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McLaren was no stranger to having shifters as drivers.
Shifters had been allowed to compete in motorsport pretty much since the beginning. There was no actual physical advantage to it — whatever traits they maintained while still in human form had a negligible effect on their driving. If anything, it could sometimes prove to be a disadvantage with traits such as a slightly heightened hearing or sensitivity to heat. Oscar himself had quite a sensitive stomach and was prone to food poisoning because of it. With about a third of the population being hybrids and half of that being shifter hybrids, it wasn't like they were uncommon.
Oscar's entire family were made up of bunny shifter hybrids. Oscar's family specifically were almost entirely Holland Lops, but there'd been a few Flemish Giant Rabbits mixed into the lineage. it didn't really make much difference. They were just larger than average when in bunny form.
Back in karting, Oscar's shifter status had never been that big of a thing. He preferred to shift in private, but he shifted often still, as a child often did. He honestly preferred his bunny form to his human one. He could fit in more comfortable places and people tended to bother him less. If it wasn't for racing, he'd spend an awful lot more time as a bunny.
It was like an open secret when he made it to single seaters. It wasn't really a thing — advertising your shifter status there. It wasn't banned, but the other shifters tended to be cagey about their shift, and Oscar just followed suit. The unluckier hybrids who just had a few traits hid theirs as best as they could, not wanting to risk losing sponsors. It didn't mean people didn't know, but it just wasn't advertised.
In F3, Oscar had a shifter teammate for the first time. He'd known Logan since karting, but as teammates, they spent a lot more time in each other's spaces.
Logan — in a comically stereotypical way — was a bald eagle. His shifter form had still been gangly and juvenile back then, so he honestly looked rather stupid. Logan argued that he was majestic and patriotic, but squawked and tripped over his own talons when Oscar pointed out that Logan couldn't even screech.
They'd had an adjustment period since Logan was a bird of prey and well… Oscar was prey. But Oscar was a particularly audacious bunny, and Logan a docile and shy bird. All throughout F3 they could be found cuddling in Logan's strange nest in the back of the garage. Logan liked carrying Oscar's limp form around. It had greatly alarmed a lot of staff for a while, but once they realized Logan wasn't trying to kill and eat him, they calmed down.
Poor Fred had to put up with so much.
In F1, Oscar had been mostly alone. It wasn't that big of a deal — just the luck of the draw.
The F1 paddock had more shifters though. Max Verstappen was famously a domestic cat while Daniel Ricciardo was a honey badger. Charles Leclerc was some kind of weasel-like thing — Oscar thought he was a mink? Alex Albon was a giant bat. Some of those forms were more marketable than others.
Lando Norris was a flamingo. Oscar hadn't even known that that was a genuine possibility.
The Brit was proud of his pretty plumage even though he insisted he didn't eat fish. Oscar thought it was a bit strange, but it wasn't like Oscar was overly fond of salads so he supposed it was probably just a Lando specific quirk.
His pink feathers were a bit garish against McLaren's papaya orange though. But Lando was an exotic hybrid, so he supposed that made up for it.
Like in all things in life for him apparently, Oscar was rather plain. His coat was soft and well maintained, but his colouring was a reddish brown with some dark spots not unlike his moles. They were subtle though. Most people didn't even notice them.
He did carry a few features with him into his human form. His front teeth were abnormally long even for a bunny hybrid's human teeth. It left him with a very distinct bunny toothed smile. His hair was also a different texture — far too soft for how little he cared for it and as willful as ever. At least it was thick. The last thing he wanted was a big ass forehead (also unfortunately genetic) and thin hair.
He kept his nails long, not liking the absence of claws. He had soft sensitive hands and they needed protection. He also had a tendency to scrunch up his nose a lot. He over-chewed his foot and would absolutely fuck up a bowl of blueberries.
He even had enough control over his shift that he could partially shift like some of the more obvious non shifting hybrids. He could have his bunny ears and tail while remaining human everywhere else. It wasn't a particularly useful ability, but it was good practice for control.
To appease his pride, he did his best to keep those tendencies under wraps. It rarely did a hybrid any good to flaunt who they were — especially so for those who were plain animals like Oscar.
He'd been a bit wary at first of McLaren. They'd had several hybrid drivers before, that was fine, but all of their hybrids had been… flashier. More like Lando with his brilliant pink feathers or Daniel with his stripe and fierce teeth. Oscar was just a slightly abnormally large bunny.
He'd been upfront when it came to contract negotiations. There were accommodations that McLaren would have to make and they needed to know exactly who they were signing. McLaren hadn't offered any protests, but that had done little to ease his anxiety about it.
New team, new risks.
