answering @powerful-owl's and @f1-primers's calls for more f1blr primers, i present to you my beginner's guide to f1 (inspired by everything i've ever found myself explaining to friends and family)
(note for posterity: this was originally written in 2022, and revised in 2023)
The regulations allow for enough leeway within their parameters for the engineers to approach the carâs design with innovation and creativity. As a result, though they may look similar, each car is unique. Combined with the different engine manufacturers, you get 10 cars of varying competitiveness.Â
In short, âthe Formulaâ is the same for all, but the interpretation of it is rather different from team to team.
A common example of how different interpretations of the rules can directly correspond to lap time is the Brawn GP double diffuser. 2009 saw a major regulation change, which often reshuffles the order. However, no one was expecting a team on the brink of folding at the end of 2008 to emerge multiple seconds faster in pre-season testing.
The most obvious visual differentiator on the Brawn car was its double-decker diffuser. The new regulations had intended to strip the cars of downforce by reducing the size of the diffuser, but a loophole was left open that allowed for a second diffuser to be built into the crash structure of the car. The innovative Brawn double diffuser, which was found to be compliant with the regulations, is often credited with why Brawn GP won the 2009 Constructors Championship.
On the other hand, innovation can also be a teamâs downfall. When the regulations were once again overhauled in 2022, Mercedes raised eyebrows with its âzero sidepodâ design. Unfortunately for the Silver Arrows, the zero sidepod concept proved to be the wrong decision, and the team that won 8 constructors championships in a row from 2014-2021 has struggled to regain their once dominant form, after finally abandoning the zero sidepod design in early 2023.Â
The minimum total distance of a Grand Prix race must be 300 km or 190 miles. This is the standard distance for all races except for the Monaco GP, which is 260 km or 160 miles.
Every F1 car is composed of two main components â the chassis and the engine.
Chassis â Formula One cars these days are made from carbon fiber and ultra-lightweight components. The weight must be not less than 798 kg or 1,759 lbs, including the driver and tires, but excluding the fuel. The dimensions of a Formula One car are a maximum of 5.63 m in length, 2 m wide, and 95 cm tall.Â
Engine â Since the regulation changes of 2014, all F1 cars must deploy 1.6 liter turbocharged V6 engines. For this reason, 2014 marks the start of the âturbo hybrid eraâ - which Mercedes dominated until the 2022 regulation overhaul.
The Teams and Championships
Each F1 season features two different championships: the Constructorsâ Championship and the Driversâ Championship.Â
Constructors are people or corporate entities which design key parts of F1 cars that have competed or are intended to compete in the FIA World Championship. Since 1981, it has been a requirement that each competitor must have the exclusive rights to the use of certain key parts of their car â in 2018, these parts were the survival cell, the front impact structure, the roll structures and bodywork.Â
Essentially, the Constructor must own the IP to the chassis. Think âConstructorâ = âteam.â
Works Team: the traditional definition of a âworks teamâ is a manufacturer that builds its own car and engine.
Everyone else is a customer team sourcing the engine from a third party.
The 2023 engine suppliers & teams (* indicates a works team):
*Red Bull and Alpha Tauri ran Honda engines in 2021. Red Bull and Honda came to a deal that allowed Red Bull (and Alpha Tauri, its sister team) to use Honda IP in 2022 after Honda announced its departure from F1. Beginning in 2023, Red Bull Powertrains took full responsibility for all manufacturing and servicing of the engines. Red Bull Powertrains currently works alongside Honda on the engines and will continue to do so until the end of the 2025 season when the next generation of engines will be introduced.
Racing Terms
The Racing Line
For each car on each track in each condition there is an ideal path or âracing line.â Getting closest to it gives you the fastest lap time. Missing the ideal spot during any phase of turn by millimeters is a âmistake.â
Oversteer
Generally, oversteer is when a car turns more than the driver intends it to. The visible results of oversteer can include the tail sliding out or a full spin. Oversteer occurs when the rear wheels lose traction before the fronts. Whenever a driver seems to suddenly steer in the wrong direction mid corner, itâs pretty likely itâs an oversteer moment.
