Memes / Formula One Drivers

The porridge helps him go fast.

Due to the absurd length of meme entries for the Formula One drivers, such entries are now found in this page. Click here for meme entries for the sport in general.

Please add entries in the following format:^note This notice is just here so we won't get fined.

• The meme. [[labelnote:Explanation]]The explanation behind the meme.[[/labelnote]]^ExplanationLike this.

Once again, remember that Web Links Are Not Examples.

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Current drivers

• Lewis Hamilton:
  • You are the best fans! ^ExplanationMercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has made it a habit to compliment his fans before each race.
  • #Blessed^ExplanationHamilton usually ends his social media posts with this hashtag, oftentimes after a race win. It is recently oftentimes used to poke fun at Mercedes and Hamilton's Born Lucky tendencies as well.
  • Lewis, it's Hammertime. ^ExplanationSaid whenever Hamilton needs to start turning fast laps or do epic moves en route to a potential race win.
  • Get in there, Lewis! ^ExplanationThe usual celebratory line from Peter "Bono" Bonnington, Senior Race Engineer for Hamilton, whenever the latter wins a race, which is often.
  • INININININININININININ! ^ExplanationHamilton and his crew were left desperately trying to coordinate pit strategy at the last minute in the 2018 German Grand Prix, when Raikkonen stayed out unexpectedly.
  • Bono, my tires are gone! ^ExplanationOn lap 56 of the 2019 Monaco GP, Hamilton reported to his pit crew of the deteriorating state of his tires, while having Max Verstappen just behind him. Despite these problems, he still managed to win the race. Since then, Hamilton's phrase is often quoted when he comments about a problem with his car despite dominating a race (The line is actually a misquote; the actual radio from Hamilton at the time was "We're gonna lose this race, Bono. I can't look after these tires anymore, they're dead!"). Hamilton later admitted that his complaints are actually a bluffing tactic to pysch out other teams on strategy.
    • Becomes Hilarious in Hindsight at the 2020 Great Britain GP, where Hamilton managed to cross the line and win the race, despite having his front left tire blown halfway into the final lap.
  • "Interesting tactics..."^ExplanationHamilton's comment on the Qualifying session of the 2019 Italian GP, as to how the final minutes of the Q3 session unfolded.
  • The Bathroom Bomb ^ExplanationDuring the lengthy rain delay during the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, Hamilton discussed a cameraman leaving a massive dump in one of the bathrooms before Hamilton used it, claiming/joking "It's gonna haunt me for life." Fans quickly memed it as one of the other drivers leaving it in an attempt to throw Hamilton off his game.
  • Lewis Hamilton arrives ^ExplanationAs of late 2021, Hamilton has often been photographed in eccentric clothing as he shows up at a racing venue before changing into his Mercedes team attire, with many joking that a race week hasn't officially started until such a photograph is posted online.
  • "He's got so much rear end!"^ExplanationHamilton's frustrated observation of Sergio Pérez's defense during the 2021 Azerbaijan GP, where Pérez was trying to keep him behind for majority of the race. Add to the fact that the Red Bull RB16B he was driving back then had a high rake angle, and that his pose in the 2021 F1 Opening title sequence has him facing from the back, fans have interpreted it as Pérez having a very pronounced bottom.
    • "Your rear end is insane."^ExplanationHamilton commenting again on the rear end of another Red Bull car, this time Max Verstappen's, during the Cooldown Room of the 2023 Canadian GP. For added hilarity, Fernando Alonso (then driving for Aston Martin) asked if he was talking about his car, to which Hamilton corrected, then added "Yours is pretty good, too."
• Max Verstappen:
  • And the Driver of the Day award goes to... Max Verstappen! ^ExplanationThe named Red Bull driver won 8 out of 21 Driver of the Day awards in 2016, 3 of them in a row, leading many to joke about how he always gets said award no matter how badly he drives.
  • MAX MAX MAX SUPER MAX MAX SUPER SUPER MAX MAX MAX ^NoteWith Verstappen's rise to popularity in the first couple of years of his F1 career, a trio of ardent Dutch fans called the "Pitstop Boys" apparently made a song about him. This was later brought up by McLaren driver Lando Norris when he had Verstappen join on one of his Twitch streams. Needless to say, the latter's not exactly peeved about it, much to Norris's amusement.
    • Has veered into Meme Acknowledgement territory of sorts, as Max was seen vibing to the very same song during his victory party after the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP. Granted, he may have had a few glasses of wine at the time, but still...
  • YO HE! YO HO! SUPER MAX, MAX, MAX IS KAMPIOEN!^ExplanationThe same blokes behind the "Super Max" song made a follow-up single, just 2 days prior to Verstappen winning the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP, and thus becoming World Drivers' Champion.
  • Verstappen's Rage Kicking on random stuffs^ExplanationDuring the closing moments of the 2021 Azerbaijan GP, the right rear tire on Verstappen's Red Bull suddenly blew up, causing him to crash into the right-side barriers at the start/finish straight. Furious at the turn of events (especially since he was leading the race up that moment,) he was seen on the camera feeds kicking the aforementioned tire in frustration. Despite that, fans took to memeing it, splicing Max's kicking on a lot of other random scenes. It was the second front-straight tire failure at high speed in four years to involve Max, for a collision between him and then-teammate Daniel Ricciardo left debris that took Valtteri Bottas out of the race in 2018.
  • "Simply, simply lovely" ^ExplanationVerstappen's penchant for saying this whenever something good happens (gets pole or a win) has not gone unnoticed. Usually punctuated with a "haha yes," and "yes boys."
  • The Flat Brim Curse ^ExplanationA running joke among Red Bull fans is that whenever Max Verstappen wears a flat brim hat before a race, he retires due to mechanical issues or an accident.
  • Maxplaining ^ExplanationA recent trend is photos of Max explaining something to another driver, typically Charles Leclerc, particularly during races Max won. The pun was inevitable.
  • "It shows what he really is"^ExplanationSergio Perez's reaction when he learns that Verstappen disobeyed his team's orders and refused to let him through during the last laps of the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix. The reason behind Max's actions is when Checo crashed during qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix that prevented Verstappen from taking pole and subsequently cost him the chance to challenge for the win, with Verstappen making the accusation that Pérez had crashed on purpose. The fallout led to fans seeing Max as a Broken Pedestal.
