The strength of a father.

Life prepares you for a multitude of experiences. Over the years, you learn to deal with different emotions and challenges. But there's one thing you can never be fully prepared for: being a dad. It's just three letters, but they open up a world that is no longer your own - a world now tied to the needs and desires of another.

At the age of 36, Adam Norris gave everything he had to raise his children and support their dreams. A man of influence who doesn't flaunt suits and ties, he embodies nothing less than humility and kindness. From an early age, he saw something in his child Lando - perhaps even before Lando saw it in himself - that needed to be pursued. He left his life as a businessman for the karting tracks and now the Formula 1 circuits.

Adam may have invested his money in Lando's career, but more importantly he has invested his heart - a heart that shines in Lando's eyes every time he succeeds. Money can buy many things, but certainly not talent or the reputation that Lando has built in one of the world's most demanding sports. He provided the initial incentive for everyone to see what his son could do, simply because he believed in his talent, as any father would. It is a father's love for his son that puts everything he has at his son's disposal, whether it is too much or too little.

But despite the Karting world championship and thirteen podiums in F1, Adam Norris still hears that his son doesn't deserve it, that he's guilty of supporting him financially.

"I'm on the podium, Dad!" were the first words out of Lando's mouth after finishing second in Singapore. He reached out to his father for a hug, and that too is something money can't buy. Life doesn't prepare you for fatherhood, but Adam has always known how to excel at it, always with a big smile on his face.

But in Vegas, that smile turned to fear.
As the father of a Formula 1 driver, you're aware of the risks, but you never imagine it happening to your own child. Turn 11, lap 4. A huge crash, sparks flying, a spinning car.

It's a McLaren. It's Lando Norris.

There is silence. That's what happens when we know something significant has just happened - words fail us, drowned in fear.
Adam turns his head, searching for answers, for comfort that still doesn't come from the McLaren pit.

"Lando, are you OK?" - Will Joseph, Lando's race engineer, asks in the radio.
No answer.

"Lando, are you OK?"
Seconds seem like a lifetime.

"Yes, I'm good."

That's the word. He's fine. Relief washes over a father who can't just be a father at this moment. Nothing prepares you for seeing your son fall at 300km/h.
When we're young and we stumble, they're always there, always reaching out to help us get up, and it must be heartbreaking for a father not to be able to lend that hand.
After the hospital visit, Lando returns to the paddock with a smile on his face. It's a familiar smile, the same one Adam shares with him every time Lando reaches out for him. Because while Adam may not always be able to offer his son a literal helping hand, he's given him something far greater - the ability to stand up on his own.

And that, is the strength of a father.