Red Bull’s Frede Rasmussen has his sights on the F1 World Championship title, after taking the chequered flag in CoTA and leading the Driver Championship, which would be first title since 2017. We’re heading into Event 3, which is the final of the F1 Sim Racing World Championship 2023/2024.

As we head to the virtual tracks of Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Las Vegas, Lusail and Yas Marina, the pulses are racing and it’s all to play for with 5 races remaining in the series. Currently Frede Rasmussen leads the way in the Championship fight and Red Bull currently heads the Team Championship battle.

Could Mercedes’ Jarno Opmeer see a triumphant comeback to claim his 3rd title, after missing out to McLaren’s Lucas Blakeley’s 2022 Championship title? The flying Dutchman is no stranger to last minute surprises after his F1 Sim Racing World Championship British GP comeback displayed in Event 2. 

Could Frede Rasmussen’s first Red Bull crown come from the F1 Sim Racing World Championship 2023/24? He currently leads the Driver Championship with his 40 point lead, But Ferrari’s Bari Baroumand is currently 2nd place and looking to claim his first title. 

Alfie Butcher’s (Haas) win in what was only his 3rd race at Spielberg, Austria, was the quickest win achieved by a rookie driver since David Tonizza (Ferrari) won on his debut in 2019. Let’s get more quick facts!

• F. Rasmussen and J. Idowu (both Red Bull) are the only drivers to have scored points in every Round of this year’s Sim Racing World Championship.
• F. Rasmussen’s win in Round 7 at Austin, USA, was Red Bull’s 16th win in the F1 Sim Racing World Championship, bringing them level with Mercedes for the record of total race wins.
• Red Bull are 1 podium away from a record breaking 50th podium in the F1 Sim Racing World Championship.
• B. Leigh’s (KICK F1) podium at Austin, USA, secured his 500th point in the F1 Sim Racing World Championship. Only 2 other drivers have achieved the feat to date (F. Rasmussen and J. Opmeer).
• F. Rasmussen has taken pole position at Mexico City on all 3 occasions that the Championship has raced there. However, on all 3 occasions, J. Opmeer has ultimately won the race.
• This year will be the first time that the F1 Sim Racing World Championship has raced around the Las Vegas and Losail circuits.
• The Las Vegas Street Circuit is one of the longest tracks on the F1 Sim Racing World Championship calendar at 6.12km, second only to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
• Round 12 at Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi, is the longest race on the F1 Sim Racing World Championship calendar, at 161.07km.
• In 2 previous races at Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi, no driver has won from pole position, with both
• previous pole sitters having finished the race in 3rd position.

As the teams head to Stockholm, Sweden for another round of LAN events, which are the first LAN events since 2020 to conclude the Championship battle. The winner of the F1 Sim Racing World Championship 2023/24 will see their face becoming a selectable character in the F1 24 Official Video game, developed by Codemasters. Joining the likes of Brendon Leigh, David Tonizza, Jarno Opmeer and Lucas Blakeley.

Let’s check out the upcoming tracks for Event 3:

• Round 8 – Mexico City
• Round 9 – Sao Paulo
• Round 10 – Las Vegas
• Round 11 – Lusail 
• Round 12 – Yas Marina

But when does it all happen? We’ve got you covered.  

• 7th May 2024
  – 10am UTC – Qualifying for Mexico City & Sao Paulo
  – 3pm UTC – Race for Mexico City & Sao Paulo 
• 8th May 2024
  – 10am UTC – Qualifying for Las Vegas & Lusail
  – 3pm UTC – Race for Las Vegas & Lusail
• 9th May 2024
  – 12pm UTC – Qualifying for Yas Marina
  – 3pm UTC – Race for Yas Marina                               

Remember to watch the action on the official Formula 1 YouTube & Twitch and the Official F1 Sim Racing’s YouTube, Facebook and Twitch. 

It’s race day here in Stockholm, Sweden! We’re back and the virtual tracks are about to see some racing as the lights go green, today for Rounds 2 and 3! We see three days of action packed racing where we will see the top F1® Sim Racers take on Jeddah, Spielberg, Silverstone, Spa, Zandvoort and Austin! Set those reminders for 12:00pm CEST(UTC+2) for the Qualifying Show. Set those extra reminders for 5:00pm CEST (UTC+2) as the Main Show goes LIVE on air from the studio in Sweden, where all the on-track action is live.