  • This week on "The Max Verstappen Experience"...^ExplanationDuring the first 14 races of the 2023 Season, Verstappen managed to appear in every podium, usually as the race winner thereof. By the time of the British GP, people have started to joke that the Cooldown Room had become Verstappen's podcast studio, always having the second- and third-placed drivers as his guests. The meme later adopted the aforementioned title, complete with this drawing of Verstappen from Reddit as the de-facto logo. Has since become an Ascended Meme when the Official F1 YouTube channel named its Cooldown Room highlights for the first half of the season as the "Best Of The 'Unofficial Max Verstappen Podcast' So Far."
    • "I don't even like podcasts."^ExplanationAfter the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix, when interviewed about his Cooldown Room moments being referred to as the "Verstappen Podcast", Max ironically commented that he doesn't like podcasts as it makes him fall asleep.
  • Racing in F1 is Max's job, racing in iRacing is his true passion.^ExplanationMax is an avid sim racer and is part of sim racing team Team Redline, making him a regular in their Twitch streams. There has been cases where Max would be back competing on iRacing in the same day as a race week day (most notably in the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, where he stayed up until 4 AM to race in iRacing after securing pole position for the race), leading fans to joke that racing in Formula One serves as a distraction to Max's real passion in sim racing.
• Sergio "Checo" Pérez:
  • Mexican Tom Cruise. ^ExplanationPérez's face has quite a few features in common with the actor; he is also more or less light-skinned.
  • Checo's surprised face.^ExplanationDuring the Driver Briefing for the 2017 Malaysian GP, a discussion was brought up about an incident during the previously-concluded Singapore GP where Pérez (then with Force India) was forced to cut the corner on Turn 1 to avoid contact with Valtteri Bottas (but in turn nearly tangled with Roman Grosjean's Haas.) Bottas (with affirmation from Felipe Massa, who was seated beside him at the time,) contended that Pérez managed to get ahead of him by a considerable margin into Turn 2 as a result of the corner cutting. The feed then went immediately to Pérez, who was sporting a very surprised look on his face. Fans took to comparing his expression to the Surprised Pikachu meme.
  • The Mexican Minister of Defense^ExplanationPérez was instrumental in Verstappen's WDC victory against Hamilton in the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP; the Mexican driver leapfrogged into the lead after Hamilton's first pit stop, to which he was then told by the Red Bull strategists to hold up the Mercedes lead pilot when he catches up in order to give Verstappen a fighting chance. Although Hamilton's superior race pace meant the Dutchman couldn't take advantage of this move - at least initially, Pérez's heroics were not left unnoticed by his teammate, even calling him a "legend" on team radio. After the race and Verstappen's subsequent win, the Wikipedia page listing Mexico's minsters of defense was vandalized to include Pérez on the list, and the nickname has stuck since then.
  • FROM MEXICO... IT'S SERGIO! CHECO! PEREZ!!!^ExplanationDuring the Drivers' Parade for the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix, Perez gets the hammiest introduction from UFC octagon announcer Bruce Buffer, followed by an awkward Beat from the man himself for 5 seconds.
• Charles Leclerc:
  • Banana Leclerc ^ExplanationAs the 2020 season suffered delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc started streaming on Twitch alongside most of the other drivers (particularly fellow youngsters Lando Norris, Alex Albon, and George Russell); during one of his streams, he worn a banana suit as a joke while playing Fortnite Battle Royale (coincidentally as 'Peely', a banana). The sheer absurdity of the event made rounds among both Ferrari fans and F1 fans alike, and further cemented the young Monegasque as one of the most popular pilots on the grid.
  • I am stupid.^ExplanationLeclerc after he crashed out of Q2 at the 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, having found the right-side barrier at the notorious "Castle Section". His response immediately after endeared him with the fans.
  • Sharl Legrerg^ExplanationAnother meme from /r/formuladank, this time making fun of pronouncing the young Monegasque's name, the aforementioned being the most popular. Leclerc himself acknowledged the meme during the pre-season lockdown referencing when he was called by Binotto during one of his livestreams. The first half is actually the French pronounciation of his first name.
  • S🅱anana^ExplanationAn eventual fusion of the aforementioned "Banana Leclerc" and "S🅱innala" memes, usually cross-referenced with the Mario Kart Banana Peel
  • It was just an inchident.^ExplanationAt the end of the second round of the 2012 WSK Euro Series karting championship, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen were involved in a post-race accident. While Verstappen was openly critical of Leclerc, the young Monegasque dismissed the accident with the aforementioned quote (up to the "Italianized" pronounciation of incident). This old incident between the two drivers further endeared both Verstappen and Leclerc to the F1 fandom, and it is sometimes quoted whenever the two fight each other on the track.
  • OK, but... OK.^ExplanationTowards the final laps of the 2022 Australian Grand Prix, Leclerc asked his race engineer if he could go for the fastest lap before traffic. The race engineer turned him down, saying that Leclerc already had the fastest lap and he thought no one would beat it; the meme refers to Leclerc's modest, disappointed response to his race engineer's comments; funnily enough, Leclerc set the fastest lap of the race in the final lap, under threat of Alonso possibly snatching the bonus point and denying him his eventual career-first Grand Chelem (pole, win, fastest lap, every lap led).
  • Leclerc's scream^ExplanationAfter spinning out and crashing in the 2022 French GP, Leclerc was heard on his team radio screaming in frustration and rage at another race where he failed to finish despite leading. While the scream was viewed sympathetically at the time, in the months since it's become a common reaction to frustrating things, or just in response to more Ferrari mistakes in the following seasons.
  • Leclerc's Monaco curse ^ExplanationLeclerc has been spectacularly unlucky at his home race, failing to finish almost every running of it (or in the case of the 2021 race, not getting to race at all) even during his Formula 2 season. He was finally able to finish in 2022, but even then his team blundered his pit stop scheduling resulting in his dropping from the lead of the race and ultimately off the podium altogether. His poor luck even extended to non-championship events: at the 2022 Monaco Historic Grand Prix, Leclerc was doing a demo run in Niki Lauda's 1974 Ferrari F1 car when a brake failure sent him into the barriers, damaging its rear spoiler.
