#and his tyres still looked pretty good

[lqvesoph]

[fangirl-dot-com]

Epilogue - Sign of the Times

Just stop your crying it’s the sign of the times… Welcome to the final show, I hope you’re wearing your best clothes… 

Here it was. The last lap of the 2025 season. Sweat pooled on your forehead as you kept pushing the car to its max. A car similar was right on your tail, and you wanted to keep him that way. You could see the finish line start to get closer. With an inhale and an exhale, you crossed the line with such speed. 

“FOR THE SECOND TIME IN HISTORY, THE POINTS WERE EQUALLED BEFORE THE FINAL RACE. IN THE BEGINNING OF THIS RACE, WE THOUGHT THE CHAMPIONSHIP WAS GOING DUTCH ONCE AGAIN, BUT NOT IF Y/N L/N HAS ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT. SHE HAS FOUGHT BRILLIANTLY THIS SEASON AND CAN ONLY BE REWARDED WITH ONE THING! Y/N L/N IS CHAMPION OF THE WORLD!” 

You can’t bribe the door on your way to the sky… You look pretty good down here, you ain’t really good…

Your eyes flitted around your helmet as you finished your burnouts. Your heart was racing so quickly. Tears were pooling in your eyes. Was this it? Was what they were saying true? You wouldn’t believe it until you got out of the car. The “1” on the board in Parc Ferme seemed to stare at you as you climbed out. You looked at your team, who were all screaming and shaking the barrier. 

Like normal, you stood up on the car and raised a hand. Only this time, your pointer finger was out, as if you had counted to one and suddenly stopped. You stepped off the car and kneeled down next to a tyre. Your helmet rested for a moment against the cooling rubber. A hand lightly tugged you up and wrapped you in their arms. 

Oh yeah. 

You had beaten Max in the last two laps of the race, claiming the P1 spot at the end. The Dutchman was shaking you around, celebrating. But, he had lost. 

“KID, KID, YOU DID IT! I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT!” 

Your eyes were wide as you looked up at him. They quickly turned into half crescents as you smiled at him, starting to jump up and down with him. You never left his arms. 

“I’M A WORLD CHAMPION. OH MY GOSH. OH MY GOSH!” 

Max let you go as you turned around to jump to the team. You jumped so far in that you took the barrier down with you. Sobs left your lips as everyone wanted to get their hands on their new champion. Hugs, helmet kissed, and pats were tenfold. 

Later that evening, your flag was draped around your shoulders as you held your head high for your national anthem. You could remember how you were on this step just one year ago, third place in the championship.  However, this year, you stood on that top step as Champion of the World.

redbullracing has posted

redbullracing for the first time ever, Y/n L/n is Champion of the World!

liked by verstappen33, arthur_leclerc, lewishamilton, and 6,294,018 others

y/n.nation OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH 😱

y/n&co LETS GO LETS GO THAT'S MY DRIVER

box_box_express YOUNGEST AND FIRST FEMALE TO WIN THE WDC

y/n.89 I still think I'm dreaming

landonorris in that case bug, I'll GLADLY take the trophy

y/n.89 NO YOU WILL NOT BACK OFF 🤺

lestappenlove I NEVER THOUGHT I'D SEE THIS DAY

If we never learn, we’ve been here before… Why are we always stuck and running from the bullets?  The bullets…

“CHARLIE!”

The Monegasque barely had any time to react as your body soon collided with his. He felt as though the wind had been knocked out of him for the second time that night. Your hands were on his shoulders, shaking him widely. It wasn’t long before Max joined you around Charles as well. Max had brought him into a bone crushing hug, while you waited to the side with Arthur, whose tears hadn’t stopped since the second to end lap. 

The fireworks in the Abu Dhabi night sky were blood red. The crowds around them mimicked their shine and color in devotion for the driver who stood in the middle of the crowd. 

When Max broke the hug, Arthur was the one to take his brother back in his arms. You and Max let the two have their moments. Among your jewelry that you were putting back on after the race was a pretty special ring. The Dutchman’s eyes widened as he saw you slip in onto your left hand’s fourth finger. You smiled up at him and winked. A groan left his lips. 

“Has Charles been teaching you how to wink? Or is that a Leclerc special that you pick up if you’re marrying one of them.” 

A giggle left your lips as Max’s whining, but it wasn’t long until he gave you a hug. His head rested on top of yours as you just stood there. 

For the 2026 season, Lewis and Charles had built a literal fighter jet. There was no way that yours and Max’s cars could ever keep up. With the new regulations, Newey just seemed a bit lost. However, he was understanding them little by little and promised a championship contending car for next year. 

But, you couldn’t even be sad about losing to Charles. And you had a feeling that Max felt the same way. The Monegasque deserved it, everything, and a little bit more. Lewis, in the bright red, stood next to him. He wore a proud smile for the teammate that he got so close to in the past two years. 

You stepped away from Max and made your way to the Briton. The man opened his arm and let you slip right in. A sigh left your lips as you watched Charles jump into the sea of red, thanking the team for finally loving him the right way. 

You sniffed, suddenly getting a bit emotional. And you knew why. 

You didn’t look up at Lewis as you spoke quietly. 

“You’re retiring right? I can feel it Lew, you don’t have to lie.” 

Just stop your crying it’s a sign of the times,  We gotta get away from here, we gotta get away from here 

Lewis’s chest rose, his breath slightly hitching, letting you know that you were correct. His grip only got tighter around your shoulders. A quiet “yeah” left his lips. You knew how heartbreaking it must have been to see you win in 2025 and then Charles in 2026, never giving Lewis a chance to get his 8th.

“I’m happy though. It’s been a long time coming. Fernando retired last year and has decided to just not come back, I guess it’s finally my time then.” 

Tears started to drip out of your eyes. If anyone saw, they might have guessed that you were crying for joy about your friend’s win. But they didn’t know that you’d be crying for your friend’s loss too. 

“Don’t cry sweetie. I’ll be around.” 

“I’ll miss you Lew.” 

“I know kid. I know. But I’m here if you ever need me.” 

Fireworks went off again, igniting the sky and bleeding it red. 

y/n.89 and arthur_leclerc have posted

y/n.89 the Leclercs 2027 🖤🤍

liked by maxverstappen1, charles_leclerc, olliebearman, and 7,295,097 others

y/n.nation WHAT IN TARNATION IS THIS??

rb4ever I THOUGHT I saw a ring on her finger during the post-race interviews!!

maxverstappen1 I will have people know that I was the first to know

charles_leclerc um, excuse me?? Arthur phoned me after 😌

landonorris who do you think took the pictures?? 🤨

olliebearman who do you think he brought to get the ring - I win

formulala_delulu a match made in the stars!!

Just stop your crying it’ll be alright  They told me that the end is near, we gotta get away from here  Just stop your crying, have the time of your life  Breaking through the atmosphere, and things are pretty good from here

The chilled air made goosebumps arise on your arms under your long sleeved dress. You huffed as you stood outside the area, waiting for the signal to start walking. But one person was missing. Your head violently turned left and right, mind getting worried that he was going to miss the cue. When a hand touched your arm, you knee he had finally made it. 

“Vito, you were making me sweat, and then you were going to make me cry if you missed this,” you whined out. 

The older man rolled his eyes. 

“I would never do that to you. And isn’t it bad if you cry on your wedding day?” 

A huff left your lips. You wanted to say something snarky, but soft piano music began to fill the area. You knew there was a brilliant white piano being played by a talented world champion right now, urging you to start walking. 

Your arm was wrapped around Vito’s bicep as you started walking down the white cloth that had been laid down earlier in the day. 

Arthur stood on the opposite end, a nice destination of where you’d end up. Charles smiled softly at the piano as he watched his brother’s exterior start to crumble at the sight of you in your white dress. Quite possibly, tears of his own began to fall on the baby grand. 

Christian stood near Arthur and gave the younger man a tissue. Arthur took it with no hesitation. Max stood a next to a little space where Charles would come back to stand once he was done playing. 

The Dutchman had been surprised when Arthur had asked him to be a groomsman. The two laughed when Arthur mentioned that if Max didn’t take his offer, you’d make him a bridesmaid and make him wear a dress. Max had never accepted something so quickly. Ollie stood next to Max, also crying at the sight of you. These were his best friends getting married, how was he supposed to stay calm. 

After what felt like an eternity to you and Arthur, the two of you were finally back in each other’s arms. 

You whispered a “hi” to him as he took your hands. 

Arthur just cried a bit more. 

The wedding was beautiful. The colors complimented everything so well in the Italian countryside where you and Arthur held the ceremony. Your estate would host the commencement activities. You had Arthur had talked about permanently moving in so that you two could start your new lives together. But, you’d still keep your Monaco house for visits to Max and the family. 

Speaking of, your eyes landed on Kelly in the crowd. You wanted her to be in your wedding so much, but the little baby in her arms made if just fine if she couldn’t stand with you. You remember crying when Max asked you to be the godmother of his son, Adriaan Daan Verstappen. Oh well, you’d get baby snuggles later. Max and Kelly’s wedding was planned for the 2028 summer break, hence why your wedding was in December of 2027. 

Max was back to being world champion, which was fine with you. You’d let him break his own record and then destroy it later on. 

The rest of the 2024 grid were also there, along with a lot of the past F2 boys that loved Arthur as their own. 

The vows were read and the ceremony ended shortly after. As you walked back down the aisle, finally known as Mrs. Y/n Leclerc, your eyes landed on an empty seat. A picture of Lorenzo sat there, reminding everyone about the man who loved you more than life itself. 

Last night, you had heard Arthur whispering out the window. Tears had welled when you understood his words. 

“I know that you love Y/n so much Enzo. I wish that you could have been here to see tomorrow, she looks so beautiful, even if I haven’t seen the dress. I just wanted to let you know that she’s doing ok. I am here to love her so much. I know I can never replace you, but I hope you can rest easier knowing that she finally has people who also love her so much.” 

We can meet again somewhere  Somewhere far away from here…

Arthur gave you a kiss on your cheek as he led you back down the aisle. 

“Hello wife,” he said, gathering you in his arms after you rounded the corner out of sight. 

You pressed a kiss to his lips. “Hello husband.” 

During the “after party,” you couldn’t stop giggling as you got ready to throw the bouquet. You knew what was going to happen right after, and you made sure to throw it in the direction of the certain bridesmaid. 

Charles had asked for your permission for this weeks and advance and you had happily accepted. You threw the bouquet, praying that it went in the right direction. Once you turned around, a smile grew on your lips as you saw that Alex had caught it. And right behind her was Charles on one knee. 

You couldn’t wait to gain a sister. 

y/n.89 and arthur_leclerc have posted

arthur_leclerc can't wait to spend forever with you 💍

liked by y/n.89, oscarpiastri, pascale_leclerc, and 7,943,857 others

y/nxarthur wow, I've legit had a front row seat to this entire relationship

maxiel_lover most of the drivers from 2024 where there 🥺

y/n.89 forever is too short

arthur_leclerc I'll love you in every universe and all of eternity

landonorris gag.

charles_leclerc get a fiancé and then we'll listen to you norizz

y/n.89 not on my wedding post please boys

landonorris yes ma'am

y/n.leclerc I will be sobbing forever

We never learn, we been here before Why are we always suck and running from the bullets?  The bullets…

You walked into the garage, a smile on your face as you watched Max take pole for the last time in Formula 1. The crew around you cheered once the final times were set. On the wall next to you read the names and years of yours and Max’s championships. 

The 2025 was yours, 2026 wasn’t on there, but 2027 to 2030 was all Max. He had finally broken the 7 championship record 2 races ago, winning his beloved 8th World Championship. You would have made him battle it out till the last race, but you couldn’t have done that since the 2028 season. Liam had done a good job in your car, keeping it warm until you could return. 

Max stepped into the garage, eyes still full of life at 33 year old. He was practically a baby still if you remember how old Lewis and Fernando were when they retired. His eyes lit up as they landed on you. Before he could say anything, a screech sounded in the garage. 

“MAXIE!” 

The two-year-old in your arms wiggled until you put her down. Her little legs took her to her favorite godfather, much to Charles’ chagrin of wanting to be the favorite uncle. Except Max didn’t need to know that Ferrari was Lottie’s favorite team. The Leclerc’s love for the Italian Prancing Horse was definitely written in their genetics. 

Charlotte Pascale Maxine Leclerc was born almost one year after yours and Arthur’s wedding. The announcement raised some eyebrows and you could see some adults calculating in their heads. But they ignored everything once she was born. Brown hair and bright hazel eyes were surely going to break hearts when she was older. She was a carbon copy of Arthur. 

