Formula 1: The GOAT

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It is 10 in the morning, and it looks like there is a hole in the atmosphere. The rain has been falling since after morning practice as expected, but the intensity of it is more than what was expected. The updated weather situation for today showed potential for more rainfall during the day, and the track is now fully wet.

All of the grip that had seeped on to the track during the previous sessions has now all been washed away as the drivers are now in the pit lane, waiting for the green flag before they enter the track and start the qualifying practice, with the fastest lap determining grid positions for the heats," Gianni said, starting his commentary minutes before the KF-Junior Group A qualifying session.

"I expected the rain to be a very tactically divisive part of this competition, and it looks like those who gambled on a wet weather setup will be the biggest beneficiaries for the qualifier and the heats. For those who went for a dry setup, they are in for a very difficult day. With qualifying practice now starting, we have officially entered parc fermé conditions, and setup changes are officially not allowed, barring a few minimal changes like tires, which are allowed for safety reasons, and a few more things.

Now let's see what these young drivers have in store for us," Martina said as finally the green flag was waved and drivers on wet tires entered the track, weaving right and left to put as much heat as possible into the tires from the start to bring them into the operating window, which was made to be achieved very easily for wet tires to reduce the risk of sliding and losing control. That would mean they would be disadvantaged all the way through the weekend, as they risked starting from the rear of the grid if they were unable to set a lap time in this session.

......

Fatih looked calm as the staring contest between him and Ricky went on for a few minutes since the Group A karts entered the track, and neither of them seemed to have any intention of looking away.

"What is the problem?" Steve asked Ricky to deliberately cause him to break this petty fight between him and Fatih.

"I asked him if he regrets making the decision to keep his setup and not go with a neutral one, and he said no, so I was waiting for him to finish and give an additional explanation as to why not," Ricky said, giving a summary to Steve, who had just returned to the tent after watching Lando enter the track.

"But sir, why are you focused on such petty things?" Steve asked when he saw the small upward lift of Ricky's mouth, revealing that he was taking this as a learning moment for Fatih instead of actually enjoying the situation being against Fatih. After all, he was a driver driving under their team's name, so he always wanted him to perform well because of that, but also because of the potential he had shown during the various tests.

"I was trying to use this moment to show him the importance of taking experience into account when making decisions for situations like these, but he seems to think that there is still hope for him to salvage the situation."

"Yes, I believe that. Plus, I haven't even driven a single session under these conditions, so coming to a conclusion before that is unfair, to be honest. And the bet is for the whole weekend, not just a single session," Fatih said, his face also showing that he was enjoying this moment because the higher the tension rose and the lower the expectations fell, the more rewarding he would feel if he delivered against all of them.

"Haaa…" Ricky exhaled before he said, "Start spending this time bringing your mentality up to pace before you go on the track, and be prepared to have a difficult few reconnaissance laps. But don't worry, we will do our best to reduce as much damage as possible."

"Copy that," Fatih said, collecting his helmet and heading to the pit lane, planning not to return to the tent until after the qualifying session was over, spending the time before that watching how the drivers adapted to the track.

As he walked out, he walked past Burak, who was returning to the tent after final kart checkups.

"Where are you going? You are not up for the track for about half an hour," Burak asked as he turned around to walk with him.

"To watch the qualifier…" Fatih answered and explained the situation while they continued walking.

......…

"...coming from the final corner, Giuliano Alesi gets on the power as early as he could without causing a wheel spin, and as he finishes his lap, HE MOVES TO POLE POSITION! AND THERE IS NO ONE TO CHALLENGE HIM IN THIS GROUP, as he was the last one to start his attempt before the clock hit zero, and the session comes to an end with him in the lead, followed by Alexander Vartanyan, Tommaso Mosca, Lando Norris, and Artem Petrov, completing the current top five standings of the qualifying session," Gianni commentated excitedly as the qualifying session came to an end and the drivers started returning to the pit lane.

"But with no more rain expected within this hour, the track will only improve faster and faster, and we can expect if the second and third group drivers have the same pace as Group A, they will put forward a better drive than the ones Group A had to put on the wet track," Martina said as she looked forward to the level of improvement that was going to be shown by the next groups.

