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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 â 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 yearâs 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 â 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 â who were judged to have performed perfect laps â 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 â 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.
P5 // 2 wins // 110 points // Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports
F1 is quite fond of going Double-Dutch. Two Dutch Grands Prix the last two years. Two titles for Dutchman Max Verstappen. Two Dutchies on the grid in 2023 with the arrival of Nyck de Vries. Two points for him in his debut race. Even F1 Esports has a pair of pedallers from the Netherlands. But one man who can make the number three synonymous with the country is Jarno OpmeerâŠ
Unlikely though it may seem, Opmeer is a little on the back foot going into the Grand Final. A third title is still within reach, but he has ground to make up.
âWe are the ones hunting everyoneâ he said ahead of the Grand Final.
âI donât feel any pressure because Iâve already won two titles. But if I do get the third, Iâll be the first one to do it. I just want to win! Iâm going into it with full push, Iâm not going to leave any stone unturned. Iâm feeling confident, and faster than I have all year.â
A confident and fast Jarno Opmeer should be enough to give anyone the shivers. After a strong P2 finish in the first race of the year, he had a middling run of six races, including two no-scores. The first race of Event 3 was a nightmare, dropping out of Q1 in Monza and then failing to ascend. But he followed it up with two wins, providing the ultimate lows and highs.
âI think Mexico is the turnaround for us this year â itâs my highlight of the season. Iâm usually strong there, but Monza is usually a strong track for me as well, so nothing was certain.
âIn Monza, I just had a really tough day in general. I struggled a bit with the game, I had some bad news in the morning, so just a tough one. But it made me turn round for the days after. I knew I could fight for the win in Mexico, so that was amazingâ
From an outside perspective, the final lap of the race at COTA was epic. Four drivers, all fighting for the win, on the final lap of the race. Action doesnât really get any better for a neutral⊠so what was it like for the man that won it?
âGoing into the last lap, I had a lot of battery left, but so did Thomas and Bari. I went a little bit the wrong way on the wet setup [due to qualifying]. I felt a little bit hopeless in P3, because you get stuck in a DRS train. I saw Thomas going down the inside and Bari swiped him a little bit â that was the exact invitation I needed going into that corner.”
âI wasnât sure I was going to make the switchback, because I was so far back on the entry, but they both ran so wide, and I just set up the exit perfectly. I gave them both plenty of space to re-join onto the track, I got hit a few times, and I almost got spun around. But I managed to keep it pointing in the right direction and keep it P1!â
âAfter Monza I was 56 points behind Lucas. Now, Iâm just 22 behind, so I gained 34 points on the leaders in two races. 22 is more than doable.â
The CEO of the Pogmeer Academy knows the numbers are smiling at him. A 22-point deficit, spread over three races, is not a gap, not a chasm. But when those races fall on tracks youâre not historically strong at, it can present challenges.
âHistorically speaking, theyâre not great for me. I donât even think Iâve got a podium at Japan or Brazil⊠but if we want to fight for the championship we need to win, or be close to winning all three races.
âIâve done better at some tracks this year that Iâve done badly at in the past – Silverstone is a great example, so I donât think history really means anything. It also shows that weâre still in this and weâve got nothing to lose!â
Going into the last event chasing the lead is a new scenario for Opmeer. He had a 19-point gap to Frede Rasmussen in 2020, and a precarious five-point buffer over Lucas Blakeley last year. In 2022, heâs chasing down both of them, plus Bari Boroumand and Thomas Ronhaar.
âGoing into the last event as points leader – but not that far ahead â it adds pressure. Every single action you make could lose you the championship. [Lucas] struggled a bit in the last event, he wasnât at the level heâs usually at. As I say, itâs so close that any little action can throw your championship away.â
âItâs always nice to have the points advantage, but I much prefer hunting people down than being the one with the target on my back, like last year! Going into the last race was not easy, but Iâm happy in the position I am right now.â
Of course, Opmeer is no longer the only Dutchman on the grid, with F1 Esports Series Pro Exhibition champion Thomas Ronhaar shaking up the status quo.
