lando: first one out the way
oscar: *repeating after lando* first one out the way yeah.
lando: first of many.
oscar: yeah. hopefully.
lando: i remember my first car launch.
both: *giggling*
oscar: was it as smooth as that?
lando: i remember literally me, carlos, charlotte; waiting outside upstairs. so i took a selfie, me and carlos *lando reminiscing about his rookie year*
oscar: hmm.
oscar: well i’ve got a selfie so… tradition *😇*
lando: we took a selfie yeah *talking about him and oscar*
oscar: yeah.
oscar: the annual car launch selfie apparently.
lando: do i use it? it was quite a good picture.
oscar: nooo that will not be seeing the light of day
lando: i’m gonna post it, it’s so bad i’m gonna post it *teasing oscar*
2023 landoacar 😭🤏🏽 they were so cute! and this interaction is so adorable. i also love how lando said first of many and it indeed was first of many, because they are teammates even to this day and will continue to be teammates for the years to come ❤️🩹. my aegis i am so endeared <3
One thing Oscar mentioned when he signed his McLaren extension was that, after a year with the team, he knew everyone’s name (and cited this as one of the biggest changes compared to his rookie year in multiple interviews, which he clearly found important). Shortly after, Tom spoke about how he remembers little details about people and how he’s built such a personal relationship with the team, something that makes people move “heaven and earth to support him.” And now, you have Morgan saying that he’s the sweetest and will talk to you for ages, with Baz describing him in much the same way a while back.
And you can see the same thing in all the relationships he’s kept outside of McLaren too. He’s still close enough with his old Prema people to sit down for dinner with them, still plays games with his former Alpine coworkers, and his old school is still celebrating him years later for possessing “exceptional human values.” Even as he grew older and reached new heights in his career, one thing that stayed consistent and that is Oscar’s pattern of always making time for people and forming genuine relationships wherever he goes. His former manager once said that, as a kid, he “always thought everyone was his mate,” and it’s clear that little Oscar is still there.
So, no matter how some people try to paint him, what matters are the people who have actually worked with him (and, more importantly, continued to know him long after they stopped working together) and how they speak about him… which is exactly the same way: as someone who is extraordinarily kind, friendly, and down to earth. 🧡