Fantasy 1 - A F1 AU Sandbox

Welcome to Fantasy 1, an AU for F1 that got bigger than I anticipated so I wanted to put it all Somewhere. Here all the teams operate as they do now, as Formula 1 teams, but that's a cover for their true purpose. The teams use the travel to manage and hide their true aim; caring for and maintaining the general secrecy of the mythological, legendary, and unusual creatures that live world wide.

Each team has its own specialty, and each driver has their own unique presence amongst the unusual.

The Teams

Ferrari - Charles Leclerc - Lewis Hamilton Mercedes - George Russell - Kimi Antonelli Red Bull - Max Verstappen - Yuki Tsunoda VCARB - Liam Lawson - Isack Hadjar - 2026 Update: Arvid Lindblad McLaren - Lando Norris - Oscar Piastri Williams - Alex Albon - Carlos Sainz Haas - Esteban Ocon - Ollie Bearman Alpine - Pierre Gasly - Franco Colapinto Sauber/Audi - Nico Hulkenberg - Gabriel Bortoletto Aston Martin - Lance Stroll - Fernando Alonso

Cadillac (2025 Post) - Checo Perez (2025 Post) - Valtteri Bottas (2025 Post)

Max had been welcomed amongst the Dragons quite quickly. His time with Red Bull prior to joining the full Team had already led to quite a number of introductions. While his sudden acquisition of fire resistance was a horrifying moment for himself and the team around him, he quickly adapted and began using it for good.

Just a few months after learning about his fire resistance, Max was able to rescue a dragonet from her egg. The brood mother was concerned, but accepted his help when Max didn't blink at her display of fire, and Max was able to crack the shell open wider to let the small dragon fully hatch. This same dragon would go one and be the one who entrusted Max with her runt egg when he won his first Championship.

Team: VCARB Species Specialty: Undetermined Bloodline: Fully Human (Witch Lineage) Characteristics: Magical Connectivity

Arvid grew up around magic as both his parents are from two well established lines of Witches. As such, he's been in contact with many of the teams for awhile, though he landed with Red Bull for his racing career.

Arvid's Magical Connectivity meant it was easy for him to work with any of the Mythicals he encountered. Red Bull and VCARB prefer to keep him unspecialized, in case of emergencies, he can be contacted for any of the numerous species they handle, and Arvid is able to get a larger range of experience. He has also been asked to help several other teams as well, when all other options are exhausted or unavailable.

Arvid's Connectivity is unique in that he is actually able to connect best to inanimate objects, rather than living beings. It also prevents him from becoming a full Witch in the normal sense. His magic prefers to attach to objects around him and give them a semblance of sentience, which makes it hard for him to then 'harm' those objects. This has also made for a rather interesting problem, where Arvid's car, several races in, has developed a sort of personality and while it isn't capable of real thought, the car does seem to be pleased when Arvid is driving well.

Although he is working to rein in his Magic to prevent so many accidental Connections with various objects around him, Arvid has yet to fully control it. He has managed to prevent most of the random attachments, but he still struggles to prevent a Connection to objects he spends a lot of time around; his car, helmet, and cell phone have been the hardest for him to detach from so far.

Team: Cadillac Species Specialty: Active/Environmental Abilities Bloodline: Fully Human Characteristics: Developed Ability (Temperature Manipulation)

Valtteri was approached and tested by Cadillacs Witches with agreement from Mercedes and Valtteri himself. Valtteri quickly agreed and, upon being declared someone with an Ability, gladly signed up with Cadillac as a driver for next year.

Valtteri's Ability being revealed to him as the ability to manipulate temperature allowed him to understand a few things that had already been happening to him, especially while at his home in Finland. His friendship with many of the Yetis is the most likely explanation for this, especially as Valtteri finds it easier to warm himself or an object than to cool himself or an object down.

Valtteri has spent much of his time helping Cadillac's Witches both test the current F1 drivers for potential Abilities and develop a way to suppress those Abilities when in a car. He's had quite a few conversations with drivers and some team members who, after being tested, have discovered they aren't actually fully blooded Humans.

