Here to obsess about (two) men driving too fast

Ilse | 32 | The Netherlands

[f1writingbyme]

Introduction & fic overview

My name is Ilse, 33 years old and Dutch. This introduction and overview is long overdue. Despite my blog name suggesting that I write about multiple ships, I mostly write only Lestappen fics - another ship might make an appearance here and there.

Below you will find a list of my fics. The finished fics will be listed under the read more.

Ongoing fics

How (Not) To Third Wheel Lestappen Ongoing (when there's content to work with)

The fic

The PowerPoint

Finished fics Take Your Hand Off The Wheel (You Idiot) Finished | Explicit | 4,305 words

Wingman Of The Year (Or So He Says) Finished | General Audiences | 4,080 words

You Got A Fast Car... Somewhere Finished | Mature | 3,717 words

Warning: Very Fragile (Handle With Care) Finished | Explicit | 13,005 words

Fell In Love (When I Saw You Standing There) Finished | General Audiences | 5,555 words

Unveiled Secrets (The Motor Home Inchident) Finished | Explicit | 4,247 words

It Started With A Swipe (To The Left) Finished | General Audiences | 5,459 words

In Case You Didn’t Know (I'm Crazy About You) Finished | General Audiences | 7,290 words

The Nights Are Long (But It’s Easier Together) Finished | Explicit | 43,759 words

The Weight of The World (Or Charles Leclerc) Finished | General Audiences | 3,179 words

I Am Not Evil Finished | General Audiences | 5,394 words

Co-written with @lestappenforever

31 Days of Lestappen: A Festive Christmas Calendar Finished | Explicit | 62,076 words

Murphy's Law Finished | General Audiences | 2,341 words

I Was Lightning (Before The Thunder) Finished | Teen And Up Audiences | 7,518 words

The Box In The Closet Finished | Teen And Up Audiences | 6,099 words

The Seasons of Heartbreak Finished | Teen And Up Audiences | 14,075 words

18 Times Lestappen Tried To Hide Their Relationship (And One Time They Failed) Finished | Mature | 18,966 words

Ride The Bull (Giddy Up, Partner) Finished | Explicit | 5,016 words

19 Times The Grid Saved Lestappen (And One Time They Didn't Need To) Finished | Mature | 16,107 words

[lestappenforever]

Make Your Heart Believe (But I'm A Bad Liar)

Lestappen | 4 667 words | Angst with a Happy Ending | M

After watching Charles' heartbreaking interview after quali yesterday, I woke up to this ask in my inbox, saw this photo and immediately went "God fucking dammit". This fic/drabble/whatever you want to call it is the result of that reaction.

DISCLAIMER: No form of AI has been used in the creation of this fic! I just really fucking love the em dash, and I will not let AI take it from me.

Read on AO3 here.

Summary:

He's still not entirely sure what happened with Charles in Q3. He's seen a quick replay of the crash that kept Charles from setting a laptime and giving him P10 for tomorrow's race, but he hasn't had time to watch it more than once, slow it down, and really analyze every aspect of what lead up to that red Ferrari ending up in the barriers. But he has every intention of doing just that as soon as he gets the chance.

Once he comes to a halt behind Anna, who quickly turns to tell him they're not ready for him just yet, Max nods his acknowledgement and uses the opportunity to turn his head to glance at Charles, and doing his best to drown out every other sound going on around him so he can try to hear what Charles is saying to the reporter. He inches a little to his left, as much as he can without anyone noticing, in what is definitely a futile attempt at closing some of the distance between himself and Charles.

Despite his excellent hearing, Max can't really make out much of the words that are coming out of Charles' mouth, and the tiny portion he does hear has him convinced that his ears are playing tricks on him. Because to his ears, it sounds like Charles is saying something along the lines of "It must be tough to stick with me". Before he can process what has to be a misheard statement on his part, Anna nudges his arm and snaps Max's attention back to what it is he's supposed to be focusing on: his own interview, which the reporter is now apparently ready for.

---

OR: Max has a lot of feelings about Charles' post-quali interview for the 2026 Barcelona GP.

[f1writingbyme]

EVERYBODY GO READ ❤️

[wingeddreamerangel]

You're telling me they had a picture of Max looking like this and they didn't release it earlier?

