#the more you hear about the terms of a driver’s contract the more likely it is that the team has a bunch of lawyers analysing and reanalysin

[rickybaby]

“👀”

[livefastdriveyoung]

Every team has a first and second driver. It is just that not every driver fulfills the role in the same way.

At Aston Martin we know Fernando is driver one. He is the more experienced driver, and right from the mouth of Lawrence Stroll himself, was brought in to make Lance a better driver so he could one day be the first driver. He does media, he's funny, and he also clearly has a mentor/mentee relationship with Lance.

I call this the mentor/mentee set up

At Mercedes, we know that Lewis is Driver one. Based on titles certainly, age almost definitely, and also because he is Lewis Hamilton. Until February, and even after, when you think Mercedes, you think Lewis. He is their better driver. He won six championships with them. He's stayed longer than most drivers stay on the whole grid. It is his through blood, sweat, and tears. George is the prince, he's set to inherit, potentially (BTW TORGER, I would like a word), and has a lot to live up to. Comparisons are hard, especially when the first driver is Lewis. I think that it's a forced proximity set-up, but they are friendly. Mostly off the track because on track they do not have their greatest moments.

I call this the King/Heir Apparent set up

At Red Bull, we know that Max is Driver one. Aside from the championships, he is just too fast. Every time one of the other drivers who drove alongside him was brought up to Horner or Helmut (YIKES to both), they would compare where they raced to Max. It is unattainable, and isolating. Until Checo. Checo didn't think he was going to be able to drive after BWT. He didn't have a contract, he was a middle of the pack driver, Mexico's son, and his story was supposed to end there. The Red Bull contract was a dream, but for all of the weird behavior some of y'all have with him (again, he's had his problems but the racism and idiot syndrome some apply to him is also NOT OK) he's not an idiot. He knows he's on a limited contract, he knows he's no spring chicken. Hearing him talk about next year, he knows he's very likely out of a contract. But he doesn't let any of this impact his relationship with Max. They are teammates, Checo will do what is best for the team. Max's whole world is predominantly driving. Checo has more of a balance, and in some ways, allows Max to be young.

I call this the Sibling set up.

At Ferrari, Charles LeClerc is Driver one. He is il Predestinato, the second coming, Monaco's prince. He can do no wrong. Carlos Sainz is the second driver. In spite of the fact that he got dropped from the team, in spite of the fact that he has won them two races, he is the one that is being pushed out. But he and Charles are friends, and teammates. They've driven together for several years now. Ultimately, while Carlos has done most of the heavy lifting on his side of the garage in terms of strategy and driving, he is also the one who knows when to walk away from the fight, when to stop letting yourself get hurt by the team that should be defending you. For Charles, Ferrari is a promise to Jules, to his father, to himself. He cannot walk away. In some way, Carlos can. That's why he makes the good second driver. The second in command is the one that sees the whole picture, including the first in command, because they never look at themselves.

I call this the friends/us against the world set up.

At Mclaren, driver one is Lando Norris. An indefinite contract, the sponsors, the adoration, Lando is the golden child. But Oscar is too, sort of. They're both young, both incredibly talented. But they're young. They're doing this together. McLaren went from disaster to top of the pack last season, and they're both on this ride together. I think McLaren is going to do whatever it takes to get Lando his win, but then I think they'll split 50/50. What will happen then, I don't know.

I call this the to soon to tell set up

At Williams, Alex Albon is so clearly driver one. Last year, he scored the majority of the points, they signed him for an extended contract, and they're desperate to keep him for 2026, when the car is supposedly going to be insane. Logan is the second driver. Alex wants to be the mentor, and to some degree he is. But Logan's narrative from last season to this season has shifted dramatically. Less and less people want to see him gone, they like the American. Williams renewed him. Whether because of sponsorship or genuine interest in his improvement, I don't know. But, in the last two races, they have managed to tank Alex's reputation, and boost Logan's. You don't publicly destroy your second driver's confidence, and career potential so publicly and walk away clean. We've seen it with Red Bull and Pierre, and Alex. Both times, those two drivers walked away with insane support. Logan is now receiving the same, but I wonder if it is going to make a difference. I think that Logan talking about what is best for the team is what is keeping him going, but if you watched the newest Team Torque, you can see fatigue and some tension between him and Alex. I don't know if it is jet lag, or work, or stress, or damage to the relationship. But this is a driver relationship on a razor wire.

I call this the Icarus set up

At Alpine, it is Pierre. He gets away with murder, at least by the team. Esteban has certainly mellowed a little, but he calls Pierre out still. However, they are both miserable with the car this year, so I think they are probably commiserating. The fact they can work together after years of rivalry and blatant hurt between the two is interesting. I think that both of these men have racing above all on their heart, and they will do whatever it takes to stay there. So for now, they suffer in the car, and they are colleagues.

I call this the "there's no other choice" set up (aka forced proximity)l

At Visa CashApp, there's currently a power struggle. Daniel is Daniel. He's been second driver for a few years, he's been third driver. He's got the popularity, though it is waning, and more importantly, he's got Christian Horner's support. That, plus the fact that the team talks about Daniel's presence being about helping them improve, makes him sound like first driver. Except, Yuki has been First driver for years. He's the one who stayed through the revolving door of drivers. This is his team. Honda pays the majority of his salary. So when you bring someone in, someone who doesn't even want the seat as much as he wants the Red Bull seat, the seat that should be yours, you're not going to go down without a fight. It creates this weird tension, but then Daniel is like "I know how lucky I am to be here, I'm focused on driving here," and is already being threatened with losing the seat like Nyck was, and Yuki realizes he might never get the Red Bull seat. So you have these two guys who are fighting for the same thing, that doesn't want them.

I call this the Alone Together set up

At Sauber, it is Valtteri. He has won gps, he's former Mercedes, who used to come second usually only to Lewis. He's funny, older, a weirdo that people love and feel they know. Zhou is younger, he's dealing with the pressure of being China's only son, and the higher expectations of him. Valtteri helps keep him young and focused. He's been through the wringer, and he's teaching Zhou that it is not going to be what breaks you.

Also Mentor/Mentee except the mentors are nuts in a different way

I don't know what the hell is going on at Haas.

[navybrat817]

Negotiations

Pairing: Sugar Daddy!Andy Barber x Female Reader Summary: You meet with Andy to discuss the terms of your potential contract. Word Count: Over 4.2k Warnings: Slow burn, reader is broke (is that a warning?), sugar daddy offer, tension, slight insecurities, negotiations, inner monologue, Andy Barber (he's a warning, okay?) Graphic talent and thanks: Banner - @sgt-seabass, Divider - @firefly-graphics , Header - yours truly A/N: Welcome back to my Terms and Conditions AU! Beta read by the lovely @whisperlullaby (thanks!), but any and all mistakes are my own. ❤️ Please follow @navybrat817-sideblog for new fics and notifications. Comments, reblogs, feedback are loved and appreciated!

Work felt like the longest shift even though it was only a few hours. You saw the customers through a different set of eyes as you served them. You wondered how many of them struggled like you or what they would do if someone like Andy entered their lives. If you came to an agreement with him on everything, you weren't sure if you'd ever step foot in the diner again after you quit. Not because you were embarrassed.

It was merely time to look forward.

And look my best.

You turned to the side when you checked your reflection. Estelle had way too much fun picking out an outfit for you. After carefully searching and sneakily looking at the price tag so she didn’t splurge, you opted for a sleeveless, blazer style dress. Nothing over the top or too fancy. You still wanted to look like you while looking professional.

Though she insisted it was your birthday gift, along with the surprisingly comfortable black heels, you planned to pay her back. Whether from the money Andy gave you or once you got your paycheck months from now at your new job. If she refused, you’d tell her the only gift you needed was her support and she gave that to you. Like she knew you were thinking about it, she messaged you.

“Good luck! I know you look hot! Knock his socks and pants off! He better give you everything you deserve!”

You had to smile at her enthusiasm. “It’s his office. His pants are staying on.”

“You say that now, but he’s the boss. You’ll change your tune once he has his hands on you.”

Laughing as you tucked your phone away, you couldn’t completely disagree with her. Andy robbed you of your breath whenever you saw him and it surprised you that you could maintain logical thinking when he was close by. You had to maintain that rational headspace today. He was a man used to people telling him what he wanted to hear. As an ex-lawyer and businessman, he could sway things in his favor if you weren’t careful.

Considering what he was offering you, it didn’t once feel like he was taking advantage of your misfortunes.

You stopped yourself from messaging Andy that you were on your way. He was a busy man with more important stuff to deal with than a check-in from you. It would be one of the topics of discussion shortly anyhow. Would he want to know where you are at all times or would he be content with the occasional message?

How much control will he want over me? How much do I want to give him?

Thanking and paying the cab driver as you arrived at the building, you didn't feel as out of your element the way you did at the restaurant. The office setting was familiar. It was bittersweet going inside though for something that wasn't work or an interview. Maybe this was better.

You held your head high as if it was.

I can do this.

You handed your bag over for the security officer to check while he verified your identification. Satisfied once he double checked your name and ID, he handed you a guest badge and allowed you to go to the elevators. It comforted you that Andy and his employees were safe when they went into his building. You wondered how often you'd be here or if he'd keep you away from his office outside of functions.

You avoided looking at anyone as you got into the elevator, though you felt the eyes of a couple of men sweep over your body. It didn’t matter what they thought. Andy was the only one you wanted to look good for. As you passed by each floor, the more you worried about breaking into a sweat. You shifted back and forth until the door opened.

One step closer.

It took you a second to move your feet forward and turn down the hall. It seemed to stretch on for miles, the door at the end of it was large and daunting. It was like entering the lion’s den, but you weren't afraid. Even if you did pause again before you turned the handle and walked in.

An older woman, Irene according to the nameplate on her desk, sat outside of a set of double doors, giving you a kind smile as she looked up from her keyboard. You didn't let her appearance fool you. Anyone who worked for someone as powerful as Andy likely had thick skin and a "take no crap" attitude.

"How may I help you?"

"Hi. I'm here to see Andy Barber," you replied, giving her your name and inwardly wincing. Of course, she knew you were there to see him. Why else would you be there?

"Yes, Mr. Barber is expecting you," she smiled, pressing the intercom on her desk. "Mr. Barber, your 4pm is here."

"Send her in, please."

It isn't fair that he sounds sexy through a speaker box.

"May I get you anything to drink?" she asked.

"No, thank you," you smiled, following her as she opened the double doors.

This is it.

The office was just as you imagined, the walls lined with a mixture of art and accolades. A small table and chairs sat on one side with a couch on the other. It was elegant, but the man behind the desk drew your attention. Sunlight filtered in through the floor to ceiling windows behind Andy, casting a halo around him as he stood up. A symbol of power and authority in his black suit with the skyline behind him, you found it difficult to take your next breath.