"The difference won't be big, but it should be enough to allow a good driver to take the overall pole and carry that advantage throughout the heats. And I, for one, can't wait to see how the new drivers, including Fatih, who had shown us consistent performance, are going to deliver," Gianni said when the camera on the starting straight zoomed in to show Fatih watching the track from the other side of the pit lane with his helmet in his hand as he conversed with his coach beside him.

......…

"Let's go and get ready," Burak said, tapping Fatih, before they started walking to their karts, as there were now only five minutes on the clock before the Group B qualifying was complete and they were to be allowed to enter the track to start their session.

Upon arriving at their agreed-upon locations, he put on his balaclava and helmet before checking if everything was fine and boarding his kart, momentarily closing his eyes to feel the kart through his other senses.

In a few minutes, the final inspections took place as the inspectors made sure the reported setup was what the karts were running and no changes were made to it. If discovered to have tampered with it, they would be immediately disqualified, but no one wanted to take that gamble. Within just a few minutes, the inspection was completed, and the track was green-flagged as the Group B session was already completed, and they had already returned to the pit lane.

"There are no ballasts this time, so in the first lap, you might have to adapt to the more power under you. Go ahead and show us the pace you have, and good luck," an RFM mechanic said to Fatih, tapping him on his back before he pushed him to start the kart.

Raising a thumbs-up to the mechanic, he placed his foot on the power and joined the track, using the silence he was feeling to focus fully on how the track was feeling and trying to correlate it to which phase the track was in from his wet track practice he had done in the simulation for the whole week.

Since the track condition changed constantly depending on the amount of water on it, Fatih had practiced different levels of wetness to be ready for any of them. In just a few corners, he managed to match the current track condition to a practice he had already run in the simulation, and a smile graced his face as he started putting moderate heat into the tires, slowly bringing them into the operating window while making sure the warming was gradual and didn't gather too much heat, or else he would lose some performance.

"From our experience, Fatih has a habit of going for a push lap starting from his second lap once he joins the track. Let's see if he keeps that tradition, as he now has a very nice gap in front of him, allowing him to have a clean run if he decides to go for it and… He gets on the power on exit in a slower and gradual manner, but his intentions are very clear in his driving. He has kept to his tradition and is now on a qualifying lap, but the conditions are different from yesterday's dry track.

Although two more sessions have been run ahead, the track still maintains its wetness, albeit at a reduced level. He keeps his driving style into turn 1, but the rear is on the verge of stepping out, but he catches it with a flick of the wrist before he loses more time. Through the sweeping left-hander, he is dancing on the limit as he brings the kart beneath him alive with constant minor corrections, keeping the same vigilance throughout the following corners…" Gianni commentated excitedly as Fatih, on the track, looked to be in full-focus push mode, depending on his instincts only, as he most certainly didn't have any experience on the track in its current condition, but he still managed to keep it on the track.

"Now into the tight chicane, this is where most drivers back off, but Fatih doesn't, as he throws the kart in, trusting the front-end grip. But the rear shows intentions of betraying him, but he counter-steers mid-apex and powers out with a spray of water trailing behind. That dry setup is punishing him heavily, but he is making it work somehow. This is a very good drive for the young driver…"

The crowd now focused on him, as he was the only one pushing on the second lap, making it quite easy to attract attention as they watched him finish sector two with a very good pace.

"And coming out of the final corner, once again avoiding wheelspin out of the final hairpin, keeping the highest speed I have seen across the three qualifying sessions as he drags the kart across the line, and what overall position is he in… P10! Wow, he managed to gain as much time as possible in his dry setup, which should have been a nightmare to control in these conditions, but he has managed it." Gianni comentated, making his excitement obvious to all.

However his co commentator Martina followed by saying "But it is going to be very difficult to keep that position, as there are a few in full wet setup in his group as well, and if they show as much pace as he did, he is going to have to deliver another magical lap because at the moment, he is more than a second off pace from the leading driver who delivered the lap in the second session in full wet setup. But now let's return our attention to Max, his fellow teammate, who, on his third lap on the track, has decided to go for a push lap. Will he match Fatih, or will he outpace him due to his medium setup? This drive will give us answers to all of those questions, and I, for one, can't wait to see what it is…"