Formula 1: The GOAT - Chapter 302: Race Weekend | Saturday | Qualifying Shenanigans II

Having given one another a twelve-second gap, Fatih arrives and starts his qualifying push lap on his second lap of the qualifying session, pushing for maximum pace going into turn one, showing his experience as he carries very high speed and lets the car go wide as he exits turn two.

From the rear, we can already see Dennis Hauger entering the start-finish straight, and we can say with confidence that Jack Doohan is within the same gap, meaning they are all targeting staggered qualifying laps.

Will Double R Racing copy this system and be influenced by it, or will they keep to their own operation plan? That is a matter for later, as Fatih starts sector two, having set a purple sector one lap time and is on pace to do the same for sector two based on his mini-sector pace.

……..

As Justin commentated on Fatih’s lap, somewhere else, someone was watching it happen in real-time.

“…..” Helmut watched the qualifying lap. Fatih was on the final turn for sector three when the feed changed from an outside camera to the one mounted on the car, showing Fatih’s steering inputs. Helmut immediately focused on Fatih’s hand, as the final corner, Clearways, is a wide, high-speed right-hander, meaning the left hand is the one doing most of the turning work.

But Fatih’s left hand was lifted, hovering above the steering wheel, as he used his right hand to handle most of the force input into the turn. This was something remarkable to do at high speed while turning a car without power steering, but he still made it look smooth, as if he were using both hands.

Helmut couldn’t help but smile at it, as it showed Fatih was a resilient, strong individual who wasn’t someone who would give up easily when he still could do something, once again reinforcing his belief that he had made the right decision.

……..

“PAINTING THE ENTIRE STRIP PURPLE, FATIH GOES TO THE TOP OF THE TABLE WITH A TRACK LAP RECORD, BEATING THE PREVIOUS BEST BY AN F4 CAR BY MORE THAN FIVE-TENTHS! HE SETS A TIME OF 1:23.957, MORE THAN A SECOND FASTER THAN THE FASTEST LAP TIME HE SET IN THE PRACTICE SESSION! WHERE DID THIS LAP TIME COME FROM?!

AND OOOOOH, HE IS SLOWING DOWN FOR A COOL-DOWN LAP! THIS IS THE FIRST TIME HE IS DOING THAT!” Justin shouted once Fatih went through the start-finish line, and the time showed. He immediately looked at the lap times from the previous sessions to compare, catching himself by surprise as he wondered where that lap had even come from.

“I BELIEVE THE COOL-DOWN LAP SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT THIS LAP TIME HE IS EXTRACTING FROM THE CAR! HE IS NOT IN MANAGING MODE AND IS PUSHING THOSE TIRES TO THE LIMIT AND NEEDS TO COOL THEM OR RISK HAVING THEM DESTROYED!

HE IS NOT DRIVING AT THE PACE HE PREVIOUSLY USED TO ALLOW FOR THE TIRES TO DEGRADE GRACEFULLY IN TANDEM WITH FUEL EXPENDITURE! SO WE CAN SAY THIS IS THE FIRST TIME HE IS PUSHING THE CAR BEYOND HIS ADAPTATION MODE!” Brad took over with nearly the same excitement, as for the first time, they were seeing Fatih with all limits removed.

But before they could even relax, the feed that was chasing another driver on the Cooper Straight, showing Fatih on his cool-down lap entering the long straight, changed to another camera. Immediately, something interesting happened.

“OOOOH! FATIH IS SLIPSTREAMING SULEIMAN ON THE LONG STRAIGHT! HE IS NOT LIMITED TO TEAMMATES ALONE! IT LOOKS LIKE HE IS PLANNING TO PUSH ALL DRIVERS THAT ARE NOT FROM DOUBLE R RACING TO MAKE SURE TO KEEP HIMSELF AND JEWISS AS FAR APART AS POSSIBLE!” Justin, who was taking a breather, couldn’t even do that due to the events that were happening in front of them.

“I HAD WONDERED WHAT HE WAS GOING TO DO, AS HE NEEDS JEWISS AS FAR BEHIND AS POSSIBLE, BUT HE ONLY HAD THREE VARIABLES! NOW HE IS DOING IT FOR OTHER CARS, INCREASING THE CHANCE OF THAT HAPPENING BY ACTIVELY BEING A PART OF IT! AND IT IS SOMETHING THAT ONLY TEAM ARDEN CAN DO! AS DOUBLE R RACING DOING IT WILL BE NOTHING BUT A HARMFUL ACTION! A STRATEGIC MOVE THAT WILL…” But just as he was about to continue with his exciting commentary, he was forced to pause for a moment as a radio message from Team Arden to one of their drivers was played.

{Fatih is slipstreaming other drivers. Do it at your convenience and discretion.}

{He is doing what? Okay, I will try it,} Hauger was the first to respond.

{It is dangerous,} Doohan responded differently.

“Now this is a surprise for the session, as it seems like this was a decision Fatih made on his own without consulting the team. They are now rushing to react to it by also mobilizing the other drivers to do the same, as they seem to agree with the intent behind the idea,” Brad sounded excited at the development.

“This session has just started, and things are getting even more interesting! Suleiman, who had received a slipstream from Fatih, is about to encounter Hauger on the start-finish straight, and Hauger is now aware of his position. SULEIMAN EXITS THE CORNER INTO THE SLIPSTREAM OF HAUGER AS HE BARRELS DOWN THE START-FINISH LINE, AND HE MOVES TO SECOND POSITION ON THE TIMING BOARD, BEATING THE FASTEST LAP FATIH HAD SET IN THE SECOND PRACTICE SESSION BUT STILL MORE THAN EIGHT-TENTHS BEHIND FATIH’S CURRENT LAP!

BUT WE ARE SEEING IN REAL TIME THIS NEW TACTIC WORK, AS DOOHAN IS NOW MOVING OUT OF THE WAY FOR LUCCA ALLEN, WHOM HE HAD SLIPSTREAMED ON THE SHORT COOPER STRAIGHT!

WOOOW, THEY ARE ACTIVELY DOING IT ONE AFTER ANOTHER, AND THERE IS NOTHING JEWISS AND HIS TEAM CAN DO, AS EVERYONE ELSE IS BENEFITING FROM IT AND ARE NOW ACTIVELY POSITIONING THEMSELVES TO EXTRACT THE MAXIMUM FROM IT!” Justin said as the radio communications between the teams and drivers started updating them on the development, telling them how far they were from a Team Arden car and that they should be ready to receive a slipstream, so they shouldn’t be surprised, but position themselves for maximum benefit.

In real time, they were watching the plans of different teams adapting due to the actions of a single driver, which his team then followed in reaction to accommodate.

……..

Helmut, on the other hand, was fully glued to the screen with a wide smile on his face as he watched the situation unfolding in real time, feeling the thrill of the actions and planning Fatih had come up with.