admit it | lando norris

40

ADMIT IT
— chapter 40

UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX
austin, texas

camila is sat in the hospitality suite as she watches the big screen, valentina next to her as they broadcast all 20 drivers getting into their cars. engine roaring, helmets on, seat belts done. all 20 cars left their respective garages and headed onto track for the formation lap to begin.

lando sitting on p2, everyone weaving around the track, trying to get temperatures through their tyres. as the last car reaches their respective grid box, mila and valentina stares at the screen in front of them watching the lights turn red one by one, all 5 of them going out indicating the race's start.

everyone's quick reaction leads them away from their grid box, lando managing to get a good start and leads the grand prix, leaving charles and the rest of the grid behind him.

camila screams in excitement as she watches her boyfriend take p1 for the moment. the pair of best friends watches intensely for the next 18 laps, lando still managing to stay first, pulling away from the others even more.

however having to pit for new tyres he fell to 4th the others in front of him having to pit yet. the girls still at the edge of their seats, lando retakes the lead on lap 24, mila cheering again.

with a few more rounds around the track max on the medium tyres and drs manages to overtake the mclaren car lando is in, mila sighs a little, but still hopeful lando could retake the position later down the line.

with more than half the race still remaining, everyone has to pit another time, lando pitting in lap 32 onto another set of hards. him hoping to undercut max when it's his turn to pit.

as max pitted, camila and valentina grip their chairs, praying lando gets out in front and managing to undercut the redbull driver. to no avail, they slump into their seats, but getting right back up hoping lando can overtake the car in front soon enough.

as the race goes on, mila stays just as nervous watching, praying everything goes well. surprisingly around lap 40 out of 56 max's team radio gets broadcasted.

engineer:
widen the gap to lando please

max:
shut up! don't talk to me around
the breaking! there's something wrong
with the breaking!

worried for max, everyone gasped and laughed at him and his engineer's interaction. however, with max breaking problem, lando manages to close the gap between the two cars to get within drs range once again.

on lap 54/56 lando made a late lunge out of the racing line in turn 12, camila and valentina screaming along with everyone as lando's car manages to get in front of the 3rd world champion winner.

as the lap ends, with the last lap left, the brits are at the edge of their seats watching the mclaren and red bull fight for the top spot on the podium.

as the checkered flag waves and lando's mclaren speeds pass it first, camila screams jumping up and cheering, hugging her best friend. lando's radio message being aired.

engineer:
lando norris you are a formula 1 grand prix winner!

lando:
WOOHOO! thank you everyone, thank you
to the girls and boys back at the factory,
thank you zak, thank you thank you. and
thank you mila!

camila hears this, along with everyone, heads turns towards the blonde as she smiles, tearing up with happiness.

as the cars pull up to the podiums, mila is waiting for her boyfriend to get out of the car, standing with zak and all lando's engineer, mechanic and trainer.

cheers were heard as lando did his little celebration on top of his car. he jumps down and ran towards the barriers where this team stood cheering and shouting for him.

jumping into their arms, mila smiles tears welding up again, happy to be able to witness his first formula 1 grand prix win by his side.

lando then pulls away from the team and turns towards his girlfriend. the couple hugging, mila ready for the world to know, she kisses his helmet, him quickly pulling away and tearing his helmet and balaclava off to have their lips meet for the first time in front of everyone else.

shouts and cheers were heard around the couple as they smiled into the kiss. happy to finally let the world know that they are indeed together.

pulling away, camila congratulated him before he left to get weighed as well as give the post race interview.

"congratulations lando! you won your first grand prix in austin, texas, how do you feel right now?" the interviewer questions as lando smiles widely into the camera and at the cheering crowd.

"oh woah, i don't know what to say really... i'm out of words here," he says chuckling and taking in all the cheers from fans around him.

after lando gave his short speech thanking everyone again, the interviewer called camila over, her worried about interrupting she hesitated for awhile before lando motioned an okay and everyone else waiting for her to join the interview, she finally complied and headed over.

"now camila, you've been a steadfast presence in lando's life. how do you feel about being here to witness this moment?" the interviewer questions.

"i'm incredibly proud of lando. he's worked so hard for this, and it's amazing to see him achieve his dream. i'm just happy to be by his side, supporting him through it all." camila responded, beaming.

"your relationship has been a topic of speculation for some time. there have been whispers and rumors. and you guys sharing a sweet kiss just now. can you shed some light on that?"

nodding, lando responded, "you're right, there have been rumors. we wanted to keep our relationship private for a while to focus on our careers. we just didn't want it to become a distraction."

"so, to confirm, it's safe to say, you are together?" the interviewer asked, wanting to confirm their relationship clearly.

in perfect harmony, lando and camila confirmed, "yes, we are."

the revelation brought a warmth and authenticity to their story. as they admitted their relationship, they shared a knowing look and a tender smile, reaffirming their commitment to each other, now ready to face the future as a united team.

💌

lia's corner

looks like the book has come to an end... (with 1 more chapter left ofc) lets pretend lando in fact won that day 🥲 he needs his first win soon 😭