It wasn't like he would be stealing the show from Lando or anything. he was a bunny, Lando was a flamingo. How could he even steal the show if he wanted to? On top of that, he was still rather plain and boring as a human. He thought he had impressive enough racing results — having won 3 championships in as many categories back to back to back — to draw the interest of a historical team like McLaren, but was that enough?
McLaren — and his future with the team — was a major unknown. McLaren hadn't had much luck in the last decade and they had an established golden boy. But they weren't Alpine, and already that was a pretty good draw to Oscar.
Oscar may have been a Renault academy driver (and then an Alpine one when the switch was made), but they hadn't liked him very much. They made it clear his results were the only thing keeping him in the program and that they would have dropped him otherwise. Since that was kind of just how racing worked, Oscar hadn't put all that much thought into it initially.
Not until he'd become the Alpine reserve driver in 2022.
That was when it became apparent that Alpine really didn't care for hybrid shifters. There were no safe shifting spots for Oscar to spent time not in human form. He was the only shifter even remotely involved with the team and well… he was just the reserve driver. Why would they make accommodations just for him?
He was a human first, and he was expected to act like it.
His resentment and unease with the team only grew when they hung the promise of a seat over his head while offering no actual contract. Well, the joke was on them because McLaren wanted him, and they weren't going to make him hide or suppress his nature.
(Lando was a really proud flamingo.)
Still, he'd… just been nervous. It'd been a few years since he really publicly shifted, and his spot with McLaren was only so certain.
He didn't hide that he was a shifter hybrid when it came up naturally, but he didn't really shift or act remotely animal-like in his rookie year. At least not consciously…
Most people didn't even really realize he was a shifter hybrid. Hell, he was pretty sure it took Lando hearing him talk about it in an interview for him to realize. Oscar took that to mean that he was just that good at 'pretending to be normal' but it was probably that Lando was just a bit oblivious and self centered.
He spent his time shifted in his hotel room, not yet ready to risk shifting in his driver's room. He'd needed to feel out the situation in the paddock and with the team. Once the car started getting better midway through 2023 and Oscar was able to actually start getting results, he felt a little more confident.
He didn't shift often in places where he could see, but he would shift sometimes. He became a bit of an office cryptid as he tested the waters with team members he may have interacted with less. By the time he'd won his first race, it wasn't unheard of for Oscar to be found just chilling as a bunny in places a bunny should not be.
The team thought Oscar was adorable. This he knew well.
They'd thought he was cute back when he was a rookie too. Back then, he'd been a skinny 22 year old with soft round features and was all shiny and new. He was 1 of 3 of the grid's new rookies (the youngest by 4 months — younger than Fernando's F1 career), and he'd most definitely had quite the dramatic entrance.
He was quiet and hardworking, and spoke with a lightly accented monotone voice. The team members he interacted with were almost all twice his age. Some even had kids that weren't markably younger than him. He was the baby of the garage.
That sentiment had only grown when he'd stopped keeping such a tight handle on his bunny-like tendencies and instincts. He'd caught mechanics cooing whenever he did the classic nose scrunch and wiggle. He'd seen members of the content team have to suppress smiles when he nibbled his way though food. Hell, he'd even seen Andrea bump into some tires when Oscar had had to stomp and shake his leg to get used to the race suit.
Oscar didn't really think he was all that cute in human form, but considering the shit Lando got up to while human, he could somewhat understand. At least Oscar wasn't a jump scare or outright destructive.
Yet.
Oscar had it in him. He was a bunny after all. He simply had to bide his time.
The reactions from the team members he'd been more… bunny-like around had reacted well so Oscar decided to push the waters more.
He'd only full shifted around a few people at the MTC, but each time the result had been good. He didn't shift at work mostly because he was still testing how everyone reacted, but also because a full shit could sometimes be… inconvenient.
Like most shifter hybrids, Oscar didn't have many reservations about nudity — it wasn't like he really had clothes when he was a bunny, and the clothing he was wearing didn't exactly shift with him. But he'd been around normal humans for so long, he knew how to be polite.
He started shifting at the MTC a few times. The environment was controlled, and there were plenty of places he could duck away to shift back so he wasn't just flashing his dick at everyone.
(It was a nice dick, but to do so would be sexual harassment.)
Plus, the MTC had stashes of clothing in easily accessible locations due to Lando (and previously Daniel). Lando didn't have any of Oscar's caution or reservations about shifting. Since most people didn't want to see Lando's dick just out, there were shorts stashed in a way that flamingo Lando could reach and convenient chairs not backed against the glass windows.
Oscar was cautious (he'd shifted back at Alpine once and had been chased out of the building), but he really did prefer being in full shift. The more time he could spend not in his awkward human form the better. Naps were superior in bunny form. He didn't have to worry about awkwardly cramming himself into a too-small chair. When he was a bunny, most places were easily achievable.
