Formula 1: The GOAT

The reaction to the test was mixed but still explosive within the F1 community, which didn’t have a race that weekend.

Some took the performance shown as it was and immediately started talking about the level of impact he was going to make the moment he debuted. Some set their expectations to be at the same level as Verstappen’s debut, but with the car being competitive, they believed it would be multiple points and not just a single one.

There were also those who argued that the drive was only impressive because there was no one else on the track with similar machinery to see the maximum possible pace that could have been driven. They argued that it only looked impressive because he was the only one there and expected him to perform well in his debut, but that even earning points was going to be challenging. Their reason for the latter was where his debut was going to be: Monaco.

They believed that no matter how good of a driver he was going to be, it wasn’t going to make a difference when he got his first experience in the car. They believed he was going to be conservative, as there were very few to no runoff areas in Monaco, making it impossible for him to build up to the limit of what the car was capable of. But even those people still accepted that he was a talented driver; the only difference was how long it would take before he delivered a good performance.

But despite the difference in opinion between the two groups, they were all looking forward to the free practice on Thursday of the following week. Due to a long-standing tradition dating back to 1929, Monaco had its Free Practice 1 & 2 held on Thursday, with Friday being a holiday, though it was going to be for the final time because starting next year, it was going to move to the normal three-consecutive-day operation, like all the other tracks in the calendar.

As for Turkey, there was no divided opinion because all of them were in a celebratory mood, as they finally had it set in stone that they were going to have a compatriot grace the field.

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While the fans were talking about things online, Red Bull’s hard work finally paid off as the FIA approved Fatih’s Super License on Tuesday, while Fatih was in the air heading towards Monaco.

The moment that Super License application was approved and Fatih was handed his Super License, a few things finally moved to the next stage. Red Bull made an announcement congratulating Fatih on his Super License and wished him a good debut.

AlphaTauri congratulated him as well but went further to announce that he was going to be the second driver for the team starting with the Monaco GP weekend, posting a picture of him and Gasly, as Yuki was automatically demoted from one of the main drivers to a reserve driver for both Red Bull and AlphaTauri, finally putting a nail in the coffin on who was going to be demoted for Fatih to take the seat.

The official F1 account itself posted an announcement about the driver change in AlphaTauri, along with announcing what Fatih’s official racing number was going to be: 95.

Fatih’s account also posted on all the social media he was on, though he was not the one who posted it, since his phone was still in airplane mode, and it was the same for everyone on the plane with him.

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”Are you sure you should be here?” Fatih asked Burak with a smile still on his face as they got off the private jet at Nice Côte d’Azur Airport (NCE) in France.

”At least one person should be there for you in such a monumental week for you,” Burak said with a smile that had mixed feelings.

His wife was already within the window where she could go into labor at any moment in the next week or two. With him heading with Fatih directly from Turkey to Monaco and expected to be there until Sunday, there was a chance that he could miss the birth of his children if it happened within that window.

”Also, I would have to quarantine for two weeks to not risk infecting her, so I wouldn’t be there for them even if I left now, and the window for it to happen is still wide enough for it to happen after this week,” he added, though it was very clear that he was just trying to convince himself.

”Thank you,” Fatih said, knowing that he could have chosen to remain next to his mother, but since he needed someone from his family who had the power of attorney to join him in Turkey in case something needed to be handled before he turned eighteen, Burak decided to do that instead of just handing the power of attorney to his manager.

”Don’t let it bother you. As someone who taught you for the first time, it is nothing more than exhilarating to get the opportunity to see with my own eyes the dream you spoke about with extreme confidence when you were five actually become a reality thirteen years later,” Burak said before they went through the swift migration at the airport.

Soon, they took a helicopter heading to the Monaco Heliport, where they were welcomed by an AlphaTauri assistant who took them to the hotel so that they could rest because he was going to be extremely busy the next day due to all the obligations he had, and with him being a new driver, they were more than double the normal obligations.

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”WUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU,” Fatih shouted in the simulation, venting all his suppressed excitement as he stood on the podium area of the Monaco Grand Prix, Apollo having placed him there the moment he logged in.

”We are at the final steps,” Apollo said in a teenager’s body as he jumped at Fatih before the two of them started rotating while jumping.

Only the two of them knew the amount of time Fatih spent in the simulation every day, working hard for the same goal, and the number of serious injuries Fatih suffered while in pursuit of the limit. So, finally seeing the reward promised to him at the start of everything on the verge of being handed over, they couldn’t help but celebrate together.