#GP2 ENGINES FOR EVERYONE

[mistressemmedi]

Me, finding out that my (circa)2017 paddock gossip take was right and Honda was not to blame for the McLaren-Honda disaster:

#I FEEL SO VINDICATED #LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO #GP2 ENGINES FOR EVERYONE

[thissying]

📷: Frits van Eldik NOS Sport

'At his first introduction to autosport, Max already went like a comet.'

A rainy day in the summer of 2013, somewhere deep in Wales. Jos and Max Verstappen arrive at the Pembrey Race Track in complete secrecy. The youngest Verstappen - 16 years old at the time - reports to Dutch GP2 team MP Motorsport, which has been active in (international) motorsport for 20 years. Team boss Sander Dorsman meets him. Max Verstappen is introduced to motorsport for the first time among the sheep and birds. “He immediately went like a comet.”

Motorsport commentator Allard Kalff approached MP Motorsport in 2013 at the request of Jos Verstappen. If they want to participate in a car test for Max. It must remain secret. It can not happen in the Netherlands and prying eyes are unwanted. The Verstappens do not want any publicity. Son Max is still a world class driver in karting at that time. There shouldn't be any pressure when he gets into a racing car.

The location for the secret test in Wales is chosen because MP Motorsport engineer Tony Shaw had previously been there with two young lads: the current Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton and former world champion Kimi Räikkönen. The landscape is mainly dominated by sheep and birds. "Tony Shaw said after the first test day: Max handled it better than Lewis and Kimi did," Dorsman remembers Verstappen's first appearance in a racing car.

Track record “The first day of the test was quite difficult,” Dorsman continues. "It rained a lot. Max picked it up fantastically. The next day it was drier. He immediately smashed the track record. That was also impressive. And for us it was nice that exactly a year and a day after the test in Wales he won his Formula 1 contract. For everyone who worked with him, that was of course great. So young and already that good. Things can happen quickly."

Birds hit In the anniversary book about twenty years of MP Motorsport, Verstappen himself writes that, mainly, he was nervous. "I didn't know what to expect at all. There were sheep and birds everywhere. I think I also hit a lot of birds. I felt like the car sounded very loud."

Dorsman: "Looking back, they were just two very special days. The way I remember it, he didn't seem nervous at all. When he arrived, we walked around the circuit. We also drove around the circuit in his father's car. Everything to prepare him well. You start from scratch with a boy like that. It went well, very well."

Dorsman now also sees Verstappen on the circuits surrounding the Formula 1 races. The GP2 class is the gateway to the premier class in motorsport. The team boss has seen many drivers come and go in recent years. Max Verstappen is going to make himself heard a lot more, in his opinion.

"He has had a fantastic debut season and now has to follow through. His strength this season will be that he has much more experience in Formula 1. He can benefit from that." According to Dorsman, it is easy to explain that the 18-year-old Verstappen sets the bar high for himself in his second year. "That's a family trait. He got that from his father. Max gives 100 percent to everything."

Future In his second year at Toro Rosso, Verstappen is being watched by all the major teams. The question is what the Dutchman will do after this season. "There is pressure on him to continue to perform. However, that applies to every top athlete. And Max is familiar with that feeling from his time in karting. He had to improve there every season, too. If he can achieve his goal of 100 world championship points and a podium place, that is great. In any case, he will continue to surprise everyone," Dorsman is sure.

#f1 #max verstappen #max lore #my post

[blorbocedes]

Age difference marriage for your choice of hornstappen or nico/mika please!!!!!

When Mika proposes, it's with the latest 2010 Mercedes sportscar model. Nico jumps into his arms, and then immediately reaches for the key. It's better than any ring, he tells himself.

"Did you know I used to have posters of him on my wall when I was a boy?" Nico wiggles his brows to the strangers at the Ibiza party lounge. Nico knows why Mika wants to get married in the party capital with no one else in their distinguished motorsports circle around. He's embarrassed. 42 year old, second marriage, pretty young thing on his arm. It all screams midlife crisis.

Well, Nico doesn't need to make it easy for him.

"Mouse." Mika's voice is warning, hand on his shoulder. Nico immediately turns to Mika, smiling, and crawling on his lap.

"What, it's true," Nico toys with Mika's collar. Mika's blonde hair falls over his eyes, hiding the carefully botox'd crows feet when he frowns. "You remember."

Mika's hand rests on Nico's hip. "Don't be trouble." Nico grinds down on him.

The strangers now look away from their public display, embarrassed, and Nico takes it as a win.

A GP2 crash shattered Nico's motorsports dreams, and he kept his word to his father, did 3 years at Imperial, graduated with flying colours with an engineering internship at Williams waiting with his name on it. Nico opted to instead chase after rallying and endurance races, cheering for Mika and waiting for him. It wasn't even hard, after Nico decided his favourite Finn was his white whale. Slipping into the hotel sauna where they were alone, and not wearing much. Mika objected weakly, the flimsy excuse for his conscience, and gave in anyway.

Nico grew up like a little prince so it's hard to spoil him. Mika does, anyway. A short fling of a childhood infatuation turns into something akin to whirlwind romance, it's dangerous and fun and a little bit taboo, and Mika leaves his wife for him.

Nico knows his father would disapprove. Mika knows it too, even as Nico shows up beside him more often than not. But it's nice, Mika's a large, protective figure behind him and always has a sweet name for him: mouse, pigeon, pet, darling, something in Finnish Nico can't quite decipher.

When they're in bed together, Nico can think of how neither of them are going to F1. Yes, Mika's technically on 'sabbatical' but everyone knows. The slight swell of his gut gives it away, but it's okay Nico will be fit enough for both of them, breaking up his croissant so it's harder to notice he hasn't touched it and feeding Mika. He likes that Mika has that touch of vanity of him, that keeps dyeing his hair blonder and is susceptible to the Monaco lifestyle of keeping everything looking young, tight, tucked in procedurally. It makes Mika not the dashing hero from his childhood dreams, humanizes him. And when Mika calls Nico beautiful, it is both a fact and tinged with envy.

"Pigeon, we have to go to the F1 paddock this weekend." Mika tucks Nico's long lock of hair behind his ear.

"Why?" It's technically their honeymoon.

"Mercedes are trying to get Lewis. Hamilton-Schumacher lineup. Ron called me to convince him to stay."

Lewis... Lewis Hamilton, 2008 world champion. The wonder rookie. Nico knew him once upon a time, when they both promised they'd make it to Formula 1 together, childish promises of becoming World Champion. Only Lewis kept up his end of the bargain. The thought of seeing him again makes Nico feel funny, like he wants to hide away. Nico hasn't even gone to Monaco in years.

At the British Grand Prix, Mika Hakkinen enters the McLaren garage with relative fanfare of a Formula 1 World Champion. Nico stays out of the cameras, doesn't have to field any interviews -- people generally don't know him without his dad around. The smell of the rubber and engine fuels and screams of thousands of fans, it's all reminiscent of his childhood. Nico idly thumbs the car keychain in his pocket, waiting for Mika.

"Nico? No way, is that you, man?"

#mika/nico #so you fucked your childhood hero that your dad wouldn't approve of and now you're in a serious adult relationship in your early 20's #I looooooove complicated relationships #f1 rpf #my fics #mika's sugarbaby nico is my strongest headcanon

[chibrary]

The Chrimer: 2015, F3.

Everyone loves a good rivalry.

Charles and Max's karting history could-- and probably will-- be their own primer, but for Charles' 2015 season only one part really matters: Max jumps from F3 to F1. This casts a long shadow on Charles as his childhood karting rival.

Charles spends most of the year getting asked about seeing Max compete at the highest level of motorsport, like in this segment from a South China Morning Post article about the 2015 Macau Grand Prix:

For his part, however, Leclerc is keeping the focus on what’s right in front of him, rather than on what the horizon might offer as he sets out to tackle the tricky Guia circuit for the first time, knowing, of course, the greats of racing who have gone out there before him and still with comparisons to former VAR – and current Formula One – star Max Verstappen ringing in his ears. “I am taking things step by step,” says Leclerc. “I want to arrive in Formula One when I am more than ready and Formula 3 is a good choice in that I can learn and develop. And I raced Max all through my karting years and we fought each other at the finish, so I have always had the comparisons with him and I am okay with them.”

The jump to F3 is a last minute surprise: Charles had originally been tipped for a full-time Eurocup spot. Eurocup would have been more of the Formula Renault 2.0 level of competition Charles had experienced the previous year; F3 was considered a promotion.

