#babette's rambles

[babssionate]

If ROC proved one thing is that when you create an environment that’s all about having fun and just racing.... people surprisingly feel great and comfortable that leads to fun victories!

[babssionate]

I hate that I feel the need to create this post, but here I go. My post yesterday about Lando caused a lot of traffic towards my blog and there is just two final things I want to say:

1. I see a # going around on Twitter, TikTok, Insta and it wouldn’t surprise me if I start seeing it here too. #wesaynotonorris is horrific and absolutely unnecessary (in my opinion). This is exactly why I made 4 posts talking about holding someone accountable vs cancelling someone. I know the difference can be hard to see, but this is exactly what I feared. This will turn into a witch hunt, not hunting Lando but blogs that will reblog/post about him.

2. That brings me to my second point. I made my peace with the posts I created yesterday. I made my statement, my point and tried my hardest to hold Lando accountable (outside of Tumblr). If I start reblogging or posting stuff about Lando (I think I already reblogged something this morning) that does not mean that I have ‘forgotten’ about the situation. I definitely haven’t and I’m still livid (especially hearing the shit from the most recent stream as well). For me it now means that I just accepted the fact that I did everything I personally could. I will be waiting for either a. another incident or b. a statement. This will not sit right with people, I know it won’t. I’m sorry if it doesn’t, but I hope you can at least see why I do the things I do now. 

If you wanna talk about it, well my inbox is open 🧡✨

[babssionate]

Heads up my lovelies

I see so many people in tags and on my dash hurt by some of the Quali results and I just wanna cheer you up a bit. So if you click the ‘keep reading’ option I’ll talk about Lan, Seb, Carlos and Dan. I’ll give my view on the situation. Hopefully it will put a small smile on your face or it gives you some hope! 🧡✨

Lando

We gotta start with the boy who surprised us all this weekend. When I was watching FP3 I was amazed to see him in P2, just +0.4 seconds off Max’s time! He was pushing all Quali too! Track limits are rough, he should have been more careful. But it happened to so many other drivers this weekend. Lando of course spoke out and said that he fucked up, but the points are won tomorrow. Lando looks amazing in that McLaren, he got her under control and knows he can trust her when he will battle the people ahead of him tomorrow. If the track limit didn’t occur, we would be sooo proud of him. I am still proud of him! HE IS IN A MCLAREN! He almost put her on one of the front two row spots! Just imagine what he will do tomorrow!

Sebastian

Q2 BABY! From the miserable season opener, where Seb got kicked to the curb and had a horrible race, I see this as a huge improvement. Over the three week gap he has been getting familiar with the car in the sim and I saw that he had found some confidence in Honey Ryder. Lance and Seb were really close in times during all the practices, it looks good. It is just weekend two, we got a long season ahead of us. He should have done one more lap in Quali, it could have saved his Q3 spot. But with the small amount of regained confidence I say that we watch him tomorrow. He could be in the points from turn one onwards. Seb is talented, he is smart enough. Don’t give up on him yet! We are in weekend 2 and already improved from Q1 (weekend 1) to Q2... well what will happen in weekend 3 or 15?

Carlos

Can I just say how proud I am of Carlos? I normally don’t really blog about him, don’t know why actually, but I am so proud. The Ferrari car and team are difficult environments to get used to. All eyes are on him, especially with Charles and his results. Bahrain was his first race and he put the Ferrari on P8, this weekend he might have underdelivered with a P11 but that is still really well for someone who is getting used to the car! He has said that he just didn’t have a good day today, he felt fast but couldn’t put a lap together. Carlos has amazing race pace, he is a Sunday driver (in my opinion) so don’t count him out for some good points tomorrow! He just needs to overtake Lance and he is in the points already!