He looks like he was born to be in charge.

"It's good to see you again," Andy smiled, walking around the desk and gesturing to the table. "Why don't we sit over here? Did Irene offer you a drink?"

"Of course, I did, Mr. Barber. And before you remind me, I know to hold your calls," she chastised him, which only made him chuckle before she smiled at you. "I'll be just outside if you need anything."

I knew it. Take no crap.

"Thank you," you said, giggling as you walked to the table. "I like her."

"I do, too. She keeps me on my toes," he said as he pulled out the chair for you. "How was your day?"

"Uneventful," you replied, setting your bag beside you. It was nice that he asked. "How are you?"

"My day was just fine," he said, taking a seat. He had a notepad waiting there, similar to yours.

"That's good."

He gave you a half smile and you debated whether or not to continue with small talk. "Nervous?"

“A little bit,” you said, refusing to lie to him. It wouldn’t start things off on the right foot if you did. “I didn’t have ‘Sugar Daddy Negotiations’ on my BINGO card this year.”

He chuckled, the sound beautiful in the large space. “If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t either," he joked. "And you don’t look nervous.”

“It actually does,” you smiled. “How do I look?”

“You look beautiful.”

“Oh,” you said, your cheeks growing warmer the longer he gazed at you. While you wanted that to be his reaction, it was somehow unexpected. “I wasn’t fishing for a compliment, by the way.”

“And I wasn’t taking the bait. I’m telling you what I see.”

“Thank you. This was a birthday gift from Estelle,” you said, smoothing out the dress even though you were sitting. Why you felt the need to tell him, you weren’t sure.

“It’s a beautiful dress, but I was talking about your smile,” he said, his lip tugging in a small smile of his own before he cleared his throat. “As much as I’d like to sit here and continue to shower you with praise, maybe we should save that for another time.”

Your throat went dry at the implication, but you didn't want to get ahead of yourself. “Of course."

"Today is about figuring out our terms and setting expectations. I plan to take notes as we go along, if you don't mind."

"That's fine because I plan to do the same," you explained as you took out your notepad. "I’ve made a list of things I believe we should discuss and agree on before moving forward."

“You’re prepared,” he said, a hint of pride in his voice. "And getting down to business like last time."

“I do what I can,” you said, glancing at the first item on your list. “First thing is the length of our contract. You mentioned Mr. Huffman’s merger could take a few months, but there’s no definitive timeframe. My proposal is six months or when the job becomes available, whichever comes sooner.”

He considered your words carefully. “I spoke with Scott again and a merger like this may take a minimum of six months due to the range of variables. I propose a year or when the job becomes available. It hopefully won’t take that long, but I’d feel more comfortable if we have more time as opposed to less.”

A year was a long time, but you understood his perspective. “Why don’t we meet in the middle? Nine months.”

“Nine months, but if the merger is still pending at that time, we can revisit the contract and extend it if needed,” he proposed.

“Agreed,” you said, jotting down your notes on your pad while he did the same. “My job. You said I would need to quit and I’d be unable to take another position while under contract. I have no objections to that, but I won’t flat-out quit the diner. I’ll put in my two week notice. If they tell me not to come back, that’s on them.”

“I think that’s the respectable thing to do,” he said, nodding to your pad. “I don’t know where living arrangements are on your list, but I’d like to discuss that next.”

You wanted to discuss your free time since you wouldn't have a job any longer, but you would circle back to that. “Okay. You said over lunch that you’re not comfortable with me staying in my current place.”

“I did and I stand by that. I understand that my building doesn’t guarantee complete safety over yours because anything could happen anywhere at any time, but knowing you’re close by would help put me at ease. I have a loft ready to go and you can treat it as your own place. If something isn’t to your liking, we can change it within reason.”

“Within reason?”

Andy smirked slightly. “I can’t exactly take a sledgehammer to the wall if you want to make the space bigger,” he said, taking out his phone and pulling up an image. “But it’s a nice place. Feel free to swipe through it.”

The photos were beautiful and the living room alone looked larger than your entire apartment. “Is spending time at your place an expectation?” you asked.

“I’d like it if you did for an occasional dinner, but I understand if you'd rather not. I'd also like to meet you once a month outside of contractual obligations to talk.”

Sounds like a date. Is it though?

“I agree to the loft, the occasional dinner, and meeting with you once a month," you agreed. It wasn't overwhelming or demanding. You'd still have a sense of independence. "But I’d like to keep my current apartment. If I take this job in the upcoming months, I can't expect you to cover the loft anymore and I doubt I could afford it even with a decent salary. I’ll need a place to go back to until I find something better.”

"I own it," he said. He wasn't bragging in your mind. He was stating a fact.

"I doubt I could afford your rent then. I keep my apartment."

“Done,” he said after a moment. You were glad he agreed. Your apartment was still yours. “Which is a good segway into expenses. As a reminder, I plan to cover the rent for your current apartment, along with any bills associated with it such as cable or internet. If you prefer to shut those off during the contract, we can. I’ll also cover your cell phone, insurance, credit card bills, student loans, any debt you pay on a monthly basis. Oh, and groceries.”

Tears filled your eyes as he opened his mouth to continue. The more you tried to compose yourself, the more your face scrunched up. “I’m sorry,” you whispered. You hadn't expected to get emotional, but actually hearing him say he’d cover your monthly bills and help you stay on top of everything was unreal. You'd sleep better at night knowing you had nothing to worry about.

I probably look ridiculous.

“Don’t be,” he said gently, handing you his handkerchief so you could dab your eyes.

“I’m just,” you stopped to take a breath. It was okay to be vulnerable. That was part of communicating. “I’ve carried this stress on my shoulders and knowing that you’re going to take some of that weight away is… I’m never going to be able to repay you for that or thank you enough.”

“I don’t expect a monetary repayment nor would I want that. I told you, honey. You're an honest and kind person. Your company is going to be more than enough.”

He sounds too good to be true.

“You say that now, but you'll grow tired of me,” you teased, holding out your hand to give him the handkerchief. “Thank you.”

He shook his head and refused to take it back. “Keep it. And considering I offered a year for this, I know I won't grow tired of your company,” he said, a bit of concern in his eyes as you sniffled. “Are you okay to continue? We can take a break.”

“I'm fine,” you promised, straightening up and feeling lighter, like the weight was already gone. “We were discussing expenses.”

“Yes,” he smiled, gesturing to your outfit. “I plan to take you shopping so you can have a few outfits, jewelry, shoes, make-up, and whatever else you need ready for the planned upcoming events, as well as some dressed down outfits so you’re comfortable when we travel and to spruce up your wardrobe if you’d like.”

Careful. You’re going to spoil me.

“I’m also going to deposit two thousand dollars into your account each month for your leisure,” he added, writing it on his pad as if that was the final say in the matter.

“Two thousand dollars?!” you nearly shouted. You weren’t trying to sound hysterical, but you failed. “I’m sorry, but who spends that much on clothes each month?!”

Andy looked like he was trying not to laugh at the incredulous look on your face. “You don’t have to spend it on clothes. It’s for you to use as you wish.”

“But you’re already buying me a whole new wardrobe AND covering all of my bills and expenses for nine months. I’m assuming you're covering travel expenses, too?”

“I will,” he confirmed.

“Then there’s no reason why I’d need that much money,” you said with a shake of your head. Estelle would probably tease you for not agreeing, but it was too much. “I can’t possibly need more than five hundred a month.”

“One thousand,” he said firmly as you narrowed your eyes. “Humor me, honey. Please?”

You tapped your pen against the pad as you thought it over. You really didn’t see a reason for that much, but you could put any leftover funds each month into savings. It would be good to pay Estelle back.

Plus, how could you argue when Andy gave you a sweet smile?

“Fine. One thousand each month,” you said, ignoring the look of satisfaction in his eyes. “Okay. We’ve discussed the length of the contract, my job, living arrangements, expenses, which includes traveling. How about traveling itself?”

“Is your passport current?” he asked.

“It is.”

“Good. Some of the traveling will require us to go out of the country and you’ll need it handy. We’ll need to coordinate our schedules so you can block off dates in your calendar. We’ll most likely share a suite for any non-local events, but I’m not going to make you share a bed with me. You have my word.”

You nodded as you wrote that down. It was a bit of a surprise that he didn’t expect you to sleep with him. “Thank you, Andy,” you said, pointing at him with your pen. “But I’m planning to tell Estelle about every function, big or small, so she knows where I am. I won’t budge on that.”

“You’re allowed to give her the details. You said you trust her and that she can be discreet.”

You could never picture Andy as a creep, but the confirmation that he wouldn't force you to sleep with him and that Estelle would know what's going on helped you relax. "If I'm not working or going to functions with you, what am I doing with the rest of my time?" you asked.

Does he expect me to be at his beck and call?

"I'm glad you asked. It's your time to do what you want. Relax, hang out with friends, pamper yourself. Minus the days you'll have blocked out in your calendar, the time is yours," he explained, lightly twirling his pen in his hand. The motion momentarily distracted you. "I only ask if you plan to leave the city to tell me, that way I know you're unavailable if anything last minute comes up."

You weren't sure what you were going to do with that extra time. While a nine month long vacation sounded nice, you didn't want it to be all leisure. You needed somewhat of a routine. Maybe you could take some self development courses to prepare for going back to the office.

"That's fair. I don't have any plans to leave the city, but I'll be sure to let you know if I do," you said, hoping you weren't missing anything as you looked over what you had written down. "What if I’m sick or there’s an emergency and I can't be with you?”

“Then you won’t go," he said as a matter of fact. "I’d never ask you to choose between this arrangement and your well-being or family. Depending on the situation, I could miss it to help you.”

That was unexpected. Andy shouldn't have to put you ahead of any of his obligations. The offer though, even if it never came to fruition, warmed your insides. "That's kind of you, Andy," you said softly before you cleared your throat. “The last topic I have written down is sex.”

“No,” he said, something unreadable in his eyes at the suggestion. “Sex is not on the table because I’m not going to pay you for that.”

“Oh,” you said, quickly scratching it off your list. It was admirable on his part, but also slightly disappointing. Clearly you misread some of the signals. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply-”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” he assured you, placing his hand over yours before you could pull it away. “If I sounded harsh, I’m sorry. I understand sex is an expectation for some arrangements, but it isn’t for me and I would never want you to feel pressured to be physical with me. I also have no judgments against anyone who pays for sex. My preference regarding intimacy is for it to happen organically.”

