XI NLS
Mediation Segment
General
Information
Semi-Final Round
10 August 2025
RED FLAGGED
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1
By Tejas Chhura
www.adrboardnlsiu.com
Franz Hermann, a driver for the team AMG-Bulls, is widely considered to be one of the best drivers
in the sport of Formula One (“F1”). Having made his debut in 2016, Franz immediately rose to
popularity and won 5 consecutive drivers world championships titles, placing him amongst some of
the greatest of all times in the sport. However, his aggressive driving style, often put him at odds with
the Apex Federation (the “TAF”) the governing body of the sport. One of the most important
responsibilities of the TAF is the appointment of stewards for each race, whom in turn are responsible
to ensure that any racing done is fair and hand out penalties/make calls regarding how the race
proceeds. Although technically independent from the TAF, the stewards are widely perceived as being
answerable to the TAF, a perception that has only fuelled public suspicion. Owing to Franz’s
particularly aggressive/hard driving style, they have often been at odds with the TAF and has often
publicly criticised some of their decisions.
Early last year, Franz was approached by the head of a famous production house, seeking to make a
movie on the sport and seeking Franz’s help in co-producing the movie, given his extensive
experience in the sport. Franz had agreed to the same, and was an active participant in the entire
process, including script writing, plot brainstorming, production and marketing. The movie, titled
“Drive to Disclaim” was recently released and has been an incredible success, not just with existing
F1 fans, but also with people who have not previously watched the sport. As a result, there has been a
sharp rise in the number of people tuning in to watch races, buy merchandise, etc, and Franz, being
the face of the movie and an integral part of the same, has risen even higher in popularity.
However, one entity which was not happy with the movie was the TAF. During the movie, the TAF
was portrayed as a corrupt body that was heavily biased towards one particular driver, and would
often exert pressure on stewards to act in a certain way to benefit them. To make matters worse,
Franz, during one of the promotional events for the movie, had said that although the movie was
fictional, he had tried to “keep the dynamics as close to reality as possible.” When asked if this
included the manner in which the TAF had been portrayed in the movie, Franz simply laughed and
said he had no comments.
Drafted by Tejas Chhura 2
As the 2025 season is ongoing, Franz is locked in a heated battle to defend his title of worlds driver
champion. This heat reached it’s peak in Monza, where the stewards handed Franz a penalty for
certain events that had transpired during the race. Franz was very vocal about how he felt this penalty
was unfair and made snide remarks about how the stewards and the TAF should focus on racing and
not on creating drama. As a result of this, a large amount of hate was directed towards the TAF,
alleging that they were letting their hatred of Franz to make unfair decisions and put Franz’s
championship bid in crisis. This escalated to the point where the TAF had to put out numerous public
statements condemning the harassment. Further, this public pressure has also caused numerous
sponsors and benefactors of the TAF to pull out, citing declining public image and trust in the
organisation. The TAF, blaming Franz directly for inciting his hate, suspended him from the
remainder of the season citing that they had acted in a manner that disparages the sport.
Franz, being outraged by this decision has moved to the Court of Arbitration for Sports, and
proceedings are underway. However, during this time, Franz has also invited the TAF to a mediation
session to see if they can sort out the issue amicably.
Drafted by Tejas Chhura 3