Ariana Bravo will be presenting the show with Claire Cottingham reporting as the pit lane reporter, George Morgan and Haydon Gullis are our commentators for Event 2.

Today, we’ll see the following drivers for the 2nd and 3rd rounds of the F1® Sim Racing World Championship:

Here in Sweden, we’ve been getting the stage all ready and getting the teams and drivers all ready for the racing days ahead. The drivers have had their practice sessions today and they’ve setup their monitors, they’re itching to get in the Fanatec rigs, which have been setup to their specifications; and let their racing do the talking.

Let’s digest one some quick F1® Sim Racing facts to get us started!
• J. Opmeer (Mercedes) is on a two-race winning streak at Austin, USA, having won at the circuit in
2021 and 2022.
• B. Leigh (Alfa Romeo) has finished on the podium in 3 out of 4 races at the Circuit of the Americas.
• No driver has won at Austin, USA in the F1® Sim Racing World Championship from further back on the grid than 4th place, with 2 of the previous 4 winners starting from pole position.
• Lap 16 of the US Grand Prix at Austin will be the 1,250th lap in the F1® Sim Racing World Championship.
• This year will be the first time that the F1® Sim Racing World Championship has raced at the Las Vegas
Street Circuit.
• The Las Vegas Street Circuit is one of the longest tracks on the F1® Sim Racing World Championship
calendar at 6.12km, second only to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
• The Las Vegas Street Circuit is the first street circuit to feature in the F1® Sim Racing World Championship since Montreal, Canada, in 2020.
• T. Ronhaar’s (Alfa Romeo) win in Round 1 at Sakhir, Bahrain was Alfa Romeo’s 10th victory in the F1® Sim Racing World Championship – a win average of 17%. The team currently sit 3rd in the all-time rankings for race wins, behind Red Bull (13) and Mercedes (15).
• J. Norgrove (AlphaTauri), I. Fahssi (Williams) and A. Butcher’s (Haas) points scoring finishes at Sakhir, Bahrain was the first time that 3 rookie drivers have finished in the points in the opening Round of the F1® Sim Racing World Championship.
• L. Blakeley (McLaren) has made it through to Q3 in every Round of the World Championship since
the beginning of the 2021 season – a record-breaking run of 25 consecutive Rounds.
• T. Ronhaar is on a streak of 12 consecutive points scoring finishes. A run stretching back to the 2nd round of the 2022 season. The opening race of the same season is the only non-points scoring finish in Ronhaar’s career to date.
• J. Opmeer and D. Bereznay (Mercedes) are both 1 race away from reaching 50 race starts. So far, only 5 drivers have reached the milestone in the history of F1® Sim Racing.
• I. Puki (Ferrari) celebrates his 22nd birthday on the day before Round 2 at Austin, USA.

As we approach the green lights at Jeddah, the drivers are ready to go. We caught up with Williams Esports long serving driver, Alvaro Carreton on what he had to say about the upcoming Event and each round.

“I’m going into this next event with a focus on bouncing back after my unlucky start to the season in Dreamhack. I was in good momentum, reaching Q3 at Bahrain and being net P5 in the race but the cars ahead had a mistake and gave me front wing damage, as a result ruining our race which definitely could of been points.

My mindset is the same as always. Stay locked in and take every opportunity we get to gain as much as possible throughout each session. I feel comfortable on this game and am confident we can achieve together as a team, overall I’m motivated and ready to race, the aim is to just put this into action on track.

Our ambition is to obviously go for our first win and chase down the championship like everyone else, but we know it will be a lot of hard work against the quality the F1 Sim Racing grid has. We’ve prepared well, and between us, know what is possible, so I’d say there’s no limits in what we can reach but at the very the least, our goal is to score regular points and be a contender in the top positions.

Post event, let’s see where we’ll be. I’m positive but don’t want to jinx anything, I prefer to take it race by race rather than looking too far ahead.”

Williams Esports are looking to bolster their points in the F1® Sim Racing 2023/24 World Championship and it’s clear to see the dedication of each of their drivers and changes to their line up to help improve their current standing in the championship.

McLaren are looking to claim back some points this round, the defending champions currently sit last place in the Team Championship with 0 points, but the drivers have been workinghard in their training camps and giving it their all at practice sessions. We caught up with the F1® Sim Racing 2022 World Champion, Lucas Blakeley to see how he’s feeling and expecting heading into Event 2.

