F1 Sim Racing is a professional esports programme promoted by Formula 1. The programme was created in 2017 to involve the official Formula 1 video game and its community of players, providing a new avenue for greater engagement with the sport of Formula 1. In 2018, the official Formula 1 teams joined the programme for the first time to set up their own esports teams to compete in the Formula 1 Esports Series championship.
History The first Formula One Esports Series was announced on 21 August 2017. Over 60,000 players attempted to qualify for the LAN finals of the first season, which were watched by viewers from 123 countries. Brendon Leigh won the inaugural championship.
2018 was Formula 1's first full season in esports and was split into 2 stages. In the first stage that opened in April 2018, online racers were offered the incredible opportunity to earn a place on the official esports driver line-up for one of the official F1 teams. Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport, Red Bull Racing, Force India F1 Team, Williams, Renault Sport F1 Team, Haas F1 Team, McLaren, Toro Rosso and Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team all offered positions in their esports driver line ups as part of the series inaugural Pro Draft. Over 66,000 gamers participated to vie for a spot in the official F1 teams' esports team who competed in the F1 New Balance Esports Series and a chance to win a share of the $200,000 prize fund. The series drew a record audience of 5.5million across selected TV networks and live streams online. Mercedes took the 2018 Team Championship and Brendon Leigh became two-time Driver Champion.
On 8 April 2019, Formula 1 announced the third instalment of the F1 Esports Series, with an increased prize fund of $500,000. Ferrari joined the series after choosing not to take part the year prior. The series was won by David Tonizza, driving for Ferrari Driver Academy, with Red Bull Racing Esports taking the Constructors' Trophy.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 and 2021 seasons were held remotely online rather than in a LAN setting. Both titles were won by Jarno Opmeer, in 2020 for Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen Esports and in 2021 for Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports. Frederik Rasmussen finished as runner-up in both championships. The championship remained online for the 2022 season when Lucas Blakeley and McLaren Shadow claimed their first titles in the series with Rasmussen again in second.
For the next season, the championship would be renamed to "F1 Sim Racing" and was contested across late 2023 and early 2024, as well as moved back to LAN for the first time since 2019. It was won by Rasmussen, who claimed his maiden title after finishing as runner-up in the four previous seasons. The 2025 championship was won by Jarno Opmeer, becoming the first driver to win three championships and the first time there was a driver's championships were not all won in consecutive seasons. Opmeer and Rasmussen paired up at Oracle Red Bull Sim Racing for the first time to win the teams’ record third Teams’ Championship that year.
Format Until 2022, teams could only sign drivers who had either previously competed in the pro series or qualified for that year's Pro Exhibition.
There were several ways to qualify for the Pro Exhibition. The most common was to finish in the top six of the drivers' standings of any of that years' online Challengers Series, which were shorter championships held separately on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, and could be qualified for by setting one of the highest scores in special challenge scenarios that anyone could attempt. Three drivers per platform also qualified for the Pro Exhibition through the DHL Time Trial, where drivers competed to set the fastest times possible in the in-game Time Trial mode on specific circuits. Other minor methods of qualification included the Women's Wildcard.
However, the 2023 Pro Exhibition never occurred despite the Challengers Series' for that year having taken place, and since then, teams have been able to sign whichever drivers they want. The Challengers Series were canned from 2024 onwards.
Pro Series - All participating teams have three drivers in their line-up which they have to choose two of for each of the twelve 50% races that are broadcast live to the official F1 channels. They earn points for themselves and their teams. These points count towards the championship, after which the winning team and driver will be crowned the F1 Esports Series Teams’ and Drivers’ World Champions respectively, with a portion of the prize fund distributed to the teams based on their standings.
Seasons Year Game Venue Drivers' Champion Team Teams' Champion 2017 F1 2017 Yas Marina Circuit Brendon Leigh colspan=2 2018 F1 2018 Gfinity Esports Arena Brendon Leigh Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports 2019 F1 2019 Gfinity Esports Arena David Tonizza Scuderia Ferrari Esports Team Red Bull Racing Esports 2020 F1 2020 Online Jarno Opmeer Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen Esports Red Bull Racing Esports 2021 F1 2021 Online Jarno Opmeer Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports 2022 F1 22 Online Lucas Blakeley McLaren Shadow McLaren Shadow 2023–24 F1 23 Jönköping (R1) Stockholm (R2–12) Frederik Rasmussen Oracle Red Bull Sim Racing Scuderia Ferrari Esports Team 2025 F1 24 Stockholm Jarno Opmeer Oracle Red Bull Sim Racing Oracle Red Bull Sim Racing2026F1 25 Birmingham (R1-3) Biggin Hill (R4-12) Otis Lawrence Alpine Sim Racing Oracle Red Bull Sim Racing
Statistics The statistics for the 2 (times 4) semi finals in 2017 are also included.All tables are updated up until 2026 Round 12: Abu Dhabi, held at 28 May 2026.
