𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 || 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳

can't you just say congrats?

this is highkey not chronologically accurate at all i'm fully aware lando and oscar did not get their maiden wins till this year but we are gonna pretend it was in 2023 and that's that

also i'm not paying even a shred of attention the race calendar or anything LMAO i know miami makes no sense at this point but likeeeeee yeah just ignore that ty :)

and lastly i apologize to any lance or esteban fans out there i promise i love you guys too <3

~

Lando was tired of Oscar trying so desperately to prove to the team that he was better. It was sickening how much he could suck up to the team in the right moments, how he would shut up and let them have their way even if it was wrong. He understood Oscar was a rookie but it wasn't like the Aussie had never driven for a team, surely in F2 and F3 he knew how to speak up when something wasn't right.

In truth, they were almost dead even in the championship, Lando leading by a matter of 8 points. One faulty race on his part and that order could switch, there was no room for error and he was assured that he wouldn't fail. The only talking point Oscar had was his one win including sprints compared to Lando's none.

The last few races had been pretty uneventful, both Lando and Oscar maintaining consistency in their results and proving that they deserved to be at or near the top of the field, which they were. They had managed to stay out of each other's way, getting through the media challenges with no snarky remarks, much to the relief of their media team. 

Oscar, in Lando's opinion, had finally left him and his girlfriend alone. They were happy together and they both thrived off each other's presence, but also some time apart to focus on themselves. It was why she was at some of his races, but not at others, and they had found that to be a healthy dynamic. Lando didn't miss the weird glances every time Oscar saw him at a race without Carolina but aside from that, he mostly let them be.

But returning to Lando's mental state, simply put, he was fed up with Oscar and that whole... scene in general.

So then when Lance Stroll so kindly decided to take him out of contention in the Miami sprint race, he honestly was tempted to emulate his good friend Max Verstappen's move a few years prior on Esteban Ocon, another one of the most widely hated drivers on the grid.

But he wouldn't.

He wouldn't allow Oscar or the team to see a moment of weakness despite his visible anger at the conclusion of the race. He would handle himself gracefully, say the right things to the media without being told to, anything to prove himself.

Many people said that in F1, your teammate is your biggest competitor, and that perfectly defined the situation in the McLaren team despite Zak's repetitive and desperate although futile attempts to foster some sort of bonding between his drivers. They hadn't tested his limits since his outburst near the start of the season but they had come close a few times.

The pressure was also mounting on him to finally win a race, since he was widely regarded as the best driver on the grid in the best car but without a win over the course of his career. And the fact that this was now his 5th season in Formula One, even he couldn't deny that the win was long overdue.

As he returned to the paddock after the fated sprint race, he saw Oscar smirking at him in the debrief. He certainly didn't take pleasure from seeing the Aussie get bad results (well, maybe he did) but regardless he didn't understand why Oscar took such pride in it when even he barely managed a points finish. 

That night, Oscar texted him as he was in his hotel room. It was one of the races that Carolina wasn't there, and frankly thank God for it since she and Lando were on the brink of an argument before he left for Miami.