Di negara saya, Tanzania, ada pemilu, dan sebuah protes pun meletup. Akibatnya, internet pun dilindas—mati total.
"Nyaris saja, tapi ya, ya. Fatih Yıldırım kembali membawa pulang gelanggang emasnya. Setelah delapan belas laga, dia menang di tujuh belas, dan di laga yang tak pernah dia menangkan, dia tetap berada di podium. Itulah yang dia tunjukkan. Dan meskipun terdengar mudah karena dia selalu start dari posisi terdepan, sesungguhnya justru sebaliknya. Ia harus bangkit dari dasar berkali-kali karena situasi yang tak bisa dikendalikan..." Suara narator yang sama mengalir sebagai angka-angka tak berhenti-hentinya masih menempel di layar sebelum akhirnya pudar menjadi gelap.
Ketika gambar kembali muncul, seorang reporter sedang berbicara tentang musim yang baru saja Fatih lewati. Tapi sebelum ia bisa melanjutkan, *Klik*, spasi ditekan, video terjeda.
"Apa pendapatmu tentang rekrutan berikutnya kami?" Helmut Marko bertanya kepada Christian Horner yang duduk di sisi lawannya.
"Cukup tinggi, tapi dari mana kamu mendapatkan video ini? Aku tidak ingat pernah mendengar apa pun tentang hal ini," tanya Horner sambil tetap memandang layar.
"Ah, masih dalam proses akhir penyuntingan dan akan dirilis oleh theconquerors.com dalam sebulan dua lagi sebagai serial dokumenter. Mereka mengirimkan ini kepadaku untuk dikontrol lebih dulu dan untuk melihat apakah saya punya saran. Setidaknya, itu alasannya secara resmi. Tapi paling mungkin disengaja dikirim untuk meningkatkan posisinya dalam negosiasi," kata Helmut sambil tertawa kecil sambil menggaruk alis kirinya.
"Apakah ini perusahaan yang sama yang mengirim timnya untuk mengikuti Verstappen sepanjang tahun, merekamnya untuk sebuah dokumenter?" tanya Horner.
"Ya, dan tampaknya mereka nyelip uangnya dengan kabar debutnya."
"Menurut Jos, dia merasa dirugikan. Ternyata kontraknya empat tahun, artinya mereka akan mengawasinya selama empat tahun ke depan, merekam setidaknya empat dokumenter tahunan tentangnya. Dan berbeda dengan Fatih yang dimulai dari karting hingga single-seater, ini dimulai dari karting hingga F1, dengan musim depan berjanji menampilkan debutnya di Formula 1," kata Helmut sambil tertawa kecil tiap kali teringat keluhan Jos.
"Ini iklan bagus bagi kami, jadi saya tidak melihat ada masalah. Kita bahkan bisa memberikan akses ke Milton Keynes. Itu akan membuka mata yang paling banyak untuk brand kami, bukan hanya Verstappen," cadar Horner.
"Saya akan memeriksakannya dan melihat apakah mereka terbuka, karena kepentuhan mereka juga adalah agar profilnya naik seiring performanya di lintasan," setuju Helmut dengan santai.
"Bagaimana dengan saran lain, kali ini tentang dokumenter Fatih, untuk ditambahkan di akhir episode terakhir?" kata Christian setelah sejenak berpikir.
"Silakan," kata Helmut sambil membuka ruang baginya.
"Bagaimana jika, tepat ketika episode terakhir hampir selesai, layar gelap sejenak, lalu pindah ke adegan sebuah kursi kosong dengan langkah kaki mendekat. Perlahan terungkap bahwa itu adalah Fatih yang memasuki adegan dan duduk, lengkap dengan seragam Red Bull dan topi. Lalu ia berkata, 'Namaku adalah Fatih Yıldırım, seorang pengemudi Akademi Red Bull.' Lalu, bam, layar pun padam, dan dokumenter pun berakhir," kata Horner sambil tersenyum lebar, dengan jelas memberi sinyal agar Helmut segera menyelesaikan kesepakatan.