Team: Cadillac Species Specialty: Passive/Self Abilities Bloodline: Fully Human Characteristics: Developed Ability (Enhanced Strength)

When Checo was approached originally by a representative from Cadillac, they asked if he was willing to be a sort of initial experiment for their Witches. After about an hour and a signed NDA, they informed him of the category of individuals they will be representing for Fantasy 1 and how they needed drivers who have a strong knowledge of the various Mythicals. Checo agreed to allow the Witches to test him for developing or already developed Ability with the understanding that if he was confirmed as having one, he would be signed as a driver for them next year.

Checo is fairly certain his Flight developed in part from his work and close contact with the Quetzalcoatl in his homeland, but likely started when he worked closely with the avians of McLaren. So far, Checo hasn't fully acquired control over his Flight, and it tends to be more of a levitation, stopping at most around 3 meters or 10 feet above the ground.

In the several months between his signing with Cadillac and their official start with Fantasy 1, Checo has been travelling around with several other reps and two of the Witches, covertly testing the drivers of the other motorsports for developing Abilities. This is how Cadillac found and signed Colton Herta to drive with their sponsorship in F2.

Cadillac comes in to the Fantasy 1 teams with a whole new category of the unusual. It turns out the rumors of normal, everyday humans beginning to develop strange abilities from generations of living near magic filled Mythical beings were true. So far, Cadillac has only identified, at most a few thousand of these individuals, but more seem to be out in the world, unaware of their potential.

Cadillac has spent the past year or so since their proposal to join F1 developing a sure way to determine if someone has or is developing a magic infused or induced Ability. A small collection of originally independently working Witches have found some success with this after being hired by Cadillac and working together to become experts. With their help, Cadillac has identified four main categories for these Abilities; Active and Passive, and then Self and Environmental.

The Active vs Passive category is fairly straight forwards. Active Abilities require focus from the individual to work, like flight or telekinesis, while Passive Abilities are relatively 'always on' and tend to be more enhancements of an individual's person, such as enhanced strength but can also include things like the ability to read emotions. Generally Self Abilities are Passive and are more enhancements of an individual's skills, though Active Self Abilities do exist, such as flight, or Abilities that enhance sight. Environmental Abilities can affect other people as well as the environment and tend to be more Active.

A good number of the Cadillac Team Members have some sort of Ability, though they may not always have good control over it, or knowledge of where they absorbed enough magic for its development.

No one is sure whose idea it was for Oscar to be introduced to several of the Pegasus Herds, but everyone's money is on Charles, since he's the one who did all the introductions. While McLaren was nominally responsible for the Pegasi on occasion, the reality tended more towards fully Ferrari. Only two McLaren employees were even remotely tolerated by the Pegasi herds when Oscar joined, and someone had the idea that maybe Oscar could become the third.

The introductions go politely, but decidedly distant. Oscar is allowed into their space, but the general feeling is that he is mostly allowed this because of Charles' company. For the whole first year of his employment at McLaren, Oscar is never truly needed for the Pegasi, and so he turns towards a specialty with the Phoenix.

It's only in Oscar's second year with the team that he becomes completely accepted by the Pegasi, or at least a selection of their herds. The first instance that required him was a major forest fire. Every Ferrari employee in the area was needed to help the Pegasi get out, since they were having trouble flying with the fire causing hot and chaotic air currents along with the thickness of the tree cover. Oscar and the two other McLaren employees were also recruited. Oscar was the one who found one of the younger Pegasi stuck in a hunters trap. They'd covered a large and deep hole with a net and forest debris. The young filly had been tangled into the netting and was screaming in terror. Oscar managed to rescue the panicking Pegasus, but not before being kicked in the ribs for his troubles. It was after this instance, word spread amongst the Pegasi that Oscar was Acceptable, if not fully welcome.

The second instance was towards the end of the 2024 season. After a strenuous birth, Oscar was the only one in the area able to attend the Naming Ceremony for the new colt. Charles had helped the mother through the birth and was too exhausted to leave his bed for the next few days, though he was able to answer all of Oscar's questions on what he should do at the ceremony before passing out. Oscar attends. Is completely respectful. And at the end, when the rest of the herd approaches and leaves feathers around the new child, giving it a safe place to rest made of family, Oscar carefully walks up and offers a lock of his own hair. The parents, fully prepared to be offended at his ignorance of custom, were surprised, but managed to accept.