“I appreciate the explanation,” you said. This was a business transaction to him. That much was clear. But knowing his reasoning behind it did help. “As far as being affectionate at functions, what’s your take on that? Or going on dates?”

“I may have my arm around you or keep you close to my side, but nothing more if you’re uncomfortable with that. If you are, please tell me and I’ll stop immediately,” he answered before a moment of silence stretched on. "You're asking if we're going to go on dates?"

"You mentioned meeting once a month. Is that a date?"

He waited a few seconds before he answered. "It's a chance for us to meet up and talk. I don't want to demand a title for those moments. That isn't fair to you."

It wasn't a "yes" or "no" answer. Maybe after his divorce and not knowing if people genuinely wanted to connect with him, he wasn't interested in the dating scene. "Okay."

He leaned back in his chair with a hum. “You deviated from the sex discussion quickly.”

“You said it wasn’t on the table,” you reminded him. You weren't about to make a fool of yourself by pushing.

“I said I wasn’t going to pay you for sex. I never said sex wasn’t on the table at all,” he pointed out. You jumped to the conclusion that he didn't want it because it wouldn't be part of the contract. “Any discussion we have regarding that, I’d prefer not to be in a contract form.”

“So if it does happen, we’ll work through it together naturally?” you asked, not wanting to get your hopes up.

His gaze softened considerably. “Yes, we would. And I’d hope you’d trust me enough to know I’d treat you well and take care of you.”

"I do," you said.

"But sex and a relationship aren't expectations of our agreement or outside of it," he said, taking his hand away from yours. "I want to make that clear."

Andy driving the point home was what you needed, as saddening as it was. At the end of the day, it was a contract. He was paying you for your company. Surely he didn't want anything else. "Thank you for reiterating that. Is there anything else you wanted to discuss that I missed?"

His expression remained neutral, but you imagined it disappointed him that you shifted the conversation back to business. Wishful thinking on your part. "Yeah. The only other thing I wanted to discuss is the possibility of you having a driver."

"A driver?" you asked. Wasn't that a bit much? "I don't mind taking cabs or Ubers."

"I understand that, but I'd prefer if you had a driver. If you have to meet me for an event and I can't escort you myself, they will know exactly where to go. You also won't have to pay for someone to drive you around if you want to go anywhere."

"But you're paying them," you said.

"My job is to cover your expenses," he shrugged, leaning his head back and reaching up to loosen his tie. You stared for far too long. "Told you I want to take care of you, honey."

You shifted in your seat, hoping he didn't take any notice. "I want to pick the driver," you said, a little more breathy than before.

That poor driver is likely going to be bored for the next three quarters of a year being my chauffeur.

"From a selection of my choosing. They're all trustworthy."

"I'm giving Estelle the details of that, too," you said.

"I expect nothing less," he smiled, catching your eye. "Is there anything else you'd like to discuss?"

"Not that I can think of," you said.

He tapped the notepad with his pen. "I'm going to have a contract drawn up, but I won't ask you to sign it for a week. This will give you time to back out if you need to and it will also give you a few days to contact me should you think of anything else."

"One week," you whispered. Could you wait that long? What if you did think of something else?

"Until then," he said, standing to walk back to his desk. He came back with a letter sized envelope. "So you know I'm serious."

Your eyebrows shot up when you opened the envelope. It was a cashier's check for two thousand dollars made out to you. He had it ready for you. "Andy, this-"

"I know we agreed on one thousand, but I was set on two thousand before we talked it over. Even if you decide not to move forward with this, I want you to take it."

Afraid you might cry again, you set the check down and stood up to hug him. He stiffened in your hold and you wondered if you overstepped before he exhaled and wrapped his arms around your back. You thanked him already with your words, so you wanted to do it again with a hug. The way he held you in return, it felt like was saying "you're welcome".

And that you weren't alone.

"I wish we could have that dinner tonight," he whispered, his mouth close to your ear. You shivered before you reluctantly pulled away. "Unfortunately, I have to get drinks with a few executives."

"That sounds terrible," you teased, drawing a chuckle out of him. "I should get going then."

"It is terrible," he agreed, making sure you had the check and your other things as he led you to the door. "I'll see you back here in a week at the same time."

"And I'll hopefully speak to you before then," you said, not wanting to sound clingy.

But the smile he gave you was a sign of hope. "I'd like that."

This is going to be the longest week ever.

I don't need to wait a week. I'm signing on the dotted line! Love and thanks for reading! ❤️

Masterlist ⚓ Andy Barber Masterlist ⚓ Ko-Fi

[0mysticmidnight0]

~Mystically Broken AU - Chapter 1~

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You trembled as the taxi took you to a dark street, filled with crime. Robbery, Arson, right in the day light. You felt nervous. The taxi stopped at the tallest building. Once you left the taxi and entered the building, you turned around to glance at the Taxi, two people robbed the driver.. You hurried to your destination. You enter the Elevator, hopping nothing wrong happens.

~Flash Back~

You sat in your boss's office, expecting your paycheck for the month. She looked at you rather nervously. "As you know, our company has been slowly crumbling, we've been losing clients and we haven't been strengthening any business ties. Luckily! We have a few people wiling to help us, under a few conditions." You glanced at her nervously. "Who are these people exactly?" She gulped and looked away, She wasn't usually this cautious. You were worried. "You'll find out soon! They arranged a meeting for us to discuss the terms and conditions. You are coming with me since you are our top employee and one of our representatives!" She smiles enthusiastically. It felt odd, you wanted to know more about them. But you felt like she'd avoid the question. "That's great.." You smiled nervously. Why did your fellow representative have to be sick on THIS day?! You knew you should've spent more time in bed..

~Present~

You gulped as you tapped the button on the elevator. The top floor. The elevator door shut loudly. Who were these people? Why was this place so shady and creepy. You had the feeling that whoever your boss made a contract with isn't really a nice guy. The elevator made an abrupt stop as it opened. You walk out of the elevator and looked around. The floor was glass and it looked like an aquarium? You couldn't see any fish until you saw a.. robot shark.. then another and another.. The room was dimly lit and looked up to see the city's four most wanted criminals and your boss looking at you. "You made it!" your boss's voice muffled you were too in shock and you looked at the four criminals infront of you. "Let's get this over with, my time will not be wasted by your incompetence." Donatello, Mechanical genius, One of the smartest and deadly criminals due to his understanding of technology. He creates deadly weapons that cause mass destruction. it was rumored he uses petty criminals for his experiments.. Who am i kidding, he probably does. He glared you down like he couldn't tolerate your presence. "Donnie, stop your growling. You're gonna scare away the prey." Leonardo, One of if not the person with highest bodycount. He's killed hundreds, thousands to get what he wants. But he always manages to hide the evidence. One of the best Manipulaters. He's hard to catch, people say he just vanishes. He nudges his twin while laughing. He looks at you like he wanted to devour you whole. "Why don't you idiots shut up! Don't listen to them."

Raphael, a literal tank that could take hundreds of people at once. The strongest when it came to raw strength and battle strategy. If you ever cross him or do something that upsets him, prepare to deal with his terrible and DEADLY temper. He glared at Donatello and Leonardo as they shut their mouths. You hear a voice from behind you.. You gasped when you saw who it was. "Well, don't you look fun?"

MichelAngelo, The best at deceiving others and persuading them to do his bidding. He locks people up for fun and calls them his playthings. He kills anyone who steps in his way. He commits daily vandalism. He wouldn't kill anyone right away, he'd slowly drive them to the brink of insanity because it's fun to watch them fall apart. What had your boss gotten you into?! "Now, take a seat. Cynthia here tells us you have experience addressing crowds and dealing with rumors about your company. Dealing with any evidence regarding your companies misdeeds." It was true you were the one dealing with false rumors and false evidence.. That's how you became one of the representatives. But you had a gut feeling they were gonna take advantage of that. "I have been the one dealing with those issues but that was because they were mostly false! I can't defend something when i know it's wrong." You wanted to stand your ground. That was a bad choice. you turned to your side and gulp. There was a sword or katana.. an odachi. There was an odachi to your neck. "All of us have to do things we don't want to do to survive in this cruel world. Do as we say and we'll keep our end of the deal, alright?" Your boss, Cynthia just looks at you nervously, her gaze telling you to accept their condition. "Or we'll have to slowly destroy you one by one.. " His laugh echoing through the room. "Make this quick so i don't have to spend another moment with these imbeciles." you gulped and slowly nodded as you still felt the Odachi's sharp end to your throat. "We need you to destroy all criminal records. No matter how many times i delete it from the governments system, the people of new york still spread these awful rumors. who knew word of mouth could be so, infuriating. we need you to-"

"Ughh.. Donnie! English!" "Just get to the point already!" "I was JUST getting to that. We need you to accompany us to some governmental parties this year. They host four parties each year. One of us will accompany you and we need you to speak for us and claim our innocence." "But you aren't innocent! I-" You felt the Odachi go closer to your throat. "Hold your tongue." "Precisely, Complaints of the people to the government make us a target. So much so that they arranged an elite super force or a group of highly trained professionals after us." "We ain't getting anythin' done when we knows a buncha' creeps watchin' us!" "Do you think you can get the job done? It is pretty fun!" Your boss looked at you apologetically.

You nodded and the Odachi was pulled away and you took a sigh of relief.. What did you get yourself into.?

[wanderingblindly]

Hi there, I might be kind of obsessed with the idea of rbr charles or rbr lestappen so I need to hear the thoughts of some people who might not be in the "lestappen gate 2023" bubble as I am :)) Do you think this can actually happen and become reality? And please be honest. Thank you! :)

omg hi I'm so sorry that you've asked possibly the most verbose person to talk about this, but anyways --

In my opinion, it's highly unlikely but not impossible.

There are three main components to consider here: Red Bull, Max, and Charles (all discussed below the cut in painstaking detail)

Red Bull Racing

Red Bull has invested an insane amount money into Max -- he's the present and future of the team. Therefore, any decisions that Red Bull makes will be weighed heavily against how it affects Max. I split Red Bull's main decision making points into three categories:

Ability to keep Max happy: I'll expand on this in Max's section, but basically I believe Red Bull will want a second driver that keeps Max happy until his 2028 contract renewal -- on whatever terms that means for him.

Willingness to play 2nd fiddle: Although Red Bull has had intense teammate dynamics before (Seb/Mark, Max/Daniel), there's definitely more risk when intentionally stepping away from the obvious first/second driver dynamic. Taking a midfield driver like Checo -- someone who's never going to threaten Max -- makes sense in that regard. Someone like Charles, who could theoretically bring the heat to Max in quali and in a race, poses the question: Is that an amount of risk Red Bull wants to take on (cough cough taking each other out cough)? Horner said he believed that Daniel was "running from a fight" when he left Red Bull -- so maybe it's a risk he doesn't mind.

