IM SO EXCITED FOR THIS SEASON GRAAKDNSND

OMG CHECCO AND THE TWO HAAS CARS????? HIS CAR IS GONE????

Apparently I stole his hangers. I didn't even know that there was a rack there.  Goddd.

absolutely inconceivable to see checo walk away unharmed after climbing out of that crumpled piece of scrap metal. thank god for modern safety standards

MCLAREN BOYS P2 AND P3 LETS GOO

CARLOS???/!;!/!;

everybody read @topnotchquark's addition to my post because it's literally perfect.

f1 is a sport where the drivers so rarely have any agency in their exits. they chase the dream so hard for so long, even after they've been successful that almost none of them get to leave because they genuinely want to. for so many of them, chasing the dream of f1 glory ends up being a slow, brutal, painful, often humiliating slog in midfield or backmarker teams until they finally cannot take the losses anymore.

michael schumacher was the greatest of all time by a literally ridiculous margin when he first left f1, and he left it as a genuine competitor who fought to the end. when he came back for his second try, he got beaten by a teammate for the first time ever, and achieved a single podium in three years. he was eventually manoeuvred out by mercedes management who left him no way or time to get another seat if he wanted one, and discarded him for the next great talent, lewis hamilton.

sebastian vettel left a team that adored him and prioritised him to fulfil a childhood dream, and when ferrari decided that he wasn't worth it anymore, they prioritised his teammate and then fired him for a driver who had never even won a race. the highlight of his final years in f1 was a single podium, and winning grill the grid. i'm not sure that that particular trophy will be of great comfort to him.

fernando alonso left formula 1 after trying and failing to recapture the glory of victory so many times. even now, he is racing in a sport where he hasn't won a single race for more than a decade. now, as he faces retirement for a second time, he has to consider making it to the podium a great achievement, where once it would have been a sub-par weekend.

daniel ricciardo was once considered a genuine contender for a world championship, but he got beaten by a younger, stronger talent, made a series of career mistakes that ultimately resulted in him being fired, and has come limping back to the junior team, knowing that he will never be considered a championship contender again, and at best he can hope to be max verstappen's second driver.

even lewis hamilton is not immune to this. he is statistically the most successful driver of all time, and yet the team with which he won six titles did not want to give an indefinite extension to his contract because they lacked faith in him and the car and would rather set themselves up for the next generation of talent than spend money on an aging driver potentially past his prime.

no driver, no matter how great, is exempt from this. and nico, who grew up in this world more than almost anyone else, knew exactly what could happen, and decided that he didn't want that life. he married vivian because he loved her, and had a child with her because he wanted a family with her. and once he had his championship, he decided that what he wanted was away from the track, and to this day i don't believe he has a single regret over it. i don't know that you can say that about everyone else

glad to see the rest of f1 tumblr also having heart attacks over lando in the elimination zone

watching the front positions of f1: Same 5 guys trading off finishing positions with each other every week

watching the midfield/backrunners of f1: Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon are roleplaying Javert and Hugh Jackman in a Les Miserables fight to mutually assured destruction over a no-points position. Lewis Hamilton is going to physically fight his own car to the death. Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo are going to physically fight each other to the death, but Daniel has a disadvantage because Lance Stroll has a sniper rifle aimed at his head. The Saubers are rewriting the federalist papers in the pits. Kevin Magnussen has planted a bomb on the track, and the blast has inevitably caught a Williams.

i am asking for the most sleep inducing race possible. i am asking for clear skies and sun and not an inch of rain. i am asking for not even a whiff of a safety car. please for the love of god, monaco, love him back 😭😭