Formula 1: The GOAT

“And the team that, as long as they finish in the points, will secure their championship, is leaving the pitlane in unison for the first practice as the last group to leave,” Justin said as the feed finally changed to show Team Arden leaving the pitlane together, with Fatih being the last of the group.

“I know this track is longer in this configuration, but the entirety of the roads from the first round are still being used, other than the short McLaren bend connecting to the Clearways turn, which is the second-to-last corner. Just by going the detour route from that closed part, the track gains two kilometers of additional distance. So, practice is as important as on any other track, but it is more important for Fatih, who, unlike the other drivers, didn’t have as much track time on the first-round layout part. This means while others have to focus on the new section, Fatih has to focus on both,” Justin said as the feed showed the three drivers weaving left and right just as they left the pitlane.

“I don’t think that is something you should be worrying about if it is the same Fatih we have seen for the entire time he has been in the F4 season,” Brad said, as he, like everyone else, expected Fatih to resume his behavior of going for a push lap the moment he completed a warmup lap.

“EH! Is something wrong with him?” Justin was the first to raise the question when the three of them were still close to one another through the final corner, when they would usually have opened a gap from one another to avoid driving in the front driver’s dirty air.

“Are they going for another warmup lap?” Brad asked for the sake of the viewers.

“I think not, as they are currently pushing. OOOOH, I think they are practicing slipstreaming one another and seeing what level of advantage they will have compared to a clean run. If this is truly what they are doing, what a clever move,” Justin, who was about to guess, found himself changing his line of thought when the cars exited the final corner on a full push, following one another closely on the start-finish straight.

“But isn’t that done with just a single car in front? Why are they doing it with three cars? Are you sure it is for slipstreaming?” Brad, keeping up his brand, once again asked a question he already knew the answer to.

“A slipstream doesn’t end with just one car. It can be used with as many cars in front as you have, as each consecutive car removes more air for the car following it. So the third car has a path that has had two cars in front of it clear the air, meaning it will reach higher speeds on the same straight than the two in front, just like the second car will reach a higher speed than the one leading. So with Fatih at the rear of this group, he is currently the biggest beneficiary,” Justin said excitedly, as it was the first time something like this was being done by Team Arden.

“So you think they are going to do everything this weekend for the sake of improving Fatih’s chances of winning the title? But isn’t he already someone capable of taking pole and winning races without their support?” Brad asked what was already on the minds of many people, seeing what was happening.

“And just as you say that, Fatih overtakes Hauger and Doohan and moves to the lead of the group on the Cooper Straight, making it clear that they are setting themselves up for a practice slipstream on the longest straight of the layout. This clearly shows that they are planning to use this tactic, most likely on the other two drivers as well, to guarantee that they will be in the top three with Fatih so that they can act as a defensive buffer for him if and when Jewiss tries to enter the podium positions during the race,” Justin said.

“Now, this is setting up a very interesting qualifying and race for later this weekend. But for now, let’s see how they go through this straight with Fatih in the lead. This straight has a downhill that a driver enters without seeing the road, just as you pass the overhead bridge, and it takes some time for new drivers to gain confidence and take it at high speed.”

“And as always, a man of consistency, Fatih enters the straight, and the group follows him behind, towing one another with Hauger tucked in behind both of them. The TV team has made it easy for us by putting in their speeds for us to see the advantage they have from the slipstream and double slipstream….”

As Justin commented, Fatih kept following the arcing line while looking at his mirrors to see where the other two drivers were. But instead of doing it for defensive maneuvers, he was just updating his mental map of their positions to help them slipstream, a first since he had started driving these F4 cars.

{Tell Hauger he is about thirty centimeters from optimal positioning,} Fatih said, updating the team on what he was seeing in the mirror just as they reached the bridge and the track started going downhill. He kept his foot on the floor, gaining even more speed.

The two drivers followed him, continuing to reduce the gap as they were fighting less air. But things changed when they arrived at the Hawthorn bend. While Fatih just lifted for a moment as he started turning the car and, as he reached the apex, downshifted to fifth gear before getting back on the power without even touching the brake pedal once, the same wasn’t true for those following him. Doohan had to brake to keep the car on the track, while Hauger, who was caught off guard by Doohan’s braking, was forced to go off the racing line and into the grass run-off, sliding for a moment before he caught it and rejoined the track.

“AND THAT LOOKS LIKE A VERY NEGATIVE RESULT OF THE INITIAL EXPERIMENT, AS HAUGER NEARLY GOES INTO THE WALL ANAGES TO RECOVER! THIS IS GOING TO BE A NIGHTMARE FOR THEM TO DO IT EFFECTIVELY WITHOUT CAUSING A CAR CRASH!” Justin said as the feed showed Hauger driving slowly on the Derek Minter Straight as he recollected himself from what he had just experienced.

“NOW THEY FIND THEMSELVES WITH THE QUESTION OF WHETHER TO CONTINUE ATTEMPTING IT OR REDUCE THE AREAS THEY DO IT, WHICH WOULD REDUCE ITS EFFECTIVENESS, OR KEEP DOING IT AND RISK CAUSING A CRASH AND HAVING ONE OF THEIR CARS, WHICH THEY NEED TO HAVE ANY CHANCE FOR FATIH TO CLINCH A TITLE, OUT OF THE RACE, OR CRASH DURING QUALIFYING AND HAVE IT STARTING ALL THE WAY FROM THE REAR! A COMPLICATED DILEMMA!”