With you getting pregnant, you’d have to miss at least 2 years of Formula 1. You also didn’t want to miss any of her firsts so you announced a semi-permanent retirement for the 2028, 2029, and 2030 seasons. You may have cried when Max said that he was going to retire while you weren’t racing. But, you knew why he was doing it.  

Penelope was 11 and Adriaan was 3. Max didn’t want to have to miss any more of their lives that he already had. 

The Dutchman bent down to pick the toddler up. 

“Hey kid.”

You knew he wasn’t talking to Lottie. You rolled your eyes as you approached him and gave him a hug. 

“I’m not a kid anymore Max. I have a kid. So it kind of cancels everything out.” 

Max only looked down at you with a smile. 

“You’ll always be my kid, no matter what.” 

“Sure Maximillian.” 

We never learn, we been here before 

Max this time did not roll his eyes or comment how that was not his name. He’s played this game before, and he’ll finally let you have it. 

“Are you sure I can’t convince you to stay one more season?” 

He put a hand on your shoulder. 

“I’ll be close by, don’t worry. I told you that I’d be here for all of it. I’m not breaking that promise.” 

y/n.89 has posted

y/n.89 Lottie insisted she watch Maxie drive the car with Adriaan 💙

liked by leclercfam, y/nsnumber1, kellypiquet, and 8,230,185 others

leclercfam STOP STOP STOP THEY'RE SO CUTIEEEE

rbxferrari I can't believe Lottie is turning 3 this year???

charles_leclerc still the favorite uncle 😚

maxverstappen1 not if Lottie has anything to say about it

charles_leclerc says the man whose son was in Ferrari merch earlier

y/n.89 max I fear Charles wins this time

charles_leclerc HA

maxverstappen1 you win ONE championship and your ego grows by 10 thousand

y/n4ever dare I say I'll miss them all like this?

Why are we always stuck and running from the bullets?  The bullets…

“MAX EMILLIAN VERSTAPPEN AND CHARLES MARC HERVE PERCEVAL LECLERC! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, YOU’RE BOTH DEAD!”  

Max and Charles looked over at Arthur with pleading eyes. 

“Help us.”

Your husband only looked at them with pity. 

“Shouldn’t have waited to tell her. Now she knows because of Instagram.” 

Both drivers, er well, a team principal and driver winced at the sound of your footsteps getting closer and closer. 

Charles immediately grabbed his son from Alex. 

“I have a baby Y/n! You can’t do anything.” 

Little Jules Herve Anthoine Leclerc looked up at his dad with big and round, green eyes, making cooing noises at everything, blissfully unaware that his aunt was about to try to kill his father. 

“But Max doesn’t!” 

Just stop your crying it’s a sign of the times  We gotta get away from here, we gotta get away from here 

Max slightly paled as he looked around for a child to grab, but Lottie was already in Arthur’s lap by the time you got down the stairs. He winced when you landed on the ground floor. You, Arthur, and Lottie had come to visit after Charles called that Alex had gone into labor. Your family of three hadn’t planned to stay this long, since it had been three weeks, but Lottie had insisted that she wanted to see Maxie, Pen, Adri, and Aunt Kelly. 

Your phone showed an Instagram post from Red Bull Racing. 

“Should I read this Max or do you just want to tell me?” you raised an eyebrow as you asked. Max winced again. This was the ultimate betrayal. 

Arthur, looking at Max with glee, asked you to read it. The Monegasque didn’t react when he felt the Dutchman’s glare on him. You only hummed as you began to read.

“Max Verstappen will officially return to the F1 paddock, not as a driver, but as the Team Principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing. 

“We are also delighted to announced that Charles Leclerc will be racing alongside Y/n L/n, as she returns from her retirement in the 2031 season.” 

Max tried to give you a smile. 

“Surprise?”

You turned to Charles, who tried not to jump due to Jules falling asleep in his arms. Your eyes narrowed. 

“I’m going to be champion again this year. You can eat my dust for this.” 

Laughter erupted from the small group. Lottie had no clue what was going on, but she crawled off of Arthur lap and demanded that she be held in your arms. Her head rested on your chest as you rocked lightly back and forth. You hadn’t planned to have her so early at 25, but the little girl in your arms was your pride and joy. 

She tried to give her best stink eye to her uncle and godfather. She pointed her little finger at them. 

“Maman is going to be champion!” her little voice squeaked out. 

And Lottie was right. 

Maman was going to be champion from 2031 to 2034, adding another four to her one.

Only four more to go. 

Stop your crying, baby, it’ll be alright  They told me that the end is near, we gotta get away from here 

You looked up at Arthur with a smile. The now 36-year-old stood shirtless, with a small baby on his chest. The TV in the hospital room was playing the 2035 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Like they had back in 2026, the red fireworks lit up the night. 

You knew what was coming after Charles won this year. The promises of retirement hung over his head as you watched another one of your friends leave the sport. 

The only ones that remained from your fateful 2024 season were Lando and Oscar (still with McLaren), Logan and Lance (racing together for Aston Martin), George (who raced with Kimi for Mercedes), and then Yuki and Pierre (who found each other again in now back to Torro Rosso). 

Daniel retired the year before Max along with Valtteri, Kevin, and Nico. 

You looked up at your husband. 

“Are you ok if it’s just him and Lottie? I’d like to continue racing until I retire and I don’t think any more kids might be possible after?” 

Arthur looked at you with a smile. 

“That is more than ok chéri. I think Lottie will just enjoy little Lorenzo Oliver Alessandro Leclerc’s company.” 

You peered up at him. 

“You do not have to keep saying his full name, you know that right.” 

Arthur stepped over to the bed right as Charles was getting out of his car, finally a second time world champion. He gently put Enzo into your arms and gently rubbed over his head that was covered with blond hair. The same shade of eyes looked up into yours as your son took in the sight of you. If Lottie could be Arthur’s copy, Enzo was yours. 

Arthur sighed. 

“I can call him whatever I want. It’s not fair that he was named after Ollie and not his own father.” 

“Bebe, you said you were fine with it.” 

He knew you were teasing. 

“It is all jokes ma chéri.” 

Charles voice sounded in the room through the TV speaker. Arthur turned up the volume to hear his brother.  

“I am so thankful for this opportunity for one more championship. I have loved driving for Red Bull and previously for Ferrari. But, uh, I feel as though this is my closing chapter.” 

Mark Webber was the one to be interviewing Charles. 

The Australian asked, “So is this a retirement announcement?” 

The Monegasque gave a small smile. “It would seem so. I’ve given all that I can to the sport. It is time for me to continue my life with my family.” 

Mark clapped him on the shoulder. 

“I know I can speak for the entire Formula 1 world when I say that you will be missed.” 

y/n.89 and arthur_leclerc have posted

y/n.89 little Lorenzo Oliver Alessandro Leclerc, you're more cherished than you will ever know

liked by oliverbearman, logansargeant, y/n&fam, and 9,205,834 others

leclerc_family not all of their kids having multiple middle names💀

y/n.nation them naming little Enzo after Lorenzo - don't bother the tears 😭

landonorris so...when am I getting a kid named after me?

oscarpiastri and me?

logansargeant and me?????

olliebearman hoes mad - you're just not superior 😝

y/n.89 sorry boys, no more kids, I'll name the dog after you

iamred_iamyellow I just know that little Enzo and little Jules are going to be best of friends

We never learn, we been here before  Why are we always stuck and running from the bullets?  The bullets We never learn we been here before  Why are we always stuck and running from the bullets?  The bullets…

You sat back on a tyre of your car, looking out at the crowds. You could finally breathe easily for maybe the first time of the 2040 season. The battle was tough. All the rookies this year gave you a run for your money. 

But you had done it. Finally. 

Nine championships to your name. One of a kind feat. Probably never to be repeated until the end of time. 

You calmly walked over to the barrier. Arthur stood with your 13 year old daughter and 4 year old son. When had they gotten so much bigger? You were scared after Enzo was born, getting back into racing so quickly, unlike you had done with Lottie. But Arthur was with you every step of the way. So were Charles and Alex, and so were Max and Kelly. 

You gathered your family into your arms and let yourself cry. Tears of sadness for the sport you loved with every fiber of your being, and tears of joy of finally accomplishing your one dream. It had taken 17 years for you to finally get what you wanted. 

We don’t talk enough We should open up Before it’s all too much

At Milton Keynes, the years 2025, 2031, 2032, 2033, 2034, 2036, 2037, 2039, and then finally 2040 were hung in lights along the walls. You could have been done last year, but Lando had decided that he needed one championship in 2038. You were proud of the Papaya boy. All of his hard work finally paid off. And now he could have all the chances as he finished second this year. 

You had one request for this podium. You wanted everyone up there with you. Arthur made sure that everyone from the 2024 grid was there.

(Yes, even Esteban). 

The drivers you were close with when you were 20, watched as you were crowned World Champion for the ninth and last time ever. Max had red eyes the entire night. He made sure to splash you extra with the champagne. Your kids ran around squealing as their uncle Charles shot bits of bubbly at them. 

It felt like a dream, to be up there with all of your found family. After the first few times, you thought that celebrating a championship would get boring. But, you were wrong. Each time was even more special than the first. 

On the way back to the hotel, you looked to the back seat at your two kids. Both had fallen asleep the moment the car started moving. You blamed yourself and Arthur for driving them around as babies, and now car noise was the best way to put them to sleep. 

Arthur looked over at you, smiling softly as he watched you look at your children with such love. 

You whispered, breaking the silence, “I have more than I could have ever dreamed. And it makes me think that this is a dream, that I’m going to wake back up in 2023 in my drivers room and not be able to do anything.” 

A quick pinch was given to your leg. 

“Ouch Thur!” you whined as you rubbed the sore part. 

Arthur had that teasing glint in his eyes that you missed so dearly. 

“I don’t think it’s a dream chéri. You’re more awake than ever.” 

redbullracing has posted

redbullracing our golden girl in her golden year, for the ninth and last time, Y/n L/n is Champion of the World ⭐️

liked by maxverstappen1, logansargeant, y/n.nation, and 10,583,850 others

y/n.nation thank you Y/n for all that you have done! it's time for you to finally relax with your family!

formula1fan at first I was annoyed with the domination, but Y/n deserves it more than anyone - you will be missed champ

y/n.89 my team, I am so proud to have been your girl - let it be known I am the golden child of Red Bull

maxverstappen1 um, no, you're not the original

charles_leclerc I was the golden boy at Ferrari AND Red Bull

sebastianvettel sit down, the original golden child is here

redbullracing we love you all equally

y/n.89 ... I'm still the favorite tho

author it's the end of an era, thanks kid for everything - stay golden

Will we ever learn?  We’ve been here before It’s just what we know

At 42-years-old, you sat in a chair, looking over the estate watching Lottie and Enzo all play with Max’s family and Charles’s family. A drink was in your hand as you used the condensation to cool down from the hot Italian sun. 

Retirement from all motorsports had been your decision alone. 

Ollie and Dorian Pin had the two coveted Red Bull seats, however, Lando and Oscar were really duking it out for a world championship. You knew that the two would be fine. 

After Formula 1, you did two years of endurance racing, winning Le Mans twice and the Endurance championship once in the years of 2041 and 2042. 

In 2043, you tried out IndyCar, only wanting to win one race: The Indy500. Thankfully, you’d been able to do so in the only year you wanted to. 

Thus, becoming the second person in history to win the Triple Crown of Motorsports, and the only female. It felt nice, breaking yet another record, even if someone had done it before you. But, it didn’t feel as nice as it did right now. 

Arthur came out of the house behind you and sat on his chair that was built for him. When you had come back home, you wanted two seats in the backyard to be able to watch your children play for hours. 

Lorenzo had told you a story of your parents on year. It was about the time when they truly loved each other. They too had matching chairs outlooking their own backyard. You wished you could have such memories of you parents. But now, you rarely thought of them. 

Because in the end, you didn’t need them. 

A tear ran down your face as you continued to watch Penelope, Adriaan, Lottie, Jules, and Enzo play under the Italian sunset. 

“Why are you crying chéri?” 

Arthur’s hand had come to your face to wipe the single tear away. 

You didn’t look at him and kept watching the family that you built out of love and dreams.

“I’m happy, so happy.” 

