An MTC Adventure
“What did you do?” Their doctor asked Lando after his check-up the next day, Jon standing next to him.
“What do you mean?” Lando asked, looking at them and Daniel confused.
“Your sports tests are complete, what did you do during the break?”
“Well, I did sports, some weights, the runs and neck training always, I cheated a little on the Christmas days at my mums, though.”
“Your body fat sank by more than 2% and you gained about three kilograms of muscle.”
“So, the training worked, why are you mad at me?” Lando asked, letting Daniel laugh.
“We are not mad at you. We’ve been fighting for your muscle mass all the time, where do they come from now?”
“The only thing I really changed is my food.” Lando said. “We put it all in the app so you can check, that’s why Oscar wanted to talk to Jon tomorrow, to make sure he thought about everything and you know … he doesn’t want you to feel like he’s going against your rules or something.”
“What education does he have?” the doctor asked.
“He finished high school.”
“No, I mean where did he get his knowledge about nutrition? Where did he go to school for that?”
“Nowhere. He learned it at home from his mum, she preferred organic and other natural foods, homemade meals and he gets some info online as well. He never went to an … an … nutrient’s school or whatever those things are called. He likes to cook.” Lando said and the doctor leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. “I want to meet him, too.”
“I’m sure Jon can send him over before or after their meeting, I’ll ask him myself first, though.” Lando said.
“Alright, Daniel, less carbs, more iron and magnesium, paired with some weights, focus on back and core.” The doctor said and closed the folder in front of him.
“What’s going on with him?” Daniel asked.
“Maybe he’s on a power trip?” Jon, who walked right behind them.
“You’re absolutely sure you’re fine meeting Oscar tomorrow?”
“Yes, I am and I’m also really happy with what he did with you. As the doctor said, more muscle, less bodyfat, you don’t have any deficiencies, so I’m happy. Plus, I also do a lot of other things for you, it’s not like he’ll replace me. I’d offer him more something like a partnership, I guess? He can cook for as long as he wants, but if he ever feels overwhelmed or doesn’t want to do it anymore, needs a break, whatever, I’m here. But I’ll talk with him tomorrow.” Jon said, leaving them alone. The trainer tortured them for two and a half hours before he finally let them go for the day.
The next morning, Lando and Oscar were sat in the car, Oscar nervously tipping his fingers on the box with protein balls he insisted on bringing Jon.
“Don’t worry, he’s a nice guy.” Lando tried to calm him, taking his hand in his.
“Yes, you said that, but it’s still his job that I pushed myself into.”
“Don’t worry, please, he already talked to me yesterday, all my blood results and my fitness test were amazing, there is no need to stress.” Lando said while parking the car. They stepped out and into the MTC, getting a visitor’s pass for Oscar. Lando brought him over to Jon’s little office before going to his own meeting.
“Hello Oscar, it’s really great to meet you.” Jon said, getting up and stepping around the desk. The shook hands quickly.
“It is great to meet you, too.” Oscar greeted the alpha.
“Alright, let’s sit down over there, it’s more comfortable. Take off your jacket and stuff, there’s a hook on the back of the door. Water, juice, tea, coffee?” Jon said, pointing towards two comfortable chairs by the window.
“Just water right now.” Oscar said, hanging up his coat and scarf.
“Please, sit down, don’t worry, this is a friendly meeting. I’m not going to tell you off for anything or stuff like that.” Jon said, sitting down and setting a glass of water towards Oscar.
“Okay” Oscar said, letting out a little breath. “Lando said that but still, I’m really nervous about this. I brought some protein balls.”
“Thank you.” Jon said, taking one. “Wow, these are really good. I heard Daniel gushing about your food as well, Lando had given him a bite sometimes.”
They kept talking about the food and changed recipes for the next hour and ended up with Oscar keeping to cook for Lando and Jon keeping an eye on the app, trusting Oscar to note everything correctly. If Oscar had questions, he could always ask Jon, who would concentrate more on Lando’s training plan.