"Apa yang harus dimasukkan dalam penawaran? Saya cukup yakin akademi lainnya juga sedang mengincarpunya," tanya Horner.
"Tidak ada yang akan mempertimbangkan penawaran di bawah apa yang ditawarkan kepada keluarga Verstappen," kata Helmut, menunjukkan dilema yang sedang ia hadapi.
Meskipun Fatih memiliki bakat yang layak mendapatkan perlakuan setinggi itu, usianya masih membuatnya harus menghabiskan bertahun-tahun lagi di dunia karting sebelum benar-benar beralih ke single-seater. Artinya, setiap tahun, ada peluang ia kehilangan motivasinya, bahkan mungkin gagal ketika ia beralih. Inilah kekhawatiran yang sama ia miliki tentang Verstagen—itulah sebabnya ia menunda penawarannya untuk bergabung dengan Red Bull Academy hingga setelahnya tampil sangat baik pada kompetisi single-seater 2014.
"Tapi bukan berarti FIA sudah membahas untuk menetapkan usia minimum bagi F1 menjadi delapan belas? Saya yakin mereka sudah mendengar rumor-rumor itu," tanya Horner sambil penasaran.
"Mereka tahu apa yang ingin mereka dapatkan—kemungkinan besar jaminan tempat di F1 secepatnya secara hukum, artinya jika usia minimum ditetapkan delapan belas, saat ia genap berapapun, ia akan langsung mendapatkan seat untuk debut di Formula 1."
"Jika kekhawatiranmu adalah ia akan jatuh, kita bisa membuat kondisi yang sangat ketat dan tegas yang harus dipenuhi agar klausa itu bisa dipicu. Jika ia memenuhi kriteria, tidak ada bahaya kami menepati kesepakatannya. Jika ia tidak memenuhi kriteria tapi tetap tampil bagus, kita bisa mempertahankannya sampai ada seat terbuka dan memberinya kesempatan," saran Horner setelah sejenak berpikir.
"Berapa tahun kontrak sebaiknya kita berikan jika ia memicu semua kondisi dan debut? Dua tahun seperti Verstappen, atau lebih lama, karena kita harus mendanai ia untuk jangka waktu yang lebih panjang, tidak seperti Verstappen," tanya Helmut. Meskipun keputusan akhir ada di tangannya, ia ingin mendengar apa yang disarankan Horner dan melihat apakah ia setuju.
"Mereka kemungkinan ingin jaminan seat dalam jangka waktu itu. Kita bisa membuatnya dua tahun dengan tambahan satu, dengan opsi perpanjangan di tangan kita. Jika ia tampil bagus, kita bisa memperpanjang. Jika tidak, kita bisa menaruhnya di Toro Rosso atau membelinyya keluar dari kontraknya. Tapi bukan ini bagian dari kesepakatan yang biasanya dinegosiasikan ketika dia hampir debut, supaya kesepakatan cocok dengan situasi kami pada saat itu," tanya Horner.
"Ya, tapi jika ia memicu semua kondisinya dan debut, ia akan memiliki posisi yang sangat kuat untuk bernegosiasi. Termasuk istilah-istril ini sekarang memungkinkan kita untuk menyeimbangkan situasi di masa depan dan menghindari banyak masalah yang mungkin timbul. Itu sudut pandang saya. Jika ia terus tampil seperti ini, setiap tim lain akan berusaha merekrutnya, yang semakin meningkatkan posisinya," kata Horner.