Understeer
Understeer is when a car turns less than commanded by the driver, resulting in the car traveling wide. Occurs when the front wheels lose traction before the rears.
Wheelspin
Happens when the engine tries to spin the tires faster than the grip of the circuit permits â they just spin in place. Common on starts because tires are cold so grip is low.
Lock up
When too much force is applied to the brakes, it causes the brake disc to stop or rotate slower than the car's motion. The tire then scrapes along the surface of the track as the car is still carrying momentum - this causes white smoke and ruined tires (i.e., a flat spot).
Graining
Graining occurs when strips of rubber are torn from a tire and then immediately stick back onto the hot surface of that tire. This creates an uneven, irregular surface that makes braking and cornering difficult while reducing grip and traction.
Graining typically occurs when the tire is sliding laterally and is more common with the softer tires. It is often a short-term problem, as the graining goes away once the tire wears and becomes uniform again.
Blistering
This is what happens to a tire, or part of a tire, when it overheats, which leads to the creation of air bubbles inside the tread.
Brake bias
Ratio of brake pressure applied to front and rear brakes. Too much rear brake will tend to cause the car to spin; too much front brake and car will not turn in. Can be adjusted on the steering wheel.
Watch this video for insight into the crazy complicated F1 steering wheelsÂ
DownforceÂ
There is a limit to how fast a car can travel on the ground without the car taking off. This means that all cars need to generate a downward force sufficient enough to keep them firmly on the ground.
Downforce can be generated from the air flowing around the car and will increase as the speed of the car increases.
Think of downforce as the opposite of lift for an airplane. The wings of an airplane help it to take off into the air. The same wing, if installed inverted on a car, can make the car stay firmly on the ground. As the speed of the car increases, the wings will press the car more firmly into the ground. This force that presses the car to the ground is called downforce.
BONUS: Why is it so hard for F1 cars to pass (âovertakeâ) each other?
All of the downforce created by the aerodynamic engineering on F1 cars also creates a lot of wind turbulence in the wake of the car. This makes it extremely difficult for F1 cars to follow closely behind each other. The dirty air also chews up the following carâs tires and overheats the brakes.
Track evolutionÂ
Lap times get faster as the weekend goes on, particularly during qualifying. This is partly due to the natural evolution of the track. Unless it rains, there is more rubber going down when everyoneâs running a soft tire and braking harder, which naturally makes the track quicker. More laps around the track also cleans the track of dirt and dust, which also provides for more grip and faster speeds.
Put simply, more laps on the track = more rubber on the track = more grip = faster speeds. This is also referred to as the track being ârubbered in.â
Safety Car & Virtual Safety Car (VSC)
The safety car comes onto the track during a race when the Race Director wants to reduce speed for safety reasons - for instance, after an accident when there are marshals on track clearing away debris.
According to the regulations, the safety car enters the circuit âwhenever there is an immediate hazard but the conditions do not require the race to be interrupted.â
The safety car's job is to limit the speed of cars on the race track so that workers can come out and pick up any debris or crashed cars.
Note: if conditions are bad enough, the race will instead be âred flagged.â A red flag means a race suspension, and all cars will return to the pit lane. The race is effectively paused.
Red flagged conditions can occur due to weather (e.g., heavy rain), or a crash so bad that marshals cannot safely clear the debris or evacuate the driver with cars still circling the track.
Under a safety car, on the other hand, the drivers continue to drive around the circuit, and each lap completed does continue to count towards the lap total of the race.
During a safety car period, cars slow down and no overtaking is allowed until the drivers receive a green flag, indicating that the race has been resumed. Where a red flag pauses a race, the idea of the safety car is to âneutralizeâ the race by keeping the cars in the same order.
This means that the only strategic consideration during a safety car period is whether or not to pit.