Daniel

It is funny how three out of four drivers on this list, drivers that fans are most saddened about, are drivers that are new to their respective teams. Daniel, well he is Daniel. He is a fighter, he has amazing race pace and will definitely fight anyone to reach the highest position possible. Today he just seemed to be a bit out of sync with the car, especially compared to Lando and the fast laps he put out. That being said, he is gonna grow over the next couple of races. That McLaren is on fire, Lando is on fire and pretty soon Dan will be too! I wrote a profile about him for my writing minor (I posted it, you can find it here), in that piece I wrote that he is a ‘glass half full’ kind of guy. Let us see his racing glass half full too! I’m gonna have fun watching him battle Lando and the drivers in front tomorrow!

[babssionate]

I sometimes get secondhand impostor syndrome whenever some rat complains about Mick Schumacher being overrated bc what if he really is and im just not seeing it because Michael is GOAT and my bias

Hi Anon, I honestly feel you. Sometimes it is hard to know where your specific love for a driver comes from. I can name three of my favorite drivers that I also have these doubts about, I often ask myself where my love for them comes from. Which is something 'normal' I think... something human even. But about Mick.... I wouldn't let this idea of him being 'overrated' get you down . I'll tell you why after the 'keep reading' option 😉🌻

Look, the whole motorsport world is biased when it comes to the Schumacher name. Everyone loved loves Michael, every motorsport fan knows about him. I mean... can you blame us? He is the greatest of all time, he broke and set so many records. Records that are just now being broken by Lewis, that says a whole lot.

So, I am not surprised we all favour, love and cherish his son. Mick is a spitting image of his dad (looks and racing wise) and has the personality of his mom (he is soft, sweet, smart, which he also gets from his dad btw but I got to mention Corinna too!). He brings the full package, it is easy to root for him. At the same time he brings a shit ton of nostalgia with him. But here is the catch: Mick started off his racing career with the name 'Betsch', Corinna's maiden name. This was when Michael was still racing obviously, but he used that pseudonym to 'be free from the media'. But he has made the switch, he has been racing with the Schumacher name for a couple of years now. I read an F1 interview with him and in that he said this:

"Coming to formula racing, we knew that there was going to be more attention. I wanted to race under my full name anyway and I am proud to have it on my car, I am proud to have it on my suits. The media have always been around me a bit more than others, but we’ve always been quite respected in that area, in terms of, if I ask for the privacy I need, then they give it to me and I’m very grateful for that."

This has nothing to do with your question, but it eases me to know that loving Mick because I also love Michael is a 'normal' thing and Mick is proud to rep the title. He personally doesn't see it as more pressure, so we are not giving him that pressure by loving him and his last name. Does that make sense?

Honestly, I think Mick is not overrated. He needs two seasons to get in a rhythm, so I am planning on him blowing us away next year. This is his first season in F1 and I'm sorry but.... having a gap of a minute to your own teammate... that doesn't sound overrated to me. I'm sorry, but the 'rats' (to quote you) that don't see how much potential he has... it blows my mind. It is Stroll/Perez/Gasly/Vettel/Giovinazzi all over again, just because they don't blow you away from their first lap on track - "nah they aren't worthy of an F1 seat." Absolutely ridiculous.

Is it fair to compare Mick to Michael? Obviously not. Different eras, different walks of life, different team situations. But to be honest, I don't find myself comparing Mick to his dad. I get more joy out of comparing him to his teammate. And while doing so, I am getting the straight-up fact that Mick is better. Which is exactly why I don't feel 'guilty' or 'biased' when I'm rooting him on. He is better than his current teammate and he has so much potential to grow. The last name helps, but if he would be dead last every single weekend and puts times in the 2 minutes on the board... I don't think his last name will help him keep his place (especially not in a team like Haas).

That being said, there is one last thing I want to add onto this. Michael is undoubtedly the greatest driver the world has seen, Mick is at the start of what will be a long and fruitful career. Even if he is 'overrated' now, he won't be in a couple of years. Michael had so much support in his motorsport career, people all over the world rooted for him. Mick needs those people too, so never ever apologise for rooting for someone (whatever reasoning there may be behind it). Without support everyone gets stuck, so you are only doing what is right as fan.

