Formula 1: The GOAT

’He has the mentality and ambition needed to succeed,’ Helmut thought. ’He might be too enthusiastic, but he has the abilities to back his ambition, so it’s not far-fetched,’ he concluded as Fatih revealed his dream to be the greatest of all time in Formula 1.

He wanted to ask Fatih if he knew what was required to be the greatest of all time and what sacrifices he would need to make, but he decided against it. After all, ambition is good. There is really no need to crush a young driver who has a specific dream and is already excelling on the path to achieving it.

He decided to move to a question that would show the level of his ambition and how much focus and knowledge Fatih had on the place he wanted to be. He asked about the weight of an F1 car. It was both an easy and a difficult question—easy for someone genuinely interested in the sport, but difficult for someone who dreams of being an F1 driver just for the spectacle. The answer would show which of the two Fatih was.

So, when Fatih answered correctly, even including the slight increase in weight from the last season, Helmut couldn’t help but be satisfied. The answer revealed that Fatih was more than just a talented fan. Seeing the good direction the conversation was going, he decided to ask a follow-up question about the reason for the weight increase, probing to see the depth of Fatih’s knowledge, even though it was a more advanced question for someone his age.

’That’s enough on the motivational and interest side. All I need now is to see how he performs over the next year,’ Helmut thought, his decision now fully reinforced. They moved on, discussing his vision in more detail for a whole hour before the meeting ended. Rümeysa agreed to think about the offer and inform them of her decision before leaving with her group to prepare for the upcoming pre-final and final.

“Do you think they will accept our offer, or will they try to increase their value?” William asked when they were finally left alone at the table.

“They won’t try to do that. After all, it is to their benefit that her son gets a stable team he can work with from karting all the way to single-seaters. It allows his focus to be fully on getting used to new cars, not integrating into a new academy. Plus, I’m pretty sure we are the heavy hitters among those she will meet. The other one is Ferrari, but they are very slow since their philosophy is holistic and long-term—something they are not really looking for, based on how she immediately moved him into KF Junior the moment she received the permits, despite him being very young. Based on her style, we are the perfect match, so long as he continues performing at this level,” Helmut answered, pausing for a moment before he added, “Plus, Ferrari only provides partial funding, requiring the driver to find additional sponsors to cover the rest. We are the opposite,” he finished, chuckling as he thought of Ferrari’s philosophy, which often took too long to deliver results and was the complete opposite of their system that made it very clear, very early, who would deliver when needed and who wouldn’t.

“Who do you compare him with among our other drivers on our roster?” William asked.

“I see him as a perfectionist and super competitive, so maybe everyone on our junior roster… maybe Max?” William answered after a moment of consideration, finishing his answer not as a conclusion, but as if wondering if Helmut’s view was different.

“Nah, although they might look similar, he is different from Max from a few different points,” Helmut said.

“Different in what ways?”

“Although they are both competitive and completely hungry for success, they have different ways of achieving their results. Max is more aggressive and will take any risk possible if there is even a small chance to gain a position. Fatih is more reserved and can sometimes hold back and wait for the perfect opportunity, creating a different image.”

“Then doesn’t that make Fatih a more complete driver?”

“Not really. He is calm-headed, yes, but Max, through his aggressive style, has imprinted an idea in the minds of all drivers: ’If I take this route, you either give me the position, or we crash.’ Most of them will concede the position to have a chance later. With Fatih, they know he will drive aggressively, but he is more likely to pass you through pure racing technique and psychological games, making them bolder in their defense against him. While it works for Fatih, it can be a problem if drivers have the confidence that you won’t crash if they don’t leave space, as it emboldens them to match his aggressiveness.

That actually cost him in his third heat, where he was held up longer than optimal, which resulted in him not being able to catch Lando in time and finishing second. Had it been Max in his place, that driver wouldn’t have defended with that much gusto, since it would have been clear they would be crashing. Max would have had enough time to catch Lando for a final lap fight. So, they both need to learn from each other if they want to perfect their driving styles,” Helmut said, having witnessed and read enough about each of the two drivers to know exactly how competitive and talented they were, even to the point that he was having to nitpick certain things to differentiate them.

What was scary for him was the realization that he was considering Fatih and Max as if they were equals, despite the huge age difference, with Fatih being ten and Max being nearly sixteen. It reinforced the realization that these two were monsters among humans.

“Then we are lucky we were the first to reach out to them,” William said, excitement clear in his tone.

“We don’t have either of them yet. If we reduce our vigilance, we might lose one, if not both, to our competitors. So we have to make sure we are not complacent and end up regretting it after losing them,” Helmut said, calming the excited William and reminding him that until they sign a contract, they were not yet their drivers and could be lost as easily as sand going through fingers.

“I will keep that in mind.”

As William said that, Helmut stood, and they both started heading in the direction of the grandstands. They needed to get ready to watch the performance Fatih was going to put on today, now that he was finally getting the opportunity to start from pole position for the first time in any of the competitive sessions this weekend, which they couldn’t help but look forward to.