© Red Bull Racing EsportsBulls Back-To-Back F1 Esports Pro Series ChampionsA nail-biter at Interlagos sees the Red Bull Racing Esports Team crowned F1 Esports Pro Series Constructors’ Champions once again.
Nowintoitsfourthyear,theF1EsportsProSerieshasbeencloserthanever,andwithjustoneeventandthreeracestogo,theRedBullRacingEsportsTeam,championsof2019,werelookingtodouble-down.
They came to the fourth and final event of the season on 255 points, a comfortable – but by no means conclusive – lead of 32 over Alfa Romeo Esports ORLEN. Here’s the breakdown of Grand Final, that took place in Japan, Mexico and Brazil…
Frede: P1
Marcel: P5
It was a strong start for the Bulls at the opening race of the final event. Marcel qualified on pole with Frede in P2, however Marcel was handed a three-place grid penalty for multiple warnings which meant he would start in P4.
The Bulls lined up on different strategies, with Frede starting on softs and Marcel on mediums. At lights out Renault Vitality’s Nicholas Longuet managed to get in front of Frede and the pair raced ahead, Marcel was able to keep hold of P4 and championship leader Jarno Opmeer of Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN F1 was in P6.
Frede On Track At Suzuka© @Zakon_By
It was a very controlled race, with every driver biding their time and waiting to make a move, and Frede was eyeing up Longuet to take the lead. At the beginning of lap 18 of 19, Frede pushed and as they came down the start/finish straight Frede struck and made his move, passing Longuet to take P1 and pull away, ensuring he wouldn’t’ be caught.
Marcel was holding on to P4 but Opmeer was on his tail and at the start of the final lap, Opmeer pushed Marcel aside to take P4.
The result left Frede just six points behind Opmeer in the Drivers’ Standings with two races remaining.
AutódromoHermanosRodríguez
Frede: P3
Marcel: P6
Qualifying was a similar story for the second race of the Grand Final of the F1 Esports 2020 Pro Series with Frede qualifying on pole and Marcel in P4.
The Mexican race was frenetic from the start. Opmeer and FDA Hublot Esports’ David Tonizza split the two Bulls on the grid and as the drivers headed down to turn one, Frede found himself three-wide with Opmeer and Tonizza. However, there wasn’t enough room for all three cars to get through and Tonizza crashed out allowing Frede to take the lead and Opmeer to claim P2.
Marcel Leaves The Foro Sol© @bcampbell_photo
That’s the way the standings stayed until Marcel pitted and emerged in traffic in P16. A lap later, at the end of lap 10, Frede pitted, coming out in P9, with Marcel just behind him.
The pair then started to make headway climbing back up the standings, but on lap 16, over the team radio, Frede announced that he’d taken damage. After all the front runners had pitted, Frede was in P1 and Marcel in P3 – the Bulls were split by championship leader Opmeer.
Frede held on for as long as possible, but the damage to his car was taking its toll and with six laps remaining, Opmeer took the lead.
Marcel was in P3, but was struggling with his medium tyres when Mercedes-AMG Petrones Esports’ Brendon Leigh got in front of the Bull on lap 23.
The penultimate lap saw Opmeer’s teammate, Daniel Bereznay overtake Marcel, ensuring the Constructors’ Championship would go down to the final race. A wounded Frede was also passed by Leigh to claim P2.
Frede finished P3 with Marcel in P6. The result in Mexico saw Opmeer head to the final race with a 16-point lead on Frede, meaning it was all to play for in Brazil.
Frede: P11
Marcel: P2
The F1 ESports Pro Series doesn't do dull races but, if you had to choose a circuit on which to have a title decider, the Autódromo José Carlos Pace would be it. The tight 4.309km circuit, undulating up and down across the Interlagos hillside is a racetrack where history has been made in the real world, and now had the opportunity do the same in the virtual.
Wednesday night had left both championships finely balanced, and for the first time both titles would be decided in the final race. With 313 points to Alfa Romeo’s 274, Red Bull Racing Esports needed just five to make certain of the Constructors’ Championship, and this only if the Alfas managed at unlikely 1-2 finish.
Finishing Off The Season In Brazil© @bcampbell_photo
In the Drivers’ Championship, while Marcel was assured of third position, Frede was still in the hunt for the title. With a 16-point advantage, championship leader Opmeer knew that fifth or better would be enough to guarantee him the title, regardless of whatever the great Dane could do.
Pre-race nerves were evident at the start of the race with Frede lining-up P9, one place behind his championship rival – but no such anxiety for Marcel, who started the race on the front row in P2 alongside Longuet, looking at the short chute down to the Senna S with nothing in front of him but empty tarmac. While Frede was starting the 25-lap race on the Medium tyre, Marcel had the Soft compound fitted.