"Hmm... bagaimana jika kita menambahkan biaya keluar sebesar empat puluh juta dolar yang dua arah ke kontrak ini? Ini akan membuat kami ter-compensasi atas dukungan dana kami sepanjang perjalanan ke single-seater. Ini hanya akan terpicu jika ia memenuhi semua kriteria kami untuk debut langsung tapi ingin pindah ke tim lain, yang berarti tim baru harus membayar jumlah itu. Jika kita membuatnya satu arah, mereka akan mengeluh. Jadi kita buat dua arah: jika kami gagal memberikan seat saat ia memenuhi semua kriteria, kami juga harus membayar jumlah yang sama. Meskipun kita tidak mungkin berada di sisi yang membayar, hal ini menunjukkan betapa kami benar-benar terlibat dalamnya," cadar Horner.
(There was an election in my country, Tanzania, and a protest erupted so they shut down the internet)
"Participating for the first time, and at the age of eleven, he continues the winning streak of his international career and takes home his third international title as the WSK Champions Cup goes to Fatih Yıldırım."
"Going four for four, Fatih had secured his title from the third race, but he made sure to take home his fourth win, claiming the WSK Super Masters Series, making it his second title of the year and fourth overall in his international career."
"He makes it a hat-trick of WSK titles as he comes home winning three races and finishing on the podium for the race he didn’t win, taking home the WSK Euro Series with a total domination of this competition."
"Albeit difficult after missing an entire round of the four-round competition, he still comes home winning the remaining three races and takes home his inaugural CIK-FIA title. It is the European Championship, going Turkish for the first time in history as Fatih Yıldırım wins it on his first attempt. What a year of dominance for the young driver who dominated in a category that has drivers who are all older than him by at least a year."
"It seems he is intent on making it a double for the FIA competition. Having won the European Championship, he comes home to take the World Championship that he had won in the first of the two rounds last year when he participated as a wildcard entry. This time, he officially wins it, proving to everyone that he deserves to be in this category despite his young age. On the mouth of everyone, there is a single name: Fatih Yıldırım, who shines as the brightest star in his category, overshadowing everyone else."
"FATIH YILDIRIM. Remember the name, remember the performance, remember him, as he is the future of motorsport, and should he continue delivering at this level, he will be one of the most talented prospects ever to bless the motorsports field. And the year is his. He can say that with confidence, having already taken home a total of five prestigious international titles: the WSK Champions Cup, the WSK Super Masters Series, the WSK Euro Series, the CIK-FIA European Championship, and the CIK-FIA World Championship. As he comes out of the final corner of the final lap, he places his second and final hand on the WSK Final Cup, making it his sixth cup in his sixth competition this year. If there is a competition he entered, he walked out of it with the title. What a dominant year for the kid."
Those commentators’ sounds were heard from the speakers of a laptop as different images of podiums shuffled rapidly, with the unchanging thing being Fatih standing at the center of it, as the drivers on the number two and three podium positions kept shuffling.
"Out of eighteen races, he won seventeen of them and finished on the podium for the other one; that is the performance he delivered. And although it sounds like he won it easily, having started from the pole, it is quite the opposite, as he had to mount quite a few recoveries due to circumstances out of his control..." The same voice came as a background as the numbers remained on the screen before it faded to black. When the image returned, it was a reporter speaking about the season Fatih had, but before he could continue, *Click*, a space bar was touched, pausing the video.
"What do you think about our next recruit?" Helmut Marko asked Christian Horner, who sat on the other side of the table.
"Quite highly, but where did you get the video? I don’t remember hearing about any of it," Horner asked, his eyes still on the screen.
"Ah, it is still undergoing final edits and will be released by theconquerors.com in about a month or two as a docuseries. They sent this to me to check ahead of time and for them to see if I have any suggestions. At least, that is their official reason, but it was most likely deliberately sent to increase his negotiating leverage," Helmut said, chuckling a bit as he scratched his left eyebrow.
"Is it the same company that has had a team of people following Verstappen throughout the year, recording him for some docuseries?" Horner asked.
"Yes, and it seems like they have hit the jackpot with the news of his debut."
