I hate you, I love you - A Lando Norris story

2

It's Friday, and we're in the middle of FP1, when there's an almighty crash. To our horror we realise it's Norris. He's span out and gone straight into the barrier.

I throw my headset; half in frustration, half in apprehension. "Goddamn it!!" It's a big crash, and the practice is red flagged. "Do we have contact with Norris, is he okay?"

"He's ok, he's just responded now. He sounds in bad shape though." His race engineer Nate informs me, causing my pounding heartbeat to slow down a little.

We watch the monitors as the Marshall's help him out of the car and into the ambulance, and he's rushed off to hospital. No one knows exactly how bad of a state he is in. We saw him walking so we know it's nothing too catastrophic, but still, we're all praying it's nothing serious.

Rumours around the garage is that he didn't let go of the wheel when he crashed and he's broken his arm. But whether that's true or not is a different matter, you know how quick rumours spread in the workplace.

The tractor retrieves the remains of his car off of the track however it takes a while to clear up all the debris and the first free practice is abandoned.

We did decent in the second free practice though, even with one driver down, Piastri managed to place P5. It's not bad for a rookie driver. But also not great, and he needs to give it his all for the rest of the weekend.

We're currently drafting in our reserve driver, Alex Palou as a precaution. Now don't get me wrong, the kid is good. An IndyCar champion, but Formula 1 is a whole new ballgame. He better not let us down.

A few hours later we get an update on Norris. He's okay all things considered, but he's broken his wrist in two places so he's out of action for the foreseeable future. He was extremely lucky to come out with only minor injuries considering the impact he had.

It's Saturday, so that means qualifying, and the team is relying on two rookie F1 drivers to deliver us good results. Lord help us.

Lando is back at the paddock, his arm in a sling. He looks sad, not his normal cold self, but genuine sadness. I can see it in his eyes and can't help but feel bad for him.

Oscar finishes FP3 in P3, that could work. He just needs to bring the same energy to quali later today. Palou finishes P9, which isn't ideal but is great for a reserve driver who has never raced on this track before.

Palou is out in Q2 placing 11th, that's not too bad granted, but as much as I hate to admit it, Norris would have placed higher. A lot higher.

Piastri is through to Q3, and the entire garage is watching with anticipation as he sets the fastest lap with 1 minute left to go. The only person who could possibly knock him off pole is Leclerc; who's three quarters of the way through the lap.

Charles crosses the line. Half a second slower than Piastri. He did it. We're on poll.

The whole team erupt into cheers when we realise what the Australian rookie has done. This weekend has done a full 180. Let's just hope we can maintain the pace for tomorrow's race.

After celebrating with my team I head back into my office to go over strategies. There's a quiet knock at my door before it opens slightly, and there stands Zak.

"Hi Zak. What can I do for you?" I ask politely, putting down my notes.

"I need you to do me a favour, and drive Norris around for the next few races Liliana. He's not allowed to drive."

I look back at my boss and chuckle, "I'm not a chauffeur Zak."

He sighs and takes a seat opposite me. "Lando needs to be here whether he's racing or not."

"I understand that. But why have I got to do it? We both know he can't bear the sight of me." I scoff.

"To be honest with you, I'm hoping you two spending time together will end whatever animosity you have to each other." Zak tries to reason.

"I don't have any animosity towards him." I defend, "I just don't appreciate the way he treats me."

My boss sighs, "It doesn't matter who doesn't like who. We're a team, every single one of us Karev. And I'm asking you to do something."

I pause for a moment, looking down at my notes. "I don't really have a choice do I?"

"No. Not really." He chuckles, standing up from his chair.

"Didn't think so." I mumble, visibly annoyed by the situation I've been forced into.

"You know, I have a feeling that one day you will thank me for this." Zak grins, as he leaves my office.