Teams often use a safety car period to take a chance and make âcheapâ pit stops (i.e., pit stops with less time lost, as all the cars are going slowly).
While less time will be lost in the pits due to the reduced on track speeds, cars do still lose track position when pitting under a safety car.
The gamble here, especially with a VSC, is not knowing when the safety car period will end. On the other hand, teams may opt to skip a pit stop and gain track position over a pitting car.
In modern F1, race neutralization via Safety Car is done in two variations.
The traditional SC Period, where the Safety Car actually goes out on track and collects the entire field behind it to form a slow-running queue; and
the Virtual Safety Car, where the drivers are simply required to run sector times that are over a specified Delta, effectively slowing them down.
The VSC is imposed in cases where there is a double waved yellow sector (i.e., a hazard on the track), but the situation is not so bad that the actual safety car needs to come out.Â
The VSC lap time is roughly 30 percent slower than what the FIA considers a standard racing lap, which means positions on the track will remain the same, but all cars will be slower. In theory, the gaps between the cars should remain the same, thus preserving a gap that a leader may have built up throughout the race.Â
In an actual safety car scenario, all of the cars get physically bunched up following behind the safety car and the gap they had to the car in front and behind is erased.Â
Tyre / Tire Compounds (called "tire" below, sorry I'm from the US)
A basic tenant of F1 tires: warmer tires = faster tires. This is why you see cars weaving behind a safety car - the driver is trying to generate enough heat in the tires to keep them in the optimal temperature window.Â
There are 5 slick (or dry weather) tire compounds used during an F1 season. These are on a scale of softness (C5) to hardness (C1).
Harder tires are more durable and therefore last longer during a race; however, they also provide less grip, which results in less speed.Â
Softer tires are much less durable, but they provide a lot of grip and are much quicker than hard tires.
During an individual race weekend, Pirelli, who manufactures all Formula 1 tires, will choose three of the five tire types to be used during the weekend. The tires used will always be next to each other on the spectrum (e.g., C2-C4)
As of the 2023 season, drivers receive two sets of hard tires, three sets of mediums, and eight sets of softs per race weekend.
It is up to the team to manage the tires throughout the practice and qualifying sessions to ensure that the driver has a good tire selection to use during the actual race.
The important thing is to ensure that drivers have at least two different compounds available to be used during the race.
Wet weather
During a race where it rains, drivers do not have to follow the same tire compound rules that apply in dry conditions.
Wet weather tires have treads on them to help displace the water (as opposed to the smooth, or âslickâ dry weather compounds), but this gives drivers less grip and therefore, less speed.
âFull wetsâ vs. âintermediatesâ
Intermediates are the most versatile wet weather tire, and may be used on a wet track with no standing water, as well as a drying track surface.
Full wets are most effective for heavy rain, and can displace 85 liters of water per second per tire at 300 kph.Â
F1 rules require drivers to race on at least 2 different tire compounds during a race. This means that drivers are required to stop at least once during a race to change their tires.Â
Pit Stops
TerminologyÂ
Box:
Box can be used interchangeably with âpitâ and is used by drivers and their race engineers to indicate that the driver needs to come in for a pit stop. It is derived from the German word boxenstopp, which means pit stop.
It is usually used twice for maximum efficiency, which is why you will often hear the race engineer telling their driver to âbox, box.â
Double stack:
Double stacking means to pit both cars from the same team on the same lap. The leading car will go into the pits and get their tires changed, and immediately afterward, their teammate will repeat the process on that same lap.
The basic logic behind pit stop strategy is newer tires = faster tires. This is because newer tires provide more grip.
However, the obvious problem is that pit stops take time. While the changing of the tires themselves is incredibly fast (F1 pit stops generally take 2-4 seconds â 4 seconds is considered slow, 10 seconds is catastrophic), teams also have to account for time spent in the pit lane.Â
Drivers must slow to 60 kph in the pit lane, and will be fined for speeding. Time spent in the pit lane, including the stop itself, averages about 22-23 seconds, although it varies by the circuit.Â
The number of times a driver stops will depend on the weather, track conditions, their rivalsâ strategies, and potential car damage or punctures.