Jon told him about the meeting requested by the doctor and Oscar asked for him to come with him.
They now sat in front of the desk of the doctor, side by side, while the doctor leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed again and looking at Oscar with a stern look.
“So, you think you can be responsible for our driver’s nutrition.”
“I am able to cook and bake for my mate, based on the diet Jon provided previously.” Oscar said stronger than he actually felt. He knew that at least Jon was already smelling how intimidated he felt.
“What makes you think you are qualified for that?”
“I might not have visited a school specifically for nutrition or a medical school, but during my talk to Jon, he had assured me that my recipes are good and hold the nutrients Lando needs. I know his regular food lacks some Omega 3s, that’s why he is still taking the pills every day."
“Why do you think it’s hard for him to get enough Omega 3s?”
“The food with most Omega 3 is fish, Lando doesn’t eat any fish at all. I use linseed oil for our salads and we eat chickpeas and kidney beans, so there is some Omega 3 naturally in those foods and the oil, but they are not the base of our meals, that’s why we keep the pills.” Oscar said.
“To sum it up, you don’t have a certified education in a nutritional field, and you can’t guarantee us that Lando is fully covered in all of his nutrients.”
“Well, I’m giving my best to give my mate the best nutrition possible, as told to me by his performance coach, I’m doing a really good job at that. Your solution to his deficits was to throw him powders and a battery of pills to swallow.” Oscar said, now slightly annoyed.
“I will keep an eye on you.” The doctor said and started typing on his computer. “Now go!”
“Bye!” Oscar said and quickly walked out of the room.
“Are you okay?” Jon asked him in the hallway.
“Yes, I am, he was just really … intimidating. Is he always like that?” Oscar said, nervously pulling at the hem of his shirt.
“More or less, I think he just has something against omegas working or doing something that kind of resembles work.”
“I’m making food for my mate. Shouldn’t he love that then?”
“He probably saw your Instagram account.”
“That’s not work! I cook food and take photos and videos of it!” Oscar said loudly.
“Oh, by the way, did you ever drive a car?”
“No, why?” Oscar asked.
“Well, we do still have time, a couple of cars to choose from and a private little circuit to drive on.” Jon said with a smile.
“And you think that’s a good idea?” Oscar asked, looking at the McLaren in front of him.
“Yes, I do. What better opportunity could there be? And this is an old McLaren 675LT, made in 2016. We can use it.” Jon said, typing something into the computer in the corner of the hall “What driver’s number do you want to get?”
“Uhm … 81?”
“Okay, 81 it is.” Jon said, handing Oscar a helmet.
“I thought you said this is a normal car?”
“It is, but Lando is going to kill me if something happens to you, so helmet it is.” Jon grinned and they got into the car. The first couple of minutes were spent explaining Oscar the functions of the car, then they slowly made their way onto the track. “Just take your time, only go faster if you want to and feel comfortable doing it. I put us into the system, so nobody should just jump on the track and there are no other cars currently registered on the track.” Jon leaned back and just let Oscar drive.
Next to the main straight, Zak Brown, Lando and Daniel were stood, together with some new sponsors who wanted to have a look at the track.
“We know, it is not the newest out there, but we are still very happy with it.” Zak said.
“Well, I heard most of the time it is actually better to not have the newest track to not destroy the tires.” One of the sponsors team said and took a couple steps on the track.
“NOO!” Zak, Daniel and Lando screamed all at once, while in the same moment the car with Oscar and Jon sped around the corner and held the line directly to the man. Just before they could hit him, Oscar ripped the steering wheel around and pushed the brakes, letting the car slide sideways and come to a stop in the middle of the track, by now having turned back to front. All that happened within two seconds.
“Are you alright?” Zak asked the guy from the sponsor’s team.
“I think so.”
“Good reaction time. Who is that, anyway?” Daniel asked.
Oscar opened the door, stepped out on the track and walked over to the strip of grass while taking off his helmet and vomited onto the grass.
“Oscar?” Lando yelled, running towards him, together with Jon, who stumbled out of the car.
