Private life | Lando Norris

60 - The Paddock

The paddock was busy, crowed and overflowing with an unnecessary amount of cameras. I kept my eyes down as Lando headed the further into the mess and towards the McLaren centre. Choosing a different route and on my way to find Rebecca and Jade, I followed the trail of red leading to the Ferrari motorhome. 

I could hear cameras clicking away, mostly following Lando but some still trained on my movement. I'm wearing nothing special after going all out for Qualifying on Saturday. I guess it paid off for McLaren because Lando came second, just after Oscar. I texted Lily after about the result with her replying about Lando wanting Oscar to win again. My white shirt and trousers are dull against the Azerbaijan backdrop. I keep my head down, my sunglasses concealing my eyes as I make my way through crowds of people. 

Letting a breath out as I strolled into the home, my eyes went to Carlos and Charles laughing about something in the corner. They sit side by side, legs stretched out before them. I make my way over, ignoring the stares of some Ferrari workers. I was definitely not supposed to be here being with Lando Norris, the McLaren driver and all that.

"Bonjour, have you seen Rebecca or Jade?" I ask the pair, taking my sunglasses off and tossing them in my bag. Carlos shrugs, looking to Charles for an answer. 

"I think Jade and Arthur are somewhere together." Charles offers up. His head turns to Carlos once more. "You know where your girlfriend is Carlito?" 

"No clue. She's her own person." Carlos says, smiling up at me. I swing my bag back and forth before me, brushing over my knees. 

"Okay, I wanted to see her before I go over to Lily at McLaren." I sigh out, looking around for the tall Scottish girl I've become friends with.

"I think she said she was hungry." Carlos replies. The boys were waiting outside a room, about to walk over to the grandstand and greet some of the fans. 

"Right." I narrow my eyes at him, his words being nothing to go off to find the girl. Charles shrugs once more, sinking further into the plush Ferrari red seats. "Okay, well, have fun on the stage." 

Smiling wide, I leave them to make my way up the winding stairs to the balcony looking out across the paddock lane. I've come to learn that all motorhomes have the same layout and areas. This has become usefully for finding my way around and not getting lost in this maze of cars and people. 

Sinking into a chair on the deck, I pull up me and Rebecca's chat to text her about her whereabouts. An incoming call from Lando's phone interrupts my thought of relaxing with Rebecca before the race.

"Hello?" 

"Hi, Lando's about to go into stretching and apparently he's asking for you." 

I roll my eyes. "Hey Jon, nice to talk to you as well. Okay," I sigh "Tell him to stop being a baby and I'm on my way." 

"Okay, thank you." The line goes dead as Jon hangs up. 

I make my way back down and wave a quick goodbye to the boys still lounging around, probably out of their minds bored. I wave to a couple of McLaren Mechanics as I skip around the cafe and through the home to the drivers rooms just before the bustling garage.

Knocking, I hear a loud 'come in' and an even louder 'stop moving' before I push the door open and closed.

Lando's face down on the table with Jon currently kneading his lower back. "Jenny, tell Jon I went for a run on Wednesday." 

Jon looks up with doubtful eyes. I shake my head side ways while saying "No, he totally did."

"Ha! Told you so!" Lando yells at the floor. "See, I never lie."