Formula 1: The GOAT

“You are two seconds slower than the pace I set. What do you think is the reason for that?” Fatih asked, standing next to Seraphina, who was sitting in the kart. She had just returned to the pit lane after a few laps around their local karting track, trying to get as close as possible to the pace Fatih had set.

This is what he usually did on the weekends when he didn’t have a competitive race, allowing him to continue practicing. He went so far as to rent the whole karting track for a few hours on each of the two weekend days so that he could have control of what was happening on the track and not have to worry about someone else interrupting them or causing unexpected disruptions. Having agreed to teach her seriously, he had finally started doing so this weekend, using one of the many karts given to him by Tony Kart, his works kart provider. They supplied him with the latest karts and equipment for all of his competitions as both an advertisement and for Fatih to provide feedback on the newest parts.

Per the agreement, all of the karts provided to Fatih, or more specifically to RFM for Fatih’s use during competitions, are the property of Tony Kart and are lent to Fatih and RFM during race weekends. However, since their first year of cooperation, they had given Fatih one of his championship-winning karts used during that season. It had turned into a tradition for him to receive a kart from them every year. Since they are always the latest equipment for that year and were only used for a few races before being sent back for performance inspection, they were all still relevant. Any driver having even a kart he used in his first year of cooperation would still be competitive and even capable of race wins.

Still, Fatih rarely used them, which was the intention of Tony Kart, as they expected him to keep them as trophies. He had decided to give Seraphina the latest kart they had given him for her use in both training and competitions without even batting an eye. To him, the only things needed for display were the trophies. It would be a disservice to the kart, which had the best of the best parts, to be used as a display or memorabilia and not be driven.

Seraphina took a moment to think before she answered, “I tried my best to apply everything you had taught me previously. From that, I can say with confidence that it is not a single big problem but a culmination of small ones that loses me a few tenths every time, ultimately resulting in that massive gap.”

She knew that although a two-second gap might sound small, or even a good performance considering that Fatih was a multiple European and world karting championship winner, making him the best of the best in the field, the lap she was being compared to was her best of the many laps she had done, while Fatih had only done one push lap to set the time. This meant he didn’t have time to get adjusted to the track or even the track conditions like she did. For someone who had decided to try and take this seriously, feeling happy about being two seconds behind was not something she planned to do.

“Looks like you at least know the gist of the problem, but let’s take it a step at a time and not overwhelm you with information that would kill your morale,” Fatih said, pausing for a moment before continuing, “For starters, let’s begin with where you are losing most of the time: cornering. If you are driving casually like we used to, your cornering won’t be a problem, but if you need to eke out every bit of time around a track, your style of cornering will lose you time.”

Upon hearing Fatih’s breakdown of her biggest problem, she tilted her head, making it very obvious that she was not fully understanding what he meant about her cornering problem.

“Let me break it down for you,” Fatih said, seeing her reaction, before he started explaining from the basics. “In racing, most of the time is lost or gained in a corner, and there are many things you need to do to gain as much time as possible. The way to do so varies with the type of vehicle you are driving. In karting, everything is about momentum, and everything done around the track is about gaining and maintaining as much momentum as possible.

To maintain momentum, smoothness is key, and any abrupt steering inputs can destabilize the kart, resulting in a loss of speed or control. And the biggest cause of that is in using the steering to turn…” Fatih started the exhaustive breakdown of her cornering as if explaining to a toddler, repeating nearly the same things Apollo had said when he got his first kart and started training him, with some adjustments specifically targeted so that the breakdown would be more understandable and tailored to her deep understanding. Fatih used his experience in helping her with her school subjects to do this, as it was no different than helping her with her homework.

“Put this on,” Fatih said, handing her a box. When she opened it, she found a small radio and an earpiece. Fatih then said, tapping the side of his helmet, “For communication, so that I can correct your mistakes on the fly and remove the need for you to keep returning to the pitlane.”

Seraphina nodded, removing her helmet and balaclava before she attempted to put them on. Fatih stepped in to make sure that it was worn properly before once again putting on her balaclava and helmet. They rejoined the track, this time together, as Fatih started driving with her, using his Apollo-induced training to mimic her driving style to see all of her flaws and start correcting them one by one, systematically.

He sometimes even consulted Apollo for the best solution, which Apollo wholeheartedly helped with. To him, teaching was in his nature, and that was not limited to Fatih. His main reasoning was that through Fatih’s teaching of these things, they might finally move from being ingrained in his body and muscles into his subconsciousness. He knew it had already started long ago, but through teaching and having to adjust it to fit someone else, that might accelerate the process of it seeping into his subconsciousness.

“She is having the best environment possible to learn,” Apollo said when he saw how she was soaking up all of the information. Although it would take a few years, he could obviously see that if she remained on this path with Fatih teaching her, she would move ahead in the field of motorsports.

While he was in deep focus teaching Seraphina, which he enjoyed deeply, he was fully unaware that someone in Milton Keynes was crafting a near-nightmare program for him in preparation for his possible move to F4.