On the grid (Lando Norris fanfic)✔️

Chapter 20

Congratulations Hannah! P2. P2. Fantastic work. Verstappen ahead by 0.5 seconds.

Oh my god yes! Are you serious? Yes yes yes yes! Well done boys. Let's go! Yeah!

The hidden smile doesn't leave my face. "That was for you, dad." I say to myself with a small smile as I pull up behind the P2 sign. I remove the steering wheel and lift  myself out of the car. I make my way over to the team and give everyone high fives and fist bumps.

I grab some water after being weighed by the FIA. Eventually I'm summoned for my post quali interview. "And here she is. Hannah, how are you feeling after that." The interviewer, Natalie, asks me. "Wow. I still can't believe it. My highest qualifying position and it is at the Monaco circuit. I'm so excited for tomorrow's race. It's going to be a good one." I reply and after a few more questions they let me go and I grab my water before walking back to the garage.

"Hannah! Wow that was fantastic." Says George as I walk out into the paddock. "Yeah that was really great. Well done." Charles says. "Yea well done." Alex chimes in. "Thanks boys. And well done to you three." I say with a smile. All three of them give me a group hug. We all are still sweaty but none of us care. Someone coughs behind us which causes us to break up the group hug. I turn around to find Lando. I can see a small glint of jealousy in his eyes but it disappears when his face breaks into a smile. "Well done Han. That was fantastic." Lando says and I walk over and give him a hug. "Thanks. Well done to you too." I say, remembering that he is starting P4. After the five of us chat for a few minutes we all split up and head back to our garages for debriefs and a shower.

I walk out the garage and see Lando, George and Alex standing there. "Hey we are going to go to the party tonight. You want to come?" George asks. "You know what, not tonight. I'll go tomorrow but I don't feel like it tonight." I say with a small smile. "Oh ok. That's fine. We will see you tomorrow." Alex says and he and George walk off. "You sure? I can stay with you if you want." Lando says, concerned. "No it's fine. You go party and I will see you tomorrow." I say with a small smile and give him a hug before he runs to catch up with the other two.

I place my hands over my face. I really wanted to go but I'm also very worried about my dad. Going out partying knowing that he is lying in hospital will make me feel horrible. I take a few deep breaths to try and calm my nerves. "You alright?" Comes a familiar Dutch voice from behind me. "Yeah, just needed a minute." I say with a small smile. "You want to talk about it?" Max asks. "Yeah, if you don't mind. But not here." I say motioning to the open and busy paddock around us. "Yeah. Let's grab a drink." Max says and the two of us walk out the paddock to the hotel bar where we are staying.

~

"And that's why I only got here on Thursday morning." I say. "Wow Hannah. That sounds horrible. Have you gotten any updates?" Max asks concerned. "I messaged my brother but he hasn't said anything so I don't know weather that's a good or bad thing." I reply shakily. "Wow. You were going through all this and still managed to do extremely well today. That must have been tough." He says. "Yeah, sometimes you just have to compartmentalize your feelings and get in with the race." I sigh.

My phone pings next to me and I grab it instantly. "It's from James." I say and open the message. "Well done on qualifying today. Dad is still stable but they don't know when he will wake up. Be proud of you work today and good luck for tomorrow. Love James." I read aloud to Max. "That doesn't tell you much. Well I guess no news is good news." Max says trying to cheer me up. It works for a short while. "Listen Max. This was great. I really needed it but I'm super tired so I'm going to head up to bed." I say with a small smile and get up off the chair. "Yeah. I'm always here to talk to if you want. Remember that. Goodnight Hannah." He says with a small smile. "Thanks Max. Goodnight." I reply before turning around and walking back to my hotel room.

I spend about an hour tossing and turning in my bed, mainly out of nerves and stress, before eventually managing to fall asleep.

~

The atmosphere around the track is electric. The Grand Prix's always have an excited atmosphere but Monaco is just different. I don't need too long to hype myself up for the race because just arriving at the track makes me so excited for the race ahead. After last few chats with my team we maneuver the car onto the grid.

"Ok Hannah, you can do this. Do it for dad. Make him proud. You can do this. Just focus." I say to myself as the formation lap starts.

Making my way back to the P2 spot. I wait for a few seconds before keeping my eyes on the light board and my foot on the throttle. The first light goes on and I take a deep breath. Changing into first as soon as the lights go out. I get off the line almost quicker than Max. As we race down to the first corner.