Formula 1: The GOAT

Selçuk and Jackson, who had been keeping a close eye on Fatih’s driving, now had their gazes locked on the timing screen. From watching his flawless execution on track, they knew it was going to be a very good lap.

[P1 – Fatih Y. – 01:20.789]

That number flashed on the screen, causing a collective intake of breath from those watching. Aside from Fatih’s own family, many who had attended last year’s championship at this track knew the lap record. It was an easy number to remember: 01:20.500. On his very first hot lap, on a track that was not yet rubbered in, Fatih was already less than three-tenths of a second away from breaking it.

“And just as he showed last week, he is not someone who will disappoint,” Zakir said with a chuckle once the main commentator finished his excited call of Fatih’s lap. “From the look of it, if nothing out of the ordinary happens, that lap record will most likely be broken during the competitive sessions.”

“Please, avoid saying that! Don’t inflict a commentator’s curse on the boy!” the main commentator replied, both of them laughing.

“Some might be hoping the curse is true,” Zakir responded, “but on this circuit, that curse has very little effect. This track rewards bravery more than any other in the championship.”

“I know. It’s quite surprising we’re yet to see anyone hit the walls at the end of that heavy braking zone into Turn 1.”

“That’s because other than Fatih, Selçuk, and Jackson, who are pushing from the outset, everyone else is gradually building their confidence,” Zakir explained. “They’re braking earlier, chipping away at the distance bit by bit. Not everyone is as brave as Fatih, braking just ten meters from the corner on his first attempt on a dusty track. To do that, you need massive talent, a perfect feel for the track, and absolute trust in your ability to make the kart obey your every command. We should see these three trading fast laps for the rest of the session.”

“And as you say that, we see Selçuk starting his own flying lap!” the main commentator announced. “He follows Fatih’s choice of skipping the final three corners and using the shortcut, building speed onto the main straight. He tucks his head forward to induce the mini-DRS effect, gaining as much additional speed as possible before the braking zone! Will he brake earlier than Fatih, or is he braver? It seems he’s trying to be braver… but he fails to keep it on the track! A screech of locked tires, and he’s in the tire wall! A result of over-braking and having nowhere to go. That brings an abrupt end to his first hot lap, and Turn 1 is now a yellow flag zone.”

“Ahh, it was a good start, but this is nothing to worry about in a practice session,” Zakir took over, his voice calm and reassuring. “All that matters is that he’s okay, and it looks like he is. That’s the best possible outcome. The marshals are already pushing him back onto the track.”

“If this continues, I think the officials might have to step in and require drivers to take the final triple-corner complex instead of the shortcut,” the main commentator mused. “It would significantly reduce their speed approaching the braking zone of T1. With the shortcut, this becomes the longest straight on the track, allowing them to reach dangerous speeds.”

“We didn’t have this problem last year, so I doubt they’ll issue that directive,” Zakir responded.

“But I think that’s because there was no competition of this level last year to force the top drivers to push the karts so far beyond their limits,” the main commentator countered. “This year, because of Fatih, both Jackson and Selçuk know they can only remain in contention if they push themselves to the absolute edge. Any less than that, and Fatih will leave them in the dust, just like he did in the previous championship round.”

“That is true,” Zakir conceded. “Seeing that he nearly broke the track record on his first try is astonishing. But should the race director really have to intervene? Won’t that be babying them too much?”

“We need to baby them. They are still kids doing this for the fun and love of motorsport. There’s no need to put them in unwarranted danger. Besides, even without the shortcut, the rest of this track is more than challenging enough.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Zakir said, ending their banter as the replay of Fatih’s hot lap was shown on the main screen. He shifted back into his analysis mode. “If we look at Fatih’s replay, you can see he only braked three times throughout the entire lap: on the approach to Turn 1, the approach to the T5 hairpin, and the approach to T10. For the rest of the track, all he did was lift off the throttle, carrying as much speed as possible through the different corners. That’s why he nearly broke the lap record without any track evolution taking place.”

