𝙁𝙊𝙍𝘽𝙄𝘿𝘿𝙀𝙉 𝙁𝙍𝙐𝙄𝙏 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘴

𝙀𝙄𝙂𝙃𝙏

𝙁𝙊𝙍𝘽𝙄𝘿𝘿𝙀𝙉 𝙁𝙍𝙐𝙄𝙏 ᯓ★

𝙇𝘼𝙉𝘿𝙊'𝙎 𝙋𝙊𝙑

THE TIMING OF the incident at the event hadn't been the best seeing as media day was right after. Zak, not too happy about it all, wanted to have a proper meeting with the PR team and the people involved but hadn't had time to organize it before the interviews were to take place at the media pen.

I knew I'd practically shot myself in the foot by showing up, but i really had no choice. These were mandatory events, i was bound to end up in a turmoil of chaotic questions and attempting to give diplomatic answers.

"Lando, there's been talk about an altercation involving you and another driver. Can you clarify what happened?" The interviewer hadn't wasted a second before diving straight into what everyone wanted to know. She had the advantage of being the first to interview me and intended on making it useful.

"Another driver?" I wasn't aware of any altercation with any other drivers.

"Yes. Brodhi Williams, the reserve driver for Red Bull this weekend." I tried the best to hide my shock but clearly it wasn't good enough. "Were you not aware?"

"Emotions run high during race weekends. Sometimes things get a bit intense. But right now my focus is on performing well for the team." I tried to give the least problematic answer possible. I knew they'd be digging for gossip or a new rivalry but I didn't intend on giving it to them.

"Do you feel this will affect your race performance?"

I shook my head firmly. "Not at all."

ᯓ★

Once I'd finished with all the media I was summoned to a meeting room by my PR manager, Scarlet. I knew the reason. They'd want to discuss how to go about the incident and try to get me out of it with the least consequences possible.

The moment I walked in my eyes landed on her. Elena had been summoned here too. It made sense, she'd also been present and was officially part of the team.

"Have a seat, Lando," Zak spoke first. I did as told, taking a seat across from Elena and next to him. "Alright let's get straight to it. The incident last night has created quite a stir. Sponsors are nervous and the media is starting to speculate." That much id guessed.

"We need to control the narrative," scarlet made known. "What exactly happened?"

I was hesitant to say. The media suspected it had been some sort of a rivalry between Brodhi and I from the past but I didn't even know the guy. I wasn't sure how okay Piastri two would be with me talking about her asshole of an ex disrespecting her.

She gave me a nod as if giving me permission to tell the truth, it was probably best that way.

"It wasn't about racing," I admitted. "He insulted her."

"Insulted her how?" Sometimes Scarlet's nosiness pissed me off but I knew it was her job to know so the situation could be fixed.

"It was personal,"said piastri.

Zak nodded. "Personal or not, it's affecting Lando's image and, by extension, the team's. We need to fix this."

"One way to shift the narrative is to present a united front. If we show that you two are close it could diffuse the situation," scarlet proposed.