Scottish Lucas Blakeley has crowned himself this year’s F1 Esports champion. The McLaren Shadow team sim driver proved to be the strongest in the 12-race championship. Blakeley takes over the title from Jarno Opmeer, who has to settle for P5 in the championship this year. Frederik Rasmussen finished in second spot. Thomas Ronhaar appears to be the best Dutchman in third place in the 2022 title fight.
Twelve game season
The 2022 F1 Esports season had twelve games, divided into four different ‘events’. Twenty drivers were allowed to compete on behalf of the ten usual teams in the F1 2022 game, logically based on the new generation of ground effect cars. Adjusting to this took time, including for Jarno Opmeer, who was crowned champion in the past two years. In 2022, the Mercedes driver had to wait until Mexico for his first victory of the season, after which he also won the race on the virtual Circuit of the Americas.
Revival Opmeer came too late
Opmeer fought his way back into the title fight, but at the end of the ride has to settle for P5 in the championship. It is two places behind Thomas Ronhaar, who has defended Haas’ colors with verve this year. Ronhaar was an immediate factor during his rookie season in the F1 Esports Pro Series. In fact, the Dutchman played a role in the title fight until the very end and won twice, on the Red Bull Ring and the high-speed stamp of Monza.
Four race wins for Lucas Blakeley
At the end of the stage, Ronhaar is sixteen points short of the eventual champion. He goes by the name of Lucas Blakeley. The 21-year-old Scot won four times in the 2022 season on his way to his first title. Blakeley took an important step towards the title with his victory in Brazil – at the penultimate race of the season – and completed the job in Abu Dhabi last Friday. It is also the crowning glory for McLaren Shadow. The sim racing formation of the team from Woking can look back on a very successful year, in which, in addition to the drivers’ title, the team championship was also won by a large margin.