But Oscar had another motive for shifting at the MTC too.
There was an engineer on his team who always ate bananas while he worked.
Now, human Oscar didn't really have any particularly strong feelings about bananas. However, when he was a bunny, for some odd reason, he became obsessed with them. Not to the degree he loved blueberries or strawberries, but certainly enough to make the concept of stealing that engineer's banana seem appealing.
Of course he could be a little shit and steal the banana. As a holland lop bunny, his top running speed was actually a very impressive 35 mph, so he had a solid chance of succeeding. But that would alienate his engineer(s) and he very much did not want to do that. He had plans on winning at least one world championship, and he need the team to like him.
He hated the idea of them turning against him right when he'd actually started getting comfortable and feeling safe—
However! The team found him cute! That was elevated to adorable once he was a bunny.
(Could he buy his own bananas? Absolutely. He was a literal millionaire now avoiding taxes by living in Monaco. But it wouldn't be the same. They wouldn't be the engineer's bananas, and that automatically made them less desirable.)
So on an unassuming Tuesday where the MTC wasn't that busy, he ducked into a side room and casually shifted into a full bunny. He'd left the door open enough that when he fought his way through his clothes, it didn't take much additional effort to squeeze out.
He shook himself, re-situating his fur. He took the time to groom his face a little bit — he needed optimal cute and it wouldn't do to have his fur out of place. Once he was satisfied, he made his way towards where he knew that the engineers were working.
He knew the layout of the MTC by heart now. He'd been with McLaren long enough now that he'd explored pretty much every room. Even though things looked very different from his perspective as a bunny, he still had a good enough grasp.
Luckily, he didn't encounter anyone on the way and his fur made his gait soft and near silent. He didn't bother rushing. He knew his timing. He was good at that.
Even luckier for him, the door to the office room was propped open. He'd had a plan if it was closed — scratch at it with his claws until someone heard and opened it — but this was more convenient. He was able to just hop on in.
As he'd expected, that engineer was just cracking into his daily banana. The damn thing smelt utterly heavenly to his bunny nose. His resolve strengthened.
He hopped closer, drawn in by the scent of banana. When he reached the engineer's feet, he gently reached out and scratched at his pant leg.
The engineer — Oscar thought that his name may be Derek — jumped a little at the unexpected feeling. He paused, looking down to see Oscar in all his holland lop glory looking up at him with large black eyes.
"Oh!" Derek said, his eyes wide and voice high pitched. He was looking down at Oscar like he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. To be fair, Oscar was mostly confident that Derek had only seen him as a bunny like once as he was passing by. It made sense for him to be surprised.
Oscar sniffed the air, eyes zeroing in on the banana (still mostly intact) held in the man's hand.
"Oscar! I… didn't expect this."
That exclamation caught the attention of the other engineers in the room and Oscar heard a mad shuffle as seemingly everyone jumped out of their seats to scramble over to Derek's desk.
"Oh my god!"
"Is that Oscar?"
"He's so cute, what the fuck!"
"Look at his ears!"
"Look at his little face!"
Oscar preened a little bit (internally) at the praise. His nose kept twitching and he kept his eyes focused on the prize banana. He slowly stood up on his hind legs, his front. From experience (Mark), parascoping, as it was called, was the optimal bunny begging pose. The only thing close in effectiveness was him placing his little paw gently against someone's leg.
He could hear it as everyone's hearts melted around him. Good.
Derek — thankfully smart in more than just math or physics — seemed to catch on that Oscar was staring at his banana. He glanced between Oscar's bunny face and the fruit.
"Do you… do you want a piece of my banana?" he asked tentatively, like he wasn't quite sure that what he was saying was okay or not. Oscar would have thought the team would know how to speak to shifter hybrids by now. Maybe it was because Oscar was a less exotic animal it felt weirder?
But he could muse about that later. He had a mission.
He swayed forward a bit, wobbling just enough on his hind legs that he had to counter balance himself by flailing his front paws. His nose kept wiggling.
Cautiously, Derek reached down, holding the banana within Oscar's read. Oscar politely leaned forward and broke off a chunk of banana. He fell down onto all fours, chunk of banana held delicately in his teeth.
He immediately began munching.
The banana tasted as good as it looked. He chewed carefully, not wanting to accidentally choke in his enthusiasm. It was a near thing though.
He perked up a bit when he heard the surrounding engineers coo at him. He took another bite of the banana, Derek still holding it out for him.
"Oh my gosh, he is so cute," Oscar heard someone whisper.
"Look at how he chews so politely!"
"No one will ever believe that this happened."
