© @Zakon_ByEvent One - 2021 F1 Esports Series Pro ChampionshipEvent one sees the Bulls compete in Bahrain, China and Austria.
Welcometothefirsteventofthe2021F1EsportsProChampionship,oneofthebiggesteventsinprofessionalsimracing!
The 2021 season will see four events take place between now and December. Each event features three races and are competed on the same tracks as the real-life Formula One Championship. For this season the prize pool is an impressive $750,000.
The Red Bull Racing Esports Team is as strong as ever with Frede Rasmussen and Marcel Kiefer together for the second season and are hoping to not only retain the team title – which Red Bull Racing Esports has claimed for the last two seasons – but they will both be aiming for that drivers’ title too. The pair will also be joined by the Team’s newest driver, Liam Parnell.
Event one takes place on Wednesday 13 October and Thursday 14 October. Wednesday will see the Bulls get the season started in Bahrain and then China, before a home round at the Red Bull Ring in Austria on Thursday.
Frede Fought His Way Up To P7 In Bahrain© @Zakon_By
Early on Wednesday Marcel and Frede had their qualifying sessions, both drivers faced a few challenges and didn’t manage to make it out of Q2, with Marcel qualifying P11 and Frede P14.
The Season Started With A Night Race© @bcampbell_photo
At the start of the 20-lap race both drivers began with the medium compound tyre and opted for a one pit stop strategy, changing to the soft compound to finish.
Both Bulls started strong, rising through the field as the other drivers began their pit stops. Frede entered the pits at the end of lap 10 and came out in P17, on the soft tyres he was able to battle his way back up to P7. Marcel pitted two laps later and emerged in P15, he was then on the charge and managed to get in front of seven rivals to cross the finish line in P8. Aston Martin’s Lucas Blakeley took the win – the first of his career, Nicolas Longuet of Alpine was P2 and Alvaro Carreton of Williams took the final place on the podium.
Red Bull Racing Esports’ drivers Sebastian Job and Joni Törmälä were representing AlphaTauri and finished P17 and P19 respectively.
F1EsportsProChampionship2021Race1–Bahrain–Result
| Position | Driver | Team | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Lucas Blakeley | Alvaro Carreton | Nicolas Longuet | Jarno Opmeer | Bari Boroumand | Daniel Moreno | Frede Rasmussen | Marcel Kiefer | David Tonizza | Daniele Haddad |
| Aston Martin | Williams | Alpine | Mercedes | McLaren | Mercedes | Red Bull Racing Esports | Red Bull Racing Esports | FDA Esports | Aston Martin |
Marcel Claimed P3 In China© @bcampbell_photo
Marcel was able to claim the Team’s first podium of the season in wet conditions in China, with Frede finishing P17.
The German driver qualified P2 and jumped to P1 instantly off the line on wet tyres. He was almost two seconds ahead of P2 when the track began to dry out and those around him started to pit. At the end of lap six, Marcel jumped into the pits and changed for inters and emerged in P4.
By lap nine Marcel was sitting in P2, chasing down 2020’s champion and Mercedes driver Jarno Opmeer. He was six seconds ahead of Marcel, but by lap 15 the gap had halved to three seconds.
At the end of lap 15 the track started drying out and Alpine’s Fabrizio Donoso pitted for a set of soft tyres. A lap later Opmeer and Marcel dived in and joined Donoso on the soft compound. This gave Donoso the lead and Opmeer came out the pits in second, with Marcel just behind in P3.
The Bulls On Track In China© @Zakon_By
Opmeer was able to get back in front of Donoso in the remaining laps to take the win, with the Alpine driver taking second and Marcel finishing on the podium in P3.
Frede had an unfortunate race and at one stage was leading, however after his pit stop was given a time penalty and finished the race in P17.
The AlphaTauri team of Sebastian and Joni improved in race two with Sebastian finishing in P11 and Joni in P16.
Remember to tune back in tomorrow at 19:30 BST to see the live race at the Red Bull Ring, Austria.
