Formula 1: The GOAT

“We can have it in writing and notarized if you want, how about that?” Helmut’s plus-one said once she finished delivering the words that Helmut had told her to deliver on his stead, under the excuse of having to attend an important appointment.

Both Fatih, Rümeysa, and Elena found themselves both dumbfounded and surprised as to why the situation went this way. They had fully prepared themselves for things to get heated and were ready to even part ways. Having the man who had accompanied him during the meeting, who had been no different than an observer, say this was no different than Helmut accepting to take a step back while also keeping his pride in order to not lose too much face.

“Yes, let’s do that and have it notarized,” Fatih said, not bothering to beat around the bush or even hear what the other two had in mind, because he knew that although it might be seen as just a small thing at the moment, it was going to be very helpful in the future. But it also would have an effect at the moment, as his not denying their offer was a message to the Red Bull academy that he was not really fully on their side and could leave at any time if they did something that pushed him.

The messenger looked at the other two to hear what their decision was going to be because he knew Fatih, still being a minor, meant that his words carried very little weight when it came to signing contracts.

“Yes, we should do that. After all, we need to be confident that you are going to keep your word,” Rümeysa said, nodding and going ahead with her son’s decision, but also because she knew better than anyone that the more contracts you have, the better. Word of mouth isn’t that much trusted in the motorsports world, and even less so if it’s from Red Bull.

“But it is going to have to wait until tomorrow for in-depth discussions and negotiations about it once Helmut returns from his meeting. So for today, let’s end the meeting here,” the messenger said before bidding them farewell and leaving the room, not planning to remain there any longer, as he knew he was just sent as cannon fodder.

“Ha, looks like I don’t have to look into you going private anymore,” Elena said as she raised her hand for a high-five with Fatih, which he returned with a bright face, knowing that his decision to stand his ground had worked as he had hoped. The situation resolving itself like this also meant that Helmut himself had confidence in him being able to live up to his expected potential, if not more, which was the most likely reason that led to him taking a step back. This was thanks to the pace and consistency he had shown in his F4 test, making it clear that his speed wasn’t going to end with his graduation from karting.

“No, please keep looking into it, and for all levels of the feeder series,” Fatih said as he lowered his hand from the high-five.

“What, are you still thinking of leaving?” Elena asked with a curious and worried gaze, with the same expression being mirrored by his mother.

“Not me, but I want to know the process of both privately funding my career and also the cost of adding a new team from scratch,” Fatih said with a calm expression.

“But why?” This time, it was his mother who asked for the reasoning, as she was worried that, as Elena had said, he might have already seen the privateer option as better and might try to push himself towards that option by spending money that wasn’t yet in their hands, as that part was still in the implementation stage and not yet complete.

“Just to satiate my curiosity, but also to keep myself knowledgeable. Who knows, it might be useful in the future if I find a driver I want to support financially,” Fatih said, revealing what he had on his mind, since there was really no harm in telling them about it.

Motorsports was a very cutthroat sport, and it was merciless to those who didn’t have the basics needed to even have an opportunity to bloom: funding. Although talented drivers would most of the time receive support the moment they managed to show their talent, not all of them even have the opportunity to reach that point, since even that requires some level of investment. Otherwise, Fatih was very sure there was a very talented driver who could even become the greatest of all time if they ever got in a car, but all they ever ended up doing during their formative years, when others were karting, was riding a bicycle, completely unaware that they even had a talent in motorsports.

“It is the first time I’ve heard a driver who hasn’t even arrived in F1 talk about sponsoring other drivers,” Elena said with a chuckle, both surprised and impressed by Fatih’s way of thinking. She didn’t have any reason to object to such a plan if her client could afford it.

And although she didn’t know how rich they were exactly, what she did know was that they were rich enough that funding an entire privateer career didn’t seem like something that would dent their pockets at all, as Rümeysa had talked about that possibility today, but didn’t raise any concern about the possible expenditure if the situation had ended with them parting ways.

“Well, there is a first for everything,” Rümeysa said, not worried about the possibility of Fatih making an impulsive decision. After all, she was the one who was going to green-light it, but also because she knew how keen Fatih’s intuition was, as that is what allowed him to earn millions of dollars from just selling that information in the first place.

“So are you returning or will you spend the rest of the day here for tomorrow’s negotiations?” Fatih asked his mother, having missed her and, if possible, wanting to spend some time with her, as he didn’t have enough time to head back to Silverstone to resume his interrupted testing.

“Sure, I will remain here today. I will call Mom later and tell her about it,” she said as all three of them stood and started walking out of the room, planning to resume their random conversation outside.

…….

Having spent the day with his mother, he returned to Silverstone fully reinvigorated. While it made no difference to his motivation, as he always operated at a very high level when it came to motorsports, it was still a good feeling to have. He went through the motions as if he had experienced it a hundred times, which he had, but for single-seaters, it was only his third time ever.

The team was now already used to not having Fatih in the car for the entire day, as it happened every time they had him on the track, either through a crash or a call from headquarters. But today it was going to be different since it was going to be the race simulation weekend, to see the drivers’ pace when they were allowed to fight one another on the track to compete for the finish. For starters, it was the free practice where all three drivers would do it as if they were in the real world.

Fatih, who returned from the dressing room, was finally fully ready. He greeted the mechanics and thanked them for their hard work as he put on his helmet and got into the car ahead of the other two drivers, who were still in the dressing room. With no need to wait for them, he was immediately given a thumbs-up. For the first time, he left the garage under his own power, heading to the end of the pit lane, where he had to stop as it was still a red light, with thirty seconds until the scheduled free practice time arrived.

As he waited for the light to turn green, his eyes remained fully focused, looking ahead and not at the light, as his peripheral vision was enough to collect that information. In his mind, he was coming up with all possible data he needed to collect in order to provide it to the setup engineer so that they could change the setup to allow for additional pace.

As a spec series designed to reduce costs and act as a training ground for those transitioning from karting to single-seaters, everything from the chassis and aero parts to the engine was standardized. The only exception to that was the driver and the setup, meaning those two things were the only difference-makers.

So, even that part was also incorporated into today’s race simulation, though they would receive additional assistance. It would largely be based on their suggestions, meaning if they made wrong setup suggestions due to misunderstanding something, the setup engineer and mechanics would only give suggestions with that suggestion as the base.

In the middle of his thoughts, the light turned green. As if he hadn’t been thinking about something else entirely, he immediately revved the engine, engaged the clutch, and left the pit lane.

He was finally entering the track where he had less than an hour of real-world practice experience, while everyone else he was going to be on the track with had at least ten times more. But he wasn’t in the least worried about it, as he was fully focused on making the most of the situation and planned to see if his disassembly of the car was going to give him an additional advantage over the other two.