Stop your crying, baby it’s a sign of the times…

TAG LIST: @fionaschicken @glitterquadricorn @laura-naruto-fan1998 @treehouse-mouse @sam-is-lost @kagatinkita @fangirl125reader @megatrilss1885 @myxticmoon @angsthology @cmleitora @fly-me-away @graciewrote @ashy-kit @slutofmultifandom @aexitizen-ln4 @sugarvibez @vellicora @thatgirlthatreadswattpad @33-81 @hoetel-manager @xcharlottemikaelsonx @jayda12 @ilove-tswizzle @justme2042 @itsjustkhaos @nikfigueiredo @stopeatread @cha-hot @sadg3 @iloveyou3000morgan @s4turnsl0ver @alessioayla @torchbearerkyle @leptitlu @awekbachira @shreks-sugar-daddy @v1naco @stan-josie @mellowarcadefun @badassturtle13 @beskardroids @callisposts @poppyalice2001 @juniper-july19 @lizzypiastri

[cheriladycl01]

Ghost - Oscar Piastri x UnknownDriver! Reader Part 6

Plot: Reader is the first female F1 driver of the century, however no-one knows that as you are a ghost on the grid. You started in 2022, coming in P12 in the championship. You get moved to Red Bull Racing in 2023 with the off year for Sergio Perez.

Warnings: Talk of reading taking anti-depressants etc.

After Bahrain you still had no word from Christian on whether or not he had contract negotiations for you. However, in this time you'd had talks with Williams, Aston Martin and Mercedes all having positions open. They knew you were an incredible driver and that it wasn't just the car you were given and they really wanted you on board.

You were in a difficult position of wanting to prove yourself to the RedBull team and stay in a top team while letting opportunities being given to you get thrown away.

Saudi was a strange feeling you stormed through FP1 and FP2 being P1 and P3, however by the time Friday racing came Carlos was out the race due to having his appendix taken out. Ollie Bearman the F2 driver was announced to be taking his place right away and he was thrown in FP3.

FP3 and you were told to calm down and work with your tyres meaning you went 5th fastest rather than topping the leaderboard. Qually came around and you qualified third, your team calling you into the pits and holding you there for too long meant you couldn't get another lap in when Charles did which sent him into P2.

Once again Oscar was starting right behind you, and you could feel the pressure was on. You needed to have a great start to get up there with Max.

Sunday came and went and it was another great day for Red Bull, but not so much for you. Once again your margins were showing that you were quicker than Max right now being on fresher tyres and on the softs from a later race stop.

You for the second weekend in a row were denied an overtake and were asked to ride Max's bumper. The last few laps had tears filling in your eyes from how ridiculous this was... Max was the golden boy and you were just not contracted. You couldn't tell what would work better in your favour to try and get a contract. Follow team orders and keep this 1-2 or don't follow team orders and go for the overtake.

After talks with your race engineer you decided to obey team orders. Meaning you got your second P2 of the season.

Australia was the interesting race, both you and Max were reporting problems with the car, Max's seemingly being fixed by the time qualifying came around but you were still struggling. Your engine fully cut out after going over a bump on an out lap meaning you were starting P17, your worst qualifying yet.

"Y/N, not a great qualifying yeah?" the interviewer asks.

"Nah, P17 i think that was a pretty good run!" you joke back making your PR manager elbow you and shake her head.

"No, obviously it wasn't what myself or the team were looking for. They managed to fix Max's car for today but not mine, I know the team will be working really hard on my car now that Max's is all good and I can just hope to fight tomorrow and grab the team some points!" you nod smiling towards the camera on you.

"And any new on contract talks, i'm sure there are many teams that are looking to have you in their driver line up!" she asks and you nod.

"Yeah of course, most drivers will tell you that there are talks with all the teams and it's true. You know if you work in a office and your in HR you go see the legal department, and hospitality and the receptionists from time to time even though they aren't within your area. It's very natural to talk to the people around me so of course there are talks!" you admit and she nods insightfully.

"So the pictures of you talking to Toto Wolff, Ayao Komatsu and Mike Krack are ... not to be read into?" she pushes and you laugh.

"Honestly read as you will into them. Right now I'm focused on Red Bull, regardless of my future there!" you admit, hoping that might be the jog that Christian needed to hear to keep you in the team.

"Ooooo Oscar!" the interviewer shouts beckoning him over. You start to leave thinking your portion of the interview was over and you could move on to going home.

"Wait no! Y/N don't go, we'll interview you together!" she grins and something in your mind tells you its malicious and she's doing this on purpose to spite you. But she was really just hoping to get you both together as you'd been better than Oscar this season.

"So Oscar how does it feel having finally outqualified Y/N for the first time this season? You did really well!" she smiles and Oscar is looking everywhere but next to him, which is where you are awkwardly stood, trying to get your PR managers attention.

"Yeah i mean, she had car issues so it wasn't really on skill?" he asks more than anything else, tilting his head to the side confused.

"Yes, so the battle is pretty tense between you both especially after last year. But now Oscar your looking really high up in the constructors along with Y/N, do you think you can beat her this year?" the interviewer asks hoping to get a little bit of dramatics.

"I mean, the battle for the top field cars is slowly closing with the upgrades we're all getting so we're looking forward to closing that gap that's up there now!" he nods looking down at you to see if you had anything to add.

For the first time, in months there was a softness in his eyes you hadn't seen for ages. He nodded at you to speak but you became a stuttering mess, not even remembering the question.

"Sorry, but I'm needed!" you stutter awkwardly handing back the microphone before trotting off looking around for anyone that could help the shaking of your hands.

You were struggling to breath.

Why now, why did he make you feel like everything was okay again when it wasn't. He was your best friend and he hasn't spoken to you in months, it ... didn't feel right!

You breathing became more and more strained as you looked around for someone familiar. Your eyes dart between the different motorhomes, just looking for any one of the other drivers. You eventually made it to Red Bull trying to get to your drivers room however, a body stopped you holding you shoulders.

"Hey, great race today Y/N!" the voice of Liam comes through and you just nod, a small thank you coming from you mouth as you try to make your way around him.

"Hey, Y/N? What's up is something bothering you?" he asks not fully noticing your panicked expression.

"I'm fine, just want to get some water from my room!" you nod back towards your room and his eyes glaze over you.

"No your not okay, lets go!" he smiles taking your hand and dragging you to your drivers room.

You knew Liam was just being kind and trying to help, but right now you just really wanted to be alone and think about whatever you needed to think about.

"Water... snack ... vitamin ... ooo pill?" he asks turning to you and you look down.

"Y/N, why are you on these?" he asks with a sigh, nobody apart from your trainer knew that you were on anti-depressants. It started at the end of the 2023, with everything with Oscar and it was manageable but the anxiety of not having a contract renewed mixed with it all, you were tipped over the edge when it came to your mental health.

"You werent supposed to see them. Please don't tell anyone!" you say tears building in your eyes as you can only hope he doesn't say anything.

"It's not my place to say anything Y/N, but ... you only need ask for help and you'd get it. We all love you and I just hope you know that!" he smiles pulling you in for a hug, one that felt genuine and like he was putting all of his comfort into it.

"Thank you Liam!" you say softly before tears roll down your race onto his Racing Bulls team shirt.

"Its okay, I get it!" he smiles down at you as he hands you the water, snack and pills he pulled out.

"Sometimes, i just wish i was Ghost again, it was easier back then" you harshly laugh wiping the tears out your eyes.

"Ghost, or Y/N you are still the same driver ... still have the same heart of gold" he smiles and you smile back thankful for the needed compliment.

"So, don't turn round and tell me this ... is boy troubles!" he laughs and you look down laughing a little.

"Well it's safe to say all of my problems are with men right now... so yeah we'll go with 'boy' troubles!" you joke.

Taglist:

@littlesatanicassholebitch @hockey-racing-fubol @laura-naruto-fan1998 @22yuki @simxican @sinofwriting @lewisroscoelove @cmleitora @daemyratwst @lauralarsen @the-untamed-soul @thewulf @itsjustkhaos @purplephantomwolf @chasing-liberosis @summissss @gulphulp @starfusionsworld @jspitwall l @sierruhhhh @georgeparisole @youcannotcancelquidditch @tallbrownhairsarcastic @ourteenagetragedy @peachiicherries @formulas-bitch @cherry-piee @spilled-coffee-cup @mehrmonga @bigsimperika @blueberry64857959 @eiraethh @curseofhecate @alliwantisadonut @dark-night-sky-99 @i-wish-this-was-me @tallrock35 @butterfly-lover @barnestatic @landossainz @darleneslane @barcelonaloverf1life @r0nnsblog @ilove-tswizzle @laneyspaulding19 @malynn @viennakarma @landosgirlxoxo @marie0v @yourbane @teamnovalak @nikfigueiredo @fionaschicken @0picels0 @tinydeskwriter @ironmaiden1313 @splaterparty0-0 @formula1mount

[buckgasms]

Now I know Bucky isn't a mafia boss or anything in the Princess universe BUT I feel like he would have enemies and people would definitely think his Princess was a good target.

So imagine with me that you are out shopping and you are suddenly surrounded by burly men in suits who guide you to an unfamiliar car. Your shopping bags are left on the curb as the tyres screech as they peel away.

Maybe for a moment you think, is this an elaborate prank that Daddy has set up? But as you begin to speak a hand clamps around your mouth, pressing a damp rag to your face and everything turns black.

🖤

You wake up, groaning as you feel your hands tied to a chair and you still aren't quite sure if this is one of Daddy's games, because you've definitely been put in this position before.

"Ah you're awake, quite the snorer you know..."

A slippery voice speaks in the darkness of the room. It looks like a cheap hotel suite. Big but grubby, the sheets on the bed look like they be greasy to the touch and the walls are a sad beige. No. Daddy wouldn't bring you here. You should feel scared, but the fact this man is hiding from you makes you a little bolder.

"Bucky's gonna kill you..." You say, keeping your voice as steady as you can. "And I don't snore..."

The man chuckles and appears into your view. He looks vaguely familiar, maybe someone Bucky has identified to you at a party of some kind. A shady character, dirty dealings and always trying to encroach on Bucky's businesses.

"Now... Are you going to be good for me?"

You balk at his words and grimace. He pulls out a long knife and you shiver. You knew Daddy would be on the way, but how long did you have to endure would be unknown.

"You are going to tell me everything I want to know or I'm going to ruin that very pretty face of yours..."

🖤

When Bucky's security team kicked down the door of the hotel room they were almost surprised to find you unscathed, your captor laying on the bed with a pen and paper in his hand, both of you looking quite relaxed.

Well until they grabbed him and dragged him out of the room.

Bucky came storming in, eyes wild in panic until he saw you smiling at him. He dropped down, hands going to the binds around your ankles and wrists.

"Are you ok Princess? Are you hurt baby?"

You smile, tears of relief welling in your eyes and you wrap your arms around him. "M'fine Daddy, he didn't hurt me too bad..."

He pulled back, holding your face in his hands before kissing you desperately, lips, cheeks, nose, forehead.

"Did you do what I told ya?" He says, panic lacing his voice and he checks your skin for damage, stroking at the red marks appearing on your wrists. He looks a you again, searching.

You giggle and nod. "Yeah, I told him everything I knew. Everything I could think of..."

Bucky grins and drags you in for another kiss. "Good girl, so proud of you Princess..."

🖤

"If you ever get taken baby I need you to do something for me..."

You lay in Daddy's arms, stroking his chin as his hand wraps around your wrist. You roll your eyes and giggle, but he pulls you to focus.

"It's important Babygirl, I want you to pay attention." He couples that with rolling you on top of him, your naked body pressing into his. You were very much aware of everything that was happening now.

"If anyone takes you and they wanna know my secrets..."

"Daddy don't worry I'll keep my mouth closed" you say, making a zip motion across your lips, throwing away the key, he grabs your hand and shakes his head.

"No princess. I want you to tell them everything you can think of. Nothing I do is worth hurting you for. Tell them whatever you can baby. I want you to promise me that.."

Your eyes widen a little, thinking about the gravity of what he's saying. His business, his empire, that he built from nothing. He'd risk it all to keep you from harm.

"Ok Daddy, I promise..." You lean down and kiss him as he rolls back over, squashing you, sending you into a fit of giggles and showing you again how much he loves you.

🖤

His fingers run through your hair as you cup his face in your soft hands. Despite the way it went, you were still pretty scared and being back in his arms was a great relief.

Sensing your adrenaline bubbling he picks you up and carries you out of the room. You bury your face into his neck and breathe deeply, trying to relax in his arms. Finally he climbs into the car and settles you on his lap.