“It’s definitely a unique challenge this event with such a compressed format, doing 6 rounds within 3 days will be very intense so I’m going into this event open minded and ready to get stuck in.

My mindset is always to fight for wins, I have no other mode or switch, all the preparation, time and effort the team and I put in is with winning as the core objective, so it’s quite simple in that regard! The aim is to be at the front as much as possible and to be there consistently, as championships are won through consistently being at the sharp end picking up good points even on your bad days, so the team ambition is the best on our A-game every time we hit the track and get the best out ourselves.

It’s been a long time coming so firstly just glad we are going racing, it will be great to see everyone together again and will be fun to make some memories for sure. The team and I have done a lot of work to try and be equally prepared across all the various tracks and conditions which is an enormous challenge, so we’re looking forward to seeing how things pay off.

It’s always hard to tell exactly what positions you’ll end up in F1 Sim Racing, the margins are so close and a lot can be won and lost in a matter of moments. I believe we’ve put in the work so I hope that we are in a good position to fight as a team consistently at the front of the field.”

The Woking based team will be looking for a complete change of position after Event 2.

Red Bull Sim Racing will be looking to bring back the Team Championship title for third time, after being runners up for two consecutive years. Frede Rasmussen, who has been in the series since 2017 and team mate Josh Idowu are looking to continue the title trend over at the Milton Keynes based team.

Josh Idowu is expecting points as a team effort:

“As always, our focus is to win the Team’s Championship — placing well in the Driver’s standings is a bonus. I didn’t get off to the best start this season, however, we’ve prepared well and I’m feeling good, despite the new challenge we face with such a packed schedule. Ultimately, looking forward to going racing now and giving the fans a good show. Thanks to everyone who has shown support to me and the Team, we hope to make you proud.”

Frede Rasmussen is excited to get back racing in Event 2:

“It’s great to be back in Sweden to compete. Looking to Event 2, our goal is to bank some good results towards the Team’s Championship. Working with a new teammate in Josh has been fun, his past results speak for themselves. I’m in a good position to fight for wins and keen to get racing now. Thanks to everyone for the support”

With all of that said, we’re looking forward to getting the lights out in Jeddah and the F1® Sim Racing World Championship 2023/24 continuing in style! You can catch all of the action from the series on the official F1® YouTube/Twitch channels, along with the official F1® Esports YouTube/Twitch channels!

It’s pedal to the metal and go, go, go, go!

Legal notice

It’s nearly time! The F1 Sim Racing World Championship Event 2 is about to get underway in Stockholm, Sweden. A few teams have changed their 3 driver line up ahead of the green lights in Jeddah, on April 10th.

This is the first time since Haas had a driver who was unwell in 2018 and called up Tom Parker, that we’ve had mid-season driver swaps. each team has a reason to bring in new talent, as they continue to search for the top slot of the Team Championship.

Let’s take a look at each team change below and catch up with each of the new drivers to see how they’re settling into their new teams.

Here is a summary of the three main changes, going into Event 2.

We caught up with each driver to see how they’re settling into their new teams.

Over at Enstone, Alpine have been making changes to their 2023/24 World Championship line up. We see Luke Smith departing the roster and Filip Prešnajder, who stepped down last year, making an unexpected return to the grid.

Filip has worked with Alpine previously over the past 2 years, he stepped back at the end of the 2022 series and into a part time role which allowed him to focus on his university work. But 2 years later, in 2024, he’s back and itching to get started in the F1 Sim Racing Championship.

“It has been really difficult so far in F1 Sim Racing with not so great performances on my end and it has definitely became a tough situation to be in, especially mentally after stepping down to a part-time role within the team at the start of last year. However looking back at it, I feel like it was a right decision at that time. I have started my full-time university studies last September, studying Computer Science, along with the development driver role at Alpine for this season and I feel like during this time I found the passion and mental strength again. This has really helped to push me forward.

I also owe a huge thanks to the people around me, my family, girlfriend, the whole team that has supported me all this time, never giving up and still believing in me. After getting the call to come back to the series, I just couldn’t say no! These opportunities don’t come around often and it would be crazy to not agree on a return! I’d be kicking myself later in life and I believe I am ready to prove to everyone why I’m back.

I’m really excited to be back in the series and my redemption starts now. I have been putting a lot more hours ever since getting the chance and even if it is sometimes tight timing wise with the dates of each event, I love every second of it.