I don't know if this actually made sense Anon, I just did a word-vomit all over this post and I'm praying you actually get something out of it 😂I refrained from actually diving into his achievements and into proving how great he actually is this season. If you still want me to write something like that, let me know! I got all the info ready. Have a lovely day/night/week and I'm hoping to be supporting Mick alongside you 🧡✨

[babssionate]

You better come back boo people are roasting Lando again 😭😭

Lando sweety plsssss shut up.

He did not actually said something wrong tho. He just said that we should stop making fun of mazepin spinning... People were getting mad because of the whole mazepin controversy.

Sigh. Idk everytime these drivers have a couple days off something happens. I feel like you should entertain these drivers Babette (especially the younger ones). Maybe present them your powerpoint 😂😂

Hahaha sweet Anon, I was going to wait until tomorrow morning to answer your message (because ya girl = tired af). Then I saw this post on my dash and knew that I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I didn’t answer you. 

This kid... Lando... I swear... 

I don’t watch the streams, but sure he didn’t say anything ‘bad’ or made another idiotic joke. He is defending the actions of someone who shouldn’t be in F1 (my opinion, sorry not sorry). I think @tracklimits​ (the blog I saw the clip from) said it better than I can at the moment: 

“so like lando, who openly joined in with the ‘sbinalla’ jokes about seb, now saying he’ll ban people for saying ‘mazespin’ (a name actually made by fucking sky sports) about a man whose history we all know.”

Lando is already on very thin ice, he now created a crack by doing this. Boyyyyyyy, come on. Why does he get himself mixed up in this stupidity. I do have to say that I recently kind of started to get the inkling that he is acting out just for the fun of it.... but I don’t know if I’m the only one who feels that way?

ANON! HAHAHHA I meaan... I can think of a couple of ways to entertainment these drivers 👀 no, get your head out of the fantasy gutter. I can teach them proper manners, we could watch some movies, play some Clue (I’m really good at Clue)... and then I’ll end the night George Russell style with a big presentation on F1 and why this behavior is stupid 😂

You wanna round them up Anon? Tell them to meet me at my place, I’ll get the snacks ready haha. 

Hope you have a lovely day/night/week and I’m here (tomorrow) for chats about anything and everything 🧡✨

[babssionate]

If someone ever finds a Seb fancam with either a. Chiquitita or b. a Coldplay song - send it to me! I need a good cry 😂

[babssionate]

The Badger as Sweet as Honey - a Profile by me, Babette.

All the pictures and artwork above isn’t mine, I put them together to create a moodboard for the pitch I had to do. Credit goes to their original creator. 

I promised @formulola to share some of my writing with her, but I’m getting out of my bubble and sharing it with all of you. I’ve said it a million times, I’m currently following a minor to get better at writing. The first half of this semester I have been learning all about Fiction, Poetry and Non-Fiction. 2 of the works I created I’ve shared (just click the links added to Fiction and Poetry), here I am sharing a third one (Non-Fiction).

My final Non-Fiction assignment consisted of writing a Profile on someone that you connect with, someone that has touched/shaped your life in a certain way. It also needed to give a clear image of the person you were writing about. If you are interested about my profile about Daniel, click the ‘keep reading’ option below.

If you were to write a Profile on someone, who would you pick and what would you write about?

“All good always. It’s always going to be alright. The sun will always shine, you may have your ups and downs but it’s just trying to be positive with anything you do.” – Daniel Ricciardo, 2021.

The sound is like a scream, disappearing as fast as it came. The speeds are higher than anything I have ever seen, the corner nearing within seconds. The battles are harder than before, everyone trying to reach the top step of that podium. Any Formula 1 fan would give their life to race an F1 car, but not me. I cannot imagine lowering yourself down into a car, knowing you could crash out any minute. 