  • Chuck ^ExplanationDuring the podium interviews for the 2022 Miami Grand Prix, interviewer Willy T. Ribbs (the first Black driver to get behind the wheel of an F1 car) referred to Leclerc as "Chuck," a common American nickname for the name Charles. The awkwardness of the nickname caught on with fans.
  • Leclerc! LECLERR! LECLERRC! CHARLES LECLERC!!! CHARLES LECLERC!!! LECLERRC! LECLER- (cue coughing fit)^ExplanationDuring the Drivers' Parade for the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, a young fan goes viral yelling out Leclerc's name at the top of his lungs trying to get his attention, ending with the boy with a coughing fit from the screaming.
• Fernando Alonso:
  • All the time you have to leave a space! ^ExplanationWhile trying to overtake Nico Rosberg during the 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix, Alonso (who was at the time racing for Ferrari) ended up getting pushed wide. Understandably, he didn't take it well, leading to the said outburst.
  • "Fernando is faster than you, Can you confirm you understood that message?"^ExplanationThe radio message during the 2010 German GP, which Alonso's Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa (who was at the lead at the time) received before letting him pass for the victory. Has since been well-associated with dubious team orders favoring one driver over the other (and also arguably the precursor to the "Valtteri, it's James." meme below.) The quote actually was a form of Loophole Abuse, as Team Orders were deemed banned prior to the incident.
  • GP2 engine. GP2... ARGHH! ^Explanation Alonso wasn't particularly happy about the performance of the Honda power unit when he rejoined McLaren. The quote was during the 2015 Japanese GP, adding insult to injury towards the team's engine supplier.
  • The engine feels good. Much slower than before. Amazing. ^Explanation Alonso's dissatisfaction became worse going from 2015 to 2017.
  • Five seconds is a yoke! A joke! ^Explanation After being passed illegally by Jolyon Palmer during the 2017 Italian Grand Prix, Alonso spent the remainder of the race complaining about him, going as far as to proclaim "KARMA!" upon hearing he had retired due to mechanical issues.
    • He cut the chicken! ^ExplanationA popular Memetic Mutation of Alonso's radio message after Palmer cut the chicane.
  • KIMOA ^ExplanationA clothing brand co-founded by Alonso, who proceeded to push the brand as much as he could.
    • TRUST THE PLAN^ExplanationThe message written on a KIMOA shirt Alonso was spotted wearing◊ during the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix weekend, wherein he scored his first podium in seven years.
  • EL PLAN^ExplanationAfter Alonso's third-place finish in Qatar, the Alpine F1 team turned The Plan (or rather, its Spanish-language version) into an Ascended Meme, by having the two words written on its cars' rear wings (Nearly qualified as a Significant Anagram, were it not for the swap of the "I" to "L".) Spanish F1 fans have happily stated on social media that they will keep trusting The Plan and hoping that Alonso will return to top form for 2022.
    • El Pain ^ExplanationA Significant Anagram of Alpine, which is often said whenever something bad happens to the French outfit and in conjunction with this photo of Alonso◊ after he lost the 2012 WDC to Vettel in the final race by a smidge. Has since been more associated with Alpine, especially after Alonso jumped to Aston Martin for the 2023 season.
  • Deckchair Alonso ^ExplanationDuring the 2015 Brazilian Grand Prix, Alonso was unable to take part in qualifying due to mechanical failure, and instead spent the session relaxing in a deckchair near the track. Fans have since taken to photoshopping Alonso and the deckchair into all manner of locations. Became an Ascended Meme in 2017 when Alonso posed on another deckchair after the Hungarian Grand Prix - next to a mural of the meme itself.
  • Yenson, my friend! ^ExplanationDuring the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix, Jenson Button filled in for Alonso, who was racing in the Indy 500 that day. Alonso called Button to congratulate him on making Q3 in qualifying, and his greeting quickly became a meme. Neither of them, nor Stoffel Vandoorne in the other McLaren, finished their respective races that day (Jenson via suspension damage from punting Pascal Wehrlein's Sauber into the barrier at Portier, Vandoorne (as well as Wehrlein's teammate Marcus Ericsson) found the left-side barrier at Sainte Devote, and Alonso's nemesis at the time (the Honda engine) ended his day).
    • Ok, I'm gonna pee in your seat! ^ExplanationButton's joking banter to Alonso, in response to the above.
  • Alonso the 2021 Rookie Driver ^ExplanationAlonso was entered into the 2020 post-season Young Driver Test (a special test session for teams to give their up-and-coming drivers seat time in an F1 car) prior to his return to F1 at Alpine the next season, ostensibly for him to get back up to speed after his retirement. The decision proved controversial, given Alonso is one of the most experienced drivers on the grid, a two-time world champion, and has been actively racing in various other series in the interim. Fans proceeded to meme Alonso as an actual rookie driver.
  • 33 ^ExplanationAston Martin's very promising pre-season tests and first few races in 2023 brought fans hope that it might be the year where Alonso would finally achieve his 33rd victory at a Grand Prix. As a result, many fans, those from Spain in particular, would bombard posts that involve the number "33" in any way or form (or just a pair of threes, or a group of numbers that, when summed up, yield a 33), even if they don't involve Formula One or even racing to begin with, with images involving Alonso. Funnier in hindsight, as 33 was Max Verstappen's race number prior to winning his first Championship in 2021.
• Daniel Ricciardo:
  • Ricciardo's career choices ^ExplanationRicciardo has constantly shown very strong performances throughout his career, with many people dubbing him a WDC-caliber driver as a result. However, just as many people noted he's been heavily held back by terrible career choices in hindsight, starting from moving from a then-top 3 Red Bull to perennial middle-of-the-pack Renault. This culminated in his move to McLaren in 2021; said move was surprisingly successful in the short term as he managed to net a win in Monza, but the 2022 rule changes proved costly to the Woking-based outfit, making Ricciardo end up back in the lower portions of the grid like in his old days at HRT and Toro Rosso.