Drivers championships DriverChampionships2nd place3rd place4th place5th placeTotaltop 51 Jarno Opmeer3 (2020, 2021, 2025)1 (2026)2 (2019, 2023-24)1 (2022)72 Brendon Leigh2 (2017, 2018)1 (2019)33 Frederik Rasmussen1 (2023-24)4 (2019, 2020,2021, 2022)1 (2018)1 (2026)74 Lucas Blakeley1 (2022)1 (2021)25 Otis Lawrence1 (2026)1 (2025)26 David Tonizza1 (2019)17 Ismael Fahssi2 (2025, 2026)28 Thomas Ronhaar1 (2023-24)1 (2022)1 (2025)39 Dániel Bereznay1 (2018)1 (2019)1 (2020)310 Fabrizio Donoso Delgado1 (2017)111 Bari Broumand2 (2023-24, 2025)1 (2022)1 (2021)412 Marcel Kiefer1 (2020)1 (2018)213 Sven Zürner1 (2017)114 Nicolas Longuet1 (2020)1 (2026)215 Patrik Holzmann1 (2017)116 Salih Saltunç1 (2018)117 Dani Moreno1 (2021)118 Cem Bölükbaşı1 (2017)119 Alfie Butcher1 (2023-24)1
Starts In total there were 99 races held: 3 in 2017 (plus 2 semi finals in 4 groups), 10 in 2018 and 12 from 2019 onwards.This table only contains drivers with more than 25 starts. DriverSeasonsStarts1 Frederik Rasmussen2017 – 2026972 Brendon Leigh2017 – 202584 Jarno Opmeer2019 – 20264 Joni Törmälä2017 – 2026815 Dániel Bereznay2017 – 2026786 Álvaro Carretón2018 – 2026777 Nicolas Longuet2019 – 2026718 Lucas Blakeley2019 – 2025639 Marcel Kiefer2017 – 20225610 Fabrizio Donoso Delgado2017 – 2018, 2020 – 202555 Bari Broumand2020 – 202612 Simon Weigang2019 – 2023-2448 Thomas Ronhaar2022 – 202614 David Tonizza2019 – 202241 Daniele Haddad2019 – 202216 Josh Idowu2021 – 20264017 Cedric Thomé2017, 2019 – 202136 Ismael Fahssi2023-24 – 2026 Alfie Butcher2023-24 – 202620 Dani Moreno2020 – 2023-243421 Salih Saltunç2017 – 20203322 Enzo Bonito2018 – 20203223 Bono Huis2018 – 202031 Tom Manley2023-24 – 202625 Jake Benham2022 – 20263026 Ulaş Özyıldırım2023-24 – 20262827 Patrick Holzmann2017 – 201925 Rubén Pedreño2023-24 – 2026
Wins DriverStartsWinsPercentage1 Frederik Rasmussen971717.53 % Jarno Opmeer8420.24 %3 Brendon Leigh **841011.90 %4 Bari Broumand55712.73 %5 David Tonizza41614.63 % Lucas Blakeley639.52 % Thomas Ronhaar4812.50 %8 Dániel Bereznay7856.41 % Otis Lawrence2420.83 % Ismael Fahssi3613.89 %11 Marcel Kiefer5635.36 % Nicolas Longuet714.23 % Alfie Butcher368.33 %14 Allert van der Wal **9222.22 % Sonuç Saltunç **1118.18 % Patrik Holzmann **258.00 %17 Cem Bölükbaşı1815.56 % Salih Saltunç333.03 % Cedric Thomé362.78 % Dani Moreno342.94 % ** Two of their wins were achieved in the 2017 semi finals.
