Lights Out and Away We Go | LN4 - LH44 - MS47

Chapter 1

"You know, sweetie, I think Lando may have a bit of a crush on you," Zak said, stabbing at his scrambled eggs with a wooden fork. "Goddamn it, I hate these things! Why can't they just use plastic like the US?" Moni slid her plate, half covered by a heaping stack of bacon, across the table towards her father.

"Here, dad, just take my bacon. Mom isn't here right now to yell at you. And Lando is a great guy, but I really wish you'd drop this fever dream where I date one of your drivers. Anyways, I think Lando is more inclined towards Instagram models than the boss' daughter. No need for the false flattery." Zak started picking at the bacon now sat in front of him, rolling his eyes at his daughter. 

"Who said it was false? And at least I'm not trying to set you up with Piastri. Lando is a great choice considering you're not allowed to date Mick anymore."

"Dad," Moni groaned, "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not dating Mick. We are just friends. And even if I was dating him, I wouldn't stop just because he's with Merc now. I am 22 years old, you realize that, right?"

"Maybe I'll set you up with a nice Andretti driver back in the states," he said picking at his fries, ignoring Moni's whines.

"Ok dad, I have to get going," she said begrudgingly, itching to end the conversation. She stood up from the table she and her dad sat at and slung a canvas tote bag over her shoulder.

"I thought you were going to stay here and check up on production with me today?"

"Dad I've overseen production with you every day this week. I told you, I'm driving up to Silverstone to watch Mercedes test laps with Mick."

"Not allowed," Zack said, grinning as he picked up another piece of bacon.

"Goodbye dad," Moni scoffed as she began to walk out of the room.

"Tell me all their secrets!" her father called after her.

"Not a chance!" she called back. Moni made her way through the halls of the expansive McLaren Technology Centre and towards the main entrance and exit. Moni had only recently moved to the UK in November of 2022 to be closer to her family after the 2022 racing season had conclude. Following her father's hiring by McLaren, her parents relocated full time to London in 2016 . The family had been between the UK and the US on a regular basis following the founding of her dad's company United Autosports in 2009, allowing for Moni to finish her formative years and most of high school in the US, so despite the full time move she remained in the US to attend college. Although she often preferred to stay away from the spotlight afforded to her as the daughter of McLaren Racing's CEO she also couldn't help but love racing, often attending as many events as she could.

At some point or another Moni had met practically every driver on the grid, the plus side of following Formula 1 around Europe during her summer sabbaticals – with a guaranteed paddock pass wherever she went, one might add. However, her friendship with Mick was unique. Yes, she had met him a few times here and there when he drove for F2 and F3, even in earlier years too – he was of course racing royalty, and in a sense she was too. It was by virtue of Haas' American origins, as well as her father's close ties with Andretti Autosport, for which ex-Haas driver Romain Grojean began driving in 2021, that Moni had stumbled into a close friendship with ex-Haas driver Mick Schumacher during his time with the team in 2021 and 2022. Having attended UNC Chapel Hill, Moni often found herself at Haas events in America, and after rubbing shoulders with Mick on a few occasions the two quickly became pals. It also helped that Mick frequented his family's ranch in Texas; although it wasn't necessarily close to Moni's North Carolina stomping grounds it always helped simply having someone in the country to talk to who understood the constant pressures of the world of F1.

Exiting the large complex, Moni walked the short distance to her car – a white McLaren 540C – and climbed into the drivers side on the right. She still hadn't quite gotten used to driving on the right side of the car, much less the left side of the street, but she refused to be chauffeured around everywhere she needed to go. She also hated driving a nearly $200,000 car, but thanks to her dads job she didn't have much choice. As she got settled into her seat she plugged the trip to Silverstone into her GPS. The track was about an hour north of the McLaren complex, and she was looking forward to clearing her head on the drive while also practicing her English driving skills on the country roads. As she pulled out of the complex and began her trek her thoughts began to race.

She first thought about how happy she was for Mick to be beginning with Mercedes. Selfishly, she was elated that as she relocated to the UK full time Mick's move to Mercedes as a reserve driver would also keep him close, especially since the contract allowed for McLaren to call on Mick in the event they needed a reserve driver as well. Overall, though, Moni had always felt bad for Mick while he was at Haas. The team had never treated him right, he was a phenomenal driver with phenomenal skills and Steiner simply wasn't willing to foster his growth. Even just as their reserve driver, moving to Mercedes would open a million more doors for Mick – granted, as an F2 and F3 champion as well as the son of Michael Schumacher there weren't too many barriers for the kid to overcome. Then her thoughts shifted to what her dad had said about Lando, and she could feel her cheeks heat up a bit. She had always had a small crush on Lando, as did practically any girl who ever saw or met him – a fact she often reminded herself. The two enjoyed somewhat of a friendship on account of all the time spent together between the headquarters and the paddock, but in most of these situations Lando was always consumed by looming races or practices. As a result, Moni always kept her distance. Anyways, in the past she was always just the boss' daughter in town from college going to the races. While she was still the boss' daughter, she hoped to legitimize herself now that she lived in the UK full time and was planning on attending each and every race, practice, and whatever else her dad would let her. Except for overseeing production today, that was. But, she ceded to herself, watching Mercedes practice at Silverstone was better than watching her dad gripe about production deadlines and design flaws any day.

Moni's future in itself was uncertain. She had just graduated with a degree in business, and as much as she had spent her adolescence ruling out any future working in F1 she was definitely no longer opposed to the idea. She had spent her life surrounded by the world of racing, and although she shunned this for years, she knew more about the sport than even the most avid fans, and would no doubt make a valuable asset to any team in any department. In her mind, spending the 2023 season unemployed but in constant contact with the sport via her father was her best chance at deciding if motorsport was really her future. No matter how much she wanted or tried to escape Formula 1 at times, part of her knew that no matter what she would always be tightly linked to the sport – even her name, Monica, was a play on words stemming from F1's most famous track: Monaco. 

Mono spent the entire drive lost in her thoughts, and before she knew it she was at Silverstone, pulling up to the track. As the public road split off to the circuit she was greeted by a security booth, but following a quick flash of her ID she was allowed into the grounds. She made her way through the winding roads which ran both around and through the center of the circuit until she reached a large parking lot behind the paddock where she parked. She grabbed her phone to let Mick know she had arrived and he quickly responded:

Mick Schumacher: Great! Come inside, I'll meet you and bring you down.