"I'm so sorry this happened baby, never wanted you to get caught up in stuff like this. That son of a bitch is gonna pay, I swear to god..."

He watches you, as you fiddle with his shirt buttons, a look of concern on your face. He tilts your chin until you meet his gaze, thumb stroking gently at your cheek.

"Are you ok Princess?"

"Yes I think so... it's just....Daddy..... Do I snore?"

[adisillusionedauthor]

Could you do one for Toto Wolff with wife reader where the reader takes Toto's hands and rubs a hand up and down his back to comfort him during/caressing the other’s back during the race. Thanks!!! :)

Whispers of Comfort - Toto Wolff

Requested by: Anon

Masterlist<3

Pairing: Toto Wolff x Wife!reader

Warning: OOC Toto, fluff, small, bad English, comfort, Hass’s car breaking

Word count: 532

Another race that started with Max being first, that by itself had already made Toto stressed, but the fact that not even 20 laps into the race and Magnussen’s tyres exploded causing him to hit the walls and hit Lewis’s car, thankfully neither of them were hurt, but we needed to take Lewis’s car back in if we wanted him to finish the race. I could see Toto’s knuckles getting white from how much force he was putting in keeping his hand closed, most likely to stop himself from exploding and screaming at Lewis for something that wasn’t his fault, slowly I walk closer to him, gently resting one hand onto his back and offering the other one for him to hold, he looked at it considering his options, he could not hold my hand but he might had ended up hurting his hand from how much force he was using, so he decided to hold my hand, much more gentler than he was holding his own, but it was visible how much just holding my hand helped, to add to the comfort list I started rubbing my hand up and down his back, being always gentle with him. 

Lewis and his car reached the pit stop and while the car was getting checked over by the mechanicals me and Toto insisted on Lewis getting checked by the paramedics. We didn’t want him to continue racing today if he got hurt, thankfully they cleared him, no major injuries, just a few scrapes. 

The car got cleared to go back into the race, we left it up to Lewis, if he felt like he was good to drive for the remaining of the race,his answer was to basically grab his helmet and jump back into the car, and then he was back on the race, Toto was helping George get into a higher position, at this moment George had went from the 16th place up to the 10th, which was pretty good, Lewis was climbing up the positions quickly, Toto held my hand a little tighter feeling a little anxious about today, but I have a good feeling so I look at him and give his hand a comforting squeeze, to let him know i was still here for him, he smiled gently at our intertwined hands and went back into focusing on bringing those kids to the podium, with 5 laps remaining Lewis was on 5th and George was on 6th, they were helping each other climb up. We were on the edge of the seat and the rac finally ended, Lewis and George had managed to get up to the 1st and 2nd place, it was only celebration, they brought the champagne the United Kingdom flag and we started hugging each other, Toto turned to me instantly once the checkered flag waved and he hugged me so tightly he brought me off the ground, soon enough we had hugged everyone, at the podium the boys hugged and held the trophies together, it was only celebration the whole night and the next day as well, we were all still pretty happy that we won that happiness lasted us throughout the whole week.

[fractalkiss]

Germany 2019: Lance talking about his tyre call for a race with changing conditions

"I was driving around the circuit with my visor half-open for a whole lap, looking and inspecting the tarmac like "Is it good enough for slicks?" And y'know we had to take a risk with those 20 laps to go and we were at the back. It wasn't fully dry at that stage in the race […] I knew if we could just jump our competitors who were still in inters at that time, we'd be in pretty good shape."

[hookedonhuge]

A Hot Pipe Dream

Ding Dong!

You opened the door and staring back at you was a handsome beast of a man. Thick beard, big arms, and a large chest that pushed against his tight shirt. It must be the plumber!

“Umm… hi, I’m – I mean you must be umm… come in.” You completely stumbled over your words, intimidated by the aura of the large man in front of you.

“What do you want me to come in?” The plumber said with a confident smirk. His lewd joke made you even more flustered.

“The kitchen… umm the pipes – I’ll show you.” You avoided eye contact and quickly turned around to head for the kitchen. You rushed off to the kitchen, not even paying attention to whether he was following behind you or not. You opened the cupboard beneath the sink and pointed to the pipes, still too flustered to look back and meet his powerful gaze. “Yeah we’ve just got a blocked pipe, umm… in the pipes, yeah…”

There was no response. Had you just been talking to the air? You turned around to try and find the plumber thinking that he might have gotten lost behind you. What you found was two hairy, meaty pecs staring directly at you.

“My eyes are up here.” He laughed.

“I’m so sorry!” You said quickly shifting your gaze from his chest to his intense eyes. Your face turned beet red; he seemed to be enjoying making you embarrassed.

“Don’t be shy!” He said as he cockily bounced his pecs. “Nothing strange about two men working on a long, hard pipe together.”

“Together?” What an odd choice of words, you certainly weren’t planning on helping.

“You’re right, I think you’ve got this pretty well covered yourself.”

Without even realising it, you had bent over to investigate the pipes yourself. Your body felt heavy and your brain was foggy. Suddenly there was a weighty tool belt around your waist, and you were only wearing shoes, socks and a pair of tight white underwear!

You looked back to the big man in confusion. “What is going on?”

“You’re fixing the blockage, of course.”

“But I don’t know how.”

“Well if you want to be a plumber then you need to look like one.”

What did a plumber look like? Well this plumber had big strong muscles. And don’t plumbers usually have their big, hairy ass crack hanging out of their pants?

As you thought this you felt thick, dark hair burst out of your smooth lower half. Then, your underwear got even tighter as your cute little ass started inflating. It was like someone had stuck a needle between your cheeks and was pumping you up like a bike tyre. Your underwear started to look more like a thong with every passing second until your fat cheeks tore through the fabric completely. 

It wasn’t just your butt, your whole body was growing. Your arms, chest, back; they all now bursted with strength. Even your feet outgrew your socks and shoes.

“You look much more like a plumber now!”

You felt like a plumber too. Your head started to clear and it seemed like bending over with your ass out to look at pipes was your natural position. It was like you had been there so many times and you knew exactly what to do to fix those pipes.

“Boss, I haven’t seen a pipe this clogged in a while.” The big plumber got down behind you to investigate what was happening. He rested his chest on your back with his powerful hand on your big, hairy, wobbly butt for support.

“You know I’ve got a special tool that’s perfect for getting into tight pipes like these.” You felt his warm breath against your neck as he said this. “It might look too big to fit in, but trust me, it always gets in there and gives these dirty pipes a good clean.” 

“Can you give me this tool, boss? Please boss, I need it. It will be perfect to fit in this tight hole.”

“It’s not easy your first time, so let me help you.” He leant further over you in order to reach his hand under the sink. You both grabbed hold of the tool and stuck it into the entrance of the clogged pipe.

It took a couple of thrusts but you two eventually slipped the tool into the pipe. “Ah, it’s in!” You exclaimed, letting out a laboured breath. “But it won’t go any deeper.”

The plumber started to lend you more of his strength and took control of the thrusting. With each thrust his body pushed forward into yours. “So close! I can feel it’s so close!” He sped up his pace. “Just a little deeper!”

It felt like a volcano erupting when the two of you finally hit the right spot. A jet of liquid bursted out of the pipe but the plumber’s quick hands were able to reseal it before it got everywhere.

You panted in exhaustion. “Thank you so much, I really needed that!”

“No need to thank me, you did most of the hard work today.” He gave you a strong, friendly slap on the ass. “You will make a great plumber.”

You blushed. “I’ll see you at work tomorrow, boss.”

[wordsbymae]

Late One Stormy Night Pt. 2

This is a continuation, including a large time jump, of my original farmer storyline, the canon events if you will. I would have loved to do this for flower seller and mousy au, however I feel it fits much better for the original farmer. I may do one for the other aus as well. Also this is just a short little snippet into where this reader ends up, I have spoken in depth about their life together, but this is years down the track, where pumpkin has finally given in.

Triggers: Pregnancy! FemReader, Stockholm syndrome ofc, reader has pretty much been brainwashed into being a perfect house wife, if you didn't know the context or if I didn't remind you within the text, it would seem like a nice love story. feminism please do not judge me

A kick against your belly halted your movements. A small smile etches across your face. You drop the washing you had just grab back into the basket that lay on the lush green ground beneath you. A gentle spring breeze floated past, bringing the scent of pine and grain past. The babe in your belly has only just started to move within you. You had yet to fully comprehend that life, a new being, was growing within you. Another kick, against both your belly and hand this time, brought a giggle to your face. The sound of tyres on dirt brought your attention to your husband pulling up in front of the house. Your giggle faded. You didn't like remembering the time before you were allowed in the house, the time you spent huddle within a stable in the barn. When you fought against his every action and offer of affection. Now, after finally putting your pride aside, you were happy. It took years, but you finally content by his side. It was so long ago know that you couldn't even really remember how you came across him. All your remember is rain, and that is all you could begin to remember before the memories fell apart like ash.

You begin to make your way to your husband, pushing aside the laundry drying along the washing line. The sun beamed down with kindness, bringing a subtle warmth across your skin.

You stopped a few metres away from him, watching as he jumped out of his pick up truck, a wide smile on his face at the sight of you.

"Well good afternoon to you pumpkin, how you feeling? That boy of mine not giving you trouble?" he greeted, turning to the tray of the truck, grabbing from it a large wooden log. He huffs as the weight of the log pushes against his shoulder.

"I'm feeling fine" you laugh, it was a game of yours to count how many times in one day he asked how you were feeling. This was his 10th ask of the day.

"We don't if its a boy yet. Could be a girl" you offer with a smirk. He was convinced it was a boy.

"Nope" he states as he walks towards the work shed, you follow behind him, begging for attention. Ever since the barn, you've been so desperate for affection.

"In the last five generations of my family, there hasn't been one girl born" he drops the log down in the dirt next to his wood working station. You pout, wondering how that is even possible and also wondering why he had a massive log to begin with.

"what's the log for?" you ask.

He turns back to you with a lazy smile, wiping sweat from his brow and he takes his hat off.

"A crib" he beams. Delight dancing in his eyes.

"Oh, that makes sense" you mutter. Your eyes begin to slowly blink in exhaustion. Carrying a baby isn't easy.

" Come on pumpkin, lets get you to bed" he drawls, grasping your hand with a gentle touch. So very different from how he used to touch you when you first arrived.

You nod lazily, still surprised with how quickly sleep comes to you these days.

"That boy of ours sure likes to cause trouble huh? He's gonna just be like his daddy, although I'm hoping he's gonna look like you sweetheart." he muses, a hand coming down to trace your belly as you walk.

The farmer smiles once more. Everything he ever wanted he has. A beautiful wife, the perfect family and more hopefuly to come after this one. He chides himself for the years spent alone, angry at the world and himself. That whole time he could have had this, a place within a family. But he wouldn't change anything, not the timing or the place. You came to him at the perfect time, you were everything he ever could have wanted and more.

He thanks himself for having the courage to take what he saw as his.

[charles-leclerc-official]

2024 Hungary Grand Prix Race Analysis

This was an eventful race, and we have a lot of data and incidents to cover, so no introductions, let's talk about what the hell happened at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Table of Contents Ferrari - Charles, Carlos, SF-24 - Data Analysis Red Bull - Max Mclaren - Oscar - Lando - Final stint - Team critique

Ferrari

This race was a quiet comeback for Ferrari, and given the eventful nature of the race for other teams the fact that Ferrari was technically the second best team in terms of placement and consistency really flew under the radar. 

Ferrari bought a modified floor to Hungary, aimed at addressing some of the instability introduced by certain upgrades. This modification did help. 

Charles qualified P6 and finished P4, while Carlos qualified P4 and finished P6. While these results are not the best, after the Mclaren 1-2 these results are the second best placement for a team during this race weekend. Given this race was meant to be the start of Ferrari’s comeback after a series of struggling races and results, I will call this a win on that front. 

Mclaren - 43 pts Ferrari - 20 pts Mercedes - 20 pts (1 point was for George’s fastest lap) Red Bull - 16 pts

Ferrari wasn’t the strongest, but this was quiet return towards more consistency and points for both drivers. An uneventful race with higher points finishes is what the team needed and it’s what they delivered. 

Now Ferrari’s race strategy was good. The tyre management from Charles was stellar, he went 30 laps on mediums in high temperatures and was able to fight on them and put in faster laps. His battling against Max was great. While Max did have slightly better pace Charles was able to stay close enough that when Max went off because he was battling with Lewis, Charles was there to take the place back. 

