F1 Esports Round 2: The Blakeley Domination
Two races, two wins for Lucas Blakeley! The McLaren driver is in great form at the start of the season. The Red Bulls of Kiefer and Rasmussen accompany him on the podium.
Part Two in Bahrain, rookie Thomas Ronhaar continued to impress at Imola by qualifying in pole position ahead of championship heavyweights like Marcel Kiefer and Lucas Blakeley. However, the Dutchman couldn’t hold onto the lead and even before the end of the first lap, he found himself in 3rd position. After spending 7 laps in second place, Lucas Blakeley overtook Kiefer. Despite a failed undercut attempt by the German, the McLaren driver managed to maintain the lead when he exited the pits on the 16th lap of the race.
If the leader of the championship managed to do well during the pit stops, it was not the case for Thomas Ronhaar who lost his third position to Frederik Rasmussen. The Dane pulled off a bold undercut on the 14th lap, allowing him to jump from 7th position to the podium. The Haas driver now found himself in 5th position. Despite never being able to escape Marcel Kiefer’s DRS, Lucas Blakeley was untouchable at Imola. The Scottish driver will arrive at Silverstone with a 30-point lead over his closest rival, Dani Moreno.
Indeed, it was a disappointing race for Blakeley’s two main rivals: Jarno Opmeer and Bari Boroumand. While starting in 8th position, the Dutch double world champion was involved in a collision with Brendon Leigh’s Ferrari at the entry of the third turn. He was then pushed back to 16th place, but the Mercedes driver made a remarkable comeback to secure 11th position. Boroumand had a difficult start, losing 3 positions and dropping to 8th place. Taking advantage of Nicolas Longuet’s spin, the McLaren driver ultimately crossed the finish line in 7th position.
After a difficult first race in Bahrain for the Red Bull team, Rasmussen finished in a modest 10th position. However, the drivers of the reigning world champion team revived their championship with a superb double podium, which they had become accustomed to in 2020. There was also a great performance by Mathjis Van Erven. Disappointing in 2021, the Dutchman had only scored points once in Brazil. However, the Haas driver has already scored as many points as last season thanks to his 6th place finish in Imola. As the worst team on the grid in 2021, Haas is asserting itself as a strong contender for the constructor’s title in 2022.