Someone consistent enough to get Red Bull 1st and 2nd: Obviously a total sweep is the goal for a team at the height of their dominance, both on race day and in the overall points. This is where Checo has famously struggled (we've had an astonishing lack of RBR 1/2 podiums and his quali results are universally laughed at). It's also where one could make the strongest case for Charles. Charles is a known competitor in an inconsistent car; he's strong in qualifying, has produced significant race results, and has a demonstrated amount of internal drive. All things that Checo lacks in regards to producing points for the team. If Horner were to pick someone not in the RBR program for a second driver, someone with Charles's ability to handle disaster without losing his resolve? Highly attractive.

Some may say that Horner is more likely to take someone from RBR to fill the second seat. While there is a great selection, Red Bull doesn't have a demonstrated history of actually using it's development program to promote to Red Bull. So. Get fucked I guess lmao.

Max Verstappen

In most teams, I don't think a driver would have much say on who gets signed for the second seat. However, considering Max is Red Bull, I think his voice would carry significant weight.

I break his motivations down into two sections:

How he defines 'good racing' + need for competition: Love or hate Max, I think it's pretty uncontested that most of his opinions stem from his desire for good, competitive, interesting racing. One also cannot underestimate how intensely drivers crave competition -- they're adrenaline junkies at the top of their game. Therefore, Max's willingness to play along with RBR Charles will depend on if he thinks the best competitive racing is derived from intra-team or inter-team fights. I could see an argument for either: comparing top talent in the same machinery, or a battle of which team (not driver) will come out on top. Hard to say, to be honest. I think it's also important to consider that Max has broken an unfathomable amount of records this season almost entirely uncontested; I'd wager that it's stoked a need for real competition in him (hence why he seems so elated after any battle with Charles or Lando). He's made comments that he wants Charles in a more competitive car, but I don't think he meant that to come at his own expense. I think Max would prefer traditional competition (he's a bit of a traditionalist), meaning inter-team.

Maturity + ability to handle an internal threat: Max has (arguably lol) matured since he last had a competitive teammate. Whether or not Max agrees to a top-tier teammate again will depend on his confidence; does he truly believe he'll beat him every time? Is it worth the risk to feel pushed to his limits? Has he won enough that returning to a true fight is the next goal? How will he handle that? I'm inclined to say that Max would rather be the golden boy of his team -- unthreatened. It seems like he'd rather have competition coming from external sources (see: him not following team orders in regards to Checo).

Charles Leclerc

I don't think it's likely that Charles's desire to win has yet outweighed the Ferrari mythos/personal connection. That said, I don't think it's unlikely that it will eventually. Especially considering how distraught he's been this season -- it certainly could be a catalyst. That said, the following criteria is based on the assumption that Charles would even want to leave Ferrari, which I don't entirely believe atm:

Immediate desire to win: The thing that will push Charles away from Ferrari is probably not personal, it's professional. Charles is a hyper-competitive athlete in a hyper-competitive league; he doesn't have infinite time to wait on Ferrari if he truly wants to win now. Red Bull has a demonstrated history of success and strong team infrastructure (engineering, pit crew, pit wall strategy, etc.). If he wanted to make a move purely based on professional interest, Red Bull would be the team based on current standings. He could go to a team comparable to Ferrari (McLaren, Mercedes, AM), but that would be riskier on an immediate horizon.

Belief that he can beat Max: I believe that every F1 driver probably thinks they could beat anyone else if given equal machinery (and practice in said machinery). It's a sport entirely based on self-assuredness in the car, after all. Charles would only be willing to make the leap if he truly believes he could beat Max on his home turf -- which would be an insane demonstration of confidence, but maybe not as far fetched as some may think. I do wonder if his time at Ferrari has been a hit to his resolve, though?

Willingness to play 2nd driver: If Charles is going to move to Red Bull, a team with an established golden child at the peak of his career, he'll have to be willing to potentially play 2nd driver. Unless he delivers insane results fairly immediately, it's highly likely that Red Bull will always favor Max when it comes to things like team orders, strategy, etc. Plus, he and Max are the same age -- it's not like George who may get to stay at Mercedes long after Lewis relinquishes the 1st driver seat. Again, I think this ties back to Charles's assessment of his abilities against Max's; I do think this is a significant risk though.

In conclusion, I think that Red Bull's motivations factor as a "maybe", Max factors as a "maybe leaning no", and Charles as a "maybe leaning no".

[thewritingofspencerrose]

Freefall Masterlist

The Contract

"You... you want me to what?" I ask lowly, looking up at the group across from me from under my lashes.

It really wasn't fair that they all get to have each other, and I'm on the other side of the table, on my own.

I should have had my father's public relations specialist come with me.

"We would like you to, as a part of your job here with Scuderia Ferrari, pretend to date Mr.Leclerc for a six month period, with a one month soft launch period and a five month relationship, which would then end on 'mutual terms'. During the time, you will be compensated while completing your classes, with the promise of a position on our engineering team," Frederic Vasseur is the one to explain, his position as team principle known to the entire room, including his driver, who sits to his left, reading over the paper that outlines this whole mess.

"I- I don't understand why- how this would be beneficial to you all? I'm just a university student."

He laughs. Frederic Vasseur laughs at me. "Ms.Earnhardt, you're not just anything. Your father is and your grandfather was motorsport legend. You're a well known name," He explains.

"Exactly, my father and grandfather, no one gives a damn who I am unless I'm with them," I try to explain.

"We don't need you to be the next Kardashian," Vasseur assures, "You would be most to fix Charles' reputation with female fans and overall."

"Have you seen social media?" I can't help but question, turning to Charles for the first time. "You are basically every woman's one true love right now."

"But he still needs a boost in the reputation department," Ferrari's PR strategist reminds. "And being seen as a good man? Good boyfriend? The perfect move. So, what do you say?"

How can Charles be ok with this? He and his most recent woman of the hour just broke up last month, and I also look nothing like the others.

"It's up to Charles," Is the response I give, making Vasseur and Charles look up to me in surprise. "If you want to spend the entire season being fake together, if you think it'll help, then I'm in. Anything for the scuderia."

"That's what we love to hear," Vasseur practically cheers, wrapping an arm around Charles' shoulders. "So, you in Charles?"

And he pauses, looks down at the papers in front of him and back to me, looking me over, and then back to his boss. "Of course."

"Great! We would like this to start immediately, so if you could both fill out these surveys about yoursel-"

"Absolutely not, Pri," I interupt Prianka, the PR woman's eyes growing triple in size. "If we're doing this, we're sitting down for coffee and getting to know each other. No 'favorite color is' and 'favorite animal is'."

"I love the idea!" She nearly hollers. "This morning, directly after this meeting, you two can go out to coffee in the city. Lynleigh, I assume, being from the area, you know a spot?"

"I'm from Nashville. That's in Tennessee, not Florida, Prianka," I find myself having to correct, reminding myself that she's from London and has no reason to know. "But I can text Logan and see? Or go find him in the paddock, I'm sure as a local he has some idea," I offer, her nodding brightly.

"Perfect!"

liked by dalejr, charles_leclerc, diana.mae and 257 more

lynleigh03 me: how do you like your coffee? him: with you

victoria.ham baby, call and tell mama who that handsome hand belongs to

will_hamlin mom don't support this

alexander_hamlin ma, get off of instagram

marcus.hamlin if you don't want to call mom, call me instead lynnleigh. i know where to find you

dalejr i actually agree with your mother here lynn

f1fan ...what is charles doing here???

lesainzlver babe, she is the next up and coming engineering candidate, every f1 team has been trying to lock her in for months and she doesn't even graduate till June!

f1fan damn, girl's impressive

liked by lynleigh03, scuderiaferrari, maxverstappen1 and 824,757 more

charles_leclerc a perfect way to bring in the first race of the reason with my favorite person

carlossainz55 that's not my hand... am i not your favorite person

f1fannn OH MY GOD IT'S A WOMAN'S HAND

ferraritime who who who is it?? we need to knowwwww

fav.earnhardt wait a minute...

[leqclerc]

Who do you think will replace Hamilton at Mercedes? | Personally I think it is between Albon or Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

Hello! 👋🏻

It largely depends on what they're looking for. Personally I think Alex would be a good option. His Red Bull stint didn't work out, but lbr he was thrown into a near-impossible situation with little experience and was expected to match an ascendant Max who'd been embedded in the team for some time already, knew what he wanted and knew Red Bull would give it to him. Plus all the pressure from internal figures (ahem Marko.)

That was some years ago at this point and I think he's grown massively as a driver and a person since then. His time at Williams in particular is letting him thrive and flourish, and you can tell how much everyone there appreciates him, his dedication and feedback. You could argue the optics are favourable because he keeps getting paired with rookies, but regardless of that, I think he's shown he's a dependable team player who can hold his own. Imo he became massively underrated as a result of the short-lived RB era and honestly I'd love to see him make a comeback with a top 3/4 team. He's actually one of the drivers I would've liked to see in Ferrari... well, before the bombshell dropped and we realized Ferrari's taking their lineup to an atomic level ajsdkfg

Now, this might sound kind of wild but hear me out: Checo. He's out of contract at the end of the season anyway, and obviously there's the question of Daniel possibly making a Red Bull comeback if he performs well at the sister team (I'm still calling it AlphaTauri) and they want him there. So for Checo it might be worth keeping an eye on the Mercedes situation. He raced Mercedes-engine powered cars for most of his career before the Red Bull move. I know recency bias means a lot of people don't rate him, but he's still a solid driver, he has years of experience (and probably some RB tea), he'd bring in points, and Mercedes comparatively probably wouldn't be such a pressure cooker. Iirc he also brings some big money personal sponsors. I think he more or less does what Carlos does, but in more difficult circumstances (let's not forget Ferrari made several adjustments to their cars for his sake, some of them detrimental to the overall performance, and he got some favourable strategies. Red Bull haven't been half as accommodating for Checo imo.) Plus I would trust him not to meddle internally more than someone like Carlos with his story-planting shit-tweeting entourage 🙄 I think they could get a few years out of him, at least until they deem Antonelli to be ready or someone else they're interested in becomes available.

Antonelli is a promising prospect and I'm sure they're keeping an eye on him as a potential long-term plan for Mercedes. Whether he'll be ready for a 2025 seat...depends. Maybe, if he has a mega season in F2. Mercedes tends to be conservative with rookies—George was in Williams for three whole seasons before he was promoted, something I think he felt kind of bitter about. So F2 -> Mercedes seat feels kind of uncharacteristic for them. They'd probably prefer to put him in a smaller team, at least for a season, to see how he adjusts to F1 first. Look at how Mick's time at Haas altered perceptions. Just four years ago, a lot of us thought a Mick-Charles lineup is on the cards, but now he's not even a top contender for the Mercedes seat—at least, not from what I've seen personally. If they bring in an older driver for 2025 then there's likely going to be more urgency to get Antonelli promoted asap. Whereas if they bring in someone younger, someone they can maybe get more "mileage" out of, then they have more time to put Antonelli through his paces and see if he's the guy for the job.