Oscar munched happily, feeling rather proud of himself. He licked his lips, rising back up onto his back feet so that he could lick his paws and clean his face. Once he was satisfied with his fur (and the reactions of the team members surrounding him) he promptly turned around and began to hop away. The engineers parted for him easily, clearly scared to step on him despite him being the size of a small dog.
He left without any additional fanfare.
It was a rare moment that Oscar or Lando had any free time over a race weekend, but that didn't mean that it didn't happen.
Honestly, since Oscar had started getting more comfortable shifting in front of the team — and even in the paddock — it was almost like the team was trying to find him moments to relax. Maybe it was because seeing their drivers in their shifted forms seemed to boost morale in the team. Maybe it was because they tended to perform better when they'd had time to shift and be themselves before a race session. It didn't really matter. Oscar felt better so it wasn't like he was going to complain.
They were in between meetings and the social media team had yet to find them, so he and Lando were kind of just chilling in the hospitality.
Unfortunately, it would seem that for once Oscar was the one that was bored.
Lando seemed to have more patience when he was a flamingo. More focus too. He was content to just stand there on one leg — showing more dexterity and balance than human Lando was known for — basking in the sun> His eyes were even closed as he sunned himself behind the magnifying glass that was the big window. Oscar would swear he was asleep if it weren't for the occasional adjustment he made.
For his part, Oscar had been loafed under a table snacking on some fruit that a team member had graciously left in a little paper bowl for him.
But now he was bored and well… Lando was right there.
He could see the way that passing team members were looking at Lando. The Brit's feathers were particularly pink. He looked almost like a lollipop, or maybe a truffula tree. It made a spark of possessiveness grow inside of him.
Without any additional thought, Oscar wiggled his way out from under the table and then hopped toward Lando.
Lando cracked an eye open, looking down at him curiously. Oscar's nose wiggled. Without any further prompting, Oscar began to well… run around Lando.
He set a respectful perimeter of a foot or two away from Lando, but he lopped around him with determination and energy. He was running. He was running in circles.
He made a physical barrier between the world and Lando. He liked Lando. Lando made him happy. This was… just what he did.
For his part, Lando was watching him with what Oscar thought was polite bafflement. He seemed very confused by what Oscar was doing. That wasn't a surprise of course. Lando seemed to know absolutely nothing about bunnies or their behaviour and had made virtually no moves to correct such a thing either. Oscar certainly wasn't going to tell him shit. He found it funny.
Lando didn't stop him, so there was that. He did put down his one foot though, standing on both legs as he watched Oscar do laps.
Oscar stopped when he'd gotten a bit dizzy. Then he went right back under the table like nothing had happened until someone came to collect them.
Oscar pls just give me a chance @oscarsgf • 3h
guys my heart is actually melting look at this
[A video taken from outside of the McLaren hospitality. There was some reflection on the glass, but the inside was still visible. Lando was clearly in his flamingo form just sort of standing there. The real point of interest was Oscar in his bunny form. He was running slow lopping circles around Lando.]
3 replies | 24 retweets | 78 likes
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I love animal facts @koalosc • 3h
bunnies run circles around things they like and consider theirs!
1 reply | 0 retweets | 2 likes
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Oscar pls just give me a chance @oscarsgf • 3h
pls I didn't need to knowww
my heart😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
0 replies | 0 retweets | 1 like
oscar is a car furry @partypooper • 45min
I'm in love with bunny osc
pls admin give us more bunny osc content PLS
[A photo taken from one of the McLaren official posts. It showed Oscar in bunny form in the McLaren garage (when is unclear) standing next to the car. He was parascoping — risen up on his hind legs, his front paws dangling in front of his belly. He was looking up at the car curiously.]
0 replies | 17 retweets | 124 likes
oscar date me @oscie81pia • 1d
oscar would look unbelievably cute in a little papaya vest like the one that max v has
0 replies | 0 retweets | 1 like
mclaren for wcc 2025 @ln4op81lvr • 8h
he is so team mascot
[A set of 3 photos. The first photo showed Oscar in bunny form mid run through what appeared to be the MTC. There was a slight blur to indicate the motion. The second photo was Oscar in bunny form sitting on a chair, front paws resting on what looked to be a conference table. He somehow looked serious and focused. The third photo showed Oscar in bunny form delicately sniffing a cut up papaya.]
4 replies | 45 retweets | 193 likes
Oscar had been a bit dubious when he'd been approached by Annabelle from the content team, but alas, creating social media content was included in his contract, so he'd gone along with her. He was in between meetings, and thankfully, these things never took that long.
Annabelle pulled him into a side room where they'd have some privacy and quiet. She asked if he'd be comfortable fully shifting for this, and since he'd fully shifted in front of the team a few times now, he didn't see any reason to say 'no'.
