Formula 1: The GOAT

(There was an election in my country, Tanzania, and a protest erupted so they shut down the internet)

“Participating for the first time, and at the age of eleven, he continues the winning streak of his international career and takes home his third international title as the WSK Champions Cup goes to Fatih Yıldırım.”

“Going four for four, Fatih had secured his title from the third race, but he made sure to take home his fourth win, claiming the WSK Super Masters Series, making it his second title of the year and fourth overall in his international career.”

“He makes it a hat-trick of WSK titles as he comes home winning three races and finishing on the podium for the race he didn’t win, taking home the WSK Euro Series with a total domination of this competition.”

“Albeit difficult after missing an entire round of the four-round competition, he still comes home winning the remaining three races and takes home his inaugural CIK-FIA title. It is the European Championship, going Turkish for the first time in history as Fatih Yıldırım wins it on his first attempt. What a year of dominance for the young driver who dominated in a category that has drivers who are all older than him by at least a year.”

“It seems he is intent on making it a double for the FIA competition. Having won the European Championship, he comes home to take the World Championship that he had won in the first of the two rounds last year when he participated as a wildcard entry. This time, he officially wins it, proving to everyone that he deserves to be in this category despite his young age. On the mouth of everyone, there is a single name: Fatih Yıldırım, who shines as the brightest star in his category, overshadowing everyone else.”

“FATIH YILDIRIM. Remember the name, remember the performance, remember him, as he is the future of motorsport, and should he continue delivering at this level, he will be one of the most talented prospects ever to bless the motorsports field. And the year is his. He can say that with confidence, having already taken home a total of five prestigious international titles: the WSK Champions Cup, the WSK Super Masters Series, the WSK Euro Series, the CIK-FIA European Championship, and the CIK-FIA World Championship. As he comes out of the final corner of the final lap, he places his second and final hand on the WSK Final Cup, making it his sixth cup in his sixth competition this year. If there is a competition he entered, he walked out of it with the title. What a dominant year for the kid.”

Those commentators’ sounds were heard from the speakers of a laptop as different images of podiums shuffled rapidly, with the unchanging thing being Fatih standing at the center of it, as the drivers on the number two and three podium positions kept shuffling.

“Out of eighteen races, he won seventeen of them and finished on the podium for the other one; that is the performance he delivered. And although it sounds like he won it easily, having started from the pole, it is quite the opposite, as he had to mount quite a few recoveries due to circumstances out of his control…” The same voice came as a background as the numbers remained on the screen before it faded to black. When the image returned, it was a reporter speaking about the season Fatih had, but before he could continue, *Click*, a space bar was touched, pausing the video.

“What do you think about our next recruit?” Helmut Marko asked Christian Horner, who sat on the other side of the table.

“Quite highly, but where did you get the video? I don’t remember hearing about any of it,” Horner asked, his eyes still on the screen.

“Ah, it is still undergoing final edits and will be released by theconquerors.com in about a month or two as a docuseries. They sent this to me to check ahead of time and for them to see if I have any suggestions. At least, that is their official reason, but it was most likely deliberately sent to increase his negotiating leverage,” Helmut said, chuckling a bit as he scratched his left eyebrow.

“Is it the same company that has had a team of people following Verstappen throughout the year, recording him for some docuseries?” Horner asked.

“Yes, and it seems like they have hit the jackpot with the news of his debut.”

“According to Jos, it seems like he got the short end of the deal. As it turns out, it was a four-year deal, meaning they are going to be with him for the next four years, shooting at least four yearly docuseries about him. And unlike Fatih’s, theirs starts with karting to single-seaters, with the next season promising to show his F1 debut,” Helmut said, chuckling whenever he remembered Jos complaining about it.

“It is a good advertisement for us, so I don’t see any problem with it. We can even provide them with access to Milton Keynes. That should allow the most eyes possible on our brand, not just Verstappen alone,” Horner suggested.

“I will check with them and see if they are receptive to it, as it is to their benefit that his profile rises as well as he performs on the track,” Helmut easily agreed.

“How about another suggestion, but this time about Fatih’s docuseries, to be added to the final episode?” Christian said after a moment of contemplation.

“Go on,” Helmut said, opening the stage for Horner.

“How about, just as the final episode comes to an end, the screen goes black for a moment before moving to a scene showing an empty chair with footsteps getting closer. It’s revealed that it was Fatih who enters the scene and sits down, fully kitted out in a Red Bull racing suit and a cap, before he says, ’My name is Fatih Yıldırım, a Red Bull Academy driver.’ Then, bam, the screen goes dark as the docuseries comes to an end,” Horner said with a smile on his face, openly hinting for Helmut to go ahead and finish the deal already.

“What should the offer include? I’m pretty sure other academies are most likely also eyeing him,” Christian asked, following up.

“Any deal lower than what was offered to the Verstappens, they are not going to even consider,” Helmut said, showing the dilemma he currently found himself in.

Although Fatih showed the talent to warrant such treatment, his age meant that he was still going to spend a few years in karting before fully moving to single-seaters. This meant that with each coming year, there was a chance of him losing his edge, and he might even flop when he moved to single-seaters. It was the same worry he had about Verstappen; that’s why he delayed the offer for him to join the Red Bull Academy until after he performed very well during the 2014 single-seater competitions he participated in.

“But isn’t the FIA already discussing setting the minimum age for F1 to eighteen? I’m sure they have already heard the rumors,” Horner asked, wondering what their requests were.

“They know what they will want will most likely be a guarantee of an F1 seat at the earliest legally allowed moment, meaning if the minimum is set to eighteen, then the moment he turns eighteen, he’ll have a seat to debut in Formula 1.”

“If your worry is about him falling off, we can just make very robust and stringent conditions that he needs to meet in order for that clause to be triggered. If he meets them, then there is no harm in us keeping our side of the deal, and if he doesn’t meet them but still performs well, we can keep him until a seat is open and give him a chance,” Horner suggested after a short period of thought.

“How many years should the contract give us if he triggers all of the conditions and debuts? Two years, like Verstappen, or longer, since we will have to pay for him for a longer period, unlike Verstappen?” Helmut asked. Although the final decision lay with him, he wanted to hear what Horner suggested and see if he agreed or disagreed with it.

“They will most likely want a guaranteed seat within those years. We can keep it to two with a plus one, with the extension on our side. If he performs well, we can extend; if he doesn’t, we can leave him in Toro Rosso or buy him out of his contract. But aren’t those parts of the deal usually left to be negotiated once he is about to debut, in order for the agreement to fit the situation we will be in by then?”

“Yes, but if he triggers all of those clauses and makes his debut, he will have a very strong negotiating position. Including these terms now allows us to balance that future situation and avoid a lot of potential problems. That’s the angle I’m taking. If he keeps performing like this, every other team will be trying to poach him, which only increases his negotiating power.”

“Hmm… then how about adding a two-sided, forty-million-dollar exit fee to the contract? It would compensate us for our monetary support all the way to single-seaters. It would be triggered only if he meets all of our instant debut criteria but wants to leave for another team, requiring that new team to pay the amount. If we make it one-sided, they’ll complain. So we make it reciprocal: if we fail to provide him a seat the moment he meets all the criteria, we will have to pay the same amount as well. Though we are not likely to be on the paying side, it shows just how invested we are in him,” Horner suggested.