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Was this the most incredible F1 Esports event to date?! Three virtual races that we will not soon forget are in the history books, with a flawless triple for Red Bull Racing Esports at event 2 of the 2021 F1 Esports Series Pro Championship, presented by Aramco.
After the disappointment of being clattered in Monza, Frede Rasmussen prevailed in a wet Spa thriller to take his second win of the season; Red Bull’s third in a row.
Wednesday started perfectly for Rasmussen – pole position became victory for the Dane around Silverstone after a gutsy last-lap pass on Mercedes newbie Dani Moreno.
However, it all went wrong in the second event, when, trailing in a Red Bull 1-2, Rasmussen was whacked from behind at Turn 1, and tumbled down the order to finish a gut-wrenching eighth.
Team mate Marcel Kiefer continued in the lead, and was able to secure a second win of the night for Red Bull – but losing out on a potential 1-2 finish stung, as Kiefer asserted after the race.
For a full breakdown of Wednesday’s action, click here!
Wet races are relatively rare in F1 Esports, but we were given our third of 2021 at Spa, as a wet start greeted the drivers after qualifying. David Tonizza set a shock pole position, with championship leader Jarno Opmeer dropping out in Q2, starting P14.
As the start lights beckoned, the grid was split – nine of the top 10 drivers started on full wet tyres, but second-placed Rasmussen opted for intermediates, along with the entire bottom half of the field.
It did not pay off in the short-term. Rasmussen descended to mid-pack by the time the field got to Pouhon half way round the lap, and finished the first tour in P7. Dani Bereznay didn’t even make it that far though, and crashed out on the run down from La Source
The race was one of risks and gambles. Would it clear up, or carry on raining? Pit for fresh intermediates or carry the tyres you started on to the end? Those questions were answered for several drivers on Lap 8, as Tonizza, Longuet, Blakeley, Boroumand and Tormala all came in for the green-walled inters.
The grip advantage wasn’t as dramatic as it might have been in the dry, but nonetheless, the group made inroads on the leading trio of Rasmussen, Kiefer and Opmeer, who all opted to remain on their starting tyres.
For the second successive race, a Red Bull 1-2 looked to be on the cards, but just as before, it wasn’t to be. Reigning champ Opmeer reeled in Kiefer by the start of the final lap, and pounced along the Kemmel straight. In true Hakkinen-Zonta-Schumacher style, Opmeer’s Mercedes-powered car got past, with Kiefer’s white car and Tonizza’s red Ferrari staying put.
Tonizza did not relent though, and in a carbon-copy of the final corner in Spa 2020, Kiefer was relegated at the Bus Stop chicane on the final lap.
Rasmussen romped home for dub number two of 2021, with Opmeer, Tonizza and Kiefer next in line. Nicolas Longuet took fifth, ahead of Blakeley, Bari Boroumand, Simon Weigang, and Daniele Haddad.
With six races down and six to go, we’re perfectly balanced – and so is the team standings. Mercedes and Red Bull are tied on 140 points at the top, beautifully mirroring the on-track closeness of their F1 counterparts. In the driver standings, Opmeer leads Blakeley by 14 points, the exact same gap as was the case at the end of Event 1!
Take a look at the team and driver standings below.
Our next event takes us to the brand new location of Portimao in Portugal, as well as a return to Zandvoort in the Netherlands, and Circuit of the Americas in the USA. Join us for all the action from Wednesday November 24!
