one more race// l. norris

Chapter 37

ahhh i'm so so so sorry for not uploading. school has been crazy and my netball has been mad. i've played a game every day this week😭😭
— also, sochi this weekend, what do we think?
love you all and stay safe Xx
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It was now Friday in Monza. Free practise was over. Lando, Max, Daniel and I were chilling out in Danny's room. Playing some FIFA, drinking some juice. That was about it to be fair. That was peak entertainment on a race weekend.

"Ahh you beat me! How?" Max asked. Confusion all over his face.

I scoffed, "I'm a natural at everything."

He smirked, "Yeah right.".

"Hey guys, can I ask you a favour?", I was excited for what I was about to ask. I had been thinking of it for a while.

"Sure."

"Go for it babe."

"Lando do you mind not using 'Babe' right now." Daniel mocked.

Lando gave him the middle finger and looked back at me, I giggled at the two. 

"So, in case you didn't know, my birthday is three weeks away. It's the day of the Turkey GP actually. October 3rd. I want to do a party in between Turkey and the next race. Would you guys help me organise one?"

Daniel jumped up, "Oh my god. Yes. It's a party. Of course I would help. Tell me a time and a place."

"Well I'm thinking of doing it at Lando's house." I looked at him with pleading eyes.

He hesitated. "Uh fine. It's your house too you know."

I blew him a kiss, "So, it will be on a Saturday, we will need food and drinks. I can sort the food, some of the drinks. Also decorations!"

"Wait, how old will you be?" Max asked.

"Oh shit yeah, I'll be twenty one! I was born in 2000." I felt excited. I was old, well at least I felt old. Max nodded.

Daniel raised his hand, "I can get drinks and some decs. How many people?"

"Well this is the thing, there is quite a few. All of the drivers and their plus ones. My friends, Ally, Chloe, Ava, and some others. Max, Tom, Oli. The guest list is at like 60 already." I sighed.

Lando and Max had there mouths open. Shit, oh well. 21 is a big birthday.

"The more the merrier I say!" chirped up a happy Daniel. I could already tell, if this party was anything like Baku. It was going to be fucking fire. We had three weeks to plan, and invite people. To give them time to free their calendar. That night was spent making lists on our phones, looking for caterers and deciding who to invite. I had made a plan, I would send out some invites on Sunday night. After the race, giving people just under 4 weeks to check if they are free. It was 3 weeks until my birthday, four until the party.

Lando and I headed back to our own room at around 9, I headed straight for the bathroom. I wiped any existing makeup off my face and brushed my teeth. Lando also came in to brush his teeth. We were stood in front of the mirror dancing to some music that played of my phone. We looked like absolute idiots, oh well. No one else could see us. Lando took a sneaky photo of us then we headed to bed.

Saturday morning, Lando and I had just arrived at the Monza track. All you could hear for about 5 miles were the Tifosi. Ferrari's beloved supporters. Coming to Monza was special, Charles and Carlos were going to work bloody hard today. Trying again and again to put it on pole. We headed for the turnstiles. Hundreds of fans were lining the road behind the barrier. As we approached Lando signed a few things, I saw a little boy with a sign with my number on it. Number 13. He was shouting my name. His dad has sat him on the barrier, he was no older than 5. I went over to him and said hello, he asked for a photo and I of course couldn't deny him. I took the photo with him and I gave him a hug. I was wearing my cap at the time, the Red Bull one with my number plastered on it. "Has anyone got a pen?", a member of the crowd handed me their marker. I pulled my hat off my head and signed it, writing a little message to the boy. His name was Antonio. I then placed my hat on his head, and handed the marker back. After thanking him, I turned back around to look for Lando. He was walking towards me, he reached me and I turned round to wave at the boy once more. As I did this, I heard a comment that made my stomach drop. "FAKE BITCH!"

Other people in the crowd began jeering and shouting too. "Fake." "Your using him." "You are a woman, you shouldn't be in the sport."

Some of the security noticed the comments and made sure Lando and I were escorted to the turnstiles safely. Once we were inside, Lando pulled me to one side. "Sky? Sky? Are you okay?"

Tears were prominent in my eyes, I tried to shove the lump in my throat down, "Mhm. Yeah I'm okay.". A few tears ran down my cheeks. Lando used his thumbs to brush them away, "No, no you're not. Come on.". Taking my hand Lando dragged me towards the Red Bull building. He asked one of the staff if they had seen Christian and pointed Lando in the direction of his office. Every time I tried to object, Lando shut it down. We reached his office and Lan knocked on the door. "Come in."

Lando opened the door, Christian looked up and was surprised to see him. But when he saw me and noticed I was crying, his actions completely changed. "Oh gosh. Come in you two. Sit down. Please."

Lando and I took the seats the other side of his desk. Me still not saying a word. Horner looked at me, "What's going on?"

I sighed, "Nothing. It's fine.". I wasn't feeling up to admitting what was happening. But Lando soon interrupted, "No. It's not fine. Sky is being abused online and now in person. So many comments on her Instagram, Twitter, and now just then when we were signing things, someone shouted 'fake bitch' and the whole crowd joined in with name calling Sky. I won't have it. It's destroying her. Sky, she won't admit it. But I can tell it's ruining you.". He was looking at me when he said that last bit, wiping even more tears from my face.

Christian nodded at Lando and turned to me, "Sky. We here at Red Bull signed you not because of your gender. But because of your pure talent. The pure determination you have showed in recent years is inspiring to everyone. Everywhere. Especially young women and girls. We knew there may be some backfire when we signed you. You are the first female Formula One driver. It's quite impressive! I am awfully sorry about these comments you are getting. They are completely unnecessary. The people who are doing this name calling are probably the ones who are jealous of you, your talent, your resilience. Please, if you can, don't take the comments to heart. Us here at Red Bull will shut down as many of these comments as we can. I know that DNF at Spa probably didn't help. But hey, it's Monza! The temple of speed! Try and enjoy the weekend! If it gets worse, come back to see me."

I nodded at him, "Thank you.". I got a smile in return and Lando and I stood up, Christian thanked Lando and shook his hand. He walked round his desk and pulled me into an hug. Once me and Lan left his office, he headed to McLaren and I went straight to my drivers room. I had to get into the right head frame for quali.