"According to Jos, it seems like he got the short end of the deal. As it turns out, it was a four-year deal, meaning they are going to be with him for the next four years, shooting at least four yearly docuseries about him. And unlike Fatih’s, theirs starts with karting to single-seaters, with the next season promising to show his F1 debut," Helmut said, chuckling whenever he remembered Jos complaining about it.
"It is a good advertisement for us, so I don’t see any problem with it. We can even provide them with access to Milton Keynes. That should allow the most eyes possible on our brand, not just Verstappen alone," Horner suggested.
"I will check with them and see if they are receptive to it, as it is to their benefit that his profile rises as well as he performs on the track," Helmut easily agreed.
"How about another suggestion, but this time about Fatih’s docuseries, to be added to the final episode?" Christian said after a moment of contemplation.
"Go on," Helmut said, opening the stage for Horner.
"How about, just as the final episode comes to an end, the screen goes black for a moment before moving to a scene showing an empty chair with footsteps getting closer. It’s revealed that it was Fatih who enters the scene and sits down, fully kitted out in a Red Bull racing suit and a cap, before he says, ’My name is Fatih Yıldırım, a Red Bull Academy driver.’ Then, bam, the screen goes dark as the docuseries comes to an end," Horner said with a smile on his face, openly hinting for Helmut to go ahead and finish the deal already.
"What should the offer include? I’m pretty sure other academies are most likely also eyeing him," Christian asked, following up.
"Any deal lower than what was offered to the Verstappens, they are not going to even consider," Helmut said, showing the dilemma he currently found himself in.
Although Fatih showed the talent to warrant such treatment, his age meant that he was still going to spend a few years in karting before fully moving to single-seaters. This meant that with each coming year, there was a chance of him losing his edge, and he might even flop when he moved to single-seaters. It was the same worry he had about Verstappen; that’s why he delayed the offer for him to join the Red Bull Academy until after he performed very well during the 2014 single-seater competitions he participated in.
"But isn’t the FIA already discussing setting the minimum age for F1 to eighteen? I’m sure they have already heard the rumors," Horner asked, wondering what their requests were.
"They know what they will want will most likely be a guarantee of an F1 seat at the earliest legally allowed moment, meaning if the minimum is set to eighteen, then the moment he turns eighteen, he’ll have a seat to debut in Formula 1."
"If your worry is about him falling off, we can just make very robust and stringent conditions that he needs to meet in order for that clause to be triggered. If he meets them, then there is no harm in us keeping our side of the deal, and if he doesn’t meet them but still performs well, we can keep him until a seat is open and give him a chance," Horner suggested after a short period of thought.
"How many years should the contract give us if he triggers all of the conditions and debuts? Two years, like Verstappen, or longer, since we will have to pay for him for a longer period, unlike Verstappen?" Helmut asked. Although the final decision lay with him, he wanted to hear what Horner suggested and see if he agreed or disagreed with it.
"They will most likely want a guaranteed seat within those years. We can keep it to two with a plus one, with the extension on our side. If he performs well, we can extend; if he doesn’t, we can leave him in Toro Rosso or buy him out of his contract. But aren’t those parts of the deal usually left to be negotiated once he is about to debut, in order for the agreement to fit the situation we will be in by then?"
"Yes, but if he triggers all of those clauses and makes his debut, he will have a very strong negotiating position. Including these terms now allows us to balance that future situation and avoid a lot of potential problems. That’s the angle I’m taking. If he keeps performing like this, every other team will be trying to poach him, which only increases his negotiating power."
"Hmm... then how about adding a two-sided, forty-million-dollar exit fee to the contract? It would compensate us for our monetary support all the way to single-seaters. It would be triggered only if he meets all of our instant debut criteria but wants to leave for another team, requiring that new team to pay the amount. If we make it one-sided, they’ll complain. So we make it reciprocal: if we fail to provide him a seat the moment he meets all the criteria, we will have to pay the same amount as well. Though we are not likely to be on the paying side, it shows just how invested we are in him," Horner suggested.
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