Mutual Friends | Lando Norris

Chapter 22 - Thinking 'Bout You

Liv's POV

The red clock mounted on the equally red wall of the Scuderia Ferrari hospitality reads 5 minutes to the top of the hour. I thought the papaya of McLaren was loud but what they have here is a complete explosion of red.

"Isn't Texas supposed to be hot and sweaty?" Isa asks. She is Carlos Sainz Jnr's girlfriend. A really nice quiet girl who seems to mind her own business and keeps to herself.

We're having tea, getting to know each other better when she tells me that the Spaniard used to be Lando's teammate over at McLaren before the Italians scooped him up. Apparently they're still quite close and remain good friends.

Accepting her invitation to watch Q3 together with them was my saving grace from being in the McLaren garage today.

"The more important question," Charles adds, "Is why the FIA insisted on the race going forward. Even a blind person can tell you that the conditions are getting worser." They're both still in their race suits. Carlos has his team rain jacket over his.

"Maybe the FIA doesn't have a blind person on their payroll," says Carlos eyeing the LCD screen. Sneaking a glimpse of the race, my heart pounds at the water sprays that come before the cars are shown. "Lando might get pole position if he keeps it up. He did a great job leading qualifying through the first two sessions."

"I don't know if I can watch anymore," declares Charles looking out the window at the dark rain clouds in the sky. "I'm going to my driver room." The Monegasque rubs my back and gets up to leave. "After all, we all have guardian angels upstairs looking out for us."

Admittedly, even I have a bad feeling about the whole thing. It's the feeling of hoping nothing bad happens but knowing ultimately it's just a question of when and not if. If I'm feeling anxious sitting in the comfort of the hospitality, I can't imagine what the driver's that are out there must be going through.

"Surely there has to be some kind of safety guidelines or measures that prevent driving under treacherous conditions like these?" When I speak, the worry in my voice is clearly audible.

Isa looks at me and cocks her head to one side. "First proper scary race?" She asks. I give her a small nod.

"It doesn't get easier. When they step into those cars and the five red lights go out, I worry about not only Carlos but every single one of them." She looks over at him lovingly and interlocks her pinky on the table with his.

"But we have to believe that the FIA has the driver's best interests at heart," chimes Carlos without looking away from the screen. He's fixated on trying to keep track of everyone on the circuit. "We have to trust our team and the training we've had leading up to this point."

Isa smiles endearingly and whispers, "He doesn't know what it's like to be a WAG."

I laugh and roll my eyes jokingly and whisper back, "I'm not a-"

"Argh!" Carlos leaves us to join the engineers gathered around the screen. "Red flag, red flag, red flag."

"Carlos que paso?" asks Isa. (Carlos what's wrong?)

"Es Lando, ha tenido un accidente." (It's Lando, he's had an accident.)

"Lando - accidente?" I say to myself. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what that means. "Has Lando had an accident?" I ask her. "Is he okay?"

Isa shrugs her shoulders apologetically. "Olivia quiere saber si está bien?" (Olivia wants to know if he's okay?")

"Mi amor, todos queremos saber si Lando está bien. Solo dame un segundo por favor." (My love, we all want to know if he's okay. Just give me a minute please.)