F1® 2021 - F1® Esports Series Challengers Event 2 Preview

This week, 16 drivers from each platform: Xbox, PlayStation, and PC take to Imola and Portimao for the second F1^® Esports Series Challengers event, as the six-event fight for a place with the esports Pros continues.

If you’re new to the Challengers, each of the drivers qualified via the month-long in-game events held in F1^® 2021 throughout October and November of last year. Battling it out on their individual platforms over a 12-race mini-championship, there are six places to the Pro Exhibition – and the chance to be signed by an official F1^® Esports team – up for grabs for the top drivers.

China and Bahrain were the first races each platform got to grips with on the 18th, 19th, and 20th January, and here’s what happened.

Xbox

The 16 Xbox drivers were the first to gear up for the challenge. Tom Manley took the first pole of the 2022 Series Challengers, and while he dominated the first race, it was the fight for the final podium places between Oates, Jacobs and McLean that stood out.  

Lewis Groombridge took an impressive one-shot pole in Bahrain, but Manley, starting in 11th on the grid, took the chequered flag first, grabbing his second Challengers win and solidifying his place at the top of the standings.

PlayStation

Next, it was the turn of the PS4 and PS5 racers, and after an extremely close qualifying session, Matthew Alder grabbed pole position in China, keeping the lead after lights went out until the pit stops. Then, despite a tight battle between the top three, Alder retook the lead, winning the first PlayStation Challengers race of 2022.

After a tense one-shot qualifying in Bahrain, Dutchman Joost Nordijk took pole position, masterfully keeping the lead as the lights went out. As the laps raced by, the action heated up under the lights of Sakhir, with a collision between Alder and Marcel Altstadt and a dramatic battle for all three podium positions with only a handful of laps to go.

PC

Last, but absolutely no means least, was the PC Challengers on Thursday. Packed with many familiar esports names, Tomek Poradzisz was the man to beat in qualifying, taking pole in China. Not wasting any time off the start line, he dominated the race, finishing with over seven seconds to spare, a feat practically unheard of in F1^® Esports.

 John Evans was the man on pole in Bahrain in the one-shot qualifying. Racing bravely, he led for most of the race. A calculated late overtake from Samuel Bean gave him the victory, as Evans had to settle for second place, with Wilson Hughes rounding out the podium.

The second event gets started tonight from 7 pm GMT – make sure you’re watching live on Formula 1^®’s Twitch and our Facebook.        

F1 Esports Series is promoted and operated by Formula One Digital Media Limited. For Official Rules, see f1esports.com/rules.