Red Bull Racing Esports star Marcel Kiefer felt both joy and despair on Wednesday night, as his team scored victories but also missed out on an even bigger haul of points.

“I’m feeling pretty mixed. Of course I’m happy, it’s my first win of the season, and it was a great drive” he said after the second race of the evening in Monza.

“But it was only a perfect strategy in terms of the team. Frede [Rasmussen] and I tried to replicate what we did last year in Austria, and it was 10 times harder because Monza is just a straight with chicanes.”

Austria 2020 is well-remembered as perhaps the peak of teamwork in the F1 Esports Series. Kiefer and Rasmussen broke away from the chasing pack early, forming a two-car DRS bubble. The Red Bull Wall, as commentator Alex Jacques put it, was solid. And though eventual champion Jarno Opmeer pressurised the pair in the closing laps with an alternate strategy, he could not budge the pair, and a home 1-2 was the sweetest reward.

But as Kiefer aptly puts it, Monza is a wholly different beast, with full throttle for most of the lap making such a strategy much more difficult.

“Austria actually has a bit of dirty air in the middle and final sectors, so it’s a bit easier to pull off. What Frede and I did there with me using my ERS trying to build a gap behind was awesome. But then Frede got taken out at the end, so I’m actually not too happy. The first thing in my mind is that he got taken out, so it’s a frustrating one.”

A 1-2 finish would certainly have been a welcome result for the team. Mercedes lead the way on 122 points after five races, with Red Bull trailing by 19 points on 103. It’s not hard to imagine a dead heat at the top of the standings in an alternate timeline where Rasmussen maintained P2.

Victory for Frede in Silverstone, and for Marcel in Monza, certainly makes for happy reading in the Bull pen. But the team have always put the needs of the many above the needs of the few. A 1-7 in the former and a 1-8 in the latter means even more points could have been on offer.

“It was the same thing last year, and before joined the team in 2020,” Kiefer continued.

“In 2019 and 2020 the team won, and it’s the same for this year – we want to stay on top of the game and win again and make it three in a row.”

NEXT UP: SPA

All eyes are now on the final race of Event 3 in Spa – a race where Red Bull again narrowly missed out on a 1-2 finish last season. Rasmussen and Kiefer controlled the race, but a last-lap lunge from Spa specialist Dani Bereznay divided the Bulls as they crossed the line.

They do have a lucky charm on their side this year however. With two wins in white, Red Bull’s special Honda tribute livery has treated them well so far, so could it see a third and final victory before it disappears from the game?

“It’s always good to get a win, especially with the white Red Bull. I have a huge crush on it!  So far we’ve had some good luck with it – nearly a 1-2 which after the collision didn’t happen, but let’s see, Maybe in Spa we can get it!”

You can catch Marcel, Frede, and indeed the rest of the F1 Esports gang going for the win in Spa on Thursday evening, from 1930 BST.

Red Bull Racing Esports made a return to form on Wednesday, as they swept both wins in Silverstone and Monza, in the 2021 F1 Esports Series Pro Championship, presented by Aramco.

2020 vice-champion Frede Rasmussen, and then Marcel Kiefer both took their first wins of the season in a double-bill of frantic racing action. However, it was not without pain and controversy, as a potential 1-2 went begging.

FREDE, SET, GO

Rasmussen took pole around Silverstone on Wednesday afternoon, putting his white-liveried Red Bull in prime position to take maximum points. The one-off livery has been available in-game for some time now, presenting the team with an opportunity to race it once again.

Pole was of course the best seat in the house, and Rasmussen led comfortably, pursued by Nicolas Longuet and Bari Boroumand. Lucas Blakeley lined up fourth, with his main championship rival Jarno Opmeer out of contention after qualifying a disappointing P15.

The pit stops shuffled the pack, Dani Moreno was able to jump from fifth to a net second place, behind Rasmussen and team mate Opmeer who had yet to pit.

That changed on Lap 11, when Moreno blasted past the Dane into Stowe. From then, it was a three-way duel between them and Blakeley, who patiently watched from third place, praying for an opportunity to get past.

The trio were inseparable in the dying laps, but it all came to a head on the very last lap, as Rasmussen used all his remaining power to get past on the back straight, crossing the line to deny Moreno his first win.

Blakeley completed the podium, with Longuet and Boroumand not far behind. Brendon Leigh equalled his best finish of the season so far in sixth, followed by Marcel Kiefer, Joni Tormala, Opmeer, and David Tonizza.

DOU-BULL CELEBRATIONS

The excitement did not die down as attentions turned to Monza. Opmeer perfected qualifying this time round, and took pole position. No one could contain the pace of Boroumand, who started from P7 but rapidly ascended; the only driver to start on soft rubber. By Lap 3 he was in third place, and at the beginning of the fourth tour, he led after slipstreaming leaders Opmeer and Kiefer to make a double-pass for the lead!

Despite the spectacle, Boroumand’s alternate strategy meant the real fight for the lead was behind him. Pit stops came and went, and as the race developed, a Red Bull Racing Esports 1-2 looked to be on the cards, with Kiefer and Rasmussen leading the train.

The race reached boiling point late on, as Opmeer on Lap 15 appeared from nowhere to snatch P5 from Blakeley. The following lap, he went one better, taking Longuet’s fourth place, and team mate Moreno also barged his way through.

Rasmussen’s tyres were crying for respite with two laps to go, as he dropped to third after being dispatched by Fabrizio Donoso. That was nothing compared to the final lap though. After being mugged by both Mercedes cars into Turn 1, Rasmussen was tagged from behind by Tonizza, and half-spun, dropping way down the order.

Kiefer carried on and took the win, with Opmeer second and Blakeley third once again. Donoso took fourth, with Sebastian Job getting his first points in F1 Esports in a superb fifth. Boroumand was sixth, Moreno – who received a post-race penalty – took seventh, with Rasmussen taking a gutting eighth. Daniele Haddad came home P9, and Alvaro Carreton rounded out the points.

THE NUMBERS, WHAT DO THEY MEAN?

All this means Opmeer (83) retains his championship lead, with just a four-point advantage over Blakeley (79). First wins for Rasmussen (53) and Kiefer (50) launch them up the order, with the ultra-consistent Boroumand (51) sat in between.

Mercedes (122) hold a slender lead over Red Bull (103) in the team standings… sound familiar? Aston Martin drop to third with 87 points, and Alpine Esports are in fourth with 63.

ALL EYES ON SPA

We’re not done yet! Join us for the third and final race of the event in Spa on Thursday, as we look to crown another race winner. Rasmussen won this race in 2020, but Dani Bereznay took the W in the two years prior. Can he spring a surprise and return to the top step this year?

Qualifying goes live from 1530 BST, and the race show from 1930 – see you then!