• Valtteri Bottas:
  • Valtteri, it's James... ^Explanation During the 2018 German Grand Prix, Bottas was ordered to let his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, through. The line ended up being used for other, unrelated moments that benefitted Mercedes, such as here. In the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix, won by Bottas, the tables would turn with a James, it's Valtteri. James can be heard laughing a little in response.
  • To whom it may concern: fuck you! ^Explanation After a disappointing 2018 season that saw critics doubting his continued future at Mercedes, Bottas bounced back with a win at the first race of the 2019 season, and gave this response during his victory celebration. When asked who it was aimed at, Bottas simply said that they knew who they were.
  • Robottas ^Explanation Similar to fellow Finn Raikkonen, Bottas' quiet nature and occasional awkward moments have caused fans to joke that he's actually a robot disguised as a human.
  • Porridge ^Explanation After his Australia 2019 win, Bottas was jokingly asked by former driver Mark Webber what he had for breakfast that gave him his speed. Bottas genuinely answered porridge, causing fans to claim that porridge is the source of his performance. The meme itself reached Ascended Meme status by the official F1 YouTube channel, and even Mercedes sharing a video on how Bottas makes his porridge.
  • "I dunno; it's unfortunate."^ExplanationBottas's response during the 2021 Italian GP (where he managed to finish third from the back of the grid), towards a replay of Hamilton and Verstappen's crash on the Variante de Rettifilio Chicane. The scene of his rather quick dismissal of the incident quickly became a meme in a similar fashion to Top Gear's comical disinterest over the Dacia Sandero.
  • Traditions. ^ExplanationBottas hasn't had the best of seasons in 2021, suffering multiple engine change penalties and botched pit stops, while teammate Hamilton's has been relatively trouble-free. As a result, fans now refer to Bottas suffering one or the other as a Mercedes tradition, usually with a picture of him seated and with a bottle of beer in hand.
  • Valtteri ButtAss^ExplanationThis nickname stemmed from an episode of Drive to Survive featuring Bottas fully naked in a sauna, with a brief shot of his bottom visible on screen. Bottas himself leaned into it by selling prints of a photo of him skinny-dipping for charity.
• Carlos Sainz Jr.:
  • Smooth Operator^ExplanationThe aforementioned driver (then driving for McLaren-Renault) busting out his singing chops to the tune of Sade's "Smooth Operator." It became so much of a hit that his take on the song after the 2019 Hungarian GP earned him the top Radio Clip for the entire season.
    Engineer: Carlos check the radio, we seem to have picked up some dodgy music channel again.
  • Carlos Signs.^ExplanationUpon announcing that Sainz would be joining Scuderia Ferrari for the 2021 Formula 1 Season, fans took to making the said pun from his surname.
  • Hello, Tom. I'm Darren.^ExplanationDuring the 2019 Spanish Grand Prix, Sainz's former race engineer Tom Stallard accidently called him Darren, apparently due to radioing Sainz instead of one of McLaren strategist Daren Stanley by mistake. Sainz's cheeky response made it particularly memorable. Stallard has since continued to make the mistake, calling Sainz's replacement Daniel Ricciardo "Darren" multiple times as well.
  • "Stop inventing! Stop inventing!"^ExplanationSainz's response to the Ferrari pit wall during a safety car period at the 2022 British GP, after being ordered to give 10 car lengths to his teammate Charles Leclerc (they were 1-2 at the time, with the latter in the lead), while Sainz has Hamilton's Mercedes right behind him. He'd eventually inherit the lead from Leclerc (due to the latter having tire grip problems,) and thus gain his maiden win afterward.
  • Who... What... Debris? ^ExplanationA minor miscommunication between Carlos and his race engineer during FP1 for the 2022 Mexico Grand Prix leading to the former mispronouncing Mercedes reserve driver Nyck de Vries' surname with the word "debris".
• Lando Norris:
  • "You mean like, 'Forever'?"^ExplanationDuring the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix, Norris just overtook Renault driver Daniel Ricciardo coming into the first few turns of the circuit. Norris's race strategists then suggested that he "Hold Ricciardo in his DRS" so long as he could not overtake him and retake his position. Norris replies with the said quote, in a very comical tone.
  • "Oh, you 'driving' driving!"^ExplanationOne of the memorable quotes from NBA player and personality Jimmy Butler, back when he rode shotgun with Norris for a hot lap around the Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve during the 2019 Canadian GP Race Weekend.
  • IT'S BWOKEN! ^ExplanationNorris was forced to retire from the last lap of the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix while holding what would have been a career-best fifth-place finish.
  • Landobot^ExplanationDuring the Bahrain Virtual GP, Norris abruptly got disconnected repeatedly from the F1 2019 Game Server. This meant that while the race was underway, the game's AI more or less controlled Norris's car. He then coined the said moniker, while he was "running" fourth in the standings.
  • Scenario 7 ^ExplanationRefers to the Renault power unit's maximum known power mode. It became associated with Norris at the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix, after he put in a blinding final lap to close the gap to Hamilton (who was third on-track, but earned himself a five-second penalty for crashing into Alex Albon) to 4.8 seconds, earning him fastest lap and his first podium.
  • Baldo Norris^ExplanationDuring one of his Twitch live streams, Lando took upon a charity dare which, if he managed to raise 10,000 British Pounds for it, would direct him to shave his head (which he eventually did.) Fans immediately got to photo-shopping pictures of him without a full head of hair at all (despite Lando himself actually ending up having a buzz cut afterward.)
  • I HAVE NOW BECOME SPEED, DESTROYER OF WORLDS.^ExplanationYet another r/formuladank-sourced meme, it originally appeared after Norris briefly took provisional pole at the 2019 US Grand Prix, and gained new life after Austria 2020.
  • Lando vs. Hornets ^ExplanationWhile livestreaming himself playing Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, Norris encountered a hornet and freaked out big time, trying to fight it off with a vacuum while screaming... which went From Bad to Worse when a second hornet appeared. His battle with the hornets rapidly became a running gag, with TV interviewers and even other drivers and teams poking at him for it.