Undercut vs. Overcut: The strategies
The undercut: An undercut involves making your pit stop earlier than the car in front of you.
This puts you onto fresher tires, which means you will have a pace advantage compared to the car you are chasing.
The idea behind the undercut is to use these fresher tires to overtake the driver ahead of you, who will theoretically be slower due to older tires.
If it all goes to plan, the car which pits earlier will quickly pass the car it was chasing, and then use those fresh tires to build up a big enough gap between themselves and their rival to ensure that they canât be caught.
The overcut: Instead of pitting before the car you are chasing, the overcut involves staying out while your rival pits, thus gaining track position.
The overcut is powerful on tracks where tire warm up is a challenge.
The idea behind this strategy is to build up as large a gap as possible while the car that pitted first struggles to warm up its new tires. Ideally, the resulting gap will be large enough that the car which stayed out will still come out ahead after its own stop.
This strategy is risky and is used less frequently than the undercut.Â
Look for drivers trying the overcut who have started the race on hard tires. Hard tires are more durable and last longer, so the idea will be to gain track position over everyone else when they pit before you as you continue to run on the hard tire. This strategy is all about tire management.
Qualifying
F1 qualifying is broken up into three parts: Q1, Q2, and Q3.
In the first phase of qualifying, called Q1, all 20 drivers have 18 minutes to go out on the track and set their fastest times. At the end of that period, the slowest five drivers are eliminated, and the remaining 15 cars go through to the next phase.
In Q2, the remaining 15 cars have 15 minutes to set their fastest times. Again, at the end of the segment, the slowest five cars are eliminated, and the top 10 go through to the final phase of qualifying, Q3.
In Q3, or the âtop 10 shootout,â the top 10 drivers have 12 minutes to set their fastest times, with the driver who sets the fastest time claiming pole position. Pole position starts first, or âP1â on the gridÂ
The times set in qualifying on Saturday determine the starting positions on the grid for Sundayâs race.Â
In certain races in 2023, F1 is trialing a new qualifying format.Â
The change, called âAlternative Tyre Allocation,â is meant to reduce the number of tires used during a Grand Prix weekend in a modest attempt at environmental sustainability.
During qualifying, if conditions are dry, the teams will be limited to a specific set of tyres for each of the three rounds. Teams will be required to use the hard compound during Q1, the medium compound during Q2, and the soft compound during Q3. If race officials declare track conditions to be wet, the restrictions will be removed.
Tire Strategy
Specific tire strategies vary by:
The new sets of tires available to the driver for the race
This will be determined by which and how many sets of tires the driver runs through in the practice and qualifying sessions that weekend.
If the race is expected to be a 1-stop or a 2-stop
At circuits where track position is important (e.g., Monaco), drivers will prefer a 1-stop. At circuits where overtaking is possible, drivers may opt for a 2-stop, as this provides additional opportunities to fit faster, fresh tires.Â
Expected rates of tire degradation (this also affects whether the race will be a 1-stop or a 2-stop).
WeatherÂ
For example, it always takes longer to heat up the harder compound tires, and cold weather may make heating up even soft tires tricky. If tire warm up will be difficult due to track conditions, this will make the outlap after a pit stop slower than a car running older, warmer tires. In these conditions, the overcut is powerful!
Expectations of a safety car.
Certain tracks (e.g., Baku) see a lot of crashes, and therefore at least one safety car per race is almost expected. Teams may take this into account when planning tire strategies. Of course, the exact timing of a safety car cannot be anticipated.
Example:
At the Jeddah Street Circuit during the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP, almost all of the drivers choose to start the race on the medium tire. Pirelli expected that the ideal pit window for the medium tire would be between Lap 21 and 26, at which point it was expected that the preferred strategy would be a 1-stop, with drivers switching to the hard tire and making the hards last to the end of the race.
