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. 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.
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
Calendar
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 Blakeley was given a penalty by the game, but it was revoked by the stewards and it allowed him to win ahead of Opmeer and his new teammate, Bari Boroumand.
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 the season, 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 Boroumand.
Rasmussen again took pole at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. He battled Boroumand throughout the race and fell back during the round of pit stops. Blakeley got pas Boroumand, but only briefly as he retook the position; Idowu managed to overtake Blakeley later. Rasmussen’s pace advantage over Boroumand resulted in a last-lap battle, but Boroumand 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 Boroumand, 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. Boroumand 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 Boroumand to soar into the lead. Ronhaar got past Longuet as well to battle Boroumand for the win, which he achieved in another last-lap battle. Longuet ended up in third. Rasmussen was fifth with Blakeley seventh.