After an extended break, the series formerly known as F1 Esports picked up once more with six races across three days. Here is the round-up of all the action in Event 2 of the F1 Sim Racing World Championship.
When the flag dropped after the first round of F1 Sim Racing's 2023-24 season, very few perhaps expected that it would take 137 days for the series to pick up again. After apparent conflicts behind the scenes, F1 Sim Racing returned and six exciting races ensued from 10 to 12 April.
The drivers tackled Jeddah, Red Bull Ring, Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps, Zandvoort and Circuit of the Americas. Who would come out on top after Thomas Ronhaar's win in the Bahrain opener? Would he extend his lead or will someone else come along and take the spoils?
Looking to not continue this streak, Rasmussen took pole ahead of Ferrari's Bari Broumand and Haas rookie Alfie Butcher. Like Ronhaar in the first race, he was relatively untroubled and took victory whilst chaos ensued behind. In the pits, Broumand and Butcher had a minor tap but it was enough to damage their cars.
Butcher retired not long after whilst Broumand stayed out, but what could have been a net second place became 17th in the end. Ronhaar ended up second after a close last lap battle with reigning champion Blakeley and impressive Williams rookie Ismael Fahssi, who performed the perfect switchback on the last corner to get third.
The drivers questioned why this happened. Jarno Opmeer was given an in-game penalty for being under the delta time when the VSC ended. He did not mince his words afterwards, pointing out that the VSC (which had never been used in the series before) messed up the races of many drivers. Going on to say whoever made that call "should not be allowed near sports".
After the VSC, only Haas' Alfie Butcher had pitted for Medium tyres whilst everyone else around him went for the Hard compound. The rookie passed Broumand and came across his teammate Ulaş Özyıldrım who was yet to pit, let Butcher through and set about creating as big of a roadblock for him as possible.
Meanwhile, Ronhaar went on soft tyres and somehow fought back and passed Broumand. He made it back to second and fought once again with Ismael Fahssi on the last lap, very nearly swapping positions and coming close to Butcher when rain began falling. But Butcher had done enough to win in only his third start.
For the start, Opmeer took a gamble by starting on the Medium tyres. This worked out a dream later on as Nicolas Longuet along with many others pitted on Lap 10 whilst Opmeer remained on track for a further six laps. The two-time champion returned to the track in 11th and set about making use of his Soft compound tyres.
In only four laps, he made his way up to the lead battle and drove clean around the outside of Longuet at Luffield corner. Opmeer held his nerve over the remaining laps and sealed the victory, whilst the likes of title protagonists Rasmussen and Ronhaar endured lowly points scoring positions.
On the run up to Les Combes, Broumand kept Rasmussen behind and he was even passed by AlphaTauri driver Tom Manley. Approaching the bus stop, Ronhaar attempted an optimistic lunge past Rasmussen but nearly got spun when he tapped Manley. Meanwhile, Lucas Blakeley was on the mediums attempting to play the long game.
As the Soft tyre starters began to enter their pit window, Blakeley started making moves. Despite starting on Soft compound tyres, Broumand continued until long after the supposed optimal pit window and by the time he pit, the Iranian cycled back out in 16th. It seemed like another Ferrari strategy blunder but as it turned out, it was genius.
Blakeley pitted a few laps later for Soft tyres and Broumand set about cutting his way back to the lead of the group that began the race on the Softs. Lap 17/22 and Rasmussen led from Broumand and Blakeley, but then both got past the Red Bull ace on the run up to Les Combes.
On the last lap, Blakeley made his move on the Kemmel straight but Broumand held his nerve around the outside of Blanchimont. He perfected the pass and took victory at Spa, his first in red.
Whilst Broumand pit first and went on the Medium tyres with many behind him going with the Hard compound, Longuet followed the next lap but he was put on fresh Inters. He apparently selected a dry tyre but he may have only done it after he entering the pitlane so it did not update the tyre selection. Either way, his race was ruined.
