Chapter Text
You arrived at the paddock with Sebastian and Gabriele. You were nervous at walking into the paddock for the first time, but it seemed less intimidating because you knew Angelina and Pedro were already at the Prema garage.
You head into the garage, Sebastian and Gabriele immediately hug you goodbye and walk off to find their engineers. You head to the motor home to find Angelina and get your schedule for the day.
‘Morning’ Angelina greets you with a warm smile. ‘Your day is quite packed today, which I apologise, but there’s nothing like getting thrown in the deep end!’ You both chuckle as Angelina hands your schedule over.
9:30- Team Meeting
10:15- Media Pen (F3)
LUNCH
2:00- Media Pen (F2)
3:30- Pre Race Weekend Interviews (F2 and F3)
You sigh. ‘Wow, its not as packed as I thought, but media pen duty can’t be fun?’
’you just need to make sure the boys don't say things they’re not meant to’ Angelina tells you. ‘Anyway, team meeting starts in 5 so we better go.’
you fold up your schedule, slipping it in the pocket of your jeans before following Angelina.
Right on cue, two familiar voices filter into the garage. You glance up and are met with Gabriele and Sebastian looking down at you. you gesture to them to sit down just as Rene starts talking.
‘Surviving?’ Sebastian asks
’just. im on media pen duty with the F3 boys and then you two which will be fun’ you smile at him.
‘you’ve got thus fusilli, we believe in you!’ Sebastian squeezes your knee and you get a thumbs up from Gabriele.
by 11am, your voice is already hoarse, smile starting to crack. Mainly at having to step into so many of Noel’s interviews to stop him from saying things he shouldn’t, for example having to stop him from telling the teams strategy if it starts raining.
You just need a second to decompress.
As you round the corner past the hospitality building you spot Gabriele standing near one of the outdoor tables, dep in conversation with someone- short brown hair, familiar posture. Oscar Piastri. Lando Norris is next to them, arms crossed, sunglasses pushed up on his head.
you don’t even think. Don’t hesitate.
you walk straight up to Gabriele and wrap your arms around him from the side, leaning into his shoulder with a soft groan. ‘Im dying’ you mumble. ‘I’ve been mediad to death’
Gabriele gives a quiet chuckle and automatically shifts his arm to your waist. ‘F3 boys?’
You nod into his shoulder. ‘I had to stop Noel from telling Sky Sports his wet-race strategy. And Brando started singing.’
’i warn you’ he says, mock solemn. ‘You walk into lions den’
‘I walked into a clown car’
you let yourself have the comfort for a second longer before finally pulling back, less overwhelmed. You notice the two other guys properly now.
Oscar gives you a small smile, friendly but measured. ‘Rough morning?’
you nod. ‘That obvious huh?’
’only from the way you collapsed into him like your soul was leaving your body,’ he replies dryly.
you chuckle and extend a hand. ‘Sorry, im-‘
’i know who you are.’ Oscar says, shaking it, ‘Oscar’
‘nice to meet you’ you say. You mean it.
You turn to lando, who’s watching you more closely than expected. His arms are still folded, but there’s something thoughtful in his eyes, like he’s quietly been assessing you the whole time.
‘Hi’ you say, offering your hand again.
he takes it, grip warm and steady. ‘Lando’
there’s a pause, not awkward- just aware. You let go of his hand and shift your weight back towards Gabriele.
‘Well,’ you say, looking between them. ‘Nice to meet you both officially. I’d say welcome, but you guys have been around longer than me.’
oscar smiles again. ‘Still nice to be welcomed.’
’especially when the welcoming committee comes with sarcasm and espresso,’ lando adds, gesturing towards your cup.
You raise your eyebrow. ‘You think this is espresso? Rookie mistake. This is my cup of emotional support caffeine
Gabriele cuts in grinning. ‘Fusilli here run on spite and the oat milk’
you elbow him gently. ‘Shut up, that' s not true’
Oscar looks amused. ‘Fusilli?’
Sebas gave it to me, said the nickname matches my hair’ you tell him.
Lando snorts. ‘I like it’
’so do they’ you chuckle. ‘Anyway, i should get back to pretending to answer emails before Angelina finds me again.’
‘Need rescuing later?’ Gabriele asks.
’bring snacks and a flamethrower’ you hug Gabriele goodbye and walk away.
you muddle through the rest of the day with no major hiccups. Now the paddock is finally quiet and you look for a spot to sit and think. You need it, especially after filming with the F3 and F2 boys as one big group.