  • Norris bwoke Verstappen's trophy.^ExplanationAt the podium ceremony for the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix, Norris, who placed 2nd, accidentally broke Verstappen's 1st place trophy when he slammed his champagne bottle onto the podium to pop it open, causing Verstappen's trophy to tumble down and break. Cue jokes that Norris "bwoke" the trophy.
• George Russell:
  • Russell's PowerPoint Presentations^ExplanationBefore Russell got to debut for Williams F1 in 2019, then Chief Technical Officer Paddy Lowe actually narrated the time the Brit tried hard to find a spot on the 2018 Grid by giving the team a PowerPoint presentation. Further fueled with this video during the 2019 F1 Rookie of the Year deliberations, where he also did the same.
  • Eva Hache on the podium ^ExplanationDuring the 2022 season, after Russell joined Mercedes, Spanish F1 fans would take to making Spanish comedian Eva Hache a trending topic on Twitter every time Russell finished on the podium because of a perceived "striking resemblance" between the two.
  • "George Russell is the type of guy..."^ExplanationFollowing his P3 win in the 2022 French Grand Prix, Russell became viral on social media for the "type of guy trend" posts about him. This is even acknowledged by Russell himself and he even personally gets to react on some of the posts.
  • Russell T-posing ^ExplanationThe pose that Russell does in the 2023 season opening title instantly became memeable within hours of it being released, with encouragement from the official F1 and Mercedes social media accounts themselves.
  • "Is anyone else reporting the rain? I think it's sweat from inside of my helmet!"^ExplanationDuring the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix, Russell mistook his sweat for raindrops falling on his face, not realizing he didn't cover the entirety of his hair on his balaclava, which led to the sweat dripping on him in the first place. Much to the hilarity of his race engineer.
• Lance Stroll:
  • "He just came back on the circuit like an idiot!"^ExplanationLance Stroll was not happy with how Sebastian Vettel (at the time with Ferrari) rejoined after spinning off at the Ascari chicane during the 2019 Italian GP. To the misfortune of the oncoming Pierre Gasly at the time, Stroll would proceed to come back on the circuit like an idiot himself and force Gasly off.
  • Daddy's Cash^ExplanationInitially a derogatory nickname for driver Lance Stroll, after joining the re-branded Racing Point F1 team (formerly known as Force India) in 2019, in part due to the team's buyout by a consortium led by billionaire Lawrence Stroll (aka Lance's Dad.) With Nicholas Latifi (another driver with a businessman Father investing in an F1 team) getting a seat for the 2020 season, and Nikita Mazepin (Ditto, though to very controversial circumstances) being revealed as Haas F1 team's second driver for the 2021 F1 season (Mick Schumacher, the other Haas driver, doesn't apply because while he too has a rich dad, said dad is seven-time champion Michael), this has since encompassed the term for drivers who only got into the sport due to their rich dads.
  • (Contact T)Racing Point^ExplanationWith reports that father (Lawrence) and son (Lance) Stroll contracted the CoVID-19 virus prior to the 2020 Eifel GP (they tested "positive" luckily outside of the race venue, though it did result in Lance being unable to race that weekend), fans took to making the said pun to the team's name.
  • 18 Lance Stroll/Lance Strolled ^ExplanationDuring the 2021 Monaco GP, Vettel and Aston Martin made a successful overcut on Hamilton and Pierre Gasly for 5th, with Vettel racing Gasly hard into the long left-hand Massenet corner. Right as Vettel made the move stick, the TV director decided to cut away to a replay of teammate Stroll getting the second swimming pool chicane wrong, to the chagrin of both the fans and just about every commentary team covering the race. "18 Lance Stroll" comes from how replays are presented, with the drivers number, name, and photo appearing before the replay proper. Also known as "Lance Interrupts".
    • "WHAT HAS HAPPENED? WE NEED TO KNOW!" ^ExplanationDavid Croft's memorable line as the feed cut to the replay, summing up everyone's feelings at the moment.
• Alex Albon:
  • Detective Albon ^Explanation After Hamilton and Verstappen collided on the first lap of the 2021 British Grand Prix, which saw Verstappens and Red Bulls championship leads reduced to a handful of points, an incensed Red Bull had test and reserve driver (and Verstappens 2019-2020 teammate) Alex Albon recreate Hamiltons racing line at the point of collision during a media day, ostensibly as evidence as part of an appeal for a stiffer penalty against Hamilton. Since few people beyond Red Bull management understood what they had hoped to gain from the exercise, beyond creating a pretext to push for an investigation, fans started joking about Red Bull forcing Albon to perform any sort of task if it could hurt Mercedes. This became Hilarious in Hindsight less than two months later when Albon was signed for Williams for 2022, as Williams is considered to be Mercedes' de facto junior team.
  • The Tyre Whisperer ^Explanation Albon did a heroic drive in the 2022 Australian Grand Prix where he ran on the same set of hard tyres for nearly the entire race, only pitting for his mandatory tyre change on the penultimate lap, ultimately giving Williams their first point of the season.
  • GEORGE!!!^ExplanationAlbon is sometimes regarded as the Butt-Monkey of the aformentioned Twitch Quartet, particularly due to Russell usually crashing into him while playing online. As a result, Albon's pained screams of Russell's name became a common occurrence during his streams, in a similar fashion to James May screaming "CLARKSON!!!".
• Nico Hulkenberg:
  • Hulkenback ^ExplanationSince ending up without a driver seat for the 2020 F1 Season, Nico Hulkenberg has laid low on the sidelines as a reserve driver, which he has done so on multiple GP events, taking over for both of Racing Point's drivers Stroll and Sergio Perez (who have surprisingly tested positive for the CoVID-19 virus on separate occasions.) Has weirdly evolved into Hulkenberg replacing athletes, staff, and even actors who contract CoVID-19. This immediately came back at the start of the 2022 season, when he took over for Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel at the opener in Bahrain, again due to Covid (Aston being the former Racing Point). At the end of the 2022 season, it was announced that Hulkenberg is set to return for the 2023 season driving for Haas.
  • "I'm hanging here like a cow!" ^ExplanationDuring the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Hulkenberg and Romain Grosjean tangled, flipping Hulkenberg and leaving him upside down against the barriers. Hulkenbergs unusual choice of metaphor quickly caught on with fans.