Best Longuet could do now was wait for the gaggle of cars behind him and try to hold them up to benefit his teammate. But before he could do that, Rasmussen attempted an overtake at T10 which resulted in contact with Broumand. With Longuet tumbling down the order, he pulled into the pits and it was the lead for Rasmussen.
Broumand tried to close in on Rasmussen in the last few laps but it was to no avail. The first repeat winner of the season would go the way of Red Bull's Frederik Rasmussen, albeit in controversial circumstances as it was declared that there would be no penalty for that contact with Broumand.
After the front runners pitted, Rasmussen and Broumand swapped around in the net lead. Heading onto lap 16, Blakeley pit and equipped a set of Mediums and came back out in 12th. He wasted no time trying to make up places, and pulled off a remarkable double overtake on Fahssi and Donoso around the outside of T13.
Unfortunately for the McLaren driver, his efforts to cut through the field were delayed just enough to not trouble Broumand and Rasmussen. He just fell short of a podium, with the final step being occupied by KICK Sauber's Brendon Leigh. But as far as the win goes, Broumand had no defence on the last lap for Rasmussen who sealed victory.
In the team's standings, it is a much closer affair with Red Bull on top with 150 points ahead of Mercedes on 130, Ferrari on 120 and KICK on 100. The next event takes place 7 to 9 May which will see the drivers compete across five races to end the season. Can Rasmussen finally lift the crown or will Broumand, Opmeer, Ronhaar or anyone else deny him once again?
Who do you expect to win the F1 Sim Racing championship? Let us know on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below.
When the flag dropped after the first round of F1 Sim Racing's 2023-24 season, very few perhaps expected that it would take 137 days for the series to pick up again. After apparent conflicts behind the scenes, F1 Sim Racing returned and six exciting races ensued from 10 to 12 April.
The drivers tackled Jeddah, Red Bull Ring, Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps, Zandvoort and Circuit of the Americas. Who would come out on top after Thomas Ronhaar's win in the Bahrain opener? Would he extend his lead or will someone else come along and take the spoils?
Rasmussen Gets Away
Since 2018, Frederik Rasmussen has consistently been F1 Esports' nearly-man. He was Brendon Leigh's only competition in that first season but fell short of the runner-up spot after missing two races. Then his move from Toro Rosso to Red Bull has resulted in being runner-up to David Tonizza in 2019, Jarno Opmeer in 2020 and 2021, and to Lucas Blakeley in 2022.Looking to not continue this streak, Rasmussen took pole ahead of Ferrari's Bari Broumand and Haas rookie Alfie Butcher. Like Ronhaar in the first race, he was relatively untroubled and took victory whilst chaos ensued behind. In the pits, Broumand and Butcher had a minor tap but it was enough to damage their cars.
Butcher retired not long after whilst Broumand stayed out, but what could have been a net second place became 17th in the end. Ronhaar ended up second after a close last lap battle with reigning champion Blakeley and impressive Williams rookie Ismael Fahssi, who performed the perfect switchback on the last corner to get third.
F1 Sim Racing Race 2 Result:
- Frederik Rasmussen - Red Bull
- Thomas Ronhaar - KICK (Sauber)
- Ismael Fahssi - Williams
- Lucas Blakeley - McLaren
- Jake Benham - Mercedes
- Wilson Hughes - McLaren
- Jarno Opmeer - Mercedes
- Nicolas Longuet - Ferrari
- Josh Idowu - Red Bull
- Fabrizio Donoso - Aston Martin
Butcher Wins in Controversial Race
Ronhaar and Broumand lined up on the front row on different strategies, with the KICK driver on Hard tyres and the Ferrari on Mediums. It looked like Broumand had been gifted the race on a silver platter when a Virtual Safety Car was called during his pit window. Lucas Blakeley had disconnected from the race, so the organisers deployed the VSC.The drivers questioned why this happened. Jarno Opmeer was given an in-game penalty for being under the delta time when the VSC ended. He did not mince his words afterwards, pointing out that the VSC (which had never been used in the series before) messed up the races of many drivers. Going on to say whoever made that call "should not be allowed near sports".
