The 2022 F1 Esports Series Pro Championship was an esports competition for Formula One which was the sixth season of the Formula One Esports Series and the last installation to be named the "F1 Esports Series" before rebranding to F1 Sim Racing the next season. It was held in Formula One's official 2022 game.

Lucas Blakeley won the driver's championship for the first time, as McLaren Shadow won the team's championship for the first time. Jarno Opmeer and Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports Team were the defending champions, having won the Drivers' and Teams' titles respectively in 2021. It was the final season for 2019 champion David Tonizza and long-time driver Marcel Kiefer; Tonizza moved to other esports competitions and Kiefer retired from esports to pursue a motorsport career.

Format

Qualification - The season opens with online qualification, a global call for participation. Qualification is open to anyone with a copy of the official Formula 1 video game developed by Codemasters. The fastest gamers get through. Pro Exhibition - Qualifying gamers enter the Pro Draft where the official Formula 1 teams select their drivers to represent them in the F1 Esports Series Pro Championship. Pro Championship - The drivers race in a series of events that are broadcast live. Race distance was increased from 35% to 50% this year. Same as F1, drivers must make one pit stop if the weather is dry, and are not obligated to do so if it's wet. They earn points for themselves and their F1 teams. These races will determine the F1 Esports Series Pro Championship Teams’ and Drivers’ World Champions, with a portion of the prize fund distributed to the teams based on their standings.

Teams and drivers

TeamRace driversNo.Driver nameRounds Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN F1 Esports Team 154071 Daniel Bereznay Nicolas Longuet Tomasz Poradzisz1, 3–5, 7, 9–11All2, 6, 8, 12 Alpine Esports Team803875 Patrik Sipos Filip Prešnajder Luke Smith1–7, 9–121–2, 4–5, 7–83, 6, 8–12 Aston Martin Cognizant Esports Team69302 Manuel Biancolilla Simon Weigang John Evans1–3, 9–10All4–8, 11–12 Scuderia Ferrari Velas Esports Team72958 Brendon Leigh David Tonizza Fabrizio Donoso1–4, 6–122, 4–5, 7–8, 121, 3, 5–6, 9–11 McLaren Shadow88713 Lucas Blakeley Bari Broumand Wilson HughesAllAllDid not compete Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports Team342625 Jarno Opmeer Dani Moreno Jake BenhamAll1–67–12 Red Bull Racing Esports1942N.A. Frederik Rasmussen Marcel Kiefer Liam ParnellAllAllDid not compete Scuderia AlphaTauri Esports Team106751 Sebastian Job Josh Idowu Joni Törmälä1, 3, 5–7, 9–111–2, 4–5, 7–8, 11–122–4, 6, 8–10, 12 Haas F1 Team Esports 483984 Matthijs van Erven Thomas Ronhaar Piotr Stachulec2, 4–5, 7, 10All1, 3, 6, 8–9, 11–12 Williams Esports219279 Álvaro Carretón Daniele Haddad Shanaka Clay1–4, 6, 9–122, 5–10, 121, 3–5, 7–8, 11Sources:

Calendar RoundEventCircuitDistanceDateBroadcast1Event One Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir29 Laps14 September2 Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola32 Laps15 September3 Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone26 Laps16 September4Event Two Red Bull Ring, Spielberg36 Laps12 October5 Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot22 Laps13 October6 Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort36 Laps14 October7Event Three Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza27 Laps2 November8 Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City36 Laps3 November9 Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas28 Laps4 November10Grand Final Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka27 Laps14 December11 Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo36 Laps15 December12 Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi29 Laps16 DecemberSource:

Season report

Event One

The season started off in Bahrain. Lucas Blakeley took pole position and led from the start, but had to fend off the likes of Frederik Rasmussen and rookie Thomas Ronhaar, which caused him to lose ground to the reigning champion, Jarno Opmeer. Opmeer attempted an overcut, while Ronhaar sustained damaged and retired from the race. Blakeley was given a penalty by the game, but it was revoked by the stewards and it allowed him to win ahead of Opmeer and his new teammate, Bari Broumand.

At the next round in Imola, Ronhaar took his first pole position in the series. On the first lap, Opmeer was tagged from the back and fell to eighteenth. A poor strategy from Ronhaar relegated him to fourth place, with Blakeley winning back-to-back races. Marcel Kiefer was second for his only podium of his final season in F1 Esports, with his teammate Rasmussen getting his first podium of the season.

Rasmussen claimed his first pole of the season at Silverstone. Ronhaar settled for a long stint behind him, which eventually led to a last-lap battle between the two. Rasmussen took his first win of the season; Ronhaar took his first podium of the season (and also the first of his career). Blakeley got past Sebastian Job for third.

Event Two

Rasmussen took another pole position at the Red Bull Ring. He and Ronhaar fought in wet conditions, but eventually, Ronhaar took the lead to win his first race in F1 Esports. Rasmussen ended up second, with Josh Idowu taking his first podium behind. Opmeer was fourth from Nicolas Longuet, Blakeley, and Broumand.

Rasmussen again took pole at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. He battled Broumand throughout the race and fell back during the round of pit stops. Blakeley got pas Broumand, but only briefly as he retook the position; Idowu managed to overtake Blakeley later. Rasmussen’s pace advantage over Broumand resulted in a last-lap battle, but Broumand took the win from Rasmussen, Idowu, and Blakeley.