Ferrari didn't have a second set of hards for Charles, so he had to go to a set of slightly used mediums. Which made it unlikely he was going to be able to battle with Lewis. However he was still able to keep pace enough with Max to be position to take the spot back when Max went off.

Carlos also had good overall pace. His race start was compromised by an issue with his clutch which was why he lost places into the first few laps. Charles easily passed him, but the more unfortunate part was the fact he fell behind Fernando, who was difficult to get past. The bad start, which was not his fault effectively ended what would have likely been a more competitive race from him. Still he pulled pretty good race pace and a solid result. 

Overall a good start to a comeback from Ferrari, far from perfect, but an uneventful race with points finishes is what the team needed. 

Data Analysis

A very quick look at Charles and Carlos race pace.

Now they were on different strategies because of the early change in track position. But here Charles tyre management on those mediums in the final stint is what really stands out. He did not lose any performance in those. His goal was to drive for consistent lap times that didn't kill the tyres. And in the heat that is challenging.

Both Charles and Carlos had good pace on the first medium stint. Charles was slightly faster on the hards, but not by a significant margin. He pit early to attempt the undercut because his main competition this race became Max. That proved to be a good move. And the SF-24 pulled it's weight, because the team can trust that car can actually pull off that kind of consistency with the tyres in the heat for that many laps.

Now let's look at Charles' pace vs his main competition: Max.

On the first mediums they were effectively matched on pace. Charles actually had better pace on the hards. Max was pushing hard on the mediums in his final stint, which is why he was much faster there. That did cost him later as he couldn't fight with Charles after his failed pass against Lewis. The takeaway here is that these two were very closely matched on pace this weekend. And it's promising for future team battles.

The other question is would Charles have been able to catch Lewis?

Maybe if he'd had new mediums for the stint instead of used mediums. Because he was on Lewis' pace or faster the entire race. So it was really a track position thing. He would have needed some extra speed to be able to catch Lewis. But the pace being close is again very promising for Ferrari's changes they made to the car.

Overall excellent showing from Charles in terms of raw pace and tyre management this race.

Red Bull

Max

Max qualified P3 and finished P5. This matched his second worst result of the season, and there are a few reasons for that. Red Bull strategy and the car were not with him 100% this weekend, and he was fighting on a lot of fronts. Now his racing was also not perfect, but a lot of factors were beyond his control and he is right to be frustrated. 

Turn 1: Max on turn one went around the outside of both Lando and Oscar to try the overtake. He went wide because Lando was caught in the middle and couldn’t yield any more space.

From Max’s perspective Lando forced him wide, because he couldn’t see Oscar on the inside there. From Lando’s perspective he couldn’t give any space otherwise he’d be squeezed between Oscar and Max, he had nowhere to go. 

This was just a case of crowding into the turn. I don’t think anyone is at fault, it happens. I think the issue was that to Max it felt like he was forced off when that wasn’t quite what was happening there.

Red Bull strategy really failed Max. His car was already not where he wanted it to be in terms of competitiveness. But then Red Bull allowed him to get undercut not once but twice. Once happens, a team cannot get them all right, but twice in the same race is not good. In fact this was by far Red Bull’s worst race just in terms of their strategy, which is usually and area they have few issues.

So Max was dealing with the car not being competitive enough, and then lost places beyond his control in the pits. He’s right to be upset with the team, because that was really sloppy from them.

Collision with Lewis:

Max had the inside line, he broke and locked up, Lewis was right there and couldn’t react to that in time, so he hit the rear of Max’s car. Max went off the track and lost places to Lewis and Charles before he rejoined the race. 

I don’t think Max or Lewis were at fault here. The lockup was the issue, preventing Max from being able to turn when he should have. Lewis didn’t do anything wrong either. There was no way he could have avoided contact at that point. 

It was a racing incident, neither driver is really at fault, it was just bad timing. The stewards agreed and no penalty was given. 

I will disagree with Max’s assessment that Lewis moved illegally under braking(which again is not illegal to do) Lewis’ moves there are fine, he didn’t do anything incorrect, he gave the appropriate room, it was just that lock up that made it so Max couldn’t turn when he should have. I think that from the perspective Max had in the moment with the lock up things would seem like they were moving in a way they shouldn’t have.

This was Red Bull’s worst race thus far, just in terms of car performance and final results collectively for both drivers.

Mclaren

The part of the race everyone really wants to talk about.

Before we get into this section, yes this is a Ferrari blog, yes I am not a fan of Mclaren the team. I will try to be as objective as possible, and offer an outsider’s perspective, but know that going in. Also between the two Mclaren drivers I am biased towards Oscar. I have tried my best to look at the strategy and way things unfolded on track as objectively as I can. Also note that I do not take into account what a driver has said on the radio or after a race unless I believe it had some impact on the result, informed about the car or race conditions etc. 

With all that out of the way let’s talk about the main subject of Hungary. Oscar Piastri’s maiden win in Formula 1, and how Mclaren managed to make it such a controversial affair. 

I have been saying all year that Mclaren’s strategy is mediocre at best and downright atrocious at worst. Hungary proved my point for anyone who was still clinging onto the idea that this team knows how to operate at the front. 

In Silverstone Mclaren said they’d learn from their errors that cost them the race. Well, it seems they decided to take that as inspiration on how to do worse, not better. 

I will give Mclaren some credit, it is impressive how they managed to have a 1-2 finish and no one feels like they actually won, in fact fans are extremely displeased with the team, even though they got their best result all year. It takes true skill to pull something like that off. 

Listen, I am going to have some fun here, because frankly Mclaren deserve it. This team put both their drivers in a terrible position that they never should have had to deal with in the first place. 

I feel like a lot of what I am about to say about Mclaren strategy I have said at least 5 separate times this season, but if they keep doing these mistakes then apparently it needs repeating. 

I think the core issue is twofold. 

The current team (the team not the drivers in this case) does not know how to operate at the front of the field. 

The team does not know how to manage both their drivers when both drivers are competitive at the front.

These are things a front running team needs to know how to do to be successful. Yes the drivers have had plenty of their own mistakes. But, they can only do so much when the team behind them is this incompetent. I have heavily critiqued Lando’s driving this season, however how is he supposed to confidently try to fight at the front when every single time it counted the team dropped the ball? 

Then there is Oscar who has been even less competently supported by the team. They can’t even file paperwork right on his behalf. 

I lay all this out because I think it’s important to set the stage for what unfolded during this race. 

The Race

Lando qualified on pole, he finished P2. Oscar qualified P2, and he finished P1. This was Oscar’s maiden win!

The most important parts of Mclaren’s race are lap 1, and the entire final stint with both drivers. 

Lap 1: Oscar got a good race start and took the lead of the race from Lando into turn 1. Bold move from him and a good clean pass. After this Oscar led the race until the final stint. He had a few errors on some laps where he lost the traction a left the track. No damage or significant time lost, but still, a few errors there. 

The important thing is that Oscar was the race leader, and he took that place through an overtake. This also put Lando on the back foot to his teammate after qualifying on pole. 

Oscar led the race comfortably until the final stint. Lando wasn't making any meaningful gains on him and he had his pace well under control. And given the heat this was also some of his best tyre management work.

This was a pointless pit call. Mclaren’s worry over a car that looked like it might be a threat maybe was what made them make the worst team strategy call of the season. Lewis was in P3, but he was not a serious threat on pace, and on the timesheets he was not close enough to even be a serious threat to Lando, they made that stop with plenty of time to spare. So the mentality of losing places and doing really weird moves to try to keep those places struck again. Also this was preferential toward Lando. As they were more concerned at preserving P2 for him than Oscar’s placement. Given Oscar was the race leader he should have had priority. And Lando pointed this out. The tone of his radio doesn’t really change the fact that yes, Mclaren just should have given the first support to their race leader and pit Oscar first. Lando was right about that.

I want to be very clear. Mclaren should not have put either of their drivers in this position. They orchestrated an undercut on Oscar by his own teammate for no real reason. They also put Lando is a very tough situation where he had to give back a position when he was doing well on his tyres and he’d been handed the lead of the race(by his team). 

Now, Mclaren told Lando that he’d have to swap with Oscar when they pit him first. So he knew this was coming. Since he had that information he should have made the swap as soon as Oscar came out of the pits. That was the time to make the agreed upon swap.

Lando was in a no win situation: if he swapped he’d look weak for not taking a win he could have. And if he pushed ahead and ignored the team he’d be made the villain for taking Oscar’s win. That is an unfair position to put him in, and there isn’t really an easy way to get out of it looking good. The team put him there, and are more to blame. 

HOWEVER

I am going to be critiquing Lando’s performance on this final stint. Because while yes Mclaren are to blame for the position they put him in, which was not fair to their driver, he had other options that would have saved his race and appearances within the team. His choice of how he handled a bad situation made it worse. 

Here are a few options Lando had:

Immediately swap as soon as Oscar came out of the pits and got back up to speed. This complies with the plan the team gave him and then he can just say he was following team strategy. He also could have then tried for the overtake on Oscar, he had the time to try to overtake Oscar. The team didn’t say they couldn’t race. So if he wanted to comply with team orders he could have done the swap as planned, then race Oscar and go for an overtake. Which given his tyres he might have been able to do. He would have been criticized for this, but it would have been clearly on merit so it would be very difficult to argue against.

Immediately swap with Oscar and hold position in P2 and support Oscar's first win.

Ignore the team and win the race. Tell them they fucked up the strategy and take the win with the lead the team handed him. This would not have gone over well, with the team, his teammate or many fans, but it was an option. 

He went with the worst of both options. He ignored team orders for almost 20 laps, then he swapped. So he got the negative outcome of ignoring team orders, and also the appearance of a non-competitive mentality by giving the place back. Since he ignored the team and also gave the place back he got all of the negatives associated with both, and he didn’t even get a win out of it. The way he chose to handle the situation was not good. 

I think that what you think Lando should have done really depends on personal bias. If he was my driver I might have been screaming at the TV for him to just take the win. In the interest of “fairness” in a sport that is rarely if ever fair, the thing to do was give the place back to Oscar. It was probably the best move in terms of working with the team and optics with fans and viewers. 

“Lando might need those 7 points in the WDC championship”: Well he had the option to win, if he truly believed those points were going to matter he could have taken the win, there were a few ways he could have done it as well. And I will add that I highly doubt the WDC will come down to 7 points. You have permission to come scream at me at the end of the year if I am wrong on this. But it’s a bit optimistic to think the gap is going to close to 7 points. 

“Lando was faster”: He wasn’t fast enough to be able to win from his original position in P2. He did need the team to hand him P1 to win, he didn’t have the pace to overtake Oscar. Oscar took that place and would have easily held it had the team not undercut him. 

“Lando’s tyre management was better”: okay, that doesn't mean he had the pace to close the gap on his own.

Enough about Lando, and back to the bigger problem, Mclaren. 

This was the worst handled teammate swap in recent memory. They put themselves in a bad situation, fine, can’t go back on that. However after that the way they went about trying to get Lando to swap back was beyond embarrassing. They were trying to convince him to swap, saying “at your earliest convenience” “I’m sure you’ll do the right thing”. Why were they doing this? Telling him things that were open to interpretation. When what they should have done as soon as Oscar came out of the pits was say “On turn 2 swap with Oscar” just give a direct order that didn't leave any questions about what to do or when. Because then Lando has a direct order he can point to for why he gave the position back. Doing this whole performance on the radio was so unnecessary and I think made things more difficult for both drivers. 

Why did they let it go 20 laps before they gave a direct order? 

The whole situation was horrendously mishandled on all fronts. 

I don’t blame both drivers for being seriously frustrated with how things were handled. Because this race and its issues were not new. The only thing new about it was the fact that Oscar and Lando were both at the front. The team has been terrible at coordinating strategy with their drivers, figuring out how long to stay out at the front etc. It all came to a head in Hungary, but none of this was new. 

Mclaren have been saying all year that they are “learning” from their strategy mistakes. Well if this race is a result of what they’ve learned, then they need to start over because clearly they are not moving in the right direction.

They got the 1-2 in spite of the team, not because of it. 

Data Analysis

So now let's examine the full race between these two drivers. Was Oscar actually fastest? Could Lando have caught him in that final stint if he'd swapped back sooner?

Here is their full race pace. The thing to note is that they were tied on pace in the first stint. It really came down to track position there, and Lando losing the places. On the hards Oscar was getting better performance early on and fell off slightly near the end. The final stint is where there isn't anyone who is clearly fastest. I think that the pace for both can be explained by how the final laps were managed. Since Lando took so long to make the swap I do think Oscar pushed harder than he would have because he was trying to keep that gap close or to even work on closing it. And Lando was also pushing hard one lap, then falling off the next. He was clearly trying to push to show he was faster, but his pace and management was not as good at the gap suggested. The laps he was putting in were not sustainable.

