#also like toto not saying that the goal for this season was podiums and the championship does not bode well y'all

[livefastdriveyoung]

Tell me why the Mercedes Car Launch felt like divorced parents attending a parent-teacher conference?

[nicolesainz]

You never forget your power (LH44)

Lewis Hamilton x reader

warnings: fluff and heartbreaking

mentions of Abu Dhabi 2021 (not blaming anyone, just the fia, not max)

My eyes were full of tears

My heart was shattered into thousands of little pieces

And I knew at that moment, his would be into million

I look around me at a panicked and frustrated Mercedes garage, with all the mechanics swearing loudly in British slangs, Bono’s face in his hands and Suzie Wolff trying to calm her extremely angry husband.

I looked up at the big screen at the center of the track, only to be faced with a disappointment Lewis, who had raised his visor and his eyes were taken over by disgust and sadness. 

What just happened was truly unfair! This title was stripped from his hands the very last moment. Disobeying the rules? This is what we’ve come to? I shake my head and try to shut off the noises around me.

Happy screams, fireworks and chantings were not things I wanted to hear at the moment. My stomach was twisting around. The podium moment was now and I can say that I’ve never felt more awful in my life.

I couldn’t bare looking at Lewis. I wanted to run up and give him the biggest hug. In all the years we’ve known each other, from little kids, he always fought like a true champion. He proved this seven times already.

Max was also a young man who wanted to show the world his talent. Everyone was happy for him. After years of fighting, he reached his ultimate goal.

This season, has been the most horrifying and breathtaking I’ve ever witnessed. I’m glad to say that it’s over. The feeling it left behind is bitter than anything. A win would have made it bittersweet, to say the least.

I could see Max’s father, Jos, side eyeing Toto, I walked a bit towards the boss’s side. His gaze was focused on Lewis, who had a blunt but teary look on his face. This was a hit for Mercedes right where it hurts. It hurt their pride. It hurt Lewis’s pride.

All for a human error.

“If I didn’t want to be banned from the paddock or dropped by the team, I would have punched him” Toto let out quietly, as his wifey caressed his arm.

“I can do it! No one can tell me what to do!” I offer, of course always joking.

“Y/N, darling please. For now, just stand by Lewis’s side. He needs you more than ever” Suzie gives me a gentle smile and I reply with an equally bright one.

“Don’t worry. I would never leave him alone”

“When is this bullcrap ending?” The angry Austrian man said, talking to himself

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After Lewis had finished with press and interviews, I was waiting for him at his driver’s room. My heart was racing and I couldn’t bare the thought of a sad version of him.

When he finally entered the garage and he saw me, his movements were faster. I opened my arms and he immediately threw himself at me. I could hear his deep breathing and slight sniffles. I didn’t want to pity him. He is a very strong and capable man. He knows though, that I will always be beside him.

“I guess the peak ended” he said quietly

“I truly hope you’re joking!” I grabbed his chin, for him to face me

“I’m not. Max is a very fucking fast and good driver. I can’t do much about it” Lewis replied still not looking me in the eyes

“If you say another bullshit in the next minutes I will walk away” I warn him! He shouldn’t degrade himself because he lost

“It’s not bullshit Y/N it’s the truth. I’m not good enough” he murmured underneath his breath

“Why are you being like this? You’ve lost again. It’s not the first time but you didn’t act the way you are now!” I raise my voice, which I immediately regret

“I was younger then. I was hungry for more. I still am. But I think my time has come to an end” I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs when he said that

“Even if you want to give up, I won’t let you! I won’t let you drop your entire career because of this!” I cupped his face in my hands and his gaze finally focused on me

“There’s no point in staying Y/N. We all have an expiration date” he says those things with suck ease, I truly hate it.

What he said truly affected me, but I believe that what I said to him afterwards left him speechless too

“So you’re saying that me falling in love with you, will expire soon?” I blurt our and Lewis’s eyes widen. Surprise and shock were written all over his face.

“You’re in love with me? Since when? How?” He was very confused by my statement and I was afraid he might have been scared too

“A year ago. The moment you crossed the line at the Turkish Grand Prix and won the seventh championship, I realized what my true feelings were for you. And that I would follow you to every corner of the world, and support you no matter what!” I said in a quick exhale and then try to catch my breath

“Good. Because I would refuse to have anyone by my side but you. You make me a better person and you’re the reason why I’m mature and want to learn more about life. You give me life” Lewis, leans forward in order for our foreheads to touch lovingly.

