False Confidence - Lando Norris

Chapter Seven

With all my interviews done and nowhere to really go I had all the time to remember the conversation I had with Nyck and his tips. Knowing he was probably right, or at least knew better than I did, it was time for me to finally talk to Lando. As much as I wanted to get an apology out of him, I realised he wasn't the only one who had to do that. Choosing a spot which was close enough to his spot at one of the interviewers but wouldn't get me onto film, I waited for Lando to finish up and catch him before he could leave for either their hospitality or the hotel. If I let him leave from here all the courage I collected would be gone and it would never come back to me in the near future. Lil luckily decided to stay with me and pass the waiting time by going over the schedule with me again, as that would never hurt. I considered myself an organised person, but even I forgot a planned event or interview once or twice in my lifetime.

" We saw quite some people getting better and better throughout the weekends. They're getting more points every race even though fans already wrote them down as unsuccessful. Do you have anyone in mind who's becoming a threat as the time goes on that you didn't think you would have to fight? " The question was asked just as we stayed silent, and my curiosity was raised immediately as I knew even though it was asked anonymously, everyone knew it was about me too.

" We had a big break at the start, which means it's not surprising that for some the real start of the season was harder getting used to. Alas, it's inevitable that those are getting back into the rhythm by the time we are well into the season. " Lando gave quite a text book answer which made my eyebrows furrow as I couldn't really decide what he meant by his words. " It's also usually just a bit more luck than what they are used to having. Qualification isn't always a true picture of how good a driver or a car is, but more like who's the most there mentally in that exact moment and who gets blocked less. " He shrugged a little, inducing quite a bit of anger in me as immediately felt like he overlooked not just mine but at least 5 other driver's skills, talent and hard work.

" Does it feel strange that you went through a whole season before achieving your first podium but there are drivers who may even get one during their first season, which is actually shorter than usual? Or is that something that's normal to be different for everyone? " He was asked quite a dirty question, but somehow I was still mad at him and not the reporter who was probably just given the questions by someone over them.

" It's hard to compare people who drive different cars and start in different seasons. I'm happy for everyone's achievements but at the same time I don't feel like they are better than someone else just because they get a podium sooner into their career. It's also not as big of an achievement when it happens thanks to other rivals colliding or getting unlucky with their engines or breaks. " He answered with a smile on his face that I would have gladly slapped off. Just as he was about to step away and probably spot me, I turned back towards him and stormed off to get away from the media pen as quickly as possible.

I heard Lil's voice calling out for me, but my mind was clouded with anger and I wasn't about to stop, turn around and give Lando or anyone from the paddock a chance to see it on me. The idea of apologizing to him seemed absurd all of a sudden and even though in a tiny part of my brain I knew we still should have talked, the other part didn't want to listen. Doesn't matter how betrayed or hurt he felt by my actions or how I acted towards him, stepping up to the cameras and bashing me alongside several other people wasn't how he should have acted. It felt childish, even from him, and I knew it wasn't something I deserved from him while he knew how unstable my position in F1 was and how the media would go bat shit crazy about his words and jump on me in the next few days to get my reaction. It was everything I tried to get away from since the launch of the season, and he just pushed me into an arena filled with hungry lions. He was the last one I thought would do this to me.