Formula 1: The GOAT

“And the two chasers make their move! They catch up and flank him on both sides, bleeding the speed they gained from his slipstream! They are now barreling three-wide towards the corner leading to the triple hairpin! Who will be braver? Will it be Fatih, as always? Will it be Selçuk, the aggressive one? Or will it be Jackson, last year’s title defender?!” Süleyman’s voice was a raw shout as the three karts hurtled towards T5.

On track, Fatih looked preternaturally calm. Selçuk’s gaze was locked on Fatih, his posture radiating aggression. Jackson, ever the calculator, was constantly flicking his eyes between the other two and the rapidly approaching braking zone. As they neared the limit, each driver had to consider the actions of the other two. Be brave and risk taking yourself and someone else out of the race? Or be cautious, risk losing a position, but have the assurance that you will still remain in the race and salvage points, unlike having none if you are taken out.

“Ooooooooooooooh! FATİH BRAKES FIRST! SELÇUK KEEPS HIS AGGRESSIVENESS AND MOVES INTO P1! AND JACKSON, THE EVER-CAUTIOUS, BECOMES A TAD AGGRESSIVE HIMSELF AS HE GAINS A POSITION AND MOVES TO P2! WHY DID FATİH DO THAT?!” Süleyman shouted, perfectly telegraphing the confusion and shock of the viewers.

On the track, Fatih had indeed been the first to brake, hitting the pedal even earlier than he had in all of his previous laps as he targeted an early apex. The other two, having expected Fatih to be the last to brake, had pushed their own braking points later in an attempt to out-brake him. This forced them to take a wider, later apex.

“And as they barrel into the corner, Fatih gets on the power earlier and passes them both, retaking his original position as they are only just getting back on the power due to overshooting their braking points!” Süleyman roared. “But they are still on his tail as they take T6, the second of the triple hairpins! This time, Fatih keeps his usual calm and smooth driving, perfectly placing his kart in a defensive position that makes it difficult for them to do anything about it! It seems his unexpected move has made them more careful, as they now have to consider that he might do something completely unpredictable! They manage to replicate his no-brake approach through T7, keeping up with him as Fatih keeps looking ahead, not turning his head even once! It’s as if he has eyes in the back of his head!

AND THIS TIME, HE BRAKES LATER THAN THE OTHER TWO AS HE TRAIL-BRAKES INTO T8, THE FINAL OF THE TRIPLE HAIRPIN! As a result, he gets on the power late but keeps his position and has a more controlled acceleration as he powers through T9! The three are now drag racing to the final three corners of this qualifying heat! Will Fatih defend successfully, or will the other two manage to make something of these final corners? Fatih chooses his side of the road, hugging the left side of the track, unlike the previous times where he elected to remain in the middle! As the straight is continuously being reduced, the other two are continuously shortening their distance to him!

AND FATİH BRAKES IN HIS USUAL SPOT, BUT SELÇUK DOESN’T! HE OUTBRAKES HIM! IS THIS IT? IS THIS HOW FATİH IS DEFEATED?! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! FATİH GOES WIDE, BLOCKS SELÇUK, AND FORCES HIM TO BRAKE HEAVIER THAN HE NEEDED! FATİH USES HIS RIGHT AS THE RACE LEADER TO CHOOSE THE RACING LINE! AND JACKSON, WHO REMAINED CALM, GOES PAST SELÇUK AND THREATENS FATİH, WHO LOST TIME DEFENDING! BUT FATİH CLOSES THAT DOOR! THE DISADVANTAGEOUS LINE HE TOOK TO BLOCK SELÇUK TURNS INTO THE ADVANTAGEOUS ONE AS T11 COMES AT THEM! HE PLACES HIS KART PERFECTLY, GETS ON THE POWER ON THE EXIT, AND KEEPS IT THAT WAY THROUGH T12! AND FATİH, THE CONQUEROR, CONTINUES HIS CRUSADE AS HE WINS HIS SECOND AND FINAL QUALIFYING HEAT OF THE WEEKEND, SECURING POLE POSITION FOR THIS EVENING’S RACE! JACKSON FOLLOWS BEHIND HIM, BENEFITING FROM SELÇUK’S AGGRESSIVE ATTEMPT AND COMING IN SECOND, FOLLOWED BY SELÇUK, WHO FINISHES THIRD! THAT WAS A VERY EXCITING HEAT!

