McLaren Shadow driver in the F1 Pro Esports Championship Bari Boroumand has nothing to fear and will go all out in the upcoming round 4 events.
Full of fighting spirit and belief, Bari Boroumand is looking forward and never back for the championship in the 2022 F1 Pro Esports Championship.
Over the last two F1 Esports events, nobody has scored more points than McLaren Shadow’s Bari Boroumand. A breakthrough win and four consecutive podiums have set him out as one of the challengers for the title in 2022.
And all this, despite not feeling close to 100% last time out…“It could be better, could be worse,” he began, summarising the previous round. “I felt so sick on the Tuesday night before, I was throwing up all night. Then on Wednesday I needed to drive, and my body was shaking, I couldn’t really feel my fingers!
“But I got a P2 in qualifying and P2 in the race in Monza. It was one of the toughest things I faced this year – I couldn’t eat anything so I had no energy. The track is also quite RNG (random number generator – meaning an element of unpredictability), so on some corners you take the kerb, and you could invalidate your lap, or you could take three tenths. And in F1 Esports that’s the difference between first and last!”
NOT GIVING IN
If Event 3 was tough through illness, Event 1 was even more difficult. McLaren nearly kicked off with a 1-2 in Bahrain, with Boroumand ultimately coming home third behind team mate Lucas Blakeley, and Jarno Opmeer.
That initial podium wasn’t to be repeated in Races 2 or 3, with a P7 and a non-score rounding out a tricky opening trio. But it was sheer determination that helped the fastest man in Iran to get back to his best.
“After Event 1, I thought the championship was over for me. I was so down. But I just said to myself ‘Don’t think about it – focus on yourself and try to enjoy it’. I think I put too much pressure on my brain, that I have to go and win it. But for Event 2, I said ‘Just go out there and be the best version of Bari.’
“That’s what I did for Event 2, where I had my highlight of the season – the win in Spa. I got so much momentum and good feeling from that race, so I can see that mindset is working. I’m going to keep doing it for Event 4 – not thinking about the championship, just be the best version of me!
| CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lucas Blakeley | 132 |
| 2 | Thomas Ronhaar | 121 |
| 3 | Bardia Boroumand | 118 |
| 4 | Frederik Rasmussen | 115 |
| 5 | Jarno Opmeer | 110 |
| 6 | Nicolas Longuet | 57 |
| 7 | Josh Idowu | 47 |
| 8 | Brendon Leigh | 37 |
| 9 | Marcel Kiefer | 34 |
| 10 | Sebastian Job | 34 |
| 11 | Dani Moreno | 30 |
| 12 | Daniel Bereznay | 18 |
| 13 | Simon Weigang | 16 |
| 14 | Matthijs van Erven | 8 |
| 15 | Patrik Sipos | 8 |
| 16 | David Tonizza | 6 |
| 17 | Alvaro Carreton | 5 |
| 18 | Jake Benham | 4 |
| 19 | Fabrizio Donoso | 2 |
| 20 | Filip Presnajder | 2 |
| 21 | Daniele Haddad | 2 |
| 22 | Shanaka Clay | 1 |
| 23 | Joni Tormala | 1 |
| 24 | Luke Smith | 1 |
| 25 | Tomasz Poradzisz | 1 |
| 26 | Piotr Stachulec | 0 |
| 27 | Manuel Biancolilla | 0 |
| 28 | John Evans | |
SCOPING OUT YAS MARINA
By now, you probably don’t need reminding of the locations for the Grand Final. Japan, Brazil, Abu Dhabi. But how are those tracks for Boroumand – and did his trip to Yas Marina in November uncover any secrets?
“Suzuka is a classic, it’s so fun to drive. Brazil and Abu Dhabi will be a bit difficult with the kerbs, it’s a bit tricky to nail it.
“The Abu Dhabi track in the game isn’t quite the same as real life of course, but I learned some tactics watching the battles in the race. For example, some drivers didn’t overtake in the first DRS straight, they held it to overtake on the second straight.
“Overall, I’m happy with the tracks, and happy with my pace, so I feel confident. I have the speed to win and get pole at all three tracks, it’s just how you cope with it in that moment.
“I don’t really want to think about the Championship right now because it puts too much pressure on me, but I just want to keep my self-confidence and relax. All five of us will be fighting for the championship, but I don’t want to think about that – it’s just a simple race that we’re going to do. And if I win the championship… that’s the cherry on the cake!”
Will Boroumand’s relaxed, singular approach pay off? Tune into the final from Wednesday, December 14 to see how he and the others get on!