Formula 1: The GOAT

”At the moment, the tire sensor data keeps pointing to the tires having a much higher temperature in certain parts of the track, even compared to Tsunoda in the same car, and sometimes by more than ten degrees difference.

So, we can be sure that it is not a fully car-related problem, but we are still going to look into what was the cause of it before we deal with it,” the tire engineer said when Gasly, who didn’t look pleased at all, had asked what was the cause of his tires degrading faster than even the initially expected window, which had led to his having a puncture that ended with him retiring the car from damages gained when he drove back to the pit to replace the tires.

There was a podium on the table, and the worst-case scenario was that they finished in P4, which would have been a quite welcome result and a good start to the season, but all of that went out of the window the moment the puncture happened.

Nearly everyone in the room who had seen the data could tell what the reason was, but without having conclusive evidence backing it, they had held themselves back from mentioning it since if it were later proven to be wrong, the relationship with the driver would be destroyed. Although teams could handle that, it was just the start of the season, so they leaned on the side of avoiding it this early.

Tsunoda, on the other hand, despite losing a few positions, was still happy, having started his career with points.

Fatih, on the other hand, just listened without saying anything, observing how Gasly was acting, which made him understand that either Gasly didn’t know that his rudimentary attempt at imitating him was the cause of his misfortune, or he was just acting to not be blamed for losing the team points.

”Three more to go,” he said as he rose from his chair inside the race operations center in Milton Keynes, planning to head home since all of his obligations were over. He walked past the cameraman and the boom guy who had been focused on him during the entire race as he watched and observed how everything operated.

Due to the interesting situation that was currently happening on the team with its three drivers, Netflix’s *Drive to Survive* series was already following him from the start of the season. They were expected to do so until his debut race at a minimum, and depending on how the situation evolved from there, they would decide if they would end their detailed focus then or if they would resume it as is or increase it.

Already used to the presence of cameras, having subjected himself to them since ten years ago, he continued operating as if they weren’t there as he headed to his assigned room to go and collect his things before they immediately left for home without wasting any time.

...

”Whilst the gap at the top of the driver’s championship will just be one point, the gap on track here, and remember we had to resume after a red flag, has been an awful lot wider. It’s a very fine Red Bull car, it’s a very fine driver at the wheel of that Red Bull car.

VERSTAPPEN AND HAMILTON IS THE BATTLE THAT WE ARE EXPECTING TO SEE RACE AFTER RACE THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THIS SEASON. IN BAHRAIN, IT WAS HAMILTON WHO TOOK THE HONORS.

TODAY, HE’S GOING TO FINISH AS RUNNER-UP TO A MAN WHO’S NEVER WON IN ITALY BEFORE, A MAN WHO DNF’D ALL THREE RACES IN ITALY LAST YEAR. IT IS MAX VERSTAPPEN, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HIS CAREER, WHO TAKES VICTORY IN ITALY AND WINS THE EMILIA-ROMAGNA GRAND PRIX, AND IT WAS A VICTORY BY A LONG, LONG MARGIN. Just a brilliant drive....”

”THE FIRST THREE PORTUGUESE GRAND PRIX WERE WON BY RACING KNIGHTS, AND SIR LEWIS HAMILTON HAS BEEN NIGHT AND DAY AHEAD OF THE REST HERE IN PORTUGAL THIS AFTERNOON.

HE WINS THE PORTUGUESE GRAND PRIX WHILE MAX VERSTAPPEN IS BATTLING FOR THE FASTEST LAP OF THE RACE TO ADD TO THE 18 POINTS THAT HE’S GOING TO PICK UP FOR SECOND PLACE.

Hamilton will increase his lead at the top of the championship. Whatever happens on this lap for Max Verstappen, Red Bull just did not have the pace in the second half of this race to challenge Mercedes today.

Verstappen comes home in second place and takes the fastest lap as well. So it’s 19 points for Max... OH NO, NO, NO, NO, his lap has been deleted, so he is back to 18 points, with Bottas picking up the fastest lap point....”

”Well, Lewis Hamilton on his final lap. Lap 66 out of 66, and what a weekend that it has been for him. The first driver in Formula One history to take a hundred pole positions, and he’s going to convert that into what would be his fifty-ninth win from pole position. What a charge he put on Max Verstappen.

He had faith in his team that they got the right strategy, and he delivered the lap times. When he arrived at Verstappen, Max had no grip to keep the top spot.

AYRTON SENNA WON FIVE CONSECUTIVE MONACO GRAND PRIX; HE HOLDS THE RECORD FOR THE MOST CONSECUTIVE WINS AT A SINGLE VENUE, BUT TODAY LEWIS HAMILTON IS GOING TO JOIN HIM IN THAT RECORD.

IT’S ANOTHER RECORD-BREAKING RACE ON A RECORD-BREAKING WEEKEND HERE IN SPAIN FOR LEWIS HAMILTON. IT’S A SIXTH SPANISH GRAND PRIX WIN, IT’S HIS FIFTH IN A ROW, IT’S A HUNDREDTH POLE, AND IT’S THE CHECKERED FLAG AS THE WINNER OF THE SPANISH GRAND PRIX FOR LEWIS HAMILTON, WHO STRENGTHENS HIS GRIP AT THE TOP OF THE TABLE, AND IT’S HIGH-FIVES ALL ROUND AT MERCEDES FOR A JOB WELL DONE.

Red Bull thought they might have had the pace in qualifying. It was close. But the margin of victory in the end was 16 seconds between Hamilton and Verstappen, and it’s back to the drawing board at Milton Keynes once again.

And for Valtteri Bottas, it’s a 50th podium finish for Mercedes-Benz as he comes home in third place. The three drivers taking the podium set the record for being on the podium together for the fifteenth time. It is Hamilton first, Verstappen second, and Valtteri third........”

Fatih calmly watched the following three races, his excitement getting better and better as his chance to get into an F1 car got closer and closer. Finally, the fourth race was finished, and now he had eleven days before his debut. But before that, he had to finish his qualification test, and he was looking forward to it with everything he had.