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It’s been a long time coming, but finally, we’re ready to share the full roster of talented racer who will be taking to the digital tracks in 2021! The fifth season of the F1 Esports Series – and fourth to include teams – is just around the corner, and the 2021 Preview Show gave us our first look at the runners and riders that will feature in the 12 rounds we have planned.
All 10 teams in the 2021 Pro Championship had to select three drivers who attained Pro Rank. Pro Rank was awarded to any driver who featured in the 2020 Pro Series, and any driver who made it to the 2021 Pro Exhibition. The following list of superstars-in-waiting features a healthy mix of both.
So without further ado, here’s who’s racing for whom in 2021, in reverse championship order…
Drivers: Lucas Blakeley, Daniele Haddad, Shanaka Clay
2020 Position: P10 (As Racing Point)
2020 Points: 33
One of the new team identities for F1 Esports in 2021, Aston Martin are going to need to hit the ground running if they are to improve on their disappointing tenth-place finish as Racing Point last year. However they have in hand a mighty trio.
It may be an unchanged line-up, but podium-scorer Lucas Blakeley has the credentials to spearhead an exciting roster for the team in green. Daniele Haddad is the oldest driver in the field, and his steeled nous and experience will no doubt help the team greatly. Completing the squad is Shanaka Clay, who will be hoping for more chances to prove his unquestionable pace this year.
Drivers: Cedric Thomé, Samuel Libeert, Matthijs van Erven
2020 Position: P9
2020 Points: 39
Haas retain Cedric Thomé for a second season, having competed in 2020 for the American outfit. The onetime race winner in 2019 will need to step up into a leadership role for the first time, with two new faces to the series as a whole appearing this season.
He’s joined by sim racing hero Samuel Libeert, who participated in the Virtual Grands Prix for them in early 2021. Matthijs van Erven completes the trio, after impressing in the Challengers and gaining Pro Rank status after participating in the Pro Exhibition. This mixture of familiar F1 Esports racers and newcomers could be one of the surprise packages of 2021.
Drivers: Alvaro Carreton, Michael Romanidis, Alessio di Capua
2020 Position: P8
2020 Points: 45
The blend of youth and experience is a common theme this season, as Williams Esports bring a similar mix to the table. Alvaro Carreton has been with the team since the very start of team-based rosters in 2018, and continues for a fourth season. This makes him the only driver to appear for the same outfit in every season so far. He’s finished in every points-paying position except eighth and first places, so this could be the season to break through with that elusive win.
One of the youngest on the grid, Michael Romanidis, is on the team sheet for Williams, and the Greek star has history with the team, running for them in a rookie 2020 campaign, and he’ll be one to keep an eye on this year as he develops his speed. So too, is Alessio di Capua. After years of trying, he finally gets his chance in 2021, having been a Pro Draft hopeful for the past two seasons. He dominated Challengers, was the absolute top prospect at this year’s Pro Exhibition, and if he lives up to the hype, will be a very exciting racer to watch this season.
Drivers: Joni Tormala, Sebastian Job, Dario Iemmulo
2020 Position: P7
2020 Points: 46
They were team runners-up in 2018 as Toro Rosso, but AlphaTauri will have been disappointed to just scrape seventh last season by a single point. Retaining the ever-popular Joni Tormala then is a great foundation with which to anchor the team as they aim higher in 2021. Part of the 2019 championship-winning Red Bull squad, Tormala will need to play team leader as he’s joined by two fresh faces.
Sebastian Job just about blew the roof off in the DHL Time Trial, setting a world record with his lap around Albert Park. Joining the pair is Dario Iemmulo, who progresses from the PS4 Challengers with a Pro Rank accolade following the Pro Exhibition.
Drivers: Dani Bereznay, Bari Boroumand, Josh Idowu
2020 Position: P6
2020 Points: 80
One of two teams with an entirely new line-up, McLaren Shadow will run 2018 vice-champion Dani Bereznay as they look to ascend the tables in 2021. Truly a household name in F1 Esports, Bereznay has done just about everything except win the title in the series. With a stunning new Esports Studio at McLaren Technology Centre, McLaren Shadow are serious about success.
The ultra-quick Bari Boroumand, onetime racer for Mercedes, joins the team, along with Josh Idowu, who was one of the stand-out performers at the 2021 Pro Exhibition. This exciting trio will be interesting to watch, and can surely better the middling sixth-place finish the team earned in 2020.
