RED LIGHTS | LANDO NORRIS

Less Mess

"He's got to leave a space!"

Lia nearly spun off into the wall after Checo cut her off on turn ten. She managed to catch the drift but lost two positions because of it.

"We're looking into it."

"Motherfucker now I have to fucking gain two spots back shitheads!"

Obviously she didn't mean any insult to them. But she'd worked her ass off to get to the top three and that incident had knocked her. Now she only had five laps to get them back.

"No penalty. You're in P6. Stay calm."

She groaned and pressed the gas harder. Her anger was enough to get her past Daniel. But at the end of the race, she'd only managed to get P5.

"Good race Lia. We're happy with that."

"Thanks guys," she sighed, "Sorry I couldn't get up there."

She took her cool down lap slowly and watched as the top three pulled into their respective spots. Lando ended up P3, so she couldn't help but be happy for him.

The team was congratulating him as she stopped the car. She hopped out and pulled off her gloves and helmet. Daniel came up and gave her a fist bump before she made her way over to Lando.

She plastered a smile on her face for him and embraced him gently. He patted her back and his arm lingered around her shoulders.

"Good race, Norris."

"You too, Wren. Sorry about not making podium this race."

She lightly shoved his side, "No worries. You did it for me. Very proud of you."

He grinned and they walked back to the garage together. Lando had to go to the press room while she was forced to stop along the side and answer some questions.

"Lia, this is the first time you haven't made podium this season. Do you feel any disappointment?"

She glanced down at the text Graham had prepared for her to say. But as she skimmed through it she just shrugged and decided to answer simply.

"I mean of course I'm a bit disappointed. I always want to do better and be on the top," she admitted, "But I know that's not realistic all the time and we still managed to grab some points for the team. So I'd say I'm pretty satisfied with what we got today."

She pulled at the neck of her shirt and took a sip of her water as the next question fired out.

"How do you feel about Lando placing third today?"

Her lips curved up in a small smile.

"I'm proud of him, you know? It's great to see a teammate on the podium. He raced well and deserves the spot."

"Do you feel any rivalry?"

"There's always rivalry," she clarified, "At the end of the day it's always one driver against another. But I think our rivalry is healthy and keeps the competition alive."

The interviewer thanked her and Graham led her over to where the podium celebration was at. She joined the team in the crowd and cheered loudly for Lando.

He pointed the trophy towards her and winked. She grinned and clapped for him. While the champagne was spraying, she slowly made her way out of the crowd and back to her driver room.

Lando missed her exit and as soon as he was off stage, he wanted to find her. He asked Charlotte where she was but she didn't know. He figured his best bet was her driver room.