That's Racing Baby | Lando Norris

Chapter 2

It was not long before Emilia was out on the track again. This time, Emilia had George behind her intensifying the pressure as ruining her lap would jeopardise his lap as well. Emilia completed her lap as the chequered flag was waved. There were cars that had to cross the line still so she wouldn't get the result immediately.

"And that's P8 Emilia, P8." John's voice was evidently happy and she could hear the cheering behind her. She would start her first Grand Prix on the fourth row which was far higher up than she imagined. "George is P5. Well done. Amazing job." Normally, Emilia would be disappointed by the fact she was outqualified by her teammate but it was her first qualifying she wasn't going to be at her beat someone like George at her first try.

"Wow, thank you so much guys. This is incredible. I'm pretty lost for words right now." She laughed.

"Great job out there today. You took the criticism on board and improved where you needed to. Really excited for the race tomorrow." John praised. Rookies usually took a while to start up in F1 with more pressure, faster cars, harder breaks meaning it took time to adapt. This time, adaptability didn't seem to be an issue for her.

Emilia drove in and parked her car giving herself a moment before she attempted to get out. There were things she needed to do like make sure the engine was off and disconnect her water tube which would have been simple tasks had there been no adrenaline pumping through her veins. The elated feeling from her Q3 and the high speeds meant it would take longer to calm down.

Immediately after getting out the car, she was wrapped in George's arms. She knew there would definitely be speculation that the two of them were more than friends but the media always blew up the tiniest thing. 

"George we did it!" Emilia exclaimed. She presumed George could hear her even though they both had helmets on and there were still cars pulling into the pitlane. Cheering could be heard but she presumed it was for the pole sitter who probably just got out their car. 

"Yeah we did." George let go so he could see her face even though they both still had helmets on. He'd lifted up his visor and she could see the happiness in his eyes.

The Williams drivers went to get weighed where George got tackled by Alex and Lando. Their boisterous behaviour was discouraged by the people with the clipboards but they didn't mind too much. They gave Emilia hugs as well including her in the playful ruckus.

After getting back to her driver room, Emilia took off her helmet and balaclava allowing her face to get some air and cool down from the heat. She was soon joined by her manager, Aurelia, who embraced her in a hug. Emilia wasn't a very huggy person but getting P8 in her first qualifying made it an exception.

"Emilia, that was fantastic, especially for a rookie!" Emilia grinned. Over the course of her F2 seasons as Aurelia managed another driver, they had become good friend With Emilia moving into Formula 1, she needed the manager and knew just who she wanted to fill the vacancy.

"It was so amazing, the result was amazing, the whole team was so amazing." Emilia replied.

"You've got an interview in a few minutes. You need to get changed and head down to the main building." Aurelia reminded her.

"Okay." Emilia answered annoyed her happiness had been so fleeting and was ruined by media duties. Emilia grabbed the Williams' gear that she needed to wear. "Who else is there?" Interviews weren't enjoyable as the press were always trying to get drivers to say something that they could make a big headline out of. Yes, it was their job but they weren't particularly nice about it. What made it even worse was that the majority of Emilia's questions were to do with her gender as the reporters knew that would wind her up after an incident last season resulting in her walking out of the room.