After the VSC, only Haas' Alfie Butcher had pitted for Medium tyres whilst everyone else around him went for the Hard compound. The rookie passed Broumand and came across his teammate Ulaş Özyıldrım who was yet to pit, let Butcher through and set about creating as big of a roadblock for him as possible.
Meanwhile, Ronhaar went on soft tyres and somehow fought back and passed Broumand. He made it back to second and fought once again with Ismael Fahssi on the last lap, very nearly swapping positions and coming close to Butcher when rain began falling. But Butcher had done enough to win in only his third start.
F1 Sim Racing Race 3 Result:
- Alfie Butcher - Haas
- Thomas Ronhaar - KICK (Sauber)
- Ismael Fahssi - Williams
- Jake Benham - Mercedes
- Bari Broumand - Ferrari
- Jed Norgrove - AlphaTauri
- Nicolas Longuet - Ferrari
- Frederik Rasmussen - Red Bull
- Wilson Hughes - McLaren
- Josh Idowu - Red Bull
Opmeer Fights Back
For the first race of Day 2, the drivers would go to Silverstone and it was Jarno Opmeer who topped the final qualifying session, but he would not start from pole. Mercedes teammate Dani Bereznay was the beneficiary after the stewards took a dim view of Opmeer's criticisms from the previous day, deeming him to have partaken in 'unsportsman-like conduct'.For the start, Opmeer took a gamble by starting on the Medium tyres. This worked out a dream later on as Nicolas Longuet along with many others pitted on Lap 10 whilst Opmeer remained on track for a further six laps. The two-time champion returned to the track in 11th and set about making use of his Soft compound tyres.
In only four laps, he made his way up to the lead battle and drove clean around the outside of Longuet at Luffield corner. Opmeer held his nerve over the remaining laps and sealed the victory, whilst the likes of title protagonists Rasmussen and Ronhaar endured lowly points scoring positions.
F1 Sim Racing Race 4 Result:
- Jarno Opmeer - Mercedes
- Nicolas Longuet - Ferrari
- Dani Bereznay - Mercedes
- Ismael Fahssi - Williams
- Brendon Leigh - KICK (Sauber)
- Lucas Blakeley - McLaren
- Frederik Rasmussen - Red Bull
- Thomas Ronhaar - KICK (Sauber)
- Josh Idowu - Red Bull
- Simon Weigang - Aston Martin
Broumand Usurps Blakeley
From one beloved historically significant F1 venue to another, time to tackle Spa. Ferrari driver Bari Broumand scored his first victory in the series in the 2022 season Spa race, and he took pole ahead of Rasmussen. At the start, Haas' Ulaş Özyıldrım collided with Alpine's Patrik Sipos before La Source.On the run up to Les Combes, Broumand kept Rasmussen behind and he was even passed by AlphaTauri driver Tom Manley. Approaching the bus stop, Ronhaar attempted an optimistic lunge past Rasmussen but nearly got spun when he tapped Manley. Meanwhile, Lucas Blakeley was on the mediums attempting to play the long game.
As the Soft tyre starters began to enter their pit window, Blakeley started making moves. Despite starting on Soft compound tyres, Broumand continued until long after the supposed optimal pit window and by the time he pit, the Iranian cycled back out in 16th. It seemed like another Ferrari strategy blunder but as it turned out, it was genius.
Blakeley pitted a few laps later for Soft tyres and Broumand set about cutting his way back to the lead of the group that began the race on the Softs. Lap 17/22 and Rasmussen led from Broumand and Blakeley, but then both got past the Red Bull ace on the run up to Les Combes.
On the last lap, Blakeley made his move on the Kemmel straight but Broumand held his nerve around the outside of Blanchimont. He perfected the pass and took victory at Spa, his first in red.