These "pit windows" are determined by rates of tire degradation - in other words, Pirelli did not expect the medium tire to last more than about 25 laps in Jeddah before experiencing tire failure. At Jeddah, the soft tire had an exceptionally high rate of degradation, and would require too much pace management on high fuel to be a starting tire. On the other hand, the warm-up on the hard tire would make the first few laps difficult for anyone in the pack, which is why most drivers started on the medium tire.
The checks (both random and routine) include weight and dimensional measurements, which are carried out using laser technology, as well as equipment checks in which homologation labels are viewed to ensure parts are pre-tested and meet relevant standards.
The idea is to ensure that the driver qualifies and races in the âsame car.â
Before each car leaves the pit lane for qualifying, the teams will provide the FIA Technical Delegate with a set-up sheet. This is the exact set-up they must stick to for the rest of qualifying and the race.
âRace trimâ refers to a setup more conducive to running a full race, whereas âqualifying trimâ refers to a setup dedicated to getting that one perfect lap. For instance, one setup may result in a faster lap, but at the expense of a higher rate of tire degradation.Â
Depending on the circuit, teams may choose a setup with more race pace, or a setup focused on qualifying performance.Â
The easiest example is Monaco, where overtaking is nearly impossible. Therefore, teams will sacrifice race pace in favor of a setup that favors qualifying speed, because starting position matters much more in Monaco than at a circuit where overtaking is possible.
Car Setup
Race weekends feature 3 free practice sessions (2 on Friday, 1 on Saturday morning), 1 qualifying session (Saturday), and the race itself (Sunday).
The free practice sessions starting on a Friday are typically used to run the different tire compounds and a variety of car setups to allow the teams to collect data. This data will then be combined with simulations and data from previous races to decide the optimal tire strategy and car setup for the race.
Gearboxes and Power Units
Certain parts must be used for a set number of races before being replaced, otherwise the team will be penalized. This penalty will be handed out whether the change required is down to a crash, a breakdown, or for performance.
Gearboxes must be used for at least six races before they can be changed. If a team needs to change one before that, they face a grid penalty.Â
The âpower unitâ is more complicated as it is split into different component parts. Each driver is only permitted a certain number of each element within the power unit during the season. Exceeding a power unit allocation results in grid place penalties, forcing the driver to start the race from further back.Â
What elements make up a Formula One Power Unit?Â
The FIA distinguishes between six elements in a modern F1 Power Unit (PU).
At the very heart of the PU sits the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE). Itâs a structural member of the car, connecting the chassis to the gearbox.
The second element is the turbocharger (TC), which increases the density of the air that is consumed by the engine, thus giving the engine more power.
A modern F1 engine is a hybrid engine, with two electric machines recovering and delivering energy.
Thereâs the Motor Generator Unit-Kinetic (MGU-K), which harnesses kinetic energy when the car is braking, and the Motor Generator Unit-Heat (MGU-H), which is connected to the turbocharger and harnesses excess energy from the exhaust.
Both motor generator units convert their respective energy sources into electrical energy which can then be used to propel the car. The electric energy is stored in the fifth element of the Power Unit â a big battery pack known as the Energy Store (ES).
This intricate system of different components is controlled by the sixth and final element, the Control Electronics (CE).
Each driver is allowed no more than three engines, three motor generator units-heat (MGU-H), three turbochargers, two energy stores, two control electronics, three motor generator units-kinetic (MGU-K) and eight sets of engine exhaust systems.
If the driver uses more than the assigned number of any one of the elements, they are handed a grid place penalty. This is 10 places for the first request of each part, 5 for the second, and a back of the grid start if more than 15 are amassed.
Fuel
F1 cars can use a maximum of 110 kilograms of fuel per race.
However, they don't always fill the car with that much fuel. This is because the more fuel a car starts with the heavier it is, and the more lap time it costs.