These two have been taking the fight to Fatih this whole weekend! I can’t help but look forward to the Final race this evening!”

Zakir took over as Süleyman gathered his breath. “Selçuk will be starting on P2 for the Final due to his better qualifying time than Jackson, which is the tie-breaker. But I don’t think he should be forgotten. His calm and opportunistic driving has shown to be very fruitful when the other two are battling for the lead, and he is always there to take advantage of their mistakes. It’s just very difficult to believe that of the two at the front who have been fighting tooth and nail, one is in his first professional championship, and the other wasn’t even in the top three last year, while the defending champion is having to keep calm and pick up the scraps left by the two.”

“That is motorsport for you,” Süleyman commented as Fatih drove a victory and cool-down lap. “But also keep in mind that these are children with an average age of seven. They are in a period of rapid growth, both physically and mentally. So, someone who wasn’t even on the radar last year can just puff up and become a threatening individual in the next year’s championship.”

“We can’t even call it a late blooming,” Zakir said with a chuckle before continuing. “But I can’t believe how calm Fatih has been throughout these two heats, when someone else might have crumbled from the pressure the other two were exerting on him. Let’s see here… I have it written down. The three of them have been in a total of thirteen distinct battles in just these two heats, but Fatih came out on top in all of them by doing different things every single time, despite some of these battles taking place in the same locations. Wow.”

“I’m pretty sure I never saw him turn his head even once to look at the other two who were chasing after him,” Süleyman, the main commentator, said. “Is that even possible in the first place, or am I just hallucinating?”

“I think I saw the same thing, and even the replay shows it,” Zakir answered, just as the replay of the final lap battle was shown on the screen. It showed Fatih defending while only looking forward, turning his head only for the corners as if he were driving alone. “It seems… it seems like he is locating where they are and what they are doing through sound.”

“But is that possible amidst the noise caused by both the viewers and the other twenty-nine karts?” Süleyman asked in disbelief.

“I’m having a hard time believing it’s true, but we are seeing it happen,” Zakir replied. “The other explanation is that he doesn’t care to look because of his supreme confidence in his driving, but that’s not possible, as his driving shows that he *knows* where they are. If he is actually locating them with sound, that would make him a terrifying person to drive against. He would be responding not to what he sees or thinks you are doing, but to what he *hears*, which would be like driving against a person who has a third-person point of view.”

“But that would explain many of his actions during defense,” Süleyman added, his voice still tinged with disbelief. “His car placements, his braking timings—when he outbrakes them or when he brakes earlier than them—all of these actions would make sense if you consider that he can use sound to know where his opponents are and what they are doing.”

“It is still speculation,” Zakir cautioned. “We can just ask him in the interview after the Final race and get a definitive answer. That is, if he even knows how he’s doing it in the first place.”

“Finally! My day to do the interviews has come!” Süleyman said, a teasing tone in his voice. “I was so jealous of you last championship weekend, but patience has paid off, and I’m going to enjoy it. But why are you speaking as if it’s a certainty that he’s going to be on the podium in the Final race?”

“Unless force majeure happens, he is going to be on the podium,” Zakir answered, his voice full of confidence. “Although I can’t say for sure he’ll win the race, since the other two have been constantly improving and bringing the fight to him, he is going to be there.”

As they spoke, Fatih and the rest of the karts from the Group A & C qualifying heat were finally entering the pitlane to go through the after-race procedures. Group A was finally done with their qualifying heats and had only the Final race left for those who made it through, and the Pre-Final for those who were eliminated.