In an interview, Charles was asked why he decided on F3 instead of Eurocup:

"After the season of last year, my manager and I thought that it would be better to jump to F3! Firstly, there are 3 races per weekend and 11 weekends so we drive a lot and so we gain a lot of experience! Then loads of drivers were planning to do it! And I felt really good in the car and the tests went well."

Surprisingly, Charles picks to race for Dutch team Van Amersfoort in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship like Max did the previous year. He essentially steps into his former rival's spot, replacing Max as team leader and taking his former engineer. This was allegedly on Jos Verstappen's suggestion, but there isn't much reference to that connection out there that I could find.

This doesn't help the comparisons.

Formula Scout-- in their 2015 Driver Profile of Charles-- would write:

Leclerc marked himself out as a real prospect in karting – so much so he topped our 2012 ‘karters to watch‘ feature, ahead of Verstappen. But it’s never a foregone conclusion that a successful karter will make a successful car racer. [...] Those performances suggested he would be capable of stepping up to F3, particularly as his old rival Verstappen had made it look easy and didn’t have the benefit of a year of car racing experience. And so he has proven to be. It’s still early days, but Leclerc has so far been the class of a large crop of rookies and taken the fight to proven F3 winners with multiple years of experience already under their belt. His early performances are on a par with what last year’s star rookies Esteban Ocon and Verstappen were doing – in fact, his record of two wins and five podiums from the first six races replicates the 2014 champion’s start. If he keeps it up, he will deserve to be held in the same high esteem as them a few months down the line.

They would ultimately summarize Charles' future as so:

While he’s got plenty in common with his old karting rival and Van Amersfoort F3 predecessor Verstappen, a lesser reputation and sensible management mean he’s unlikely to be making the jump straight up to F1 next year. He will therefore need to sustain this impressive form into an intermediate category like GP2 in order to make the grade.

Even with the comparisons to Esteban and Max, Charles still appears to be able to joke with both at the beginning of the season.

This lightheartedness would be needed, especially when Max was the special F1 driver guest for one of Charles' podiums:

Charles would start the season strong. As a rookie, Charles would top the morning running at the pre-event test of the opening round weekend by nearly half a second.

In true Charles fashion, he's unable to take the W:

"A good day," said Leclerc at the end of the test, after reviewing the results and drawing conclusions. “We have learned a lot, both about the set-up for qualifying and for the race. However, this does not mean that I am automatically one of the leading drivers this weekend as well, testing and racing are two different things. But needless to say, it's my goal to do it."

He would bring this momentum into winning in Silverstone, Hockenheim, Spa-Francorchamps and Nuremberg. I find the races themselves a little dull to break down race-by-race, but if you're interested.. an anon has provided video of every race here.

Charles would explain that:

“We arrived at the first race quite confident but obviously there were still had doubts from some people who didn’t know me when I arrived for testing. We were really fast from the first race which was a bit of a surprise because I was a rookie among all these experienced drivers so they didn’t really expect me. But from another point of view we were prepared, we worked hard and after testing it wasn’t that much of a surprise for us, how we went. We were quite confident.”

However... Charles' season would become inconsistent after a crash in Zandvoort with Lance Stroll would damage his chassis in a way that could never be correctly repaired.

Jules would pass the next week.

Charles would only podium once more during the remaining season, five months later in Macau.

He is quoted as saying:

“It is a good result, but I am never happy when I'm not first. Since I was a child I was never happy when I wasn't first. So, it is the still the same.”

Charles would end up finishing the season in fourth place behind Felix Rosenquist, Antonio Giovinazzi, and Jake Dennis. He'd still have 4 wins, 13 podiums, 3 pole positions and 6 fastest laps, making him the rookie champion over future F1 competitors George Russell, Lance Stroll and Alexander Albon.

Formula Scout would summarize his season:

VAR, like most, couldn’t keep up with Prema in the later part of the season but Leclerc seemed to lose some individual sparkle too. That’s forgivable for a teenage rookie though, particularly with the early-season highs becoming impossible to match. And no young racer should have to say goodbye to a life-long friend and mentor mid-season. Leclerc might not have been champion but he was F3’s standout talent in 2015.

Even with the issues in the later half of the season, he was still tapped to go into GP3 with Todt's team, ART Grand Prix. And he had some lighthearted moments:

(Behind the scenes footage here.)

One of the most lasting legacies of this season, though, is how it would set up the rest of Charles' career.

Charles did go into 2015 with very few sponsors outside of Todt. In a pre-season assessment, Formula Scout summarizes his off-track relationships:

No doubt assisted by the Bianchis’ tutelage, Leclerc signed with Todt Jr’s All Road Management firm in 2011. At present, Leclerc has no ties to F1 teams, but through his work with Felipe Massa, Pastor Maldonado and Bianchi, Todt has dealt with most of them and will be very well-placed to get his protege a role when the time comes. A potential stumbling point is that most F1 teams are already overflowing with some serious sub-F1 prospects, but if he continues to impress as he’s doing at the moment, they could begin falling over each other to find a space for him. Funding-wise, Leclerc benefits from partners usually tied to Todt’s projects, and watch maker Richard Mille (currently a sponsor of the Lotus F1 team) is his loyal main backer. And you’d imagine that being billed as a future F1 star from Monaco could well tempt some further future investment.

Lance Stroll would spend most of his single-seaters career against Charles as the Ferrari-backed driver until 2015, when he left to take a development driver role with Williams.

By this point, the Ferrari Driver Academy was heavily scrutinized to the point where it was speculated that they would do away with the initiative entirely. While Red Bull's junior program had brought Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kyvat to its senior team, no driver from the FDA had successfully made the jump. At the end of 2015, Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene decided to appoint a new head and restructure the program entirely.

Charles was rumored to be the next addition to the Ferrari Driver Academy in November 2015 as part of these changes; by December, articles were already talking as if the signing was inevitable.

In 2020, Charles would talk about visiting Maranello for the first time-- not as a friend of Jules'-- that year with his father:

I went with my father to Maranello (the home of Ferrari). I was 17 years young and extremely shy. I was scared because I didn't know if I was good enough to be included in the programme.

He was. He would end up impressing Ferrari in his two days of testing.

They would announce Charles as a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2016, setting up both his next year and the rest of his career.

#year:2015 #vgp:topic #series:f3euro

[formulatrash]

Saw the news about Aston Martin and Honda, remembered the online abuse you mentioned Honda staff receiving after Fernando's comments in the past, immediately said "yikes"

honestly I think it's. well. I have a lot of thoughts and coincidentally my NDA expired in February at last so now I can actually talk about When I Worked For Honda's F1 Division.

2017 was not a good time for Honda. if you'd like some insight into just how staggeringly bad it was being Honda in 2017 then McLaren handily made a documentary series with Amazon called Grand Prix Driver but it might as well have been How Honda Are Responsible For Everything Wrong With Our Car And Also Any Bad Things That Have Ever Happened.

it was the final year of the drawn-out McHonda divorce and my god, the love was gone. not in a like, staying together for the kids way in a like, 'Stoffel is being punished for being perceived as more Honda' way. (Honda did think he was more Honda tbf, not sure why McL were trying to disown him tho)

'GP2 engine' hung over the whole thing like a nightmare. the Honda power unit did have some limitations, no doubt but one of them was the fact it was being developed completely separate to the car.

the monster fire-up (it was like 72 painful hours or something, I don't want to look back and check) is right at the start of the documentary but McLaren conveniently omit the bit where they made a chassis the power unit did not fit into so Honda spent three days playing MGU-K tetris to get it into a position where it wouldn't immediately catch fire.

anyway, without getting too far into the war flashbacks: there was so much damage done to Honda's reputation as a manufacturer even Sauber (then on the brink of financial collapse) wouldn't take the power units as a new factory team deal. the Toro Rosso deal was eleventh hour and then, finally with a team that wasn't actively deciding to sabotage the power unit, progress got made.

so much so that Honda has the best power unit on the current grid. it's much more reliable than Ferrari's, it has better efficiency than Mercedes' - Red Bull are walking it to wins every weekend and making everyone else look like they've got a Mechachrome in the back.

but Honda's time with McLaren has so utterly trashed their reputation that when Red Bull move to the Ford-badged power unit collaboration, Honda are currently staring down the prospect of not having a team to supply. which is ridiculous.

so Aston Martin and by extension, Fernando have to be an option.