Top 10 most wins in one season DriverSeasonRacesWinsPercentageWDC1 Brendon Leigh201810660.00 %1st2 Brendon Leigh20175480.00 %1st Jarno Opmeer20201233.33 %1st20211233.33 %1st Lucas Blakeley20221233.33 %1st Ismael Fahssi20261233.33 %2nd7 David Tonizza201912325.00 %1st Frederik Rasmussen20191225.00 %2nd20201225.00 %2nd20211225.00 %2nd2023-241225.00 %1st Dániel Bereznay20191225.00 %3rd Thomas Ronhaar2023-241225.00 %2nd Bari Broumand2023-241225.00 %3rd20251225.00 %3rd Jarno Opmeer20251225.00 %1st Otis Lawrence20261225.00 %1st
Pole positions It is unknown who got pole in the 2017 semi finals, therefore were these race entries not included to keep the percentages fair. DriverEntriesPolesPercentage1 Frederik Rasmussen95 2122.11 %2 Thomas Ronhaar481225.00 %3 Nicolas Longuet71912.68 %4 Dániel Bereznay76 79.21 %5 David Tonizza41614.63 % Bari Broumand5510.91 %7 Brendon Leigh82 56.10 % Jarno Opmeer845.95 %9 Lucas Blakeley6346.35 % Ismael Fahssi3611.11 % Otis Lawrence2416.67 %12 Ulaş Özyıldırım28310.71 %13 Álvaro Carretón7722.60 % Josh Idowu405.00 %15 Cem Bölükbaşı16 16.25 % Fabrizio Donoso Delgado53 1.89 % Salih Saltunç31 3.23 % Enzo Bonito323.13 % Tino Naukkarinen195.26 %
Top 10 most pole positions in one season DriverSeasonRacesPolesPercentageWDC1 Frederik Rasmussen202012541.67 %2nd2 Brendon Leigh201810440.00 %1st Frederik Rasmussen20221233.33 %2nd Thomas Ronhaar20221233.33 %3rd2023-241233.33 %2nd20251233.33 %4th Otis Lawrence20261233.33 %1st Frederik Rasmussen20261233.33 %4th9 Dániel Bereznay201810330.00 %2nd20191225.00 %3rd David Tonizza20191225.00 %1st Frederik Rasmussen20191225.00 %2nd Nicolas Longuet20211225.00 %8th Bari Broumand2023-241225.00 %3rd Ismael Fahssi20251225.00 %2nd
Fastest laps There were no fastest laps awarded in 2017 and in the last four races in 2018. These race starts were not included to keep the percentages fair. DriverStartsFastest lapsPercentage1 Jarno Opmeer84910.71 %2 Brendon Leigh75 79.33 % Joni Törmälä72 9.72 %4 Patrick Holzmann16 531.25 % Nicolas Longuet717.04 % Frederik Rasmussen90 5.56 %7 Filip Prešnajder20315.00 % Álvaro Carretón73 4.11 % Lucas Blakeley634.76 % Thomas Ronhaar486.25 % Alfie Butcher3613.89 %12 Tino Naukkarinen15 213.33 % James Baldwin1118.18 % Daniele Haddad414.88 % Tomasz Poradzisz450.00 % Ismael Fahssi365.56 % Tom Manley316.45 % Bari Broumand553.64 % Jake Benham306.67 % Rubén Pedreño258.00 % Dani Bereznay72 2.78 %22 Enzo Bonito28 13.57 % Martin Stefanko7 14.29 % Jan Fehler119.09 % Amos Laurito911.11 % Isaac Price425.00 % David Tonizza412.44 % Cedric Thomé31 3.23 % Simon Weigang482.08 % Sebastian Job195.26 % Dani Moreno342.94 % Marcel Kiefer50 2.00 % Matthijs van Erven175.88 % Piotr Stachulec714.29 % Patrik Sipos214.76 % Jed Norgrove911.11 % Fabrizio Donoso Delgado47 2.13 % István Puki156.67 %
Top 10 most fastest laps in one season DriverSeasonRacesFastest lapsPercentageWDC1 Patrick Holzmann201912433.33 %14th2 Jarno Opmeer2023-2412325.00 %4th202612325.00 %3rd4 Brendon Leigh20186233.33 %1st20221216.67 %8th Tino Naukkarinen20191216.67 %11th Frederik Rasmussen20191216.67 %2nd James Baldwin20201216.67 %17th Nicolas Longuet20201216.67 %4th Joni Törmälä20201216.67 %10th20211216.67 %11th Filip Prešnajder20221216.67 %21st Tomasz Poradzisz20221216.67 %25th Jarno Opmeer20251216.67 %1st Lucas Blakeley20251216.67 %15th Tom Manley20251216.67 %12th Dani Bereznay20261216.67 %11th
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