PR Disaster - Charles Leclerc

32

Have you ever been dragged out of a store when you were a kid? That's exactly what was happening now. I could not lie my way out of this one, we both know I did not have food poisoning. I took my hat off, folding it to try to shove it in my back pocket.

"No wonder I couldn't find you from the podiums."

"Why were you looking for me at the podiums?"

"I always look for you from the podiums." He said with a soft smile, "Let's walk back for team debrief, shall we?"

I nodded, still embarrassed. I couldn't help myself, Lando won, I had to celebrate with him. Team debrief went well, we were obviously a bit down that Charles didn't win today's race. We sat next to each other, and anyone who knows Charles knows that the weight of the world is on his shoulders. No one's harsher about Charles than Charles himself. He's in Ferrari for Jules, racing for his dad, winning for everyone else. I hesitantly patted his knee, trying to make him feel better and as I was about to pull away, he grabbed my hand, interlacing his with mine, placing our hands on top of his knee and did not move an inch for the rest of the meeting. Carlos was sitting across us and saw the whole interaction, giving us a look, wiggling his brows and I rolled my eyes at him.

*

Lissie was sharing the room with Lando for Silverstone, so I've had a whole hotel room to myself for the since Wednesday. I stayed at Charles' room last night, drunk make outs and all. An after party was already planned by Quadrant at a club in the middle of the CBD. Ria was moving back to Ibiza for the summer, something she has been doing the past 3 years now, so last night's party was also a farewell party for her. A lot of photos were taken, but my favorite was still Quadrant and I with the papaya bucket hat. That was a private Twitter account worthy post.

@sendasilva27: *attached: 1 photo*
back to papaya's for a minute
@fffmax: 🗣️ she came back home
@sharl16: red suits u better.
@nothoughtsjustsainz: 👀@lastlaplan
@lastlaplan: replying to @nothoughtsjustsainz 👀
@pgazzzzlyyy: the claws r coming out

I shook my head as I read the comments. Charles was playing to this stunt a little to seriously sometimes. I decided last minute that I was going to extend my stay in the UK, knowing I haven't spend that much time with the Norris'. Mom couldn't make it due to her work commitments which I understand, my extended stay was all of a sudden after all. I got a text from Charles and Carlos asking where I was as they were already at the airport, I pretty much forgot to tell them. I only texted Maria about extending. Lissie took the train back to London, seeing her parents and all, while Lando and I drove back to his parents' in Bristol. Aunt Cisca and Uncle Adam flew private last night. Ria was leaving on Saturday evening, so me staying here a little bit longer also meant that I could spend more time with her and Quadrant.

After being with Ferrari for almost half a season, I realized that it meant seeing the people I love a lot less. I used to see Lando's parents almost every weekend. They're pretty much my second parents, and mom's pretty much Lando's second parent. I could not thank aunt Cisca enough for helping my mom get through her grieve.

I was also able to meet up with Quadrant members on other weekends as I was based in London, and just see the people I grew close with while working for Mclaren more.

*

Lando and I went over to Max Fewtrell's place, wanting to crash his place before hand. We pretty much planned this with the rest of Quadrant. They also had a content to film together, the last one before Ria leaves for the summer. I told Lando that I was happy to help with the content creation and he was more than delighted.

"Your usual pay?" He asked as we drove down the highway in his orange Mclaren 720s. I used to drive this everywhere in London for the past 3 years when Lando was away. Uncle Adam was the one who came up with the idea.