'Siapa yang mengizinkan mobil Fatih di lapangan?'
Suara itu terdengar di belakang telinga James saat ia menyaksikan umpan feed dari mobil Fatih sambil sedang melakukan push lap lagi.
'Merespons jadwal saja. Apakah ada sesuatu yang kami lewatkan?'
Kata James sambil melepas headphone, dengan ekspresi wajah yang seolah bertanya apa sih masalahnya dan kenapa pertanyaan sembarangan seperti itu ditanyakan.
'Apakah kamu mencoba mendiskualifikasi dia dari kompetisi seluruhnya? Dia hanya punya praktik lisensi...'
Namun sebelum pria itu menyelesaikan kalimatnya, ia tertangkis dan menoleh melihat apakah ada orang lain yang mendengar. Untungnya tak ada siapa-siapa kecuali orang-orang di dinding pit saja.
'Tell him to abort the lap and call him to the pit lane immediately,'
kata pria itu sambil menunjuk agar James segera mengikutinya ke garaJ tim.
James tidak bisa membenarkan lagi, karena pria yang memberi perintah itu adalah Direktur Olahraga timnya. Dari reaksinya, ia langsung menyadar bahwa situasinya tidak akan baik-baik saja. Secepatnya ia menghubungi radio dan memanggil, { BOXE, BOXE, BOXE. Abort segera dan BOX.}
{Konfirmasi,}
jawab Fatih yang pada saat itu tertarik hampir sampai pintu masuk pit ketika panggilan untuk ke box datang. Ia langsung membatalkan lap dan masuk ke pits dengan kecepatan tinggi sebelum mengerem dan menurunkan kecepatan hingga batas jalur pit hanya sejajar meter sebelum melewati garis.
James segera berjalan ke tempat mobil Fatih akan berhenti dan menunggu mobil untuk tiba, bersama mekanik-mekanik yang sudah bereaksi terhadap panggilan itu, sambil membawa fan pendingin dry ice. Fatih berhenti, dan beberapa saat kemudian, mobilnya diangkat dan ditarik ke dalam garaJ sebelum akhirnya ia turun.
'Apa yang terjadi?'
tanyanya begitu ia turun dari mobil.
'Tidak tahu, tapi direktur olahraga tim sedang menunggu kami di ruang rapat, dan tampaknya tidak akan baik-baik saja,'
kata James sambil menerima helm Fatih dan perangkat HANS-nya, lalu segera menaruhnya di sampingnya saat mereka bergegas ke ruang rapat, penasaran dengan situasinya.
.....
'Aku penasaran dia sedang ada masalah, karena dia sedang di lap yang sangat kompetitif dengan sektor satu berwarna ungu, tapi semuanya rusak ketika ia dipanggil ke kotak pit,'
kata Brad ketika feed beralih untuk menampilkan Fatih masuk ke jalur pit dengan kecepatan tinggi dalam slow motion, sambil rekaman radio memanggilnya ke pit diputar bersamaan.
'Mungkin ini situasi yang sangat berbahaya mengingat ini panggilan mendadak untuk membatalkan lap, jadi mungkin ada hubungannya dengan gearbox yang diganti kemarin?'
respon Justin.
'Aku berharap mereka bisa menyelesaikannya cepat sebelum sesi kualifikasi berakhir dan ia gagal melakukan lap lain, karena itu akan membuat akhir pekan balapnya menjadi mimpi buruk bagi setiap pembalap karena ia tidak akan pernah menyelesaikan sesi yang sebenarnya,'
tambah Brad, dan diskusi singkat terus berlanjut sebelum mereka beralih ke komentar sesi kualifikasi yang masih berlangsung sekaligus pembalap lain masih mencatatkan waktu mereka.
........
'Kenapa aku tidak diberi tahu lebih dulu? Apakah kamu tahu betapa melegakannya ini?'
tanya Fatih dalam kejutan atas betapa sederhana kesalahan itu bisa terjadi.
'Kayaknya hanya aku, manajermu, dan manajer tim yang tahu. Aku pikir manajer tim sudah memberi tahu kamu, dan kemungkinan besar dia juga. Karena dia tidak hadir hari ini dan aku datang terlambat, memang benar-benar tak ada cara untuk menghindari kesalahan ini. Ini adalah kesalahan dari pihak kami, aku minta maaf,'
kata Harry, Direktur Olahraga Arden Motorsports, dengan nada yang sangat meminta maaf. Ia menyadari ini adalah kesalahan besar yang bisa mendiskualifikasi seorang pembalap atau membuatnya tidak layak berkompetisi untuk seluruh tahun, dan itu bahkan bukanlah yang terburuk dari kemungkinan konsekuensinya.
'Tidak ingin kamu berpikir setidaknya aku seharusnya diberi tahu bahwa lisensinya adalah Lisensi Junior?'
tanya James, jantungnya berdebar kencang akibat betapa besarnya kesalahan itu.