Everyone has been extremely supportive within the team and people around me. My team mates, Patrik and Ruben are amazing teammates and I feel like we have good chemistry between one and another. So, I can’t wait to go out there and get the most out of this opportunity and obviously do my best!”

KICK F1 Sim Racing Team have freshened up their line up and are looking to continue the form – and points – that Brendon Leigh (2017 + 2018 World Champion) and Thomas Ronhaar (2023 Pro Exhibition Champion) have started them off with in Event 1. Bringing in Dutchman Xander Van Dijke, who’s looking to keep the current form going, which we wish him the best as that’s no easy feat! We caught up with Xander, who is very excited to get started in the Series, when the time is right.

“Looking forward to start the season in a few days with alot of hard work done from everyone inside the team over the last few weeks. For myself I started racing 4 years ago on F1 2020 and i only could have dreamed of being in a F1 team. I managed to qualify for the challengers series, where I just missed out on the chance to qualify for the main series. But I kept working hard and with alot of hard work I finally managed to make the step up and I cant thank the team enough for giving me that chance.

When the announcement was released my family were over the moon, as I kept it a secret and I didnt tell them that I to be signed by an Official F1 team. They were very happy and it was a nice surprise.

Its been a amazing time so far being with KICK F1 Sim Racing Team. Its a a great team to be in with alot of laughs but also very serious ans productive when we have to be. I think that sort of balance is great to have on the inside of a team. We havent really set a specific target but i think we have shown alot of pace in pre season that we can fight at the front of the field.”

Williams have changed their line up, with Marcel Kiefer no longer racing the team who are based in Grove, UK. Replacing the German is 18 year old Will Lewis from Stevenage, UK.

Will originally qualified for the F1 Sim Racing Challengers 2023, via the in-game qualification route. Now being signed by an official F1 team, the Brit is raring to get started in the F1 Sim Racing World Championship. We reached out to Will to ask him how he’s settling into his new team.

“To get called up to race in the F1 Sim Racing World Championship is an extremely proud moment for me as I’ve been working for this since I was a kid. I cant wait to get started and show everyone what I can do! As for when you will see me I’m not going to try and force things I’m just going to keep working with my team behind the scenes as hard as possible; and when the opportunity arises ensure that I am as ready as I can be.

My main aim for the championship personally is to achieve a couple of point finishes and get myself off the mark to solidify myself as a solid competitor, My family are so proud of how far I’ve come since last year with some personal things taking place and cant wait to see how i do competing for a flreal Formula 1 team. Williams have been absolutely amazing with me since I first joined in February 2023 and have really taken the time to progress me on and off the track and I cant thank them enough for the opportunity they have given me.”

With all three of those changes, we’re sure to see some exciting action on the virtual track! Let’s take a look at each teams overall line up, and reflect on the standings – we’ll also throw in some timezones for you all! 

You know the line up for each team, but let’s break down Event 2’s Key times, for each time zone.

Key Dates:

The Qualifying Show:

The Main Show:

We’ll see you on the official Formula YouTube or Twitch channel, on Wednesday for lights out!

F1 Sim Racing’s highly anticipated calendar has been revealed. It’s official – we’re back racing! After an exhilarating start to the season in Bahrain, where KICK F1 Esports Team’s Thomas Ronhaar eased ahead of the field to take the chequered flag with an impressive lead of over 5 seconds ahead of Mercedes’ Jarno Opmeer, who was then followed by Ferrari’s Nicolas Longuet. 

The calendar announcement means one thing – F1 Sim Racing is back to wet your racing appetite! The season is far from over and we have 11 more rounds to go. A lot can happen in 11 rounds, everything is still to play for. 

We’ve announced the calendar, so we hear you wondering – how does it work? Let’s take a dive into the first fully LAN F1 Sim Racing World Championship in over 4 years! The action packed calendar delivers 12 rounds for the 2023 World Championship! Let’s dive into the calendar and see how it works and where you can watch all of the official F1 Sim Racing action.

Event 2 (April 10th > April 12th)

April 10th Will see us under the lights of Jeddah, a new track for the F1 Sim Racing World Championship and then ending the day in Spielberg at the home of the Red Bull’s, Austria. Last year, we saw sun, rain and more sun all in one race!