I want to look highlight a few sections of the stints because these two were so close.

Stint 1 Oscar was faster more often than not. It was close but he was faster. This was probably in part due to the fact he had clean air, which is why taking that position in lap 1 was so important. And also why it was so costly for Lando.

Stint 2 they are close, once again Oscar having the edge. The one slower lap from Oscar was when he lost grip and went wide but recovered it.

Stint 3 is there you can see that Lando was not clearly faster. And can see the kind of ping pong behavior he set. Oscar was slightly slower, but not enough that he would have lost the lead if he'd had his rightful track position. And if this was Lando's best pace in clean air no less he was not going to catch Oscar. Which is why I believe he didn't want to give the place back, because while he would have had the option to fight Oscar for the win on merit if he swapped right away, with this pace he wasn't going to be able to do it.

Final thoughts on Mclaren: this team is proving that it takes more than the fastest car to be championship contenders. Their rivals are wary but not scared because while the car is there, the drivers are getting there, the team most certainly isn't. Not unless they drastically change their approaches on multiple fronts.

That's all I got. Onto Spa!

[12-seconds-to-live]

(Un)Lost: Goodbye

Pairing: F12022/3!Grid! x Fem!Driver!oc

Warnings: DNF’s, angst, a little bit of love, episodes of anxiety, Seb’s retirement, harsh words.

“Welcome to the last briefing of the season. Is everybody here? All right”

I was sit next to Lewis, both of us in the back of the room. Everybody seem happy today. Except me, I wake up with a strange feeling, everything looks normal. My dad is here with me, Lando and I are going strong, but I can understand this.

“You’re okay? You’re not smiling today” Lewis asked

“I feel off. I have a feeling” I looke at him, almost the same as that day in 2021 after his race “You’re the one who looks odd”

“This used to be my favourite place, not anymore. And If you have a feeling, make it a good one”

“I will”

“Smile, after the race I’m gonna take you to the cheesecake factory”

“Promise?”

“Promise, baby” He hug me and smile “Lando is throwing knives at me through his gaze“

“Oh, that’s normal, just wave at him” We did it and Lando start walking to us “Uh, run Lewis”

“What was that?” Lando kissed my cheek

“Nothing my love, just talking about food with Lewis” He hold my hand

“I’m gonna start working as a bodyguard from now on”

“Oh my... Also I have a weird feeling”

“Why’s that?” He looked at my, those green eyes screw me over

“A feeling of losing, I believe”

“You’re not the first in this WDC but you’re the one in my heart, love”

“That’s enough. I love you”

“To Pluto and back”

“Radio check”

“What a voice. It’s fair that you sing to me, Adam. Considering that this is the last race. I mean, sadly we’re not world champions but we did pretty good” I started to put on my gloves and check the steering wheel

“You have to wait ‘till the end of the race. I have a unique voice, kid”

“Oh wow, I’m gonna race as fast as I can then” We laugh

“Just do it safely”

“No promises, I live for wins and podiums”

The same feeling of this morning came back to me. It’s not normal anymore. I’m on P4 and Lando on P5. I turned my head a little and saw his face, I waved to him, but the real thing is that I want to jump out of the car and run out of the circuit, something is about to happen, something bad, as bad as death

5, 4, 3, 2, 1. It’s lights out and away we go

LAP 1/58

“What a start for the last race of the season here in Abu Dhabi, turn one and Max Verstappen remains as race leader and...oh the McLaren prodigy Charlotte just pass Charles Leclerc, even she’s number two this season we never missed to get impress by her”

LAP 21/58 

“Can you check the tyres, please? I felt something in turn 6″

“Copy”

Curently I’m P6, a safety car was deployed after one of the Alfa Romeo just lost their engine. The race has been good, the feeling is there. Lando is P3 at the moment, hope we can have this podium together.

“Box, box, your tyres are cooling too fast”

“Copy, set a record on this one”

LAP 47/58

“This race is getting more excited, Charlotte Robyn-Jones is leading the Abu Dhabi GP, but what is happening?... She just go straight on turn 11, she doesn’t sound good on that radio with her engineer”

“I can’t control my breaking, I might crash and...”

“The Mclaren driver spin and go straight to the barrier, we need the marshall go to her and a red flag has been deployed, all the cars has been called to the pits and we don’t have any movement on her”

“I see blood... I wanna vomit ... help ...please”

“Charlotte, stay calm, stay still, marshals are on their way”

“Can you please tell Lando that I’m sorry to ruin the race... I don’t” 

“Stay still Char... you’re going to be...”

“No, I...I see blood running down my nose and I wanna... Everbody hates red flags and I hate them too and I hate not being world champion and I hate not to tell Lando that I love...”

“Charlotte? Can you hear me?” Adam look at Zack in the eyes, it was like everything and everybody stopped, they don’t want to thin that your last radio message was heard from everybody ... everywhere.

All the cars started entering pits and on the big screen the image of the marshals and the safety care destroying the halo to get you out was horrific.

Carlos was the first to aproach Lando who look lost looking at the screen. The british wanted to cry, he believed in your words of joy and happiness everytime you say that’s their moment to perform better, but, early that day you had a bad feeling. Almost all the members of the teams surronded outside their garages to see how they took your body out of the car.

You were passed, like a sleeping baby, this time like a nightmare, your suit have blood around your left leg, your visor broken, your eyes closed. They put you on the floor and a white large tent was put above you, that was the signal to know that your heart stopped and they have to start moving fast before the worst.

“Is she...?” started Pierre looking at Carlos

“Don’t finish that phrase man, we don’t wanna...” He tried to talk but then Lando started crying and his intentions were clear, he wanted to be next to you, hold your hand, beg you to fight, beg you to stay, say goodbye and don’t ruin it, not again.

“Lando...Lando no” Max and a few other aproach to the driver to help him stay in the garage, avoiding the image of you.

“Leave me. She can’t be dead, man. Put in my damn shoes, imagine that is Kelly or Daniel, one of us” Max’s eyes looked glossy to see his friend looking so broken. Your dad hug Lando, who as much as the driver wanted answers. He knows that his daughter is a fighter, strong but at the end, maybe his wife was starting to call her daughter to be by her side

“She’s going to be ok” He said to Lando. On the big screen the tent was opened and your body was taken to the ambulance, your helmet gone and an oxygen mask arounf your face.

“She’s out... we have to go and... and...Screw this race...We don’t race as one anymore”

“Muppet, they’re going to cancel the race, we can go” Carlos guide Lando to change his fireproofs and go to the hospital. At this point Lando knew, just as you, something bad happened.

“Carlos?” Lando asked when they were in the car

“Yeah?”

“It’s just, I will never accept her loss. I will accept I will be living with it, until I take my last breath and I’m reunited with her again”

Until then

“You can’t make that public. What is wrong with you?”

“Man, the moment we signed our contracts, we know that this could go on a public record. It’s almost fair to the fans and friends”

“No, it’s not. What about his dad? And you? We can’t go through this all over again”

“Lando, please. His dad gave us his consent” Lando sit in the back of the room. A small conference room when the drivers and team principals we’re going to watch a video made by you, every driver has one but considering the circunstances, nobody wanted to remember that tragedy. And a couple days later, everybody around the world could watch this video too.

When I die, give what is left of me to children and elders who hope to die. If you need to cry, cry for your brother and sister who walk down the street next to you. And when you need me, hug anyone and give them whatever you need to give me. I want to leave you something, something better than words or sounds.

Look for me in the people I've known or loved. If you can't tell me, at least let me live in your eyes, and not in your mind. You can love me more by letting the hands touch the hands, letting the hearts touch the hearts, and letting go of the spirits who need to be free.

Love doesn't die, bodies do. So, when all that's left of me is love, give me.

I want to make sure, you’re fine, ‘cause right now I’m living a life where I don’t know what would I do If you’re not in there anymore

You must be proud of yourself. Despite everything you've been through, you're still here.

You are very strong. You have overcome things that others can't even imagine. You thought you wouldn't make it and you got it.

You will do it again. Keep living the life you want, not the one that others expect. And feel proud to be the way you are.

You must be proud to challenge yourself every day, to find yourself when you think everything is lost. You wake up wanting to continue. Even if you have an abyss in front of you, you do everything you can to be well.

You fight for yourself when no one else does.

You are someone worth fighting for.

And If this is the last time, I never meant to say goodbye this way. To my family, dad, you know that mom is gonna take care of me. To the Sainz’s, thank you. To my grid family, this happens, just remember all those memories that we built together, even If you have your eyes full of tears, you know that my legacy has been written. To Lando, you know that this is the hardest part of the job, I love you and I’m sure that maybe in another life, we will last longer, I was lost without you and now I found my place. I’ll waiting for you in our next life. Goodbye for now.

“Hello Charlotte, me again, hope you’re not bored of me” Lando showed a side smile

“The world stopped turning the day you died. I felt it. In my heart. In every fibre of my being. I felt it. The sun stopped being warm. The night stopped being cool. When you died, the world as I knew it did too. I did too.”

Lando started crying looking around the cemetery

“Everybody has changed. Carlos lost his sparkle and has a photo of you in his motorhome and as his lookscreen. Daniel has your name on his helmet, he said you still helping him on his decisions, Alex stayed with your dad for two weeks, he felt so lost that we cried together just talking about you. Your dad is doing well, he moved to Madrid to be closer to the Sainz, they begged him to do that.”

“You’ll always be my number one, Charlotte. I wasn’t with you holding your hand ‘till your last breath, I spend days in your hospital room, just waiting. When they told me you were gone, I screamed, I cried as loud as I could, I halfway hoped that If you could hear me screaming on your way to heaven, you would turn around and come back to me, but you never did”

“It’s been weeks and many people call me everyday, checking on me, I’m gratefull but I came to realize that the reason why it’s so hard to let you go is because this goodbye to you has to let go to a version of me that you got to know so well and at the same time, even If I could go back, I wouldn’t belong there anymore, not without you. I cannot accept to have a teammate that is not you, to just look at your pictures, full of joy and passion and then, I remember that my house is empty, no more hugs, no more kisses, no more you”

“And even I know that you’re not coming back, I’m happy for share all the things that make you happy, for get to know you and for how gratefull I’m with time for allowing you and I to live in the same lifetime. I’ll love you in this and as many lifetimes we have”

Taglist: @evans-dejong @omgsuperstarg @bibissparkles @hoely-maria @mochimommy2002 @noope306 @eugene-emt-roe​ @80sloverry​ @rens-daylight @honeydanny​

part one

part two

part three

part four

[scenetocause]

lil headcanon of girloscar for silverstone '24 weekend plz if u would be open to it??

i'm actually writing a chewy girloscar first win/austria/logan's 2024 thing that's all got a bit in depth and will probably end at silverstone but here's a little fluffy bit of side scene

It's wet and - Lando doesn't like it, obviously but - Oscar gets a unique level of miserable in the rain. She can't wear shorts or she'll get wet legs, which always pisses her off and then apparently her jeans rub her between her thighs when they're wet and the team shoes aren't waterproof and even though this year Lando actually made her request one of the proper team coats she really resents wearing it.

Especially at Silverstone, which he hadn't realised sort of makes Oscar grumpy as a place. He'd quite enjoyed Melbourne, with all of Oscar's people around them but the scale is pretty different here. It's not just Lando's family and a few early-years sponsors or something, it's the entire UK (or something) showing up and Sky breathlessly hyping that he's going to win and then some sort of patriotic collective orgasm will happen.

He forgot to vote in the election, too, which feels like it should be understandable given they were doing twenty interviews that day but Oscar had a go at him about it in some sort of stressed way and he's just not really sure what's up with her this week.

They're sharing a driver room because of the motorhome thing, which he'd thought would be nice but seems to be exacerbating whatever Oscar's beef is. Normally they hang out with each other in one of them anyway, hiding together from media and VIP commitments and getting each other off when they're not meant to be.

Instead, Oscar is glaring at something on an iPad - probably Lando's tyre data - and jiggling her slightly-damp leg like it will help the denim dry faster. It's setting his teeth on edge.

Her digging through his data is nothing new and he doesn't mind, that's sort of the point. He's had a cheeky look through some of Jenson's and Lewis' from 2008, it can't hurt. But this feels less like something she's doing to gain something and more like distraction or even self-flagellation.

