Formula 1: The GOAT

As Jenson Button jogged towards the podium, having parked his car in the wrong place in his post-victory excitement, Fatih logged back into his Facebook and Twitter accounts. With practiced efficiency, he uploaded his prepared post-race content: a sleek victory graphic for Button, a detailed table with the final race results, and a side-by-side comparison of his pre-race predictions against the actual outcome.

The moment the posts went live, the small group of followers who had seen his predictions before the race returned, and the comment sections immediately lit up, each person having a different, more intense reaction than before.

@BetOnItBro: I WON MY BET! THANK YOU, WHOEVER YOU ARE! YOU FINALLY TURNED MY ADDICTION INTO SOMETHING I DON’T HAVE TO DEAL WITH, SINCE IT FINALLY BORE FRUIT!

@SensibleSusan: Sir, just because you won a single gamble doesn’t mean you don’t have to deal with your addiction. Please seek treatment.

@BetOnItBro: Why? I won money, and I didn’t lose it this time, so it really isn’t a problem so long as I keep winning.

@KimiFan4Life: The podium really happened for Ferrari, just as foretold by @TheConqueror! As promised, I will follow you on all of your social media and become your fan for life. Please keep up the good work. Damn, I should have betted.

@F1_Analyst92: Mr. @TheConqueror, you are starting to collect gamblers. Please deal with this.

@JustSaying: How exactly is he going to deal with it? He just posted information. He’s not responsible for what people do with it.

@F1_Analyst92: I don’t know, really, but he is currently enabling them with these uncanny guesses. Maybe he’s from a gambling company?

@LogicPrevails: Why would a gambling company give out free money by giving out correct results? Plus, how would they know the results of a race before it happens? Use your head.

@TruthSeekerX: I knew it. I KNEW IT. Formula 1 is scripted. He got everything right. Goddammit.

As more and more comments continued to pour in, the algorithm began to take notice. The posts were pushed to a wider audience, leading to a rapid increase in followers. Within an hour after the race, he had already surpassed 100 followers on Twitter and had 413 followers on his Facebook page. The numbers continued to climb with each passing minute. But Fatih didn’t linger to watch the growth. He logged out, once again meticulously cleared his account and web history, and then turned off the computer screen. The Monaco Grand Prix had ended just before 17:00 Turkish time, which meant he still had about an hour to play with his friends in the park.

With his plan now in motion, his life once again returned to its usual routine. He would log into his accounts once a day to monitor their growth before posting the content he had prepared for the upcoming race weekends. By the end of the month, his follower counts had grown steadily:

Facebook Page: 1,283 followers

Twitter Account: 791 followers

YouTube: 0 subscribers

He had yet to post on YouTube. He knew he needed more time to learn how to properly edit videos, and he was still waiting for the camera he would get as a reward for winning the championship. That didn’t stop him from preparing, however. He started an online Google document and began writing scripts for future videos. As someone who had watched thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of videos related to Formula 1 and motorsport in general, he had a nearly limitless well of ideas. He continued writing them down in his free time, saving them for the future, while he simultaneously taught himself the basics of video editing and animation. Thanks to his [Sponge Brain] ability, that process was also going ahead very smoothly.

…….

“Mom, please hurry up, or we are going to miss the bus and have to buy new tickets!” Rümeysa called out, waiting at the door with Fatih. Their bags were already packed for the next round of the championship.

It was Friday, June 5th, and the third round was about to start tomorrow, just seventy-six kilometers away in İzmit, Kocaeli.

“I know, I know,” Güldane said as she came out of her room, throwing a scarf over her shoulder and carrying her bag in her left hand. “But there are still two hours before the bus leaves. The distance is so short, we could have gone in our own car and we wouldn’t have had to worry in the first place.”

“I don’t want to deal with the stress of parking and driving in race weekend traffic. It’s better to leave it to the professionals,” Rümeysa replied as she turned and opened the door, leading the way out of the house.

“We have our very own capable driver right here, don’t we?” Güldane answered with a mischievous smile, ruffling Fatih’s hair.

“Don’t even put that idea in his head,” Rümeysa said with a chuckle, tossing the keys to her mother to lock the door.

“I mean, he is already driving at very high speeds and is very good at overtaking, so what is there to worry about?” Güldane doubled down as they headed to the elevator. They once again made their way to the bus station and started their journey to Kocaeli.

The travel wasn’t too long, taking only about three hours before they arrived at their destination, checked into their hotel, and began to rest for the busy day ahead.

……

“And once again, Fatih tops the timing screens of both free practice sessions, showing everyone that last championship weekend’s setback did nothing to his mentality as he forges forward!” Süleyman announced as the second and final practice session of Group C—Fatih’s group for this weekend—was nearing its end.

“And from the look of the weather reports, there is a high chance of rain tomorrow,” Zakir added. “So, we are going to see Fatih in his most natural state. We might even see a repeat of his level of performance from the first round, based on the gap he creates, provided he doesn’t get interrupted by another penalty.”

“Well, I can’t say I’m not looking forward to it,” Süleyman said as the timer hit zero and the drivers started returning to the pitlane. “This is going to be his first race after turning six in the past month, so he should be very eager to start his sixth year with a victory that would once again extend his lead on the championship board.”

“Oh, that’s right! I had even forgotten about that and kept thinking of him as the same age as everyone else,” Zakir remarked. “That just goes to show the level of driving performance he has shown us. It’s been enough that all the questions that would have been raised regarding his age were all forgotten. Plus, this week he is donning a new racing suit. It looks like a sponsor has already clinched him based on his performance in the first two championship rounds alone.”

“I don’t see him missing a podium at any time without force majeure being the reason,” Süleyman agreed. “It seems like the sponsor jumped in fast before he became widely known and had people competing over the sponsorship. But still, it’s good news. Racing is an expensive sport, after all, even at the entry-level if you want to be competitive, and having sponsors lessens that burden significantly.”