Formula 1: The GOAT
Chapter 35: Race Weekend | Saturday | The Equalizer

Chapter 35: Race Weekend | Saturday | The Equalizer

[P3 - Selçuk A. - 01:21.102]

The time flashed on the main screen the moment Selçuk’s kart shot across the start-finish line.

"And there you have it! The top three are still separated by less than half a second, and as has been the case all session, Fatih remains at the top of the standings," the main commentator announced.

"The difference is becoming clearer with every lap," Zakir analyzed, his tone sharp and insightful. "Fatih is gaining all his time with his perfect throttle control, allowing him to carry speed through corners where the other two are forced to brake. If Jackson and Selçuk want to close that gap, they have two options: either find a way to gain more time in other sections of the track to compensate for the time lost in those braking zones, or they have to attempt what he is doing—which, as we saw with Selçuk earlier, is the far riskier of the two suggestions."

"And it seems, if they’ve heard you, the two chasers are now returning to the pitlane at the behest of their coaches!" the main commentator exclaimed as the screen cut from Fatih to an image of two coaches standing side-by-side at the pit entry, waving their drivers in. "I hope they’re receiving some crucial instructions, because it would be boring if they’ve withdrawn from the fight now."

The cameras followed them into the pitlane, showing the intense conversations between the drivers and their coaches. Jackson’s coach went as far as to pull out a laminated track map, pointing to specific corners and giving his young driver tips on lines and braking points.

This entire process took a full five minutes. By the time Jackson and Selçuk returned to the track, only eight minutes remained in the session. In their absence, Fatih had not been idle. He had put in two more blistering hot laps, each one faster than the last, bringing his best time to within less than a tenth of a second of the all-time track record.

When his rivals rejoined, they were visibly pushing harder, trying to implement their new instructions. Selçuk, driving with renewed aggression, managed to successfully replicate Fatih’s no-braking technique in some of the faster corners. However, his still-imperfect throttle control forced him to brake in other areas, preventing him from truly matching Fatih’s pace. Still, he managed to reclaim the P2 spot.

Jackson, meanwhile, was on the verge of a breakthrough. He too had attempted the no-brake driving style, but had entered a corner with too much speed, forcing him to brake late and heavily to avoid another crash. The resulting time loss put him on a slower lap than even his first one. But in that mistake, he had learned something crucial. He now understood the required entry speed, the precise level of throttle needed to maintain the kart on the edge through those corners. He was sure he could nail it on the next lap, but just as that realization dawned, the checkered flag was waved, bringing the session to an end. He returned to the pitlane slightly unhappy, but with the quiet satisfaction of knowing he was inching ever closer to matching Fatih. The final standings for the session were P1 Fatih, P2 Selçuk, and P3 Jackson.

........

"There’s only so much talent can do when there are very limited changes you can make to increase your advantage, especially when the karts are this close," Fatih said to Apollo as he completed his cool-down lap. He had realized that on a dry track, his raw talent advantage was being minimized by the limitations of the machinery.

In Bambino karting, setup changes were minimal. The only other areas to eke out an advantage were in having a brand-new chassis or a blueprinted engine with superior performance. But both of those were areas where top academies excelled. This year, all three of them were using brand-new chassis sponsored by Aslan. As for the engines, the academies were also on a level playing field. They would buy dozens of engines, test all of them, and then amalgamate the best-working parts from different units to create a single, optimized "beast" of an engine, all within the regulations. This meant all three of them were effectively equal when it came to engine power.

The only remaining differentiator was talent. And while the other two were talented, Fatih knew his was on another level. The problem was, there’s a limit to how much of a talent advantage you can exploit from a machine before you hit its performance ceiling. The Bambino kart had a very low talent threshold before a driver could extract its maximum potential. Fatih had already blown past that threshold, but since Jackson and Selçuk were talented enough to be on the verge of it themselves, they too could get the maximum out of the karts in these optimal, dry conditions. Unless it rained, where Fatih’s superior control gave him a distinct edge, the competition was going to be incredibly close all weekend. His only remaining advantage was his newly upgraded [Catlex (Excellent)], but even that was limited by how fast the kart could physically respond to his inputs.

"You should be thankful," Apollo answered, a look of amusement on his face. "That is the very reason the System bothered to give you a championship mission with rewards of that magnitude in the first place. If the talent threshold for this karting category were higher, your dominance would be assured, and you would have been earning pennies of SP for simple victories."

"Oh," Fatih said, a thought suddenly clicking into place. "Is that why I didn’t receive any ’First Official Race Win’ reward, or ’First Pole Position’ achievement, or things like that? I’ve been wondering why those were missing, since they’re the backbone of the reward systems in all the stories I’ve read." He had been so content with the massive SP multiplier from the last race that he hadn’t thought about it until later, when he started looking for other ways to increase his SP harvest.

Instead of responding verbally, Apollo simply pulled up the championship mission screen and highlighted a specific line of text for Fatih to see.

[Additional SP can be earned if you complete hidden milestones during the championship period.]

Fatih read the line carefully. A light bulb went on in his head. "So... I *will* be receiving all of those hidden milestone rewards, but only at the end of the entire season?"

"Yes," Apollo confirmed with a nod.

A slow, sly grin spread across Fatih’s face. "But what about the multiplier?" he asked, pulling up the [Recovery Drive Mission] prompt himself. He pointed to the specific wording: [A 5X SP multiplier for P1... on all System Points earned *this weekend*]. "So, those hidden milestone rewards should be included, right? Since I technically *earned* them during the weekend where the multiplier was active." He felt a surge of pride for having caught this loophole before the rewards were issued.

Apollo looked at Fatih for a long moment, a silent expression that clearly said, ’What in the world is this kid made of?’ before he finally spoke. "That... I do not know. But since the System worded it that way, it should most likely be included as well. However, as I am not the one who issued that mission, nor do I know all of the System’s deepest mechanics, you will have to wait for the rewards to see for yourself." He deftly pushed all potential problems back onto the mysterious System that had issued the mission.

"I hope so," Fatih said as he came to a stop in the pitlane, the last one to leave the track.

He immediately went through the post-session procedures before he and Burak collected the kart and returned it to the academy tent. After a quick debrief about the track conditions, he left to find his mother and grandmother, expecting to spend some quality time with them. Unfortunately, it looked like that would have to be postponed.

He found them not alone, but at the center of a large group. Three tables had been pushed together, and seated with his mother and grandmother were Jackson’s father, Selçuk’s parents, and a few other adults he didn’t recognize. All of them turned to look at him as he approached.

He instinctively turned around, checking to see if Jackson and Selçuk were also behind him, but he found himself completely alone. He was the sole focus of this impromptu summit. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then put on a polite smile and waved at his mother and grandmother as he walked over to hug them, preparing himself for whatever was to come.