#f1 asks

[standbyric]

[PART I]

00: Mask Off 2016

Pairing: Daniel Ricciardo x Female!Driver OC x Pierre Gasly Premise: Formula One, Female Racing Driver Rating: 18+; Mature themes (explicit language, death, trauma innuendos, motorsport accident, mentions of sex) Timeline: Back and forth Word Count: 1.7k

“AWESOME, fantastic drive there, Z. Congratulations, that’s P1. Now you’ve put a sock up their mouths. You did a solid drive; if they complain, it’s easy to tell who are the stupid ones. Well done! I am very proud of you!”

Zea couldn’t help but chuckle. After her disastrous qualifying, the team had been distraught, stating to the press that she couldn’t get a grip on the track; it might be all the nerve on the new components following the new season regulations. But she managed to make a solid comeback from P17 to finish P1.

“Thanks, Alby. Thank you for trusting me.”

“That was insane, Z. I can’t believe you just did that!” Marqués Abrego, her race engineer, shouted over the radio.

“Nah, it was all us, Marq. Thank you for being my ‘guy in the chair’; I couldn’t have done it without the entire team watching my back.”

“You were the one who delivered justice to the car, girl; appreciate yourself a little! Oh, right. P1. Once you enter the pit lane, you will park Ace in the middle for P1. Congratulations again. Couldn’t ask for a more splendid season opening. Excellent job.”

“Zea! You rock! Congratulations on your maiden win!” Jacqui Shabat, Will Stevens’ race engineer, chimed in. He sounded ecstatic. But who could blame him? Even Zea had difficulty containing her joy. With Will, her teammate, settling at P9, that was a great point harvest for Audi.

Her cool-down lap was complete, and Zea parked her car nicely at the P1 placard upon entering the pit lane.

Immediately after doing her usual swift leap to oust herself from the cockpit, sliding open her helmet and balaclava—giving her head a little shake left and right—and letting her hair fall through nicely behind her, she roared her euphoria along with Irza, who was standing across the barrier. The two siblings exchanged their intricate handshake before Irza brought their temples together and gave her a light peck on the head. He was brimming with thrill.

“That’s my baby! I’m so proud of you!”

The TV crew ate this up, putting it on the big screen for everyone’s consumption.

“Oh, there they go! We’ve been assuming they’re a couple for a while now, and from the looks of this victory celebration, I have to say we might be on the right track after all!”

Zea snickered behind her mask, hearing the ever-so-wrong assumption about her and Irza. But, whatever. She’d give them points for at least being consistent. It had been amusing, and besides, she couldn’t wait for the truth to slap that commentary right in the balls. She had promised Alby at the beginning of the season that she’d finally cast away her mask and do a face reveal if she won a Prix.

She stifled her chuckle as she touched the black mask covering her face. She’d been hiding her face since her GP2 days, saying she didn’t fancy the attention as an excuse. Hey, no rules were broken anyway. Her mother then procured her inner fireproofs to feature a fitted face mask. Well, thank you, dear mother, but today was the day she’d finally say goodbye to the mask.

Zea broke off Irza’s hug as she felt a tap on her shoulder. It was Felipe Massa. The fellow Brazilian had darted his way from the middle of the pack to congratulate her first win. “Thanks, mate. See you in a bit,” she said as she returned his fist bump and left for the podium.

Behind was Daniel Ricciardo, who had secured 4th place, just one position outside the podium, glancing over the big screen. He did not expect the intimate display on the screen to hurl something inside him, but it did. He thought it could have been Martin Brundle’s comment on the nature of the two young guns’ relationship that irked him. Then again, he decided it was most definitely just jealousy over her winning his home race and celebrating with her lover. Yep, he wasn’t going to be the jackass who won’t admit his competitive side got the better of him. In his defence, she was a damn good driver. Damn good. 

It was the festivity, the loud cheer, and the Aussies being a good sport about the podium members. Zeahire Sinaga had triumphed over the usual podium sitters duo from Mercedes—Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg—both favourite contenders for the season’s World Driver Champion title. Something about the warm sun and the air around the Albert Park circuit had managed to tone down Daniel’s impeding adrenaline—

“—Let me say, Wow! Yes! Listen to that cheer!”

Mark Webber sounded exceptionally astonished, followed by the roaring ‘whoa’ from the crowd. That was enough for Daniel to bring his attention back to the big screen after finishing his mandatory post-race weigh-in and parc fermé.

“Who would’ve guessed such a beauty has been hiding behind that mask this whole time?!”

Zea gave a playful shrug, plastering a cheeky smile that Daniel swore had an almost vividly readable sign that said I-know-right?

But yeah, Daniel had to nod in agreement with Mark; he had to admit that smile was mesmerising. However, it didn’t come as too much of a surprise to him.

Just last season, he’d suppose the Audi garage was at the back of the paddock, far from the Red Bulls. Not many chances for encounter, and yet, every time he’d run into her, he’d almost always found himself getting caught in her blue eyes, even from afar. 

“So…so what’s the story here? Why today?”

“The face reveal, you mean?” Daniel watched attentively as Zea took the mic that Mark handed to her.

“Well, Alby has been urging me to do it this season. Like, this whole bad publicity overtone has been making him concerned? But I told him I’d only do it if I finished P1… how the hell was I supposed to know it’s gonna be Australia?! The Season-Opening?!”

Daniel chuckled. Her bold choices of words for live broadcasts hadn’t changed; it made him recall Sochi 2014 when her Marussia teammate had retired from suspension problems, leaving the team to rely on her for points. She had taken over the remaining four races of the season after the late Jules Bianchi’s horrible accident in Suzuka. 

“He was more than capable of doing this,” Zea had said while pointing to the JB17 sticker on her helmet, paying her respect to the late Frenchman. 

“Could you have squeezed a podium there?” Will Buxton questioned her.

She sighed. “Look, I really wanna lie and say yes, but I’d have to be a war hero or something in my past life to have the luck to beat Hamilton, Rosberg, Bottas. We’ve outscored ourselves with P4. Really.”

“Oh, look at that. Humility.”

“No, I’m just stating facts. Zero probability of me winning in that car anyway; I haven’t got the pace. So I’m more than delighted to finish and score points at all—hell, this might be pure luck for all we know,” she exhaled her fatigue harshly.

“The car was—“ she had paused, reluctant to say anything, before the Marussia F1 mechanics and engineers gave her encouraging nods and hand gestures for her to carry on, “the car was shit; it was fuckin’ impossible to drive,” and Daniel recalled how much he was caught off guard upon hearing that from across the media pen. Whoa, nice choice of vocab.

“But no blame there; the team only had so much time to settle me in. I don’t know how much of the radio was broadcasted, but by the time we did the cool-down lap, the car was like, literally making noises I’m a hundred per cent sure no Formula One car is supposed to make? I thought the car would start disintegrating at some point; I was scared shitless. Okay. Maybe I watched too much Transformer.”

Will Buxton broke into laughter, amused at how she had practically spit bars for her reply, but what Daniel remembered the most was Kimi Räikkönen, who had chuckled along and said, “She has a good head on her.”

Well, Daniel reckoned Kimi had always been a good judge of character.

“It’s just—there’s been a lot of interesting conspiracy theories going around; but it’s gotten much worse at the start of the season, like, they’ve been saying I’m actually five different people! You should totally check Youtube—No, it’s real,” she playfully tapped Mark Webber’s shoulder when the former nine-time Grand Prix winner started laughing. “They even compiled videos of me walking and doing other stuff and compared them.”

See? Look at her. Outspoken, engaging, amiable…a beauty. Kimi judged right.

“But I am so sorry, guys,” Zea gave an amusingly disappointed look to the crowd, “Sorry to disappoint everyone, but I’m just…me.”

Maybe it was the way she talked? Or was it the way her expression turned animated every time she spoke? Daniel couldn’t really tell.

“I don’t… ‘mitose’ into five different people.”

Oh, and a sense of humour.

“Okay, to be fair, I definitely did… ‘mitose’ once before birth. ‘Cause, like, I do have a twin brother.”

Wait, what?!

“Yes! The charming gentleman who’s always around me! He gave me a big hug just now.”

“Oh my God!” Mark exclaimed as the big screen panned towards Irza, and the crowd of male pheromones cheered in excitement, quite possibly on the prospect of her being single. Or was it for Irza?