“Is he dead?” Oscar asked, sniffling.
“No, no, no, no, no. He’s in a little shock, I think. Actually, I hope he’s got a shock. The light was red for us and he just went on the track anyway. We talked about that 15 minutes earlier.” Lando said.
“Hey, you good, Oscar?” Zak asked, walking up to them.
“I’m okay. I’m sorry if I scared him. He looks important.” Oscar said, rubbing the tears from his eyes.
“Oh, well, he walked on the track when the light was red, IF he would have gotten hit, it would have been his fault, alright? I have some sweets in my office, why don’t you and Lando get some of those and we will take care of the car?” Zak asked with a smile.
“Okay” Oscar said and let Lando guide him back to the building, who mouthed thank you to Zak.
“So” Zak said loudly to the sponsors “Who wants to drive with a real Formula 1 driver?” he asked, slapping Daniel’s shoulder.
“I’m never going to drive again!” Oscar said again after they arrived at Zak’s office.
“Well, maybe not today, but never say never, okay baby?” Lando said, grabbing a couple of the little chocolates from the bowl on Zak’s desk. “Just sit down, here, eat those.” He said, unwrapping a piece of chocolate and handing it to Oscar. “Better?” he asked after the third piece.
“Better. They are not going to pull their money from you now, will they?”
“They aren’t even really our sponsors, yet. We invited them because we want them to be.” Lando said and his phone pinged. “They are asking for me to come back to tell them goodbye, we can leave after that. Do you want to meet me at the parking lot?”
“Yes, I’ll use the entrance from this morning.”
“Okay, see you in a bit.” Lando said, kissing Oscar before they parted ways.
“Hello there! You are Lando’s mate, aren’t you? Mr. Piastri-Norris?” a man with an accent he couldn’t quite place said to him.
“Uhm, yes, I am, I apologize, I don’t know your name, I’m pretty new to all of this.” Oscar said with a nervous chuckle.
“Don’t worry, I’m new here, too. My name is Rodney Stacks. Are you feeling better by now? You didn’t look too well after that little incident on the track.”
“I’m okay. I had some chocolates. We were just so sure nobody would be on the track, it was my first time driving a car.”
“Your first time? Wow! Well, nobody should have been on that track, the light was red, they gave us a little introduction before we went outside, but who doesn’t wants to listen, needs to feel.” Mr. Stacks said and after seeing Oscar’s confused look “German’s say that if you are being told not to do something because it’s dangerous, you then do it anyway and get hurt.”
“Okay … sounds a little bit harsh and I really preferred not to hit him … but if you can’t read traffic lights … I mean … where I grew up, in the little town, I mean, we had one single traffic light and we still learned and remembered how it worked.” Oscar said, making Mr. Stacks laugh.
“I heard you are now also taking care of the food for Mr. Norris and that the doctor was a little jealous of the progress?”
“A little, maybe. I just learned to cook homemade meals, preferably organic food, I adjusted it for Lando, though, more veggies and protein, less carbs, not too much sugar.” Oscar told him.
“So, you’re not a sugar person?”
“Not really. I mean, I use sugar, of course, but it seems like in these days, everything contains sugar and especially drinks and juices are loaded with it.” Oscar said, seeing Mr. Stacks sit down on the sidewalk, feet still in the parking lot.
“I’m sorry, I’m over 70 now and we just walked through the whole factory, I need to sit.” He said with a little laugh.
“Well, if you sit, I will sit, too.” Oscar said, setting the box with the rest of the protein balls on the sidewalk and sitting down next to the older alpha. “I don’t think that sugar is bad per se, it’s just too much.”
“So, you make everything yourself?” Mr. Stacks asked with a nod to the box.
“Not everything, no, but I love to cook and bake. Do you want some? Protein balls with nuts and chia seeds. They are vegan, but please don’t tell Zak that.”
“He doesn’t like vegan food?”
“Oh, he does, he just doesn’t know it.” Oscar said, letting Mr. Stacks laugh while trying one of the balls.
