"Next time, I’ll be the one winning, but congrats for now," Lando said as he and the third-place finisher, Alessio Lorandi, joined Fatih on the top step of the podium for a photo.
"Thanks, and I look forward to that," Fatih said, wiping his alcohol-free, champagne-covered face before placing his hands on the shoulders of the other two podium finishers, ready for the photo.
"Oh, I just remembered I’m moving to the KF category next year, so it looks like that’s going to be impossible," Lando said as they stepped off the podium, each of them carrying their trophies and medals. He then asked, "Is this your last competition this year?"
"No, there is still the WSK Final Cup in 7 Laghi, so we still have one more competition where we can face off. Other than that, we might have to wait until single-seaters for you to keep your promise," Fatih said, teasing Lando. They had become as friendly as two fierce competitors could be.
They considered themselves friends, but that was as far as it went for now. They had only spent a total of a week with one another, and that was in a highly competitive and stressful environment, giving them little time to socialize and get closer.
"You say that as if it’s set in stone that you’ll move to single-seaters," Lando said, reminding Fatih that only a small percentage of karters make the jump from karting to single-seaters.
"I’m confident that you and I will both move to single-seaters. We can make a bet on it if you want," Fatih replied, waving to Burak and Lando’s coach as they approached.
"No need, I think the same. I just wanted to remind you of the difficulty. Then I’ll see you there, and maybe you’ll be the one getting used to seeing my back," Lando said, feeling competitive despite knowing that he had been completely overshadowed this weekend.
Fortunately for his pride, he wasn’t the only one on the receiving end of Fatih’s domination, which helped spread the pain and shame among all the drivers. But despite that, it still didn’t feel good to be a second behind when using the same karts, with everything being equal other than setup.
Upon seeing Fatih’s pace during the free practice sessions, Lando had requested to try Fatih’s setup to see if he could unlock a similar pace or even outperform him. Fatih agreed, but after trying it, Lando ended up abandoning it and returning to the one the team had optimized for him, never bringing up the topic again.
His own words to the team were that the setup was so on a knife’s edge that it didn’t give him the opportunity to push to its maximum potential if you weren’t sensitive enough to make live adjustments for each corner. The moment you missed the performance window, you would either go off the track or lose too much time for comfort. He knew it was the fastest setup, but after all, it’s better to drive a slower setup well than to be unable to handle a faster one.
"See you there then," Fatih said as he handed his trophy to Burak, splitting with Lando, who left with his coach.
Burak escorted him to the bathrooms to clean up and change clothes before he rejoined his mother and grandma to return to the hotel. Upon arrival, they enjoyed a dinner and a small celebration before resting early, as they each had different but busy days tomorrow.
When Monday came, Fatih left with his grandmother, starting his journey back to England in preparation for the start of his school year, where he would be missing the first day. Rümeysa and Burak remained behind for meetings with all the teams and organizations that had requested a conversation with her regarding Fatih.
"There are many academies with a different approach, but if he were to join us, we would ensure that he has enough time to mature before we progress him along the ladder and not rush him. Talents like him need to be given enough time to digest each category, or you might risk him being over-promoted, resulting in poor performance due to being placed in a category that he is not mature enough to handle," Luca Baldisserri, the head of the Ferrari Driver Academy, said, giving his pitch for why Fatih should join them.
Although he knew that the Ferrari name alone should be enough, unlike those who had the Ferrari arrogance, he liked to argue on merits and benefits without depending on the name alone.
"What sort of investment is your side ready to provide for Fatih if he were to join you?" Rümeysa, who was silently listening to the pitch, finally asked.
Upon hearing the question, Luca paused for a moment. He knew this question was one of many problems with the Ferrari Driver Academy compared to others.
"At the moment, we are capable of promising a limited amount, and Fatih would need to find external sponsorship or some family backing, but worry not, we can help him in finding sponsors. Although that sounds bad, this model allows us to operate as development partners rather than patrons, meaning the driver’s opinion on placement and participation in competitions is held quite high, unlike in academies that fully fund a driver’s career, allowing very little freedom of choice. We will also be providing technical support, training, and brand association that should make things easier for Fatih in motorsports-related matters.
Unlike other academies that might fully fund him from the start, we use this style to reduce the pressure to perform immediately and allow for drivers to maintain a stable mentality even if they make mistakes or don’t perform to the expected standards. We will not abandon him due to a short period of poor performance, unlike those who fully fund their drivers and need to see their investment deliver on expectations. However, if his performance continues to improve, we can promise that we will move to fully funding his career in the near future."
Even as he was saying it, he knew that this offer was unlikely to convince them if someone else matched or exceeded it. This operational style of the FDA was the reason they had very few members, who either joined to use their prestige and legitimize themselves, like Lance Stroll, or due to loyalty to Ferrari for young Italian drivers, or because it was the best option they had.
Although he fought for changes from the board, they still held the belief that when Ferrari calls, no one would have the confidence to decline, and in return, they saw no reason to change their strategy.
"Thank you for your answer. We will go through the offer and get back to you with a response as soon as we come to a decision," Rümeysa said after a small back-and-forth, bringing an end to the meeting.
"We will be expecting a positive response," Luca said, shaking hands with both Rümeysa and Burak. But inside, he could feel it was a fifty-fifty chance at best, so long as someone else didn’t come with a better offer. Having seen Helmut Marko on the track, he knew those chances were decreasing with each meeting she was scheduled to have.