Lando had been through it all, and he loved teasing you for being the new kid. After every session he would nudge your shoulder and say something like, “Bit wide there rookie, but hey at least you did not spin.”

It was banter, but the support underneath was real. He would show you how to manage the car on tricky corners, how to handle the media without giving too much away, and how to laugh when the pressure got too heavy.

One evening you caught him watching you during a track walk, a grin playing at his lips.

“You remind me of me” he said, hands tucked into his hoodie. “Except you might be braver than I was.”

And the way his eyes softened told you he was not just talking about racing.