“Lewis, I don’t care if you win, lose, get a podium, not get a podium. I will forever be a supporter of yours through thick and thin”

“Like you always have!”

“And I always will. Never leaving you”

“Please don’t. Being close to you is intoxicating and simply brightens my mood. You boost me and make me improve constantly”

“I love you Lewis. Please never forget that”

“I love you too Y/N. And I am more than thankful to have been gifted with your friendship and now your heart. I promise not to break any of those. I will forever protect you!”

[sugar-petals]

Hey, Caro, can you please introduce us to that sweet beau, Lewis Hamilton?? He's a speed driver, right??

lemme talk about this champ and beautiful man — he is a must-know. 

lewis hamilton is a speed driver: in fact, the best racer in the world. with the fastest formula 1 lap in all history, and: if he wins this season (which has just started last week, your timing to get into this is perfect), lewis can boast a whopping 8 world championships. in short: you’re asking about the right guy. let’s go.

so i repeat, he won seven years (yeah, he’s a capricorn). which equals the current record holder, mister michael schumacher himself, i’m sure you heard of him. so, about time all the world knows more about this stunner as well, sir lewis carl davidson hamilton

lewis is so good and works his butt off so hard, he has more titles — he was knighted last year — and gigantic trophies than he can carry. since we’re talking f1 where drivers have to be light and agile inside the car, lewis is of course gloriously tiny, 5′7. so, the exhausted british short king on your news and twitter feed who walks around like this on a podium after doing 300 kilometers+ is dead sure to be him. can’t miss the guy.

wanna know more? lewis is an allrounder in every field and does everything what people say he can’t. unless he’s not somewhere modelling clothes being gorgeous (he collabs with tommy hilfiger for sustainable unisex collections)...

... taking care of his nieces or godson steve which regulary melts the f1 community...

... is using his favorite little scooter...

... showing up at the met gala as one of the few guys who really get the gist looking beautiful as always...

... playing with his cute crinkly bulldog roscoe who’s always by his side and F1′s most famously beloved driver pet...

...doing the absolute most with his activism and veganism — he even created his own plant-based restaurant chain — because as i said he’s a king, lewis never shies from taking a stand even if a lot of people hate him for it because it’s a white-dominated sport...

...or posts inspirational things that make you believe in yourself...

...lewis drives, can you guess:

for mercedes!

the #1 team which usually only red bull can currently challenge. which means he has a sexy, shiny, impossibly fantastic car — with his lucky number 44, that’s how you can spot it — that is almost always leading the field. if you see this on your sports tv channel on a saturday (qualifying) or sunday (race day), i assure you it’s lewis. 44, glossy black car, pole position, check. a great talent in a perfect car equals one hell of a winning streak.

— but if you ask me, the man is even sexier, cooler, and cuter and the real highlight. just so we’re clear on this. lewis is always a breath of fresh air. believe it or not: this guy is 35 (!!) years old. needless to say, prettiest fashion icon on the grid. and yes, he has amazing hair and tattoos.

killing it. 👍 lewis brings a presence to the grid.

who’s he making proud, then? now some notes on his circle, the people you spot him with. 

family hamilton first, who do we have: 

dad anthony, lewis’ former manager. at one point he worked 4 jobs so lewis could start his career in karting. carmen, his mom. linda, his stepmom, pictured below. his brother, nicolas, also a race driver. nicolas has a disability (cerebral palsy), he competes in the uk touring championship with a modified car since 2015. like nicolas, lewis is the only (!) black driver in his tournament and they are frequently sending out very important messages about it.

now for mercedes: accompanied he is by the calm and collected finnish valtteri bottas as his taciturn team colleague and runner-up champion. valtteri is the type to sit in a north pole sauna, lewis is ever-active, so they balance each other well. no trouble there, they’re a cool duo.

and i’m not kidding, valtteri is truly finnish. this is his twitter, summarized:

add the smart, austrian mercedes boss toto wolff who has the best height difference to him. these two get along very jokingly. where lewis goes, toto is not far. very dynamic duo, this is the success factory of formula 1.

while his most competitive love-hate relationship sparking the famous ‘silver war’ was retired german champion nico rosberg since day one. who came from priviledged backgrounds while lewis did not, they are the biggest team rivals of recent f1 times and people still talk about it. the ups and downs were huge but they sure had tremendous times as friends.

while the most smooth and consistent relationship — besides with roscoe — has got to be his bond with his whirlwind assistent/physio angela cullen! 

lewis credits her for so much and treats her reveringly. you haven’t seen anything like this, they are glued to each other.

lewis’ off-grid relationships come and go because he’s so busy, colleagues come and go all the time, but angela stays a constant. so if you’re asking about who the most important woman on the circuit is to lewis, that is his personal angel(a) indeed. look how wholesome.

i mean, a picture says it all.

last but not least. lewis’ best ever friend is german driver sebastian vettel (formerly ferrari, now aston martin, struggling a lot currently :/), former 4-time world champion. these two are THE match made in heaven and support goals. seb has the humor, lewis has the cheekiness, seb is a father, lewis has his uncle duties, it just fits. everybody should have a seb to their lewis.

