#mcl hub tour

[inchidentally]

also like, as I always say I love the carland0 and dand0 content SO much like it got me into f1blr and I rewatch some of those every week to make me smile <3

but whenever Lando was with those guys - or tbh with any driver older than him - there's always this reverting to baby brother thing where he lets the older guy answer everything more seriously or in detail and then Lando just pipes in w something funny or cute or getting flustered and everyone being like oh that's classic Lando etc etc. and it's always great content lbr!

but him and Oscar being on that freakish wavelength together and automatically sharing responsibilities based on individual strength to do w knowledge/skill (and Lando's mood that day) means we actually get to see Lando's competence and knowledge way more than we used to. bc it's always been there as much as the other guys it's just the ~divergence~ brain making certain environments or certain pressures shutting parts of his brain (and literally do I relate to that).

and not to get too deep but it parallels the fact that when Oscar showed up and everyone was saying how he was Lando's rookie and his protégé etc it threw Lando for a while bc openly said he didn't feel comfortable being in that role to someone else/not having someone older and more experienced to lean on. which I think if Oscar had actually needed that himself it would've not worked at all well - fortunately Zak and Andrea both knew enough of Oscar to know that wouldn't be the case.

BUT !! Oscar knowing cough so much about Lando before joining McLaren meant that even though he rly never needed Lando to be in that guidance/leader role for him, he picked up on Lando genuinely wanting to try and like - that's where the wavelength was established. bc Oscar did put himself in the role of following what Lando chooses and learning Lando's preferences and behaviors which in turn ! fulfilled Lando wanting to do the team and himself proud and be there for Oscar as basically the existing face of McLaren and the popular driver who was able to win over fans and media to Oscar who were not only reluctant to like Oscar at the time, they were actively rooting for his downfall and reveling in McLaren's tough start to 2023. because Lando pushed for such solidarity and included Oscar so much in his social media back then, Oscar returned the favor by learning and copying from Lando how to engage w media and fans on the F1 level of scrutiny. and because Oscar went so unusually quiet and observant with Lando compared to Oscar with the guys in F3 and F2, Lando kept complimenting how "calm" Oscar was and how it was rubbing off on him.

like I know there's the rpf of it all but it's why I feel like we all latch on so hard with landoscar as it exists just in reality bc there's been the opposite of bromance and convenience for them that their dynamics w other drivers have had (similar personalities, interests, being invested in PR - or not, in Oscar's case) and they also didn't even have fans rooting for them to be friends or even be great teammates bc of Alpine drama and being bitter about Daniel AND add to the fact that Lando himself was resistant to the idea of being the older guy. yet despite having that uphill battle and their personalities in superficial/social ways being diametrically opposed, they're the teammates that are known for their freakish mind-reading/twinning and they naturally form to the same car requirements and preferences and after just one season together have the narrowest margins between them on track. and Lando was truly one foot out the door at points last season and while most of him being swayed was loyalty to McLaren, I think if Oscar had been just as competitive as he is BUT wasn't as perfectly matched for Lando as he is then... idk drivers have left teams that felt like 'home' for less reason than that !!

idk Lando twice catching himself referring to Oscar as if they've been teammates for years instead of barely even a season and a half and Oscar having this metamorphosis that's been visible on camera based on using Lando as his pole star for coping with the leap from F2 success->languishing at Alpine->F1 in a rollercoaster season for McLaren. to now watching them in all their content easily swapping duties with unspoken agreement and picking up the middle of each other's thoughts seamlessly (and Wired deciding to have both of them do it instead of just one like usual) and Lando looking to Oscar every time he forgets a word bc Oscar will have it for him immediately. they sit back together and enjoy watching every other team and driver go through chaos bc they've both committed to their team already and don't have to worry about all that for a good while.

sure a lot of us would prefer if they had the shared outside hobby to ensure hanging out even when they're one day no longer teammates but askgsajfglafg honestly for me that's a future concern that idc about !! there's something so we didn't just become teammates against the odds we became one of the best teammate pairings against the odds about them that's compelling in a sports/competition sense but also in the way they hold something fairly special between them as drivers - and undeniably at least in part as people - and them not choosing to advertise for fans when they travel together or hang out or have their own little debriefs and decompresses together - like them being so proud of their new privacy door to their drivers rooms and emphasizing how it's their own place to be private private and away from everyone (even Jon and Kim!) but it's so shared between them that Oscar still hears all of Lando's music

it's such a massive, conscious commitment to each other in a career that is basically most of their lives every year and it's just so !!!! all on it's own as it is for me <3<3