS

F1 can PISS OFF

race start = okay it's happening

waitwaitwaitwaitWAITDIDIJUSTSEECARLOSOVERTAKEMAX?!

nevermind i love him

"race control has asked that you calm down, marshals are supposed to be neutral."

lol at the entirety of albert cheering that max is slowly coming to a DNF

mclaren swapping oscar for lando is DISGUSTING fuck zak brown

somehow, i've forgotten that charles is just there

SEND IT CARLOS VAmos

(this is all because i told you que te mejores pronto!)

daniel ricciardo....man..... aus gp can't market you like this.......

damn yuki got HANDS

ferrari and mclaren having the top 4 places is just *chefs kiss*

lewis just had to stall just pass my sector like i hope ur okay but couldn't u not be ok in front of me?

red bull deserves this after all the FLACK i've copped from red bulls fans ("dramatic" MY ASS)

wait george russell ARE YOU SERIOUS?!

singapore all over again. i can already see the memes.

somehow marshalling a gp has you closer and more removed from the whole thing i have no idea what's going on

(literally the only time i used my F1TV live timing)

finishing after the safety car means i can't stick my head out and clap for carlos FUCK OFF

wait, he came up right UP TO MY SIDE OF THE TRACK TO WAVE

... do you think he noticed me?

[its-all-papaya]

omg so so so excited about landoscar kid fic. it'll be incredible to read no matter what direction you take it, your characterization hits!!!❤️

Ok these are just random headcanons that make me soft but (also just vibes would love to hear ur thoughts/opinions about this verse forever): 

Lando letting Emma pick out Oscar merch to wear on race weekends 

Lando & Emma become a very welcome addition to the paddock: Emma loves the cars; Oscar passing hospitality in a rush but seeing Lando happily chatting away with some McLaren ppl and it makes him both warm and prideful— Lando’s adapting so well to this new lifestyle and it blows Oscar’s mind every time they’re really making it work 🥺

Trips to Australia!!! Lando and Emma LOVE it there!

Lando’s handling the clothes shopping for the whole fam honestly😅 and the trip planning

Pre-lando Oscar could cook up like 2 nice dinners but after meeting him, he invests time into it and gets genuinely good. On non-race weeks grocery shopping with Emma is a whole thing—Oscar never knew it could be so enjoyable picking up groceries & cooking for his familyyyy

thank you for sending these so i can release them rn to vibes cleanse the dash 🙂‍↕️

emma wearing oscar merch is already in the outline and I've only outlined like 1/5 of this thing, so absolutely dw, that will be in there. she's a little confused about mclaren in general in this thing but she got the spirit.

lando and emma in the paddock also going to be part of this for sure. I took the max f inspo last night and just fucking ran with that, so f1 is not a new world for either of them now, but being part of oscar's corner of it is. And they're definitely around more races after lando and osc get together and it's definitely a dead heat between who's heart/brain will explode faster: oscar seeing lando waiting for him in hospitality & watching emma with her big headphones on in the garage during free practice, or lando watching oscar take little moments out of his work day to pay attention to them and give Emma high-fives and kiss lando's forehead before he has to run off to his next thing.

yes australia !! lando probably first meets oscar's family on a gp weekend tbh, but oscar's been itching to take them both home with him foreverrrrr bc emma's ALWAYS asking for stories about australia and begging to go see the kangaroos. and then yes, they both love it. and oscar's accent gets stronger when he's there and that's impossible for lando to deal with.

yeah the thing i didn't consider when making lando kind of a disaster is that oscar is also a mess of a different kind? and so that honestly probably makes lando feel BETTER, because lando feels self-conscious about himself as an adult almost constantly, but in comparison to oscar's four t-shirts (dried with the fkn oven, lest we forget) and general carelessness on some things, lando is like... perhaps i am sometimes a little put together after all. but osc when he's around takes on a select few of the domestic tasks lando loathes (cooking yes absolutely) and that's cool but it's mainly so nice to just have another person around. to entertain emma while lando does necessary adult things or to run grab extra shampoo from the store quick bc lando didn't realize they were out and now emma's already in the bath. having a partner? mint.