He shifted with little fanfare, not all that bothered with picking his way out of his clothing. Annabelle waited patiently until he was out before she scooped his clothes off of the ground and placed them on a nearby chair. He appreciated the sentiment.
"Can I pick you up?" Annabelle asked, hesitant. It was honestly a taboo thing to say to a shifter hybrid most of the time even when it could be a necessity. It was still a little rude. But Oscar didn't mind. He was a bunny. He wasn't the most upwardly mobile of animals. "It'll be easier to film if you're on the table."
Oscar looked up at her and nodded. There was no point in arguing against the indignity.
Annabelle was careful as she scooped him up, hands around his middle. It was quick, and before he knew it, he was sat on a conference table.
Annabelle had apparently set up before pulling him into the room, because in front of him was a stack of muted earth toned plastic cups. Annabelle pulled out her phone and set up so that she could get both Oscar and the cups in frame.
"Alright, I think you know how to use these. I put blueberries in there for you — I know you like them."
Oscar made a little huffy sigh, but he did know how stacking cups worked. As much as he hated it, when he was a bunny he did enjoy bunny toys. It was a bit humiliating, but he was also very intrigued by the promise of blueberries, and that desire outweighed his human embarrassment.
He waited until she gave the thumbs up to indicate that she was recording and then he stood up on his back legs so that he could grasp the top cup lip with his teeth. He threw his head back, yanking the cup up from the top of the stack as best as he could. He overestimated the force required and nearly fell over onto his back.
He huffed, springing back up, hoping that it didn't look as stupid as he felt. He nosed at the new top cup, pulling a blueberry from it and chomping happily on the fruit. Annabelle had chosen the good kind. It was sweet and not bitter. He eagerly attacked the next cup.
He only fell over a few more times before the stack was low enough. For her part, Annabelle was watching through her phone screen, a large smile on her face.
Then Oscar got to the second last blueberry, chewing eagerly, expecting yet another amazing sweet blueberry. But alas, it was a bitter blueberry.
He choked, mouth hanging open and ears flying up.
It took him a second to recover, but once he had (and chewed through the rest of the blueberry), he turned to look directly at Annabelle. He glared at her. To her credit, she did look rather sheepish.
"Sorry Oscar," she said. "I thought that I got the good ones."
Oscar huffed at her, but he didn't stop. Instead, he just stole the last blueberry — cautiously — and then turned his back to her.
He heard Annabelle shuffling around before she appeared in front of him.
"Thank you, Oscar!" she chirped. "Sorry about that one blueberry. I'll leave you to get dressed." Then she slipped from the room, already tapping away on her phone. He lamented his reputation after the post already.
For a moment, Oscar considered just remaining in the room as a bunny for a bit to hide. Alas, he had responsibilities. He shifted back and got dressed.
It wasn't all that rare for Oscar and Lando to be at the MTC at the same time, but it was somewhat uncommon to have their schedules line up on an engineering day. They both had very different preferences for what they did and when. But Jon and Artturi had planned a joint training session so that was what they did. Trainers ruled all, and al that.
They'd pushed them harder than normal, thinking (correctly) that the presence of the other (technically each other's direct rival) would push them to do better.
Oscar would lodge a complaint if he thought he was capable of speech.
Pretty much as soon as they were done, Oscar collapsed on the floor and shifted into a bunny. He was too tired and gross.
Now shifting to something covered in fur may sound like a bad idea, but it was instinctual so…
He cleaned and sorted his fur, ignoring whatever conversation was happening around him. Once he was satisfied, he hopped further away from his pile of sweaty clothes. The only non sweaty area of the floor — and oh god he could see it so much better from this angle — just happened to be sort of in front of where Lando had sat down.
Unbothered by this fact, Oscar promptly flopped down in front of Lando, stretching out so that his feet were not pressed against the floor and he looked somewhat long. He rested his head against his paws, not wanting to press his cheek to the ground even though he knew it would feel good. His back was to Lando.
"Oh my gosh, that's cute."
Lando's voice sounded tired, but the fondness was still very evident.
"He's flopped!"
He heard Jon — Lando's trainer — laugh. "That means he trusts you in bunny speak," he quipped. "Because he's a prey animal and he can't get up to run away very fast when positioned like this."
"Aww," Lando cooed. "That's so sweet. He literally trusts me to have his back."
"Or," Artturi chimed in, surprising the other two who had apparently forgotten that the Finn was still there. "It could be because you are so far from a threat to him he is showing you that you do not even register."
He could practically hear Lando blinking dumbly. "What?"
"It is a thing that rabbits do with rival rabbits," Artturi explained. "They flop to establish dominance. Saying you can't possibly be a threat to him."