'Usia minimum untuk berpartisipasi dalam kompetisi F4 menurut FIA adalah 15 tahun, dan Fatih belum mencapai usia itu, artinya ia tidak bisa diberikan lisensi Kelas C. Sebaliknya, ia diberikan Lisensi Junior yang juga bisa disebut lisensi uji coba, yang memungkinkan untuk mengikuti sesi latihan bebas tapi tidak secara resmi tercatat. Melakukan hal itu akan langsung mengakibatkan diskualifikasi dan larangan dua tahun dari mendapatkan poin superlisensi, dan baru saja mereka membiarkan ia berpartisipasi dalam sesi resmi tercatat dan memiliki waktu dicatat oleh sistem timing resmi.'
'.....'
Fatih tak berkata apa-apa, heran apakah Red Bull benar-benar serakah dalam tindakannya, karena mereka adalah yang bertanggung jawab atas komunikasi dan seluruh proses permohonan dan persetujuan lisensi. Namun akan menyeluruh untuk segalanya berjalan tanpa disadari oleh seseorang dan dibawa ke permuka karena ada banyak tahapan persetujuan. Melihat itu, ia langsung mempertimbangkan kemungkinan sabotase yang disengaja, tetapi segera menolaknya dan bertanya, 'Bagaimana tidak ada yang menyadarinya? Aku yakin ada banyak langkah di mana hal ini akan diketahui.'
'Betul juga, tapi cukup mudah lolos melewati tahap pencucian pada hari Jumat karena ini lisensi uji coba resmi. Tapi tes-tes ini tidak dilakukan setiap hari, dan untungnya kita yang menyadarinya dan bukan para penjaga, yang pasti akan menandai sesi kami dengan bendera hitam. Aku tidak ingin bayangkan kekacauan yang akan terjadi,'
kata Harry sambil menekan alisnya, menyadari meskipun mereka yang menemukan kesalahan ini, mereka masih perlu melaporkan segera agar mendapatkan keringanan hukuman yang tak terhindarkan.
'Saya akan melaporkan ke para penjaga segera. Kamu tetap di sini dan laporkan ke pemilik tim dan perbarui semua orang di tim. Kita perlu menyelesaikan ini secepatnya,'
kata Harry sambil berdiri dan langsung pergi menuju ruangan penjaga untuk melaporkan situasinya dan mengakui kesalahan, sambil sekaligus membayangkan semua masalah dan ujaran kotor yang akan ia dengar dari Red Bull dan para penjaga.
'Aku akan menelepon CEO,'
kata James sambil berdiri dan pergi untuk memperbarui pemilik tim.
'Aku akan menelepon ibu,'
kata Fatih sekaligus pergi untuk memperbarui sang ibu, sekaligus berharap situasinya bisa diselesaikan dengan mudah.
.....
'Saat komentator berbincang, situasi semakin merusak. Dalam beberapa menit, laporan sudah dikirim ke Motor Sports Association (MSA), TOSFED, dan Red Bull juga, dan masing-masing segera membuka investigasi mereka sendiri terhadap masalah ini. Sudah mulai kehilangan kendali.
Ibunda Fatih juga dalam kontak dengan manajernya dan tim yang sudah diperluas untuk dipahami situasinya dan mengurangi dampak negatifnya bagi Fatih sebesar-besarnya.'
"Who sent Fatih’s car on the track?" a voice was heard behind James’s ears as he watched Fatih’s onboard feed while he was in the middle of another push lap.
"We just followed the timetable. Is there something we missed?" James said as he removed his headphones, a look on his face obviously asking what the heck was the problem and why such a foolish question was being asked.
"Are you trying to have him disqualified from the competition entirely? He only has a practice lic...," but just as the man was about to finish what he was saying, he caught himself and looked around to see if anyone had heard them. Thankfully, no one other than those on the pit wall heard him.
"Tell him to abort the lap and call him to the pit lane immediately," the man added before pointing for James to immediately follow him to the team garage.
James couldn’t argue further, as the man who had given the order was the team’s Sporting Director. From his reaction, he knew immediately that the situation was not going to be good at all. He immediately got on the radio and called, { BOX, BOX, BOX. Abort immediately and BOX.}
{Confirm,} Fatih, who was just about to pass the pit entry by the time the call to pit came, responded as he aborted his lap and entered the pits at high speed before braking and reducing his speed to the pit lane limit just a meter before crossing the line.
James immediately walked to where Fatih’s car would come to a stop and waited for the car to arrive, along with the mechanics who had reacted to the call, carrying the dry ice cooling fans. Fatih came to a stop, and a few moments later, his car was raised and dragged into the garage before he finally got out.
"What is the problem?" he asked the moment he got out of the car.
"I don’t know, but the sporting director is waiting for us in the meeting room, and it doesn’t look good at all," James said as he received Fatih’s helmet and HANS device, which he immediately placed aside as they rushed to the meeting room, curious about the situation.
.....