“Not my boyfriend, definitely not my boyfriend—eww. He’s very available, so ladies, or gentlemen, by all means, go ahead,” Zea switched her head back to Mark, “but that’s it—my only mitosis. I hope it clears everything so Alby can finally have peace of mind. Come on; I pity the old man.”

Daniel couldn’t even fathom the thrill suddenly rising from his gut, nor how the bitter aftertaste he had felt upon finishing P4 had abruptly vanished. 

All he knew was that her first sentence would live rent-free in his mind.

Why?

He’d thought maybe right now wasn’t the best time to figure that out. After all, they’ve got the entire season to do that. Right?

Masterlist [I] Chapter 01 ➡️

COMING SOON. Muhahaha.

__________ Aye. This is my debut formula one fic...so please be nice 🥹 Reblog is always appreciated! ✨manifesting my eagerness to update this series regularly✨

____________

Tag list:

@scotlynaurora

#daniel ricciardo #pierre gasly #formula 1 #formula one #formula 1 fanfic #formula 1 fic #fanfic #formula one fanfiction #danny ric #daniel ricciardo fanfic #pierre gasly fanfic #formula one fic #slow burn #much fluff #formula 1 imagine #formula 1 au #female!driver oc #daniel ricciardo fic #pierre gasly fic #ayrton senna

[vro0m]

vro0m's rewatch - 175/332

2016 European GP

Okay this morning were watching the European GP in Baku, for the first time ever. 

Oh quali didn't go well for Lewis. He's starting 10th on the grid. He's not destabilised though. He seems calm and relaxed. About quali he just says it was a difficult day. He gets a bit impatient with Johnny as he asks questions because he wants to move on. I wonder what happened, especially as Johnny pointed out he was very fast in practice. When asked what results he's hoping for this weekend, Lewis says the team has worked hard to get a good pace and he hopes he's able to use it. He says the GP2 race showed anything is possible, and he's going out trying to get as many points as possible. Of course he wants to win so he'll do the best he can.

Apparently he locked up a couple of times and then clipped a barrier in quali. So what we're looking at is he made mistakes. Everybody is surprised. Hill reports Lewis said he couldn't get in the rhythm, in the flow. Oh yeah we see the images. The mistake was minimal but of course it's high cost in Baku. He just barely touched the edge of a wall in a corner with his front right and the suspension broke immediately. In a very low key way. All he can do is park metres down the road. Meanwhile Nico is on pole, of course. Then it's Ricciardo, Seb, Raikkonen, Massa, Kvyat, Perez, Valtteri, Max, and Lewis as we said. What a weird grid. 

Anyway it's a very boring build up. 

Formation lap. 

Oof. It's okay at the start but there's contact at the back. I hope Lewis is unscathed? I can't see him. Oh here he is. Yellow flags. Green flags. Ahhh Baku is terrifying. So narrow. Yellow flags. At the end of the first lap, the order goes Nico, Ricciardo, Seb, Raikkonen, Perez gained 2 places, Massa lost 1 place, Max is up 2 places, Kvyat lost 2 places, Valtteri lost 1 place, and Lewis is still P10. Valtteri overtakes Kvyat easily with the DRS. Perez is getting close to Raikkonen and Valtteri overtakes Max as he goes wide. But Max comes back at Valtteri while Lewis gets in the mix! Valtteri takes off, Lewis moves to the inside line and he gets ahead of the RedBull as well in the next corner. Seb is closing on Danny. Phew, that was an easy overtake. Nico is already 7 seconds ahead which is insane and boring. Max pits. Kvyat retires. Massa pits. Seb is called in, he asks if they're sure about it because the pace is good, but the engineer argues they'll be undercut by Daniel if they don't. Raikkonen pits instead. Lewis locked up. The deg is high. 

Lap 10. Nico, Seb +11.5, Perez +8.6, Valtteri +0.8, Lewis +0.9, Hulkenberg +7, Daniel just overtook both Grosjean and Wehrlein, and then Raikkonen is P10 about 3 seconds behind that battle. Lewis attacks Valtteri and gets ahead in P4. Raikkonen overtakes Wehrlein for P8. Lewis is gaining fast on Perez. Raikkonen gets a 5 second time penalty for crossing the pit entry line. It seems those who haven't pitted yet are getting over the graining. The times are improving but Lewis complains of vibrations. He pits. Raikkonen overtakes Hulkenberg for P6. Lewis is out in P9. Perez pits from P3. We're hoping he'll be out behind Lewis but unfortunately not. Raikkonen overtakes Ricciardo for P4. 

Lap 20. Nico, Seb +20.8, Valtteri +18.9, Raikkonen +1.6, Ricciardo +1.8, Hulkenberg +3, Massa +1.1, Perez +0.5, Lewis +0.7, and Max +10. Valtteri pits and everyone is up a place. Lewis overtakes Massa, who's already been pushed back by Perez. Seb finally pits. And he's out in P3, behind Raikkonen. Meanwhile Perez and Lewis are up in P5 and P6 as Hulkenberg pits. Max pits again. It's not a good stop. Nico pits for the first time. He's easily still in the lead. Perez overtakes Ricciardo for P4, and Lewis follows. Ricciardo pits. Ted reports RBR is struggling with their tyres. There's a big midfield battle between too many cars to keep track. Seb is closing on Raikkonen. Lewis is not gaining on Perez though. Here he comes on the radio : "Derates everywhere. I’m sure that’s not helping. Is there no solution for this?" – "We are working on it, Lewis," Bono says. "You guys need to pick up the pace," he answers. Seb is back in P2, we're unsure whether it was a proper overtake or team orders. Well now Raikkonen is getting thanks from the team so it becomes pretty clear. Ahhh right, Ted reminds us Raikkonen has a penalty anyway. 

Lap 30, Lewis is still struggling with his ERS. The order is currently Nico, Seb, Raikkonen, Perez, Lewis, Valtteri, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, Massa and Verstappen. Lewis asks if he can't just reset the thing. Bono says the problem seems to be the current mode he's using. Lewis is annoyed. "Ah, I don’t know what you mean but I don’t know what’s wrong." Bono stays calm as always : "Copy that Lewis, hard to say what it is." It might be due to the radio restrictions, they are not allowed to provide technical help so they can't tell him what to do. Ted says on Lewis on-board you can see lots of warning signs on his steering wheel. And Sainz stops, off track. He has an issue with his suspension. No need for a SC where he's stopped. Di Resta argues the radio ban is taking it too far because now it's compromising a driver's race and it's not good for the fans either. Lewis gets back on the radio. He sounds a bit rattled. "This is ridiculous guys, I don’t know, looking at my freaking dash every five seconds trying to find a switch that’s in the wrong position. I haven’t changed anything or done something wrong as far as I’m aware." Bono answers it's not something he's doing wrong, there's an incorrect setting. "HPB?" Lewis asks. "Afraid I can't say, Lewis." – "I may not finish this race because I'm gonna try and change everything," Lewis says, resigned. "Uhh we don't advise that, Lewis," Bono says a bit more urgently than we're used to. It's so frustrating. They know what it is and can't say. Ted reports that the pit wall is discussing telling him and dealing with the consequences that come with it. "Can I make a suggestion and you say if it's okay or not?" Lewis hopefully asks moments later. "No that's not allowed. Let's just get our head down and focus on the job." 

It's lap 40. Nico, Seb, Raikkonen, Perez, Lewis, Valtteri, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, Massa, Verstappen. No change. Wehrlein retires in the same place Carlos did. Alonso is called in to retire as well. Ted confirms what we've been suspecting for a couple of laps which is Lewis has managed to find the right setting. His lap times are improving. "OK Lewis you're the fastest car on track, 9 laps remaining," Bono says. "No shit man, I've got my power back." he answers. Well now there's 7 laps remaining and he's 15 seconds behind Perez though. So I'm not sure what he's gonna be able to do about it. Nothing much happens after that. Daniel overtakes Hulkenberg for P7. Then Max does so as well a couple laps later. On the last lap, Perez overtakes Raikkonen on track rather than relying on the penalty. 

It's the end of the race. 

Nico wins ahead of Seb and Perez. 

About the radio ban Niki says it's difficult. He claims Nico had the same issue but figured it out quicker than Lewis, who had to drive and overtake at the same time. He says everybody is under the same rules so it's what it is basically. He says in any case Lewis never got the pace Nico did. 

