F1 Esports 2020: Red Bull take control

F1 Media

Red Bull Racing Esports Team took a commanding lead of the F1 Esports teams’ championship on Thursday, November 5, with a teamwork-defining race showing the team at full strength.

The ever-jubilant Marcel Kiefer was able to take his first win of the 2020 F1 Esports Pro Series, presented by Aramco. The German ace led home team mate Frede Rasmussen by barely a quarter of a second, as the pair resisted late pressure from championship leader Jarno Opmeer, who completed the podium. The Dutchman therefore maintains his 100% podium record, and drivers’ championship lead.

The action on Wednesday produced two fantastic racing displays. The first race around virtual Circuit Zandvoort was won by Frede Rasmussen, after a late pass on Jarno Opmeer at Turn 1 sealed the deal.

The second at virtual Montral included a classic Opmeer Medium-Soft strategy, which saw the Dutchman charge from P10 to the lead, despite a dramatic collision with David Tonizza, later determined to be due to a game issue.

The Red Bull Ring has historically been kind to its home team. Red Bull Racing have won their twice in the real world, and in 2020, they got to sample a virtual victory as well. Kiefer and Rasmussen locked out the second row of the grid, but no one could compete with Alvaro Carreton’s pole time, with the Spaniard the only driver to drop below the 1:02 benchmark.

He led away into Turn 1, but the Red Bulls quickly engulfed Opmeer, who started second on the grid with his slower medium tyres. It wasn’t too long before the duo started hunting down Carreton’s lead, and on Lap 7 they executed a flawless pincer movement.