Lions Inside: The Formula One Rookie

Chapter 8: China

(Streetcar- Daniel Caesar) PLAYING OVER THIS CHAPTER
(Need You to Want Me- POLYDRIVE)
(CUT EM IN- Anderson .Paak, Rick Ross) 
(Blue World- Mac Miller) 
(Bittersweet- Greer)

"No!" George yelled, sighing as he went to retrieve the ball we had been juggling after giving it a rather enthusiastic kick. 

"Mate, this doesn't seem to be one of your strengths..." Lando started, his words trailing off as George whipped around to shoot him a glare. 

"Woah, you're one to talk." I said with a raised brow, smirking at him. 

Lando started to protest, before Alex cut him off; "We haven't been sending it your way on purpose little one." 

"Wha-?" Lando started with wide eyes, but our PT's descended upon us at that exact moment, as they collected us for our first round of practice sessions. Hustled away quickly from the others, I sent them a fleeting wave and glance. Lando protested one last time as he was ushered towards the McLaren hospitality center; "But Leo and I are the same height!" 

"She's also still growing!" George yelled back, making me crack a smile.

Having come together to support Lando through his tough nights, and reoccurring nightmares; he was finally looking well-rested again. George, Alex, and I had fallen into a cycle of distracting him, and then lulling him to sleep. One of the best methods, we had learned, was to take him for a little drive with either Mia and Sebastian's Theme song or City Of Stars from La La Land playing over the speakers. If available, we had observed that hot milk with a pinch of nutmeg was another viable option. It was quite ironic that the thing that relaxed him the most was also the thing he found most exciting in life: driving. 

Unfortunately, with extra attention from reporters, we had all been advised to keep excess distance. Seeming too close with each other was something we would begin getting relentless questions about, when the team wanted them to focus on our drive. Which nullified the ideals the producers from Netflix had been attempting to instill in us. 

But we had become as close as family these days, something about traveling to new places and seeing unfamiliar faces can do that to someone. So it was going to be near impossible to split us apart now, while they did begin to try their best. Alex had been close to being banned by Christian for 'fraternizing with the enemy' too much. Until coming to the conclusion that this could be a good opportunity to get closer to the Merc team. Thankfully, Toto was one of the nicest people I had ever met, and didn't give a lick about what George and I did in our free time, or Christian and his many escapades. 

I focused back to the present as we entered the Mercedes sleek hallway, leading to the garage where I could hear the wheel guns trilling out. 

After checking in with the engineers and Toto, I slid into my perfectly fitted space, checking the controls and radio. 

"The weekend will not be extended, the Stewards are adamant that we have the skills to develop the cars enough to jump from FP3 right into quali today." 

"So no first or second free practice?" I asked, just to make sure. 

"I can confirm. Straight into FP3. Now get your butt out there before everyone else goes too!" 

"Woah, woah! Okay, I'm going!" I said, surrendering as I put my hands up, laughing over the radio.

...

I had secured pole position for the race, until a problem with my engine dropped me down to fourth. Meaning I was starting behind Charles, and ahead of Max. 

I sighed with content as I settled into grid position, waiting for the back markers to take their spots. It was set to be a good race day. While I enjoyed dominating the race to an extent, I loved overtaking even more. In my opinion, it made me feel as though I deserved the points an extra bit at the end.