the thing about a charles engineer au is that there is so much heartbreak there for him like... unpacking why it is he wouldve stopped karting/single seaters, but then not being able to disconnect himself from f1 (he's monegasque it's in his blood), he still has to be in it somehow so engineer it is, and of COURSE its for ferrari because can you imagine him anywhere else
but like obviously he will still have the same connections, he still knows pierre and max and george and alex etc. they shared so much of their childhoods but now he just... is and isn't a part of them and it isn't like they intentionally rub his nose in it that he isn't a pilot at all, but HE'S thinking about it (because in every universe charles is the most self-flagellating person in a room)
and like... even his relationship with seb (first of all, if there is no il predestinato to challenge him, what happens to sebs degrading relationship with ferrari??) like they're not forced together through being partners but also charles draws people in so easily, and he's so passionate about everything he puts his mind to. add that quote where charles says he was such a weirdo around seb the first year because he didn't know how to act but x10000 cause he doesn't have that f1 driver confidence
the discordant element of charles being in the background is also fascinating, when unmistakeably he is the face of ferrari right now, and a major face in formula 1, he's been showered with attention since f3, so to have him be a background behind-the-scenes figure... what does that change about him? who are we but built by our experiences and now he hasn't had them, what changes!