• Esteban Ocon
  • Collector of Penalties ^ExplanationDuring the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix, Esteban Ocon has accumulated three penalties in a single race. The first penalty was having his car's front right tire outside the grid box, forcing him to pit in the next lap and serve his penalty for 5 seconds. Then comes the second penalty, where Ocon served only 4.6 seconds in the pit box, breaching the sport's regulations, thus forcing him to serve a combined 15-second penalty. Ocon was later found speeding in the pit lane by just 100 meters per hour of the 80 km/h maximum, forcing him to serve a third penalty in the next lap, this time for 15 more seconds. Ocon would later be penalized even more during the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix, this time for a total of 30 seconds for going past track limits.
  • estenba^ExplanationA very low-quality image of Ocon with the word "estenba" was posted to the F1 shitposting subreddit. This would eventually evolve into a video where "Send Me On My Way" plays over the picture as TTS reads the name. This would then evolve into the same thing played over sped-up footage of an F1 car from different racing games. This has since spread to other F1 drivers.
• Pierre Gasly:
  • Pedro Gaseoso ^ExplanationA Spanish newspaper seemingly used an auto-translate on the drivers' names while reporting on the 2022 Baku round. While some changes at least made sense (such as Lewis to Luis), fans quickly focused on Pierre's bizarre translation (not to mention that it translated "Alpha", as in AlphaTauri, as "Alfa", making it look like he belonged to the Alfa Romeo team).
• Suck my balls, mate. ^ExplanationDuring the 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix, Haas driver Kevin Magnussen forced Nico Hulkenberg wide, causing him to lose several positions, and earning Magnussen a five second penalty. After the race, Hulkenberg interrupted an interview with Magnussen, calling him "the most unsporting driver on the grid," to which Magnussen responded with the aforementioned line. The line has since been heavily associated with the Dane, to the point that "Balls" has become something of a Fan Nickname for him. Doubles as Hilarious in Hindsight in late 2022 as it was later announced that Hulkenberg would be joining Haas, filling in the spot left behind by outgoing driver Mick Schumacher for the 2023 season.

Former drivers

• Sebastian Vettel:
  • Inspector Seb^ExplanationPhotos abound of 4-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel observing either other drivers' cars, or his own (often when something breaks). Such habit eventually earned it its own subreddit.
  • ...BUT HERE COMES SEBASTIAN VETTEL!!!^ExplanationCommentator David Croft's epic delivery of the line during the 2018 Belgian GP, as Vettel overtakes Hamilton at the Kemmel straight.
  • Grazie ragazzi! Grande lavoro! ^ExplanationAfter becoming a Ferrari driver starting from 2015, Vettel made it a habit to celebrate his pole positions and wins in Italian, the language of his team, and his way of doing this was rather memorable.
  • In relation to the above: "Lasciatemi guidare / perché non sono lento / lasciatemi guidare... / una gara bella..."^ExplanationVettel singing a variation of "L'Italiano" after winning the 2015 Singapore GP. (Translation: "Let me drive because I'm not slow, let me drive... a great race...)
  • "Everybody's a Ferrari fan. Even if they are not, they're a Ferrari fan."^ExplanationReferences this interview from the 2016 Canadian GP, where Vettel goes candidly off-tangent with his answer.
  • "You came like a Torpedo!"^ExplanationVettel's tirade after the 2016 Chinese GP, towards third-placer Daniil Kvyat, after the latter forced Vettel to the left by going hard on the inside line during the race start, thus causing an accident between Vettel and then teammate Raikkonen. The name has been associated with Kvyat ever since.
  • "MEIN GOTT MUSS DAS SEIN?! SO EIN BOCKMIST ABER AUCH!" ^Explanation(Roughly: "My god, is this necessary?! And it's such bullshit too!") Vettel's frustrated rant at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix, after he and teammate Charles Leclerc touched wheels, thus both ending up with a puncture and eventually putting them out of the race.
  • Double-O-Seben ^ExplanationWith the announcement that Vettel was joining the newly-renamed Aston Martin (previously Racing Point) team for 2021, fans inevitably started making James Bond jokes. There's even the inevitable subreddit.
  • "There's something loose between my legs, apart from the obvious. Around my feet, I mean. I'd be proud if it was what you think it is, but it's not." ^ExplanationA particularly memorable line from Vettel during the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix.
  • "Honestly, what are we doing?! Racing or ping-pong?" ^ExplanationDuring the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, then-Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo tried to pass Vettel under braking, only to run wide and nearly crash into Vettel while rejoining the track. This being the third race in a row in which Vettel and a Red Bull tangled (see the Torpedo meme above), he was less than happy. It wasn't Kvyat this time around, as he had been demoted to Toro Rosso before that race, won by his replacement Max Verstappen thanks in large part to a turn 4 collision between the Mercedes teammates.
  • Sbastian ^ExplanationFerrari's graphic design team wasn't having a good 2020 as, apart from the "RAWE CEEK" gaffe explained in the main meme page, they also produced a promotional image of Vettel that inexplicably dropped the E from his first name. Fans quickly latched onto it, given that Ferrari were also suffering a slump in form compared to previous seasons.
• Kimi Räikkönen:
  • The Iceman ^ExplanationA nickname for Räikkönen due to his straightforward behavior towards a lot of things, so much so that he was one of the sport's biggest Fountain of Memes during his tenure.
  • "Just leave me alone, I know what to do!"^ExplanationUttered during the 2012 Abu Dhabi GP (which he won) in response to his team's constant radio messages to him. Became an Ascended Meme where, in his final career race there nine years later, Alfa Romeo put a special livery on his car which read "Dear Kimi: We Will Leave You Alone Now."
  • Bwoah^ExplanationHis infamous Verbal Tic whenever he gets asked a question and is used in a similar way as "well".
  • "Get my gloves and steering wheel. Gloves. Mark, Gloves! Steering Wheel, Gloves and Steering Wheel here! Giv- Steering wheel... Hey... HEY! Steering Wheel! Somebody tell him to give it to me... COME ON, Move!"^explanationDuring the start of the qualifying session for the 2017 Azerbaijan GP, he frantically calls a guy named Mark (one of Ferrari's paddock personnel present) to hand him his gloves and steering wheel. The quote is more or less ad verbatim.