F1 fuel rules also state that âcompetitors must ensure that a 1.0 litre sample of fuel may be taken at any time during the event.â
Note: The Stewards are notoriously harsh when imposing F1's technical regulations. For example, Sebastian Vettelâs P2 was taken away after the conclusion of the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix following a breach of F1âs fuel rules. The FIA were unable to take the required fuel sample from Vettelâs car.
If necessary, drivers may have to adjust their driving if the telemetry indicates that the car will not have enough fuel to make it to the end of the race.
Fuel saving such as lifting off the throttle before the braking zone going into corners (âlift and coastâ), as well as changing settings in the car to decrease fuel consumption are possible strategies, but these stop the drivers from being able to go flat-out.
High downforce vs. power circuits
Ideally, teams want to design cars that produce as much downforce as possible to boost speed through corners, but the challenge is to do this in such a way that doesnât result in too much aerodynamic drag.
More drag will slow a car down in a straight line, and consequently more power is needed to overcome this resistance and achieve the best possible acceleration and top speed. This equation is why some cars perform better at certain types of track than others, and why itâs impossible to build a car thatâs tailor made for every single grand prix.
Whatâs a high downforce track in F1?
A high downforce track is a circuit where most of a carâs performance over the course of a lap can be attributed to the aerodynamic downforce it produces rather than the power of its engine. High downforce tracks will have fewer and shorter straights than low downforce tracks, with more of an emphasis on corners.
Whatâs a power track?
A power track is more or less the opposite of a high downforce track. Most of a carâs performance is tied to the power, acceleration, and top speed made possible by the engine. Long straights and short, slow corners are typical features of power tracks.
people are saying do it scared, but you also gotta do it alone. you'll miss out on so much you want to do if you wait til someone will do it with you. do it scared and do it alone.
legitimately from ages like 12-25 i thought everyone was exhausted to the point of suicidal depression and i was just bad at handling it. kids the normal amount of suicidal ideation is NONE and if you don't physically recover by sleeping you should see a doctor
My first therapy intake as an adult, the admin doing the intake asked me "Do you ever feel like you want to die?" And I replied "Sometimes, doesn't everybody?" And she's looked at me sadly in the eyes and simply said "No." The moment I got over my shock and only said "oh." I knew I really needed help
Warnings: DNFâs, angst, a little bit of love, episodes of anxiety, Sebâs retirement, harsh words.
âWelcome to the last briefing of the season. Is everybody here? All rightâ
I was sit next to Lewis, both of us in the back of the room. Everybody seem happy today. Except me, I wake up with a strange feeling, everything looks normal. My dad is here with me, Lando and I are going strong, but I can understand this.
âYouâre okay? Youâre not smiling todayâ Lewis asked
âI feel off. I have a feelingâ I looke at him, almost the same as that day in 2021 after his race âYouâre the one who looks oddâ
âThis used to be my favourite place, not anymore. And If you have a feeling, make it a good oneâ
âI willâ
âSmile, after the race Iâm gonna take you to the cheesecake factoryâ
âPromise?â
âPromise, babyâ He hug me and smile âLando is throwing knives at me through his gazeâ
âOh, thatâs normal, just wave at himâ We did it and Lando start walking to us âUh, run Lewisâ
âWhat was that?â Lando kissed my cheek
âNothing my love, just talking about food with Lewisâ He hold my hand
âIâm gonna start working as a bodyguard from now onâ
âOh my... Also I have a weird feelingâ
âWhyâs that?â He looked at my, those green eyes screw me over
âA feeling of losing, I believeâ
âYouâre not the first in this WDC but youâre the one in my heart, loveâ
âThatâs enough. I love youâ
âTo Pluto and backâ
âRadio checkâ
âWhat a voice. Itâs fair that you sing to me, Adam. Considering that this is the last race. I mean, sadly weâre not world champions but we did pretty goodâ I started to put on my gloves and check the steering wheel
âYou have to wait âtill the end of the race. I have a unique voice, kidâ
âOh wow, Iâm gonna race as fast as I can thenâ We laugh
âJust do it safelyâ
âNo promises, I live for wins and podiumsâ
The same feeling of this morning came back to me. Itâs not normal anymore. Iâm on P4 and Lando on P5. I turned my head a little and saw his face, I waved to him, but the real thing is that I want to jump out of the car and run out of the circuit, something is about to happen, something bad, as bad as death
5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Itâs lights out and away we go
LAP 1/58
âWhat a start for the last race of the season here in Abu Dhabi, turn one and Max Verstappen remains as race leader and...oh the McLaren prodigy Charlotte just pass Charles Leclerc, even sheâs number two this season we never missed to get impress by herâ
LAP 21/58Â
âCan you check the tyres, please? I felt something in turn 6âł
âCopyâ
Curently Iâm P6, a safety car was deployed after one of the Alfa Romeo just lost their engine. The race has been good, the feeling is there. Lando is P3 at the moment, hope we can have this podium together.