Drivers: David Tonizza, Brendon Leigh, Domenico Lovece
2020 Position: P5
2020 Points: 100
It almost seems a lifetime ago that FDA Esports Team announced they were to form the first ever ‘Supergroup’ of F1 Esports, bringing in two-time champion Brendon Leigh alongside 2019 champ David Tonizza. The pair shared the podium for the first and only time last season at the round in Italy, but there’s no telling how many times it could happen this year. Leigh has done more than just switch team, uprooting himself and moving to Italy to immerse himself in Italian culture and the way of Ferrari.
The foundation-shaking news means they have easily the most decorated roster in the series, and alongside them will be Italian Domenico Lovece. No pressure! Though he didn’t win a race during the Challengers, he scored a boatload of podiums, and went on to impress as one of the top prospects in the Pro Exhibition. Expect to see FDA shoot back up to the pointy end of both championships with these three on board.
Drivers: Jarno Opmeer, Dani Moreno, Bono Huis
2020 Position: P4
2020 Points: 107
The reigning champ at a team looking to return to winning ways. What’s not to love about this story? Jarno Opmeer’s switch to Mercedes from Alfa Romeo was announced way back in January. We’ve yet to see him run in anger for the Silver Arrows, but one thing we know about the reigning champion is that whomever he races for, he will win races. He did it with Renault Vitality in 2019, and crushed it with Alfa Romeo in 2020 as well, so winning for Mercedes feels like a case of when, not if.
Opmeer will be racing alongside another new Mercedes addition; 2020 Rookie of the Year, Dani Moreno. The Spanish star came out of nowhere last season, but got up to speed straight away, scoring a memorable podium at the British round of the championship. Bono Huis is retained by Mercedes too, but is by no means a supporting character. Huis is another household name in F1 Esports, and it will be interesting to see how the balance of power is shared between these three incredible racers. With one of the strongest rosters on record, can Opmeer defend his crown with the backing of the on-track champions?
Drivers: Nicolas Longuet, Fabrizio Donoso, Patrik Sipos
2020 Position: Third (As Renault)
2020 Points: 136
Same, same, but different. Two familiar faces are in position to bring Alpine Esports Team into the world of F1 Esports, with 2020 title contender Nicolas Longuet fronting their three-man outfit. The Frenchman is quite literally at home with Alpine, and as Esteban Ocon showed on-track this season, it’s a good time to be a French driver in a French car. Scoring a perfectly-balanced 4-4-2 – that’s Fourth in the standings, four podiums, and two wins – Longuet will surely be on the frontlines of the title battle in 2021.
Longstanding F1 Esports personality Fabrizio Donoso remains with the artist formerly known as Renault for this season, but he absolutely has to outshine the five points he accumulated in 2020. One championship challenger, one familiar face, and one new face – Patrik Sipos arrives, fresh from the batch of Pro Exhibition hopefuls. Gaining Pro Rank in the summer, Hungarian-born Sipos will need to prove his appetite for success.
Drivers: Simon Weigang, Filip Presnajder, Thijmen Schutte
2020 Position: Runners-up
2020 Points: 295
The next station is Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN F1 Esports Team’s 2021 roster. All change, please. All change. The second team to be completely overhauled in 2021, much like a post-Ferguson Manchester United, Alfa will go into the season searching for their identity. Simon Weigang has the most experience of the trio, with a handful of races for Renault (2019) and a sophomore season at Haas (2020).
Filip Presnajder ships over from FDA, having only taken part in one race for the red cars in 2020. Unproven in the main championship, his qualifying route for 2020 was a formidable one. That puts him on equal footing then with Alfa’s third driver, Thijmen Schutte, who missed out on winning his Challengers cohort by just a single point. After impressing in the Pro Exhibition, the 17-year-old moves up to the big time with Alfa.
Drivers: Frede Rasmussen, Marcel Kiefer, Liam Parnell
2020 Position: World Champions
2020 Points: 331
The reigning champions are looking for a third successive title, off the back of a monstrously successful 2020 season, in which they scored points in every round. The unstoppable duo of Frede Rasmussen and Marcel Kiefer continue after combining for a ridiculous tally of 331 points in 2021, and they are joined by Liam Parnell, who having won the 2020 DHL Virtual Fastest Lap Competition, attained Pro Rank through the Pro Exhibtion in May 2021. It will take something very special indeed to deny Red Bull Racing Esports another crown in 2021.
There’s your Pro Championship grid. An aggressive, motivated and capable group of racers ready to prove their worth on the virtual track. Only 20 can race at a time, and just one will end up our 2021 champion! Who will it be? Get your predictions in for the Pro Championship on our social channels. Join the conversation using #F1Esports, and we’ll see whose predictions are on the money.
The Pro Championship gets under way on Wednesday October 13 from 19:30 GMT, streaming across Twitch, YouTube and Facebook.