    • "Give me another wheel! Because something is wrong with the... with the Clutch pedal. Give me another wheel, now! I can't get out even."^{Further Explanation}Two years later at Monza, Kimi, now with Alfa Romeo, runs into more steering wheel-related pre-session trouble. He was asking for a back-up steering wheel while waiting in the paddock during qualifying, due to a suspected clutch pedal problem.
  • "We forgot to connect, Kimi. You will not have the drink!"^ExplanationBefore race day at the 2018 Hungarian GP, Ferrari's team crew had problems with connecting the water pump on Kimi's car, thus depriving him of available drinking water supply for the whole race (and thanks to the G-forces and vibrations, also ended up wetting his seat.) The line was from one of the Ferrari's radio crews on the paddock, explaining the predicament to Kimi; fans took to memeing this as a form of depriving him of any alcoholic drink.
  • Drunk Kimi ^Explanation And speaking of drinks, at the 2018 FIA Prize-Giving Ceremony, Raikkonen showed up on stage, clearly having indulged in some wine (which only continued as the night wore on), and being far more animated than usual.
  • "Yeah, I have that Force India, or whatever the fuck it's called..." ^ExplanationDuring Free Practice session at the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix, Raikkonen nearly got brake-checked by one of the Racing Point cars as they were approaching La Rascasse. Naturally, he vented his frustration over the radio, only to call the team by its old name. Since much of the fandom was also struggling to get used to the new name at the time, they latched onto the line.
  • "It's more like a hobby for me, so obviously I don't have to do it if I don't want."^ExplanationThis vid from Formula 1: Drive to Survive, showing Kimi's total nonchalant outlook on F1 compared to his colleagues in the sport.
  • For what?... FOR WHAT?!^ExplanationDuring the 2020 Tuscan GP, Raikkonen was caught cutting the pit lane entry, thus prompting the FIA race stewards to give him a 5-second time penalty. His radio crew communicated the imposition first to him, until he briefly raised his voice, thus prompting them to explain the situation.
• Jenson Button:
  • "They said he might never win a Grand Prix... HE'S DONE IT! JENSON BUTTON WINS THE HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX! GETITDAH~!"^ExplanationCommentator James Allen losing it during Button's maiden win at the 2006 Hungarian GP.
• Pastor Maldonado:
  • Crashtor Maldonado. ^Explanation A fan nickname for Maldonado, who was infamous for the number of accidents he caused during his five-year tenure in the sport, as well as the sheer number of penalties he racked up. His choice of the car number #13 from 2014 onwards made it even funnier, and fans were rather upset when he was dropped for 2016.
  • If you go for a gap that no longer exists, you're Pastor Maldonado.^ExplanationA paraphrase of a quote made famous by the below-mentioned Ayrton Senna, a metaphor of Maldonado's tendency to crash.
• Felipe Massa:
  • "Felipe baby, stay cool!"^ExplanationThe quote from then Ferrari race engineer Rob Smedley to driver Felipe Massa during the 2009 Malaysian GP, after Massa requested a new visor for his helmet due to the heavy rain that caused visibility issues which led to a temporary stoppage midway into the race.
• Mark Webber:
  • "Multi 21"^ExplanationAnother presumed by-word for team orders, this time associated with Red Bull Racing. Made mention during the 2013 Malaysian GP, to which drivers Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel were ordered to lower engine performance and remain in first and second position (without challenging each other) to conserve their tires. Surprisingly, only Webber adhered to the order, while Vettel ignored it and successfully challenged Webber for the lead, much to Webber's annoyance.
  • "Not bad for a number two driver."^ExplanationWebber's rather outspoken team radio feed after winning the 2010 British GP, throwing shade at the Red Bull team's apparent favoritism at the time to his teammate Vettel.
  • "Britney's on the wall."^ExplanationDuring the start of the 2006 Brazilian GP, Webber (who was racing for Williams at the time) got hit in the back by his then teammate Nico Rosberg; the latter then ended up at the wall at the end of the uphill straight due to the loss of grip after the aforementioned collision. Webber (en route to the pits to retire his car at the end of the lap) saw Rosberg's predicament and communicated the said line to his team at the paddock. The nickname stuck with Rosberg ever since, much to his annoyance.
  • The Webber scream^ExplanationAt the lap 50 restart of the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Hamilton's lock-up at the first turn prompted Webber's scream in reaction to the dramatic moment while casting, which instantly became rife with meme edits right after.
• Nico Rosberg:
  • Nico Rosberg's champagne face ^ExplanationRosberg would pull some... unusual expressions when spraying champagne. This shot in particular◊ is the most popular.
  • IS HIS CAREER OVER?^NoteAfter Nico Rosberg retired from Formula One, he started up a YouTube channel and as the years gone by, the videos he uploaded started to veer more into clickbait territory. One such video featured this thumbnail◊ and fans started to use Nico's shot here as memes regarding the careers of other drivers. To Rosberg's credit, he acknowledged the meme during the 2020 New Year's Eve when he posted this on social media.
  • Nico Rosberg, 2016 Formula One World Champion who beat Lewis Hamilton in the same machinery ^ExplanationEver since his retirement, Rosberg has been pretty adamant in reminding everyone of his heroics in the 2016 season, particularly in interviews. This is further compounded by his support of Hamilton having caused more harm to him than good in 2021 and 2022.
  • Monster antibodies ^ExplanationRosberg had his unlimited paddock pass revoked after the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix after he was found out to be unvaccinated and tested positive for COVID. His reasoning for not getting the vaccine, saying that he had "monster antibodies that could fight corona by themselves" - basically admitting his antivax positions, predictably led him to be the butt of many jokes from the sport's fandom.
  • The Rosberg Instagram Curse^ExplanationDuring the 2023 Hungarian GP race weekend, Rosberg took Instagram photos of the garages of Verstappen (prior to Qualifying) and Hamilton (prior to the race), respectively. Cue Hamilton taking pole position in Qualifying, followed by Verstappen winning the race on Sunday. Fans ran with it from there.