[aggressivelymovinginsilence]

my heart.

context!! Charles helped collected donations from several drivers for an auction with the organization of JB17.

Beautiful tributes.

[f1writingbyme]

hello Ilse!!!!! i am wishing you a huge gigantic massive congratulations on your pregnancy!!! i could have cried reading your post, i am so over the moon for you 💛💛 i am sending you all of my love and very best wishes for a safe and joyous pregnancy and parenthood 💛💛💛💛

That is so incredibly sweet of you, you're making me cry! 💛 thank you so, so, so much!

[f1writingbyme]

OH MY GOD! THIS IS FANTASTIC NEWS! ❤️❤️

I WISH THE WHOLE FAMILY GOOD HEALTH!!!!

❤️🏳️‍🌈❤️🏳️‍🌈❤️

Thank you so much, Judy!! ❤️❤️

[f1writingbyme]

Huuuuge congratulations on your pregnancy, Ilse! I hope everything goes perfectly with the baby. 💕

Thank you so much! ❤️ that is so sweet of you

[f1writingbyme]

Post by @f1writingbyme

💬 1  🔁 4  ❤️ 49 · Hi everyone, This is one of the hardest things I’ve ever written, and I never thought I’d be sharing something so deeply

Anyone remember this post from November 10th, 2024?

It was the first time I opened up about our infertility journey. A journey that had started back in 2023 and one that changed me in more ways than I can put into words.

Today, I'm incredibly grateful to be able to share something I honestly wasn't sure I'd ever get to say:

I'm pregnant 🩷💙

This little one is our rainbow baby, and I still have to pinch myself every now and then because it doesn't quite feel real yet. Little Baby is doing amazing and is developing right on schedule.

I am so incredibly, out-of-this-world happy, but I am also so very, very, very relieved. I know how incredibly fortunate we are to be in this position, and I will never ever take that for granted.

I also know there are still so many people going through the same thing, and I wish I could tell you that everything will be okay, but after everything infertility has taught me, I know that promises can't always be made. If you're still going through that journey, please know that I'm thinking of you.

As for me… I'm doing really well. So far I've barely had any symptoms, which feels almost unreal and scared me shitless every day up until today's scan.

Every day still feels like a gift, and I don't think I've ever been this happy. Here's to hoping our little rainbow keeps growing strong. 🌈

[countingstars-17]

podium, canadian gp 2026

[scuderiamint]

:)

[countingstars-17]

kimi and max hugging on the podium ♥️

[maxterclass]

well well well if it isn't unnecessary anger and borderline violence 😔

[f1writingbyme]

I’m amazed at how quickly you manage to write chapters of H(N)TTWL

Ah, thank you, anon! ❤️

@lestappenforever and I try our very best every time!

The fact that we work with what we are given gives us a lot of inspiration to write quickly, and of course we are very lucky that Max and Charles basically write the chapters for us sometimes with how they behave. So, thank you, Lestappen, please never change 😂

Thanks again! We are so happy to hear you enjoy H(N)TTWL

[lestappenforever]

How (Not) To Third Wheel Lestappen - Kimi

Did either @f1writingbyme or myself expect Red Bull's upgrades to actually work to the extent that Max would qualify top 3 this weekend? Absolutely not.

Were we both incredibly thrilled? Absolutely yes.

So, here you go: our humble offering of chapter 40(!) of How (Not) To Third Wheel Lestappen, fresh off our shared Google Doc first thing in the morning for us both.

(Because no, European grandma 1 and European grandma 2 are not staying up past midnight to write a chapter immediately post-quali, post-race, or anything that takes place late at night during our timezone.)

Welcome to the third-wheeling club, Kimi!

Read chapter 40 of How (Not) To Third Wheel Lestappen on AO3 here.

[f1writingbyme]

Look at us being fast as fuck this early in the morning! It's almost like we had the same upgrades as Max.

We hope you enjoy chapter 40!

[countingstars-17]

the big smile on charles' face when max caught him inspecting his car 🥺♥️

[lestappenforever]

Synchronized Lestappen

[lestappenforever]

PSA for any H(N)TTWL readers:

Both @f1writingbyme and myself live in Europe, it's almost midnight and we're both tired as hell. You're getting a chapter at some point tomorrow. Please don't come asking for one already.

Thank you.