Other names I've seen thrown out are Carlos, Fernando and—oddly enough, Hulk.

I can see why Carlos would be an option, but then again, the optics might look a bit...strange if Mercedes is "settling" for the guy who just lost the seat to the driver they just lost. Unless they don't care about that, or don't have the luxury of caring about that right now. They went from holding all the cards to being under some serious pressure. And I think they're going to have to consider what they actually want in a driver now. Personally I think a Carlos/George lineup would have the potential for fireworks, but hey, if I'm not invested personally then it could be fun to watch asdkfjdfk

Fernando would generate buzz as the only other old guard champion on the grid, someone who is generally considered to be of Lewis's calibre. Fans and media alike were super impressed with his 2023 season and momentum is definitely on his side. But he's the king of chaos and has been known to fuck over teams for his own benefit and damn well knows this is his reputation and openly embraces it. And I'm not sure Mercedes would want to take a shot on someone they would see as volatile in that way. I think they really like maintaining this image of running a tight ship, having things neatly under control, no one going off script (just look at how traumatized Toto still is after the Nico and Lewis years, how he swore up an down that he'd never allow a situation like that to develop again.) George and Fernando seem to get along well outside of work, they've sure been seen socializing quite a bit, but obviously being teammates is a whole other issue and this could get spicy. 🔥🧯

But tbh I'm not sure a move like that makes sense for Fernando—unless I guess Aston fucks up astronomically this year and he's fed up with them. He seems pretty comfortable where he is—chummy with Lawrence Stroll and with enough freedom to be essentially the lead driver of the team since, well, Lance isn't exactly posing much of a threat. I mean Fernando literally carried Aston on his back in 2023. I'm sure he'll be keeping an eye on the developments but right now (Lewis jumping ship, Mercedes bleeding high profile staff) it would seem like a lateral move at best, with potentially more to lose than gain.

As much as I don't rate Hulk personally, I did see this one suggested on Reddit and... honestly? He did just have a pretty good season and for him it would be a clear step up so he'd probably have less demands and be more acquiescent than someone with more leverage. If they want to just get someone in as a stopgap until they deem Antonelli ready, someone to pick up points without outshining George... Pretty sure he's out of contract at the end of this season.

But another interesting aspect of all of this, coming to light with the news that the Mercedes Benz Group didn't approve Lewis's long-term ambassadorship, is that allegedly they're losing interest in the F1 team branch of their brand and generally aren't willing to shell out on it as much because they've shifted their focus to other aspects of the motor industry. Iirc this was already a talking point in 2020, but of course the team was still dominant at the time. If they fumble the 2026 regulations I can see the parent company pulling the plug on the racing team (Andretti buyout?????)

[charleslebatman]

The fact he fully ignored her constantly until the summer pics and then immediately after them she's at most races and he still fully ignores her until they're at an event that is for pr is crazy. The second they're not being filmed for pr he immediately is back to ignoring her, case and point the New York game. The Ferrari and sponsor dinners he's politer with random guests and talks more with them than his gf who knows absolutely nobody at the events and that to me is how you treat someone you don't actually care about.

I'm not someone who believes in conspiracies but I'm a long time Ferrari fan who's very aware how much pr they do. I'm also very aware of how many singers and actors will date costars and friends because it statically lowers the chance of fans being invasive and trying to make a move and it is also good promo for them, what they're selling and any events they attend or things they promote.

My take is that if they are pr it's for multiple reasons:

Charles is less likely to be harassed by fans trying to have their wattpad moment if he's not single and as one of the most popular drivers it's incredibly beneficial. Single celebs are more likely to be approached by people wanting their 15 minutes of fame and that can be a huge pr disaster.

Brands who work with someone often extend their contracts to friends and family because the more eyes on the products the more chances of people buying it, it's why wags are great promo because unlike drivers they can promote things to the right target audience like dresses, bags and jewelry. Charles is popular and a gf provides gossip and rumours meaning they can use gossip to their advantage to sell things. Gfs in f1 world are a worthy investment the longer and more public the relationship the more money it'll generate.

It's also a commonly known thing that an f1 unwritten rule is no gf in the garage unless you can trust her. Basically everyone who enters any garage and gets close enough to hear and see things has to sign a contract and they also have to be seen with specific passes on otherwise they can and will be kicked out of the garages. It's just the standard safety precaution but it also means that all the wags would have signed a fuck load of contracts, if a driver is constantly switching partners it's just a lot of paperwork and very messy. So long-term relationships are the goal and if it's a pr relationship even better because it's more control and less pr.

Ferrari have had enough data leaks and information scandals that they have incredibly insane security within the garage. All the guests would have signed ndas and had lawyer meetings if they're in certain areas. Just like journalists and photographers and interviewers. All under contracts

Bestie, find an emoji and come back here to give your opinion. I really found this one interesting. 🫶

[heartsoftruth]

Same anon here who wrote about the "friend" quote. Toto is not Lewis' friend...at all. There are no friends in business and Toto is a businessman. He's also part owner of Merc. He cares about re-building and securing Merc's legacy after Lewis leaves. Once Merc started calling George Mr. Saturday, that's when Lewis stopped being a priority for the team- and yes, Toto is part of that.

We have to stop taking everything that is said at face value. Everything Toto says is PR. Of course he wants to give everyone the impression that they're on good terms.

We may have the 2024 season, but Lewis is no longer on that team as far as they're concerned. As a matter of fact, he is a liability. The driver's give feedback to help develop the car, not just for the season, but for the future. However, Lewis will be on another team. That's a conflict of interest. So why would they EVER prioritise him?

If they have a championship-winning car in 2024, Lewis is going to have to pull a Nico Rosberg, because if there's any indication from the last couple of seasons, the team will NOT help him over George. 8th WDC be damned.

I agree on some parts. Of course Toto is a business man and his loyalty therefore is with Mercedes.

Only time will tell if their friendship - as they have called it themselves over the years - will survive a move like this. The pro is they will see each other at races, but they’re both at different teams. And tbh we’ve seen with Angela and Lewis how fast an extremely close relationship can (seemingly) crash down. So I doubt it would still be there tbh.

I don’t think everything he says is PR. Since he’s very clear after 2025 he wants to win. Also he’s very clear about the fact they didn’t want to commit for longer to Lewis. Which we can make our own conclusions about.

In all honesty I think there closeness has and will be less. I thought it was already less last year - with indeed like you said - Merc prioritizing George too much. Or more babying him. He should have been told to shut up and stop the team order moaning quite a few times tbh. But Toto refrained. Now it’s clear why. He couldn’t even give Lewis the contract years he wanted and he sees George as the future and Lewis as a man on his way to retiring at the end of 2024. (His mind).

Maybe because - like Toto said yesterday - he has the idea that George is a good leader for them after 2024 😭😭💀

But indeed it will be a difficult 1 and I can guess with the races passing and season coming to an end - a very awkward year. Because you don’t want Lewis to hear too much about the 2025 car, but we all know they will need him for development. But he will shut up 😂😂🤷🏽‍♀️

What I hope the most tho is that Lewis didn’t help develop the 2024 car into a - might win a race or 2 car - and if he did I hope it’s at the beginning of the season. And while his input becomes less - and they lean on George - the car becomes slower 🤷🏽‍♀️ I don’t want to see him leave and others to take advantage of the (sudden) speed of a Merc car.

[pressradio]

I’m excited because I like to watch racing in f1.

I’m confident for Charles but also I remember what Ferrari is, and they can turn around quickly. I really hope Charles has a great deal and Ferrari a great plan. But I don’t see him wasting his prime years just for a red car. Even if he loves the team. He is there to win for himself and not just the team. He was able to make Seb look not so good, he is a top driver.

I think they took a long time to sign CL because CL had leverage there. And maybe LH also waited for CL to sign, as a hint that the faith in the team was restored. We know CL almost left in 2022, and that’s why Ferrari let go of Binotto and many « big » names (for Ferrari). The changes were done quietly but just the way the press was hearing nothing from Ferrari in 2023, the way they played with the contracts négociations and let Carlos speak in the press to finally sign LH. They are cooking. And I truly think CL is part of it. Of course he has to peform. But the rumor of is contract being 2+2 says a lot about his leverage also. Ferrari not that long ago could have make him sign a much tighter deal. And we know big teams tried to get him. I’m sure Toto thought about him to replace LH (before all this, Lewis didn’t have a long term contract also for a reason). rb tried several times. All teams want him. Same for Lewis.

Twitter might sometimes say he is not that great. Some « journalists » might write a piece on how Carlos is better (!). But the ones who matter know.

I think having L wish there with CL will put pressure on everyone to succeed. No more excuses. It can help CL too. Because previously the TP lack confidence in him, almost as if he resented him (because he was young ? Too loved by tifosi ?)

For me the hard year is this one. CL has to outdo himself, whatever the car ends up to be. Constant fight and form, no mistakes (not saying he makes a lot of them at all but he goal is zero to stop the comments), leadership etc.

Thank you for sharing!

I like racing when it’s not inside my team, they kill my nerves without racing, if there will be constant fight I won’t survive haha.

And as I said I have no doubts in Charles’ abilities to win on track. But I saw mismanagement in 2019, and I saw mismanagement that cost Ferrari any chances for championship in 2022. Yes it had been Binotto and his team that got fired later. But it happened. And all reaction was a post-reaction. Yes, Fred did a lot or great things in a year. But I’m not Charles and Ferrari as a team hasn’t got my trust back. When I witness this healthy exciting rivalry (well at least from Ferrari side, because it will never be in general healthy - British press is involved) with my own eyes, then I’m into it. Maybe I’ll even love it, who knows. I still love Sebchal and I liked Charles-Lewis relationship before.

If it is fair and square, then OK, no problem. If somehow Charles can’t win in this h2h, then it’s his problem, but I’ll believe till the end.

I hate that we need to wait the whole season before we get any confidence in what is going on. I really hate it.

