—— ( 🏎️ ) ——
❀ 𝓡𝗎𝗆𝗈𝗎𝗋𝗌
𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗪𝗘𝗟𝗩𝗘
❛ ━━━━ ( 𝗅𝖺𝗇𝖽𝗈 𝒙 𝖼𝗅𝖺𝗎𝖽𝗂𝖺 ) ❜
𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄
𝐎𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐁𝐄𝐑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑
𝟯𝗿𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗼𝘃
𝟥𝗋𝖽 𝗉𝖾𝗋𝗌𝗈𝗇 𝗉𝗈𝗏
𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐎 stepped out the car, his eyes occasionally moving over his shoulders to watch claudia's body language. her smile looked wobbly, and extremely anxious, making a nervous feeling spread throughout his chest. was she regretting coming?
shaking those thoughts from his mind, he slowed his pace allowing claudia to overtake him, so he could keep an eye on her. he remained within her personal space his front only a few centimetres from her back.
as they entered the paddock, scanning their passes, they were met with multiple personnel walking around urgently, muttering words that claudia was sure she'd never heard of before. her eyes flickered through each person in front of her as fast she could.
with her mind going a mile a minute, she barely had time register when two people appeared in front of her. a gorgeous brunette—with doe eyes—gave her a genuine grin, whilst standing next to a man with a shirt that read alpine.
blinking at the pair, she felt lando's hand brush the low of her back as he slipped in front of her—greeting the guy, who she assumed was a driver, with one of those man handshake hugs. the two drivers chatted and laughed briefly, leaving claudia and the beautiful woman in front of her to their own devices.
claudia opened her mouth to greet her, only for—who she assumed to be the alpine driver's girlfriend—beat her too it, "hi, i'm kika."
"i'm claudia, nice to meet you."
kika gave a her a soft grin, "are you french? you sound french."
claudia nodded a grin breaking out in her face, "i am, am i that obvious?"
lando watched her body language as her and kika conversed, out of the corner of his eyes, his smile growing as claudia began to look a little more relaxed.
kika gave a shrug, her lips playfully twisting down, "not really, just guessed and hoped i got it right, you in the mclaren garage?"
"yeah first time and all. you in the...alpine garage?"
kika nodded, gesturing to the man beside her, "i am but until practice and qualifying i won't be in the garage. he'll be preparing physically to race and talking with his performance coach, so i normally just wander around...hang out with alex sometimes- she's charles girlfriend. you should come with."
claudia smiled at the woman in front of her, the tension was easing slightly at the thought of making friends in the paddock, still with a more relaxed smile on her face she turned to lando, who was already staring at her, "you showing me your garage first? then i'll leave you to work?"
she still had at least 10 minutes before lando was needed elsewhere—she vividly remembered from his schedule that he had showed and then sent a copy of—she wanted to see his workspace before wandering off with kika, even if she was being a bit anxious and out of character around him.
he nodded at her, a big grin on his face—a grin pierre noticed and gave a knowing smile to. after receiving confirmation of her plan from lando, she turned to kika giving a genuine friendly grin, "i'll find you in like 10- maybe 15?"
"of course, whats your number? so we can meet up in a bit."
𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐌 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓
𝐎𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐁𝐄𝐑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑
𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘀.𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘇𝟬
𝗎𝗉𝗅𝗈𝖺𝖽𝖾𝖽 𝖺 𝗉𝗈𝗌𝗍 —— 𝟣𝟤𝗆 𝖺𝗀𝗈
𝗡𝗢𝗥𝗥𝗜𝗦.𝗦𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗦𝟬
𝖼𝗂𝗋𝖼𝗎𝗂𝗍 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖺𝗆𝖾𝗋𝗂𝖼𝖺𝗌
liked by 𝗴𝗮𝘀𝗹𝘆𝟬𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 and 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀
𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘀.𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘇𝟬 claudia mansen seen outside ferrari hospitality with kika, as alexandra comes out the building to greet them!! claudia making her official wag debut????
𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 oh my god. i've been ignoring the rumours cause i thought they were just mad up out of thin air but like is this not evidence???
𝟣𝗁 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝘆
—— 𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀
| 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 real like he's actually not single anymore wtf😞
𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 hello?! LANDO AND CLAUDIA CONFIRMED AND WHY DO I LOVE THEM
𝟣𝗁 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝘆
—— 𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀
| 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 they're so cute fr, and claudia is literally a sweetheart i love her
𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 idk how to process this🤠
𝟣𝗁 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝘆
—— 𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀
| 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 not what i excepted to see today...
𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 NO NOT LANDO TOO
𝟣𝗁 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝘆
—— 𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀
| 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 shush
| 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 im alright but thanks😁
𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 please break up, bet she's just using him for his money🙏🏻
𝟣𝗁 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝘆
—— 𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀
| 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 pretty sure she has her own money??
| 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 yeah but he obviously has more
| 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 you lot are miserable let him be happy
𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 i don't like this, feel like they don't go together
𝟣𝗁 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝘆
—— 𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀
| 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 you do not know either of them babe
𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 no because i get lando cause she's gorgeous
𝟣𝗁 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝘆
—— 𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀
| 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 HONESTLY like i think im in love with her more than i am with him
𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄
𝐎𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐁𝐄𝐑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑
𝟯𝗿𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗼𝘃
𝟥𝗋𝖽 𝗉𝖾𝗋𝗌𝗈𝗇 𝗉𝗈𝗏
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐑𝐔𝐍𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄 smiled at the screen in front of her, it was coming toward the end of qualifying and lando was doing incredibly well. he had managed to get through Q1 and Q2, and was now racing like his life depended on it to do well in Q3.
Even though claudia didn't understand the race format or all the technicalities of it, she couldn't help but smile brightly at the screen watching as lando completed his final qualifying lap, nor could she contain the excited hug she gave to a nearby performance engineer when lando crossed the line and was slotted into second.
a few of lando's friends who were also stood in the garage, glanced at her occasionally in an attempt to make sure she was comfortable, especially after lando asked them too. they grinned when they noticed the models expression, she looked ecstatic for him, an expression she hadn't displayed since she got here—till now.
❀ ❀ ❀
lando clambered out of his gear, zipping and pulling down his race suit to his waist, his black fireproofs on display. his hand tousled through his hair, his other hand clasping his drinks bottle in his hand—the straw attached to his lips—as he strolled through his garage.
his qualifying was strong, and being pleased with his result, he gave joyful smiles to everyone in his garage... his eyes continuing to scan the entire garage, waiting to find the one pair he desperately wanted to see right now.
she was stood in the corner, watching him intensely, and as soon as their eyes met, a huge smile broke out on lando's face. he moved straight toward her, his gaze looking over her face in attempt to gauge out her reaction.
when her lips parted and she gave him a heart stopping grin, he couldn't resist the urge to pull her in for a hug.
her arms came around his torso, her hands clasping his upper back, his fell around the tops of her shoulders. she sunk into the warmth of the hug, ignoring the fact he was probably incredibly sweaty, just enjoying the feeling of being so close in proximity without the constant worry she had been experiencing all morning.
"you were amazing today, couldn't stop smiling..." her voice was slightly muffled, her breath tickling his neck.
lando didn't say anything at first—squeezing her once more before pulling away, his smile was on full display as it came into claudia's view, a mischievous glint shifting through his eyes, "got some interviews to do and then a team briefing quickly, catch dinner together after?"
claudia tilted her head in suspicion, her eyes narrowing a little, "that sounds like a nice idea, take a shower before dinner though, you stink." she grinned at him, pushing his chest playfully.
lando gave her the most fake bewildered expression he could muster causing the girl to laugh at him softly. shaking her head at him, she turned away from him to leave through the back of the garage, him following her till they were outside.
he watched her leave the paddock with oscar's girlfriend, the pair heading out the garage and the paddock towards the black car that was to take them back to the hotel, a wistful expression on his face—an expression that didn't go unnoticed by the australian driver who had suddenly appeared next to him.
"you're smitten lando."
lando didn't even glance at oscar, opting for a simple "shut up." his eyes never straying from claudia...until she disappeared from his sights.
❛ ( 𝖺𝗎𝗍𝗁𝗈𝗋𝗌 𝗇𝗈𝗍𝖾 ) ❜
thank you for 12k reads on this book, that's insane in the short amount of time it's been published, thanks for the votes and the comments as well!!
serious conversation impending between the two of them??
also for dinner, obviously each driver will have a specific dietary requirements and plans during race weekend but idk what lando's is, so i'm gonna make it up, you're welcome xxxx