Formula 1: The GOAT

As Fatih calmly recited the national anthem that was playing on the speakers while he stood on the top of the podium, a smile never left his face. He felt like an addict finally getting his fix after weeks of being kept away from it.

He had missed it very much for the past three months, but now that it had finally ended, he fully enjoyed himself without any worry.

Once the national anthem finished playing, they received their trophies according to their finishing positions, with Fatih receiving his last. People cheered and clapped for him when he raised his trophy, as a large number of them were either his fans or were celebrating his dominance for the whole weekend on a wet track. He showed his superior control of a kart in full wet conditions, where he was on pace with or sometimes even faster than the KZ karts, which were a category higher than his current one, from the pure on-the-limit driving he had been showing them.

After a group picture, he finally got off the podium, went to celebrate with his team, and changed before going to join his and Seraphina’s family. He hugged them in sequence, thanking them for attending the race. Seraphina, who was still holding his previous helmet, took the race-win trophy Fatih had come with to take a look at it.

She had seen the more than fifty race wins and other international trophies that Fatih had at his home, but this one felt different to her, as she had seen with her own eyes how he had won it instead of watching it from one of his videos. For someone who had made the decision to try and take karting and motorsports seriously, she imagined herself standing at the top of the podium, holding a trophy that was hers once she had finally reached at least half of what Fatih was capable of doing.

On their journey home as a group in the family car Henry had come with, after Fatih’s family returned the one they had rented, Seraphina finally told Fatih about her plan. He fully supported it and offered to teach her at the start until she got a coach, or if she could receive some pointers from Burak during the weekends he was home from university. Seraphina immediately chose to receive training from him, as she knew that although he was a year younger than her, he was the best in the world when it came to karting. She could say that with full confidence, as the trophies that filled the cupboard in Fatih’s home acted as the most credible evidence. The same could be said about his teaching ability as well, having also helped her in topics she faced difficulties with, and her rising grades from his help acted as the perfect reference for his teaching ability. This, together with them actually being close and not having to work with a new teacher, all correlated into him being the best teacher she could have, and now that he had offered, she found no reason not to accept.

……….

Milton Keynes. Red Bull F1 headquarters.

“So you are saying keeping him in karting any longer risks him getting bored with the sport from facing no challenge?” Helmut asked the scout who had returned yesterday after the final race.

“Not a challenge per se, but if he continues and gets used to being in front all the time, when he finally faces a challenge, it might be a problem depending on how he reacts to it,” the scout said, rewording his previous statement.

“That is true, and I was considering sending him to F4 next season when he finally becomes fifteen, but I have yet to make a decision on which series to send him to. I want it to be challenging so that we can see how he acts when he is under pressure. Currently, he has the best equipment, and paired with his talent, I don’t think he has felt any pressure, so I want to expose him to it as early as possible because if he reaches all the way to F1 without pressure, he is going to crack,” Helmut said, sounding as if he was talking to himself.

Performing under pressure—this is the mark that can be used to describe all of the drivers at the Red Bull driver academy. After all, they are always on the verge of being expelled from the team the moment their performance doesn’t meet expectations, and it doesn’t matter at which level of motorsports they are, evident by how they did the same thing to their own Red Bull F1 driver Daniil Kvyat, who was replaced by Max Verstappen and went on to win his first race for the team.

Although it sounded like a harsh and brutal environment for those drivers to be in, anyone who survives in that environment comes out on the other side as a monster who will perform under any condition.

However, Helmut had found himself in a predicament, as his style of putting drivers in situations of pressure was not working for Fatih at all. No matter which category they sent him to, he kept performing from the get-go, making it difficult for him to see how he would perform in a situation where he is pressured in an all-or-nothing situation.

The scout who was listening silently paused for a moment, remembering what he had written yesterday during the race and had gone on to further look into it when he arrived home yesterday, before he said, “How about not having him start the season from the beginning and have him start after a few races?”

Helmut, who was rubbing his chin, looked at the scout as if to hint for him to continue with what he was talking about, which the scout obliged.

“Although he can already participate at the age of fourteen, if he does that, he won’t be eligible for superlicense points at the end of the season. So why not register him in a series that will start while he is fourteen and one where he turns fifteen after a few races, so that he stays out for those first races, only to start racing once he is officially eligible? He will be behind all of the drivers in both points and actual race experience, requiring him to be in the hunting position for the whole season as he tries to bridge the points gap. Wouldn’t that put him in a pressuring condition, but also allow us to see how he acts when he is the hunter and not the hunted?”

The scout went further and further, as it seemed like he had been prepared for it, which he had done last night.

“Which competition are you suggesting?” Helmut asked as he paused his tapping on the table.

“British F4 is the perfect competition if we are to do it. He will miss the first two race weeks, meaning he will have missed at least six races out of the thirty-race competition. The remaining twenty-four races should be enough for him to close the gap on those in front of him and even beat them if he performs like he does in karting,” said the scout.

“Prepare a full proposal of how this would work,” Helmut, who had been silent for a few seconds, said.

“Yes, sir,” the scout said excitedly before walking to the door as fast as he could, worried that Helmut might change his mind. After being made to prepare the plan, it meant that he would most likely be the one held responsible for overseeing its implementation. “Michael,” but before he could reach the door, he was called.

“Yes,” Michael, the scout, responded, his heart tightening, worried that Helmut had changed his mind.

“Make sure the plan also includes his F4 practice and training before his debut, and it should be extensive. You can request help from the related departments for more in-depth planning,” Helmut said, making it obvious that he had already made the decision to have Fatih debut next year.

“Yes,” Michael answered excitedly as his task just got bigger.

“His idea is not bad, and I look forward to how Fatih is going to react to it,” Helmut, now alone, said with a smile on his face. He finally had the chance to put Fatih in a perfect pressure cooker. If he comes out of it alive and victorious, he will be a proven driver for their academy, and they will increase their support for him. But if he crumbles, the next course of action will depend on how badly he has crumbled.

He had full confidence in Fatih’s driving capability; what he was curious about was the mental side of things. Although he had shown signs of mental capability matching his driving skills during his injury, it was still not enough of a pressure cooker to make him acknowledge his mental fortitude. But now, the suggestion the scout had given him had just provided the perfect one.

And he couldn’t help but look forward to it.