Formula 1: The GOAT

“They are waiting for you to start the podium celebration,” Alex said when he found Fatih standing on the side, leaning against the wall, looking down in deep thought.

“Oh, thanks,” Fatih said before pausing and taking a deep breath. He told himself, “Let’s leave the thinking for later and celebrate for now.” Moments later, his expression brightened before he started walking with Alex to where the podium was located.

His celebration looked no different from his first one as he took the two trophies once again for both the race win and the rookie trophy.

……..

“There is a rumor going around that you said anyone who can’t win in equal machinery is just bad at driving and should quit,” Alex asked the rose water-covered Fatih, who was walking down from the podium after he was done taking pictures.

“What? Who said what?” Fatih’s head whipped around to face Alex.

“Yeah, while you were on the podium, I had a few of the mechanics from Ayrton’s team talking about what you said in the interview. What I said is paraphrased from what they were saying, and they didn’t sound happy at all,” Alex said while turning to look around. It was very clear that some people were looking at them, and their expressions didn’t look favorable at all.

“I didn’t say anything like that. The closest thing to those words from what I said is, ’We are here to fight for the championship, and I believe every driver here believes they are the best, because anyone who doesn’t think that can’t make it in motorsports.’ I don’t see anywhere in that where I said they should quit, just that they can’t make it. And I said it in response to a question when I said my target is to win the championship,” Fatih said, looking at Alex with a very weird expression on his face as he wondered how his answer had shifted from what he said to the current rumor in less than ten minutes.

“I believe you, but from the look of it, no one else is going to,” Alex said as he imagined how fast the rumor was going to spread and be distorted.

“I mean, the interview was broadcast live and there should be a YouTube video of it, so that should be enough evidence for us,” Fatih said as he calmed himself down, knowing that he didn’t say it and there was proof of everything he did say.

“Don’t you know how fast rumors gain their own legs? By the time people even watch the interview, the rumor will already be the dominant story. Everyone who hears the rumor is not going to watch the interview, and even if they did, they would just think it is another interview unrelated to what you supposedly said,” Alex said as he tried to make Fatih understand just how damaging paddock rumors were. They are most often taken as confirmation bias for those who were already thinking about Fatih negatively from the start, and it would even sway those who were on the fence.

“I mean, I know that, it’s just there isn’t really a realistic way to combat it before it spreads further. It’s not like I can go around and say that I…” As he was giving his reasoning, he paused for a moment as he realized that his reasoning for why he couldn’t do anything was in itself the manual for what he could do. “Can you give me my phone?” he said.

“What, are you going to call Helmut to update him before the rumor reaches him?” Alex asked as he put Fatih’s helmet on his own head like a cap and reached into his pockets to remove and hand Fatih his phone.

“That is for you to handle. I can’t talk with that man directly, can I? But I’m talking to someone better,” Fatih said as he unlocked his phone and went to his contacts.

“Who?” Alex asked as he reached for his phone as well. Fatih’s words had reminded him that he needed to do that too, but not talk with Helmut, but with the media guys at the Red Bull Junior Academy.

“Mom,” he answered as he placed his phone to his ear.

He had just remembered that they had a full company under the ownership of the family office that had been created solely to deal with everything related to his motorsports matters, which included possible controversies as well. They most definitely had someone for PR matters, so it was time he used them actively for the first time.

They were professionals when it came to these things and knew better than him anyway. Though they would most likely just observe the situation and, depending on how big it became, decide whether to clarify it or let it be if it only spread to a small number of people. But them knowing about it ahead of time was better because they would have enough time to start preparing and wouldn’t be caught off guard.

The call was answered very fast by his mother, who was at home today as she had work and couldn’t come to the track. He immediately got to the point and explained the situation based on what Alex told him and what he actually said, while pointing her to where she could find the actual interview, making sure to give her as many details as possible.

“Sorry for the trouble and thank you, Mom,” Fatih said before he ended the call with a brighter expression.

“Oh, a mama’s boy,” Alex joked when he saw Fatih looking at the phone screen with a smile.

“Can’t deny that at all,” Fatih said with a dry expression, not even bothering to argue against it. “What about your side?”

“Ah, they say they are going to check on it and prepare an effective response plan in coordination with your side, which I told them you have already informed and are on it.”

“Now I need to talk to the race engineer and chief mechanic,” Fatih said, knowing how much a rumor could destroy team cohesion, so he planned to explain things to those he was directly connected with and let them deal with their respective areas to clear up any misunderstandings.

“Yeah, I will also communicate with the other two drivers’ managers,” Alex said, knowing what he needed to do on his side.

They both didn’t really care how other teams misunderstood and took the rumors, but the same thing couldn’t happen inside their own team. No matter how small the possibility, in-team fighting might result in subpar quality in his car preparation and other things the team provided, and although he could most likely survive most of that, there was no need to needlessly complicate and worsen his current situation.