Formula 1: The GOAT

{Gap to Simmons?} Fatih asked as he wasted time trying to hold up Jewiss in turn one.

{Four seconds,} James answered, sounding calm, but anyone who saw him would have seen him shaking from anxiety, worried that Fatih might have pushed more than he could handle. The moment he received the answer, he deemed the gap to P2 was enough, and he immediately started pushing in the middle of turn one. The time for games was over, and he was now back to pushing hard.

…..

Jewiss, on the other hand, was not feeling calm at all.

{IS HE CRAZY OR SOMETHING?! WHAT THE FUCK IS HE DOING?!} he shouted into the radio as he now started chasing Fatih, who had accelerated away.

{It is in our favor, as he has lost two positions and there is a four-second gap. So keep your head down and keep up with him,} his race engineer said, trying to calm him down and prevent him from making a mistake.

…….

“He is now back on the chase! He takes turn two, matching his fastest time coming out of the hairpin! He sets himself up for turn three, increasing his pace, reducing the gap to Simmons by a second through the turn! He doesn’t need to warm up to get back to pace, as he instantly activates it!

But only two sectors are remaining in the final lap for the race to end! This now looks like he chewed off more than he could handle! He shaves half a second as he enters the long straight, gets back on the power earlier as he drives up the rising elevation! His throttle modulation is perfect as he maintains grip!

His confidence on the throttle gains him another five-tenths as he approaches the end of the straight! He is now two seconds behind Simmons, AND HE IS NOW PLANNING TO WASTE HIS TIME AS HE MOVED ON THE OUTSIDE LINE AT THE END OF THE STRAIGHT! SIMMONS, WITH LESS CONFIDENCE INTO THE TURN, REMAINING ON THE INSIDE LINE, IS GETTING INTRODUCED TO FATIH’S PRESENCE IN HIS REAR-VIEW MIRROR!

HE TRIES TO GO WIDE ON THE CORNER EXIT, BUT FATIH, BACK ON POWER EARLIER, MOVES TO THE INSIDE, USING HIS TRACK POSITION ON THE GRIPPY SIDE! THEY ARE NOW SIDE-BY-SIDE ON THE SHORT STRAIGHT TO TURN SIX!

FATIH IS NOW ON THE INSIDE LINE, BRAKES LATER, AND HE MOVES TO P2, LEAVING ONLY HOGGARD, WHO IS TWO SECONDS AHEAD OF HIM AND IS NOW PUSHING TO KEEP HIS RACE WIN!

THROUGH TURN SEVEN, HOGGARD REMAINS AHEAD AS FATIH REDUCES THE GAP TO ONE SECOND! AND HE DOES THE SAME THROUGH TURN EIGHT! HE IS NOW IN HOGGARD’S SLIPSTREAM AS THEY HEAD INTO THE FINAL CORNER OF THE FINAL LAP!

THIS IS IT! THERE ARE NO MORE LAPS FOR HIM TO BE CONSERVATIVE! IT IS A LIVE-OR-DIE MOMENT INTO THE FINAL CORNER, AND BOTH OF THEM KNOW IT! SO WHAT WILL BOTH OF THEM DO TO COME OUT ON TOP?!

FATIH IS MAKING A MOVE, TRYING TO TAKE THE INSIDE LINE, BUT HOGGARD REACTS AND COVERS THE INSIDE AND STARTS BRAKING! FATIH IS FORCED TO THE OUTSIDE! HE IS CARRYING MORE SPEED INTO THE CORNER!”

The moment Hoggard moved to cover the inside, Fatih was forced to the outside. Because of that move, he couldn’t brake in his usual position, so he braked with just enough force to not lock the tires, loading the fronts before turning the car, slingshotting into the turn.

He went ahead of Hoggard by an entire axle length before the rears oversteered at that high speed, which he immediately and instinctively counter-steered, recovering the car that had slid for five meters before he regained control and turned it back in the right direction.