After that, the Pegasi were much more welcoming to Oscar. He might never be as fully accepted amongst them as Ferrari's Pegasi team, but for the few herds he has interacted with, he's completely welcomed. The Pegasi yearling whose Naming he attended has sworn to be his friend and the young mare he saved makes relatively regular visits when she has the opportunity.

While the general depiction of the Loch Ness Monster tends towards dinosaur with fins instead of legs, the real LNM is actually more similar to a cross between that and an alligator. The body and tail is quite a bit more angular, with webbed feet and hands, rather than fully fin shaped legs.

The Loch Ness Monster is also not a solo cryptid. There are actually many of them, now dispersed throughout the world's lakes, though the most numerous and diverse population of them lives in Michigan's Great Lakes. All of the LNMs have also been removed from Loch Ness, to prevent any accidental sightings due to the numerous tourists travelling there specifically for the LNM.

Most Monsters are between 18 and 25 ft (around 5.5 to 7.5 meters) in length, there have been several adults in Lake Superior and Lake Michigan measured to be nearly 40 ft (12 meters) in length. This discovery has caused many to believe that LNMs, like several species, grow to their environment, rather than having a normal size expectation.

When Franco was first recruited to the Williams Driver Program, it was kept quiet that the instigating factor was that one of the Vampiric team members recognized his natural allure. Because he seemed unaware of this at the time, the Vampire in question thought it best to bring him into the Fantasy world with the Williams team.

Franco was excited to join the team and finally learn there was truth behind his family's oral history of being mixed with Mythical beings. When he discovered that he in particular, had a benefit from his Mythical bloodline, and that his benefit was a natural allure that made most people more amenable to his wants, he was moderately horrified. Obviously, Franco had no way of knowing this, and he wasn't using it intentionally, but it was there, subtly influencing people around him.

The Vampire who had identified his Allure offered to help him learn to control it and Franco gladly accepted. Vampires also have an ability to sort of coerce people into doing things for them, though it a more active skill than a passive one. After a month or two of trying to figure out the best way to control his allure, Franco and the Vampire decided to reach out for help. They contacted a Witch on the team who agreed to determine the origin of Franco's allure. Upon the discovery that the Allure was Siren in nature, Franco and his Vampire friend realized there wasn't and easy fix to control it.

By the time Franco was moved to F1 and the Williams team officially, he was able to dampen the effects of his Allure for short stretches of time, thanks to a lot of trial and error and contacting several actual Sirens and some of their mixed Human descendants. Franco knows he might never be able to fully negate the effects of his natural allure, but he's now able to minimize the effects of it for most of a day if necessary, though it leaves him drained. Franco also remains in contact with many of the other Siren descendants he's talked to, and as a collective, they all help others who are just learning about their natural, bloodline gifts.

When Charles first agreed to house some of his Unicorn friends at his home during his first year in Ferrari, he certainly didn't expect it to result in a large mixed herd of Unicorns and Pegasi living with him full time. More importantly, however, he didn't expect this to lead to the discovery of a completely new species of Mythical.

It started during the pandemic, when Charles was home more often than anticipated. Several Unicorns visited to keep him company and then enough of them just opted to stay that Charles had to find a way to house them. By the end of 2020, Charles had around 10 Unicorns living with him.

At the start of 2021 Pegasi started to join the Unicorns living in the pasture at Charles' home and by the end of the year, a Pegasus had given birth to what would become known as the first Pegacorn. Obviously, a very frantic winter break happened for Ferrari. Charles refused to allow just anyone to visit, especially as the foal had just been born. The small team of people who did visit were able to note several things about the new species however.

It seemed that the Pegacorn, while having both a horn from their Unicorn parent and wings from their Pegasus parent, was bereft of natural Magic. The first foal, a filly eventually named Adi, appeared as a deep amethyst purple, an interesting mix from her pastel purple Unicorn father and her Friesian black Pegasus mother. It would turn out that all Pegacorns end up a deep jewel tone in colour and lacking any Magical talent.