âBox, box, your tyres are cooling too fastâ
âCopy, set a record on this oneâ
LAP 47/58
âThis race is getting more excited, Charlotte Robyn-Jones is leading the Abu Dhabi GP, but what is happening?... She just go straight on turn 11, she doesnât sound good on that radio with her engineerâ
âI canât control my breaking, I might crash and...â
âThe Mclaren driver spin and go straight to the barrier, we need the marshall go to her and a red flag has been deployed, all the cars has been called to the pits and we donât have any movement on herâ
âI see blood... I wanna vomit ... help ...pleaseâ
âCharlotte, stay calm, stay still, marshals are on their wayâ
âCan you please tell Lando that Iâm sorry to ruin the race... I donâtâÂ
âStay still Char... youâre going to be...â
âNo, I...I see blood running down my nose and I wanna... Everbody hates red flags and I hate them too and I hate not being world champion and I hate not to tell Lando that I love...â
âCharlotte? Can you hear me?â Adam look at Zack in the eyes, it was like everything and everybody stopped, they donât want to thin that your last radio message was heard from everybody ... everywhere.
All the cars started entering pits and on the big screen the image of the marshals and the safety care destroying the halo to get you out was horrific.
Carlos was the first to aproach Lando who look lost looking at the screen. The british wanted to cry, he believed in your words of joy and happiness everytime you say thatâs their moment to perform better, but, early that day you had a bad feeling. Almost all the members of the teams surronded outside their garages to see how they took your body out of the car.
You were passed, like a sleeping baby, this time like a nightmare, your suit have blood around your left leg, your visor broken, your eyes closed. They put you on the floor and a white large tent was put above you, that was the signal to know that your heart stopped and they have to start moving fast before the worst.
âIs she...?â started Pierre looking at Carlos
âDonât finish that phrase man, we donât wanna...â He tried to talk but then Lando started crying and his intentions were clear, he wanted to be next to you, hold your hand, beg you to fight, beg you to stay, say goodbye and donât ruin it, not again.
âLando...Lando noâ Max and a few other aproach to the driver to help him stay in the garage, avoiding the image of you.
âLeave me. She canât be dead, man. Put in my damn shoes, imagine that is Kelly or Daniel, one of usâ Maxâs eyes looked glossy to see his friend looking so broken. Your dad hug Lando, who as much as the driver wanted answers. He knows that his daughter is a fighter, strong but at the end, maybe his wife was starting to call her daughter to be by her side
âSheâs going to be okâ He said to Lando. On the big screen the tent was opened and your body was taken to the ambulance, your helmet gone and an oxygen mask arounf your face.
âSheâs out... we have to go and... and...Screw this race...We donât race as one anymoreâ
âMuppet, theyâre going to cancel the race, we can goâ Carlos guide Lando to change his fireproofs and go to the hospital. At this point Lando knew, just as you, something bad happened.