âI think it would be amazing if [Thomas] manages to win, because it will mean three Dutch F1 Esports champions in a row. If anyone else besides me wins, I hope he can. But Iâve had pretty clean battles with everyone in the top five, Iâm not feeling any big rivalry with anyone.â
Whether he claims the ultimate prize or finishes elsewhere in the top five, Opmeer has more than cemented his legacy as one of F1 Esports’ true greats. Tune in from Wednesday, December 14 to see who comes out on top!
Join us on Friday when we speak to our next title contender for 2022; Frede Rasmussen.
Jarno Opmeer made it two wins on the bounce on Friday evening, winning the ninth race of the season around Circuit of the Americas with a daring final-lap overtake for the lead.
Beginning the final tour in third place, he watched on as title rivals Bari Boroumand and Thomas Ronhaar negotiated the lead with vigour. An off-track excursion for both was all Opmeer needed, and the two-time champion swept around the outside at COTAâs competitive stadium section to seal the most nail-biting win of the year.
It had looked like Ronhaarâs race to win, with the Dutchman sitting pretty on pole position and leading much of the race through changeable conditions. Beginning in extreme wet conditions, calmer skies soon prevailed, and the intermediates were crucial. A few laps later, and it was time for slicks, with those who pitted on Lap 22 the greatest beneficiaries.
Ronhaar led Boroumand, Opmeer, and a resurgent Brendon Leigh with a handful of laps to go, until Boroumand switched things up and made a move for the lead at the beginning of Lap 24.
The final lap was to be the most incredible of all, with Ronhaar sending one to the inside at the end of the lengthy back straight. Boroumand resisted heavily, both ran wide, and Opmeer took position, as Leigh also got into the mix.
All four cars left the circuit at various points, but with just a couple of sweepers to go, Opmeer couldnât be surpassed, leading home compatriot Ronhaar for the first Dutch 1-2 in F1 Esports. Brendon Leigh came home third, taking his first podium since Mexico 2020, with the crestfallen Boroumand finishing off the podium, having led going into the last lap.
Frede Rasmussen had a quiet but effective run to fifth, having started way down the order due to a 10-place grid penalty for contact with Ronhaar on Thursday. Lucas Blakeley was sixth, limiting the damage to his championship lead as his rivals all took points from one another.
Dani Bereznay finished seventh, his second points finish in as many races. Alvaro Carreton, Marcel Kiefer and Joni Tormala concluded the points-paying positions.
With just one event remaining, itâs all to play for at the top, with five drivers in contention for the crown. Blakeley leads the way with 132 points, ahead of Ronhaar on 121, Boroumand on 118, Rasmussen on 115, and Opmeer on 110.
Itâs nowhere near as close in the team standings, with McLaren Shadow now just running the clock down on 250 points. Red Bull are second with 149, with Mercdes (144) and Haas (129) breathing down their necks.
Weâll see you for the grand final, commencing Wednesday December 14!
Two-time F1 Esports Series champion Jarno Opmeer struck back in fine style on Thursday evening, winning the Mexico City round.
Having not taken to the top step in the opening seven races, he scored victory at the venue which saw his last win, back in 2021. It follows a disappointing day on Wednesday, where he scored no points in Monza, and sees him back in the mix in the championship.
Poleman Frede Rasmussen was unable to convert, clocking up a longlist of penalties while skirmishing for the podium places with Thomas Ronhaar, and ultimately finished in P11.
Opmeer – who started third – got the jump at the start, easily out-dragging Ronhaarâs Haas, decked out in hard tyres. He followed in the wheel-tracks of Rasmussen until Lap 16, when the Dane pitted. Ompeerâs ascendancy was complete one lap later, as he emerged from the pits ahead of Rasmussen; a clean in-lap proving crucial for the Mercedes man.
It was a race of opposing strategies, with most of the field opting to run mediums then hards. That was except for Bari Boroumand, Ronhaar, and Daniele Haddad, who all took the pain of the slower tyres for their first stint. None were a factor at first, with Ronhaar hitting the front once the frontrunners pitted.
After that, Haddad became a cork in a bottle, leading the race by virtue of not pitting until Lap 21. Opmeer passed him with ease, but Rasmussen lost vital time through Mexicoâs Esses, and dropped to 1.4 behind Opmeer.
That left him vulnerable to attack from behind. The resurgent Boroumand worked his strategy to perfection, and blitzed Rasmussen for P2 on Lap 28. One lap later and it was Ronhaarâs go, going up the inside at Turn 4.