Ronhaar took pole at Zandvoort, his home race. A rainy starting ground caused Piotr Stachulec, Ronhaar’s teammate, to spin into Dani Moreno, Opmeer’s teammate. By Lap 10, everyone but Opmeer was on medium tires, with Opmeer going for the hard compound. His plan failed as he dropped from second to four. Blakeley won his third race of the season from Broumand, Rasmussen, and Opmeer, as pole-sitter Ronhaar ended up 9th.

Event Three

Heading into the second half of the season, Blakeley had 110 points compared to Rasmussen’s 95. Broumand was further back with 70 points, with Ronhaar and Opmeer on 63 and 60 points respectively.

Longuet took pole position in Monza, as Opmeer was only eighteenth. At the start, Longuet had a snap of understeer, allowing Broumand to soar into the lead. Ronhaar got past Longuet as well to battle Broumand for the win, which he achieved in another last-lap battle. Longuet ended up in third. Rasmussen was fifth with Blakeley seventh.

Rasmussen took another pole in Mexico City. After the round of pitstops, Rasmussen forced Ronhaar off the road at Turn 6; he eventually got a ten-second time penalty. Opmeer won for the first time since last year on the same track, with Broumand and Ronhaar second and third respectively. Blakeley only managed 7th, and Rasmussen’s penalties sent him to twelfth at the end.

Ronhaar took his fourth pole position in Austin. After wet conditions at the start jumbled up the order, Broumand entered the final lap in the lead from Ronhaar, Opmeer, and Brendon Leigh. At Turn 12, Ronhaar forced Broumand to the outside, which allowed Opmeer and Leigh to join the battle. In the end, Opmeer won from Ronhaar, with Leigh taking his first podium in the series since 2020, and Broumand was only fourth. Rasmussen was fifth and Blakeley ended up in sixth. Opmeer’s win put him only 21 points behind championship leader Blakeley, effectively making it a five-way championship fight between them, Broumand, Ronhaar, and Rasmussen.

Grand Final

Ronhaar took another pole at Suzuka, but Longuet shot up in the lead at Turn 1. When multiple people pitted, Jake Benham held up everyone for one lap so that his teammate, Opmeer, would benefit from the pitstops. This would eventually fail, as Opmeer crashed into Fabrizio Donoso, putting him out of the race. Longuet eventually won the race from Ronhaar. With Blakeley third and Broumand fourth, McLaren Shadow won the team’s championship for the first time in Esports history.

Blakeley took pole at Interlagos, his first pole since the first round. Mixed conditions during the race led Rasmussen and Broumand to fight for second position, with Rasmussen eventually getting the place only behind winner Blakeley. Ronhaar was only sixth and Opmeer was eighth. Broumand and Opmeer’s poor results meant that they were officially eliminated from the championship fight.

Idowu took his second career pole position at the final round in Yas Island. On the first lap, Ronhaar shot into the lead and kept it for most of the race, but Rasmussen battled him in the latter stages. Rasmussen eventually won the race over Ronhaar, with Idowu behind in third. And with Lucas Blakeley fourth, he became the 2022 F1 Esports Champion, the first of his career and the fourth in the series.

Results

Season summary

RoundCircuitPole positionFastest lapWinning driverWinning teamAramco Driver of the Day1 Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir Lucas Blakeley Thomas Ronhaar Lucas Blakeley McLaren Shadow Jarno Opmeer2 Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola Thomas Ronhaar Brendon Leigh Lucas Blakeley McLaren Shadow Lucas Blakeley3 Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone Frederik Rasmussen Joni Törmälä Frederik Rasmussen Red Bull Racing Esports Thomas Ronhaar4 Red Bull Ring, Spielberg Frederik Rasmussen Filip Prešnajder Thomas Ronhaar Haas F1 Team Esports Thomas Ronhaar5 Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot Frederik Rasmussen Filip Prešnajder Bari Broumand McLaren Shadow Bari Broumand6 Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort Thomas Ronhaar Piotr Stachulec Lucas Blakeley McLaren Shadow Tomasz Poradzisz7 Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza Nicolas Longuet Daniele Haddad Thomas Ronhaar Haas F1 Team Esports Daniel Bereznay8 Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City Frederik Rasmussen Tomasz Poradzisz Jarno Opmeer Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports Team Jarno Opmeer9 Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas Thomas Ronhaar Patrik Sipos Jarno Opmeer Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports Team Brendon Leigh10 Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka Thomas Ronhaar Álvaro Carretón Nicolas Longuet Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN F1 Esports Team Nicolas Longuet11 Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo Lucas Blakeley Brendon Leigh Lucas Blakeley McLaren Shadow Lucas Blakeley12 Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi Josh Idowu Tomasz Poradzisz Frederik Rasmussen Red Bull Racing Esports Frederik Rasmussen

Championship standings

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top 10 classified finishers in the race and one point was given to the driver who set the fastest lap inside the top ten. No extra points are awarded to the pole-sitter. Position 1st  2nd  3rd  4th  5th  6th  7th  8th  9th  10th  FL Points2518151210864211 In the event of a tie at the conclusion of the championship, a count-back system is used as a tie-breaker, with a driver's/constructor's best result used to decide the standings.

Drivers' Championship standings