one more race// l. norris

Chapter 26

( hey guys!
     - what did you think of silverstone? it was CHAOS🤭
sorry for the late upload :)
• enjoy the chapter and stay safe xxx
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We both chuckled in the back of the car.

Arriving at the circuit, Jules announced the plan for the day. It was simple. Pre-race interview, race, post-race interview, debrief.

My pre race interview was with Sky Sports, as per usual. Natalie and I bond quite nicely. We understand each other.

"Hiya Sky. Starting from P4 today. How are you feeling about today's race?" she asked.

"Hello Natalie. Yes, P4. I'm feeling confident today. I'm not a massive fan of Paul Ricard but I pushed the limits in all three practises and I know where the best grip, speed and downforce is."

We finished the interview and I headed back to the Red Bull hospitality. I had a few meetings and the team debrief before the race.

12:45 fell and it was time to change into my overalls, and mentally prepare for the race. After pulling on my race suit and leaving it hanging at my waist, I sat down in front of the mirror and began to plait my hair into two french plaits.

I slapped some lip balm on my chapped lips, grabbed my balaclava, pulled my boots on and headed into the garage. I saw Max looking at his data with Gianpiero. Adrian and I began to engage in a very deep conversation about lift and coast, tire wear and the DRS zones.

Christian briefly appeared in the garage and then the pit lane opened. I drove my car once around the track ready to settle in the P4 position on track.

The tire covers were placed back on and my car was lifted off the ground. I hopped out and once again began to check the car over. I loved looking at my car. Looking through the vents, looking at the floor, the rear and front wings, tires, suspension. It gave me a better feel of the car to know what was underneath me.

Martin Brundle briefly came over and had a conversation with me about my confidence about the track and for the day.

1:45. The National Anthem. All 20 of us drivers stood at the top of the grid, surrounded by team members, team principals and marshall. Whilst we all stood there in silence as the French national anthem was played around us. The French fans sung with there hearts. Passion flooded my ears.

I saw Lando behind me getting into his car as I did mine. Daniel close behind. Max in front was looking confident as he hopped into his RB.

Formation lap lights went green and we were off. Following the delta pace.

I rounded the final corner and settled into my grid place, the suspense of waiting for all the others drivers to get to their spots was intense. Even though it's about 20 seconds, it feels like a whole eternity.

Eventually the Haas of Nikita Mazepin lined up and I snuggled into my seat.

Aiden came over the radio, "Okay. 15 seconds till lights out."

"Copy."

As expected, 10 seconds later the lights began to change. The first one, the second, the third, the fourth and finally...
It was lights out and we were off.

Turn one was chaos. Cars either side cramming together. The sharp left hander. All i could see in front of me, was the RB of Max going off in turn one. I saw him quickly return to the track ahead but George was in front.

"Ahh shit. What happened?"

"George and Max went for a duel. No damage. We can pull it through. Just head down and keep your eyes on Bottas." shouted Adrian.

"Yep. Copy."

I continued racing. I had overtaken Bottas by lap 36 and Max was still looking at George's rear wing. Danny Ric and Lando both overtook Fernando Alonso in the background and then they were both behind me. Daniel was originally in front of Lando but he managed to squeeze past in lap 45.

Lap 53. We were only 1 minute away from the end of the race. Max had been closing in on George. I was right behind. Going into Turn 8, Max dived down the inside and stole P1 from George. They were tight all the way through turns 11, 12 and 13. As the two leaders rounded turn 15, Max was in front and crossed the line as the winner of the French Grand Prix. Plus, I was in third! So that meant I was on the podium!

I jumped out of my car once I had parked it in front of the big '3' sign, just left of Max's P1 sign.

Max ran over and gave me a hug after he had congratulated George. I also squeezed Max.
"Congrats Maxie!" I whispered into his ear through my helmet.

"Thank you Sky." I could tell he was smiling because you could see the wrinkles next to his eyes.

Once we had been weighed and I could take my helmet off, I took a swig of water and walked up to George, "Hey Georgie. Good race today!"

He turned to look at me and smiled, "Thanks Sky. I should've won though, but that's hard racing I guess. Congrats on your P3."

"Haha, thanks George. I think that after that race you deserve a hug." I smiled.

"Aww thank you Sky." He said whilst pulling me into a tight embrace. I love George. He's so calm and collected but can have a hell of a laugh.

After doing the post-race interviews and having a quick celebration with the team. The three of us podium sitters walked up to the podium. We stopped outside of the door and I pulled on my third place hat as my name was called. "And your third place, Sky Morgan!"

I walked out and the cheers erupted. The same pattern repeated for Max and George. Our trophies were then handed to us and then it was onto my favourite part of the podium: the champagne.

I shook my bottle and slammed it down on the podium floor. The champagne erupted in the bottle and burst out the top, spraying Max and George. They both tried to spray me back but were unsuccessful in every way.

The bubble of champagne lingered in the air. The fizzy liquid drenched my race suit. We all laughed about as the teams cheered us on from below.

Once the podium was over and everyone had finished celebrating, I returned to my driver room to a fellow face.

"Congrats on P3!"

A huge smile greeted me as I opened the door.

"Aww, thanks Lando! You had a good race too! P5! Best of the rest!" I replied.

"Yes. I did indeed." he smirked.

I pulled my race suit off and began to pull on some jeans, "Wait, how did you get in here?"

He chuckled to himself and stood up, he walked over to me and wrapped his arms around my bare waist. I was stood there with jeans and a bra on. "Holly helped me sneak in. And may I just say, I like the look of you without a top on."

I giggled gently in his arms and he kissed me in return. Our lips collided with fiery passion, his tongue brushed over my lower lip asking for entry. I in turn, granted access. The kiss became heated. My fingers ran across the bottom of his t-shirt and traced his lower abdomen.

"Oooh, sneaky. We can't do this here Sky." Lando whispered in my ear.

"Oh, I know don't worry." I teased back.

He pushed me against the wall and pressed his body against mine.
"Looks like we will finish this later." Lando smirked. The butterflies in my stomach were at a high of their own.

He turned around and left, without saying another word.