“That’s unbelievable,” the main commentator said, expressing what everyone listening felt.

“Yes. His braking and throttle control are near-perfect, which we saw last round,” Zakir added, his voice filled with a mix of excitement and professional acknowledgement. “And as we saw from Selçuk’s failure, it indicates that Fatih was already braking at the absolute maximum distance possible. Any later, and you share Selçuk’s fate. To judge that limit on only a few reconnaissance laps… his talent is truly scary.”

“But now, let’s look at Jackson’s lap! He’s the last of the three to attempt a hot lap. Having kept his eyes on Fatih’s driving for more than three laps, he finally feels confident. He overtakes Fatih on the exit of T8 who moves aside to give him the racing line as he gets on the power, imitating Fatih by taking T9 at full power. Like the other two, he takes the shortcut and starts his flying lap! Will he keep it on the track like Fatih, or will he follow the fate of Selçuk? Ooooh, he brakes earlier than either of them, showing caution as he takes T1! He’s slightly slower than Fatih but safe. He brakes again for the T2 hairpin, hitting an early apex for a good exit, then flows through T3 and T4 onto the straight, still on power and pushing for maximum speed! Will he brake earlier again? No! He delays his braking for T5, entering the triple hairpin complex safely, but on a different line than Fatih. He takes the first hairpin, does the same on the second, gets slightly on the power through the T7 right-hander, then brakes before returning to power in the middle of the third hairpin, T8. He carries that power through the exit, takes T9 flat-out, and enters the third straight. He hugs the right side and trail-brakes into T10, gets on the power, then lifts and brakes slightly for T11 before getting on the power for the final time in a drag race to the finish line! And he passes it! Did he match Fatih? Ooooh, he misses by about two-hundredths of a second! [P2 – Jackson M. – 01:20.992] Wooow, this is going to be a very exciting weekend! As he lifts, he turns his head, looking for Fatih and Selçuk, as if declaring that he will not be left behind today. That risky but phenomenal lap is there to back up his silent statement!” the main commentator roared, his voice fully recovered.

“He drove with a different approach,” Zakir analyzed calmly. “A safer one compared to Fatih’s, and he lost a fraction of time because of it, but it allowed him to finish the lap, which can’t be said for Selçuk. It’s good that he realized he couldn’t replicate what Fatih did on his first try, so he approached the problem from a different angle. Otherwise, we might have had another Selçuk situation.”

“Yes, he braked at least three more times than Fatih, who only touched the brake pedal thrice throughout the entire lap, utilizing lifting far more,” the main commentator added.

“Exactly. To do what Fatih did takes time,” Zakir concluded, his tone full of acknowledgement for Jackson’s choice. “You can’t just do it because you saw it once. You need to understand everything from the grip level to how your chassis will flex through these corners if you want to imitate him and not end up in the tire walls. There is no single best approach for every driver, and there is no need to take risks if you can’t handle the pressure that comes with them.”

“As if to respond to this challenge Selçuk has started his new hot lap after a few reconnaissance laps to regain his confidence and we can see Fatih zigzagging to heat his tires as he went through T7 and approaches T8 which should indicate that he is going to respond as well” the main commentator said in excitement when he saw how the two kids responded to Selçuk’s actions.

“Sometimes you have to wonder where kids this competitive come from,” Zakir mused with a shake of his head. “But I certainly won’t complain about the entertainment we’re benefiting from. Please, take us through their next hot laps.” He handed the metaphorical baton back to the main commentator.

The main commentator gladly accepted, his voice booming with renewed energy as he began to call Selçuk’s next attempt. At the same time, he kept a close eye on Fatih, who was just exiting the T8 hairpin and immediately got on the power, rocketing towards the start-finish line to begin another flying lap, a clear smile on his face and a palpable sense of excitement in his commentating.