(^this is vet having hurried to be the first one to congratulate lewis on his latest championship win)

so now you know more about sir lewis carl davidson hamilton! you will hear a lot from him this season, he’ll continue to champion many a cause, and be in the fast lane as always.

[formula365]

Everyone loves an underdog - Portuguese GP preview

The midfield battle in 2020 was one of the most fascinating stories of the season. From the pink Mercedes controversy to the podium opportunities and unlikely wins, the fight behind Mercedes and Red Bull was far more enticing than the title battle (such as it was). The three teams that ended the season still with a shot of supremacy all had moments throughout the year in which they had the fastest car, so the difference was in who could take the best advantage of their package overall.

Of those three, McLaren was definitely not the one with the best pace for most of the year. The Woking team, limited in their development for 2021 due to the change to Mercedes power, was hard at work in improving their front wing to have it homologated for this season, and that cost them in terms of the car development compared to Renault and Racing Point. Ultimately, it didn’t matter, as they managed to consistently maximise their results at almost every race, while their rivals squandered opportunities on occasion.

It was consistency - shown by how close their two drivers finished on the standings compared to the distances between Ricciardo and Perez and their teammates - not pace that delivered McLaren the third place in the constructors championship. In such close battles, to have pace is important, of course, but you need to know how to take advantage of it, and that wasn’t always the case with their rivals.

This is a lesson that AlphaTauri is learning the hard way. The AT02 has shown some remarkable pace, to the point that after practice in Bahrain there seemed to be a consensus that the Faenza squad was on par with McLaren and Ferrari at the front of the midfield. Their qualifying results seem to confirm this, and their race pace, when not hampered by other factors, does as well. So it ends up being a disappointment that they have only collected eight points so far.

This still puts them fifth in the championship, ahead of Aston Martin and Alpine, who were significantly ahead of them last year, but given the promise and potential of the car, it feels like underachieving. Driver errors in both races, and bad strategy at Imola have cost them much better results, and although this is enough for a place in the top half of the table - Franz Tost’s goal for the team - it was a lost opportunity at a time when they have a significant pace advantage over the teams immediately behind them.

Their rivals will be working hard to close the gap, and with the resources at their disposal it wouldn’t be surprising to see that happen. Not taking the most out of the opening two weekends might hurt AlphaTauri in the long term, and when teams are beginning to bring some more significant updates to their cars as the European season progresses, they might be left ruing these missed opportunities. That pace advantage might not always be there.

This is a team that is easy to love. Everyone loves an underdog, of course, but the origins of this team hark back to the humble Minardi, that struggled as back marker for most of its existence but was endearing to fans as they always seemed to do their best in tough circumstances and hung around for decades as other squads, with far more money and ambition, tumbled out of the sport. That, and also they had some really beautiful liveries.

Add to that an exciting driver line-up, with Gasly continuing to write his redemption story and Tsunoda coming to the sport like a comet, and it’s easy to see why so many fans want to see them do well. The car has pace, the drivers have promise and, as an outfit, they continue to deliver more than is expected of them, just like in the Minardi days. As the races will start coming thick and fast now (three GPs in the next four weekends), they need to deliver on this promise in Portugal to create momentum. 2021 can be another fairytale underdog year for them, but they need to learn that at the sharp end, if you don’t take your opportunities, others will.

Talking points

* It’s all everyone seems to be talking about. Who will come out on top this weekend? The Hamilton-Verstappen battle has already captured everyone’s imagination and the battle promises to be one for the ages. The last few seasons had plenty of great stories and moments of awe, but they lacked a fight at the front. Even the Vettel challenge in 2017 and 2018 petered long before the end, so the last time we had a real fight was Rosberg’s title year. It’s high time we had a battle taken to the bitter end.