The Four Horsemen are generally normal people out in the world. It's rare that they require the services of the FIA teams, though when they do, they have the choice between Haas or Sauber/Audi. Death prefers Haas while War prefers Sauber/Audi and Famine and Pestilence have no real preference, generally.

Death actually gets her strength from the grief of the living, rather than actually having any motivation to cause harm. Because of this, she runs a relatively small, but successful chain of funeral home businesses. Currently she resides in Florida and regularly attends the Miami GP.

War's power comes more from dissent and anger than full blown war conflict. He works as an on site journalist or reporter and has garnered a reputation for being the best reporter on scene for rallies, protests, and riots. He has also done several reports from active war zones, though he prefers the smaller conflicts unless he is need of a large amount of power for something.

Famine's major focus is on scarcity and they've been well fed with the growing class divide. While food is still a major source of this scarcity, it can also be fueled by a lack of money, jobs, housing, and other basic needs. Famine is employed as a chef at a Michelin star restaurant, but they volunteer at soup kitchens and shelters frequently.

Pestilence is powered by generally poor health. While he works at a disease research facility, the majority of his well being is fueled by the generally poor mental health of the world. He has refused to answer all questions about if he was involved with the outbreak of Covid, and is continuing his silence for the most recently discovered new strain of influenza.

Each Horseman keeps their horse close by, generally in a sort of pocket dimension, powered by their 'specialty,' though Death keeps his on a large farm property he owns. All the Horsemen turn to Ferrari for assistance if anything is necessary for their horse's health. This mainly entails regular re-shoeing, but has occasionally been for other minor troubles.

Golems are one of the more unique species handled by the teams and in particular Williams. Usually made of earth or stone, Golems are actually capable of forming from any nearby material including those that are manmade. A Golem forms when a large amount of magic has gathered in a location, using the most common material in the area.

Golems are most frequently formed near Witch's Covens, but can form from a collection of magic from the various magical species. Originally, most Golems formed in forests and mountains, thus their general depiction as being made of earth or stone, but recent Golems are more frequently found made of metal or glass. Luckily, the materials used for the Golem's form are just 'echoed' or formed by the Magic itself, rather than using physical materials.

A Golem is determined by the amount of magic forming it. They are also generally short lived, as the magic that forms them is also their life source. A typical Golem will 'live' for between a day and a week, generally determined by the size of the Golem formed. A larger Golem is generally shorter lived. The longest recorded 'living' Golem was one that formed about a meter in height and made of wood, surviving for just under 3 months, leading to the creation of the Pinocchio fable.

Because a Golem is a rather noticeable species when formed in cities, Williams has a rather considerable team of employees dedicated to tracking large magical reserves to ensure that someone can relocate the Golem as soon as it forms.

It is probably quite clear by now that the Fantasy Intelligence Agency is a relatively more recent service. Fantasy and Mythical species have always been living amongst the populace, which is how we have so many stories about them. The need for a Fantasy and Mythical protection agency arose in the mid 1700s, when governments the world over realized that the expansion of Humans would swiftly encroach on the natural habitats of many of these unique species. Initially, these governments all established separate Agencies and Organizations to handle their native Mythical Populations.

Many of these agencies and organizations worked together across country borders to ensure the best relocation efforts were being made. It became obvious, however, by the 1860s, that these separate agencies would swiftly become a hindrance. The FIA was established towards the end of the 1800s, garnering support and resources from many of the major countries and combining their various expertises.

By the early 1900s, the countries that had formed the FIA entered discussions on how to make the Agency self sufficient and it was decided that the agency would require a cover. The concept of racing sports solidified into the now well known Formula 1 and the introduction of the FIA as a sporting federation. Money made through the sport could then be split between maintaining the sport and helping with the preservation of the Mythical species.

