Formula 1: The GOAT

“It is no surprise to many, and as many of you expected, it is Fatih Yıldırım coming out on top in the first heat of the day…”

“He did it once, he can do it again, and he does it again as Fatih Yıldırım takes home the second win with nearly the same gap as the last time…”

Having taken the wins in two of the three heats planned for the KZ2 Supercup championship, he started the third heat race with the same dominance, leading the entirety of the first half and opening a continuously increasing gap with each lap, making it look very easy for those watching.

……

“I can’t even be surprised anymore,” Enes said. For the third time that day, he watched Fatih lead for the entire race. Had it not been for the chaos of those fighting for second place and below, he would have thought overtaking was difficult, as Fatih was making it seem so easy.

He wasn’t the only one thinking that way. Three more families, all of whom were brothers and sisters of Fatih’s father, had joined them around noon. They were the most surprised of all, since it was their first time seeing Fatih on the track. Unlike the others, they hadn’t watched him on Friday or spent time with his team members, who had talked heavily about him.

His wife, Seda, gave him a side-eye when he said that, but he was too engrossed in the action on the track to notice. Her mood, which had calmed a bit after making that call yesterday, kept worsening with each session she saw Fatih in today. It brought her to the realization that Fatih’s mother was right to do everything in her power to support him, as he was talented enough to warrant that level of care. For Seda, this translated into the painful thought that she herself had not been talented enough to warrant such sacrifices from her own mother, something she didn’t want to believe at all.

With each passing minute, her head bobbed back and forth as she tried to look at the track while also scanning for her mother-in-law. She had been doing this since the first heat, not knowing the exact time, or even if she was coming at all. Although Seda had given her the address, she never received a definitive response, which led to her unease and the constantly disappointed look she tried to hide every time she saw a woman of her mother-in-law’s age, only for it not to be her.

“It must feel very rewarding for you to have made that decision,” she said, finally speaking to Rümeysa, wanting to see if there was any part of it she regretted, like leaving her career and dedicating her entire life to Fatih.

“Yes, it is very rewarding, as I get to see the results of my sacrifice every weekend there is a competition. Plus, even if his performance was not at the current level, it would still be worth it, as he is the only connection between his father and me,” Rümeysa answered without taking her eyes off the track.

This had been her new behavior since his abrupt injury; she never wanted to take her eyes off him on the track, wanting to see immediately if anything was wrong.

Before Seda could say or do anything more, cheers could be heard across the grandstands along with the commentator’s voice: “And it is a hat-trick, three for three for the young man who secures a pole position for tomorrow’s pre-final, having made all three wins look easy compared to the fight for the rest of the positions, which for some goes all the way to the finish line…”

*CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!* All of the people with a connection to Fatih rose from their seats to clap for the performance he had shown them, and the crowd did the same, as a majority of them were his fans already or had become his fans today.

……

“Good work, everybody. See you tomorrow,” Fatih said before he left the tent half an hour after the race, now donning casual clothing. In that time, he had done his post-race interview, showered, and changed out of his racing overalls. Now, he was finally heading to join the family and see his uncles and aunts.

“See you,” the team members who heard him responded just as he exited the tent and walked in the direction of the garage, since that is where their rented cars were parked and his family would be waiting for him.

“This is your aunt Hatice, the oldest in your father’s family. This is Emirhan, the second oldest, and lastly, this is Recep, the youngest. Your father was the third of the four,” Rümeysa said, starting the introductions the moment he arrived at the parking lot and met the new family members.

“Hello, my name is Fatih. It’s nice to meet you,” Fatih greeted them respectfully.

“Oooh, his Turkish is very good! How is your German?” Recep, the youngest, said as he messed with Fatih’s hair.

“Very good as well,” he answered in fluent German.

“Did he ever come to Germany before?” Emirhan turned to Rümeysa and asked in surprise.

“No, he studied it in Turkey a few years ago; his language learning ability is quite good,” Rümeysa said.

“Good, good, then we can speak more easily that way,” Emirhan said before he started talking in full German, a language he felt more at home with, having spoken it for years to the point of even thinking in it, as he started introducing his wife.

His aunt followed by introducing her ethnic German husband and their first child, a seven-year-old named Wolfgang.

Just as the introduction was about to take place for his father’s youngest brother, everyone in their group immediately went silent. Only Wolfgang and Fatih were none the wiser as they continued with their introductory conversation, but that didn’t last long as Fatih raised his head when he felt the silence.

He slowly turned his head to see what they were looking at, only to find an old woman in her late fifties standing and looking speechless at them.

He didn’t need to be a mind reader to connect the dots on who she might be, based on the reactions of his mother, grandmother, and his uncles and aunts.

“What are you doing here?” Rümeysa asked as she placed her hand on Fatih’s shoulder.

“The same things my kids are doing: coming to see my grandchild. Or can’t I do that?” the woman answered as if it were a matter of fact.

“Yes, you can’t do that. I’m sure I made it very clear that you will not be seeing him until you apologize for what you did,” Rümeysa said as she looked around at her former husband’s brothers and sister, her eyes alone making it very clear that she was trying to find out who had told her about their meeting. She was sure she had made it very clear that them meeting Fatih was hinged on their mother not being made aware of the meeting or even Fatih’s arrival in Germany.

“I didn’t say anything to her at all. The last time we talked was about a month ago,” Emirhan, the oldest of Fatih’s uncles, said, raising both his hands to answer the question in her eyes.

“Not me either,” Hatice, the oldest overall, said, doing the same.

“Not from me either,” the youngest said, denying any involvement in her being made aware.

“We didn’t either, as we were with you all the time,” Enes said, answering for both himself and his wife.

“You really thought you could bring my grandson to Germany and have me not be made aware of his arrival? Are you that naive?” she said moments after everyone denied their involvement, a smug smile on her face. Her eyes, which were on Rümeysa as she said those words, immediately returned to looking at Fatih affectionately, as if she wasn’t being glared at by everyone behind him. She said, “Come to Grandma. She has missed you after your mother hid you for fourteen years from me,” spreading her hands wide open for a hug.

Fatih just continued looking at her but didn’t move an inch. He even felt a slight increase in the strength of his mother’s hand on his shoulder.

“This is why I didn’t approve of you. Look at the behavior you have instilled in my grandson! I don’t know what lies you fed him that he won’t even come to greet me, but I have enough time to set the record straight,” the woman said as she awkwardly lowered her spread hands and started taking steps towards the group as if she were welcome.

“Let’s meet later at the hotel,” Rümeysa said to those around her before holding Fatih’s hand and starting to walk toward Enes’s car. He followed behind them and unlocked the car doors. They boarded swiftly and immediately headed out of the track’s parking lot, leaving behind the mother and her children with their families. All of the children looked unamused by the stunt their mother had pulled, since they weren’t in a good relationship with her in the first place.