Clearly Ronhaarâs move rattled Rasmussenâs cage, and on Lap 32 he appeared to barge Ronhaar off the road, ushering him towards the wall at the same corner. The Haas driver maintained track position despite this, but Rasmussen was hit with a penalty.
Despite the compound differential, Boroumand was unable to make inroads into Opmeerâs lead, and he headed across the line 3.5s ahead of the McLaren Shadow racer. Rasmussen finished third on the road, but plummeted to P11 following his penalties. Ronhaar completed the podium in third, ahead of Marcel Kiefer in P4, and Josh Idowu in P5. Nicolas Longuet was P6, then came Points leader Lucas Blakeley in P7, Jake Benham in P8, Brendon Leigh ninth, and Shanaka Clay took the final point in P10.
With just one race remaining in Event 3, join us again on Friday evening, as we go racing around the Circuit of the Americas!
New McLaren Shadow signing Lucas Blakeley triumphed on Wednesday night, taking the first race win in the 2022 F1 Esports Series Pro Championship, presented by Aramco.
Starting on pole, the Scot led away confidently at the start, but had to overhaul reigning champion Jarno Opmeer in order to take victory. In a perfectly-orchestrated move, he and McLaren Shadow team mate Bari Boroumand got past Opmeerâs Mercedes coming down the main straight on Lap 21.
The new 50% race distance added a new element of strategy to the racing, with Opmeer running late into the race on the hard tyres to perform an overcut. He emerged comfortably ahead of Boromound and Blakeley, who lost ground after an intense scrap with Frede Rasmussen, and new Haas signing Thomas Ronhaar.
Pro Exhibition champion Ronhaar was enjoying an amazing debut, after qualifying second and running in the top five for most of the race. But when the four-car melee ensued, he picked up damage and plummeted down the order, eventually retiring.
Opmeer led going into the latter stages of the race, but the aforementioned McLaren Shadow pincer movement on lap 21 dropped his medal status from gold to bronze. Mercedesâ leading man did bite back on the final lap, deposing Boroumand at Turn 1 to snatch back second, but Blakeley was a step too far, and he ended as the filling in a Papaya sandwich.
Behind the leading trio came a resurgent Simon Weigang, who on his Aston Martin debut more than doubled his 2021 points tally. Dani Moreno followed in fifth, followed by Sebastian Job, Brendon Leigh, Nicolas Longuet and Josh Idowu, the latter two of whom made their first starts for Alfa Romeo and AlphaTauri respectively.
This is the fresh text I’ve gone with:
Frede Rasmussen was originally classified in P10, picking up two penalties; one for corner cutting in-game, and another from the stewards for causing contact with Ronhaar. However the Dane was promoted to P8 after the in-game reprimand was rescinded, giving him four points. Longuet and Idowu nudged down to P9 and P10 respectively to complete the points.
The result puts McLaren Shadow firmly in command of the team standings after the first race, with Blakeley repeating his maiden victory in Bahrain 12 months prior.
Racing resumes on Thursday evening, as the 2022 F1 Esports Series Pro Championship heads to Imola! Catch the qualifying stream at 1430 UTC on Twitch and YouTube, with the race stream kicking off from 1830 UTC on Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, and on TV.
Lucas Blakeley pulled off a stunning achievement in Saturdayâs Race of Nations Cup, besting four-time F1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel in their head-to-head race!
Facing off in the first heat at the snow and ice circuit in Pire Havsbad, Sweden, Blakeley crossed the line 0.080s ahead of Vettel in the closest finish of the day. Driving the all-electric World RX2e car on the special double-looped circuit, Blakeley clocked a time of in 1:02.281, less than a tenth ahead of Vettel.
Blakeley and team mate Jarno Opmeer formed Team eROC All Stars, and were drawn against the fearsome Team Germany line-up of Vettel and Schumacher. They qualified for the special event by taking the top two spots in Fridayâs eROC World Final, which you can learn all about here.
Vettel and Schumacher would go on to win the next two heats and progress to the next round, but it was nonetheless an incredible achievement, and proof if it need be that sim racers are just that â racers!
