Formula 1: The GOAT

“Now this is getting more and more interesting,” Justin said as the live feed focused on the Double R Racing cars that had returned to the pit lane after twenty minutes on the track. They spent about five minutes in their garage before leaving, entering the track one after another, creating a strangely similar movement to Team Arden’s, making it clear that they were not going to let them gain an advantage while doing nothing.

“Well, it makes sense. They either do nothing and risk losing the title that their driver has one hand on, or they try something and equalize the playing field if things go accordingly,” Brad said as the three drivers slipstreamed on the long, elevation-changing straight.

“’If things go accordingly’ is what is important, because by attempting to copy Team Arden, they are also taking the same risks: the risk of the chasing drivers being negatively affected near corners and having a similar result to Hauger, who had to go off track to avoid a crash.”

“But they don’t have to really match them one-to-one; they just need to reduce the advantage just enough that the remaining gap for Team Arden is not enough for them to win the drivers’ championship.”

“This is the best outcome for neutrals like us since it means that all the way to the final race, it is going to be interesting with multiple strategies being used against one another to gain a slight advantage or cause problems for the other team. So please don’t miss anything starting from qualifying onward, if you are tight on time.

But if you have time, stay with us through the free practice today, as it will be the ground on which we see some of the ideas being tested and developed further or discarded because of the risks or because the level of improvement is not worth pursuing,” Justin said, hinting at everything he could to retain and increase the number of viewers for every session following this one.

The feed followed the drivers through the lap. Like Team Arden, they also changed positions, swapping who was in the lead and who was getting the double slipstream as they practiced, albeit at a slower pace to build experience and confidence. The feed then changed rapidly, showing Fatih and the other two drivers out of their cars while the free practice was still ongoing, talking as Fatih pointed at something on a tablet in front of them, seemingly having a conversation about telemetry data.

“While the ones in the lead are practicing, the ones doing the chasing are now discussing something different. This makes it even more interesting, as it seems like Fatih has some level of control over what the plan is going to be, seeing as he is explaining something to the other drivers that he wants them to implement. I’m curious what it is about,” Brad said as the feed remained on the three drivers for quite some time, as their animated back-and-forth conversation, with them pointing at the tablet in front of them, continued.

…….

“Hello, ladies and gentlemen, it is Saturday, and we have qualifying and Race 1 today for our final round of the British F4 championship. Yesterday, we saw a small glimpse of tactical thinking from the two teams in practice, but today is the day that those tactics they practiced and theorized yesterday are to bear fruit as they head to the qualifying session.

This is the first obstacle, as the two title contenders are now determined to start ahead of the other to have as much chance of winning as possible. But Team Arden needs to do more than just have Fatih at the front, as that alone is not enough for him to win the title. They need to make sure that Jewiss starts as far behind as possible.

Going against his usual “take it slow” practice, it is Team Arden that is the first to release their cars from the garage into the pit lane fast lane while there are still three minutes to the start of the qualifying session. Fatih cements himself at the front of the qualifying line, giving him enough time to support his two teammates in gaining high positions.

And to not be outmaneuvered, Double R Racing reacts very fast to send their own three cars into the fast lane, making it clear they are going to try and mirror every move Team Arden attempts. Everyone else in the paddock seems to be completely aware of this.” Justin, who was commentating, sounded very excited but also tense, as he was aware of every possible way things could go, and he couldn’t help but look forward to it, fully enjoying the thrill of live sports.

…

Fatih silently looked at the system timer that was counting down to the start of the new session as he felt the car’s vibration during idle, trying to think about all of the plans he had come up with just to pass the time.

Apollo, not one to waste an opportunity, appeared in front of Fatih and asked, “Is that nervousness that I’m seeing?”

“Excitement for a real chase,” Fatih said calmly, his eyes having a different look from his usual competitiveness, where he was usually guaranteed to win.

“HAHAHAHAHA,” Apollo laughed when he heard the response, feeling completely satisfied. He knew this was something that Fatih needed to experience a few times in order to have something out of his control push him to strive for more than he was already doing, and not stagnate.

“But do you think your idea would work in real-world conditions?” Apollo asked once he was done laughing, referring to the many plans he had come up with during their two weeks of practice.

“I have to make it work if the title is still on the line,” Fatih said with complete seriousness. He knew system point multipliers were on the line for every title he won, so more than just wanting to win, he also wanted to avoid penalties from the system.

“Well, I’m looking forward to it,” Apollo said just as the timer hit zero and the pit lane exit lights turned green. Fatih dropped the clutch, raised the RPM, engaged first gear, and dropped it again as he immediately rushed to the track, swerving left and right, starting his tire warm-up sequence.