Mon Champion

Chapter 9

TW: Use of homophobic slur

Lando's POV:

If I'm being honest, the race was boring. At least for me, being in a car and having no idea what was happening with the leaders. I'd finished the race in P7, which meant I finished the season 6th.

When I got out of my car in parc fermé, It was very clear to me what had happened under the safety car. Red Bull mechanics were running down the pit lane, and there were shouts from every direction.

This gave me a headache, or rather contributed to the one I'd had already. There was something about driving at Abu Dhabi that had more of an effect on my neck, and this pain usually caused a headache.

I didn't really want to stick around in the pit lane, so I offered my congratulations to Max, Lewis, and Carlos for his podium, before sneaking into the garage. I stayed here thanking my mechanics and engineers, and then went back to the paddock.

I was told in the garage that post-race interviews were optional, and I didn't have to be told twice. Post-races weren't my favorite thing in the world, I could certainly do without them for once.

When I got to my home, I did nothing but lie down. I didn't even post anything on Instagram, which was quite the accomplishment for myself.

The mixture of the heat of Abu Dhabi and the geforces of the track had me more exhausted than normal. The only race that had me this tired before was Jeddah, and you could watch any of my interviews and see this.

I was probably seconds away from falling asleep when I heard my phone chime. When I picked it up, I saw that Charles had texted me.

Message from Charles:

"Carlos, George, Daniel, and I are going out later to celebrate. You are expected to join us."

This was followed by Charles sending the address of the club they were going to, and I realized I'd been there before. I didn't enjoy my first experience there, and I'll elaborate no further on that.

I sat my phone back on my nightstand, and fell asleep what seemed like seconds later.

-

It took me a second to remember where I was when I woke up. Thankfully, I didn't have amnesia, and remembered my whereabouts. I reached for my phone and saw that it was now nearly 10:00. I also had texts from all 4 drivers who went to the club, asking me when I was coming.

After reading these messages, I began to prepare to go out. I didn't want to wear a lot, but it's not like I had my entire closet for a race weekend. I always brought a few nice things, just in case something came up, but nothing over the top.

I decided on a white dress shirt and blue suit pants. If I'm being honest, I was going to wear the blazer that went with the pants, but I didn't have a clue where it was.

My phone began to chime again when I was getting ready, and I just let it be. I had a feeling I knew who it was and what they were saying, and they'd already said this once before, about 3 minutes ago.

My theory was sort of confirmed when I picked up my phone and read the messages. They had come from who I'd thought they did, that being Charles, but they weren't quite what I thought he'd be saying.

Messages from Charles Leclerc:

wjere drre yuouuu lsnndoo

whst id takinh youu sp lonng

It took me a second to be able to read this, and for a moment I was convinced I'd forgotten how to read in just a few seconds. I took a screenshot of these messages and sent them to all 3 of the other drivers at the club, along with a message telling them to keep Charles from drinking any more.