bucket list || l. norris

six

* so sorry for the lack of updates recently. i've been so busy, but i hope this makes up for it. don't forget to vote and comment throughout! *

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The air was tense on both sides of the McLaren garage, and for very different reasons. It was the first Qualifying session of the season and Lando managed to push the car into Q3. Carlos, on the other hand, didn't make it out of Q1 and qualified in P18. I knew that he would be disappointed with that. The whole team were relying on Lando to put in a good final Quali lap to ensure a decent place on the starting grid for tomorrow. I couldn't believe that he would be starting amongst the first half of the grid at his first ever Formula One race. To me, that was absolute madness, but I was so proud of him. This was what he deserved and it was only the start for him. My heart swelled with absolute joy for him.

Throughout the free practice sessions, Lando finished within the bottom half of the grid. After yesterday's sessions, he was irritated, simply because he didn't know how well he would be able to do today, particularly in Qualifying. In the first practice session of the weekend, Lando finished P18 with a best time of 1:25.966 after putting in the most laps out of the rest of the grid. He finished no higher in FP2, however he boasted a lap time of 1:24.733 after driving twenty six laps. He upped his time again in the final practice session with only sixteen laps on track. Everything was looking good for a positive Qualifying result and I was sitting nervously in the garage, my foot tapping impatiently against the floor. With only two minutes left, Lando needed to push to get onto his last flying lap and put in a good time to give him a strong spot on the starting grid. Already, he was showing everyone what he was made of, proving that although he was a rookie, making the move to Formula One at such a young age was worth it.

I chewed on my lip as he crossed the line to begin his final lap. Jon stood to my right, seeming just as nervous as I was, his eyes fixated on the screen in front of us. Lando's mechanics sat before us, his entire side of the garage in silence as we waited to see how well he could do on this lap. My fingers were crossed and my hands hung past my waist. This was so exciting and even I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins. Of course, I'd experienced plenty of race weekends before, but this was our first as an official team. My best friend was finally driving in the top category of single-seater motor racing and he was one of twenty to be so lucky. The nerves I felt were so different to ones I'd felt on any other Quali day.

"Come on, Lando." Under my breath, I mumbled ever so softly, not wanting to break the silence in the air. The atmosphere in the garage felt unusual, the tension only building as Lando hit sector two and accelerated down the short straight. He slowed into turn six. My palms were sweaty. I still felt nervous when I watched him driving and I'd always experienced the same feelings of worry no matter whether he was karting or racing in feeder series. After what felt like a lifetime, he reached turn fifteen. The chequered flag was flying. He didn't have far to go until he reached the Walker Straight again and crossed the line. His time of 1:22.304 put him in P8, an absolutely amazing starting position for his first ever Formula One race.

With the mechanics, I began to clap my hands, smiling to myself as Jon wrapped his arm across my shoulders and pulled me closer towards him. For the team, this was a great moment. Maybe this could be McLaren's redemption year and they would finally be able to show everyone how hard they'd worked, particularly over the winter break, to make improvements. I slipped to the back of the garage when the celebrations died down, Jon beside me, as we headed towards the FIA weighing room, where we would meet Lando. Jon informed me that he'd been called in, as they often randomly picked drivers, and that's where he would be after leaving the car. He was pencilled in for an interview with Sky Sports F1 in the media pen any time now, so I had his McLaren cap ready for Lando to wear whilst Jon took his helmet back to his private room.