Most of the media team are gone, you are just waiting for Gabriele and Sebastian to finish. The engineers are buried in data. Mechanics are working on the cars. For once, no one is asking you to smile.
You spot Lando sitting alone on a wall near the paddock exit. Arms loose over his knees, shoulders slightly hunched, half-empty water bottle in his hand.
He looks up when he sees you. ‘You survived’
‘barely,’ you say stepping closer. ‘Mind if i…?’
He pats the space next to him without a word. You sink down beside him with a sigh.
‘I feel like I’ve aged seven years today’
‘sounds about right,’ he says. ‘Media circus?’
‘Worse. I was on media pen duty with F3 and F2. Noel started trying to explain what strategies he would use. Brando and Sebas both started singing.’ you rub your face with your hands.
He chuckles. ‘God help us all.’
They fall quiet, but it’s a comfortable kind. The air smells faintly of hot tarmac and fried food from one of the trucks still open across the paddock.
You lean forward, resting your elbows on her knees. “Do you ever stop feeling like you have to prove something? To everyone?”
Lando hums low in his throat. “You don’t, really. You just learn to live alongside it. Some days, it’s quieter. Others… it screams in your ear until you want to pack up and go home.”
You nod slowly. “It’s been loud lately.”
“Yeah. I figured.”
You glance at him. “You barely know me.”
“No,” he agrees. “But I’ve seen the look. Exhausted. Tired of smiling. Trying to be everything for everyone and somehow still wondering if it’s enough.”
‘It’s only my first race weekend though, its too early for me to be able to burn out.’ You look down at your shoes. “Gabris already said im stubborn.”
“He’s not wrong.”
you smile. “He’s like… he’s my constant. You know? Not many people see me when I’m not performing, but he does. No expectations. Just… ‘here, eat this bread and stop spiraling.’”
Lando grins. “He’s a good one. Proper friend.”
“The best,” you say softly. “He’s been in my corner since i got here. And Sebas has helped too, in his own way.”
“Seb?” Lando says, tilting his head. “He’s good at the quiet support. Doesn’t say much, but you know he’s there.”
“Exactly. He doesn’t try to fix anything. Just gives me space to exist.”
There’s another pause, and then you say it — the part you’ve been carrying all week but hadn’t said out loud yet.
“I miss home.”
Lando’s smile fades. “Yeah,” he says. “That never really goes away.”
“Even when things are good?”
“Especially then,” he replies. “When you finally have a second to breathe, that’s when it hits the hardest. You want to call your mum and tell her about the day. Or just sit at the kitchen table and not talk about racing.”
Your chest tightens. You nod once, throat thick.
“I used to try and fix it,” he continues, softer now. “Called more. Slept with music on. Spent time with people who made it worse, just so I didn’t feel alone.”
He takes a sip of his water. “Then Oscar came along.”
You turn to look at him.
“I wasn’t looking for anything,” he says. “And he wasn’t trying to be anything. He just… got it. The pressure, the quiet, the parts of this job that make you feel hollow. He saw it without me having to explain.”
There’s something so gentle in the way he says it. It surprises you — not the fact that they’re close, but the depth of it.
“We weren’t even sure what it was at first,” he goes on. “Just this… steady thing. Like I could finally take a breath. And then it just kind of happened. Slowly. All at once.”
“That sounds… really safe.”
“It is. It’s also terrifying.”
You let out a small laugh. “That makes sense”
“He knows how to deal with the days when I want to quit. And I try to do the same for him. We’ve figured out our rhythm.”
You swallow around the lump in your throat. “That’s what I want. Not even the romance. Just… someone who sees you. Without needing the highlight reel.”
Lando bumps your shoulder with his. “You’ve got that already. Gabriele. Sebastian. Maybe me and Osc too, if you let us.”
You let yourself lean sideways, your shoulder resting against his for just a second. He doesn’t move.
“You’re alright, Norris,” you say.
He smiles. “Back at you, Fusilli.”
‘Hey fus, ready to go?’ Sebastian calls over to you. Gabriele trailing behind him.
‘Well, thats my ride. See you around Norris’ you hop off the wall and run towards Sebastian and Gabriele.
The three of you drive back to the hotel in comfortable silence. You are all so drained from the day you get straight into bed without a word. You fall asleep thinking about what lando had said to you