𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 || 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳

oh my god, this is slow

The first testing session at McLaren was not a good one. The car was abysmally bad, Oscar already starting to regret his decision to switch from Alpine. They were quite literally dead last on the grid, this season would be utter hell if this was how the pace was relative to the rest of the grid. Lando seemed equally unimpressed in Oscar's estimation. He was grumbling on the radio (though Oscar hadn't spent a single day with him that he didn't grumble), and he seemed so off his normal, snarky self when he got out of the car.

For the first time since he had met the British driver, Oscar saw Lando look concerned.

He was usually carefree, saying whatever came to mind in the moment. Sometimes it was so unbelievably unhinged, Oscar couldn't comprehend how Lando didn't think about the words coming out of his mouth before they did. Truly, the Aussie was nothing short of flabbergasted.

But here, you could see the frustration in his eyes as he took off his helmet. He walked over to the nearest chair he could find, taking a seat and shaking his head, perhaps a physical reaction to the negative emotion coursing through him as a result of the test. 

Oscar was no less frustrated, though he was well aware he would have to show more tolerance. He was a rookie, it was indeed his first season with the team. He had something to prove, and it wasn't like him to show people a negative attitude especially not when he knew they were working maximally to help him succeed. 

He was also clearly naturally a more composed personality than the Brit. He knew how to carry himself without giving his emotion away. With Lando, it was very clear what he was feeling and thinking, he never sought to conceal that side of him since he thrived off of letting it out. Oscar was the opposite. He didn't want to talk as much, he thought it was no one else's business but his own how he felt about a certain circumstance and therefore the reactions between the two drivers were markedly different, could even be stated as polar opposites.

"What the fuck," Lando muttered, going to stand next to where Oscar was leaning against a countertop. "It's so fucking slow, and at any moment it feels like I could crash, this is the worst car the team has made since I've been here."

"Well, I don't know what the others were like but yeah, this certainly could be better," Oscar agreed.

"Mate, I could drive the other ones without feeling like I was on the edge of going into a wall."

Oscar chuckled at the bluntness of his teammate. "It was tolerable for me, slow but at least I felt like I could control it. What were your brake balance settings, what did the team tell you to do?"

The two drivers conversed for a while longer about the session, keeping the discussion solely on racing. It was one of the first productive moments they had together, sharing information and other helpful things with the other driver. Albeit with Lando swearing at least once per sentence, they did manage to come up with some ideas that they wanted to pitch to the team at the next debrief.

There was another first that day, the first time that Oscar managed to have a conversation with Lando without being sassed at.

It was a key part of Lando's personality, Oscar had soon figured out. He suspected he hadn't even begun to unpack the clutter that was the brain of Lando Norris, but he knew he would eventually. Two years of working with someone, at least two years, would be more than enough time for Oscar to have the Brit figured out. The one thing he did learn quickly, though, was that Lando's cheeky remarks were simply a part of how he interacted with people. It wasn't meant to be offensive, simply his way of showing affection, whether that be friendly, professional, or otherwise.

The Aussie found himself stuck in the backseat of a taxi in eternally slow traffic later that day. Checking his notifications, he then found himself scrolling through Instagram until he felt like the posts were all blurring together. He reposted a couple McLaren photos to his story, it always was a good professional look to maintain a 'relationship' with the team on social media. He also noticed Lando had posted a photo taken of the two of them while they were discussing the car on his story, the Aussie chose to repost that too. Lando could have a hard shell, but Oscar knew it was a matter of time before it cracked.