extras for youuuuu from my own early plotting and thinking:

calling/facetiming oscar before emma's bedtime on race weekends when they're not along with. esp when it's like the north american races and lando lets emma stay up an extra 45 minutes past bedtime so they can watch fp1 and then call osc to say goodnight. emma so impatient to call even though lando reminds her every time they do this that they have to wait for oscar to call them because he's at work and he'll only have a minute. but then him in his race suit still with balaclava lines and lando is like. extremely not normal about it. ever. and emma is like "you were the fastest, osc?" and oscar is like "well we were testing a new rear wing, so-" and lando's like "yeah she doesn't care babe" even though he knows oscar knows that and they're both just being shits bc they're helplessly FOND of each other. (lando stays up past his bedtime, too, to watch fp2 and oscar calls HIM to say goodnight after that as well)

i decided last night to just swap lando and max f in this universe, so max is the other mclaren driver. so then max being stupidly irritated all the time that HE'S been the one around emma since she was BORN and OSCAR won her over in like four days. after everything he's done for her, she still wants to sit in OSCAR'S lap in-between media events, smh. constant bickering between max f and oscar about whose merch emma is gonna wear and who she wants to finish ahead of the other (even though she truly can't tell them apart on track whatsoever and gets excited whenever any papaya car does anything) and who's her favorite. and she obviously drinks in all the attention and lando is just heart exploding bc how did he even end up with all of his most favorite people all in one place like what good deeds did past life him do to deserve this cosmic luck?

emma's used to daddy sleeping in, so she's good at waiting to get out of bed until it's time, but oscar gets up early and she quickly learns that when he stays the night, she can get up and follow him to the kitchen at like 7am and he won't even be upset. he'll let her sit on the counter while he scrambles eggs or whatever and talk to her about whatever she wants to hear about. premiere bonding time for them. (also then osc coming over once after a late flight home from wherever just to sleep in lando's bed bc he missed his bby and lando said it was okay. so he gets up to get water early, still sleepy, and emma comes running in to join and he's like "i need to go back to sleep, baby, sorry :(" bc he's rlly only gotten like two hours at that point. but she looks so sad... so he's like "do you wanna have a cuddle with us?" and obviously she does. so lando lifting his head all groggy and confused as oscar slides back into bed, but osc just shushes him and kisses his hair like "sh, go back to sleep, emma's here though" and then his daughter's on the bed, too, and lando's really not sure what's happening bc he's hardly awake, but em curls against his chest and oscar presses up behind him and kisses the back of his neck and like. there's literally nothing to complain about?? so sleepy lazy morning as they all snooze until like 11am.)

ANYWAY!! I'M NORMAL ABOUT THIS FIC!!

[racingliners]

Every time I see Max I am constantly reminded of the guy sat next to me at Silverstone shouting "Go on Maxy" during the race

[slow-button-off]

Robert Shwartzman also flew in with charles and the rest of the ferrari crew.....maybe he'll take part in one of the FP1 sessions? 👀

If I were to guess, I'd say he'll substitute in for charles because he's most probably starting from the back of the grid anyways and spa is a familiar track to the juniors so the chance of crashing is low.

Helloo!

There is always a chance that he's just coming along in general.

But yeah of he gets to drive a Ferrari then it'll be Charles most likely. But I thought I read somewhere that Ferrari were thinking of Cota and Abu Dhabi for the rookie FP1 sessions. But I can't remember where that was.

But he could also have a go in the Haas because unless they give them away to someone random for money he's a shoe in for those sessions.

[leqclerc]

i really like the progression charles made us feels with this helmet: no announcement by him, a news casually said by ferrari -> his usual helmet to confuse us -> a random danke seb appears, wait that's it?! -> oh no it's white the flag it's inspired by seb's design wow -> there are pictures of them?!?!?! If he simply revealed it, it would not be the same thing. What a drama queen sgjkklfss

OKAY BUT THIS?

Literally I slept for maybe four hours, woke up for FP1 because my Sebchal senses were tingling and I really wanted to see the Sebmet™ so my first stop was Twitter... and nothing? I thought someone would’ve posted pics by then --- photos and videos of Seb’s special helmet were up already so why not Charles’s? 

Then I swear he initially went out on track in his standard design helmet and I was like? Huh? Maybe he’s waiting until Sunday? Then he went back into the garage for a bit and when he came back out on track and the onboard screenshots started trickling through I caught a glimpse of the Danke Seb and I was like. Well that’s... safe. Predictable. Kind of disappointing but it’s the thought that counts, right? At some point someone posted pics of it from the front and I could see it the base was white, the usual logos were gone, and the red-white stripe across it resembled Seb’s designs? And finally then the details of the 16 were released, with all the photos and... oh.