Lewis is the first we hear from. He seems a bit dejected and still confused. He says he had no idea what was wrong with his engine, there's like 16 different engine positions with 20 settings each and he had no idea what problem he had. Low power. She asks if he knows what he did when it resolved. He says he didn't do anything, it fixed itself. She asks if at the end it went wrong again or if he slowed down to save the engine. "I turned the engine down, yeah," he says with a shrug and a hint of a smile.

He points out exactly what I was saying : he was 15 seconds down with 7-8 laps to go, not in danger of getting caught up by the guys behind him, so he saved the engine. He says he doesn't have as many engines left as the others. She asks about the radio rules. He hums. "I don't see the benefit, really, in… The FIA have made Formula One so technical as it is today." He says the problem could have been one out of 100 or 200 switch positions, and there's no way for him to know which one, "no matter how much I study", because he didn't know what the problem was. He smiles. Shrugs again. Tilts his head.

"But you know… It was just – it was a shame that I couldn't race. I wanted to race." He says if he'd been able to solve the engine issue he could've at least been a part of the show, maybe catch the guys ahead. "But it wasn't to be, and so it is." The journalist says Alonso said it's like being given a spaceship to drive but having no info when there's an issue. She asks if he hopes it gets changed or if he thinks it's just something they'll have to keep dealing with. He refuses to answer. "It doesn't make any difference now, it's done so…" He smiles his way out of it. 

Toto confirms they had a problem on both cars and it was something to do with a configuration of switches, whatever that means. There was a way to change the config of switches on the dashboard, but they couldn't say so to the drivers. When asked why Nico was able to change it and not Lewis, Toto says Nico had to do it before so he just did it again. They're saying Nico did well to come back after the last couple of races. Of course Nico's contract is running out so they're asking how the contract talks are going. Toto confirms they want to keep Nico and Nico wants to stay, they're settling the details. 

It's really about all there is today about this GP. See you next race! 

#f1 #lewis hamilton #vro0m's race reviews #2016 #2016 european gp

[f1]

Aston Martin and in-coming engine partner Honda open to extending Alonso tie-up for 2026

Aston Martin would love Fernando Alonso to still be driving for them in 2026 if he remains competitive, says their Performance Technologies CEO Martin Whitmarsh – with in-coming engine partner Honda saying they would have no objections with him driving despite their difficult past relationship. Earlier on Wednesday at a press conference in Tokyo, Honda announced they would make a full-scale return to Formula 1 with Aston Martin in 2026, having been attracted by new power unit rules introduced from that season that focus on electrical power and the use of 100% sustainable fuel. READ MORE: Honda to make full-scale F1 return in 2026 as they join forces with Aston Martin Alonso, 41, joined Aston Martin for this season on a multi-year deal and is enjoying his best season for a decade, having scored four podiums in five races to sit third in the drivers’ championships behind the two Red Bulls. The Spaniard, who will be 44 at the start of Aston Martin’s relationship with Honda, was not afraid to give his assessment of the Japanese manufacturer’s performance when he drove with that power unit across three seasons with McLaren in 2015-17. He famously called the power unit a “GP2 engine” on team radio when driving at Honda’s home track at Suzuka. Fernando Alonso was not afraid to give his assessment of Honda's performance when he drove with their power unit across three seasons with McLaren from 2015 to 2017 When asked if Honda would have any objections to running Alonso, should Aston Martin stick with him in 2026, Honda Racing Corporation President Koji Watanabe said: “We have been accelerating out development during all our recent time in Formula 1, while working with Alonso, and that enabled us to win the World Championship. “The selection of drivers is up to the team to decide. So, if the team decides we’ll have Alonso as a driver again, we will have no objections whatsoever in him driving.” Group CEO of Aston Martin Performance Technologies Martin Whitmarsh said Alonso’s presence was not discussed with Honda during the power unit talks – but said it would be “fantastic” if the double world champion was driving for them in 2026. “Clearly Fernando is doing a great job in the team and I’m delighted to have him as part of our team as he’s making a great contribution both on and off the track,” said Whitmarsh. “Obviously I spoke to Fernando a while ago about the direction we wanted to go. Alonso has enjoyed four third-place finishes with Aston Martin in 2023 so far “He’s a very intelligent individual, I’m sure everyone here is referring to some comments that were made in the heat of the battle once, which were quite memorable for some, but I think he understands and respects what Honda is doing. “We’ve got to be aware - and we haven’t said it but we should say it - Honda won the 2021 and 2022 World Championships and unless we can beat them this year they’re going to do it again. So, they are a great partner for us, and I think Fernando sees that. ANALYSIS: How and why Honda and Aston Martin got together for 2026 “Probably 2026, who knows, it’s probably outside his planning, horizon, at the moment. We’ve got to give him a car that is consistently capable of winning races. As I hope you’ve observed, we’ve made a reasonable step forward this year, we’re not yet where we need to be but we’re continuing to develop the team’s facilities and we’ll get stronger. “And we’ll have a discussion before 2026, I’m sure, about where Fernando’s future lies. I hope he’ll be around for a number of years, and it would be great if he’s as fit and competitive as he is today. Then it would be fantastic to have him in the car in 2026 as well.” This feature is currently not available because you need to provide consent to functional cookies. Please update your cookie preferences Breaking news: Aston Martin to switch to Honda power from 2026 via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com

#F1 #Aston Martin and in-coming engine partner Honda open to extending Alonso tie-up for 2026 #Formula 1

[il-predestinato]

Why dun you like merc, to put it lightly? Just curious.

Imagine watching your first F1 season in 2015. You did it for a boy. He tells you there's a 17 year old prodigy joining the baby Red Bull team, and it's a big deal. He's paired with a cute 20 year old Spaniard. They're like little kids learning to walk, but at the same time, they're so fucking talented that it's scary and you start to follow F1 because you're invested - not just for the boy you're dating.

And year after year, you hear about the saintly Mercedes team. RB are the villains, McLaren have GP2 engines, Ferrari is a mess, etc. It's the holier than thou attitude. The superiority. RB are whiny, but when Mercedes whines about pitstops, no problem - let's just slow everyone else down. RB treats second drivers poorly... well, I don't even have words for their treatment of Valtteri anymore. He's gonna finish the season with more engine parts than career race wins. But no, Christian is the devil and Toto is a true leader.

Now fast forward 7 years later. The boy who introduced you to F1 is now your husband. And Mercedes has won every fucking year since then, while drinking the koolaid of their own moral superiority. 17 year old prodigy is now a better driver than the reigning world champion, and there are 23476 other talented young drivers in the wings. But no, the British commentators have only one agenda, and I'm having more and more trouble containing the vomit in my mouth every time they talk.

You know what? I don't even know why I wrote this essay. I think I envisioned writing a more rational argument, but that’s not what this is. 😅Basically I'm fucking tired of Mercedes and they can go take a permanent hike. Their drivers are probably the most positive part of their team, but the rest of that organization just makes the whole team entirely unrootable. 2021 is helping them show their true colours. Never mind rationality, I just kinda hope they DNF from now until Abu Dhabi.

#elle.ask #anon #look what you made me do 😅 #when you can't contain your irrational hatred for mercedes anymore #this is what happens #thanks husband for dragging me into this #anti mercedes #it's sad because i actually think valtteri and lewis are good people #also suck it max is on pole

[yifeiyay]

thoughts on f2 feature race bahrain 2022:

i actually watched on my phone up to the point fred dnfed and the safety car came out but imma start again from the top on my laptop

before we begin...

davide won 3 times in a week here in gp2 2012! king

dennis has had a shit time in f2 so far huh

jack assuming everyone got purples bc he couldn't see the colours. lmao

holy shit i had seen juri and ralph's starts but soft tyre squad made up 6.5 places on average. insane

why are felipe's starts so ass. mp im not forgiving you

rip ralph caught sleeping on restart

olli 10s stop go? lucky it came at the start ig

up close i know a lot of people find ralph's livery ugly af which i agree but tbh from a distance i quite like the campos. and i like how the two of them have the same design besides one having green accents and one having alpine blue accents

track temp 44 degrees jesus christ

ayumu being davide's fav 🥰

the return of track limits....

cem fastest lap in p19 lmao small wins

ARE YOU JOKINGGGGGGG

im sueing hitech.

