Lando Norris Shorts (Complete)

5. World Champion: The Race

The smell of fresh asphalt, fuel, and expensive perfume flooded the air.

Hundreds of people were buzzing in anticipation for the race to start.

At this point all interviews were conducted, drivers prepped, and finishing touches applied to the formula beauties. They had lined up on the track, you loved the way their elegant liveries shined in the intense Abu Dhabi sun.

Colors, sponsors, and modern framework collided. The time we had all been waiting for was about to commence.

You sat down at a table on the roof deck of the VIP lounge, overseeing the track.

Scanning the cluster of cars for the bright orange, your eyes settled on him. You prayed he was okay and not too nervous down there, so much out of your reach.

It was finally time, and the croud had began to get shifty, searching for the best camera angles and viewpoints to the kickoff of the race.

All of a sudden the crowd had grown silent. Your leg started to shake up and down, up and down, and your palms grew sweaty. You could feel your eyes beginning to burn out of intense pressured concentration on the cars.

"3........2...........1." And the flag was out. "ITS LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO, AT ABU DHABI!" A speaker blared.

The engines screamed at the kickoff. You watched the little orange car weave through the others, gaining two places on the straightaway.

The aura was intense as you watched Verstappen and Hamilton grow a large lead. Into turn one, they had held it. Russel was not far behind.

The large cluster of cars followed, stubbornly forming a line to
pass the corner.

Norris went outside, a risky move. No overtake.

Now the track had been blocked from your vision, but you hoped desperately that everything would be ok on the rest of the course.

The cars went around and around, the crowd bursting into a roar at every overtake.

Up to this point Lando had been doing respectively, overtaking a few and was now right behind Sainz, from P10 to P5 and +575. Not half bad.

You were sipping delicately on your (a bit too sour) lemonade in a champagne glass when the smell of burnt rubber contaminated the air.

A lull of confusion washed over the crowd. You scanned as far as the eye can see for any movement, anything.

Latifi had been the last to fly by, but no cars re- immersed around the corner.

The red and white speed-reduction plates sat empty at the end of the curve. Something had happened.

The smell of burning rubber had gotten more potent. A pit had began to form in your stomach, making you feel slightly nauseous.

You stood up to get a better overview, but your legs felt like they were made of jello.

You turned to Kelly, and shared a worrysome glance.

"What happened, what happened mommy!?" Her daughter begged at her lap.

"Dont worry honey, it will be okay," she said, wearily comforting the child.

A thin plume of smoke appeared over the grandstand, and that only meant one thing.

Fire.

"Crash at turn 17! Its Hamilton and Russell! A safety car has been issued, awaiting more information!"

Large gasps erupted from the crowd. "Oh. My. God!" You reacted, covering your mouth in shock and almost dropping the swarovski crystal champagne flute.

"I hope they are alright," you turned to Kelly with your eyes wide.

Your heart had just about beaten out of your chest. "That... that means..." Kelly stammered, catching her breath.

She was interrupted by the loudspeaker however, "NO INJURIES. MERCEDES IS OUT OF THE RACE!".

You and Kelly shared this moment with your jaws on the floor as you processed what had happened.

The crowd piped out cries and shouts. This moment would most defidently go down in history. Heck, after three minutes it was already #1 trending on Twitter.

You didnt know what to feel, a part of you felt happy that Lando would move up two positions in the race and two main competitors eliminated. Another part of you however was torn, and you felt horrible that you secretly rejoyced about a devastating crash.

After a few minutes of debris cleanup, the cars and drivers were whisked away, and the race could resume.

The order was now Verstappen with Red Bull in first, Sainz with Scuderia Ferrari in second, and Norris with McLaren in third.

Some Mercedes fans in the crowd decided to leave in protest, abandoning their 3,000 dollar tickets.

There were twenty laps to go of 58 and the hot sun closed in over the horizon. It began to set, but the temperature outside was still unfathomable.

Your whole body was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, as you prompted Kelly to come with you and join Adam and Cisca at the grandstand.

The race would be over soon, and Lando still had a chance of winning. In fact the whole crowd seemed optimistic about Lando's chances.

As you scrolled through Twitter while in the blind, you saw how everyone else shared your enthusiasm. Your boy could have a shot at this.

You settled into your reserved seat in the front row, 20 feet from the finish line.

You were only a few feet above ground level, with nothing but a short Aramco wall seperating you and the asphalt.

Being part of the crowd was an ethereal experience. The pure energy of the masses made you so happy and numb feeling; as if this was all a dream.

15 laps left, and Lando began to close in on Sainz. The odds were with Lando, as he had just gotten back from the pits with a fresh tire compound.

You murmered to yourself in french "Allez, tu peux le faire mon amour, J'attendrai avec impatience une victoire".

He passed through the straight away, you knew he was pushing himself to the limit.

You grabbed Cisca's hand as he approached the overtake. 12 laps left. He had passed Sainz on the 11th lap, gaining quite a large lead on him.

Tears began to pool in your eyes and you struggled to pull the loose pieces of hair out of your face.

There was only one more man left for Lando to overtake to victory. And he only had 10 laps now to do it.

Your hand squeezed Cisca's and you were greatful for the sense of a motherly touch.

She was just as anxious as you were as the gap began to shrink.

Approaching 5 laps to go and Norris was on Vertappen's tail.

Kelly had distanced herself from you a bit, which probably was a good idea for obvious reasons.

"VERSTAPPEN WITH THE FASTER CAR, NORRIS WITH THE FRESHER TIRES. YOU ARE WITNESSING HISTORY IN THE MAKING FOLKS, AS OUR TWO LEADERS APPROACH THE THREE LAP THRESHOLD"
the speaker blared a bit too loudly, you laughed as you realized whoever was controlling it was excited himself.

Lando was gaining on him, using the fresher tires to his advantage and started taking a riskier approach.

2 laps left.

They became neck and neck, with sometimes Lando leading the turns, and sometimes Max.

You fealt like you were going to faint out of all the suspense. Everything felt so weird, as if time had slown down and you were in a dream.

The cheers of the crowd became muffled. Your ears began to ring and your vision became blurry. You couldnt feel anything.

The deafening ring spiraled in your ears. With some effort, you had stumbled but managed to stay standing. Your whole body was numb.

"AND THE ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE GOES TO LANDO NORRIS"