To me it’s not strange that I found comfort in loving one of the few drivers known for a lot more than his racing ability. Out of the 20 drivers lining up the grid, he is one that constantly licks the stamp and sends it. You can spot him from a million miles away, sun rays bouncing off his pearly whites. His laughter is like music to everyone’s ears, combine that with his carefree attitude and you get Daniel. But as soon as the helmet is on, the Honey Badger comes out to play. 

Daniel Joseph Ricciardo, born on July 1st, 1989 in Perth, Australia. It would take me over 24 hours to reach his hometown, still I feel closer to him than ever. His racing gene didn’t come out of nowhere. His mom, Grace, would always take him to see his dad Giuseppe, ‘Joe’, race at the Barbagallo Raceway in Western Australia. It seemed only right that Daniel would start a motorsport career as well. When Daniel turned nine, he started karting and won a scholarship to the Asian Formula BMW championship. In 2007, seventeen-year-old Daniel got the chance to move up to a higher level of racing, Formula Renault. This would mean that he had move to Europe so he could battle for the title in European and Italian championships. A year later, in 2008, Daniel won the European title. From that point onward, his career started taking off. He made his debut in a Formula 1 car in 2009, testing for Red Bull and in 2011 he had his first race in a Toro Rosso. As of the 2020 F1 season he has 7 wins, 31 podiums, 3 pole positions, 15 fastest laps, driven 188 races and has a total of 1159 career points. 

When I started watching F1 around 2017, my dad always rooted for the Dutch driver on the grid: Max Verstappen. I didn’t pick Verstappen as my favorite driver, I wanted to be a rebellious daughter, so I went for the teammate Daniel. What drew me in? Daniel’s loud and bubbly personality. I had been looking for someone to help me realize life wasn’t as bad as I made it out to be. During my entry into the F1 community I had just started therapy for my anxiety and panic disorder and seeing Daniel’s carefree, happy personality made my life more enjoyable. He became my distraction from how bad I was feeling, teaching me multiple things along the way.

Seeing Daniel, bouncing his way down the paddock towards his car, it brings a childlike feeling along with it. He knows how to have fun and he doesn’t care who sees it. I, on the other hand, always cared about every single opinion someone could have. I didn’t take up space, I kept myself out of the picture and I didn’t act out of control. Seeing Daniel’s carefree nature sparked a fire inside of me, something I only started noticing in 2018. It took me a year to complete therapy and I would start college a week after. The weekend in between my last session and my first class was a race weekend, The Belgian Grand Prix 2018 at Spa-Francorchamps. Daniel didn’t win that race; in fact, he wasn’t even racing after lap one. His race was over when Fernando Alonso's orange McLaren flew over Charles Leclerc's Sauber. It was a domino effect, Daniel got hit in the back by Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari and he was done. I was gutted and for a second the thought went through my mind, “Is this a sign of how my college experience will go? From day one I will be out?” When I watched his interview after the race, I was greeted with a still smiling Daniel, he wasn’t bothered by the DNF. He had picked up his ego and motivation and was only looking ahead. He was picturing his glass half full. 

That sums up Daniel, a happy go lucky guy who will always see his glasses half full. I on the other had always been pessimistic, glass half empty, ‘it’s better to prepare for a letdown than to let it surprise you’. I must have spent days catching up with old videos and races, taking Daniel’s personality in. Fitting pieces of it into my own. I wanted to become as carefree, as happy and as kind as the man I saw racing every weekend and I wasn’t quitting until I had reached it. 

Life isn’t always about sunshine and rainbows, I had to learn this the hard way. Seeing life crumble down around you and not having the tools to fix it again is a tough pill to swallow. F1, similarly, is not always about winning and podiums. Still, Daniel was prepared when he became an F1 driver, the Honey Badger had already been born. In the wild, honey badgers are animals with two personalities: when you look at one from a distance, he is cute and cuddly. As soon as you cross his territory though, you better run for your life. He will go after anything, from tigers to pythons. The honey badger isn’t stupid either, he’ll find a way out of every situation. In a South African zoo, a honey badger called Stoffel would always find new ways to escape his habitat, using everything he could get his paws on to climb out and scare his keeper. 

