Formula 1: The GOAT

A week later.

Toto Wolff was in the middle of going through the season’s schedule, with still a few weeks remaining before it started. It was only a few minutes before his noon break when someone knocked on his door with urgency.

”Come in,” he said without looking up.

”Sir, there is a problem,” Gwen said as he entered and placed a tablet in front of Toto without waiting for an answer.

”What could it be that makes you...” just as he was about to try to calm him down, the words got stuck in his throat as his brain comprehended what he was seeing on the tablet.

[EXCLUSIVE: Fatih Reportedly Handed ”Guaranteed” 2021 F1 Race Seat in AlphaTauri]

He immediately started scrolling to read the article, his heart dropping with just the title. When he was done reading, he finally managed to breathe out the deep breath he was holding. It was just a rumor about the situation and not a press announcement of the contract being signed. However, he knew there was no smoke without fire, so he immediately asked, ”How are our discussions with them going?”

”There has been no response from their side since we reached out. We suspect there is an exclusivity window between the two sides as they discuss and finalize their contracts,” Gwen answered.

”So you are just going to leave things at that and make us lose him?” Toto asked in a very displeased tone.

”We have sent someone to pay a physical visit to Elena, his manager, to ascertain their stance on the matter, gauge the timeframe of the exclusivity window, and determine what the penalty is, if there is one,” Gwen answered, not wanting a misunderstanding to happen.

”I want an answer by the end of the day, so make sure you have it by then,” Toto said as he removed his phone from his pocket, planning to call a friend of his at the FIA Contract Recognition Board (CRB) to see if there had been any filings from Red Bull’s side. To his relief, that hadn’t happened yet, which meant even if the contract was signed, they still had a brief window before the filing for it to be fully acknowledged, so they could do something about it before that.

...

”How are things going?” Helmut asked the lawyer who visited to update him on the developments.

”Things are moving forward fast. We should have a final draft within a week or two at most. Also, as per the MOU agreement, they have informed us that Mercedes has been trying to reach them to open negotiations, and these are the conditions they are offering,” the lawyer added as he handed Helmut a copy of the email.

”Looks like the article has spooked them,” Helmut said with a hearty laugh. As much as he enjoyed racing, he also enjoyed messing with his competitors, and Mercedes was at the top of the list of people he enjoyed annoying.

He then added as the lawyer took notes, ”Tell them we will meet all of the conditions the other side offers, so long as they maintain their silence, and also finish everything within three days.”

”Sir, doing that will require us to concede on many points,” the lawyer said, pausing his writing, reminding him what accomplishing that in that timeframe meant.

”We already sorted out all of the important details, so it is not a problem if we concede on the small ones remaining. So make it happen, or we risk Mercedes presenting an offer that we can’t match,” Helmut said. Although he enjoyed messing with Mercedes, he knew they could be pushed to make drastic decisions if they learned what was happening, just for the sake of not missing out on another Verstappen-level talent.

”I will accelerate things, sir,” the lawyer said with a sigh, not planning to argue about it.

”Good,” he said as the lawyer finished his reporting and left the room. Helmut immediately called for the head of PR for the Red Bull Academy, having him prepare a press release to go out immediately, the moment the ink was on the paper.

......

Five days later.

Fatih could be seen looking out of the window, the grass moving rapidly in his vision as he held his breath every time a tree passed, until the next one arrived. He was doing everything he could to distract his mind so as not to jump up and down or be disappointed if things didn’t turn out as he expected.

But no matter how hard he tried, he kept failing, as he knew with confidence that unless a historic situation happened, they were going to be putting ink to paper in a few hours, and the conditions within it were very favorable, something rarely given by a team like Red Bull, which made it very clear just how much they wanted to make sure he remained with them.

......

”NEIN! NEIN! NEIN! NEIN! NEIN! NEIN!” Those words could be heard from Toto Wolff’s bathroom, waking up Susie Wolff, who was sleeping peacefully.

”Toto, what’s wrong?” she asked in German, rushing to the bathroom, wondering what had happened. She found him holding his phone, which had an article open, as he beat the sink with the towel in his hand.

She walked over and reached for the phone, wanting to understand what was wrong, and the moment she saw the article, she immediately understood why his mood was like that.

[RED BULL GMBH SECURES RACING PRODIGY FATIH WITH GUARANTEED FUTURE FORMULA 1 COCKPIT]

SALZBURG, AUSTRIA – February 28, 2020 – Red Bull GmbH has officially concluded a landmark, long-term driver services agreement with teenage racing phenomenon Fatih, locking down one of the most highly sought-after talents in global motorsport to its overarching corporate driver pool.

Mercedes had officially lost Fatih Yıldırım, and with the announcement now public, the decision was set in stone. Red Bull, on the other hand, now needed to come up with a solution for who would be driving for them for the first four rounds before Fatih could get into the cockpit at the Monaco Grand Prix, where he would finally be fully eligible.