Hi

And if you, as a Carlos or Daniel fan, felt the cruelty from other fans or are feeling it now, you're allowed to be angry and upset. The little hearts after talking about how they gaslighted, lied to, and tried to bury Carlos and the laughter after reading how Daniel was emotionally manipulated and has his mental health destroyed...

That's not being a fan, that's ugliness. They're not celebrating a new season and an exciting change in their team, they're directly celebrating unnecessary cruelty to another human, who by all accounts is a good person. That's who those people are in real life. Believe them when they show their colors.

And looking back at how select other drivers were acting when all of this was happening, that shows you who they are, too. Of course, they're not in control of decisions, but they are in charge of their own behavior and their own inner circles.

I always knew F1 was cutthroat, but hard decisions don't need to be made with unnecessary cruelty, and fans celebrating that cruelty is a disgusting trend coming specifically from a certain demographic that has turned the fandom at-large into a cesspool more than any other group. If you think it's about you, it is. 🩷

2024: Daniel is fired from Vcarb -> the team goes from P6 to P8 (anr lower hopefully)

We can't see into Daniels head to know how he really feels about RBR. Sure they gave him a dream, an option and a possibility. How to say no to that? He was happy to return to the family AND HE KNEW that they were cutthroat and expect A LOT.

I won't forget the middle finger he showed them at the race after they resigned Checo. He won't forget all the media talk from him being in and out of F1 and RBR. He has every right to be mad.

At the same time I won't be mad if he takes on that ambassador role IF HE WANTS TO. He still has a lot of beautiful memories of his rbr time. In the beginning of 2023 he said he looked forward to the big Red Bull Events meeting fellow athletes from all sports imaginable.

A crackle of radio after the fastest lap in Singapore hangs in the air like a death pronouncement. One final moment in the cockpit, and it’s done. 13 years given, everything left out on the track.

“Was it enough?”

One single lap to end it all. The fastest, for one final dance.

One point taken away, from the team that took everything from him.

It’s quiet. The man who is larger than life, the brilliance of Formula One, the last of the late breakers sits in the cockpit and savours the moment for the last time.

A career that has been filled with laughter, champagne and the roar of engines ends quietly under the Marina Bay lights. Not a sound from the team that claimed to be family, not a word from the man who told him to come home only to toss him out two years later. Red Bull’s prodigal son returned home, and realized that home had changed.

Is it fair? The man who gives everything, broken bones and skin stretched over teeth too widely, has been thrown out for someone shiny and young. Not once, but twice. Kept smiling through it all, and maybe hoped that one day, it will hurt a little less.

A kid from Perth burst into the paddock with all his crooked teeth and curly hair, and instantly charmed the world with his smile. The cutthroat world of Formula One is not prepared for someone to be so kind, so genuine, so positive. He smiles, and the whole world is entranced. The personality that changes everything and the inherent goodness that runs so deep is captivating, and everyone wants more. “I’m Daniel Ricciardo, and I’m a car mechanic.” The world of motorsports stops and stares.

257 races. 8 wins. 32 podiums. It’s a career than most would dream of. Many have come, many have gone. None have changed the trajectory of this old money, uptight sport like he has. An infectious laugh that rang through the paddock week after week chipped away at the rigidity of sports media. Many racers are extraordinary, but not like this. To be known is to be loved, and there is none more beloved than Daniel Ricciardo.

“Was it enough?”

The silence rings out under the track floodlights.

Yes, the world answers. It was enough. It was everything.

Perez gets outqualified by 0.9 seconds.

The toxic air is starting to wear me out, we all have got our own problems in our own lives, why should we start hating on each other about drivers, people we don’t even know personally?

I love Charles, and I also love Carlos. Am I angry that Ferrari ditched him? Yes, but I still support Ferrari. Am I angry that Charles said those things? Yes, but I still support him. I love Daniel but did I like it when he defended Horner? No, but I still support him. Did I like it when Yuki got angry at him and made that dangerous move? No, but I still love him.

If people stopped loving other people at the first mistake then we wouldn’t even be here talking about this.

The drivers are not their fans.

It is as simple as that, why should everything be black and white? Why do I have to always defend Charles or Carlos or Lando or Yuki or Oscar even when they are in the wrong? Why do I have to be attacked about having a personal opinion? Why do I have to feel bad about something as freeing and as fulfilling as watching a sport because I like the sport?

FEA 🖕🏼🖕🏼🖕🏼