KARMA | Lando Norris

1

Be Polite

HUNGARIAN GP
ADEERA SANTIAGO

I saw the checkered flag being waved from a distance. I stepped harder on the pedal and went full throttle. As I crossed the checkered flag I heard Camilo speaking at the radio. "That's p2, Santiago. You'll start at the front row in tomorrow's race" He said. There was neither excitement nor disappointment in his voice when he said that. Who could blame him though? I think almost all my team doesn't believe in me anymore. I kept on doing great every qualifying, but when it's race day, I always find a reason to mess things up. "Order is: Norris, you, Verstappen, Piastri, and George." He recited the first 5 drivers starting at the front of the grid.

With a sigh, I got out of the car, another satisfying quali for me. And another disappointing race awaits tomorrow. I removed my helmet and placed it on the table. Looking around the garage I ran my hands on my hair, then took a sip from my bottle. Bracing myself for yet another criticizing interview.

As I was leaving the garage, my teammate George entered. He marched up to me and gave me a hug, whispering a streak of congratulations as he pulled away. George ended quali in p5, ahead of the two Ferrari and Checo. George and I never expected to be so close when we first became teammates, but here we are. Valentina, the head of my PR team, signaled us to follow her. "Oh, right we have an interview. How could I forgot" George groaned as he started to walk, following Valentina. "Woohh exciting" I sarcastically replied as I followed them out.

"Ad, remember our practice. Dodge the questions you don't want to answer. And take it lightly and be polite." Valentina reminded me with a stern look. "Okay, so I'll dodge every question. Copy." I replied as George chuckled beside me while Valentina rolled her eyes. He patted my shoulder before walking past me and entering the media pen. I turned to leave, following behind my teammate when Valentina called me. "I'm ten toes behind you, Ad." She said with a sweet smile. "I know." I replied then strutted my way towards the media pen. I stood straight behind the barrier that's created between us drivers and the interviewers from various sports channels. I stood there waiting, as they interviewed George. The media pen after every session and race will either praise or criticize you. It depends solely on how well you did on track. They're like that to other drivers, to me on the other hand. Well let's just put it this way, it doesn't matter to them if I did well or not. I'll receive criticism no matter what my result is. That's why, the post race interviews every Sunday are my least favorite moments in my formula 1 career. Valentina said to just ignore it and dodge every question that has nothing to do with the race. But I'm debating on whether or not I should do as she says or do the opposite of what she says.

When George finally moved to the next interviewee, I stepped sideways and the mic was quickly shoved in front of my face while the interviewee recited a question. I gently took the mic out of his grasp and looked at him dumbfounded, hoping he would repeat his question. I blinked stupidly, waiting for him to say something. "What was the question?" I asked with a sigh.

I don't know if I was just hallucinating— seeing things, like that— but he rolled his eyes at me. I looked at him in confusion as he repeated his question. "I said, what happened today? What happened on the track?" he snapped with a sigh. My eyebrows met in frustration as I answered him "what do you mean, what happened? Quali went smoothly for me." I shrugged. He looks at me in boredom. "Well, any predictions for tomorrow? Because every single one of us certainly do." He questioned with a smirk.

Okay. This guy is clearly giving me an attitude and I don't like it one bit. My annoyed gaze shifted to Valentina who's at the corner. I raised my eyebrow as she shook her head. I took a deep breath before returning my gaze to the interviewee in front of me.

Fuck it. If he wanted a rude play, I'll give him that.

"None, do I look like a fortune teller to you?" I snapped as I raised my eyebrow at him. The interviewee's mouth fell open slightly. I noticed Valentina approaching me as I was about to say something. She patted my back and prompted me to move towards the next interviewee.

"I told you to be polite." She whispered lowly while smiling at the previous interviewee. "I just mirrored his attitude towards me." I replied with a shrug as I settled in front of the next camera. Valentina stayed at my side but away from the camera. I took a deep breath as I looked at the interviewee "Hellaur." I greeted with a small smile. The next interviewee was a woman in her mid-thirties. "How was Quali today, Adeera? Talk to us about it!" she started with a warm smile. These are the type interviewers that I like, the ones that are doing their job correctly and are being polite.

"Ugh, terrible. P2. Gosh." I joked. A breathy laugh escaped her lips. "Do you think you'll be able to perform wonderfully at tomorrow's race? Or will you be met by bad luck again?" She questioned, her warm smile never leaving her face. But MY smile, dropped after hearing her questions.

I fucking take it back. I don't like this interview or interviewee.

As I was opening my mouth to reply, I felt a slight nudge on my foot. My eyes landed on Valentina for a mere second. But that's all it took for me to know what she's trying to say. Take it lightly and be polite. "Pft. I wouldn't call it bad luck—" but before I could finish my response, she started talking. "So it was a bad performance? Skill issue?" She questioned, that annoying smile still plastered on her face. I balled my hands into a fist, I want nothing more for it to land straight into this woman's face. I felt Valentina tugged slightly at my fireproof.

Take it lightly, be polite. I smiled back at her before responding. "I wouldn't call it that either, ma'am." she looked at me, her smile slowly fading. "If it wasn't that either, what would it be? Seeing your performance lately this season, some people see it as a streak of bad luck or bad driving skills. Your performance in your rookie era with Alfa Romeo is top-notch. But now that you're in a Mercedes, your performance is going downhill. Why's that? Are you not fit to drive a car like a Mercedes?" As far as I know, that's a statement, a criticizing one, her opinion— and maybe others too... But she disguised it as a question.

"What do you mean?" I asked, playing dumb. I know exactly what this lady meant. I waited for her next move. "Well, maybe after Lewis Hamilton retired, leaving a nice and great record for Mercedes maybe— just maybe, that pressure's you a bit and it affects your performance in driving. Carrying a huge weight like that can be sometimes exhausting and stressing."

"Ah. Okay. Let me recap that. You think that maybe I am being pressured to achieve or maintain the record Lewis had left in Mercedes? And because of that pressure, I'm performing badly?" I returned the question. She was about to respond but I cut her off by speaking again. "I don't feel any pressure from the team, thanks for asking. They're all great. Very supportive." Well of course my response is the opposite of what I actually think. But I can't let people around the globe know that.

"We're just halfway through the season. So just watch and see what happens at the next upcoming races." I finished and shot her a warm smile, then dropped the mic to the floor in front of her before walking away.

"I was about to be proud of you for handling it quite well before you rudely dropped the mic in front of the reporter." Valentina commented, the amusement hinted with disappointment evident in her voice. As we approach the Mercedes garage.

"I just mirror the attitudes given to me, Val." I replied in annoyance and went straight inside my driver's room. Flopping down the sofa with a sigh.

What a wonderful post qualifying interview.

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A/N: Hi. Hehehe. So? What do we think? Please excuse some grammatical errors 😭🙏 sorry for those if you spotted some. Feel free to leave some comments, I didn't edit this so please bear with it. I swear I'll make it up to you on the next upcoming chapters.