Well, he's been told he's very distracting. "Hey."

Him grabbing her ankle makes her look up, at least. Sometimes it's best to be blunt. "What's up with you?"

She sighs, makes a sort of grumbling noise and pushes the heels of her palms into her eyes, huffing. "Nothing - it's stupid."

Lando has to bite his lip for a second before leaning into a cliche. "If it's bothering you it's not nothing. Or stupid."

At least that makes her glare at him, rather than the iPad. She sighs again, kicking her legs out and slumping back on the sofa, eyes closed like she can't bear to perceive this too much.

"You didn't - yesterday, you didn't tell me you were going to be sexy and I turned up in a fucking sweater."

It almost has him blindsided for a moment because this is a completely unreal thing for Oscar to care about. "What?"

"You were all-" she does something with her hand that he thinks means 'fancy' or something "-and I'm fucking dressed like a toddler. Because it's your home race and I'm not trying to - I mean, I don't anyway but like. I don't want to look like a bad girlfriend and it's just-"

"It was a sexy sweater." It's probably not the most helpful thing he can say but still.

"What?" She's looking at him again but with total incredulity.

"Sexy. Makes you look all soft and warm to, uh, hug. Nice shoulders, good to kiss. Like you could pick me up in the paddock again."

In all fairness, the first time had been because he'd only had his socks on when the motorhome caught fire. But Oscar carrying him over to a chair in a bridal hold has spawned a thousand TikTok edits that Lando can't pretend he's stopped watching.

Even when they're calling him pathetic, he can see the tender way she picks him up, uses her forearm to support his back so she doesn't hurt him, holds him close to her as she puts him down. It's a type of loved he'd never realised he wanted to be, until she showed him how nice it is to be looked after.

It's his turn to do that for her, though.

She blinks up at him, where he's perched on the arm of the sofa, avoiding her agitated jiggling earlier. It's enough to make him not quite launch himself at her but tumble down so they can tangle together, cuddling the way he'd wanted to earlier.

"You think weird shit is sexy," she observes, stroking his hair to take the sting out of it.

That just makes him snort. "You think I'm sexy."

Oscar's laughing, at least, when she says "Well fucking everyone thinks that now, don't they? Slutty little vest thing."

"Don't slut-shame me or I won't let you put anything up my arse." He nestles closer to her, gets a hand on her boobs, through her team shirt, in the way that gives Sophie a headache because it leaves visible crumpling.

"Yeah you will," Oscar sounds a little bit amused, still. "Who doesn't want to get fisted after winning their home race?"

When he's squirming his way through a fucking - he still has no idea what Darktrace actually is - sponsor session later, still half-chubbed with way too little time before qualifying, at least she's knocking her hand against his and giggling at their inside jokes again.

[whorekneecentral]

mark w and his favourite reporter having a secret affair, lots of flirting in press etc

maybe they have a secret hook up like ten minutes before a race and she says she'll reward him after the race if he wins ??

this has been a recent theme in my inbox; y'all got the hots for affairs 😭 // tw: cheating

"And how are you preparing for the race?" You asked the other driver, moving on from Jenson.

"Quite well actually, I think we've got a good chance this weekend." Mark answers you. There's a smile on his face and his eyes fixed on you, studying the dip at the front of your blue top.

"Good, I'm glad to hear that."

"Will you be rooting for me?" Mark asks in front of a room full of reporters; but the word choice wasn't missed by anyone in the room.

Me, not us.

"I don't pick favourites, Mark." You laughed it off but the look on his face knew exactly what your words meant.

---

"No favourites now?" He asked, your leg over his hip and you're pinned between him and the stack of tyres.

"Shut up," you mumbles, clinging to his shirt, your nails digging into the blue fabric.

Please don’t let there be wrinkles you think when he's pushed flush against you. The thought being cut off when Mark's lips find yours, muffling your moans as he fucks you. Your nails dig into his bicep, his shirt sleeve pushed up.

At least it would be covered.

“Hold on,” he tells you, pulling out and you whimper at the loss of the fullness. Mark turns you around and you get what he’s doing.

Soon enough, you’re bent over a stack of tyres.

Mark's hand is placed on your hip, holding you in place as he pushes into you, picking up the pace again. Your head drops down onto your arms and he didn’t like that.

He pulls you up by your hair, your back arches and his arm wrapped around your middle, holding you up. “You don’t want everyone to hear you picking favourites, do you?” He asks you, his lips against your ear.

"Fuck off," you breathe, your hand reaching down to wrap around his wrist, your manicures nails digging into his skin.

“Gonna cum for me, aren't you ? You’re my good girl.” He says. “You're so pretty like this,” his words make you push back against him, wanting more from him. He can feel you clench around his cock. “Fuck, gonna make me cum, darling.”

Mark was still leaning over you, your hand coming back to on his cheek. “In me.” You tell him.

He looked like he had died and gone to heaven.

“In you?” He asks, making sure he heard you right. You nod, “in me.”

You both know you shouldn't'; he's married, you're engaged but neither of you cared at the moment. It was just the two of you at the moment.

Mark's thrusts are sloppy and between you asking him to cum in you and the way you were clenching around him, he wasn’t going to last much longer. Your hand pressed to his chest, his eyes find yours once more.

“Mark.. please.” You breathe, and he gives in, he can’t help himself; you’ve got him wrapped around your finger. “Want you to fuck me full,” you whisper to him when he drops down on top of you. You can feel him fucking the cum back into you, surely he's made a mess.

“You’ll be the death of me,” he whispers back to you.

The two of you stay like that for a moment until you separate and get redressed.

"Go win your race," you tell him, holding his jaw between your fingers. "I'll be rooting for you," you smiled, giving him a kiss.

[umgeorge]

george russell, p1, is interviewed during the post-race press conference, austria - june 30, 2024 (transcript under the cut)

Interviewer: "Very many congratulations to the top three finishers of the FIA Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix. In third place, Carlos Sainz; in second place, Oscar Piastri; and taking his second win in Formula 1, our winner, George Russell. George, very well done to you. What a moment. It was perhaps unexpected, but what does this win mean to you?" George: "Yeah, it feels really great, to be honest. These last three races, as a team, we've really turned it up. I feel that Montreal was probably a victory that we missed out on and we ended up finishing P3. Today was a deserving P3 and we got the victory, [laughs] so it's funny how this sport turns around. And just credit to all the team for all the hard work they've done. Such huge progress since the start of the year." Interviewer: "This is also a racetrack that brings out the best in you. You're the first driver to win here in GP3, Formula 2, and now Formula 1." George: "Yeah, there we go. [laughs] Yeah, it's a track I enjoy. The last couple of years have been very difficult for us, as a team, and we didn't have high expectations going into this weekend, but we ended up qualifying P3 yesterday and we've been in that mix and, as I said, we were fighting for the podium. I think, realistically, we still probably have the third quickest car behind Red Bull and McLaren, but the last three races Lewis and I have been in that P3 spot, so we're really getting the most out of it and sometimes, racing, it goes your way." Interviewer: "Well, can we delve into the race now. and perhaps start before the lights had even gone out? Going to the grid, you were expressing some concerns over the radio. How was the car, first of all?" George: "Yeah, it was very windy out there, and I think the car was feeling a little bit strange on my laps to grid. We checked everything and everything was fine. But the pace felt strong. I had Lewis attack me early in the race, but then once I got back past him I got a bit of a gap to Carlos. I knew Oscar was going to be quick and he sort of came a little bit out of nowhere towards the end of the race on those hard tyres. For me it was pretty difficult. And then suddenly I had Toto screaming in my ear, 'You can win this!' And I almost crashed when he screamed into my ears, it was that loud. But I think it just goes to show the passion that we all share, and it's obviously been a tough couple of years for us. It feels great to be back on the top step." Interviewer: "You were slightly offset, strategically. You ran the medium tire in the middle of the race. How much did that help you in the closing battle with Oscar, to be on the hard tire?" George: "I don't think it helped at all, to be honest. I think it's difficult. I think we split the strategies with Lewis, just to try something. You never know how the race is going to pan out and VSC, safety cars have a big factor. That VSC at the end was quite handy for me. It allowed me to cool my tires down, and then my pace against Oscar, the last five laps was the same, when he had the medium.

So the car's been feeling really good. We know we've got a little bit of work still to do if we want to consistently be in that fight for the podium, but looking at the steps we've made versus Ferrari, versus Aston Martin, it's been pretty huge since Bahrain." Interviewer: "And in terms of execution, was this the best weekend that you and the team have had so far this year?" George: "Yeah, without doubt. I think we really executed everything really well. I think every session we maximized; qualified as high as we think was truly possible. Race starts have been good. P4 in the race yesterday was the maximum. P3, realistically, was the maximum and the deserving result today. The team did a great job, so it's nice when you get a reward for all that hard work." Interviewer: "And what a result to take into your home race at Silverstone next weekend. Do you dare to dream about a repeat on home soil?" George: "You always dare to dream, for sure. Anything can happen. I think Red Bull were really quick this weekend in the high speed corners, so they're going to look pretty strong next week in Silverstone, but we've got a few days between now and then. I'll be on the simulator on Tuesday back at the factory, so I'm really excited for that one." Interviewer: "Alright. George, very well done to you. Thank you…" [time jump] Interviewer: "Yes, another one." Journalist: "Jake Boxall-Legge, Autosport. Question for George, please: George, yesterday you said that you'd let it play out a little bit between Max and Lando, which worked out alright. What was your immediate reaction when you saw those two sort of coming into view ahead of you? What were the engineers saying to you on the radio before Toto came over?" George: "I was just trying to focus on just maximizing my driving, to be honest. Marcus, my engineer, said three laps before, they're fighting really hard and we can win this. And I said, look, we need to sort of secure P3 first; let me drive. And I knew Oscar was fast behind. And then when I got into the lead I knew it was going to be a challenging last six laps. My tires were difficult. That VSC helped marginally, because my tires were overheating and that just allowed me to cool them down, but… Yeah, it's a bit of a strange one to win a race like this, for sure, but, as I said, it's racing. Sometimes it goes against you. I feel like we've probably missed out on one or two possibilities of victories. Montreal is one. Arguably Singapore, things could have gone very slightly differently last year, and today it went for us, so… How the cookie crumbles." Interviewer: "Thanks, George. Any more? Yep." Journalist: "Isabelle Barker from The Sun. George, how do you plan on celebrating? I assume no two-day benders, 'cause you're back into work on Tuesday."

George: [laughs] "Yeah, I'm back home tonight. I've got my girlfriend waiting for me back home, and one of my good friends there, too, so… I'm flying back with Fernando. Hopefully he's not left me here already, 'cause I've been [laughs] pretty busy with media this evening. But yeah, for sure… I mean, my first victory, I was right onto a flight for fifteen hours from Sao Paulo to Dubai. Hoping to be back this evening before ten o'clock, maybe. And yeah, I want to celebrate it, because you can't take these moments for granted. I feel that I've got a lot left in me and a lot more victories to come in the future, but in an era of total dominance by one team and driver, any victory by any other driver, you need to enjoy it. But it won't be as hard as Lando's celebration. If it's fifty percent as hard as Lando's celebration, it'll be a pretty massive night, so…" [laughs] Interviewer: [laughs] "Thanks, George. Have fun. Any more? Yes! There's another one." Journalist: "Hello. Mark Ivanov from Avto+ Sports. Question for all of you, for all of three: How hard was it in the last few laps, when all of you saw that you can finish on the podium, and how hard was the focus for all of you?" George: "I think the difficulty was, we were approaching a lot of backmarkers and we were interacting a lot with them, and if you get fortunate with the position, you get the DRS, turn one, and then into turn three and turn four and you can gain six-tenths. If you're unfortunate, you could maybe lose six-tenths. So you could have a 1.2 second difference just on where you catch the backmarkers, and when there was only two seconds between Oscar and I, that was probably the most nerve wracking, but… Yeah, nothing more, really, to say than that." Interviewer: "George, how concerned were you about Oscar in those closing laps?" George: "I thought he was going to catch, to be honest, but I think catching's one thing, overtaking is another. So I had Carlos behind me for ten laps yesterday in my DRS, and I was also behind Carlos for about eight laps in his DRS and overtaking wasn't straightforward, so I knew… I just sort of said to myself, do what you do best, no heroics, and you'll win this race."

[suzie-shooter]

Haven't done one of these for ages, but have a Screaming Meals commentary stream recap for the Formula E race on 13.01.24 with James and Clem.

J: Give them a taste of Kiwi!

