Formula 1: The GOAT

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

Inside a quiet meeting room, Elena Petrov, Fatih’s in-house manager, sat opposite Helmut Marko at a glass table with two coffee cups between them. A short distance away, a note-taker sat with a laptop, noting everything being discussed and recording the audio for future cross-referencing.

Elena had been invited a few days after they sent Fatih the docuseries for his review and suggestions. They knew that if they delayed and the docuseries aired, it would proportionally strengthen Fatih’s position at the negotiation table. With his increased fame among a wider audience, more academies would take the risk and jump into the competition, especially after seeing Red Bull’s interest, something they had done similarly with Verstappen, who was set to debut the following year. This was them trying to get ahead of the situation. However, this knowledge had already given Fatih considerable negotiating leverage, albeit not to the level he would have after the docuseries’ release.

“Let’s leave the pleasantries here and get to the main point of the meeting, which I’m pretty sure you already know the reason for,” Helmut said as he took a sip before placing the cup back on the table. It had already gotten cold during their catch-up talk.

“Yes, I would love that. Please let me hear your preliminary offer,” Elena said, leaving the opening of the discussion to Helmut. It would allow her to gauge their initial offer and see where it stood compared to her own. If it was too far off, she would need to bring it closer to their expectations, and if it was higher, she would try to get more—all in the name of benefiting her client, Fatih.

“Our offer is the same as we gave Verstappen, but considering the duration and that we are going to provide full coverage, a few additional conditions need to be included.”

The back-and-forth started, with Elena noting down every condition Helmut mentioned, listening silently before either agreeing, offering a counterpoint, or denying it completely if it was something she was unwilling to accept for her client, even for initial discussions. The meeting went on for three hours.

“So,” Elena said, pausing for a moment as she looked at the word-filled notebook pages before she continued, “To recap the overall conditions we agreed upon during the meeting, pending additional in-depth negotiations, clarifications, and evaluations before signing the documents, are as follows:”

“Starting next season, Fatih Yıldırım will participate in all of his karting competitions as a Red Bull academy driver. During the karting period, Red Bull will retain total control of where he participates until he reaches the minimum age for his F4 debut.

Once he reaches F4 and makes his debut, both sides agree that Fatih will be ensured participation in the series that are considered the ladder leading to Formula One. As long as his performance is deemed satisfactory under pre-agreed parameters, he will be guaranteed promotion to the next series on the ladder.

If he wins at least two titles in the ladder series or is in the top three in at least three of them, he will be guaranteed a Formula 1 seat the moment he is eligible to race. Red Bull is required to aid him in meeting all necessary requirements not pertaining to age.

However, in return for that guarantee and as security for our side, you propose a mutual exit clause. The amount will be negotiated further, as the currently proposed eighty million dollars is not agreed upon by both sides.

During the period he drives as a Red Bull academy driver, all of his racing-related expenses will be covered by the Red Bull academy. In return, Fatih is required to participate in a certain number of Red Bull commercial events per year, with the total number to be determined through further negotiations.

As insurance for the expenses that Red Bull will incur for Fatih, and pertaining only to his single-seater career, Red Bull will retain the ability to unilaterally terminate his academy position if he is not in the top five of the championship for two consecutive years. They can terminate earlier if he is outside the top ten by the end of a season, but only if they pay a termination fee. In return, they are required to provide him with enough testing time to allow familiarity with the vehicle before the start of the season. If there is a testing limit, it must be maxed out; if there is none, then a total of one thousand five hundred kilometers in testing must be completed before any of the privileges within this clause become effective.

Should he meet the immediate debut conditions, he will be given a season to gain experience. During that season, if he finishes in the top two of the four Red Bull drivers, he will have a guaranteed seat in the Red Bull main team. If that condition is not met, it will trigger his exit option and allow him to leave for another team without the later-to-be-agreed exit fee, with the condition remaining effective even within the later-to-be-negotiated Formula 1 contract.

His initial Formula 1 debut contract will be, as agreed, a two-plus-one deal, with the team having the option to trigger the extension should his performance be deemed satisfactory. If the team does not trigger it, he will be allowed to leave for another team.

He will receive additional monetary support if he wins his category, with the amount increasing depending on the series. The initial amount and the rate of increase will be negotiated later.

Red Bull will be required to place him in the best team possible within the series and ensure that he is provided with a competitive car. Preparations regarding his team are to be done ahead of time should he be within the top three in his current single-seater series, to allow for in-depth preparations.”

As she read through the skeleton of the agreement, Helmut remained silent, nodding in agreement. He was also vigilant to see if she had added or misunderstood anything during their discussion, but thankfully, there was no such situation, as it would have destroyed the goodwill they had managed to build and could have risked their deal with Fatih, depending on the level of the egregiousness.

“You are quite meticulous, so we didn’t miss anything. I look forward to the following negotiations, which I hope we finish as fast as possible to provide stability and remove the chances of some pest muddying the water,” Helmut said as he stood up to shake hands with Elena, who was preparing to leave.

“Well, it is my job to be meticulous, and I hope for the same, as my client quite enjoys the idea of being with you and racing for the team,” Elena said, reciprocating the handshake once she finished packing her things. Her cup of coffee remained untouched, having lost herself in the discussions.

“Well then, how about you take a tour of our facilities?” Helmut suggested, wanting to show her the bigger picture, which in turn should widen her perspective during the upcoming rigorous negotiations.

Unlike other drivers who would give up as much control as possible in order to join and be supported by Red Bull, Fatih had additional leverage. This gave him the ability to negotiate a more equal, or even favorable, agreement. This was evidenced by lenient conditions like joint decision-making on his career path, which was more of a Ferrari Driver Academy route. Other drivers in the Red Bull academy had little to no control and could only go where Red Bull sent them.

The same could be said about being dropped; while others could be let go on Helmut’s whim, Fatih had a two-season grace period to make mistakes before they could terminate his contract without paying a fee.

This gave Fatih peace of mind, knowing he had a buffer. In return for these concessions, Red Bull proposed an eighty-million-dollar exit clause to ensure they would see a return on their investment and prevent him from being poached after they had given him such favorable terms. That clause alone made it unlikely for Fatih to sabotage his career by underperforming to get dropped, as two years of poor results would be career suicide in a world like motorsport with its short-term memory.

“Well, it would be rude to deny it. Plus, I’m a very big fan of Red Bull, so if I’m not causing you any problems, I would love the tour,” she said with a smile, wanting to see what the team that had been dominating F1 before the 2014 season was like. And although Mercedes dominated this year, Red Bull was still second in the driver standings, albeit a few hundred points behind.

She spent the next three hours touring the factory and offices of the Red Bull main team, thoroughly enjoying herself, before having lunch at the company cafeteria. Afterwards, she began her journey back to Surrey to report everything that had transpired and to hear their feedback, including any modifications or additional terms they wanted to be included.