“These are really, good, I have to admit that.” He nodded approvingly and they talked some more about food, Mr. Stacks gifting Oscar tickets for something he didn’t know.
“Mr. Stacks! There you are, we have been looking for you for ages!” a young beta woman exclaimed, almost walking by them.
“We’ve been sitting for less than ten minutes.” Oscar exclaimed, not understanding her rush.
“I apologize, apparently I messed up our schedule now.” Mr. Stacks said, taking another protein ball and winking at Oscar. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Oscar.” He said, shaking his hand and then turned towards Zak. “My office will be in touch with you regarding the sponsorship.” He said with a smile and stepped into the limousine that pulled up behind him. He waved to Oscar once more and he waved back before turning to Lando, Daniel and Zak, who looked at him questioningly.
“What?” he asked them.
“How did you get to talk to him?” Zak asked “He barely said a word all day!”
“I stood here, waiting for Lando, as we agreed and he came up to me, asking if I’m Oscar, we later sat down, talked about food and other stuff, a little bit of racing, ate some protein balls and then that lady hurried him away. Oh, he gifted me these!” Oscar said with a smile, holding up some tickets. “He was really nice!”
“What are those?” Lando asked.
“Tickets for some event before the first race. He said I can bring you if you have the time.” He said with a smirk to Lando and gave him a ticket.
“Do you know who that was?!” Daniel asked.
“No, I thought he was the driver for them or something. His name is Rodney Stacks. I apologized that I didn’t know who he was.” Oscar said and Zak almost fainted. “What? Did I do something wrong?”
“No, obviously not! He invited you – us – you, actually to the sponsor’s and investor’s dinner before the first Grand Prix!” Lando said. “I will not be able to go, though.”
“Oh, you will go. You will both go, no excuses. Now, Oscar, what did you talk about?” Zak asked, stepping closer to Oscar.
“Well, he first came up and asked if I’m alright because of the guy that ran on the track, then we got to Lando and me making his food and stuff and that I got the recipes from home mostly, just more veggies and protein, less carbs and sugar. We talked about that a little, then went over to racing, did you know, even though the company has been sponsoring Mercedes for years, he never actually was in the garage? He always was held up in the paddock or some lounges and was only able to see the race via the tv, even though he was right there!”
“Oscar, you don’t really know WHO he is in that company, right?” Daniel asked again.
“I didn’t ask for a job description if it’s that what you are after.” Oscar said, now a little bit annoyed.
“Oscar, Rodney Stacks is the CEO and chairman of Monster Beverages.” Zak said.
“WHAT?!” Oscar screeched after a bit of silence.
“He is the biggest boss in Monster Beverages there is.” Lando said calmly.
“They make these sugary energy drinks, right?” Oscar said, now, getting a little panicked.
“Yes, are you okay, I didn’t want to scare you.” Zak said worriedly.
“I’m so, so, so, so sorry. I told him I don’t really like sugar. That it’s not evil but that it’s also not really healthy! Oh my god, I told him that I think there are way too many drinks loaded with sugars, he’s never going to sponsor you now! I’m so sorry!” Oscar told them, almost crying.
“Hey, hey, hey, hey, everything is going to be okay.” Lando said, hugging Oscar and giving him a kiss on his head.
“Oscar, it is really fine, they are not going to hate you because you told them what you think. You didn’t tell them you hated Monster Energy, did you?” Zak asked with a smirk.
“No” said Oscar, sniffling a little.
“See, then everything will be alright. If he can’t handle the opinion of a human being, he probably shouldn’t be our sponsor anyway.” Zak told him softly. “Now go home, you two, you deserve a nice weekend.” He then turned towards another employee standing a little further away. “We should send him a basket, this wine and biscuit thing.”
“He doesn’t like wine, he likes gin … and nachos.” Oscar said while getting in the car.
“Maybe we should employ him to talk to sponsors or something.” Daniel said with a grin to Zak before also getting into his car and leaving the parking lot.