NOOOOOO WAYYYYYYYYYYY

EL PLAN CURSE 4/4

jack has to do a whole lap with a dying front wing. pain

ayumu last to first masterclass btw

felipe p2 stop the count.

when tf did clem retire did we even see it

if dams fucks up ayumu's pit i will kill them

jehan front wing problem???

i can't believe dennis is gonna go from stalled car to points

did dennis' engineer call roy a fucker. creasing

juri comeback please 🙏 we have 12 more laps buddy

not another 10s pen bro you might as well just dnf at this point

felipe and liam tussle safely some more and let juri make up places 🙏

jesus that mechanic. glad he's fine

felipe 😿 but it's ok let juri have this one

stewards hate this man! (oliver caldwell)

three wide 😬

what the fuck. cordeel is 10th.

there goes richard. that was gonna end in tears tbh

safety car...juri win on the cards?

RUNAWAY TYRE

RUNAWAY TYRES???

what were the odds of the same shit happening to dennis and calan. wtf

calan's accident was so weird omg im glad no one was hurt

marino you better hold on to your p10 as tightly as possible make your car the fattest virtuosi ever

safety car in im so fucking nervous

olli being a lap down and seeing all this shit first hand

the clock ran out lmao

ayumu restart disasterclass 😔 it's ok he did great nevertheless

juri still has a podium! lessens some of the pain

"I LOVE YOU BAHRAIN" i love you theo

him bowing to the car and slapping his front wing bdhshfjks

not the cameraman getting distracted and leaving the camera on liam for too long

this was insane what a race

#f2 #bahrain gp 2022 #miels catches up

[pierregasly]

Would love to hear your full take on Pierre,,,

Sorry this took me a few days to get to, I meant to answer it immediately but never found the motivation :( Anyways, onto Pierre. 

I believe you are commenting on a post of mine where I stated my fear that the Middle Generation of drivers (Charles, Carlos, Pierre and Max specifically) have/are going to miss out on opportunities and will never reach their full potential in F1. This is similar to what happened to the “Lost Generation” which is comprised of drivers such as Daniel, Kevin, Nico and Checo. To reiterate something that another asker was confused about: it has nothing to do with talent. The generations are not lumped together based on talent but based on their similar ages/entrance into F1 and I am speaking on the wasted potential that this group never got to achieve. (For example, Nico’s full potential was podiums--he never got here. And Daniel’s full potential was a championship--which he’ll never get.) 

I am not going to waste your time and state what I said briefly about Charles, Carlos and Max but I will go into depth more so about what I hardly touched upon with Pierre. As I said, Pierre is a phenomenal talent. As much as his podium and race win may have proven it to the world, many still call him a “luck driver” who is not good enough for a higher team. This is, obviously, because of  his time at Red Bull dramatically overshadowed his career. 

I started following Pierre around 2017 when I first got interested in F1 because of the history. In 2017 he wasn’t racing in Europe but in Super Formula so I took the time to catch up on his career thus far (I will go into depth on this in a moment). I didn’t start watching F1 until 2018 and the only driver (non-historical) I really was attached to was Pierre (others would comes later). Obviously, if you remember, Pierre ended up taking P5 in qualifying and P4 in a Toro Rosso in front of the whole world in only a few races at Bahrain. It was absolutely incredible and for the rest of the season until his Red Bull announcement, Pierre was dishing points place after points place after points place in only his first full season in F1. Therefore, while it was only his FIRST FULL SEASON, the jump to Red Bull ultimately felt justified. 

Of course, this did not end up being the case. Our joy over Pierre getting to be in a higher team made us completely and utterly forget the track record Red Bull has left with its second drivers. For those of you who are new to F1 (either coming in 2019, mid-2019 or 2020) you missed out on Pierre’s debut season which was fantastic for the car he was given. Furthermore, if you came in during mid-2019 or 2020 and you think that the treatment RB gave to Alex is horrible--you are hardly touching the surface. The treatment that RB is giving Alex versus Pierre is like taking your sons on summer vacation and then having one of them sleep on the comfy twin bed with two blankets and the other kid on the floor without so much as PJs. We haven’t even touched upon Daniil. Daniil would be like the parents leaving the kid outside to sleep. 

Let’s move on. It is very easy to look at Pierre’s season and tout only negative things. It was not his best moment and, yes, he certainly could’ve done better. However, with what he was given? Are we even sure about that? For example, Pierre become open with the media following his demotion. Not only did RB leave it to the very last moment but they also would:

1) Use Pierre’s car and car parts to test Max. 

2) When Pierre requested a more experienced engineer, he was denied. However, when Alex requested the same thing, he was given it. 

3) RB consistently spoke horribly of him in front of the media. They constantly spoke that he needed to do better and never tried to build him up. 

4) Emotionally pressured Pierre to his breaking limit.

Now the difference between RB and many other teams is that when the going gets tough for their drivers, many teams choose to build their drivers up to set them up for success. RB’s method is to tear their drivers down and hope that they can pick up their own pieces once they become annoyed with humiliation. The demotion was far, far too quick. Think of Alex--he has been getting worse and worse and worse with a year and half of time at Red Bull. Pierre managed half a season before they gave him the boot. The boot was also without warning even despite Pierre getting better and better each race. 

This is all information you probably already know, I said earlier I would touch upon his younger career and how this has been overshadowed and forgotten due to his time at RB. Here are some facts/statistics that will be important for my point later:

Finished 3rd in the French F4 championship with four wins, two poles and seven podiums over the course of only fourteen races despite having three retirements (the 2nd placer had 0 and the 1st placer only had 1). 

In his first season at Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 he finished 10th of 51 different racers and every person but one who finished before him in the championship was older than him. Pierre was only 16 when Stoffel V was 20, Daniil K was 18, Oliver R was 20, Norman N was 20, Nyck V was 17, Paul L was 21, Oscar T was 16, Melville M was 18 and Alex R was 18. 

In his second season of Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 he finished first in front of the likes of Esteban Ocon, Oliver Rowland, Jake Dennis, Nyck de Vries, Luca Ghitto and Alexander Albon.

Finished 6th in the 2013 Formula Renault 2.0 Alps Series despite missing half of the season and there being 42 competitors total (everyone ahead of him completed the full season). 

Finished 2nd of 28 competitors in the 2014 Formula Renault 3.5 Series and lost to none other than Carlos Sainz Jr. 

Finished 1st in his second full season of GP2 (now formally classified as F2).

The GP2 race he won in Silverstone happened right after a huge roadcar accident in which his mother ended up in the hospital. Pierre himself fractured his vertebrae and still went on to win the race while his mother was in the hospital and he had a broken bone. 

Was called in to replace a Renault edams driver in Formula E. He was jet lagged, tired and got only a few hours in the sims. He still managed to secure P4 in qualifying and then was set for a P3 finish but he crashed into the wall on the last corner of the last lap and came home in P4. THIS WAS HIS FIRST TIME EVER IN AN FE RACE OR AN FE CAR.

Finished second in Super Formula in 2017 but lost by only half a point. One of the races in the season was abandoned when he was set to win because of flooding and storm. Had it not been abandoned he would’ve finished first at the end of the season. 

All this pretty much brings you up to speed to when he entered into F1 (which all his amazing stuff you should be familiar with). Moving more onto my “take” regarding Pierre. I have shown evidence for why he is an incredible driver, however, now we’re moving onto the not so great bit. I suppose I must answer one question before I move on. 

Do I think Pierre is good enough, against all the rest of the talent in F1, to get consistent podiums if given the proper car? Absolutely. Do I think Pierre is good enough, against all the rest of the talent in F1, to get consistent wins if given the proper car? Absolutely. Do I think Pierre is good enough, against all the rest of the talent in F1, to fight/win a championship one day if given the proper car? This I firmly believe is possible (other thing I’ll get into if someone wants).

The reason I worry and am distressed about Pierre is because I don’t believe he’ll ever get a go at a higher team again. RB really put a shadow over his career, a shadow that is going to worry other teams from placing him into their cars. He has ultimately proven himself with podiums and, of course, the race win. However, seeing as there is so much young talent coming into F1, I don't see there being a place for him. 

Mercedes is set to most likely be Max and George when Lewis retires. Red Bull would never dare to put him in that seat again. Ferrari has their “golden generation” of Charles and Mick to look after. And those are the seemingly “top teams” (if you can even all Ferrari that). Let’s look at the others. Racing Point is going to be Lance and Seb until Seb retires. I don’t see Pierre ever going to Alpha Romeo. And McLaren is set up for the next few years with Lando and Daniel. Haas--I don’t think so. This is ultimately dangerous for Pierre’s career because RB likes to keep fresh meat in their B team car (or if you trust Horner it’s their “sister team” lol). Pierre’s best chance is the escape the RB family. AND I UNDERSTAND that the regulations could make things VERY different in F1 for the future. These are just my hypothesis and guesses--all is subjective and up to interpretation so @ anybody reading this--relax, buddy. So where does Pierre fit in in the future? These are some scenarios I have conjured up. 

