It has been a week since my small victory in Bahrain and Lando and I are back in England. I am thankful that I have a day left after today to relax before Monza. However, I am not relaxed right now. That is because Lando and I are getting ready for the last of the interviews at the Mclaren tech centre. Despite my worried nature, I am looking forward to the first interview. It will be fan led which means I am less likely to be asked about my past. The thought makes me smile as I sit next to Lando. We are quickly joined by the Mclaren PR officer. She looks more dishevelled than ever. I suppose that's what looking after two Formula 1 drivers does to you.

"Before we get started I'd like to introduce our drivers. Please welcome Niki Girard and Lando Norris," She introduces us to the camera. What would have made it better was if there was an actual audience. I mean I would feel worse in terms of being nervous but it is good to put names to faces.

"Thank you for having us," I replied. Being polite is the least I could do.

"No worries. The first question is from Darren and he wants to know what it takes to be a Formula 1 driver," The PR officer gets to work. Lando glances at me. I take it that means I am answering the question.

"Well it starts with Karting," I find myself going on the standard tangent. It doesn't take long for me to finish. After fifteen minutes of questions, disaster is about to strike. I am already on edge but nothing can prepare me for the next question.

"We have time for one more question. It's a question from Jessica and it is specifically for Niki. How does it feel to have made it to F1?" I can feel my hand move to the location of my scar. It serves as a reminder of the hardships I have faced getting to where I am. I can feel the emotions bubble to the surface as I try my best to answer the question. I hate the fact that it is a question that hits a little close to home. It reminds me of the fact that I almost never made it to Formula 1. Thankfully it is the last question. After the PR officer wraps up the interview I make a beeline for the bathroom. I aggressively splash cold water in my face in the hopes of calming myself down. The act of wiping the water off my face seems to be doing the trick. After making sure the water is cleaned up I find myself heading back to my car. The annoying thing is I am intercepted by Lando. I can see the concern written on his face.

"Niki, I think it's time you told me what's actually going on," Lando demands. It is almost scary seeing someone who is normally a goofball being serious. I find myself sighing as I pull him into one of the spare offices.

"Ok Lando when Jessica asked about female representation in F1, it reminded me of the fact that I nearly didn't make it," I get to work on telling him about my past. I can feel the grief taking hold. I just need to keep my emotions in check as I tell the story.

"What do you mean?" Lando asks. I reveal the scar on my upper left leg. In this case, it is easier to show him. His eyes move from the scar to my face. I reckon he has figured it out.

"I'm guessing that it was a road accident that gave you that scar," Lando puts two and two together. I quickly hid the scar again. The more I look at it the more overwhelmed I feel.

Yes unfortunately the crash claimed the lives of my parents so I was left in the care of my dad's best friend who happens to be Jacques Villeneuve. I had to wait three years before my leg healed well enough for me to race. Even then I was told that I wouldn't make it past karting. I had the added bonus of struggling to get sponsors because I am a girl," I break into a full-blown rant. God, it feels good telling someone who is not Jacques about my issues. I am impressed that I was able to let my feelings flow around Lando. I put it down to the fact that Lando has a bit of a carefree attitude off the track. Despite the fact that I have told Lando about the issues I have faced, I break down into tears. I feel like Lando is the kind of guy to say something supportive. Instead, he pulls me into a supportive hug. After two minutes of this arrangement, Lando pulls away.

"Look Niki you made it and that's all that matters. You have proven the doubters wrong," Lando says, looking me straight in the eyes. He is right. I mean I am at the level that I want to be however there will always be people that have their doubts about me.

"Thank you for listening, Lando but can you promise me that you won't tell anyone?," I remark. I know it is not good to keep my past hidden from everyone else but I am not ready to tell the world who I am.

"Don't worry it's your story to tell, not mine. So I promise," Lando responds. Ok, that is good. He respects my wishes. I feel a small weight lift off my shoulders now that I have told someone the full story. Lando and I soon parted ways. After twenty minutes of sitting in traffic, I made it back to my small apartment. I don't know why I bothered with this place. I put it down to the fact that it is a convenient location compared to Jacques' place. I soon dump my stuff by the door. I find myself with a snack in my hand in my room. I have decided to let Jacques know that I have told Lando

N: Dad I told someone about the accident

J: who?

N: my teammate

J: How did he find out?

N: An interview question hit close to home so I decided to tell him so he could help me

J: Well if he breaks your trust then he'll have me to answer to

N: You care too much. It will be fine

J: That's not going to stop me from worrying

N: Anyway I need to relax. It has been a crazy month

J: don't let me stop you

I am glad that Jacques seems to be ok with me telling someone. However, he is right. Lando might break my trust like the last guy I trusted. For some reason, I have decided to get ready now. I am quick to get ready since I don't need much. We won't be doing a triple-header any time soon. The funny thing is the team is arriving at Monza on Tuesday so we will be able to have some downtime. The thought of exploring is an interesting one. I haven't had the opportunity to explore Monza since the last time I was there, I was busy with my Formula 2 duties. It has been a couple of days since I told Lando about my past and we are currently on our way to Italy. I truly am happy about the spare days we have in Monza before the weekend begins. I can feel the slight smile creep up on my face.

"What's made you happy?" Lando asks.

"I'm thinking of what I'm going to do when we arrive in Monza and I was thinking about exploring," I responded.

"Meet me in the hotel lobby at 9 am tomorrow," Lando announces. I feel like he was anticipating the fact that I want to explore. After two minutes of planning, we have reached an agreement on how we are going to explore Monza. The thing is I don't know why Lando would offer to come with me when he has been to the town on previous occasions. I put it down to the fact that he wants to be good friends.