the most beautiful f1 fic rec list because fanfic authors deserve all the love in the world (&my thoughts)
ships: maxiel, rustappen/gax, lestappen
would it be a better idea to make a unique list for all individual ships yes but i never claimed to be smart
ALSO! comment! kudos! scream in the bookmarks! we get masterpieces for free and all authors have praise kinks deep down and they deserve the fucking world <3
All Roads Lead To Rome by @jup1t33r
Despite being a fic written fifteen days ago and read my yours truly four days ago I have reread it no less than five times and screamed into the author's tumblr more. it is an amazing exploration of tiny max and 2012 seb and just. i have so much feels. i adore adore adore grid dad seb and the dynamic is beautiful. the writing is extremely high quality and i can literally see the scenes through their eyes. seb is trying his best and max is devastatingly being his child self, and just. this is a thousand hurt no comfort and we kind of have to just believe in the comfort in the future (READ THEIR DRABBLES THE COMFORT COMES THERE) but i like to believe the seb is the comfort.
tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow by @baroness-elsa
the beautiful what if daneil stayed at red bull fic? and truly it is the destination, not the journey. the way this author describes racing cars is out of this world and i adore, adore, adore the dynamics. the fics goes through the 2018-2021 seasons and to me the 2021 season is sacred but for this fic i would give it an exception because daniel deserves a chance. the way the relationship develops is so adorable and soft, and just. daniel and max have so many feels from me and this fic portrays it so well. i adore their daniel perspective. just an amazingly beautifully written fic.
rustappen / gax (guys we need to decide on a name)
silver linings by @papaya-muse
when i tell you this is the rustappen fic you need to believe me. it's a streamer!max au but like, in the most beautiful way. it's sexy and funny and also immensely angsty as well. i think i've screamed about this fic a lot and sacrificed wayyy too much study time to devour it again and again (when it tell you i've read this four times i am Not Joking) this author deserves all the love, like, ALL THE LOVE. it's such an amazing fic and i never want it to end, but also, i want to see what happens. does it make sense?
earth angel by @papaya-muse
when i say i can read this i can hear their voices i can hear their voices. the most beautiful age gap fic where current george deals with eighteen year old max in his crashstappen glory. the george pov is like, fucking beautiful, this author is so good at writing george, and the scene are always so sexy but also cute and fluffy i literally cackled at my screen. i read this fic on my birthday in the morning and it's literally like god gifted me a present and then i couldn't resist and immediately reread this at night. literally the fic i check my email for. (also the author has explained their reasons for naming the fic but i don't care it will always remind me of the song earth angel and that is everything to me)
menthol smoke by @undeadheist
i fucking screamed at my screen when i saw the update the other day because this is like, fycking beautiful. it's maxcedes but engineer!max and OH MY FUCKING GOD this fic has everything. like. everything. the radio exchanges between max and george are so witty and i would devour a whole fic just of them talking about gaps and cars. the text convo between the 2019 rookies is just.. MY HEART. the stan twitter is just On Point. the crofy &sky crew is absolute perfection. the most beautiful writing and amazing george perspective. i think this fic is the dearest to me because i had never even considered engineer!max and now i need three thousand more fics from that exact promt. perfection. Perfection. oh, and, this author is amazing at nailing their voices.
what has been done by @renndistanz
can this even be tagged a ship fic if it's just watching a guy and the other die inside? so, luck, perfection. PER_FUCKING_FECTION. the feels are so good and it's unreliable narrator at it's peak. OT20 because I love seeing the grid react but not really because there was only eighteen. anyways it's a series and the second fic in the series is like, rancid, but like, complimentarily, and i adore adore adore lando and charles' perspectives and the trophy haunting the narrative. the most beautiful writing, super in the feels and amazingly on point.
drive on, dreamer (you can't leave her) by @darlingboydiaz
i think i commented on the first time (yes this has been through MULTIPLE rereads) that this was the best lestappen fic i've ever read. after a lot more fics, like, A LOT, i still stand by this. max crashes and charles is in a timeloop. it's so amazing? like? what? it's so amazing. the exploration of charles' feelings is really well-written, the writing of the racing and the rain and the crash is so good, i can literally smell the petrichor i can feel the G force i can see the car move. it's literal perfection (made sweeter with a dash of brocedes) i want the world to know the moment i finished reading the fic i sat up and told my friend "how do i let this author know how amazing they are because this is unreal"
can the world know that i combed though the le mans tag in the f1 fandom after reason jenson button's book? ok. anyways, this fic is absolute perfection, them being retired but can never go too far from cars, the multimedia with interviews and shit, the AMAZING dynamic with ollie and max and charles. the pit radio? AMAZING. just, breathing. max fucking verstappen telling charles there's more than winning, and that sunrise sequence. i beg whomever to read this fic even if they don't care about cars.
home (is wherever I'm with you) by @sunshineyoujustwait
like, the literal best charles to red bull fic? it's multi-media mixed with tidbits of stan twitter, the daily fail, and interviews. i adore the characterisations because charles is having a completely normal reaction of nico rosberg levels of I Need That Shiny Metal Cup and max is being understading is everything i need. their dynmaic is beautiful i found myself laughing and squeaking
won't you sing me something for the dark by @undignifiedpopemobile
i had wrote in my bookmark for this fic a rush of blood to the head, and i was confused until i skimmed the first chapter and said, out loud, "oh, i remember this. (pause) it was really good." i haven't reread it in it's entirety becuase it is That Good and i think the realistic nature of it and how it deals with charles and max (in 2021 & 2022) and the natural reaction of being bested and being in love hurt me so much so beautifully i cannot reread it. but i is very good. a rush of blood to the head.
objects in mirror by @drivestraight
this author is like, the best, like, the Best, lestappen author if you are looking for a) feels b) realistic descriptions of being a car driver and c) FEELS. the entire series is like, absolute perfection, and it's a lovely oh look max and charles are talking, and wow sexual awakening, then oh my god the child is in a blue car and i think he is crying, but like, beautifully. another amazing charles to red bull fic and an amazing discussion of a championship campaign
the blurb would be max is out of comission (from racing by crash) and takes over ferrari strategy. it's super effecitve! (that's not what it is, max just writes charles notes and reviews of his drives and its more adorable. OT20! grid friendship! and really fun texting. the dialogue is super belivable and i adore living in charles' head. really beautiful writing.
icarus also flew by @mvp114
this is another fic that i told myself i could never reread because it's so beautiful it pains me. set in 2024 and another beautiful max vs charles sprint for the title (no it's not a marathon these guys cannot slow down) the delve into charles' psyche is beautiful and begs the question if the person in the car is the person walking on track and the fic portrays it perfectly. chasing a championship is painful and dirty and passionate and charles would eat his liver to win and this fic is it. the most beautiful introspective writing.
janainaart
theartofmadeline
blakekathryn
titsay
jbbartram-illu
izzy806
stormborns