• Robert Kubica:
  • GIGAKUBICA ^ExplanationA Polish fan had the idea to made a video of Robert Kubica in a way similar to WEC's Big BMW M8 GTE memes, all while the engine sound was replaced by Kubica's Verbal Tic. Funnily enough, the car used in the original video is actually of Kubica's teammate George Russell, not Kubica as the Williams car featured in the original video carries the number 63, George's car number (Kubica was #88).
  • EEEEEEEEEE ^ExplanationKubica's Verbal Tic.
• Nicholas Latifi:
  • Nicholas GOATifi^ExplanationWilliams driver Nicholas Latifi was often seen at the very back of the grid, and as such he was often sarcastically complimented as one of the greatest drivers in the sport, with a lot of ironic infographics being made about his supposed ability behind the wheel. On the flipside he also gained a reputation as a Spanner in the Works following his crash at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which was the catalyst for Max Verstappen's overtake on Hamilton and subsequent WDC.
• Mika Hakkinen:
  • Hakkinen's sabbatical ^ExplanationTwo-time world champ Mika Hakkinen announced partway through the 2001 season that he would take the 2002 season off, citing wanting to spend more time with his family. Though it's long evolved to a full retirement from motorsport, it's become a meme within the F1 community to joke that he's ending his sabbatical any day now.
  • The Michael ^ExplanationWhile describing his famous pass on Michael Schumacher and backmarker Ricardo Zonta at the 2000 Belgian Grand Prix, Hakkinen referred to Schumacher as "the Michael." It's since become a Fan Nickname for Schumacher.
• Italian Jesus in Formula 1^ExplanationA rather popular nickname for Alfa Romeo driver Antonio Giovinazzi, due to his long hair and facial features being very similar.
• Rubens Barrichello:
  • Slowpoke Barrichello:^ExplanationIn Brazil, Barrichello's rather unlucky F1 career (as many thought he didn't live up to Ayrton Senna following his death, due to years in middling cars, a Ferrari stint where he was forced to play second fiddle to Michael Schumacher, and once he got the best car again, finishing third as partner Jenson Button was champion) made him the go-to character for "slow and lagging behind" jokes and memes, similar to Slowpoke. This was subverted with great bouts of irony in the COVID-19 Pandemic, as Barrichello managed to get vaccinated before much of Brazil's population due to living in the US.
    • One of the low points of Barrichello's Ferrari stint, the 2001 Austrian GP where he was forced to let Schumacher pass him in the finishing line, had its narration by Globo sportscaster Cléber Machado become a meme: "Hoje não, hoje não... hoje sim!"[[labelnote:Translation]]Not today, not today... today, yes!
• Nikita Mazepin:
  • Mazespin ^ExplanationHaas rookie Nikita Mazepin, already a near universally disliked driver for various reasons, quickly earned himself a reputation for spinning out during his first race weekend in Bahrain, where he spun in almost every session of the race (including a moment in Q1 where he charged past a queue of cars (breaking a gentlemen's agreement between drivers not to do so), only to spin at turn 1 and ruin the laps of everyone behind him), culminating in his race ending at the first corner complex with a spin into the wall. It's gotten to the point that even Sky Sports' commentators were waiting for him to spin out by the following round. Some fans have already made him the de facto Spiritual Successor of sorts to Vettel, to the point that they have now closely associated him to the S🅱innala meme.
  • "You spin this one instead of spinning the car."^ExplanationCrossed into Meme Acknowledgment territory, when Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner makes direct reference of the meme towards Mazepin, before giving the latter a metal spinning top as a present during the 2021 Styrian GP weekend. The quote was from Steiner, making it both a Stealth Insult, as well as a form of Insult of Endearment.
  • MazepOUT^explanationDue to the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine, issues went abound as to the fates of both Nikita Mazepin and Haas's primary sponsor UralKali (owned by Nikita's father Dimitry, who has close ties with Vladimir Putin.) Upon the official announcement of the F1 team finally severing ties with the Mazepins, the term eventually became viral.
• Juan Pablo Montoya:
  • Oh deer! ^ExplanationDuring the 2001 Austrian Grand Prix, a deer found its way onto the track, prompting Juan Pablo Montoya's race engineer to warn him. Montoya responded with this pun. Doubly funnier in hindsight when the pun was used by hololive's Ceres Fauna as her first tweet 20 years later.
  • Like a horse with horns. ^ExplanationSaid engineer's memorably unusual attempt to describe what a deer looks like.
  • FUCKING, FUCKING RAIKKÖNEN! WHAT A FUCKING IDIOT!!!^ExplanationMontoya's sudden outburst during the Qualifying session for the 2002 Belgian GP, when his run got ruined by Raikkonen.
• Vandoorned ^ExplanationNamed after 2017-2018 McLaren driver Stoffel Vandoorne, who was highly regarded going into the sport, and managed some impressive results in an uncompetitive car. The only problem was that his teammate was Alonso, one of the best drivers on the grid, and he could never match Alonso in pace. Vandoorne was ultimately left without a race seat after 2018, and became a byword for "going up against an experienced teammate and having your career ruined as a result."
• Ayrton Senna:
  • Adalto(n) (Çenpre) Enerto^ExplanationOriginated after a Brazilian user misspelling Ayrton Senna's name as "Adalton" at a Formula One community on Facebook, being since then often used at Brazilian shitposting communities whenever anyone mentions or posts anything about Ayrton Senna, mostly whenever he gets overglorified or when anyone says they lost their interest on Formula One after his tragic death in 1994.
  • If you no longer go for a gap, that exists, you are no longer a racing driver ^ExplanationThe most famous part of Senna's post race justification for tangling with Alain Prost at the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix, causing both drivers to retire, and handing Senna the championship, a reversal of the two coming together during the same race a year earlier. Often used sincerely as an example of Senna's drive to win, and sarcastically, either in regards to the fact that Senna deliberately crashed into Prost in revenge for the 1989 race (which he later admitted), or for other examples of drivers (racing or otherwise) going for clearly nonexistant openings.
    • If gap, car. ^ExplanationA meme contraction of the above line

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"We forgot to connect, Kimi. You will not have the memes!"

"FOR WHAT~?!"

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