F1 Esports Series alumnus Cem Bolukbasi will compete in the 2022 FIA Formula 2 Championship with Charouz Racing System. This marks the first time a virtual racer has entered the series.
After starting his career in the F1 Esports Series and spending the last few years in sportscar and single-seater championships, Turkish racer Bolukbasi will now step up to F2. He is the first racing driver from his nation and from the world of sim racing to make the step into series production.
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“I haven’t had time to let that sink in,” said the 23-year-old from Turkey. “I think the realization comes more and more with every hour. It was a big dream that actually came true, so it’s quite difficult to put into words, but it’s very exciting and I’m very happy.”
After competing in the F1 Esports Series in 2017 and 2018, Bolukbasi dovetailed a partial 2019 season with racing in the GT4 European Championship. He then drove two full seasons of GT4 racing in 2020 and 2021, scoring two wins in the Pro-Am category.
In 2021, Bolukbasi also focused heavily on single-seaters, racing in the F3 Asian Championship. Later that year he won his debut race in the EuroFormula Open and joined Van Amersfoort Racing from the fourth round of the season. After his first win at the Hungaroring, he later took a second win in Spain and finished fifth overall.
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Bolukbasis’ first F2 test was held in Abu Dhabi in late 2021, driving a Van Amersfoort Racing-operated car – while in his 2022 season he will drive for Charouz with his team-mate for the season to be announced.
“I was in Abu Dhabi in 2017 for F1 Esports as an Esports Driver,” he said. “Coming back after four years of testing an F2 car was pretty crazy for me after realizing everything. I watched the F1 final, tested it and a day later I drove the F2 car. I was like a kid living a dream for those five or six days.”
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With a 14-round calendar all falling on F1 race weekends, the 2022 FIA Formula 2 Championship will be the biggest yet. And Bolukbasi credited his experience in the F1 Esports series, which he said helped him become the first virtual world graduate into Formula 2.
“If I had never been to F1 Esports I would never have had the chance to get into a real car – I wouldn’t be where I am now,” he said. “I think it’s also very important to be the first player to do that because it can give people hope. When people see that a person can do it, they will believe they can do it too… If I can move from F1 Esports to FIA Formula 2, I think anyone can do it.”
Bolukbasi will return to the F2 cockpit when testing begins March 2-4 in Bahrain, with the season starting two weeks later at the same venue.
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