Formula 1: The GOAT

“Of course, the title.”

He said it so casually that it caught everyone watching, who knew his situation, completely off guard.

“The title?” the reporter asked, almost instinctively, as if he didn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Yes, the championship,” Fatih answered again, using a different word to make it clear.

“To state the obvious, you have received a penalty that kept you out for forty percent of the season. To be the devil’s advocate, doesn’t that sound arrogant?” the reporter asked, knowing that this interview was going to make the rounds in motorsport circles.

“If I win every race, take the fastest laps, get a point from pole positions, along with the eight points from starting eighth and winning the second race, then I can win the title with a very comfortable lead even if the current title leader finishes second every time,” he said confidently. He saw no reason to keep his desire and target hidden, even if it risked other drivers targeting him for his words if they interpreted it as him looking down on them.

“Does that mean you are confident you can achieve that?”

“Unless it’s force majeure, or incidents that I have no control over, I’m confident I can accomplish that.”

“…”

“…..” Amidst the silence from the reporter, who was used to receiving only basic answers, Fatih continued looking at him with an expression that said none of what he was saying was a joke, and that he meant every word.

After a few seconds of continued silence, the reporter finally asked the next question. “What do you think other drivers’ reactions are going to be when they hear your answer?”

“We are here to fight for the championship, and I believe every driver here believes they are the best, because anyone who doesn’t think that can’t make it in motorsports. If I believe that I’m the best driver, then I should have the confidence to say such things and have the confidence in my ability to back them up.

The same goes for other drivers, and if they take my words negatively, then that means they do not believe in themselves and think that there is truth behind my words. The title is theirs to lose; they don’t really have an excuse to use against me.

I have less on-track experience than everyone of them in F4, my engine is already used up, and even that has been replaced by one given by the technical delegation, so that too is not an excuse they can use.” As usual, he found himself going on a rambling spree.

The reporter, who had already exceeded the interview time limit for a single driver, let it go because Fatih was providing great material, and even the TV director didn’t say a word, letting it continue.

“But you have the backing of Red Bull and their entire infrastructure, like the simulator, which some of the self-financing drivers don’t have access to,” the reporter said, not wanting it to end.

“I can’t deny that,” Fatih said, pausing for a moment. He caught himself about to say that he hadn’t used the Red Bull simulator since the ban, but he realized that he had an advantage, and fully denying that would be hypocritical, so he didn’t. “But I can also say they have real competition experience in the F4 sea…,” Fatih said, but paused mid-sentence.

He didn’t have the energy to continue, as he realized that some of his rambling was just arrogance, born from all the advantages he had and was exploiting to the maximum. He was not going to stop using them, but to come out and say that he was under the same conditions as the rest of the drivers was just taking his opportunities for granted.

“Thank you for the questions,” Fatih said as he slowly walked away from the reporter with his head down, contemplating his behavior and wondering what had caused the situation to spiral.

Apollo watched silently as Fatih received water and a towel from Alex. They started walking together to where the team was waiting to celebrate with him, only for Fatih to just hug them silently while they cheered excitedly. He wasn’t planning on interfering at the moment, but instead let Fatih do the initial exploration himself. Interfering now would taint the self-actualization process and would reduce its impact.

……

Thinking that Fatih had just realized he was antagonizing the other drivers and decided to stop—or was perhaps worried about having broken some clause in his Red Bull contract—the reporter immediately dumped all the details of the conversation onto Dennis Hauger, who was next up for an interview.

“He said all of that?” Dennis asked in surprise as he tilted his head. The Fatih he knew was never one who would do that. The title being his target was understandable, but the rambling that followed was what surprised him.

“Yes, he did. You can rewatch the interview on YouTube.”

“I would like to defer answering until I have all of the context to avoid saying something due to some misunderstanding on my side,” Dennis said, wanting to see it for himself before saying anything more.

“Then what do you think of his title prospects?”

“It is a target for every driver on the grid, so him aiming for it is normal. As for whether it is achievable or not, that is for us to see for the rest of the season,” Dennis said, making his answer as short and neutral as possible, not wanting to put himself in an awkward situation. He was sure that Fatih had already caused a storm, and he didn’t want to be caught in it.

“How do you expect the other drivers will take his words?”

“I don’t know each driver, but I’m sure all of them will want to prove him wrong on the track, because that is where all conversations regarding these matters can be proven. Anything said off the track but unproven on it is just empty words,” Dennis said slowly, trying to think through his next words very carefully.

“So he should either back up his words on the track, or they were just empty bravado?”

“I didn’t say that,” he said immediately, the moment he understood what the reporter was insinuating, making sure his denial couldn’t be clipped out in an edit.

“Ah, thank you for clearing that up, and congratulations on your podium position. I hope to see you again after the final race,” the reporter said, making it clear he was only saying so because, by then, Dennis would have already watched the interview video and could no longer use wanting the full context as an excuse.

“Thank you,” Dennis said, not knowing whether to accept it in return for being on the podium or deny that hope, because that would mean he was not going to be on the podium for the final race.