The F1 Esports Pro Exhibition race delivered more drama this evening in Canada. Red Bull Racing Esports driver Marcel Kiefer looked set to claim second place before a collision on the final lap denied him of the chance to step onto the podium. Teammate Frede Rasmussen had a less dramatic race, finishing in 16th.
Qualifying had a different format tonight; a one-shot, hot-lap session. Marcel qualified in second with Frede in ninth. Despite tricky wet conditions, Marcel maintained second place until he was overtaken by Mercedes driver Leigh on lap seven. Towards the end of the race, Leigh pitted promoting Marcel back into second. On the final lap, the Mercedes driver made an ambitious overtake resulting in the two colliding and Marcel hitting the barrier. Marcel finished the race in fourth place.
Frede had an unusually quiet race, spending most of his time battling in the midfield. As the track started to dry, the Danish driver pitted for a fresh set of intermediate tyres, in the hope he could push through the field. He came back out in 18th, but was unable to climb back up the order and had to settle for 16th.
Marcel commented,
“What a crazy race. I had the exact same lap time as Shanaka Clay who started in first place. I spent the majority of the race in second place but contact in the penultimate corner pushed me into fourth. There’s no need to place blame on anyone. Luckily this is an exhibition race and we aren’t competing for the Championship yet.“
Frede added,
“I have been practicing a lot on the new version of the game preparing for the season to begin, so a lack of practice definitely hindered my performance today. I enjoyed the one-shot qualifying, that was fun. The track was too wet so it was impossible to overtake and I got some damage in the middle of the race and lost a lot of time.”
The official 2020 F1 Esports Championship starts on 9 September. Make sure you tune back in to watch our drivers defend the Championship.
F1 Esports Pro Exhibition Race Canada Results
- 1. Shanaka Clay – Williams
- 2. Lukas Blakeley – Racing Point
- 3. Brendon Leigh – Mercedes
- 4. Marcel Kiefer – Red Bull Racing Esports
- 5. Jarno Opmeer –Alfa Romeo
- 6. Simon Weigang – HAAS
- 7. Daniel Bereznay – Alfa Romeo
- 8. Daniele Haddad – Racing Point
- 9. Josh Idowu – McLaren
- 10. Fabrizio Donoso -Renault
… - 16. Frede Rasmussen – Red Bull Racing Esports
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