Formula 1: The GOAT

As if to prove his commercial capabilities to Red Bull on top of his talent, his interview once again went viral. It clearly showed that he was a magnet for controversy, and a confident one at that. His words seemed to have prickled some individuals more than others, as their responses were not at all tame. But since it was limited to online, Fatih’s team decided to just leave it be while keeping an eye on it.

They continued operating as usual, using their highlight rights to create another compelling weekend highlight video, focusing on Fatih but still encompassing the entire weekend as a whole, with a narrative and everything. It once again attracted a large number of viewers who were there for the race recap and highlights instead of the noise on the internet.

All of this was nothing but good news for the documentary team that had been stuck with him all the time, as they decided to have another meeting to come up with a new plan due to how the situation was evolving.

“Even with what we currently have, we already have enough materials to fill the entire season with dense entertainment, but from the look of it, he doesn’t seem like he is going to stop causing big incidents,” one of the writers for his docuseries said as she looked through the stack of documents that was in front of everyone in the room.

It contained all of the possible storylines and how they could develop the docuseries. They had content starting all the way from his training for the transition, which in itself was packed. They had recorded all three drivers, meaning they could shape it into a three-person docuseries for that part and introduce the other two characters who would continue making appearances for the remainder of the series.

Because they were teammates, they could be used as context characters instead of depending too much on reporters and outside people, like they had to do during his karting season. Back then, there was no one on his team competing on equal machinery who could articulate what it felt like to drive the same car as Fatih.

“I think we keep all of the possible storylines open until the end because, depending on how the season ends, we need to be able to change the story without reshoots to fit the finale,” another writer said as he pointed at the projected page on the wall, which had some bullet points. One of them was about Fatih’s goal of chasing the title.

“You believe he is going to win the title?” the producer asked, looking at the writer who had suggested the idea. It made sense to ask that question because it was going to increase the cost if they were to go with this route. This was the reason why, in the middle of a season, they usually chose two or three of the most promising trajectories and focused on them instead of continuing to sink money into all possible stories.

Additionally, as people who have been in this business for a long time know, intentions and outcomes are very different things. For someone who has the board stacked against him, where even a single lapse would risk him losing the chance for the title, it meant the odds were heavily against him winning. Had it been a normal driver, and knowing how uncontrollable the variables in motorsports were, they would have most likely leaned in a direction where there was no chance of him winning. But on the other end of this was Fatih, so that changed the possible outcome completely, and the writer showed it clearly.

“Yes, I believe he has a realistic chance of winning the title,” he said with confidence.

“I hope that is true as well because it is going to make it the most interesting docuseries of him we have ever created. This one has everything: starting from the basics in a new motorsport he has no experience in, a good start, only for it to be met with a problem, being banned for forty percent of the season, essentially killing his chances, and the unbelievable comeback.

I can’t even imagine how big it is going to be if he wins. But even if he doesn’t win and just comes close, failing at the last moment, that in itself is going to be enough as well,” the producer said as he imagined all of those options and possibilities, and he couldn’t help but get lost in the daydream.

When he realized what he had been doing, the producer coughed for a moment, trying to recollect himself before he said, “I will ask for a budget increase, so let’s focus on all possible routes we can take.” He officially set the direction they would be taking, which also meant that in the end, they would be throwing away nearly eighty percent of the footage and storylines they would be recording starting from now.

But they knew that as a result, they were going to make the best possible docuseries of the year, even when the first season of Drive to Survive was set to air within the same time window and on the same platform, Netflix. This made it clear just how high their expectations were for Fatih and his performance.

….

“I don’t know what I expected from him this season, but it was not this level of a beatdown. For the seventh time in a row, he takes the checkered flag seven seconds ahead of everyone else, and it is FATIH YILDIRIM ON THE CHASE, CLAWING BACK POINTS FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP!”

“Make that eight…”

“He keeps setting more and more historical records as he goes nine for nine…”

“I expected him to falter for a moment and fail from the pressure, but there is no sign of that, only dominance, and for the tenth time in a row, it is FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATIH YILDIRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIM!”

“For the eleventh…”

“Twelfth time! He has officially won the same number of races as he missed due to the suspension and has dominated for four weeks straight! IS THERE NO ONE WHO CAN CHALLENGE HIM IN THE REMAINING TWO WEEKENDS?

DOES THAT MEAN THEY ARE GOING TO WATCH HIM, ALLOW HIM, LET HIM, SNATCH, STEAL, TAKE, PRY THE TITLE FROM ALL OF THEM WHEN HE HAD A FORTY PERCENT DISADVANTAGE? IS THIS HIS LEVEL? IS THIS THEIR LEVEL?” Justin found himself emphasizing and taunting the other drivers and teams, highlighting how much of a disadvantage Fatih was coming from and how they were letting him bulldoze through them without anyone being able to do anything, with only two rounds and six races to go.

And those words weren’t heard by just the spectators, but by the drivers themselves, the teams, their fans, and anyone who was interested in motorsports who found themselves absorbed in this small series due to the interesting storyline that was being written by a single driver.