The reigning champion of the F1 Esports Series, Jarno Opmeer, claimed a sovereign second victory in a row after a controlled drive on the Red Bull Ring. The Mercedes man fought off pressure from his old rival Frede Rasmussen and led the race from pole position. Here’s what happened during the third race of the 2021 F1 Esports Pro Championship presented by Aramco …
Wednesday
After months of waiting, the first event started with a race around the Sakhir International Circuit in Bahrain. Nicolas Longuet claimed the first pole position of the year but was beaten by a first-time winner in Lucas Blakeley, who helped Aston Martin overcome its tough 2020 season as Racing Point.
In the second race of the day in China, it was McLaren Shadow’s new signing Bari Boroumand who slammed into pole in only his third race of the F1 Esports Series. He and many others struggled at the start, with a wet track adding an element of unpredictability.
However, Jarno Opmeer played a masterstroke, putting on intermediate tires at the start of the race and blowing the competition away as they dried to take victory.
HIGHLIGHTS AND REPORT: Round 1 and 2 of the F1 Esports Pro Championship 2021
Off to Austria
Opmeer picked up where he left off on Wednesday and took pole position in a hectic qualifying session at the Red Bull Ring.
At the beginning he took the lead, followed by the runner-up of the Pro Series 2020, Frede Rasmussen. Their race was a round-up of last season, with the Red Bull Racing Esports man able to keep it within reach but never close enough to attempt a move.
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Marcel Kiefer’s other Red Bull, however, had a more turbulent race. Starting from eighth place, he had to make up positions in order to build on the dynamism of his China podium. A brave move in the first round brought him past Simon Weigang from Uralkali Haas F1 Esports and finished in seventh place. A similar move on lap 3, however, didn’t go quite as smoothly. Kiefer braked at Turn 3 and sailed past Blakeley, but sailed past Bari Boroumand’s side in fourth, undoing the move and damaging his wing.
The German quickly apologized and did no harm to Boroumand, but the crushed front wing effectively destroyed his chance for points.
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Dani Moreno soon took the lead from his teammate on lap 5 and gave the Mercedes duo a chance to score a 1-2, but two laps later the two switched back. Two more laps later it took another turn when it started raining. Lap 11 was the crucial lap to stop. Opmeer came in and took the net lead again on lap 12. However, team-mate Moreno had to wait an additional lap, which cost him dearly and left the Spaniard far behind.
READ MORE: Everything You Need To Know About F1 Esports
When the drizzle persisted, the confusion in the field settled down and Jarno Opmeer crossed the finish line to take his second straight win, with Rasmussen and Boroumand completing the podium, a first run on the podium for the Iranian racer.
Then came Blakeley, David Tonizza, Alvaro Carreton and Simon Weigang, who scored his first points of the season, with Brendon Leigh, Longuet and Moreno occupying the top 10 positions.
2021 F1 Esports Series Pro Championship Round 3: Red Bull Ring, Austria
Table position
The results of the first three races put Jarno Opmeer ahead of the drivers’ standings, and his new team, Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Esports, is also leading the teams. Second place in both tables goes to the green team, with Lucas Blakeley and the Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Esports team well beating their 2020 totals.
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It’s a quick turnaround until the next time-out, with only two weeks until our next event. Be there on Wednesday October 27th at 3:30 p.m. BST when we find our polesitter for the first two races in the UK and Italy. We can’t wait to race again.
Further details about the Pro Championship – and everything about F1 Esports – can be found in the official F1 sport Page? ˅.
The post All the action from Round 3 of the 2021 F1 Esports Series Pro Championship first appeared on monter-une-startup.
