Chapter Text
The story begins, as it were, in September many years ago. This was, of course, years before I became a fan (you might be surprised I am writing this, as I became a fan around September–October 2025). A piece of news broke in that September of 2018 that Lando Norris would be driving for McLaren in 2019. He would complete the lineup alongside Carlos Sainz, who by then had four years of experience in Formula 1 across multiple teams. It would be just another lineup in F1. Well. That's what everyone thought. I think the phrase "How wrong they were" is perfect here.
In early 2019, McLaren unveiled their car for the year at the season launch. And having seen the important parts (and by important, I mean the interview of the two drivers), I noted one particular moment.
The event was on Valentine’s Day—foreshadowing of what would come to be Carlando, perhaps?—and the interviewer could not resist leaning into it in his question.
"I was going to stay away from the Valentine's Day cliches, but love at first sight? Something to make the other half jealous Carlos?"
Now, of course, the love at first sight here referred to the car. Carlos spoke briefly about still needing to test it, but that he felt optimistic so far. The standard talk.
"...I like the new colors or the new color scheme. I like the new suits. Different to McLaren before. And-"
Before he could finish the reply, Lando interjected. "And your new teammate, as well."
What would soon be very well known banter to fans, showed its first signs here as Carlos replied.
"My new teammate... we will see in a couple of months if I like him or not." (He did.)
The 2019 season began, then, and very (and when I say very, I MEAN very) quickly, fans began to note the camaraderie the two McLaren drivers had. Various challenges were posted on the McLaren YouTube channel through the year.
Plenty of memorable moments between the two would soon spread like wildfire on the internet. Perhaps, fans will remember this particular moment from a video of the pair trying Japanese food. The food in question? Well...
Carlos turned to Lando with a grin when he saw the food. “Oh yeah!”
Lando... was not so enthusiastic at the big platter of sushi placed in front of him.
“I don’t want it near me, please.”
Carlos was, to put it mildly, very enthusiastic.
“Sushi! Sushi!”
“Sushi time!”
Then he was determinedly trying to "help". And by help I mean: get Lando to eat the sushi.
“Lando, it has no fish. Look! No fish!”
Lando, traumatised:
“It’s NEAR a fish.”
That sentence became immortal. I don't think it'll ever die in the F1 fandom. (Trust me: I've seen too many clips of that. And mentions.)
And then Carlos escalates, because of course he does:
“Lando, come here…”
“No.”
“Mate, you need to grow up. You need to mature.”
And Lando, absolutely refusing character development:
“I don’t wanna mature. I’m happy where I am.”
Carlos switched strategy.
“If you try this, I’ll let you by at the start on Sunday.”
Of course the video editor puts on dramatic music.
Lando thinks.
“…No.”
Of course, plenty of other iconic moments would show themselves throughout the two years. The 'Guess who' (for the record, Lando had himself). Go-karting videos. Silly interactions behind the scenes. I honestly think these two got into a loot of mischief that we don't know about. Youtube videos, reels, funny posts of each other, golfing... And who can forget the 'whisper challenge' that the two did?
Lando had just finished, and it was Carlos' turn.
"You see, I'm much better than you. You're gonna find out this in... one minute," he told Lando, handing over the headphones.
Lando immediately fired back. "I'm English. I can pronounce them properly!"
"No, you will see. Because being Spanish you make pronounciation better." Carlos replied, before launching into an exaggerated English accent imitation "Because you speak English like this and I cannot understand. I speak English like this and it's easier to understand. Come on."
And what happened then, you might ask? Well. I think the fact that Carlos used a full minute pointing at himself and gesturing in an attempt to get Lando to get the phrase "Meme Lord" speaks for itself.
The challenge also featured the phrase "You are my best friend" last. Coincidence? Hm...
While the two drivers at McLaren continued getting to know each other and build the relationship fans love to this day, Carlos was also spending some time with Charles Leclerc, who was just beginning his years at Ferrari.
Now, at this point, there is not much to discuss between the two. The interactions were mainly during the drivers parades and similar occasions. However, what was clear is that the two seemed to get on quite well. Still, it hadn't caught the attention of fans yet. Later, as you will know, these two would also take the internet by storm. (Let it also be stated here that I have the data. Carlando and Charlos are the two most loved friendships on the grid. Which is why this book is being written).