“OOOOOH MY GOD, HE OVERSTEERS, AND HE MANAGES TO CATCH IT! AND HE IS BACK IN THE LEAD AS HE DRIVES ON THE FLATTED TIRES ON THE START-FINISH STRAIGHT! HOGGARD, WHO WAS FORCED TO BRAKE TO AVOID CRASHING INTO FATIH, AND WITH BETTER TIRES, IS STILL CLOSE AND MOVES TO THE OUTSIDE AS FATIH COVERS THE INSIDE AND THE SHORTEST TRACK LENGTH!

AND NOW THEY ARE SIDE-TO-SIDE, DRAG RACING ONE ANOTHER AS THEY CROSS THE START-FINISH LINE!” Justin paused for a moment as the two cars crossed the line way too close to be sure who had won without using the timing strip.

His and every viewer’s eyes moved to the timing tower before he said, “BY FIVE-THOUSANDTHS OF A SECOND (0.005), IT IS FATIH YILDIRIM WHO TAKES THE WIN OF THE RACE! BUT IT IS NOT OVER YET, AS JEWISS IS NOW APPROACHING THE FINAL CORNER, HAVING CLOSED THE GAP TO SIMMONS! IS IT ENOUGH FOR HIM TO MAKE A MOVE?!

HE HAS LED THE CHAMPIONSHIP FOR THE ENTIRE SEASON, AND IT WOULD CRUSH HIM TO LOSE IT ON THE LAST MILE! BUT SIMMONS IS NOT IN THE TITLE FIGHT AND DOESN’T CARE AS HE MOVES TO COVER THE INSIDE LINE AND COMES OUT OF THE CORNER AHEAD!

HE DID HIS BEST, BUT IT WASN’T ENOUGH, AS HE FINISHED IN P4, BRINGING THEM EQUAL ON POINTS! BUT IT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT NEEDS THE RACE DIRECTOR TO MAKE A DECISION, AS FATIH YILDIRIM WINS IT BY DEFAULT THROUGH HAVING MORE WINS THAN JEWISS!

HE HAS DONE THE IMPOSSIBLE, THE IMPROBABLE! HE WINS THROUGH THE SHEER CONSISTENCY HE HAS SHOWN SINCE HIS RETURN FROM THE 12 RACE BAN AT THE START OF THE SEASON!

IT HAS PAID OFF AS HE WINS HIS F4 TITLE, DESPITE A ZERO-POINT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HIM AND JEWISS!”

…..

{YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! WE WON IT! WE WON IT! WE WON IT!} James shouted on the radio to both celebrate and inform him that he had won the title, as he needed to wait until Jewiss crossed the start-finish line to be sure.

{YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!} Fatih, who had been silent while doing a cooldown lap ahead of turn one, shouted back into the radio, celebrating his title win. This had been the hardest title chase ever due to the different circumstances, but it made it even more exciting to win it in the end, with equal points at that.

…….

His entire family and Seraphina’s family were drowned out by the cheering of the crowd when they realized that Fatih had done the impossible. The cheering continued and could be heard throughout the track for the entire three minutes it took Fatih to go around the track on his post-race cooldown lap.

But when he arrived at the start-finish straight, the cheering that was still high rose once again as he drove past the pit lane entry, heading into the start-finish straight.

Everyone immediately understood what was about to happen as they watched Fatih’s pace slowing to a crawl as he crossed the start-finish line while moving to the right side of the track.

A moment later, the engine revs increased before the car shot forward and sideways, starting to throw water vapor into the air as it did donuts. Amidst the water vapor he was throwing into the air, the car became slightly less visible.

And the crowd, who cheered at the top of their lungs; the event photographers, who were on the start-finish pit wall, who loved it as they took photos like there was no tomorrow; the TV director loved it as it created good TV for the now more than three million live viewers; and the documentary director loved it as it looked like a perfect ending for this season’s docuseries.