Lando squawked indignantly, sounding like the bird he was. "He wouldn't do that— you wouldn't do that, right Osc?"
Oscar ignored him, ear flicking backward.
"Oscar?"
Oscar didn't normally have a chance to interact with the other shifter hybrids in the paddock, especially when actually shifted.
The race weekend was a busy time. Sometimes they were scheduled down to the minute. There were weekends that it felt like he only saw Lando during meetings and social media filming, even those were rushed. And Lando was his teammate. Most race weekends the only real time he saw other drivers off track was during the driver's parade.
The drivers who were shifter hybrids really weren't shifted during the driver's parade. That would be pretty dumb.
The paddock — and racing weekends in general — just wasn't all that animal friendly. There were loads of people and not everyone could tell a shifter hybrid from a regular animal on sight. Sure, for hybrids like Lando who was an exotic bird it wasn't common for people to think a local animal somehow snuck into the paddock. But hybrids like Oscar or Max who were common domestic animals? Not so simple.
It, of course, didn't stop Oscar, but it meant that he was a bit more hesitant. Max didn't have the same hesitance though. It must come with experience.
Max had been on the grid for a while, and everyone knew what the orange haired domestic cat looked like by now. He did wear a little Red Bull vest harness though.
Oscar was being brave (in his opinion) and was actually outside of the McLaren team hub. It was a really nice day and he wanted to bask in the fresh air and warm sun. It was so rare to have a day that was truly this nice where Oscar had free time.
He was literally a few steps away from the entrance — McLaren had yet to give him his own little papaya orange vest, so he was still nervous about not getting recognized and wanted to stay close just in case. Not all marshals and paddock staff knew what he looked like. It would just be arrogant to think so.
He was loafed, eyes wide open as he watched the comings and goings of the paddock. It was all such a different view from the level he was at now.
He wasn't surprised to see Max in cat form padding down the paddock 'street'. He had a unique way of walking that just a bit un-catlike. It was a bit uncanny valley to Oscar, but no one else seemed to notice or be bothered by it, so Oscar never said anything.
Max looked to be minding his own business, so Oscar didn't bother standing up. Only, it became obvious when Max caught sight of him.
The cat perked up, his ears shooting up and forward. Oscar could swear that he saw the cat's pupils dilate. He then moved quickly, trotting over toward the McLaren hospitality.
Oscar got to his feet, but he didn't take off running yet. As shifter hybrids, they had instincts, yes, but that didn't mean Max — a domestic cat — was just going to attack Oscar in broad daylight in the paddock. But still, Oscar was a bit wary. Running away probably wouldn't help anyways. It would only make Max's cat instincts want to chase more.
He and Max had a decent relationship. At least that was how Oscar saw it. He thought the Dutchman to be a fairly simple and straight forward man who meant what he said. It wasn't like he and Oscar ever hung out outside of the track — but Oscar didn't really do that with any of the other drivers, to be fair. Still, Max wasn't mean about him in the media like he could be about George. He would chat with Oscar if they finished close to each other and during driver's parades. He'd even offered Oscar advice once or twice when he'd been a rookie.
Oscar and Max were about the same size when Oscar was standing, so at least they were on even footing.
Max meowed at him, his whiskers twitching. When they were shifted, they could communicate yes, but not like how they did when they were human. It really was a lot more body language than verbal — and it was most certainly not telepathy like some non hybrids thought that it was.
Oscar stared back at Max, struggling a bit as Max stood directly in front of Oscar's face and therefore in his blind/blurry spot. That was the only explanation Oscar had for why he was slow to react when Max trilled and then stretched up to start licking Oscar's head.
Oscar froze instinctively.
A cat tongue wasn't that different from a bunny's… at least with all the fur that Oscar had it felt very similar. It had been ages since someone groomed Oscar. He was pretty sure that the last time it had happened it had been his sisters actually.
Grooming between hybrids was fairly intimate. It wasn't like sex or anything, but it was something reserved for those that were close. It was also because each species had different grooming instincts, and sometimes those clashed badly.
Honestly, Oscar was mostly shocked that max had chosen to groom him. Max having the audacity to walk up to a hybrid and just start licking him? Yeah. That checked. He would do that. But Oscar? He hadn't thought that they were that close.
It… it felt nice.
Oscar hadn't realized that he'd missed it. Max was careful, making sure not to mess up Oscar' fur too much. Oscar found himself relaxing into it. Slowly, he went back to loafing. Max purred in satisfaction as Oscar did so.
It was so nice that Oscar was willing to willfully ignore how bunnies and cats had opposite grooming dominance behaviour. For cats, the cat doing the grooming was the dominant one. For bunnies, the one being groomed was the dominant one. Oscar knew this, but he was fairly confident that Max didn't.