[welcome-to-oslov]

You may have answered this before, but curious to learn more about Oslov people's views of the kettle boy profession ("profession"?). Do they see it as a regular job that people could go on to have a normal life after with no stigma? Are kettle boys allowed to give consent/say no, or do they sign that away for the duration of their contract? Are Labourer/Drudges' views different from Upstarts i.e. would lower classes see it as just a job choice (though kinda seedy, maybe how we'd view Only Fans models) while upper classes/raised folks would be more inclined not to respect kettle boys' freedom/autonomy in the same way our society views prostitutes or strippers (like how some guys in our society think of them as "dirty" things who are there to be used)? Bror seems to come from a nice background & envisions himself as eventually having a normal family life later, free to leave this job for a new career at any time. Ansha seems like he may have chosen this job from a more troubled background but still views it as a job he freely chose (I think?) & would be free to leave. Lus is over there a drugged up addict, like our society imagines prostitutes. Artur & Gersha imply that there's an established kettle-boy-to-govt-admin-job pipeline that's somewhat normal. And then we've got Tilrey: whom many many people (from drivers to councillors to fellow kettle boys to randos along the way) know directly or must suspect is not free to leave, free to stop, or freely consenting to his work. So, more questions! Does everyone in general realize Tilrey is a captive, not really a kettle boy? Is it normal for a kettle boy to be owned by/shared among multiple men, or does that set Tilrey off as an unusual situation? Does every councillor know (and love) that they're actually raping Tilrey, or are some genuinely just so not caring about workers/servants at all so it doesn't even occur to them? (Obvi lMalsha's son-in-law, Bersha, Gourmarin, Verán, and most spring fling attendees would be among those who can't deny they know the truth that they've taken a Thurskein boy captive for Upstart use.) It seems clear that Bror at least realizes all is not as it seems with Tilrey, and I imagine he understands it'd be impossible to actually save him since it's the literal people in charge of the country who are holding him hostage... though he does confront Gersha, but he never stormed into Island Party offices to tell them off after the spring fling, an event Bror seemed to clearly call out as wrong? Or confronted Gourmarin after hearing of his "apology"? Anyway, just curious to learn more about what a "normal" kettle boy life is and given that, the extent to which Tilrey-as-kettle-boy catches attention as a not-normal situation (and does it make anyone upset besides Bror and eventually Gersha?).

That’s a great question! I should probably try to clarify the kettle boy role better in the text itself, but let me try here first.

So, kettle boys are holdovers from Feudalism. There’s no official place for them in Whybergian society, though there is institutionalized sex work (the Sanctioned Brothel). Officially they’re classified as “personal secretaries,” and sex isn’t part of their duties. But everyone just accepts that they’re there to provide sex and/or companionship and (usually) to be traded back and forth between Councillors as part of political favor trading.

So, because this kind of sex work doesn’t officially exist and isn’t regulated, it can encompass all kinds of possibilities in the patronage system that actually rules Oslov. For Bror and Ansha, like you say, it’s a choice—a route to a better posting down the line. Bror has strong family connections in Redda, so he’s in a good position to dictate his own terms. (For instance, I think I mentioned he has a relative who works at the Restaurant; Upstarts might not want to upset the person who makes their food.) Ansha isn’t in as strong a position, but he’s willing to put up with some not-great treatment.

But because Tilrey is from Thurskein and comes in with a charge of subversion against him, Upstarts can abuse their power over him without consequences. If you’ve ever read a book about a brothel in 18th- or 19th-century Europe, he’s basically like an innocent girl who came from the provinces and was tricked/forced into it, as opposed to courtesans who have a measure of power.

There’s also some major gaslighting going on in this system. Whenever Tilrey complains, he’s told that he should be grateful for the opportunity to live in Redda, regardless of the price. No one can imagine why he would want to go back to Thurskein, because most of them have no first-hand knowledge of it. They just assume his life was pure degrading toil, when in fact he was at the top of Thurskein’s social structure.

So why doesn’t Bror do something about Tilrey being raped? I would liken this to Mad Men-era America—there was no point in reporting rape unless you were the “right” kind of victim. He could certainly make a report—the way Adelbert encourages Tilrey to do—but the case wouldn’t go anywhere because the alleged perpetrators are at the top of the social hierarchy. They set the terms.

Now I think about it, Bror might be Joan from Mad Men. :) He knows the system is messed up, but he works within it (for now, anyway) and just does what it allows him to do—use his smarts and charm to influence Upstarts when he can. He’s well meaning but somewhat complicit, like almost everyone in the story.

[heroponazrion]

So hey

I haven't posted in a while, for reasons. Well, haven't posted anything ORIGINAL recently. But that's because I've been Going Through It™.

And this last weekend, has been incredibly rough for me.

So, to start off, about mid last week, I went to donate plasma. It's something I've been doing for a while, supports a good cause, and I make a little bit on the side too. ...Well, I say a little bit, but it's actually incredibly nice in terms of earning some money off a side-hustle.

But, last week I went in thinking I was gonna donate, because it had been a little while. And then they took a SPE for a "protein test" that they needed. Standard procedure, nothing bad. And now I have to wait for about 7-10 days to hear back on that. Which means I can't donate until I do, and only if I get effectively a "green light" go-ahead.

At the same time, while talking with the family, specifically my loving mother, I got another quick talk about how "we're not gonna be here forever" "You need to get a proper job" "You should do something about your career" and that sort.

And that did something. That opened some kind of floodgate in my head, kicked down some kind of repressive dam that had been holding me together with confidence and relaxation for the last SEVERAL years now.

Suffice to say, I have become so riddled with severe anxiety and depression in the last weekend or so that I am experiencing physical feedback complications from my mind and my subconscious butting heads. Things like shakes, hunger that fades into a loss of appetite, lack of motivation, abdominal aches, random pains and aches in my joints and limbs, sweating of the palms and feet, a MASSIVE UPTICK in negative intrusive thoughts, tiredness that does not wane when I lay down to try and nap, heart palpitations, inconsistent bowel movements...

There's probably more that I can't identify, but I think "the desire to stop, drop, and scream as loud as I can for several minutes" doesn't constitute a spot on any medical terminology.

My imagination is shattered, retreating to my usual comforts doesn't comfort me anymore, and I have been on the fringe of what feels like mania for some time now. The only solace is that my family does still support me enough to help me keep pushing towards surviving in this hellshitfuck country of the US of goddamn A.

I've put in a few applications to some nearby places, and coasted on social interactions to help put me at ease, but I can't keep covering up how I'm feeling any longer to the wider internet. I'm McFuckingLosingIt over here.

Worst of all is, I keep saying I'm an amateur voice-actor, but in reality, I haven't auditioned for anything in the last four years. I've practiced, I've recited memes, but nothing is recorded or posted. I don't have a booth - the alternative in my room is a pair of blackout curtains hung from a wire across the middle and a whole corner covered in studio foam (Which does VIRTUALLY NOTHING FOR THE REST OF THE REVERBERATION IN MY ROOM BY THE WAY).

Meanwhile, everyone else has their desired directions and their pursuits well in motion - they have jobs, careers, contracts, they're getting married, moving in together, picking out CARS to DRIVE. (Driving scares me to my core, but I got my learner's permit because everyone in the family was basically pushing me to learn so that we have another driver in the house in case something happens - yeah, like THAT'S a comfort.)

In short ; everyone else has their shit together. And I don't.

Don't believe me? I had to fucking ask my mother if we have a Primary Care Provider while filling out forms for psychiatric help. They're on my fucking insurance card, that's the Primary Care right there.

There are so many things that I just don't know, because they were never taught to me at any point in my education growing up. I was never informed of what was actually going to be important going into becoming an adult. There were no classes on finances or accounting, or insurance or ANYTHING LIKE THAT AT ALL AND I'M ON THE BORDERLINE OF HAVING A COMPLETE AND TOTAL BREAKDOWN.

Life was supposed to become so much easier growing up. We were supposed to work together towards a better earth, or at least a better country. To be better humans, with better advances that would make everyone's lives easier. To cut down on having to notarize and remember everything, to just have info stored digitally and accessed readily and immediately when required via AI. To automate the difficult procedures and dangerous tasks and allow humans to find reprieve and unity doing hobbies and constructive activities.

Instead, we've been robbing eachother, kicking eachother while we're down, taking the pleasantries and hobbies and automating THOSE instead, while demanding the hard work gets harder with fewer people to do it, and all of this AFTER a planet-shaking pandemic that we were supposed to logically defend ourselves and eachother from, and yet instead, WE STARTED TRYING ASININE AND ILLOGICAL REMEDIES AND DENYING ITS EXISTENCE ENTIRELY, WHICH LED TO A NEAR BACKSLIDE MEDICINE-WISE.

And as if that wasn't bad enough the cost of everything keeps going up while what we pay for keeps going down - either in quality, or quantity, or even horrifically, sometimes BOTH. The people in charge who could FIX THAT are too busy picking fights with eachother and hyping up a doomsday-scenario for the country and beyond, and the people with the money that could bounce us back and out of this problem would rather sit on their money, squander it, or waste it on the absolute-stupidest projects, bills, and stunts that they can imagine.

EVERYONE that could FIX the US, is doing their DAMNDEST to drag out the DEATH of its GOVERNMENT, because it wasn't BUILT TO LAST, and they KNOW IT, and so instead they just wanna see THEIR NUMBERS GO UP, uncaring that we CAN'T SURVIVE THAT WAY.

I don't mean "we" as in just the government, I mean the whole-ass country. What THEY do, affects ALL of us. What they've DONE, has affected ALL of us, FOR A LONG FUCKING TIME NOW. And they just brush it aside because that was the older generation, not knowing better, this is the new age, with new people, who definitely won't repeat the mistakes of those that came before.

BUT THEY HAVE. AND THEY KEEP DOING IT. AND NOW WE'RE SERIOUSLY CONSIDERING PUTTING ONE SUCH INDIVIDUAL BACK INTO POWER SO THAT HE CAN COMPLETELY RIP APART WHAT'S LEFT BECAUSE HE USED TO BE A SUPERSTAR AND A BILLIONAIRE AND NOW HE'S SUPPOSED TO BE AN OUTLAW AND A PARIAH AND EVERYONE SHOULD HATE HIM FOR WHAT HE DID TO OUR WAY OF LIFE.

AND YET SOMEHOW, PEOPLE LOVE HIM INSTEAD??????? AN ALARMINGLY LARGE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE WITH TOO MANY WEAPONS AND NOT ENOUGH BRAINCELLS??????????????? ARE YOU ACTUALLY MENTALLY RETARDED AND INBRED????????? YOU'VE WITNESSED WHAT HE'S CHANGED IN OUR GOVERNMENT, EVERY LITTLE DETAIL, FROM BILL TO BILL, ACROSS SEVERAL STATES, WHERE EVEN HIS SUBTLEST ACTIONS HAVE HAD REPERCUSSIONS VIEWED BY THE REST OF THE POWERS OF THE GLOBE AS "CONCERNING" "DISQUIETING" AND "DANGEROUS". AND THAT'S WHO YOU WANT BACK IN CHARGE OF EVERYTHING???????????????????????????????

