Thomas Ronhaar kicked of the 2023 F1 Sim Racing Bahrain GP to take pole position at the first event of the series. F1 Sim Racing is now the new guise which was formerly F1 esports.
After much controversy and confusion F1 Sim Racing Series returned to action starting with qualifying for the Bahrain GP. The event had been caught up in turmoil due to contractual issues seemingly between F1, drivers and the teams. Strangely there were no announcements leading up to the event with a few murmurings a few weeks prior.
On the 24th November it became apparent that the event was due to take place with the first race being held on the Silverstone circuit. However the following day the event began with the series starting on the Bahrain circuit. The event which was streamed on Twitch, gave no explanation as to what may have transpired prior to the first race.
The event took place at the Dreamhack in jonkoping, Sweden. The venue and equipment were a fitting instalment for such an event. The set up of the venue included state of the art rigs with drivers all participating on a LAN, the production looked the part with the lighting, presenter podium in the middle a huge TV screen for spectators within the venue to follow the action.
With the event dealing with it’s own controversy this adjective may also be attributed to the man who took the first pole of the series, Thomas Ronhaar. Shrouded in a great deal of scepticism around cheating claims from last years game, Ronhaar produced a magnificent lap in Q3 with a time of 1.27.042 to take pole position ahead of Daniel Bereznay.
The pole from Ronahaar went someway to silence many of his critics, where there can be little debate about cheating due to the event being held in a LAN environment. All things are seemingly equal and therefore this series may present the opportunity for Ronhaar to put all those past doubts from his critics to bed.
Daniel Berezenay driving for Mercedes AMG took a place on the font row of the grid, with a time of 1.27.108. The Hungarian driver was pretty solid throughout all 3 qualifying sessions and deserved his second place on the starting grid.
In third was 16 year old, Alfie Butcher who was the star of the qualifying session. Due to his stellar performance in the first 3 sessions Butcher at one point looked favourite to cause a shock and take his maiden pole position. Behind Butcher was Reigning champion Lucas Blakey in 4th ahead of Ferrari’s Nicolas Longuet.
Another rookie who went slightly under the radar to qualify in the top 10 was Ruben Pedreno for Alpine. Pedreno qualified in an impressive 6th place ahead of 4 time runner up Fredrik Rassmuseen. Making up the last of the rookies in the top 10 was Alpha Taurus Jed Norgrove. Alvaro Carreton in the Williams will start 9th ahead of one of the title favourites Jarno Opmeer who continues with his struggles to be one of the fastest drivers over one lap rounding off the top 10.
F1 Sim Racing Bahrain GP Qualifying result: Top 10
1) Thomas Ronhaar – Alfa Romeo
2) Daniel Berezney – Mercedes
3) Afie Butcher – Haas
4) Lucas Blakley – Mclaren
5) Nicolas Longuet – Ferrari
6) Ruben Pedreno – Alpine
7) Frederik Rasmussen – Redbull
8) Jed Norgrove – Alpha Tauri
9) Alvaro Carreton – Williams
10) Jarno Opmeer – Mercedes
Ronhaar silences the doubters
Ronhaar’s pole position comes with some significance to what has already been a shaky start for the F1 Sim Racing. The young Dutchman was shrouded in controversy in last years game having been accused as one of a number of drivers benefiting from cheating.
Now in a LAN environment where such accusations will be much harder attribute to the drivers, Ronhaar passed his first test to redemption in flying colours.
Ronhaar appeared to be holding back some speed in the early qualifying rounds, settling for 4th in Q1 before seeing out Q2 in P5. As Q3 unfolded Alfie Butchers performance in qualifying was taking the headlines. With time ticking down on the closing stages of P3 Pole Position was looking too close a call. Daniel Bereznay appeared to have taken provisional pole until right at the depth Ronhaar stole Pole Position to what was an amazing finale to the first qualifying session of the series.
“It was the perfect start to the season” stated Ronhaar. Already the dutchman has a 1 point lead over the rest of the field as Pole Position in this years series gives the driver 1 point.
Ronhaar looking ahead to the race added “ The start is crucial around here [Bahrain], last year I was on the front row as well and dropped to P5 at the start, so anything can happen”.
Alfie Butcher, the star rookie in qualifying
It’s hard not to detract from the commotion surrounding the lead up to the F1 Sim Racing Championship. Seemingly both fans and the drivers have been left in limbo. Notably for the first race in this years roster there a 9 rookies performing in the series.
The star of qualifying was the 16 year old talent of Alfie Butcher. In the PSGL season Butcher had come into much criticism for some erratic driving when it came to race day. However despite the indiscretions his talent was never doubted.
So it proved in this first qualifying session, Butcher set the fastest lap of Q1, 4th in Q2 then delivered a fine lap to take 3rd on the starting grid for the race. “ I’m quite lost for words, I’m really happy and hopefully this can transform into a good race for me” said Butcher. He added “I’m going to do my best to get a good start” speaking of the race ahead. “ Everyone know’s its a tough track to overtake on.” An impressive start from the young rookie and it’ll be intriguing to see how he performs in the race to follow.
F1 Sim Racing Bahrain GP Qualifying Timesheet
1) Thomas Ronhaar – Alfa Romeo 1.27.042
2) Daniel Berezney – Mercedes 1.27.108
3) Afie Butcher – Haas 1.27.114
4) Lucas Blakley – Mclaren
5) Nicolas Longuet – Ferrari 1.27.164
6) Ruben Pedreno – Alpine 1.27.174
7) Frederik Rasmussen – Redbull 1.27.215
8) Jed Norgrove – Alpha Tauri 1.27.354
9) Alvaro Carreton – Williams 1.27.354
10) Jarno Opmeer – Mercedes 1.27.432
Out in Q2
11) Bari Broumand – Ferrari 1.27.475
12) Patrik Sipos – Alpine 1.27.494
13) Josh Idowu – Redbull 1.27.498
14) Tom Manley – Alpha Turi 1.27.690
15) Brendon Leigh – Alfa Romeo 1.27.757
Out in Q3
16) Ismael Fahssi – Williams 1.27.840
17) Ulas Ozyildirim – Haas 1.27.856
18) Fabrizio Donoso – Aston Martin 1.27.889
19) Wilson Hughes – Mclaren 1.27.923
20) Simon Weigang – Aston Martin 1:28.089