Max was probably thinking in his cat brain that he was telling Oscar he was in charge, and Oscar was accepting it. But to Oscar's instincts, Max was acknowledging Oscar's rightful place as a future champion — the one who would break his title streak.
He was content to let it happen.
Mark wasn't a hybrid, but he was very understanding with Oscar. Maybe a bit awkward at times, but Oscar could tell that he was doing his best. Oscar definitely appreciated the effort.
mark had had many years to get used to Oscar and his bunny tendencies. He mostly just reacted like a tired dad. He also kind of did that when Oscar was human too though…
Mark was safe, and Mark also indulged Oscar. He always had a secret stash of fruit to offer him when Artturi wasn't looking. It wasn't like a few stolen strawberries would ruin his figure. He also played with Oscar which was just really nice.
Oscar had always been deemed so mature — both by hybrids and humans alike. His human demeanour was so calm. Most people assumed that he wouldn't indulge in play. And maybe he didn't as often as other hybrids, but that didn't mean that he didn't play at all. He was just more selective.
Mark was one of the people who didn't make Oscar feel silly or young for wanting to play. With others, he sometimes felt like he had to live up to their expectations. He had to be mature, in control. But Mark knew that the him that was when he was a bunny did not take away from those qualities.
All this to say, when Oscar was hiding under the couch in his driver's room in bunny form, Mark wasn't sighing in exasperation or trying to drag him out. Instead, he let Oscar sulk for a little bit before setting about sitting on the floor. Oscar watched him with careful eyes. When Mark's hand waved in his narrow field of vision (due to being under the couch) Oscar lunged.
He scrabbled at the ground, Mark's reflexes still quick enough to get out of the way. Oscar huffed faux-grumpily, retreating once he realized Mark's hand was out of reach. Then Mark did it again. Oscar scrabbled at where his fingers were.
He honked, waiting for the next time.
He heard Mark chuckle softly, some shuffling of fabric as he moved. But he kept playing with Oscar. It was nice.
20,483 likes
aussiegrit
[A video taken from Mark's point of view. It showed slightly shaky footage of the bottom of a couch — specifically the gap between the floor and the edge of the front panel. Visible to the camera was a scrunched up Oscar in bunny form. Mark reached out teasingly, swiping his hand in front of where Oscar was crouched. With great speed — but not great enough to actually catch Mark as he pulled his hand away — Oscar shot out, both front paws forward like Superman. He scratched and clawed at the ground with little 'pap pap pap's. His nose wiggled as he made little honking huffs with his retreat. The sequence repeated several times.]
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6 days ago
McLaren @McLarenF1 • 7h
little bunny stomps! 🐰
[A video clip showing Oscar in bunny form happily munching away at a strawberry on a paper plate. There were three more remaining strawberries on the plate. From behind the camera, a hand reached out and picked up the plate, standing up from the floor and taking it with them. Oscar froze briefly before finishing the strawberry in his mouth. He stared up at the person behind the camera, the upset clear across is blank bunny face. He stood there for a moment before making a clear stomp with his back feet. Snickering could be heard from behind the camera. When Oscar's first stomp did nothing, he repeated the motion. And then again. Finally after the fourth stomp of increasing discontent, the person filming returned the plate of strawberries to Oscar.]
184 replies | 3.1k retweets | 4.9k likes
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OP1 @koalaoscar • 5h
now why would you steal his strawberries like that
0 replies | 17 retweets | 38 likes
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aussie aussie aussie @oscarf1wdc • 4h
this is so cruel admin pls
0 replies | 5 retweets | 12 likes
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obsessed with F1 @papayagal • 2h
omg the stomps are so precious!!!
0 replies | 0 retweets | 1 like
zak brown im in ur walls @papayarules • 6h
nah cuz he MAD mad
[Clip taken from the post McLaren made showing Oscar (in bunny form) glaring at whoever was behind the camera before making a very definitive stomp.]
10 replies | 22 retweets | 57 likes
mclaren twinks @papayaboyz • 45min
PLS MCLAREN GIVE US MORE BUNNY OSCAR CONTENT AND MY SOUL WILL BE YOURS 😭😭😭
0 replies | 1 retweet | 2 likes
hattie is the best piastri @osco81 • 2h
look at his grumpy lil face
[Zoomed in screenshot from McLaren's initial post
0 replies | 2 retweets | 8 likes
Oscar knew that he had at least one world championship in him. Obviously, he'd always hoped for more, but it was impossible to predict what kind of luck he'd have. But he knew he had the ability for at least one.