F1EsportsProChampionship2021Race2–China–Result
| Position | Driver | Team | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | … | 17 |
| Jarno Opmeer | Fabrizio Donoso | Marcel Kiefer | Lucas Blakeley | Bari Boroumand | Bendon Leigh | Daniele Haddad | Daniel Moreno | Michael Romanidis | Filip Prešnajder | … | Frede Rasmussen |
| Mercedes | Alpine | Red Bull Racing Esports | Aston Martin | McLaren | FDA Esports | Aston Martin | Mercedes | Williams | Alfa Romeo | … | Red Bull Racing Esports |
The Austrian Round Saw The Team Collect Their Second Podium© @bcampbell_photo
The final race in event one at the Red Bull Ring saw Frede back to his best scoring a vital second place finish in testing conditions, whilst Marcel was hit with bad luck after a great start.
Frede started the race on the second row of the grid in P3, as Marcel found himself starting P8 with a lot of work to do.
At lights out Marcel instantly started battling and by the end of the first lap had gained two points up to P6, however on lap three he went for a double overtake, but couldn’t quite make it stick and hit a rival, causing front wing damage. He stayed on track, but started slipping down the order.
At the end of lap nine, Marcel pitted, and timed it right because the weather had started to change, so when he stuck on a new front wing he also changed to intermediate tyres. He came out in P17, but had lost too much time and could only claw back up to P16.
Frede on the other hand, was comfortably sitting in P3, but when the weather changed he and the Mercedes drivers of Daniel Moreno and Jarno Opmeer, who were in P1 and P2 respectively, all stayed out for one more lap on their mediums.
On the following lap Opmeer and Frede pitted, with Moreno staying out. It was to cost Moreno as by the time everyone else had switched to inters, Opmeer was in P1 and Frede in P2, with Moreno in in P10. And that’s the way it stayed until the chequered flag, with McLaren’s Bari Boroumand taking P3.
AlphaTauri drivers Sebastian Job and Joni Törmälä finished their race in P15 and P19 respectively.
The Home Race For The Bulls© @Zakon_By
F1EsportsProChampionship2021Race3–Austria–Result
| Position | Driver | Team | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | … | 16 |
| Jarno Opmeer | Frede Rasmussen | Bari Boroumand | Lucas Blakeley | Alvaro Carreton | David Tonizza | Simon Weigang | Brendon Leigh | Nicolas Longuet | Daniel Moreno | … | Marcel Kiefer |
| Mercedes | Red Bull Racing Esports | McLaren | Aston Martin | Williams | FDA Esports | Alfa Romeo | FDA Esports | Alpine | Mercedes | … | Red Bull Racing Esports |
Marcel Kiefer© Red Bull Racing Honda
“It was a very mixed day, with good and bad performances. Unfortunately, we struggled for pace in qualifying for Bahrain, with both Frede and I out of Q2. P11 was 10 places higher on the grid than I wanted to start on, but we knew this was our weakest track, even though we didn’t expect to be off by so much. That being said, the race went better and Frede finished in P7, and I finished in P8 – which was solid recovery, but in no way a great start.
“China was looking much better as we felt like our car setup would help us fight and win the race. Qualifying in P4 for Frede and P2 for me was a perfect opportunity to cancel out a weak round one. I put on a wet weather masterclass to take the lead quickly. After Bahrain, I couldn’t risk us losing even more points and with the track drying up we couldn’t afford the gamble people behind us took. I was disappointed to finish third in conditions that suited my skills.
"For Austria, the difficult weather conditions caused real trouble for us in qualification which saw me start in P8. In the race I had a different approach than usual by starting further back, which was a mistake. Whilst fighting and making up a lot of positions right away I caught front wing damage. From there on I sacrificed my own race to help Frede make the right strategy call for inters and he finished second. It couldn’t have gone much worse, we did the best we could and it just didn‘t go our way. The competition is strong and we need to keep at it. This is not over! Everyone will get better so we need to work hard. Heads down, rest, reset and go again with more work put in before Event two.”
Frede Rasmussen© Red Bull Racing Honda
"It was a really frustrating day and I am disappointed but there was a positive to take from the comeback in Bahrain. This year already seems to be closer than ever – everyone is extremely fast and nerves definitely come into play. Hopefully the stars align correctly for us tomorrow in Austria - we are of course aiming to finish with another 1-2 like last year. We will give it our best shot!
“Austria wasn’t too bad – we almost got lucky in qualifying but just missed out. Finishing in P2 in the race was the best I could achieve as it is really tricky to overtake in the wet. This has been a tough first event and we need a big comeback in round two. It’s clear that this year is closer than ever. Everyone is extremely fast and they will be in the next event but we will be ready.”
