RED LIGHTS | LANDO NORRIS

The Right Questions

"Kid!"

Zak jogged to catch up with Lia on her way into the paddock. She paused and waited for him just outside the security.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

"I'm good," she answered truthfully, "I'm ready."

He nodded happily, "Glad to hear it. But remember what I said-if I don't think you can handle it, I'm pulling you."

She nodded once and relayed that she understood.

Lia had spent those three days in Australia with Danny and came back renewed. She went up to that mountain everyday and did exactly what the pair did that first time. She spoke her worries out loud and felt refreshed every time. This, coupled with physical activities and time in nature, brought her back to what she felt was her core.

It was the second day when she called Zak and told him she'd be racing in the Netherlands that weekend. He was reluctant and tried to deny her but she was adamant and asked him to trust her. He hadn't heard that type of strength in her in a long time, so he approved it on the condition that her participation was based on his evaluation of her state prior to the race.

From what he could tell, she was back.

When they walked into the paddock together, Graham was quick to escort her away from any press or media. The whole team had made a plan to keep Lia away from all those stressors until after the race. She was led to the garage where she went inside and greeted all of the crew. They welcomed her back with smiles, hugs, and good luck wishes.

Lando wasn't able to reunite with her until after he had gotten past the media himself. He was asked about Lia's return quite a lot.

"Do you think she's mentally prepared going into this race after last week's breakdown?"

He scoffed and tried his best to be polite, "I think if anyone had gone through what Lia had then everyone would understand the reaction she had being back in the car for the first time since the crash. She's prepared herself well and if she believes she's good to be back in the car then so do I."

"But how do you know she's race ready? Over the last few weeks, she's had zero training time in either the simulator or in the car. Is the team afraid she'll lack the necessary skills to score points today?"

"Wren is one of the most talented drivers I know. She might be a bit rusty but I'd give her max two laps to get back into things. I know the whole McLaren team has a lot of faith in her today-as do I."

They clambered for more but Charlotte pulled him away quickly. He grumbled about the reporters.

"Fucking hell...are they asking the same questions to Lia?"

Charlotte shook her head, "She's got a different type of media today."

She led him to McLaren's hospitality, where Lando could see a small flock of kids sitting in a semi circle around Lia, who sat on the steps. All the kids had mics as if they were the interviewers-obviously Lia didn't seem to stress.

"Do you have a question?" she asked, pointing to a kid in the back. He nodded enthusiastically and brought up his mic to his mouth.

"What color do you want the car to be?" he asked slowly. The proximity of the mic and his small lisp combined to make an adorable muffled sound.

"Ooh good question!" Lia complimented. She thought hard on it for the kid's benefit, "I think I would choose purple."

The kids giggled at her response. Lando smiled as he approached, catching Lia's eyes. She waved him over to sit down beside her, making the kids gasp in excitement.