𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 || 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰

one

new story... excited to introduce my next big fanfic to you all :)

update october 13, 2024: it's not new it's just been republished!

---------------------------------

It's the dream of every European kid with a kart to attend a Formula One race.

It certainly was for the young British boy who would take his go-kart after school every day. While his classmates were all connected in a sense, he seemingly had no interest in bonding with the boys at his school. Instead, he found solace in the sound as he accelerated, he was able to escape and find peace in himself when he was at the wheel.

Six was a tender age and his parents feared that he would lack the social interaction that every child needs. But even when they had pushed him to go interact with his schoolmates at a birthday party, he had shied away and remained attached to his father, tears on his face. He refused to let go of his hand until they had left the venue only minutes later.

But on the alleyway near his house, Lando found his freedom. To any bystander, he really wasn't moving very fast on that go-kart. Granted, he was only six years old but to him, it felt like he was flying. On a windy day, the air would sting his ears and he'd shiver at the cold but it meant nothing to him. He was on his kart and that was the end of it.

That was his territory, his true home. He might have slept inside his house with his parents only a room away, but his true comfort was out on that alleyway, alone, not a hand to hold him back.

So when, for his seventh birthday, his dad handed him an envelope instead of a normal gift like he had been expecting, his baby blue eyes had met the warm smiles of his parents as they encouraged him to open it. Initially, he clearly resented the lack of a gift but when he ripped the paper of the envelope and peeked inside, his initial tears were replaced with a wide smile and a burst of energy.

Tickets to the Silverstone Grand Prix the following year.

He had run into his mother's arms, jumping with excitement. He would have to wait 8 months for his birthday present to be fulfilled, but for him the promise of Formula One was enough.

To Lando, F1 was the fast cars that he watched on the TV. He had never even fathomed getting to experience it in person, to get the opportunity to press his hands to his ears as the cars flew by the same way the people in the stands did. It was dawning on him that he would get to be one of those people in the stands. And he couldn't wait.

In the mean time, however, his parents had suggested that they go watch the junior karting race taking place at their local track that weekend about a half an hour away. And he had been too nervous to utter a sound, but the eagerness was palpable. He had never been able to experience a race, whether it be with Formula One cars or go-karts. It had just been him and the alleyway on which his house was. But his parents noticed not only did he love it, he was talented. And they figured no better way than to test the extents of their son's passion for being at the wheel than letting him watch, letting him get a glimpse of who he could be.

The second Lando had jumped out of the car and seen the track for the first time, his parents knew they had done the right thing. His eyes widened, and he looked up at his dad as if to say, 'this is the coolest thing I've ever seen.' For him, it opened a world of possibility. He knew he would ask his dad to bring him here on the days they were off work, he would bring his kart and test his skills around a real track.

And on that day, the air was buzzing with anticipation, the teams all preparing the karts. Even though the boys competing were only 11 and 12 years old, to Lando they seemed like giants. His parents watched as he walked down the mini "paddock," gazing up at the engineers as they worked. His mouth agape, his brain not even beginning to process how much more this was than just kids who drove down their street for fun. And even the karts themselves, they were brightly colored and looked a lot less clunky than the one Lando owned.