April 11th Brings us round’s 4 and 5. Starting at the iconic British track of Silverstone before wrapping up the day at the historic Spa Francorchamps, both tracks are known for their temperamental weather, this day alone could have us on the edge of our seats. 

April 12th Concludes Event 2, with a trip to the Netherlands for the famous Zandvoort track, known for it’s fast flowing corners. Then it’s time to grab your cowboy hats as we head to Austin, Texas. The two long straights of Circuit of the Americas (CoTA) have seen plenty of action throughout the years here at F1 Sim Racing. 

Event 3 (May 7th > May 9th)

May 7th Kicks off Event 3 with a bang as we head around the virtual tracks of Mexico City, Mexico and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Both of the tracks have seen plenty of action throughout the series. Especially Sao Paulo, which has moved forward from its usual position as the last race in the Calendar. This time, there’s no Marcel Kiefer to ride “gunner” for Frede Rassmussen’s title hopes. Can the Dane finish on the top step for the first time in his career this time around?

May 8th We should call this “new track day”. We head to the virtual, bright, entertaining track in Las Vegas, Nevada, before rounding off the day racing at yet another new track, Losail, Qatar! A desert track with high temperatures and lots of tyre deg.

May 9th The grand finale is here! Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi is where the real world concludes it’s racing – as do we in F1 Sim Racing in 2024. We’ve seen many, many, many magnificent battles take place here and a few title deciders over the years too! Yas Marina is one of the most impressive tracks on the calendar with long straights, fast flowing corners and chicanes – what else could we want as fans of the sport!

So, we’ve seen the tracks for each day of racing. But how does it work? We’ve got you covered! 

Race Day running order (GMT +2)

12pm: The Qualifying Show. We’ll see qualifying take place for both tracks on the nominated day. That’s 2 x full qualifying sessions on each day (apart from May 9th of course!). Watch as the drivers set their grid positions for the evening show. 

5pm: The Race Show. Drivers are now set to make the most from their qualifying positions which were set earlier in the day, as we head into the main event – the races! Each race will feature a distance of 50% of the real life duration. That’s two races – so double the action for our viewers! Only on May 9th will we see one race – Abu Dhabi – as we crown the F1 Sim Racing World Champion 2024! 

You’ve got the dates, the run of each day… Now where can you watch it all take place? 

Race Day checklist

• F1 YouTube
• F1’s Twitch
• F1 Sim Racing YouTube
• Popcorn and somewhere to sit down

Don’t forget, here’s how everything works in the F1 Sim Racing World Championship:

You’ve got all the details you need, now here are the dedicated places to be in the know of all the latest news:

• F1 Sim Racing Twitter
• F1 Sim Racing Instagram
• F1 Sim Racing Tik Tok
• F1 Sim Racing Facebook
• F1 Sim Racing websi… Oh wait, you’re already here!

The new signing at Alfa Romeo F1 Team KICK Esports, Thomas Ronhaar, dominated the opening race of the F1 Sim Racing 2023 World Championship at the Bahrain International Circuit on Saturday, silencing many who doubted the abilities of the Dutchman. Taking place at DreamHack Winter in Jönköping, Sweden, the series returned to its first LAN race in 4 years and what a thrilling race we were enticed with!

Starting from the front of the grid, Ronhaar led the field into the first corner without any challenge on soft tyres. The only moment that the Dutchman didn’t lead the opening race was during the pit stop phase on lap 11, before all cars pitted; and he resumed the lead on lap 19. Ronhaar kept his focus to extend an impressive 6 second gap to that of Jarno Opmeer when the chequered flag fell at the end of lap 29.  

Nicolas Longuet, starting from 5^th place on the grid, was caught up with a turn 1 collision on lap 6 between himself, the 2022 champion Lucas Blakeley and Haas’ newest signing Alfie Butcher. A 3 car overtake unfortunately ended badly for the Frenchman and saw him fall down to 10^th. However, the new Ferrari signing quickly regained positions after a wing change was in order on lap 10, bringing him out in 17^th. Blakeley was left to stay further back as the race continued without any points in the bag at the time of the chequered flag. Longuet, on the other hand, bettered his starting position and finished P3.  

Jarno Opmeer, the two-time F1 Sim Racing World Champion, surged from P9 on the grid to finish P2 after plenty of on track battles with the likes of Longuet, Norgrove and Blakeley, before picking off Haas’ Butcher and his Mercedes team mate, Daniel Bereznay. Opmeer even pulled off an impressive two car overtake down the pit straight on lap 23. However, Opmeer was unable to chase down the flying Dutchman, Thomas Ronhaar. 