While Marcel held P2 at the start, Frede got a rocket, up to P7 on the first lap and passing Opmeer. The short Interlagos circuit offers very little opportunity to break the DRS tow, and thus there was very little field-spread. Frede looked composed in P7 – but wasn’t making any great in-roads on Mercedes’ Brendon Leigh in P6 and so was the first driver to roll the dice, pitting for the soft tyre on lap eight, in the hope of using the clean air to make the undercut work.
Marcel Picks Up P2 In The Finale© @bcampbell_photo
It all went wrong for Frede at this point, picking up a three-seconds penalty for speeding in the pit lane. He ran an excellent race but, once the penalty was applied, would finish outside the points in P11. For Marcel, it was a question of biding his time. His race was similar to that of Frede at the Suzuka round, in which he was comfortable stalking race leader Longuet before making a late-race move to take the lead and victory.
They held relative position through their stops, swapping to the medium tyre, content to decide the race in the closing stages. Marcel made his move on lap 24. He closed through the Senna S and was tucking into the tow through the Curva do Sol, activating the DRS on the run down the back straight to the Descida do Lago. He went inside and was squeezed – fairly – by Longuet, with the pair racing side-by-side on the exit. Marcel, however gutsed it out around the outside of Ferradura, and grabbed the place through Laranjinha.
Longuet wasn’t finished, however, and launched an amazing fightback coming onto the start-finish straight and had just enough to take the place – and the victory back. Marcel had a good look around the final few corners but discretion took hold and he brought the car home, triggering celebrations as we secured the championship for the second year in a row. It was a fantastic climax to a fascinating season.
F1 Esports Pro Series Team Champions© Red Bull Racing Esports
“My Grand Final started perfectly, claiming pole position following Marcel’s penalty. However, I stayed behind Nicolas (Longuet) for the whole race as I knew he had used all of his ERS on his first stint, so it was a matter of me waiting for the right time to make my move. On the second to last lap I went for the overtake, which was successful and crossed the line with the victory.
"We then headed to Mexico where again I had a nice lap in qualifying to claim pole. My race started strongly after a good battle down to Turn One. However, after my pit stop I caught some backmarkers and damaged my front wing. I drove as hard as I could and in the end the maximum I could achieve was third.
"Going into the final race of the season in Brazil, it’s my worst track. I struggled in qualifying to put any good lap together and qualified ninth. I started the race pretty well and pitted early, however I was handed a three second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. I did what I could and crossed the line in eighth, however after my time penalty it meant I finished eleventh in the end. Overall, it’s been a great season and it’s amazing to win back-to-back World Championships with Red Bull Racing Esports.”
“The Grand Final got off to the perfect start for me with my first ever pole. However, this was unfortunately taken away after I received a grid penalty due to my fourth official warning from the stewards between Events Three and Four. For the race, I went for an alternative strategy to Frede, but things didn’t work out, which ultimately put me in the worst position possible. Fifth was the maximum in the end.
"We then headed to Mexico, which is my least favourite track. I qualified fourth which wasn’t what I wanted. At the start I got off strongly, however I soon lost a few positions as I had to avoid an incident at Turn One. From then on, I tried to battle back but ended up crossing the line in sixth.
"It was then on to Interlagos where we were looking to finish the job. I managed to qualify well in second which meant I had a good chance of winning here again. I progressed well throughout the race and on the last few laps managed to overtake Nicolas to take first however he fought back and I crossed the line in second, but we did it!! We’re World Champions and I’m so happy, it’s awesome working with Tino and Frede. The chemistry and work ethic is on point and we’re really proud of it.”
| Position | Driver | Team | Points | | 1. | 2. | 3. | 4. | 5. | 6. | 7. | 8. | 9. | 10. |
| Jarno Opmeer | Frederik Rasmussen | Marcel Kiefer | Nicolas Longuet | Daniel Bereznay | Brendon Leigh | David Tonizza | Daniel Moreno | Álvaro Carretón | Joni Törmälä |
| Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN F1 | Red Bull Racing Esports | Red Bull Racing Esports | Renault Vitality | Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN F1 | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports | FDA Hublot Esports | McLaren Shadow | Williams Esports | Scuderia AlphaTauri Esports |
| 196 | 174 | 157 | 131 | 99 | 84 | 79 | 70 | 38 | 34 |
| Position | Team | Points | | 1. | 2. | 3.. | 4. | 5. | 6. | 7. | 8. | 9. | 10. |
| Red Bull Racing Esports | Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN F1 | Renault Vitality | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports | 5 FDA Hublot Esports | McLaren Shadow | Scuderia AlphaTauri Esports | Williams Esports | Haas F1 Team Esports | BWT Racing Point F1 Esports |
| 332 | 295 | 136 | 107 | 100 | 80 | 46 | 45 | 39 | 33 |
