That's Racing Baby | Lando Norris

Chapter 70

Although Thursday hadn't been great for Emilia, practice had been outstanding. She was in the top three for both practice session and looked like Japan would be her track. However, she knew that practice didn't always mean everything. Her fuel load could have been lighter and she may have been trying a bit harder than the rest of the teams. Having to prove that she could potentially get a Mercedes seat gave her the extra push to get better times. Hopefully, this would continue as it was the motivation Emilia had been missing.

Entering the garage on Saturday, Emilia found George laughing with the man she had temporarily replaced for the season. George still wasn't talking to her for whatever reason and him and his ex-teammate were having a good chat, Emilia didn't want to interrupt that. Instead, she observed her car, looking at the sticker inside her cockpit Lando had given her.

"Hi you must be Emilia." Emilia gazed upwards finding Nicky standing on the opposite side of her car. The two had never actually met before despite racing in the same category.

"Yeah I am. I promise I've taken good care of your car." Emilia smiled.

"Not sure you did so much at the start of the season but, everyone crashes at first." Nicky shrugged. "Though this car has won a race now and I have you to thank for that."

"Yeah it was unlucky you've missed out on the year Williams were good." Emilia replied. She realised she may have overstepped the line joking about Nicky missing the season. She still didn't know why he had. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend you."

"No no it's fine. I'd rather joke about it then get sympathy." Nicky responded. Emilia nodded not wanting to pry. "Do you want to grab a coffee and we can chat?" Emilia agreed so they strolled around the paddock. "I took a year out for my mental health." Nicky revealed. "My mind wasn't in a good place and I wasn't enjoying racing anymore." Emilia thought that sounded familiar.

"Did the year out help?" Emilia questioned. She felt it was selfish asking but Nicky had been in the same situation as her and taken a year out.

"Yeah it helped, I'll admit that but it was a big change. From travelling every week and getting no rest to resting full time, it took time to adjust. I went to therapy and I found my love for racing again. But I'm not sure it would be the same for everyone."

"What do you mean not the same for everyone? Sorry I don't mean to pry."

"No it's fine but I don't know anyone else who stopped racing to protect their mental health. I knew, that when I stopped, I may never race again. I was aware when I quit that it might be the final time I'd race. I was worried I would learn to live without racing and never want to come back. Then everything I'd have done would have been wasted."

"But you did want to come back." Emilia pointed out.

"The time off worked for me. I wasn't too eager to get back either. I thought one year wouldn't make a difference but this was a bad year to miss it considering all the fun you've been up to with all the podiums and wins. That's not great, seeing what I'm missing out on." Nicky answered. "George mentioned that he was worried about you. Are you thinking of taking a year out?"

"Possibly. I'm not in F1 next year and I don't know whether to take a year off to recover or do something else. Did George tell you that?" Emilia responded.

"No he didn't, he's just worried about you. But I know what you're feeling. I can see the lack of motivation, not in your race results but in your face. You look exhausted." Nicky observed. Emilia nodded, she was exhausted. Flying across the globe, adjusting to all the time zones and racing was so exhausting. "But unfortunately, you've got to decide whether you race next season or not, I can't help you with that."