Chapter Text
Fernando could feel the warmth of the paper tea cup in his hands. It made him think of the young lad who had made it for him. He did not expect to be handed a cup of tea by the very driver who will replace him at McLaren's F1 team the next year. It sparked his interest in the new kid.
The next morning was the race day and Fernando didn't want to be disturbed by anyone before the race. He liked to be left alone and focus on his race, which was about to start in just over an hour. His qualifying for the race didn't go well, and now he has to start from the pit lane because the team thought a new power unit would suddenly solve the never-ending problem.
He was drinking his coffee when he heard a knock in his drivers' room. Fernando felt immediately annoyed. He hoped whoever it was would just go away, instead he heard a lighter knock on his door again. Totally frustrated and confused, he walked up to the door to open it.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to-" he stopped when he saw who it was. It was the same 'tea boy' infront of him.
"Lando?"
"Uh yeah, actually Zak said you need to confirm which front wing you wanted for the race." Lando replied.
"I've already told him, I'll go with whatever Stoffel had for the qualifying yesterday" Fernando said in an irritated tone.
To which, he noticed the boy shift uneasily infront of him.
"Uh.. okay. But.." He said in an unsure tone.
"What?"
"I think Zak still believes it's not the right wing for your race today. You can maybe talk to him directly." Lando replied.
Fernando took a deep breath and tried not to snap at the young kid before him. He was just here to convey the message. He nodded and followed Lando. Though he was clearly annoyed, he couldn't help but notice the boy was surprisingly taller than him. He initially thought he was a tiny human, considering his thin lean built.
All the while Fernando was busy with his mechanics regarding the front wing, he noticed that the new kid was busy tightening the screws on the rear wing of his car along with two other mechanics.
"I hope my car doesn't break down mid race." Fernando said to his race engineer, Andrea, pointing his head towards Lando.
Andrea let out a laugh, "No no, he's good at these stuff. He's just doing his apprenticeship. He's too much into cars."
Fernando scoffed, "Well, aren't we all?"
Before Andrea could answer, Lando stood up and walked straight up to them.
"Don't worry, your car is all set for some showdown. Some screws are left out though," he stretched his hand infront and opened his fist to show few small screws, "but I promise it'll run." He added with a grin.
Fernando was amused by his cheekiness. Andrea smiled and left the two alone.
"I like your sense of humour, kid." Fernando said.
"Thanks." He simply replied with a shy smile. So he was the quite type. Fernando almost smiled at the thought.
Fernando's race went uneventful since he DNF'd for the third time that year due to mechanical failure. To say he was pissed, was an understatement. He did not want to talk to anyone because he knew if he confronted anyone, he might burst into unnecessary rage which would not be appropriate for his workplace.
So he silently stayed in his driver's room and everyone knew better than to disturb him. He let his mind wander to figuring out what went wrong, how the car didn't feel right, what needed to be changed. He didn't notice the time, when suddenly his phone rang. It was his girlfriend.
"Yes?" Fernando picked up.
"Where are you? Aren't you coming home? Your manager called me just now, said you've locked yourself in your room and that you even missed your flight."
Fernando let out a sigh, "You know he's exaggerating, right? I haven't locked myself up. I'm just working late. I'll catch the first flight tomorrow morning."
His girlfriend didn't argue much with him and Fernando was thankful for that. After exchanging a few more words, he hung up. He looked at his phone, it was past 9 p.m. He needed some fresh air.
When he stepped out, he could see that most of his team was gone. In a distance, he could just see Andrea with two mechanics, probably discussing what went wrong. He wanted to go there and join the conversation with them, but then he thought otherwise.
He walked towards the garage. It looked darker than usual. Just one small bulb lit the garage, throwing some dark shadows all over the room. In that he noticed, another source of light from the other end of the garage. He slowly walked towards it.
He saw Lando, the McLaren's reserve driver, sitting on the floor in a corner, legs slightly drawn up and it looked like he was texting someone on his phone. He was in the same orange mechanics gear, which he had seen him wearing earlier, while working on Fernando's car. He walked towards him.
"So you did actually take some screws out of my car." Fernando said sitting next to him on the floor.
Lando was so engrossed in his phone that he was visibly surprised by the sudden appearance of Fernando and his action of sitting next to him. But soon something in his face tightened, like worry.
"I- no. That was a joke. I swear I did everything right."
Fernando looked at him and for the first time that day, he laughed. Lando was confused at his reaction.
"You're a funny kid." Fernando started, "It's okay, I'm playing with you. Of course, it's not your fault." Then his tone lowered again. "It's just not working."
Lando studied him for a second, then smiled—soft, almost apologetic.
"Don't worry, it will. You are two times world champion. You know how to play this game."
Fernando scoffed at that, "You know I'm leaving F1 next year, right?"
Lando seemed to contemplate what to say next, his mouth opened, the closed again. Fernando then slightly tilted his head towards Lando's phone.
"Who were you texting, your girlfriend?" He added with a smile.
Lando huffed, "No. I don't have a girlfriend. It's just my friend, Max."
Fernando raised an eyebrow, "Max Verstappen?"
Lando let out a laugh, "No, Max Fewtrell, my friend since karting days. But yeah, Verstappen's a friend too."
"I see. So at least you'll have someone familiar here next year." Fernando added.
Lando smiled brightly, "Actually my friends George and Alex might also be debuting next year. And I know Charles here too. Kind of."
Fernando looked impressed by Lando's openness. Lando's phone lit up and he immediately typed something on his phone and then looked back at him. Fernando then gave a pat on his back, "So it looks like you'll fit just right in with the grid then."
Lando's smile dropped a little at that. After a long pause he said, "Do you know Carlos?"
"Sainz Jr.?" Fernando blurted out, taken aback by the sudden mention. Lando nodded. Fernando let out an awkward laugh, "Yes of course I know him. He's in the grid for the fourth year now. In fact, I know him from even before that."
Lando raised his eyebrows so Fernando continued, "I get along with his father, Carlos Sr. very well. You can say, we are family friends."
"Oh. That's nice." Lando nodded, his arms slightly stretching over his drawn-up legs. Fernando had the strange sense that Lando wanted to say more- but whatever it was, he swallowed it back the moment he mentioned his connection with Carlos.
"What happened?" Fernando decided to lead the conversation. Lando just looked at him unsure of what to say.
"Um.. I think he'd be my teammate next year."
Of course. Fernando felt stupid he didn't connect the dots when Carlos was mentioned. He had heard that the team was planning to sign Carlos for the next year. For Lando, Fernando knew how overwhelming it could feel for a rookie to be entering F1. You also keep thinking about your new teammate in F1, if you'd get along with him or not. Fernando's been there before too and in fact every driver goes through that.
"Don't worry, he's a good lad", Fernando assured with a warm smile, "You'll get along with him if you want to."
Lando frowned, "Want to?"
Fernando sighed.
"F1 is cut-throat to the core." He started, "Drivers are not really here to be besties, they are here to be the best. And I think that attitude is important, you need to be ruthless to survive here in F1. I've been in this field long enough to know that real friendships are never a thing here. It's really rare because everyone wants to be on top of others."
Lando didn't respond to that, he just looked away. Fernando almost wished he’d kept his mouth shut. He didn't like to be the one to do this, but the kid still needed to hear the truth.
"I wish you were my teammate." Fernando suddenly heard the boy say, barely louder than the hum of the lights. Fernando froze at that.