The Teammate

14 - A Distraction

June/July 2023 - British Grand Prix

The British Grand Prix had always been a race close to Lando's heart. Not only were the fans absolutely electric because he drove under a British license, but it was the race he had grown up watching the most as a child. There was a certain level he, and his fans, expected of him, and that level got even higher when he came to race on home soil. Still, with the added pressure it had to be one of his favorite races on the calendar.

From the moment he landed the energy could be felt, and it only grew with every day he entered the paddock. First and second free practice went well, with some PR in between. Since it was his home race there was a little more than usual, however, he didn't mind. Not in the least. He loved his fans, and, more importantly, it kept him and his mind busy.

When he had more things to focus on as one of the hometown heroes, he had less time to think about Arabella and how she must be feeling and even less time to contemplate if he should call her or not. There was a small part of him that knew he shouldn't, despite them being friends after a few months of her dating Max and being on the circuit with him a lot. However, the other part of him, the bigger part of him, knew that the real reason he wanted to was the exact reason he shouldn't.

His plan worked for the first few days. Free practice one and two went well along with the events and press he had to be a part of since the moment he landed. His mind was entirely on the tasks placed in front of him, especially when it involved fans.

It wasn't until he walked into the Red Bull motorhome cafeteria and saw Max sitting alone at a table, his head down and his shoulders slumped, pushing his food around his place with his fork. It made him look defeated. Despite the voice telling him to leave his teammate alone, Lando walked up to the table.

"Hey." He said, keeping his tone light. He didn't sit down right away, instead, he rested his hands on the back of the chair that sat across from Max. Slowly, Max glanced up just long enough to see who it was, then he went back to his plate.

"Hey."

"How's it going?" Lando asked, but Max just shrugged. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Talk about what?"

"Whatever has you looking so depressed." Max looked up at that, his eyes matching the rest of his demeanor.

After a moment, Max looked back down and mumbled "we broke up" which made Lando's ears perk up.

"I don't understand." Lando said sliding into the seat, not waiting for an invitation. "What happened?" He tried his best not to sound too intrigued.

"We broke up." He repeated his shoulders shrugging again.

"I caught that." He tried to keep his tone sensitive.

"Sorry." The corner of his lips twitched, but he didn't look up. "I don't really know what else to say."

"You don't want to talk about what happened?" Max shrugged again, and Lando did his best not to look as defeated as he felt. He wanted to know. His hands rubbed along the thighs of his jeans. "I know she's been going through a lot with her dad..."

"She has been going through a lot." He agreed, running a hand over his face. Max looked exhausted; there were even dark circles under his eyes. There was obviously a lot on his mind, a lot more than the usual stresses that came with racing. For the first time since Lando had been his teammate, he genuinely thought that Max didn't look like a world champion. There was no arrogance, no ego in the man that sat across from him. "She just needed some space I guess."

Lando nodded and shifted in his seat. He wanted to ask more questions, wanted to figure it all out, but he didn't want to pry or sound to eager to do so. So, he waited. Someone brought him a coffee, just the way he liked it, and he sat there in silence trying his best to support his teammate.