Saturday, 25 November

This weekend the 2023/24 F1 Sim Racing World Championship kicked off in Sweden at DreamHack Winter. Debrief with our McLaren Shadow drivers Lucas Blakeley and Wilson Hughes, and esports & Gaming Specialist Joel Chapman, after Round 1.

Critical info

Round	1
Driver Pairing	Lucas Blakeley and Wilson Hughes
Location	DreamHack Winter, Jönköping, Sweden
Circuit	Bahrain International Circuit

You can catch up on all the action via the LiveStream.

Qualified	4th
Finished	17th

“Round 1 of the 2023/24 championship done. Naturally not the start we’d have hoped for, but I think we leave here knowing there are lots of positives to take. Going into today, our pace and performance was incredibly strong, we just got very unlucky. It’s going to sting for a bit, but we’ll be working very very hard to keep pushing and to make sure we’re ready for the next one.

“On the flip side, going back to racing in a live environment is something I’ve been looking forward to for the past four years so it’s great that it’s finally happened. It’s really cool to be all in the same place. It’s only the first event, so lots to look forward to.”

Qualified	19th
Finished	19th

“Heading into the race, the starting position wasn’t great, but we still thought positions could be gained, and we had a decent strategy lined up. Unfortunately, at Turn 1 on Lap 2, one of the cars ahead braked early and we collided, giving me and another driver damage. No points for the team today but lots of positives to take. We had great race pace, but it just didn’t seem to go our way. There are 11 races left so there’s still time, let’s see what we can do.

“On a different note, it’s great to be back racing in a live environment. It’s something the teams have been wanting for a long time so it’s cool to see everyone together. It’s a much better atmosphere. Now it’s time to get our heads down to prepare for the next one.”

Joel Chapman, esports and Gaming Specialist, McLaren Racing, said:

“All in all, a disappointing weekend in terms of final results. The pace was clearly there, and we knew that we were one of the teams in a stronger position coming into the event in terms of overall performance. There were lots of incidents throughout the race, some of which unfortunately affected us. Both Lucas and Wilson suffered damage early on, effectively ending our race.

“I want to say thanks to the team, Formula 1 and the event organisers for getting us back to racing in a live environment. There are a lot of positives we can still take from today and we look forward to going racing again.”