[has a go at Clem for concentrating on the stream subs rather than the race] J: God knows what else I've missed in the time I've even just explained this point.

J: Oh God, someone's phoning me now, oh God I'm going to have to take this - improvise.

C: Da Costa's out. J: Oh well that's okay, he's not a client.

[on New Year] C: I'd be lying if I said I remembered much of it. J: Yeah I thought that might be the case.

C: Do you know what the biggest issue is right now? J: The…war, in… C: No, no, my tyre, on my car.

J: You really have to be careful when you're navigating crevices - Marcus has found that out the hard way.

J: If I was driving a Formula E car I'd be yawning too.

[on Clem's drive for next year] J: If you don't know then you're not looking hard enough are you.

C: I am doing ELMS and I'll be at the Daytona 24 in 2 weeks' time and so will my ever loyal acolyte James Blair.

J: What do you say to allegations that Moses came down with the tablets from the good Lord on the mountain faster than we have got the bank account paperwork back from Armstrong? I don't think Moses was up there for eighteen months.

J: God I really cock a shoulder when I do that.

[on Rick Armstrong] J: "If you aim high you can't shoot yourself in the foot" - he was talking about his girlfriend at the time.

C: Something we haven't told chat - I'm starting work in insurance, eh? J: Yeah that's true. Full on insurance agent. You heard it here first. […] All the heavy lifting's still going to be done by me, Clem's very much going to have a relationship management role. C: Which is great for me because that's pretty much all I'm good at. Chatting shit.

J: Qatar is sponsoring us? The government of Qatar. Our lives have changed Clem, we've got oil money! C: Yeah I wouldn't want to take their cash actually.

C: I always thought I'd be a great TV presenter. J: Technically that's what we're doing now. It's not far off. C: It's not exactly channel 4 but - J: No, it's better. Because we can say fuck.

J: Interesting storyline developing here, Cassidy's hanging out the back of Buemi. C: Don't know if you want to mention that on stream there. J: Well he's hanging right out the back of him, I mean look. C: Quite a graphic tale you're sort of describing.

J: He's getting his nose really tucked in to the rear end of Evans there […] this is the hottest thing happening on track right now, is Vergne hanging out the back of Evans, with Hughes looking to get involved […] trying to get up Mitch Evans. Who isn't trying to get up Mitch Evans, be realistic.

J: Maybe he wants Vergne to be hanging out the back of him. And then he'll just really open it up at the end.

J: It's a real sloppy rear end. C: Real sloppy. how's Jehan doing? J: Yeah he must be sort of running a sloppy rear end.

C: "Is James going to any ELMS races?" James is going to all of them. J: Pretty much all of them yeah. C: Who do you think's going to fucking be the entertainment factor behind the scenes? J: Yeah you know like endurance races are like long, you can't drive the whole thing. You're going to need some dicking around. We'll just be hanging out the back of the garage.

C: "What are your goals for this year?" - James. J: I really want to nail the guitar actually, hang on I was gonna share this earlier. [fetches guitar] C: Play Wonderwall.

C: Chasing Cars? J: Yes! C: I read the chat. J: Oh fuck off.

J: I think this is the G string.

J: I haven't done a lot of fingering in my time with my left hand […] I've got a lot of experience of strumming with my right hand.

J: Old Clemogio's a bit heavy in the eyelids. C: I've got to go and fucking - sort out my tyre.

[coimbrabertone]

Formula One Was Good Actually?

Yes.

I can't believe it either, but I did actually enjoy the F1 race this weekend.

Okay, so, just going to get the elephant out of the room now - the fact that Lando Norris won instead of Max Verstappen is doing a lot of heavy lifting here, but it's not just because of that - and now that I've said that, I'm going to talk about why I enjoyed F1 yesterday at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix.

Full disclosure, I didn't watch the sprint and it doesn't sound like I missed much.

In the race, however, something interesting happened...Max didn't break the field right away. He pulled a bit of a gap on Leclerc, yes, but Piastri in third was quick, and he managed to overtake Leclerc for second pretty early on, even started gaining.

Once Max pit, it was Piastri in the lead by a pretty comfortable margin, then Sainz, then Norris. I tuned into the race around this point since NASCAR at Kansas - also a banger of a race, I might get into that later actually - was in a rain delay. Piastri and Sainz made their pitstops, Lando was actually going quick - IIRC he had the fastest lap at this point - but still, it looked to me like Max had a clear path to the lead for the umpteenth time.

Kevin Magnussen, attempting to overtake hometown driver Logan Sargeant, hit the Williams and sent him into the barrier gearbox first. Logan was out on the spot, Kevin continued, and the safety car came out.

Now, maybe Bernd Maylander was just used to slotting in ahead of Max Verstappen - and can you blame him after these last three years? - but the safety car picked up Max in second, while Lando was free to run to the delta. Everyone knew he was going to make a free pitstop at this point, but with the rest of the field stuck behind the safety car, the question became...is Lando going to put a hole lap on the field?

Well, fortunately or unfortunately, race control waved the field by the safety car before any shenanigans could occur, so when Lando made his stop and came out on fresh hards, he caught the safety car with the rest of the field directly behind.

This is where things got fun.

On the restart, full disclosure, I thought Lando blew it and let Max Verstappen get too close...only for the Red Bull to fail to get the pass done on the start-finish straight. Lando kept the lead...and pulled away for the rest of the race.

Meanwhile, Verstappen spent the first part of the post-SC portion of the race breaking out of Leclerc's DRS range, while behind, Piastri and Sainz where showing that DRS wasn't a free pass this time out. And that's really what I liked about this race - the fact that, lap after lap, Sainz would get DRS on Piastri and would try and pass going into turn eleven...and it wouldn't be enough.

Unfortunately, Sainz eventually just decided to barge his way through and sent Piastri into the pits for a new front wing and fresh tyres, but the idea was there. DRS was an overtaking assist, but it wasn't a free overtake - and that's how I believe it should be.

That being said, as Piastri showed once he was on fresh tyres, a faster car could get by, so he charged through the likes of Albon and Ricciardo, taking fastest lap and eventually finishing thirteenth after having come out of the pits nineteenth. Sainz would get a five second penalty post race.

We had a new winner in Lando Norris, the winner started from fifth on the grid, it was a Grand Prix in the United States at a pleasant afternoon timeslot for me, and for the first time, it felt like it lived up to the hype of Miami.

Now there was also another thing, and it's so divisive that I'm not even sure if I should talk about it in this blog, but it's that Donald Trump was in attendance. He was a guest of Muhammad Ben Sulayem and Liberty Media, they took him through the McLaren garage, he posed with Zak Brown outside the garages, and he took a photo with Ben Sulayem and Lando Norris post-race. Not only that, but David Croft, in his race winning call went "On a weekend where McLaren has welcomed an ex-President into their garage, it's Norris who trumps Verstappen!"

So...in the eyes of some people, Norris' first win is forever going to be associated with a divisive ex-President who is one: subject to various legal proceedings in a number of states, and two: is running for office yet again. I hate that for Norris.

I'm not getting into the politics, I'm not making a judgment either way, please don't use this as a place to rant about your particular political views, I'm just saying it sucks that, a day after this guy's first win, I'm still seeing people talk about a guy who was a guest in the paddock rather than the guy who actually won the race.

It must suck for your first win to be at the center of people's political and moral arguments one way or another. I wish it wasn't a topic of conversation coming out of this race.

So yeah, I got to watch an F1 race I enjoyed for the first time in awhile, I even watched some of the post-race content, and by the time that was wrapping up, it was time for NASCAR.

I really like 1.5 mile triovals and Kansas is one of the best ones. We had moments of three, four, and even five wide in that race, and at the end of it all, we got the closest winning margin in NASCAR history. 0.001 seconds for Kyle Larson in the #5 HendrickCars Chevrolet over Chris Buescher in the #17 Castrol Edge Ford Mustang. I was rooting for Buescher, I desperately wanted Ford to get their first win of the season, but seeing that, I just had to throw my hands up and say it was a good race.

So, while there wasn't any MotoGP or Indycar this weekend, F1 and NASCAR managed to give me a pretty good Sunday of racing. I'm pleasantly surprised and I'm glad I can say that.

I hope McLaren can keep the forward momentum going and actually challenge Red Bull somewhat consistently, and I hope Ford can snap their winless streak in NASCAR sometime soon.

[batsplat]

How well is Marc actually doing on the GP23 cause I know he’s ahead by a lot to the other GP23s and no disrespect to them but I feel like they aren’t a good comparison because Marc is just better and has a lot more experience so how do you judge how well his season actually is would it be by adaptability or by looking at how good Martin and Pecco were on the bikes last year or by an entirely different criteria cause he does do well to keep up with the GP24s it’s really impressive. And Aragon and Misano did showcase how amazing he is in tricky conditions kind of like Sachsenring 2021.

y'know, in motorsports you can never know these things with any certainty. there's just too many confounding variables. like we know the gp23 is worse than the gp24, we can be reasonably confident it's a bigger gap between specs than in years past... but beyond that? it's not as much worse as bez is making it look, for instance. sometimes it really just comes down to how a rider adapts to a specific bike, whether they're being hindered by any pesky changes to the tyres, that sort of thing... but it is a problem, because bez was kinda supposed to be our benchmark going into this year. right now, marc doesn't have a great benchmark. again, we know he's adapted well, we know he's doing a 'really good' job, but obviously that's all pretty vague. you also can't compare what he's doing right now to what jorge/pecco were doing last year on the gp23... I've seen some people compare lap times between seasons, which, no!! don't do that! the reason why EVERYONE'S lap times have gone down by so much is because michelin have introduced a new rear tyre. it is a completely meaningless comparison. keep it away from me

so, yeah, we don't really know. I'm interested in misano next time out and the flyaways to get a sense of what marc's performance is right now in a 'normal' weekend. like, those two wins were undoubtedly impressive, but also they don't tell me anything I didn't already know. he's very good at anti-clockwise circuits! specifically sachsenring, cota and to a slightly lesser degree aragon... the margin he had over the field was exaggerated by track conditions all weekend, which were of the slippery low grip kind he's always been incredibly strong at, but this was always marquez territory. he also took full advantage of the brief rain at misano to do his thing - and he kept up a very impressive pace when it was drying out, though we were perhaps denied a more extended battle by pecco's physical condition and championship considerations. as marc said, he didn't have anything to lose in that race. but y'know, again this is all in line with expectations. during the summer break I did kinda think that marc's best chances of winning this year were a) aragon and possibly phillip island, or b) a gross ever-so-slightly wet race. his pace in austria was also strong, albeit half a step behind the two gp24 frontrunners - which is what you'd probably expect with the machinery deficit. it's obviously important that he's gotten back into a winning habit again, maybe ironed out a few of the gremlins in the gresini set-up. everything he needs to finish the season strong and come out firing next year

the one slight question mark I still have is the whole qualifying situation. he currently leads his teammate h2h 8-5 which... well, given the kind of disgusting beatdowns of gifted qualifier dani pedrosa he used to deliver,, it does raise an eyebrow. I'm perfectly open to the argument that this is all just about adaptation, about being unfamiliar with the circuits on a ducati, circumstantial factors and a string of bad luck... but, well. just something to keep an eye on. he did need a slice of good fortune in misano - otherwise you just wouldn't be in victory contention at that track from ninth. that's a problem! prime!marc would go entire seasons without qualifying lower than sixth; I know he has a reputation for being a crasher, but back in the day he was able to walk that fine line extremely well to give himself the lap he needed in qualifying without binning it. maybe it's a question of the margin for error still not being quite there at the moment (outside of aragon, obviously), maybe it's something about the risk/reward calculation... who knows. maybe he'll be closer to prime!marc again in qualifying in 2025. but obviously it's worth mentioning in this discussion; by every other metric, marc is completely brutalising the other gp23's

let's quickly compare average grid positions of marc versus his teammate throughout his premier class career

(btw, updating this made me see that marc's average grid position is still the third best on the grid, which.... I mean it's a gulf to second... but given how much I've been bullying him for his qualifying, this makes me deeply unimpressed by what certain other riders have been doing this season)

anyway, look, no cause for alarm, not got a terminal case of being washed quite yet. qualifying can sometimes be the thing that declines first... valentino was never close to the qualifier marc is (defo not a bad qualifier but very much a sunday man)... but that part of his game definitely declined sharper and earlier than everything else and he had some horrendous qualifying seasons when he was still otherwise competitive. it'll be interesting to track next year for sure, defo curious to see how the h2h shakes out with pecco