The achievement is all the more impressive when you consider Blakeleyâs background in racing, or lack thereof. Before the event, he had just 20 minutes of experience, owing to a Porsche driving experience at Silverstone. Youâd never know it though, judging by the way he expertly flicked the car around on the tricky surface. Check out the lap below:
Itâs reminiscent of Enzo Bonitoâs excellent performance at the 2019 Race of Champions in Mexico, where he beat Lucas di Grassi and Ryan Hunter-Reay on consecutive days.
Blakeley recently announced his departure from Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Esports Team, but with a performance like this, the queue to sign him up in 2022 is sure to be a long one.
Reigning F1 Esports Series Champion Jarno Opmeer is no stranger to silverware, and on Friday he added another accolade to his growing trophy cabinet â eROC World Champion!
The Dutchman prevailed over F1 Esports rival Lucas Blakeley at the special event held in Sweden on Friday February 4, mixing simulator driving with real-world experience on the snow and ice track in Pite Havsbad.
Starting off driving the simulator, Opmeer, Blakeley, and fellow finalist James Baldwin and Martin Palm all faced off against one another, scoring points in a round-robin tournament. Each driver faced the other three once, in a best-of-three showdown around a digital incarnation of the snowy twin-ring circuit. Interspersing this was footage from Thursday, where all four drivers attacked the real circuit outside in a Polaris PRO XP.
Baldwin brushed the snow banks and was slowest with a 1:50.296, followed by Palm who clocked at 1:48.131. Opmeer was second, with a superb 1:47.452, but the star of the show was Blakeley, who, despite having hardly any physical track driving experience, went fastest of all with a 1:47.428.
That put the pair almost level going into the final round of sim driving, and it was a direct final between the two. Opmeer came out on top in two races by the merest of margins, pipping Blakeley by just 0.073s in the first heat, and just over a tenth in the second to become champion!
Check out the full replay of the event below.
As the top two eROC finalists, Opmeer and Blakeley both get a very, very special prize. They will be competing in Saturdayâs ROC Nations Cup, and will face against Team Germany in their first fight. Thatâs right â none other than Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher!
Both Opmeer and Blakeley will have to use all their knowledge of the track to get up to speed and face off against these two giants of motorsport. One thing is for certain though â itâs an experience neither of them will ever forget!
Opmeer summed it up best, stating âItâs not gonna be easy, weâll need a few practice laps for sure!â
Keep your eyes on social and tune in to see how the duo get on as they mix it on the world stage for the first time. For full broadcast details, check out the Race of Champions website. Good luck to our drivers!
Cover image via Race of Champions.
Jarno Opmeer was crowned champion of the 2021 F1 Esports Series Pro Championship presented by Aramco on Thursday, adding to his maiden title in 2020. Just like last year, Red Bullâs Frede Rasmussen was hot on his heels, and in the end the pair were split by just eight points.
Rasmussen trailed by 21 points going into the final race, but a sublime win from tenth place â surely his best in the series so far â cut the gap down to single figures. Lucas Blakeley, who dropped out of contention for the driversâ title on Wednesday night, took the second spot on the podium, with AlphaTauriâs Sebastian Job completing the rostrum.
The first two races of the Grand Final took the drivers to Imola and Mexico City for two wild races, culminating in Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Esports Team winning the teamsâ championship for the first time since 2018.
FDAâs David Tonizza scooped victory in the first race in Imola, after long-time race-leader Josh Idowu fell off the road on the final lap. Meanwhile in Mexico, Opmeer tussled with Bari Boroumand and Rasmussen for several laps before emerging victorious for the fourth time of the season.
Get the full lowdown on Wednesdayâs action here, and check out highlights from Race 10 and Race 11 of the championship!
History repeated itself in qualifying, with Alpineâs Nicolas Longuet grabbing pole position around the legendary Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace. Starting on the soft tyres, Longuet made a mighty getaway, and built a solid lead from the off.
Championship challengers Opmeer and Rasmussen started P4 and P10 respectively, with the Dane moving up to ninth by the end of the first lap. Opmeer was soon dropped to P5, as the rapid-starting Alvaro Carreton sailed past, as the only other driver to start on the softs.
Not one to back down from a challenge, Carreton then pulled a superb double-overtake on Blakeley and Kiefer at Turn 1 just two laps later, putting himself in second place. It soon turned into the lead on Lap 8, when Longuet, Kiefer, Blakeley and co pitted â putting on soft tyres, which needed to last until lap 25. They all soon found themselves tucked up behind Simon Weigang, unable to make a move until Lap 14.