It was Daniel’s former trainer, Stuart Smith, who at the time showed him a documentary about the honey badger and pointed Daniel towards the resemblance the two shared. Daniel looks cute and cuddly; I would love to have him as my friend. He is always up for a joke and a chat. But if you are an opponent, in the way of a lot of points, well you better get out the way as quickly as possible. The Honey Badger will go after anyone, from world champions to his closest friends.  The Honey Badger doesn’t give up, no matter how quickly the corner approaches. He’ll use all of his senses to break a fraction later and to beat his rival.

Three years ago, Daniel was asked about what his alter ego meant to him. On the podcast of former F1 world champion, Nico Rosberg, he said the following: “When I adopted the Honey Badger, I made a pact with myself that I would rather try and fail and potentially crash out, than not try at all.” That quote has stuck with me ever since. I have been held captive by my perfectionism and fear of failure and disappointment my entire life. Hearing Dan say that he would rather fail than not try at all was a push I needed. For months, I tried to implement the Honey Badger mentality into my life, reminding myself that not trying would be worse than failing. That mentality I had copied of off Daniel did so much for me, that I was able to reach miles stones I never thought I would reach. 

There is another part of Daniel I connect with: his passion and view on mental health. In 2018, Daniel hit his lowest point of F1, “The last year at Red Bull was probably emotionally the most tough, because at the start of the year it looked like I was maybe competing for the championship, and then mid-year realised that I wanted to move on. There were a lot of emotions that year.” When he left Red Bull and joined the French Renault team, he found himself having the option to make some noise about mental health in general. Someone so happy, who never seems mentally strained, suddenly took part in the Renault UK Mental Health Champions program, speaking to fans about the importance of talking about mental health. In 2021, he has joined the British McLaren team who announced their partnership with MIND UK last year on Mental Health Day. 

In my fight to break down the stigma surrounding mental health I found an ally. Someone who is just as passionate and sees the importance of speaking up. In my fight to take back the confidence I lost I found a role model. Someone who will always remind me to see the glass half full and that being sweet as honey is a good thing as long as we don’t forget to let the badger out every once in a while. Thank you, Daniel.

If you reached the bottom of this long ass story, let me know what you thought! I’ll be handing this innnnnn on April 2nd, excited 🧡✨

[babssionate]

hi i was wondering if u watch any others like f2, f3, maybe formula e? cause i would love to have ppts on formula e since i wanted to get into it. no problem if you don’t!! no pressure!! have a great day :)

Hi sweetheart! I follow the F2 championship very closely and I watch FE whenever I have the time (I couldn’t watch yesterdays race, life got far toooo busy) I’m interested in doing an introduction ppt on F2 and FE, let me know what you want to know! 

Because I’m mainly an F1 fan, I went on a bit of a search for you as well and I’ll provide a couple of links to posts that either already made a ppt or did something else explaining F2/FE! Maybe this is shooting myself in the foot, because I’m providing you with content I could also make, but honestly I don’t care about that. I believe this motorsport community has so many talented people that deserve shout outs and if I can participate in that, you betcha I will! 

F2

@fredvestis created an F2 2021 PPT - click here.

@f2source just has a lot of F2 content in general.

@mclarenp1 posted the new F2 format - click here.

FE (some of the links were provided by @allthewayabt master post)

@robin-frijns created an FE 2021 PPT - click here. 

The FE YouTube channel has an entire playlist dedicated to explaining FE.

@safetycarz answered an Anon yesterday about FE - click here.

I hope this can get you started by getting introduced into F2 and FE. I’ll have a look and see if I can find some F3 stuff as well. If you still want a ppt from my end (even though I think I couldn’t do it better than the ones mentioned above), let me know! I would love to make one and I’m totally open for collaboration (also on the F1 end btw)! If anyone else that follows F2/F3/FE has some links or tips, please reblog/reply. I want to learn too 🧡✨