So you’re right, it’s been A Wild Morning. But also so in-character, this little feral chaos goblin ahsdjf Tbh I figured he was planning something because he kept liking Seb tweets over the past few weeks and I was like, “oh maybe he’ll make a cheesy video or something.” But god him dedicating an entire helmet design to Seb...I didn’t dare even dream of anything that Extra.

He really kept it quiet and then sprung it on us this morning huh...I still want photos or a video of him showing it off... And god if Seb acknowledges it somehow...Please... 👉🏻👈🏻

[laura1633]

Max Verstappen and his brand

I'm not sure why I wrote this (and its very much just my opinion and apologies if there are any inaccuracies, I am thinking out loud) but here it is...

I wouldn’t call this a rant, more just random thoughts based on certain opinions I have seen about Max’s “celebrity status” or “personality” and people somehow using this as a reason to suggest he’s not that popular or couldn’t really be the face of F1 (not that Max would actually be bothered about that)

I think these days there are very much two parts of F1 - the racing and the show. Which is fine, I’m not someone who would ever think less of someone who came to the sport through DTS and I wouldn’t suggest that these people care less about the racing. You can come into the sport any which way and be as passionate and invested as the next person and I fully mean that - the sport shouldn’t be gate kept, I love F1 and I love it when other people come to the sport and fall in love with it.  But still - I think its fair to say that in recent years the popularity of the sport has exploded and with it there seems to be a lot more attention on the driver’s personal lives and building them up into celebrities as well as being sportsmen. 

The thing is, Max is not someone who chases after celebrity status. He’s not always hanging out with celebrities or going to trendy events etc. He is a driver who is passionate about the racing. That is clear if you look at his criticism of the Vegas GP. During the run up to the race he was very critical, for example he wasn’t shy about saying he felt like "a clown" standing up on those stages at the opening ceremony. He also didn’t hold back when giving his views on the disaster of FP1 and fans being kept out, he literally said he “would tear the whole place down”. To understand what Max loves about F1 you only need to look to the speech he gave where he very eloquently described the emotion and passion behind racing and why it is more important than the show. Even then there were headlines in certain corners of the internet describing it as a rant as if he is completely wrong or out of order to give his opinion. 

Max is very honest and is all about the racing and what is best for the sport. Max’s brand is not based on celebrity it is based on racing which I think some people either fail to see or just flat out ignore. Look at his involvement with Team Redline or check out Verstappen.com Racing if you need proof of how invested he is. 

Also I found this article which I had never read before about the feedback he was able to given when testing a GT3 car recently - HERE

To suggest Max isn’t popular because he’s not seen hanging out with celebrities or not trying to build a brand outside racing is ridiculous (and this is not me having a go at any driver who wants a brand outside racing - that is also fine of course!). The man was responsible for bring fans in to the sport in droves during the 2021 championship battle. He also has fans who literally travel around the world to watch him race - he has grandstands in multiple countries that sell out and through his website he offers ticket packages etc. His rise in popularity also resulted in the Dutch GP coming back on to the calendar. 

Max has been instrumental in pushing the sport forward - but he does that on track. 

Despite all I have said above - if you have ever watched Max in interviews or filming the marketing promos for Red Bull you will see he is far from boring. People who think he doesn’t have a personality have probably never spent time actually watching him. Now I know not everybody likes every driver and that is fine but I can’t help feel that people decide they dislike Max without ever really knowing anything about him.

I saw a post from someone calling 2023 uninspiring and it was one of the strangest takes I have seen on 2023. Max absolutely smashed record after record and completely dominated and picked up wins even in difficult and changeable circumstances. How is that uninspiring? I bet if their favourite driver had been the one picking up those wins they would have been hailing it as an amazing season. Yes we all like to see our favourite driver win but to say another driver’s record breaking win is uninspiring is laughable.

Essentially Max is not chasing after celebrity. He is someone who has a very successful brand centred around racing and likes to keep his personal life private as much as possible (most of the stuff we see is actually from Kelly’s posts not Max’s).

If alongside all his racing stats his legacy is that of someone who was outspoken and a defender of the most important part of F1 - the racing - then I think that is amazing.