"Oh, I wonder if he is having a problem, as he was on a very competitive lap with sector one being purple, but all of that was thrown away as he was called into the pit box," Brad said when the feed cut to show Fatih diving into the pit lane at high speed in slow motion, as the radio recording calling him to the pit lane replayed at the same time.
"It might be a very dangerous situation considering that it was an immediate call to abort the lap, so it maybe has something to do with the gearbox that was replaced yesterday?" Justin responded.
"I hope they solve it fast enough before the qualifying session ends and he fails to set another lap time, because that would make his weekend a nightmare for any driver since he will go to racing without ever fully completing an actual session at all," Brad added, and the back and forth on this topic continued for a short while before they moved on to commentating about the still ongoing qualifying session as other drivers were still setting their lap times.
........
"Why wasn’t I made aware of it ahead of time? And do you know how absurd this is?" Fatih asked in complete surprise at how such an obvious oversight could even happen.
"Looks like only me, your manager, and the team manager are the only ones who knew about it. I thought the team manager had already informed you, and most likely it is the same for him. Since he is not here today and I arrived late, there was really no chance to avoid it at all. It is an oversight from our side, I apologize," Harry, Arden Motorsports’ Sporting Director, said, sounding completely apologetic. He knew it was a very big oversight and a mistake big enough that it could disqualify a driver or have him ineligible for the competition for the entire year, and that wasn’t even the worst of the possible consequences.
"Don’t you think at least I should have been made aware that his license is a Junior License?" James asked, his heart pounding deeply due to how huge the mistake was.
The minimum age for participating in any F4 competition per the FIA was 15, and Fatih had not yet reached that age, meaning he couldn’t be given a grade C license. In return, he was given a Junior License, which could also be called a testing license, that allowed him to participate in free practice sessions but not officially timed ones. Doing that would immediately result in a disqualification and a two-year ban from earning superlicense points, and they had just had him participate in an officially timed session and have his time recorded by the official timing system.
"....." Fatih was speechless as he wondered if Red Bull was really this sloppy in their actions, as they were the ones who were responsible for the communications and the entire process of license application and approvals. But it was a stretch for everything to go without it being caught by a single person and brought to the table because there were many approval stages. Seeing that, he immediately considered deliberate sabotage, but he immediately dismissed it and asked, "How come no one caught it? I’m sure there are many steps where it would have been caught."
"That is true, but it would easily pass the scrutineering stage on Friday since it was an official testing license. But those tests don’t happen daily, and thank God we are the ones who caught on to it and not the stewards, who would have black-flagged your session. I don’t want to imagine the mess if that happened," Harry said as he pinched his brows, knowing that although they were the ones who caught it, they needed to report it immediately in order to have leniency in the punishment they would inevitably receive.
"I will go and report it to the stewards immediately. You stay put here and report it to the team owner and update everyone on the team. We need to sort it as fast as possible," Harry said as he stood from the chair and immediately left, heading to the stewards’ room to report the situation and confess, while at the same time imagining all of the problems and the earful he was going to hear from both Red Bull and the stewards.
"Let me go and call the CEO," James said as he stood and left to update the team owner about the situation.
"Let me call Mom," Fatih said as he too left to go and update his mother, while at the same time hoping the situation would be resolved easily.
.....
"And we have just received an update on Fatih’s situation: he has officially been disqualified for having an ineligible license to participate in competitive sessions, and the situation is currently under investigation for how he was allowed on the track without an eligible license," Brad said as he read from the message he had received on his phone.
"It looks like someone made a mistake and mischaracterized his test license as an official one, leading to a fourteen-year-old being allowed to enter the track. How do you think that happened?" Justin took over and expanded on it.
"I blame his driving for that. Would you even consider wondering if he has only a testing license if he is driving like that? And it is very lucky that it was discovered fast and was reported by the team itself, as it means there will be leniency. But this is going to cause quite a turmoil as the FIA will be investigating this situation individually," Brad said, pausing for a moment before he added, "Looks like I will be the one to speak in a Scottish accent, hahahahahahha," trying to brighten and make light of the situation, as he knew depending on how the public reacted, the FIA might give a harsher sentence than they would have usually given.
"As a result of this discovery, Fatih is only going to participate in free practice sessions until he is eligible to race after he turns 15 on the 16th of May, which means he will miss two race weekends and will only be eligible on the third race weekend. As a result, he will miss six races, which nearly reduces his chances of contending for the championship to almost none."
"I was really looking forward to practicing my Scottish accent, but it looks like the blessing has fallen upon you."
......
As the commentators talked about it, the situation kept escalating. Within a few minutes, the report had already been sent to the Motor Sports Association (MSA), TOSFED, and Red Bull as well, and each of them immediately opened their own inquiry into the matter. It was already getting out of hand.
Fatih’s mother was also in contact with his manager and her expanded team that was absorbed into the family office to try to understand the situation and reduce the downfall for Fatih as much as possible.
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