Does thinking you're the last sane man on the face of the Earth make you crazy? Because if it does, maybe I am.

[superkilometerfilter]

Cost per mile – The Importance Of The Mileage Data

Cost per mile is the data which shows how much a vehicle needs on average to cover a mile route. Car owners and mechanics often use this information to monitor overall wear and tear, oil changes and auto maintenance. Knowing your estimated expenses before a trip will help you better plan or make slight changes in your route. The per-mile calculation is a great way to reduce monthly or yearly payments and prepare for the outcome. Hence, this information is not random numbers, and if you know how to use them, it can be highly beneficial to you. The great thing is that knowing this data does not require too much effort, and by simple calculation, you will have valuable info about your cars. 

HOW TO CALCULATE PER MILE COST?

CPM in cars may be calculated in several techniques. The most typical method is to split the expenses by the miles covered. So, first, you need to add up all the costs that you had and then divide this number by the covered mileage. The result will be your cost for each mile. This method does not take into account the traffic and congestion.

Another cost per mile calculation method is the so-called ‘weighed cpm’. It includes the variations that occur based on traffic congestion and other road-related factors. The catchy thing about this approach is that it also calculates traffics that may affect the delivery time. This is helpful for businesses that use delivery services.

As you can see, CPM is crucial information that can be handy. The best thing about it is that everyone can determine their rate without extra help or paying for a professional technician. 

WHY IS MILEAGE IMPORTANT WHEN DETERMINING THE COST PER MILE?

We all know that mileage is one of the most essential information about your car. Still, there are a lot of details that we need to pay more attention to. For example, when you hear any mileage numbers, people automatically start comparing them by value. So, if the vehicle covered 100 000 miles, it is considered worse than the one with 50 000 miles. The reality is that comparing total distance and detecting how to calculate per mile cost is not that easy. There are more critical factors, such as standard driving manners, the use of an automobile and even road conditions. These have a much more significant effect on the overall conditions than just the miles shown on the odometer. 

And still, what mileage has to do with the cost per mile calculation? Well, the answer is quite simple. To understand the estimated charges for each mile, you need to count all the mileage your vehicle covered during the trip. That is why mileage information and determining the costs have a direct correlation.

WHY SHOULD I KNOW THE CORRECT MILEAGE?

The total covered distance can give you numerous useful information. Every driver carefully monitors the odometer to check the mileage. Systematic control will help you follow the proper time gap between oil changes, car services and maintenance procedures. These steps will contribute to your vehicle’s better condition. You can significantly minimise cost per mile If your automobile is well-kept.

Moreover, mileage is a crucial factor in determining the final resale price of the vehicle. The higher the mileage is, the less valuable it becomes. If you plan to sell your auto or buy a used car, you should keep an eye on the miles and calculate the approximate price.

ADDITIONAL PROS OF KNOWING THE EXACT MILEAGE:

Accurate mileage helps plan routine maintenance jobs like oil changes and tire rotations and to calculate per mile cost. Vehicles need particular maintenance at predetermined mileage intervals to guarantee optimal operation and prevent long-term, expensive repairs.

Warranty Protection: A lot of brand-new cars come with warranties. You may ensure you can complete the distance restriction by accurately documenting your mileage, nullifying your contract.

Insurance prices: Certain insurance firms consider mileage when calculating insurance prices. Cheaper mileage vehicles could be less dangerous, and so be eligible for more affordable insurance costs. Cost per mile calculation can become handy to reduce your fixed costs or insurance rates.

Fuel economy: Monitoring the automobile’s fuel economy may be done by keeping track of your mileage. You may detect possible malfunctions with your car or spot variations in fuel economy throughout the years by comparing mileage and fuel usage.

WHY DO INDIVIDUALS MANIPULATE ODOMETERS

Based on the reasons mentioned above, a lot of people try to manipulate odometers and somehow modify the numbers that are shown on the digital dashboards. In this way, they can increase the overall resale value of the vehicle. However, remember that you need correct mileage information to measure the cost per mile. 

Resale prices are not always the case. Sometimes people try to change the showing because of the dashboard malfunctioning. Even though such cases are sporadic, sometimes, odometers display incorrect numbers. Car accidents or some electric breakdown can cause this. In such cases, you have to correct the odometer functioning as soon as possible. 

Calculate per mile cost is important information for every car driver. They can make good use of this data. However, you need to have a correctly working odometer. If there is a necessity of replacing changing, be careful, as sometimes this results in the odometer malfunctioning. 

IS IT LEGAL TO CHANGE THE ODOMETER READING?

As you have already seen, mileage and odometers play an important role in car maintenance. It is crucial for cost per mile calculation as well. However, there is a bigger issue: is changing a mileage reading legal? It depends on a lot of factors, but mostly artificially changing numbers on the odometer is illegal. There are several restrictions, and unless you know the local law or deeply understand this topic, you have to think twice before making any decisions. 

ODOMETER FRAUD

Odometer fraud, also known as odometer tampering, is the activity of changing or modifying the logged miles on a vehicle’s odometer. It is often done in order so that the automobile appears to have traveled fewer miles than it has and makes it impossible to detect cost per mile. This false method is typically used to boost its resale value, as less mileage is commonly linked with better condition and greater market value. 

Odometer fraud may imply physical modification of the mechanical components of the odometer or using electrical devices to falsify the reading.

COMMONLY USED METHODS

Car owners need to correctly calculate per mile cost. However, people use different ways to manipulate the system and change mileage data. 

Mechanical Rollback: manually rolling back the odometer to reduce the miles. It is possible to accomplish so by detaching the instrument panel and altering the odometer gears or mechanisms;

Software Manipulation: hackers can sometimes use the vehicle’s electric flaws to their advantage and modify the mileage of the digital odometers;

Replacement of the Odometer: some may install a new odometer that displays an auto mileage instead of the original numbers. In this case, you cannot have the exact numbers, and cost per mile calculations will be almost impossible with that mileage information;

HOW TO AVOID BECOMING THE VICTIM OF THE ODOMETER FRAUD

Odometers show important information to the drivers. If you are a truck owner and usually carry freight, it is crucial to identify your MPG (mile per gallon). It will show you what is your cost per mile rate. Several steps will help you prevent odometer fraud and stay on the safe side:

Request history records which state the mileage over time;

Check out the vehicle’s maintenance logs and paperwork;

Before buying a used car, you can have the car inspected by a trusted technician;

Be sceptical of offers that appear to be too good to be true, particularly if they contain unusually low mileage for older cars.

Wear and tear – owners usually claim that their automobiles are in fantastic condition, but a careful inspection may reveal the truth. Check that the seats are in good shape and that all of the pedals operate correctly.

Following these steps will protect you from possible odometer manipulations and make it possible to calculate per mile cost. Fixed costs help you manage your standard expenses and properly plan your future maintenance.

THE BEST MILEAGE DEVICE

The Mileage Blocker, was invented by a German team of scientists. While a vehicle is in movement, this robust Super Kilometer Filter device stops computing extra mileage. Plus, it doesn’t delete or roll back earlier collected information. Thus, cost per mile calculation based on your vehicle’s old data doesn’t pose an issue. Whether you are in the US, UK or somewhere else, this device does not prevent you from measuring petrol or diesel. 

One of the mileage blocker’s other distinguishing features is that it does not keep distance information within the engine control units. As a result, the actual data is unidentifiable. It is constructed of temperature-resistant wires, ensuring a perfect trip at every temperature. It provides easy DIY installation and a mobile app to control everything.

The mileage blocker is available online, and you can purchase it from the SKF shop. However, always remember that this device is for car testing and tuning purposes and utilizing it on the highway is not recommended.

TAKEAWAY

Cost per mile helps us measure mileage rates and do an average breakdown. Even though there is no perfect calculator, estimate numbers will still provide important information. Keep in mind that several factors affect the price. By using cost-cutting techniques and making wise choices, you may effectively control your spending and improve your entire financial situation.

[billphxrealtor]

10 Helpful Tips and One Must-Do When Hiring a Contractor

Posted by

Bill Salvatore- Realtor

November 5, 2022

Case Study

,

Hiring a Contractor

,

Home Improvement

,

Home Remodeling

,

Home Repairs

,

Homeowner Tips

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Insurance

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Real Estate

Leave a Comment

So you’re planning a few home updates, improvements or repairs, maybe an entire remodel, you have a plumbing headache or an electrical predicament, maybe your home needs painting inside or out, perhaps your family could use some extra space and an addition is in your future. You need a contractor, so where do you start?

Overall, I agree with the helpful suggestions for hiring a contractor, provided by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) and the tips in the post below are definitely worth noting. However, I was surprised that there seemed to be a few glaring omissions, most notably, confirming that your contractor is licensed to operate in your state.

Every state has a roster of licensed contractors, the vocations for which they are certified, and the level and specifics of their qualifications. This is public information and easily obtainable. You would be remiss if you failed to do your research.

Case in point, a Phoenix couple hired a landscaping contractor who was recommended by a trusted co-worker. The couple’s new back yard would be finished with pavers, turf and a fire pit, for the price of $18,000, the most affordable estimate they received. The contractor requested half the money up front. After several months of wildly varied excuses, the only thing the couple had to show for the $9,000 already withdrawn from their account, was a pile of sand. They requested a refund of their money or delivery of the materials they had paid for. Neither materialized. A belated check of their contractor’s state issued license unfortunately turned up nothing. A search for the contractor himself was also unsuccessful.

There are far more of these situations than we ever hear about, and in cases like this you have very little recourse. This case study was provided on the ABC Arizona web site by the wonderful folks at “Let Joe Know” who are currently attempting to locate the offending contractor. We’ve seen the Let Joe Know team clear up many of these dilemmas, but sadly they’ve no luck with this one as of the date of this post.

Before you hire a contractor of any kind, run through the tips below from NICB, and carefully check with the state for an official contractor license. Do not rely on your contractor to provide this to you, verify it with the state yourself!

Follow These Tips Before Hiring a Contractor Information provided by NICB via RIS Media

If you’re adding an addition or plan to build a new home, you likely have a ton on your plate. Planning, researching, and dreaming up designs can be fun, but stressful. When it comes to hiring the right contractor, make sure you do your due diligence so you don’t end up with a lemon.

NICB suggests you consider these tips before hiring a contractor:

Get more than one estimate.

Get everything in writing. Cost, work to be done, time schedules, guarantees, payment schedules and other expectations should be detailed.

Demand references and check them out.

Ask to see the salesperson’s driver’s license and write down the license number and their vehicle’s license plate number.