1) Mercedes. Let’s say that, possibly. Max never ends up moving into that second Merc seat and instead remains at RB wasting away until they can get him a better car for the rest of his career (ooo burn sorry it’s for the scenario don’t hate me). This would open up a place at Merc for Pierre to truly shine his potential. Most likely, he would play second fiddle to George but hey--it’s still a seat where can utilize that potential. 

2) Red Bull. This would be if they get desperate. I don’t think if given a second chance, Pierre would say no. If Max were still in the team, he would be second fiddle. I can see Pierre going to RB if Max leaves for Merc in the next few years and they want him to lead Yuki or if Yuki doesn’t shine in AT and they end up dropping him they are going to be slim Pickens... I don’t know if being at RB will give him a place where he can utilize his potential but it’s a possibility. 

3) Ferrari. This would be only a chance if Mick doesn’t do great in Alpha Romeo and they need someone to fill the seat of their obvious place holder Carlos. He would be alongside Charles. Other than that.... Ferrari seems pretty set and there isn’t any space. 

4) McLaren. This I don’t see as very possible? I would love to see him in orange but they seem pretty set with Daniel and Lando. I think Daniel is probably going to ride out the end of his career there. Lando seems very integrated into the team and I can’t see him leaving unless he got a better offer like Merc. If Max didn’t end up taking the second Merc seat in the future and remains at RB then Lando might be given an offer which would open up a place that Pierre could possibly take. Do I count this as realistic? Not really, but it could happen. At McLaren I could see Pierre utilizing his potential. 

5) Renault. This is one of the options that seems most realistic to me. They're set with Fernando for the next few years. If they decided, after 2021, to give the boot to Esteban, that would open up a place for Pierre in a French team that would love a French driver (they already have one but Pierre is a FRENCH WINNER). You know that teams loves their nationalism.... Anyways. Or, possibly, Fernando retires after two years (again lol) which would open up a seat for Pierre to take along Esteban. However, I don’t really see Esteban staying long term because Renault probably needs to put one of their Renault babies like Guanyu or Christian in there. 

6) Williams. Lol. No. 

7) Haas. I don’t see it happening really??? I have my reasons but my gut just says... Au revoir.

8) Racing Point. THIS. This I see as 100% 100% a possibility. Let’s say that Seb retires after two years--this would open up a seat. Pierre is a strong, consistent and stable driver who doesn’t make mistakes. Here he could really use his potential!! #PierreInGreen!!

9) Alpha Romeo. As I said... I really don’t see it. They seem pretty busy with all their young guys. 

So to conclude, the future for Pierre lies at either Renault or Racing Point (less chance but possible includes Merc to McLaren). To not take up any more of  your time, this is what I mean by Pierre being an incredible talent who may or may not get a chance at a higher team. He deserves to have more and to have a second chance. He has really proven himself and is pulling the absolutely maximum out of himself. I really want to see him with more, like he deserves. 

Even Charles wanted him as his teammate at Ferrari back in April... that’s saying even more. Everyone on the grid except Esteban rate him highly as a person and as a driver. His potential deserves smth better. He has proven himself time and time again against everyone who told him he wasn't good enough and who still say it was all just luck. There exists luck. But firmer than luck, there exists skill. 

Pierre Gasly is a race winner in an Alpha Tauri. Do not forget that. 

#oh fuck this is long lol #pierre gasly #flood pressles box #sincerely anonymous

[charanteleclerc]

hii! first of, I absolutely love your writing! can I request some James Vowles? it doesn't matter what it is about-but a few people went off about him on Ana's blog (godbastian) which I found completely hilarious, that might be the theme? :-)

don’t listen to the question, the truth is in the answer

The most trying time in his life was, hands down, the 2019 Hungarian grand prix. It was nothing to do with the team, (as if, they were on top of the world, one hand already on both championships by the time the summer break had even rolled around). No, the most annoying part of the summer, or the year, or his entire life? It was when the Paddock started playing ‘smash or pass?’

He wasn’t a vain man. He wasn’t the guy that had to stand in front of the media, to make a show and dance for the journalists. He was behind-the-scenes, sometimes quite literally. And he liked that. He hadn’t dreamed about working in Formula 1 to become famous. He was proud of his work, he was proud of how far he’d come, but he’d never wanted to be a famous face.

He’d first heard of the game from Lewis, who’d heard about it from Seb, who’d heard it from Charles, who’d heard it… he’d given up at that point. He didn’t care, he figured it’d be something that would blow over before the weekend was even over. Somehow, someone had mentioned the game that they’d found, and the drivers started to play it between themselves. They didn’t play it all the time, and to begin with it was mostly the younger drivers (and Dan) randomly asking as they passed each other in the Paddock, or while they were waiting for the briefing. The first time he heard it being played, he heard Lando ask Alex, “Kimi Raikkonen?”

He’d thought it was a little odd, framing a name as simply a question, and found it stranger still when Alex responded, “Smash.” It was a few seconds later when his brain caught up with him, remembering the game that Lewis had mentioned that morning. He shook his head, putting it down to the younger guys being antsy that weekend, and thought nothing more of it.

Well, nothing more for the rest of the day, anyway.

By the next day, even Lewis and Valtteri had joined in the fun, throwing each other names across the garage, or laughing between themselves in the briefing, showing each other something on their phones. They stopped after Toto sent them warning looks, but he just had this feeling that this gay wasn’t going to go away quickly, or quietly.

~*~

By Saturday morning, the game had spread like wildfire. It wasn’t just contained to the drivers, or even to the immediate people surrounding them. The game was everywhere. Everyone around him at Mercedes was playing it, from engineers to mechanics to PR and hospitality. Journalists were playing it, and photographers and technical crews. Marshalls were playing it, and security. The teams in GP2 and GP3 were playing it. Everywhere he went, he just heard names being called out, followed by various cries of “smash!” or “pass!” It was if a frenzy had descended into the Paddock, and it didn’t seem to be disappearing anytime soon.

As the day wore on, the names being called out started to verge on the ridiculous. It had started with just drivers, then well-known journalists, and team principals. By the end of the day, any name was up for grabs.

It wasn’t until he was heading towards the Paddock exit that evening, already frustrated with the day’s events, (he’d even caught Toto joining in. Toto.), that he heard his own name being called out.

“James Vowles!”

He turned, already starting to form the ‘yes’ that would usually follow someone calling his name, when people were already replying;

“Smash!”

“Pass!”

“Pass!”

“Smash!”

“Maybe!”

“Maybe isn’t even an answer!” He groaned, running a hand over his face. “It’s not a difficult game!”

~*~

By Sunday, he couldn’t stop hearing his own name. He wasn’t conceited, he really wasn’t, but even he couldn’t deny that it was nice to hear people answering ‘smash’ to his name. He still didn’t like the game, he was probably the only one that hadn’t responded to anything, and for the most part he was just desperately hoping that this game would disappear by the time they came back from the break. But still, it was a little ego boost. Everyone could do with a little bit of extra self-confidence every now and again.

The game never stopped completely, even during the race, when Lewis or Valtteri would radio over a name, completely ignoring the fact that they were trying to win a grand prix. He and Toto kept reminding them to stay focused, and he hoped that those messages weren’t the ones going live on air. This game was already all over the Paddock, he didn’t need to see it at home or at the factory either.

~*~

Somehow he made it to the end of the weekend, and he’d never been so thankful to get back to work on Tuesday and to hear no-one shouting out names. The craze had blown over, just like he’d predicted, and by the next race, it had been forgotten completely, as if it had never even happened.

And if his self-confidence was just a little higher, well, that was just for him to know about, wasn’t it?

As always, crossposted to my AO3, and prompts are always open ❤️

#james vowles #toto wolff #lewis hamilton #valtteri bottas #f1 fanfic #Anonymous

[fake-f1-news]

Albon to Replace Gasly

Red Bull looks set to replace Pierre Gasly with Alexander Albon for Bahrain onwards, news organization understands.