In the time since, more nations have contributed resources and in light of the success of the FIA as a protective force for the mythical species, it was realized many other collaborative efforts may be made with many nations and countries working together. After the founding of the United Nations, the FIA as a conservation agency was set on it's own, no longer beholden to various countries' rules and regulations, but held to a standard now agreed upon by the United Nations. The FIA as a sporting federation, however, operates as expected, more often influenced by sponsors and donators.

Most depictions of Unicorns show them as pure white, but this isn't truly the case. Unicorns tend to be solid pastel colours. There are infrequent occasions of Unicorns being born completely white, patterned, or a darker colour, but these are very rare. A Unicorn's horn can be made of any material, though jewels and metals are most common.

A Unicorn's magic is unique to them, though they are one of the most magical of all the Mythicals. While some Unicorns are able to perform a variety of magics, most Unicorns have a tendency to a specific magical practice. Those with strong healing magics are usually regarded most highly amongst a herd, though these are not often required.

Unicorns are completely capable of communication with humans, though this generally requires contact as they aren't capable of speech only telepathy. With their magic, though, they are able to understand and respond in any language, which also makes them confident translators when asked.

In the general scheme of things, most Myths with difficulties are able to continue to live with their kind, or on their own with adaptations. In most cases, Aston Martin will let the affected party make the decision and work with them to help.

Over the course of their time with the Mythicals, Aston has adapted multiple large Care Homes for different complications. The largest and most diverse houses those Mythicals who are blind or going blind and prefer to live in a space they know is carefully regulated to ensure nothing is moved or changed without their knowledge.

One of the more common disability amongst the community is that of missing limbs, either from injury or from a birth defect. In some instances, mainly for Pegasi and Dragons missing wings, this means a necessary relocation to a Care Home, as they tend to require the ability to fly in order to migrate with the herd or properly hide in the mountains. In most of these instances, the affected individuals only require a space to live rather than direct care, so there are numerous large sanctuaries established around the world for this purpose. The most well known of these is now run and managed by Sebastian Vettel.

Many of the Care Homes operated by Aston Martin take in any and all individuals who would prefer to live out their lives cared for by people and not necessarily only those with difficulties requiring this care. In all cases, the Mythicals being cared for are always allowed to come and go as they please, as long as someone is notified.

While most commonly associated with riddles and a tendency to not take kindly to those who get them wrong, the Sphynx are actually generally a peaceful collection of Mythicals. They are typically similar in size to a lion, as that is their main body, and their more human head and eagle wings are just scaled in size to match. Male Sphynx tend to grow a mane, and all Sphynx's hair (head and tail tuft) tends to be several shades darker than the fur of their body.

Many Sphynx tend to enjoy the pursuit of knowledge, and most do, indeed, greatly enjoy a good riddle. Often, if you present a riddle to a Sphynx they haven't heard before, they will grant you a gift of some form. Typically this is an answer to a question you have, but some have agreed to various favours instead. The Sphynx especially love learning about new things in the world, since technology has greatly advanced since they were common amongst civilization, and the Sphynx can typically live for centuries.

One of few more unique aspects of the Sphynx is that they are one of the very few hybrid species that reproduce by live birth. A majority of the other hybrid species instead lay eggs, while a few use other methods. Perhaps because of this, it is very rare for a Sphynx to actually produce offspring. Typically, there is a birth in pride of Sphynx once every 200 years or so.

It's a fairly common assumption amongst most people that Witches are just people with an innate affinity for magic, however, this isn't the full truth. Most Witches do have a genetic disposition for it, but it still requires quite a bit of training and education to be able to utilize it. The Magic used by Witches is actually the same as the Magic associated with the Fantasy creatures.

Witches are most often found in Covens, though there are a number that practice alone. Most of the time, these Coven Witches will identify a human, generally in their late teens, who seems to have a sense of Magic in the air and 'nominate' them for actual training. This process can be slow, especially if the prospective Witch is from a family unassociated with the Fantasy world, as they must be sure they will not react poorly when introduced to it.

Even with full training, some Witches cannot manipulate much Magic while others may be able to accommodate so much that they tend to take on what is known as a Familiar. These creatures can be any Mythical, and must agree to allow the Witch to actively siphon off their Magical energies, otherwise the Witch is forced to rely on the usual Magics emanating from the Myths.