Never sign a contract with blanks; unacceptable terms can be added later.

Never pay a contractor in full or sign a completion certificate until the work is finished and ensure reconstruction is up to current code.

Make sure you review and understand all documents sent to your insurance carrier.

Never let a contractor pressure you into hiring them.

Never let a contractor interpret the insurance policy language.

Never let a contractor discourage you from contacting your insurance company.

Reprinted with permission from RISMedia. ©2017. All rights reserved.

For more information, Call or Text: 602-999-0952

eMail:

golfarizona@cox.net

Bill Salvatore / Arizona Elite Properties

Your Valley Property Team

Residential Sales, Marketing, and Property Management

Selling Arizona for more than 20 years

Founder: AZVHV Arizona Veterans Helping Veterans Recipient: East Valley Tribune’s: Best Gilbert, Arizona Realtor

Ever wonder what Closing Costs you’ll be responsible for when you buy or sell a home? Check out our infographic and article:

[f1]

Alpine boss Szafnauer responds to CRB ruling and Piastri's 'bizarre and upsetting' comments

Alpine Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer said on Saturday that he believed the Contract Recognition Board ruling concerning their reserve driver Oscar Piastri was “50/50” after hearing McLaren’s arguments. The Alpine boss explained his team’s side of the story, spoke about Piastri’s future, and responded to Piastri’s comments that were published in an exclusive interview with F1.com. The spotlight on Saturday morning at Zandvoort was shone firmly on Szafnauer after it was announced on Friday that Piastri will be a McLaren driver next season, as per the CRB ruling in their favour. Szafnauer previously said he was “confident” that the ruling would fall on his side. EXCLUSIVE: Piastri on joining McLaren, leaving Alpine and making his F1 debut “Well, going into it, I didn’t know all the arguments on the other side,” said Szafnauer. “Thereafter, I mean, it took four days as everybody knows. There are good arguments on both sides and walking out I thought it was about 50/50; as it turned out they didn’t rule in our favour. So after, no, I would have accepted either way.” As for Piastri’s future with Alpine – and whether he will continue his role as reserve driver for the rest of 2022 – Szafnauer replied: “Well he’s with us this weekend, doing simulator work, and that will be decided and he’ll continue this weekend – there’s only a couple days left today and tomorrow and on Monday we’ll get together with him and decide how to go forward. “We’ll decide on Monday. I don’t want to think about it here because there’s more considerations to be had.” F2 champion Piastri will join McLaren as Daniel Ricciardo's replacement After Alpine announced on August 2 that Piastri would step up to a full-time seat in 2023, Piastri hopped on Twitter to offer a firm and now famous rebuttal that he would not be driving for the team. Szafnauer previously told the media that he had informed Piastri that the team would be announcing him as their driver, and that the Australian “smiled and was thankful” – but in an exclusive F1.com interview, Piastri recounted a “bizarre and frankly upsetting episode” with Alpine. ANALYSIS: Unpacking the Piastri-Alpine-McLaren situation after the CRB's ruling On Saturday, Szafnauer responded to Piastri’s interview and said: “I’ve never lied to you, and I never will. But what I can tell you is reiterate what I said before. Oscar was in the simulator, when he finished his simulator session, I went and told him of the releases and to congratulate him and he smiled and said ‘thank you’. “Were there a group of people there? I can tell you no. It was myself, the simulator technician – who happened to be in the same room – but if you’ve seen a simulator it’s a pretty big room, as big as it is here, and there were three of us in that room. It wasn’t a group of people, it wasn’t bizarre, and he smiled and said ‘thank you’.“ Szafnauer was asked multiple questions about the Piastri contract situation on Saturday morning at Zandvoort The Alpine chief added, when asked whether his team’s loyalty was under scrutiny: “Our loyalty for Oscar was that we had something called heads of terms, and we delivered everything above and beyond what we said we were going to do including 3,500 kilometres in last year’s car, making him our reserve driver. “When McLaren and Mercedes asked if we could share him as a reserve because they didn’t have one, we allowed him to do that. We paid him. That’s our loyalty to Oscar.” TIMELINE: How the Oscar Piastri saga unfolded As for Alpine’s 2023 line-up, the team are still pursuing a replacement for outgoing veteran Fernando Alonso who is set to join Aston Martin. Szafnauer said there is “great demand” for an Alpine seat next year. “I think we’re fortunate that we have great demand for our seats so we’re going to take a bit of time and consider, but it’s like anyone: you want the fastest driver you have to get, one with experience, consistency and speed. So we’ll be looking at who’s available to fill that role.” via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Mass arbitration attack could bring Intuit to its knees

Ever hear of “binding arbitration?” That’s a clause in a contract that says that you aren’t allowed to sue the company you’re doing business with, even if they cheat, maim or kill you. It was invented to let giant companies of equal size and power agree in advance not to spend billions and decades in court to resolve contractual disputes.

Then, Federalist Society judges led by Antonin Scalia set about clearing the way for arbitration to be crammed down everyday folks’ throats by powerful businesses. Today, it’s primarily used by doctors, mechanics, publishers, after school programs, ski resorts, fast food restaurants, gig/app work companies and tech companies of all kinds to strip the people who buy from them or work with them of the rights that Congress gave them, all at the stroke of a pen.

The advent of non-negotiable contracts with binding arbitration clauses makes a mockery of the law, and of the very idea of contracts. These clauses are a (literal) get out of jail free card for businesses that abuse the people who interact with them. They have multiplied like cancer, and today, they’re everywhere.

When you sign a binding arbitration waiver, you lose the right to sue, and, critically, to join a class action suit, which is often the only way to get justice for mass-scale, small-dollar ripoffs. Very few of us will pay a lawyer thousands to get back the $50 some business owes us, but if that business owes millions of people $50, then one lawyer can represent all of them at once through class action. But not if they’ve all clicked “I agree” to binding arbitration.

Instead of suing, binding arbitration lets you go to a fake court: an arbitration proceeding presided over by a corporate lawyer who is paid by the company you’re seeking redress against. These arbitrators overwhelming find in favor of the business that signed their paycheck, but even if you do eke out a win, you don’t set a precedent that the next person can rely on. Every arbitration case starts from scratch.

The proliferation of arbitration has rapidly eliminated the very idea of civil justice for individuals wronged by companies, with private arbitration increasingly replacing courts. For a while there, it seemed like our rights had been eliminated by a conspiracy to insert binding arbitration into every contract, terms of service and business onboarding.

But then some clever lawyers noticed a critical flaw in the arbitration scam. Businesses have to pay the arbitrator, and that costs thousands of dollars per claim. If these lawyers could figure out how to streamline the arbitration process and file thousands of claims, they could cost businesses far more in fees than they’d ever have to pay in a class action settlement. Then the businesses would cry uncle and release their workers or customers from the binding arbitration and give them a day in court.

The first serious success for this tactic came in California, where Uber drivers had been forced into arbitration to recover hundreds of millions in wages that Uber had stolen for them. When Uber found itself facing thousands of arbitration claims, it surrendered and paid the drivers $146m.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/uber-sues-aaa-block-100-million-fees-politically-motivated-arbitration-2021-09-20/

Mass arbitration has only gone from strength to strength. Last spring, Amazon removed arbitration from its Alexa terms of service, as a way of escaping thousands of claims over its deceptive sharing of Alexa audio with third parties:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/06/02/arbitrary-arbitration/#petard

It’s getting steadily easier to automate mass arbitration claims. The company Fairshake launched in 2020 to produce a toolsuite to enable more lawfirms to mass-file claims on behalf of their clients.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/11/socialized-losses/#justice-restored

And courts are starting to see through the arbitration scam. Last spring, a Massachusetts court ruled that a blind Uber passenger wasn’t subject to the binding arbitration in the company’s terms of service, because they weren’t available in accessible form, so he never read them and never agreed to arbitration:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/01/06/methane-diet/#i-agree

As the wheels come off of the arbitration wagon, there’s a delicious wave of mass arbitration campaigns crashing down upon the worse companies in America. Few companies are sleazier than Intuit. For decades, Intuit bribed and bullied the IRS to keep it from automatically sending Americans pre-completed tax forms.

https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-turbotax-20-year-fight-to-stop-americans-from-filing-their-taxes-for-free

This is a routine practice in most other high-income nations. After all, the tax authority knows how much you’ve earned, it knows how much you’ve had deducted, and it knows the tax code. Every year, you get a pre-completed form. If it looks right to you, you sign it and you’re done. If you want to hire an accountant, you can do that too.

By blocking free tax prep, Intuit secured billions in revenue for its Turbotax division. But for some reason, taxpayers consistently refused to accept that their own interests should take a back-seat to Intuit’s shareholders and kept pressuring the IRS to send out pre-completed tax forms for free.

To keep this at bay, Intuit teamed up with the other oligarchs in the tax-prep industry to create a program called “FreeFile” that would offer free tax prep to the majority of Americans.

But there was a catch.

They made it nearly impossible to use.

No matter how hard you tried, you it was effectively impossible to actually get a FreeFile filing. Intuit pulled out all the stops — they created programs with nearly identical names that weren’t free. They bought Google ads for “Freefile” that redirected you to these expensive, name-alike programs. If you did stumble into a FreeFile workflow, they’d bombard you with fraudulent messages implying that you weren’t eligible to use the service. If you ignored that, they’d let you spend hours inputting your tax data, then present you with an error message saying you couldn’t go any further without paying.

This was fraud. Outright fraud. Even the FTC says so:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/08/attack-surface-kickstarter/#tax-fraud

But, of course, everyone who got sucked into this fraud vortex clicked through a binding arbitration waiver, and lost the right to sue, and the right to join a class action to recover the billions that Intuit had stolen from them.

Enter mass arbitration. The law firm of Keller Lenkner has made a name for itself by using mass arbitration to bring companies like Postmates and Doordash to their knees on behalf of workers who’d had their wages stolen. Now they’re taking on Intuit.

https://www.propublica.org/article/turbotax-maker-intuit-faces-tens-of-millions-in-fees-in-a-groundbreaking-legal-battle-over-consumer-fraud

Writing for Propublica, Justin Elliott (who broke this story and has followed it relentlessly) tells us that more than 100,000 Intuit customers have sought arbitration over FreeFile. Intuit’s already tried to staunch the bleeding by offering a $40m settlement, but the judge said no. The company had told its customers they had to arbitrate, so it was on the hook for arbitration.

Elliott calculates the potential bill for arbitration fees at $175m, plus any settlements and plaintiffs’ lawyers fees the arbitrators award.

As US District Court Judge Charles Breyer told Intuit’s lawyers, “Intuit was, in Hamlet’s words, hoisted by their own petard…arbitration is the petard that Intuit now faces.”