He never expected it to come in only his third year in Formula 1. He'd known that the McLaren would be good enough for a title challenge, and he knew that he was good enough for the fight. Somehow, he found that he was still surprised when he crossed the finish line in Abu Dhabi and he was the world champion, not Lando. Maybe it was the remnants of hero worship he still felt for Lando. Maybe it'd been the fear that his luck wouldn't hold.
It didn't matter now. He was the champion of the world.
He couldn't stop the grin as he pulled up behind the first place board. He scrambled to shut off the car and climb on top of it. He punched his fists into the air, unable to contain a yell of triumph. He felt he couldn't be blamed for not maintaining decorum.
He jumped high, launching himself off of the car not unlike how Mark had once celebrated. He wasn't sure how much he ran so much as lopped, but he made it to the barrier where his side of the garage was eagerly waiting to receive him. He launched himself at them, too happy to care about anything really.
The podium ceremony was a bit of a blur honestly. He remembered smiling during the Australian national anthem. He remembered being drenched by champagne — well, some kind of sparkling stuff — and drenching Max and Charles in return. He remembered the way that the crowd screamed.
He had won his maiden Formula 1 world championship.
He managed to keep it together long enough to make it through all of the hubbub and the team photo.
As soon as the team started breaking out the celebratory drinks, Oscar finally gave into instinct.
Between one blink and the next, Oscar had shifted from human to bunny. Oscar wasn't a short man, so him essentially vanishing as his suit fell into a heap on the ground caught the team's attention.
Cries of shock reached Oscar's ears, albeit muffled by the sweaty fabric. It took a bit of finagling, but Oscar was able to nose his way towards the bottom of his fireproof top. He was lucky he'd already unzipped the top of his racing suit until it fell around his hips. If he hadn't, he really would have been trapped. Bunny paws were not conducive to opening zippers and Velcro from the inside.
As it was, he was able to nose his way out and leapt from the pile triumphantly He landed with his paws spread in a wide stance, looking around him and taking in the lights and the celebrations. Everything looked more brilliant form where he stood. Lights shone brighter, the fireworks seemed more starlike. It was pretty and overwhelming and Oscar was so damn happy.
He'd been a bunny in front of the team fairly frequently by this point, but that didn't really decrease the shock of those around him.
Oscar made his little squeaky bunny honk and then took off. He ran and leapt and spun mid air all over the McLaren pit lane area. He was careful to not run into anyone, but he just had to. He hopped in the air, spinning and landing facing another direction. He took off again, weaving around people and even running circles around a human Lando when he found him.
There were cheers and yells, and the sound of bottles of carbonated drinks popping. Everyone was celebrating.
Eventually Oscar got tired — he'd just finished the race of his life, and he got tired much more easily as a bunny. Of course now that he'd shifted, he couldn't really shift back, but that was no matter. Someone had brought him a little bowl with cold water and blueberries floating in it. Oscar was having a great time.
If all after parties were like this, he may actually go.
745,612 likes
lando congrats to Oscar for a mega season! I gave you quite the fight
[A carousel of 3 photos.
The first photo showed Lando holding Oscar in a hug. Oscar was a bunny and was sitting calmly in Lando's arms. Lando had his face pressed against the side of Oscar's.
The second photo showed Lando holding Oscar in his full bunny glory underneath his armpits. He was holding him up like Oscar was Simba from The Lion King. Oscar's little bunny face was as inscrutable as always, but he sort of just hung there politely in Lando's massive hands.
The third photo showed Lando smiling in team kit next to a human Oscar as the both of them clinked bottles of mystery liquid together, smiling.]
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2 days ago
27,502 likes
mclaren Ladies and gentlemen, our new #worldchampion !
[A video clip taken on a surprisingly stable phone. It was clearly taken by a McLaren team member as they were surrounded by people in papaya coloured shirts. The clip was zoomed in on the ground where Oscar in bunny form was zooming around the feet of celebrating team members. Every now and then he'd stop to sort of launch himself into the air and spin. He was binkying with the unfettered joy of an overexcited rabbit.]
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8 hours ago
657,392 likes
oscarpiastri 🏆
[A carousel of 6 photos.
The first slide was a photo of Oscar in his bunny form emerging from his pile of fireproofs and racing suit.
The second slide was a video of Oscar and Lando clinking bottles of champagne together and drinking from them in the pit lane surrounded by McLaren team members.
The third slide was a clip of the video of him running around as a bunny, binkying.
The fourth slide was a photo of Oscar in human form on the podium, beaming with his eyes closed and chin tilted upward.
The fifth slide was a photo also of the podium but this time it was Oscar being drenched by the champagne spritz.
The sixth slide was a photo of Oscar sitting on his car surrounded by his team, smiling and holding the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix trophy.]
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1 day ago