F1 Sim Racing Race 5 Result:
- Bari Broumand - Ferrari
- Lucas Blakeley - McLaren
- Frederik Rasmussen - Red Bull
- Josh Idowu - Red Bull
- Jarno Opmeer - Mercedes
- Dani Bereznay - Mercedes
- Brendon Leigh - KICK (Sauber)
- Ismael Fahssi - Williams
- Tom Manley - AlphaTauri
- Thomas Ronhaar - KICK (Sauber)
Rasmussen Move Not Penalised
For the Zandvoort race, Ferrari locked out a front row with it being Nicolas Longuet's time to triumph. After having to restart due to a gridding error, the race got underway in light rain conditions but with the expectation of it drying up. Longuet established a healthy lead ahead of teammate Broumand, but then as it dried up, disaster.Whilst Broumand pit first and went on the Medium tyres with many behind him going with the Hard compound, Longuet followed the next lap but he was put on fresh Inters. He apparently selected a dry tyre but he may have only done it after he entering the pitlane so it did not update the tyre selection. Either way, his race was ruined.
Best Longuet could do now was wait for the gaggle of cars behind him and try to hold them up to benefit his teammate. But before he could do that, Rasmussen attempted an overtake at T10 which resulted in contact with Broumand. With Longuet tumbling down the order, he pulled into the pits and it was the lead for Rasmussen.
Broumand tried to close in on Rasmussen in the last few laps but it was to no avail. The first repeat winner of the season would go the way of Red Bull's Frederik Rasmussen, albeit in controversial circumstances as it was declared that there would be no penalty for that contact with Broumand.
F1 Sim Racing Race 6 Result:
- Frederik Rasmussen - Red Bull
- Bari Broumand - Ferrari
- Tom Manley - AlphaTauri
- Alfie Butcher - Haas
- Josh Idowu - Red Bull
- Lucas Blakeley - McLaren
- Jarno Opmeer - Mercedes
- Jake Benham - Mercedes
- Ismael Fahssi - Williams
- Brendon Leigh - KICK (Sauber)
Frede Trebles Up
Now we come to the final race of the event, on Circuit of the Americas. In qualifying, Lucas Blakeley took his first pole as reigning champion but rather interestingly, decided to start on Hard compound tyres. He got swamped on the first lap by the likes of Rasmussen, Broumand, Álvaro Carretón and Brendon Leigh.After the front runners pitted, Rasmussen and Broumand swapped around in the net lead. Heading onto lap 16, Blakeley pit and equipped a set of Mediums and came back out in 12th. He wasted no time trying to make up places, and pulled off a remarkable double overtake on Fahssi and Donoso around the outside of T13.
Unfortunately for the McLaren driver, his efforts to cut through the field were delayed just enough to not trouble Broumand and Rasmussen. He just fell short of a podium, with the final step being occupied by KICK Sauber's Brendon Leigh. But as far as the win goes, Broumand had no defence on the last lap for Rasmussen who sealed victory.
F1 Sim Racing Race 7 Result:
- Frederik Rasmussen - Red Bull
- Bari Broumand - Ferrari
- Brendon Leigh - KICK (Sauber)
- Lucas Blakeley - McLaren
- Alfie Butcher - Haas
- Álvaro Carretón - Williams
- Josh Idowu - Red Bull
- Jarno Opmeer - Mercedes
- Patrik Sipos - Alpine
- Rubén Pedreño - Alpine
Rasmussen Has One Hand on the Trophy
In terms of the standings, Frederik Rasmussen's three wins to Ronhaar's, Butcher's, Opmeer's and Broumand's one along with his immense consistency means he unsurprisingly leads the standings on 115 points, by a healthy margin back to Broumand too who is on 74.In the team's standings, it is a much closer affair with Red Bull on top with 150 points ahead of Mercedes on 130, Ferrari on 120 and KICK on 100. The next event takes place 7 to 9 May which will see the drivers compete across five races to end the season. Can Rasmussen finally lift the crown or will Broumand, Opmeer, Ronhaar or anyone else deny him once again?
Who do you expect to win the F1 Sim Racing championship? Let us know on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below.
