[F1] What Does It Feel Like to Be Everyone's Favorite?

Tom Lix, German, twenty-two years old, a Mercedes prodigy who debuted in 2022.

Everyone in the paddock was asking the same question: How could this guy, who seemed to spend all day grinning and flirting with anyone in sight, turn into a demon on the track the moment he climbed into the cockpit?

George Russell knew best. Since their F2 days, he had never been able to handle his childhood friend. They had shared champagne on the podium and instant noodles in hotel rooms late at night. George would keep troublesome reporters at bay for him, and when he got too carried away, he'd grab him by the back of the collar. "Tom, take it down a notch."

But Tom Lix never did.

His favorite person to tease was Red Bull's World Champion. In interviews, he'd grin and say, "Max defends like he's pouting." On the team radio, he'd openly flirt: "You look cute in my mirror." At post-race press conferences, he'd deliberately sidle up to Verstappen, until the Dutchman was left red-eared, grinding his teeth, and completely helpless.

Everyone thought he was just a frivolous playboy. Until he held Verstappen back for a full fifteen laps in the rain, then laughed over the team radio after crossing the finish line: "So, did my defense look like pouting?"

Only then did everyone understand: this man was genuinely fast, and genuinely wicked.

He was the biggest nuisance in the paddock, and its brightest star.

Theme: Pure wish fulfillment.