F1 Preferences by @_ReginaPhilange_

Epiphany

You realise you love each other

Carlos Sainz Jr

Him: He knows what he wants, guys. And when he first laid eyes on you, he already knew you were going to end up together, so it happened pretty soon in the relationship (like, a month in). You were still keeping a low profile, which meant you didn't follow him around the world to every race, you only stuck to the Spanish GP and only when you could (both according to your work schedule and your finances, since you wanted to pay for them yourself). One time, he didn't know you'd made it to the race and he'd got a podium. When he found your face in the crowd and your eyes locked, he winked at you and mouthed it right away: "Te quiero," as simple as that.

You: His decisiveness freaks you out, it always has. So, when he told you he loved you for the first time, you panicked a little because you thought it was too soon. You didn't say it back, and he told you there was no need for it. That he could wait and even give you space, if that was what you needed. That made you panic even more. The dreadful scenario of not having him by your side made you realise you were actually ready for the L-word.

Charles Leclerc

Him: It was the first time you'd agreed on setting foot on his yacht. Boats scare the hell out of you, and watching "Titanic" as many times as you have sure doesn't help. He'd been patiently waiting to show you his sailing skills, though, so he couldn't have been happier when you decided to follow him out at sea. And looking at the way the moonlight and the city lights reflected on you, all curious yet worried and looking so small in one of his hoodies, worked like a key to his heart. That's when he thought (just thought, he was still too nervous to say it out loud): "So this must be how being in love really feels, huh?"

You: (C'mon, do we really need to?) It took you, like, three/four minutes to fall head-over-heels for the guy. There's not much to add about it. If you had to pick one moment to define the precise instant you realized you loved him, that has to be Monza 2019. (Basic? Could be. A must? Absolutely.)

Daniel Ricciardo

Him: You were taking a night walk at the beach and you were both completely wasted. He asked you what you worst fear was. At first, you answered, "What do you mean? I'm not afraid of anything! Like you." Then, when he revealed that he was scared to death of not being able to race again, you decided to return the favor and replied, "Being alone in life. I guess that's the one." That's when he vowed to himself he'd never make you feel alone ever again.

You: He had just finished burping your name and you were laughing like crazy. Meanwhile, your brain was hosting a fight between two of its cells. One was telling you to run as fast and as far away as possible from this living embarrassment of a man, and the other was pushing you closer to him. Guess which one of them won.

George Russell

Him: You were singing and dancing along while watching "Mamma Mia!" one night. The song was "Lay all your love on me". Let's just say he took it quite literally.

You: It was about a couple of months after you'd started dating, and you were sitting in a cafe in London and watching how the Christmas decoration lit up the city while enjoying your cups of tea. You'd been going on about the differences between the Harry Potter books and the films for, like, half an hour straight. When you stopped, feeling a little awkward for how much you'd been talking, he said, "Are you okay? (To which you nodded in reply) Please, keep going. You were telling me about the potion riddle in the first book." And that's when you thought you might be in love.

Lando Norris

Him: This one's a film classic. He was waiting for you before some gala event, and when he saw you make your way down the stairs in your stunning gown (thank you Vampire Diaries for the inspo, by the way), he almost physically felt that you'd entered his heart and locked yourself in forevermore.

You: There were some little kids waiting outside a circuit once. They couldn't make it into the paddock, but they were shouting at the top of their lungs to catch Lando's attention. You smiled and told him about them. When you saw that he decided to ditch the whole first half of the press conference to sign whatever those kids wanted, take pictures with them, and thank them for the small presents they'd brought for him (stuffed animals, candy bracelets, etc.), you realized that he might deserve a little love from you as well.

Lewis Hamilton

Him: Back to the fake dating era, he was asked to speak to some kids in a poor village somewhere. It was supposed to be a long trip, and it wasn't going to be paid as much as the other initiatives he'd taken part in before. You didn't know whether the request had also been sent out to his personal mail address/his manager's, but you'd found it when you opened yours. You'd never had nor wanted to have any say in his professional life, but the more you kept reading what the association taking care of those kids had written, the more you grew attached to the initiative. So, in the end, you booked two tickets for wherever that was with your own money, just in case. He found them before you could explain anything to him, and that's when his feelings told him the fake thing was getting way too real.

You: You were with him when he spoke to those kids. Your heart didn't need anything more than that sight to know it belonged to him.

Max Verstappen

This is a two-in-one thing.

You were in his cool-down room, fighting about a crash he'd just had during a race. He'd been on the verge of crashing during the whole weekend, so you'd been worried sick for days already. When you saw it happen, the concern turned into pure rage. So, the moment you found him hiding in there, you went straight to the point of him being an idiot and all. He was mad as well because he'd had to retire from the competition, so his attitude only contributed to the fighting, and not in a positive way. Curses and insults were pouring like heavy rain, until you reached a point when you found yourselves yelling, "I love you, you stupid idiot!" and "How dare you say you love me first? I love you!".

Yeah, that's pretty much it.

Pierre Gasly

Him: You'd gone karting and you'd asked him to secure your helmet for you. Standing so close to you, your breaths mixing, the feather touches of his fingers against the soft skin of your face - love simply bubbled up inside of him until he couldn't hold it in anymore. And he would've definitely told you that day, but you ended up beating him at the race so he focused only on getting back at you.

You: On one of your many study dates, he began asking questions about what you were studying. You could see he was actually interested in it, he wasn't just trying to catch your attention or anything. The more he wanted to know about the topic you were doing that day, the more you felt the sentence as it put itself together on the tip of your tongue. You eventually had to bite it to stop the fateful declaration from slipping out.