Bari Broumand, the new Ferrari signing, bucked the trend of the majority of the grid and started on Hard tyres. This played into his favour during the battles and incidents, where pit stops were mainly forced early due to increased tyre wear. This left the Iranian with a fresher pair of soft tyres towards the end of the race where he chased down the pack and executed some impressive overtakes to bring home a Ferrari P3 (Longuet) and P5  (Broumand). This resulted in the multi-race winner, Broumand, achieving the fastest lap and taking an extra point for the Italian team. However, Broumand was unable to catch the surging Red Bull of veteran Frederik Rasmussen, who after executing some exception passes finished in a solid 4^th place, having started the race back in 10^th position.

Once the chequered flag fell, we saw the top three being Ronhaar, Opmeer and Longuet. This meant Ronhaar secured a healthy prize of $5,000 as, new for 2023, the top 3 drivers in each event get a prize payout.

The standings look a little different to 2022, but we still have plenty of Sim Racing action left to come, with the next races scheduled for the 15^th and 16^th December 2023. Be sure to follow us on all of our new social media channels!

Ordinarily, you’d have to wait until the release of the new game to get your hands on an as-yet-unreleased F1 car. But Alfa Romeo are quite literally changing the game this year, allowing you to test drive their C43 in F1 22!

The C43 – Alfa’s challenger for 2023 – was launched on Tuesday February 7 to widespread acclaim, with the team swapping the glossy white-and-red tones of 2022 for an angrier, matte red-and-black get up. And this livery is dropping in F1 22 (the official Formula 1 game by EA Sports and Codemasters) on February 22, the day before pre-season testing begins in Bahrain!

You’ll have access to the car in a very special Time Trial mode, which lets you pit yourself against players in identical Alfa Romeo C43 machines. Simply head to the Time Trial section in-game, and jump into the F1 2023 Preview menu, and take it away!

It’s not the first time we’ve sampled an F1 car way in advance. Alfa Romeo’s future incarnation, Audi, is already present in the game, with their show car livery dropping into Podium Pass back in December. And while the C43 isn’t quite as far away as 2026, it’s another great opportunity to get a look at the future.

Alfa Romeo will get back out on track along with the other nine teams on Thursday morning, as testing commences at 0700 UTC at Bahrain International Circuit.

Two-time F1 Esports champion Brendon Leigh announced via social media on Tuesday that he will not compete with Ferrari Esports in 2023.

Leigh, who joined the team in 2021, leaves after two seasons with the team, with a best result of third at the thrilling 2022 USA round. He scored 91 points in total, contesting 23 races for the famous Scuderia.

“I’ve taken the decision to leave Ferrari” he announced via Twitter.

“I’m grateful for the time, experienced and laps shared together in Maranello. Representing Ferrari has been a honour! Grazie a tutti”

However, he left plenty of room for intrigue and excitement, teasing that [his] “next chapter is starting imminently”.

The news comes just a few weeks after David Tonizza announced that he would be leaving the red team in 2023, and leaves Ferrari Esports with a completely blank canvas with which to contest the season. Fabrizio Donoso also vacates his seat in the team.

Leigh’s legacy in F1 Esports remains unmatched, with the Brit – who currently resides in Italy – winning the first two editions, first as an individual in 2017, and then with Mercedes once the teams got involved in 2018. Whomever he turns to for the 2023 season, his experience and pace are sure to be a huge asset.

We’re not sure about you, but if F1’s silly season is anything to go by, it’s sure to be an exhilarating F1 Esports driver market this year!

It’s time to charge up your controllers and dust off your racing wheels – qualifying for the 2023 F1 Esports Challengers is now open!

Running from February 1-14, owners of F1 22 on PlayStation, Xbox and PC will have to complete an in-game scenario and score as many points as possible to be in with a shout. The scenario in question places you in the cockpit of Lando Noirris’ McLaren. The Briton finished his home race in sixth place, and your task is to climb higher, re-writing the history books. To pass the scenario, you have to get past Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc to finish at least fourth. After that, the possibilities are endless!