“Not only did he qualify BEHIND both Number 2 Team Toro Rossos, he also finished behind Kvyat. With the top 3 teams so much faster than everyone else, it’s absolutely disgusting that he couldn’t recover from his poor qualifying to finish 6th.” claimed Red Bull team principal Christian Horner

“As proved by demoting Kvyat 3 years ago, we’re quick to react if we feel a driver is underperforming. Since Verstappen managed to finish 3rd with what Alonso described as a GP2 engine, and Gasly couldn’t even get points, I think it’s safe to say that promoting him to the main team was a huge mistake!” stated Helmut Marko.

When asked to comment, Pierre responded:

“It’s a bit unfair, to be honest. They gave Kvyat a whole season, plus 4 races of a second season at Red Bull before demoting him to Toro Rosso, but I only get 1 race?!”

#F1 #Formula 1 #Alexander Albon #Max Verstappen #Red Bull #Toro Rosso

[247f1-blog]

Will McLaren's struggles drive Alonso out of F1?

Will McLaren's struggles drive Alonso out of F1?

F1 driver Jolyon Palmer, who left Renault at the end of 2017, joins the BBC team this season to offer insight and analysis from the point of view of the competitors.

This was supposed to be the year McLaren would finally return to their former glories.

Plagued by three years of driving with what they led everyone to believe was a terrible Honda “GP2 engine”, they made…

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#Alonso #drive #F1 #McLaren&039s #struggles

[thefastf1]

In March 2010, it was announced that the FIA were opening a selection process to find a new team to enter F1, for the 2011 season. In May 2010, ART Grand Prix, who were founded in 1991 and compete in various junior series', announced their entry bid. In late June, Autosport reported that ART were set to become the 13th team in F1. - ART Grand Prix F1 Team was set to exist! Except, it never did. On 7th July 2010, an official statement was released by the team, announcing that they were withdrawing their entry bid despite having made significant progress in the start-up of the team. - An extract from that statement reads as follows, "ART Grand Prix had forged strong bonds with several technical and financial partners but with unfavourable economic conditions they could not gather the necessary guarantees to ensure the stability of the project in the long term." - It's such a pity that this entry never got off the ground. Not only are ART Grand Prix a genuinely credible team with decades' worth of experience in a wide variety of disciplines, but engine supply would have been easily solved and they effectively had a built-in driver academy. - The team enjoyed a healthy relationship with Renault and would likely have been supplied with engines by the French manufacturer, had they made the step up to F1. - ART Grand Prix have always been known for housing some of the hottest talent outside of F1 and 2010 was no exception. That year, ART ran Jules Bianchi and current Formula E standout Sam Bird (both pictured) in GP2, which would have been a phenomenal driver pairing to continue with in F1. - They also had the likes of Valtteri Bottas, Alexander Sims, Esteban Gutierrez and more, racing for them in GP3 and F3 Euroseries. - Unfortunately, economic conditions spoiled the party for ART and everyone else, too. No new teams entered F1 for 2011. 🏁🏁 | CREDITS: MOTORSPORT IMAGES | #F1 #FormulaOne #F1Pics #F1News #F1Memes #F12019 #ClassicF1 #F1History #Formula2 #F2 #Formula3 #F3 #ABBFormulaE #FormulaE #ARTGrandPrix #JulesBianchi #JB17 #SamBird #RenaultF1 #RenaultF1Team #ScuderiaFerrari #FerrariF1 #CL16 #SV5 #TeamLH #LH44 #MV33 #HondaF1 #MichaelSchumacher #KeepFightingMichael https://www.instagram.com/p/B6ORXD8h6nL/?igshid=1x0y8l43ccuj8

#f1 #formulaone #f1pics #f1news #f1memes #f12019 #classicf1 #f1history #formula2 #f2 #formula3 #f3 #abbformulae #formulae #artgrandprix #julesbianchi #jb17 #sambird #renaultf1 #renaultf1team #scuderiaferrari #ferrarif1 #cl16 #sv5 #teamlh #lh44 #mv33 #hondaf1 #michaelschumacher #keepfightingmichael

[eddiejpoplar]

BMW M Motorsport attends three-day DTM Young Driver Test at Jerez

The DTM Young Driver Test at Jerez de la Frontera (ESP) allowed BMW M Motorsport to offer four drivers the opportunity to gain valuable experience at the wheel of the BMW M4 DTM – and possibly to stake their claim for a BMW DTM seat for the 2019 season. The drivers in action were former BMW Motorsport Junior and future BMW works driver Mikkel Jensen (DEN), BMW works driver Nick Catsburg (NED), Britain’s Nick Yelloly, and South African Sheldon van der Linde. The three-day test took place from Monday to Wednesday.

Jensen completed his second year of training as a BMW Motorsport Junior in 2018. The 23-year-old was a regular driver in the ADAC GT Masters, in which he shared the cockpit of the BMW M6 GT3 with Timo Scheider (GER). Catsburg is a permanent member of the team in the BMW M8 GTE in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), and also makes regular appearances at the wheel of the BMW M6 GT3.

Yelloly is another familiar face in the BMW family. The 28-year-old Brit drove the BMW M6 GT3 for ROWE Racing in this season’s Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup. Yelloly’s Formula racing has taken him right up to GP2, and he has been successful in one-make cups for several years. 19-year-old van der Linde caught the eye on the GT scene last year. He finished runner-up in the ADAC GT Masters and came home third to claim a spot on the podium at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (BEL).

The four drivers took to the track at Jerez de la Frontera in the 2018 DEUTSCHE POST BMW M4 DTM. BMW DTM driver Philipp Eng (AUT) took the car out for its reference laps.

BMW M Motorsport also used the three-day test to continue development work on the BMW M4 DTM for the 2019 season, which has been modified in line with Class 1 regulations. BMW DTM drivers Marco Wittmann (GER) and Bruno Spengler (CAN) alternated at the wheel of the car, which is powered by a newly-developed turbo engine.

  Mikkel Jensen: “I know the BMW M4 DTM as a race taxi, but to drive the real race car in a test on the track is something different. You think you could use you experience from the taxi but you have to put the car on the limit in a different way. You have to really fine-tune your driving style to be fast and there is always something you can find in every corner. That was really interesting. The carbon brakes are amazing, as they bite really hard. It was fantastic to feel how the car was stopping. And the high-speed corners: when you are used to GT cars, you think you sit in the same type of car. But the BMW M4 DTM just goes so much faster in the corner.”

  Nick Catsburg: “It was definitely a lot of fun. The big difference to the BMW M8 GTE and the BMW M6 GT3 I usually drive is the high-speed cornering. The downforce level is much higher and the braking was something I had to get used to. The BMW M4 DTM is a very impressive car, pretty much as I expected as I had already heard that it’s really cool car – and that’s honestly true. A very cool car to drive.”

  Nick Yelloly: “It was great fun to drive the BMW M4 DTM, I really enjoyed it. A big thank you to BMW for giving me the opportunity. Considering the weight of the car, the high-speed in the corners is really fantastic. As I have driven high downforce cars before I knew what to expect but the BMW M4 DTM still impressed me a lot.“

  Sheldon van der Linde: “It was an amazing experience. It’s so different to what I am used to. I have only driven in GT3 before so it was a really big step in the beginning, but the engineers and everyone helped me a lot and Philipp also gave quite a few tips. What I liked most about the BMW M4 DTM is the downforce. It’s incredible and the speed you can enter the corners with is amazing.”

  Marco Wittmann: “Our job at the tests was to make progress with the development of the new car. One focus was on the new turbo engine: it is important to understand this better, and to fine tune it, from test to test. The engineers, teams and us drivers obviously still have a lot of work ahead of us, to be well prepared going into the new season. After all, this is the start of a new era in the DTM. However, we are all excited and very much looking forward to it. More power is always cool for us drivers. The test at Jerez was another important step towards the new season and we have now all – drivers, mechanics, engineers – earned our Christmas. I would like to wish the fans, who can look forward to an exciting DTM season in 2019, a very merry Christmas.”

  Bruno Spengler: “We are progressing well with our work on the BMW M4 DTM for the coming season. The conditions have been consistent, we completed a lot of laps, and made good progress through our planned programme. That is very important, as we only have a certain number of test days. It was a productive test and I am now looking forward to a few quiet days ‘between the seasons’ with my family. I would like to wish the whole team and all the fans, who support us all year round, a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.”

The article BMW M Motorsport attends three-day DTM Young Driver Test at Jerez appeared first on BMW BLOG

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#IFTTT #Performance Junk Blogger 6