* Sprint qualifying was announced this week, and the reaction among fans has been mixed, at best. Under the context of increasing the interest for the casual fan watching on TV or those who might want to go watch it live but will only care about the Sunday ticket, this format becomes understandable. On a sporting context, though, it seems to add little, and might even detract from the overall product quality, as drivers will not be particularly keen to take chances in overtaking on a qualifying race knowing it might ruin their entire weekend. One upside is that drivers will go into Friday qualifying with only one hour of practice session. Benefit of the doubt for now, but it doesn’t look promising.

* Speaking of not very promising things, the Miami GP track layout seems very… meh. Maybe it’s a bias against car park tracks, but I am not looking forward to see a race there. Then again, Baku didn’t feel too inviting either and we have had some crazy races, so… Again, benefit of the doubt, for now.

* At the time of writing, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have announced that they will be joining a social media boycott over the weekend, protesting the lack of action from platforms against racism and hate by users. It’s an important message to send, but I am not sure that absence for a short period of time is the right way to send it.

* Speaking of Russell, the controversy around his crash with Bottas and, in particular, the way he reacted to it keeps rumbling on. Scolded by Toto Wolff in the immediate aftermath, and very much aware of the long-term implications, the Brit did issue an apology on the Monday after the race - but he only apologised for his reaction, not for the crash. Also, he did say he would call Bottas, but the Finn said Russell tried to call him early on Monday morning, while Bottas was sleeping, and did not try again. It’s clear there will be a continued animosity between these two, given how intertwined their futures are. Let’s hope that the next time they meet on track, the ending won’t be filled with car parts like in Imola.

[othersportsnews-blog]

Is the championship tide turning against Ferrari?

New Post has been published on https://othersportsnews.com/is-the-championship-tide-turning-against-ferrari/

Is the championship tide turning against Ferrari?

In advance of his publish-British Grand Prix media session, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff walked into the team’s hospitality device, shook some fingers, flashed a grin and reported: “Best race at any time!”

A race that had looked great turned into the team’s finest of the 12 months so considerably, a resounding a person-two with Ferrari’s lead driver limping dwelling in seventh. Though a great deal of this season has found Mercedes yinging and yanging with general performance, Ferrari has remained regular and often capitalised anytime the globe champions have dropped factors. In advance of the weekend Wolff had known as on the globe champions to “place items correct” for the group — in unique Lewis Hamilton — following dependability problems had squandered a earn in Baku and at minimum a podium in Austria.

It really is not tough, then, to realize why Wolff was in this kind of higher spirits on Sunday. When Ferrari won the Monaco Grand Prix on Might 28, seven weeks earlier, it seemed like a sizeable moment in the 2017 championship. A dominant a person-two saw the Italian group take a seventeen-place lead in the constructors’ race and prompt Wolff to urge Mercedes to embrace the team’s “new actuality” of being accurate underdogs for the initially time in the V6 turbo period. Not for the initially time this season, the globe champions had struggled with Pirelli’s softest compounds, with Hamilton primarily having difficulties to get his tyres into the correct operating vary for the weekend. Hamilton also encountered very similar problems in Sochi, whilst Valtteri Bottas’s struggles with his rear tyres hampered his general performance at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP/Getty Photographs

But in the 4 races since then, Ferrari has unsuccessful to file a earn and has only registered two trips to the podium. By contrast, Mercedes has won three of the 4 races and been on pole at every single. Ten times of 24/seven manufacturing facility perform aided Mercedes improved realize and prevail over its Monte Calro troubles in time for Canada, the place Hamilton took pole, .330s ahead of Vettel. Through that weekend, Mercedes’ crystal clear benefit via the last sector advised it was nonetheless marginally ahead in the power stakes. Vettel’s early collision with Max Verstappen robbed us of viewing Mercedes and Ferrari combat it out for a earn, but both equally Mercedes looked potent ample to finish both equally cars on the podium irrespective.

Then arrived Baku, a circuit which benefits outright motor power. Hamilton claimed a resounding pole place, with the closest Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen one.1s behind. 6 of the best ten qualifiers have been in Mercedes-powered cars. Disregarding the infamous Lewis Hamilton-Sebastian Vettel incident, that was a race Mercedes should have won. Even with out Vettel’s stop-go penalty using him out of rivalry, Hamilton seemed to have the measure of the Ferrari driver, whilst Valtteri Bottas’ clumsy collision with Kimi Raikkonen had compelled him into a restoration travel from the again of the area.