Challengers is our official qualification route into the big time. As ever, you’ll be scored based on clean driving, how many assists you use, use of flashbacks, and your overall race time. There’s no secret formula here – just finish as high as possible, and in the shortest time to give yourself the best shot of making it through!

Make sure you’re signed up to participate, and that your gaming account is linked to F1 Esports, otherwise your efforts might count for nothing. Simply head to the sign-up section on the F1 Esports site to make the connection, and you’ll be added to our leaderboards once you complete the scenario! You have until 11:59 PM, GMT, on February 14 to register an effort, so put any Valentine’s Day plans on ice for now…

The strongest drivers will be invited to our qualification pathway later this year, but don’t despair if you don’t make the cut – as a second scenario is available starting on February 15. More details are set to follow on this one, so keep your eyes peeled on social and watch out for in-game updates on F1 22.

The qualification pathway is your very real shot at making it big – and it all starts with you booting up the game at home.

More details will follow about the qualifying championship and second event, but for now, get out on track and show us what you can do!

Lucas Blakeley and Jarno Opmeer made waves at the 2023 Race of Champions, knocking out F1 champion duo Mika Hakkinen and Valtteri Bottas!

Blakeley and Opmeer, who booked their place in the Nations Cup during Friday’s eROC event, defeated Bottas and Hakkinen over four heats of on-track driving, advancing to the next round of the competition.

Blakeley was first up, beating Bottas, before Opmeer faced off against Hakkinen. The Dutchman looked to have won his heat against fellow two-time champion Hakkinen, but a jump-start gave the point to the Finnish drivers instead, levelling the score 1-1.

Team eROC looked to be heading home, as Opmeer was beaten by Bottas in the third heat. However, the best-of-four format meant that Blakeley could still put the team through – if he beat Hakkinen by a big margin. As a tie-breaker, the cumulative lap times of all four heats are combined, and going into the final heat, Team eROC trailed by just half a second.

Blakeley duly blitzed the course, and crossed the line well ahead of Hakkinen to claim an unprecedented win for the Esports stars. The achievement saw them through to the quarter finals, where they encountered the formidable Team Germany, in a rematch of last year’s first round.

Back in 2022, Blakeley got the best possible start, unseating Sebastian Vettel in the first heat, before a spirited comeback for Germany saw them prevail. This year was to be different, with Vettel besting Blakeley, and Mick Schumacher beating Opmeer in their first head-to-head. This put Team eROC on the back foot, and they were knocked out – but losing to opponents of such high quality is not something to be sniffed at!

F1 Esports’ two most recent champions can take pride in their truly remarkable achievement, proving beyond doubt that sim racers can cut it on track.

On top of the world! 2022 F1 Esports Series Champion Lucas Blakeley kicked off his 2023 in stunning form on Friday morning, claiming the eROC title at the 2023 Race of Champions in Pite Havsbad, Sweden.

Blakeley defeated fellow F1 Esports contenders Jarno Opmeer and Michael Romanidis during the round-robin tournament, as well as sim racer Martin Palm. Romanidis shone in the sim racing segment, but dropped points in the physical aspect, and so Blakeley and Opmeer – who were judged to have performed perfect laps – made it through to the final.

It was here where Blakeley took control, besting Opmeer in the Polaris RZR on the snow and ice by more than four seconds. They then switched to the simulator, where two slender victories for the Scot gave him the overall title. Check out the full stream replay below!

The unique event sees megastars from sim racing compete against one another on simulator rigs, before each doing a flying lap on the snowy track – the very same one as used on the sims.

The flying laps are scored by a panel of experts, and these scores mix with their sim racing points tallies to form a final leaderboard. The top two drivers face one another in the final, with the third and fourth competing for best-of-the-rest honours.

It is this final and third-place playoff that really sees the event come to life, with the drivers fighting it out on the sims, before racing on-track just seconds later. It showcases that the gap from digital to physical racing is one that can be bridged, with the twin-ring circuit layout providing an intense showdown.

Top two drivers Blakeley and Opmeer also get the honour of representing Team eROC in the Nations Cup, where they will face off against the mighty Team Finland… made up of two-time World Champion Mika Hakkinen, and 10-time race-winner Valtteri Bottas!

It should be noted that Blakeley famously took a victory from Sebastian Vettel in the 2022 event, and both have proven themselves as F1 Esports champions, as well as capable on-track racers. Tune in on Sunday, January 29, to see how they get on!

Photo via Race of Champions.