âCarlos?â Lando asked when they were in the car
âYeah?â
âItâs just, I will never accept her loss. I will accept I will be living with it, until I take my last breath and Iâm reunited with her againâ
Until then
âYou canât make that public. What is wrong with you?â
âMan, the moment we signed our contracts, we know that this could go on a public record. Itâs almost fair to the fans and friendsâ
âNo, itâs not. What about his dad? And you? We canât go through this all over againâ
âLando, please. His dad gave us his consentâ Lando sit in the back of the room. A small conference room when the drivers and team principals weâre going to watch a video made by you, every driver has one but considering the circunstances, nobody wanted to remember that tragedy. And a couple days later, everybody around the world could watch this video too.
When I die, give what is left of me to children and elders who hope to die. If you need to cry, cry for your brother and sister who walk down the street next to you. And when you need me, hug anyone and give them whatever you need to give me. I want to leave you something, something better than words or sounds.
Look for me in the people I've known or loved. If you can't tell me, at least let me live in your eyes, and not in your mind. You can love me more by letting the hands touch the hands, letting the hearts touch the hearts, and letting go of the spirits who need to be free.
Love doesn't die, bodies do. So, when all that's left of me is love, give me.
I want to make sure, youâre fine, âcause right now Iâm living a life where I donât know what would I do If youâre not in there anymore
You must be proud of yourself. Despite everything you've been through, you're still here.
You are very strong. You have overcome things that others can't even imagine. You thought you wouldn't make it and you got it.
You will do it again. Keep living the life you want, not the one that others expect. And feel proud to be the way you are.
You must be proud to challenge yourself every day, to find yourself when you think everything is lost. You wake up wanting to continue. Even if you have an abyss in front of you, you do everything you can to be well.
You fight for yourself when no one else does.
You are someone worth fighting for.
And If this is the last time, I never meant to say goodbye this way. To my family, dad, you know that mom is gonna take care of me. To the Sainzâs, thank you. To my grid family, this happens, just remember all those memories that we built together, even If you have your eyes full of tears, you know that my legacy has been written. To Lando, you know that this is the hardest part of the job, I love you and Iâm sure that maybe in another life, we will last longer, I was lost without you and now I found my place. Iâll waiting for you in our next life. Goodbye for now.
âHello Charlotte, me again, hope youâre not bored of meâ Lando showed a side smile
âThe world stopped turning the day you died. I felt it. In my heart. In every fibre of my being. I felt it. The sun stopped being warm. The night stopped being cool. When you died, the world as I knew it did too. I did too.â
Lando started crying looking around the cemetery
âEverybody has changed. Carlos lost his sparkle and has a photo of you in his motorhome and as his lookscreen. Daniel has your name on his helmet, he said you still helping him on his decisions, Alex stayed with your dad for two weeks, he felt so lost that we cried together just talking about you. Your dad is doing well, he moved to Madrid to be closer to the Sainz, they begged him to do that.â
âYouâll always be my number one, Charlotte. I wasnât with you holding your hand âtill your last breath, I spend days in your hospital room, just waiting. When they told me you were gone, I screamed, I cried as loud as I could, I halfway hoped that If you could hear me screaming on your way to heaven, you would turn around and come back to me, but you never didâ
âItâs been weeks and many people call me everyday, checking on me, Iâm gratefull but I came to realize that the reason why itâs so hard to let you go is because this goodbye to you has to let go to a version of me that you got to know so well and at the same time, even If I could go back, I wouldnât belong there anymore, not without you. I cannot accept to have a teammate that is not you, to just look at your pictures, full of joy and passion and then, I remember that my house is empty, no more hugs, no more kisses, no more youâ
âAnd even I know that youâre not coming back, Iâm happy for share all the things that make you happy, for get to know you and for how gratefull Iâm with time for allowing you and I to live in the same lifetime. Iâll love you in this and as many lifetimes we haveâ