The headrest situation on Hamilton’s auto, which compelled him into an unscheduled stop, price tag Mercedes a earn. The simple fact Bottas got again to second advised speed in the auto was great ample for at minimum third spot in usual conditions — for Mercedes, it was the top individual-goal. Vettel somehow still left Baku with a even bigger points’ hole in excess of Hamilton on a circuit Mercedes should have excelled on.

A free headrest on Lewis Hamilton’s auto in Baku was the top individual-goal for Mercedes on a circuit it should have won at. Mark Sutton/Sutton Photographs

Austria followed, and this would show to be the closest Ferrari arrived to a earn in this publish-Monaco spell. Following displaying great speed in Friday practice, Hamilton’s probabilities took a significant strike with a gearbox penalty — offering Ferrari the probability to place lone gunner Bottas underneath significant stress in the race. Bottas snatched pole by much less than .1s from Vettel as Ferrari arrived shockingly near in Q3 the Finn would, in the phrases of Niki Lauda, “help you save” Mercedes by keeping off Vettel’s late cost to earn the race. Although Hamilton had to settle for fourth, his speed in the closing phases advised he could have effortlessly shut out the podium had he commenced third on the grid (the place he qualified).

Silverstone looked like it would be an additional case of squandered chance for Mercedes. Bottas topped both equally Friday practice classes ahead of his gearbox transform was confirmed, this means when all over again Mercedes’ hopes for pole place rested on a person auto. A supreme effort from Hamilton saw him take it by .5s and in the race he disappeared up the street. Raikkonen held second but, even in crystal clear air, struggled to match the lap times of the race chief.

Also of note was Vettel’s weekend. Out-qualified by Raikkonen, then sucked into a fight with Max Verstappen for third, it was arguably the German’s initially sub-par general performance of the season. Up to that place this championship fight has been characterised by Vettel’s regularity and Hamilton’s remarkable pendulum swings. Silverstone seemed to validate what numerous pundits believe about this 12 months — that when Hamilton is possessing a great working day in that auto, he is unbeatable. But as we saw at Sochi and Monaco, he can find it notably tough to master the Mercedes W08’s diva-ish behaviour. If Hamilton and Mercedes have genuinely solved the complications which plagued the initially part of the season, Vettel can not manage an additional weekend like that.

Ferrari’s late tyre drama at Silverstone shifted momentum in the title combat again towards Mercedes Simon Galloway/Sutton Photographs

The other protagonist in the title combat, Bottas, seemed to have constrained the injury by fighting again to third, leaving a Mercedes-Ferrari-Mercedes-Ferrari working get on a circuit which is 70 for each cent full throttle, putting a significant emphasis on power. Ferrari’s tyre drama in the closing laps aided Mercedes declare the a person-two it possibly felt was on the playing cards with out Bottas’ penalty. No surprise Wolff looked so happy. But regardless of the outcome and the speed his group showed in new races, he also struck a careful tone following the race.

When requested in that identical Silverstone push session if he felt the last number of races have been proof Mercedes has pulled away, Wolff replied: “I would like to truly feel it, but the moment you say that, you go to the next race and truly feel as though you’ve got been slapped in the face.

“It is tough and our auto is not constantly straightforward to set up, and we have become a great deal improved at performing so. It has been a good group effort in combination with the tyres. But I would like to see Budapest, how the auto performs, with a lower pace and higher temperatures monitor and then possibly I will have a far more finish picture.”

The Hungaroring is the most Monaco-like circuit F1 will have frequented since Vettel’s earn. Electric power is much less important, which will shift focus and intrigue again towards the aerodynamic offers of both equally teams. If Mercedes is on best there, it will be challenging to argue that the globe champions do not have a auto that can earn any where likely into the summer season crack.

Sutton Photographs

Silverstone winner Hamilton followed his boss’ instance by downplaying the suggestion Mercedes has pulled crystal clear.

“You can find pros and disadvantages concerning both equally teams in terms of general performance,” he reported. “Some weekends they’re just a minimal little bit ahead of us and other weekends not, so I assume it really is monitor dependent. Still, at the moment, they have had the strongest line-up. That’s why he is nonetheless a person place ahead of us. But collectively as a group we are major the constructors’ championship so I guess we have obtained factors.

“It really is been sort of amount, but this weekend we have been in a position to exploit the full general performance of our auto, notably on both equally cars, far more so than any other race we have completed so considerably this 12 months. It is a good displaying and puts us in a great place and gives us a potent platform to start from for the second fifty percent of the season.”

Ferrari should hope to be a great deal closer in Budapest. If Mercedes has an additional weekend as the more powerful group there, an individual will have to have to seem the alarm bells at Maranello.

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