After passing Weigang, Kiefer soon passed Blakeley for the lead, and set about playing the team game, buying time for team mate Rasmussen and parking his Red Bull on every apex until Rasmussen finally pitted. After his mid-park start, only a dream strategy would work for him. Almost the entire field pitted before he finally came in on Lap 15 to remove his tortured medium tyres. With a fresh set of softs for the final ten laps, Rasmussenâs pace was absolutely electrifying.
He emerged P13, but quickly set about overtaking everyone in his path: Cedric Thome, Brendon Leigh, Weigang, Fabrizio Donoso and Joni Tormala were all dispatched within two laps. Boroumand fell off the road elevating Rasmussen to P7, and Carretonâs aging medium tyres were no match for the softs â Frede found himself P6 with seven laps remaining.
By Lap 19, Blakeley led from Longuet, Kiefer, Job and Opmeer, with Rasmussen bearing down on them all. Blakeley drove off into the distance, but the following five cars bunched up going into the tight Ferradura corner. Kiefer slowed going into the corner, in the process holding up Ompeer and letting Rasmussen streak past both of them.
This was a nightmare for Opmeer, who now trailed his championship rival on the road â but with a 21-point buffer, he only needed to maintain P8 or higher to guarantee the championship. Rasmussen passed Job and Longuet over the next two laps to put himself within striking distance of Blakeley, and strike he did on the last lap, snatching the final win of the season as sun set on 2021.
It wasnât enough for Rasmussen however, and Opmeer finished fourth to claim the driversâ crown! Behind Rasmussen was Blakeley, with Job taking his first podium in the series in front of Opmeer and Idowu. Matthijs van Erven finished sixth, to claim the first points of the season for Uralkali Haas F1 Esports Team in the final race! Longuet came home P7 after a penalty, with Carreton, Cedric Thome and Thijmen Schutte rounding out the final points of the season.
With Jarno Opmeer and Mercedes atop the standings, theyâll take home the greatest share of the $750K prize pool! In the driversâ standings, Rasmussen makes it three years in a row as a runner up â quipping during the broadcast that he would âprefer secondâ rather than winning in 2022. Blakeley finishes a resurgent third, with Dani Moreno fourth on a nice round 100 points.
Bari Boroumand put a fantastic 98 points on the board, and will surely be one to watch in 2022. Former title contenders Tonizza, Kiefer and Longuet struggled to break into the championship race, and will hope for better next time around.
In the teamsâ standings, it was a closely fought affair between Red Bull and Mercedes, mirroring the on-track battles of 2021. Aston Martin claimed third, with FDA, Alpine and McLaren Shadow only a few points apart. After scoring in the final race, Haas ensure that itâs points for every team this season!
So, the 2021 F1 Esports Series Pro Championship presented by Aramco is in the history books. We hope youâll join us next year! Until then, keep an eye on social, as we run through Challengers, which will decide some the pool of talent who could be up for selection next year!
Jarno Opmeer is within touching distance of defending his F1 Esports crown, going into the final day of racing in 2021 with a 21-point lead.
Just three days after fellow Dutchman Max Verstappen wrapped up the F1 crown in Abu Dhabi, Opmeer is on the verge of taking a second successive title after taking second place in Imola and victory in Mexico.
The only man who can now stop him is Red Bullâs Frede Rasmussen, who trails by 21 points. To do this though, he would need to win, with Opmeer finishing ninth or lower. Opmeerâs Mercedes squad did clinch the teamsâ trophy, bringing silverware to Brackley for the first time since 2018.
Hereâs what went down in races 10-11 in the enthralling 2021 F1 Esports Series Pro Championship, presented by Aramco.
The inclusion of Imola in the 2021 F1 season, and indeed in the F1 2021 game, was met with universal praise. The much-loved circuit offers tight and twisty racing, with only one real racing line. Overtakes must be timed to perfection.
Josh Idowu was the man who found perfection early on in the day, taking a shock pole position for McLaren Shadow in only his fourth race this year. He and 2019 champion David Tonizza took the front row, with the pair starting on the soft tyres, contrary to those around them.
They maintained positions at the start, but Tonizza took the lead on Lap 6, only to be re-passed three laps later on Lap 9.
