Formula 1: The GOAT

{YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!} Fatih shouted on the radio as he swerved closer to the pit wall on the track, passing the mechanics who were squeezing themselves into the narrow openings of the guardrails as they pumped their fists, celebrating his win with him.

{ONE OF ONE, FIRST OF MANYYYYYYYYY!} James, his race engineer, shouted back, his voice expressing exactly what he was feeling.

For the past four weeks, his work had been very limited due to Fatih’s absence from the track, while the other race engineers made progress with their drivers, who went on to win at least one race each and consistently finished in points-rewarding positions, accumulating points while Fatih remained at zero and at the bottom of the championship standings.

The race engineer position for Fatih, which had been the source of envy for the others, immediately turned into something the other engineers were grateful they were not assigned. However, James persevered and remained patient, and his patience was rewarded from the moment Fatih returned, so he didn’t bother to hold back his emotions and spilled them on the radio as both he and Fatih vented their feelings from the entire ban duration in this celebration.

{YES!} Fatih accepted James’s words that it was just one of many, since that was his intention as well. This satisfied him, as it seemed James had the same expectations as he did. He followed it by saying, {I would like to thank everyone who worked hard to make sure the car was ready and worked as expected, and everyone who had a hand in this win. MOOOOOM, I WOOOOON!} he said, being very emotional on the final part as he finally vented a portion of his feelings.

His shouting for his mother’s name made everyone who heard it laugh because of the way he did it. The childish voice was in stark contrast to the performance and maturity he had shown on the track, making it look as if the driver and the one celebrating were two completely different people.

{Everyone here is cheering for you. Let’s keep this performance for the remaining two races,} James responded.

{Yes,} Fatih said just as he came to a stop in front of the number board in the pit lane, before getting out while pumping his fist to the mechanics who came to congratulate him. He got off and rushed towards them before jumping with enough force that he went over the barrier into a wall of mechanics who caught him while cheering. He was soon joined by his teammate Dennis, who finished second and came to congratulate him with a hug, which he reciprocated as they were more than just strangers on the path to becoming friends.

………

“The rookies this year are quite good, which makes for a very interesting Rookie Cup,” Brad said as he watched the feed of the two drivers from the same team hugging one another.

“Yeah, two rookies on a single podium is rare when you have veterans in their second year,” Justin acknowledged. In the past, this would have been a newsworthy occasion, but this was the fourth time it had happened from just a single team, where all of their four rookies had won a race.

“Can you break down what the Rookie Cup is?” Brad said, planning to give the viewers who came just for Fatih a refresher.

“Sure, I can do that. The Rookie Cup is a separate championship for rookie drivers who have had fewer than three official race entries before the start of the season. It is a very important part of F4 because in every race, the highest-finishing rookie is awarded a trophy along with the podium finishers, and if they are on the podium, they receive two trophies.

As for point allocations, they are awarded differently and not just based on the position they finished. If the highest-finishing rookie finishes fifth, let’s say, he would still receive 25 points in his Rookie Cup standings but normal points in the overall championship.”

“So Fatih must have already made quite a stride in this single race, and with two more coming.”

“Yes, at the moment he has already accumulated 28 points: 25 points for the race win, 2 points for the fastest lap in qualifying, and one point for the fastest lap in Race one. The 28 points are enough to move him from dead last, where he had been, to P10 ahead of Hampus Ericsson in the overall championship, but it still leaves him last in the Rookie Cup, which just shows how much he has dominated the start of this weekend,” Justin said as he broke down how a single race performance affected the championship standings.

“Do you see anyone challenging him in the remaining two races?”

“In race two, that is where he is going to face a challenge because he will be starting in the middle of the grid in P8 and will have to carve through the field. But other than that, I don’t see anything but force majeure or a mistake causing him to not win the third race.”

“Where will he be in the standings if he takes wins in the remaining two races?”

“If he wins race two alone, he will get the 25 points but also earn a point for every position he gained from the reversed grid start. If you include the fastest laps in the two races, then he will have a total of 87 points, which should move him up a few positions in the championship. And what a return that would be,” Justin said, his tone clear that he was looking forward to that possibility, as it would be history in the making because no one had yet to take the maximum points possible from a single weekend.

“Now let’s see the interview with the race winner, Fatih Yıldırım…”

………

“You won a lot in karting. Is the feeling any different now that you are in single-seaters and winning your first race?”

“I never get tired of the feeling, and it is even more so when I win after returning from a twelve-race ban. That made it even sweeter.”

His answer caught the reporter off guard, as he directly went to the main point of what the interview was most likely going to be about, which the reporter had expected to be awkward since drivers usually don’t like talking about things like that.

“Talking about that, what did you do during that period?” The reporter composed himself and immediately came up with a related question since Fatih had already opened the avenue for him to do it easily.

“I competed in a karting race, but for the remainder of the time, I focused on preparing for my return, and it worked quite well for me,” he answered with a light heart and tone, which was actually how he was feeling, as a huge portion of his negative feelings had been swept away. Only a small portion remained, but he was sure most of it would be gone if the entire weekend went well.

“You will be starting in P8 tomorrow in race two. What are your plans and expectations?”

“I always race for the win, no matter the situation I’m in on the track, and that is the same target I have for tomorrow’s races.”

The interview continued for two more minutes before he could finally go and prepare for the upcoming podium ceremony.

……..

Fatih cheerfully sang the Turkish national anthem that was being blasted from the speakers, the first time it was being played in British F4. The Turkish national anthem was followed by the British anthem for team Arden, which was the constructor winner for the race with two drivers on the podium. Trophies were then handed out, with Fatih receiving two of them: one as the race winner and one as the rookie winner.

James, Fatih’s race engineer, also received the constructor’s trophy, having been chosen to represent the team. The ceremony continued rapidly before the drivers were finally allowed to leave the podium.

……….

“Come in,” Fatih said once he was done changing out of the clothes that were doused in rose water from the podium celebration.

“Do you have some time? I have a few questions about the race,” Dennis said, poking his head in, his face filled with expectation.

“Sure, but I have to leave in half an hour because I have a scheduled interview,” Fatih said while looking at the clock on the wall. As a Red Bull Academy driver, he had media commitments he needed to attend, which, due to the ban, he had chosen to push until his return, so a few of them had accumulated.

“Good, that is enough,” Dennis said as he entered the small room with a tablet in hand, which had a video already loaded onto it. “I have been wondering about your braking approach in turn…” Dennis finally started asking his rapid-fire questions while showing Fatih’s video, wanting to know his reasoning for taking the corner in that specific way, and if the way he was doing it was detrimental to his lap times. He made it very clear that he was not planning on stagnating and had even gone so far as to ask Fatih, a rival and teammate, for help in understanding where he was losing time and where he could gain more.