Formula 1: The GOAT

(Had a headache yesterday)

“Hahahaha,” Fatih couldn’t help but laugh as he scrolled through Twitter, reading the back-and-forth arguments related to him.

Since the second video was uploaded, a GIF had gone viral. It showed him playing and singing the national anthem while looking at Dennis, who had a dumbfounded look on his face. Captured by one of the in-car cameras, it was now being used in any argument related to Fatih with the caption, “plays Turkish national anthem,” which wasn’t received well by those on the receiving end.

However, the discussion wasn’t limited to just fans. Some drivers also took this chance to make their statements, either by writing about it or by liking posts, which then appeared in their followers’ Twitter feeds.

One driver wrote, “Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched,” and although Fatih wasn’t mentioned by name, it was very clear who it was intended for.

Another one liked a post saying, “Just because he did well on a single weekend, he thinks he has solved it and can do it repeatedly.”

“But why aren’t you giving me any missions? This should be enough to trigger one, right?” Fatih asked Apollo while looking at a screenshot of a driver’s liked post.

The situation seemed perfect to trigger a mission with a good reward, prove them wrong and win the title as promised. But nothing of the sort happened, even as the commotion from his first race weekend started to slow down.

“Have some shame. You are already bullying them, but you want rewards on top of it?” Apollo said, sounding as if he was flabbergasted by Fatih’s shamelessness.

“I mean, I held my words back when I realized I was being unfair by saying everything was equal, because I have a system. But they are out here antagonizing me. Shouldn’t the system want me to defend its honor?” Fatih argued, referencing the moment he had cut his interview short after the second race.

It had put him in a contemplative mood when he realized he was using all of his advantages while still arguing that everything was equal and only the best driver could win, as if his success was a result of his hard work alone. This realization that he was becoming arrogant and attributing every success solely to himself was not easy for him to accept. It had taken a deep sleep and a conversation with Apollo in the simulation to bring himself back. Apollo had now promised to keep reminding him to stay humble.

“The system has no honor to defend. It’s just you limiting it to your human understanding of things, and just because someone tarnished its so-called honor doesn’t mean it is true in the first place.”

“Give me a mission, man. That will motivate me even more than I already am,” he said, trying to bargain for a mission to earn more points to upgrade his abilities.

“You should be thankful that you can even earn some system points in these races when you are already above their level, but you are here asking for opportunities to earn more?”

“I mean, I lost more than forty percent of a season. Isn’t that enough of an equalizer?”

“Did you do it for that?”

“But still, I lost that time.”

“Not happening,” Apollo remained firm, as if he could give missions in the first place.

The back-and-forth between the two of them continued for quite a long time before he was forced to stop, as he had to participate in a Skype call to start the discussions and briefing for the upcoming race.

……

“Can you pass the onions?” Güldane said to Fatih, who was sitting on her left with a knife, in the middle of cutting tomatoes.

Fatih reached for the bowl that had the finely cut onions and handed them to her as she placed them in the frying pan before returning to her own cutting.

Fatih helping his grandmother with cooking had already become the norm, as this increased the time they spent together when he had to be away from her so often. It was also the only way to help his grandmother, who didn’t want to accept a helper in their house when his mother planned to bring one through the family office. To not force her into it, while also spending time with her, this was the solution Fatih came up with.

“You are getting better and better every day,” she said when she looked at how fast Fatih cut the tomatoes and how evenly spaced and thin the cuts were.

“The principle is the same as driving, so it is very easy to learn,” Fatih said, puffing his chest with pride. Although it might have seemed like bragging, it was true. Invictus’s dexterity and sensitivity upgrades meant that he could sustain the same actions repeatedly, using his heightened senses to simply replicate the previous motion perfectly.

“Yes, my very talented grandson,” she said, indulging him while patting him on the back before picking up a piece of cucumber to feed him.

“So, when are you going to teach me the secret ingredient for your menemen (a Turkish dish)?”

“Why are you asking? Are you planning to sell it?”

“No, I want to be able to cook it when I’m away from home.”

“You are not ready yet.”

“When will I be?”

“When you can cook an entire meal on your own.”

“Promise?”

“Want to pinky swear on it?” she asked.

“Even better,” Fatih said as he extended his pinky finger for them to seal their agreement.

“You are really taking after your mother,” she said with a laugh when she saw Fatih wanting a formal agreement in place.

“So, I heard people are talking bad things about you?” she asked as she received the cut tomatoes, adding them to the pan.

“Yes, they are,” Fatih answered while moving to the eggs. These conversations were the norm when they were spending time together.

“Do you want me to sue them?”

“Not really. I don’t care about what they are saying, anyway.”

“Really?”

“So long as it doesn’t affect me on the track, then they can say whatever they want.”