When pit stops ensued on Lap 10 of the 22-lap race, things got dicey. The midfield melee saw Idowu in the net lead of the race, with Brendon Leigh making incredible gains in the pits. Championship leader Opmeer meanwhile found himself in traffic, and began overtaking the field, starting with Bari Boroumand on Lap 13.
Two laps later, Opmeer passed championship rival Lucas Blakeley, moments after the Scot made contact with the back of Tonizza. With a damaged win, Blakeley began to plummet down the order, ruining his chances of a strong score.
Tonizza soon usurped team mate Leigh on Lap 19, who held second place for much of the race. But as Opmeer tried to get past as well, Leigh put him on the grass, for which he received a warning. Opmeer got him on the following lap to take third, and it looked like that would be the end of it â Idowu controlling the pace, with champions Tonizza and Opmeer behind.
This is F1 Esports though, and absolutely anything can happen. Tonizza made a lunge at Turn 2, and stole the lead from Idowu, heartbreakingly, on the final lap. As he rejoined the track, Idowu hit another car and spun, reducing a near-flawless race to a pointless one.
Tonizza came home for his first win since 2020, ahead of Opmeer and Rasmussen, who made incredible but quiet progress from his lowly P15 qualifying slot. The points were completed by Joni Tormala, Leigh, Michael Romanidis, Dani Moreno, Patrik Sipos, Simon Weigang, and the unfortunate Blakeley.
With Blakeley now a long shot for the title, the duel between Rasmussen and Opmeer moved into the spotlight. The Dane did himself all kinds of favours when he stuck it on pole, but things didnât go his way when lights went out. Boroumand, who started second, got a better getaway, and led the charge down to Turn 1. Then, as if from nowhere Opmeer emerged to snatch the lead, passing both of them in one fluid movement.
The trio were the only ones to start on the soft tyres, and eked out their advantage, quickly pulling away from Nicolas Longuet in P4. By the end of Lap 3, the gap was up to 2.5s and increasing. Meanwhile, Lucas Blakeley had ground to make up from P7 if he was to salvage his title hopes.
Boroumand struck the first blow. He got past Opmeer into Turn 1 on Lap 5, but the inverse move came just three laps later, and status quo was re-established. At the same time, Blakeley took a position from Idowu to move up to P6.
Laps 11-13 saw the top three pit on consecutive laps, but the order remained identical, with Opmeer, Boroumand and Rasmussen holding formation.
As the race entered its final laps, Boroumand once again overtook Opmeer on Lap 20, but yet again, Opmeer was straight back past him a lap later. This time though, Boroumand dropped a further position, as Rasmussen moved into second.
On the penultimate lap, coming into Foro Sol Stadium, Opmeer played âDRS chickenâ, braking at the perfect moment to let Rasmussen past and gain DRS for himself for the super-long straight. However in doing so, Rasmussen went off-track.
Opmeer re-passed down the straight with his speed advantage, and led home Rasmussen and Boroumand. The lower steps of the podium were swapped however. Rasmussenâs off-track excursion cost him a 0.6s penalty after the race. Behind the top three, Moreno came home fourth to confirm Mercedes as team champions, creating a 50-point gap with just 44 to play for in the final race. Leigh took fifth, then came Blakeley, Nicolas Longuet, Marcel Kiefer, Tonizza, and Tormala.
Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Esports Team are champions once again! The virtual Silver Arrows took the teams’ trophy back in 2018, when Brendon Leigh and Dani Bereznay were the men to beat. Three years later, they overhaul rivals Red Bull Racing Esports, denying them three in-a-row. The pairing of Opmeer and Moreno have been lethal, winning five of the season’s 11 races hitherto contested. They, along with Bono Huis, earn the biggest chunk of the $750K prize pot, divided between the teams at season’s end.get
With Mercedes crowned champions, Red Bull could still bring home silverware in the driversâ championship, but it will be a tall order. Opmeer has a 21-point gap over Rasmussen, with a maximum of 26 available at the final round in Brazil. Blakeley is eliminated from the running, with 39 points between him and Opmeer, but is guaranteed third place, an incredible improvement over his P14 placing in 2020.
The final round of the season gets going with qualifying live on Twitch and YouTube from 15:30 UTC, and the race from 19:30 on Twitch, YouTube and Facebook, where weâll crown a champion!