Fan Favorites | Lando Norris

Part 31

Lando ended P4 in qualifying, which for McLaren these days is quite good—at least in my eyes. One thing I'm quickly learning is that in between sessions, the drivers have a lot on their plates, leaving me to my own devices. So, naturally, instead of sitting alone in the hospitality room, I wandered around and made friends. I found Alexandra and convinced her to join me on my little adventure. She was super shy at first, but by the time we were leaving on Saturday, I think I managed to get her to loosen up a bit.

Now it was Sunday morning, and Lando and I had just pulled into the parking lot.

"Okay, you ready?" he asked, looking at me with that familiar spark in his eyes.

"Sure am," I replied, planting a quick kiss on his cheek before getting out of the car. The moment my door swung open, a swarm of cameras descended upon us. I had no idea why they were treating this like breaking news, but I guess this is our hard launch into the spotlight.

Lando walked over to my side, protectively taking my hand and leading me through the crowd. We finally made it past the chaos and through the turnstile. He waved and smiled at various cameras, and I followed his lead, trying to embrace the madness. The amount of press here today felt ten times more intense than yesterday.

"And there's Netflix," Lando said, pointing toward a crew with a massive camera.

"A new bombshell has entered the villa," I quipped, making Lando laugh. I waved toward the Netflix team, realizing I was now part of two Netflix originals.

We finally broke through the masses and joined a group of drivers huddled together, deep in conversation.

"Morning, guys," Lando greeted everyone.

"Hi!" I added, flashing a smile.

"Surprised you two made it through; everyone swarmed when you pulled up," Max commented, gesturing to the cameras that were once again closing in on us.

"Oh my, okay, I'm gonna leave you all to your car talk. Charles, where's your girlfriend?" I asked, eager to escape the impending media frenzy.

"She should be in hospitality," Charles replied, pointing toward the Ferrari garage.

"Okay, I'll be there. Have fun," I said, kissing Lando's cheek before making my way toward the Ferrari area.

LANDO'S POV

"I still don't understand how you pulled that," Daniel said, pulling my attention away from watching my girlfriend walk off.

"Yeah, me either," I admitted, my gaze drifting back to her. Just then, I noticed a journalist approach her, and I started to move toward them, but they quickly walked away. I often forget how much more experienced she is with this kind of attention than I am.

"Buddy, she's fine," Carlos chimed in, breaking my reverie.

"I know. I just don't want them to make her uncomfortable," I replied, a twinge of concern gnawing at me.

"If anyone can handle it, it's her," Carlos reassured me.

"How does it feel to have a public relationship again?" Max asked, giving my shoulder a playful clap.

"Terrifying," I admitted. This was only my second public relationship. The first one ended primarily because of the relentless hate she received online, and I desperately didn't want that to happen again. I see everything people are saying about her, and I can't understand how it's not affecting her—or at least how she manages to act like it doesn't. The whispers that I'm not enough for her echo in my mind, and I can't help but agree sometimes.

"It will die down. It always does," Charles added, trying to lighten the mood. "Seems like our girls are getting on well, though," he said with a laugh.

MIAS POV

After catching up with Alex, I made my way back to the McLaren hospitality. Probably not a good look if I spend too much time lounging around in the Ferrari area. As I walked over, I spotted Zac Efron in the Red Bull garage, so I stopped to chat with him as well. After making my rounds, I headed back to the garage to catch the drivers' parade. 

It was so cute watching them all go around the track and wave to the fans. It was such a pure sight that warmed my heart. 

"Hey Mia" Jon said joining my side. 

"Hello Jon, how you doing" I said. I've met Jon a handful of times on facetime. 

"Pretty good. Feeling good about today" he said keeping his eyes on the screen. 

"Me too. He's in a good headspace"  I said 

"I wonder why" he smirked at me which made me blush. 

The drivers parade ended and Lando and Oscar joined us back in the garage. 

"You guys ready?" Jon asked. Both of them nodded

"The car actually doesn't feel too bad" Oscar joked. 

"That's a relief, I got some bets going." I said referring to a bet I made with Zac. 

"Who are you betting with?" Lando laughed.

"Zac Efron" I said casually.

"Naturally" Oscar said. He and Jon walked off, leaving me and Lando. He moved so that he was next to me, wrapping his arm around me. 

"I hope it hasn't been too much today" He said planting a kiss to in my hair. 

"Not at all. I'm having so much fun" I said smiling big at him. He worries too much. 

"I'm glad. I'll make sure you don't lose the bet" He said laughing. 

 "You don't even know what I bet," I teased, arching an eyebrow.

"Oh right. What do I have to do?" He asked amused

"You and Oscar have to score more points than Red Bull. Easy peasy," I replied, trying to sound casual.

"And how much will you lose if we don't?" he asked, suddenly looking a little nervous.

"A large amount, so don't mess up" I joked.

"Okay no pressure" He said squeezing my shoulder. 

A couple minutes later Lando was called over to do the final preparations before getting in the car and I watched. I felt like a fly on the wall and I loved it. Lando ran over with his helmet in his hands.

"Okay, race time. Wish me luck!" he said, quickly kissing me before darting back to his team.

"Good Luck!" I shouted after him.