Friday, 12 April 2024

This week the 2023/24 F1 Sim Racing World Championship continued in Sweden. Debrief with our McLaren Shadow drivers Lucas Blakeley and Dani Moreno, and Team Manager, Joel Chapman, after Round 6 and 7.

Critical info

Rounds	6 and 7
Driver Pairing	Lucas Blakeley and Dani Moreno
Circuits	Zandvoort Circuit and Circuit of The Americas

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

Round 6 – Circuit Zandvoort

Qualified	9th
Finished	6th

Round 7 – Circuit of The Americas

Qualified	1st
Finished	4th

“Final day of Event 2 done. Lots of good moments today, and lots of tougher ones as well. It was difficult getting knocked out in Q2 for Zandvoort, we just didn’t seem to be able to extract the pace but made a few places up due to other drivers' penalties. Circuit of The Americas (COTA) however, was a different ball game. We managed to put it all together and secure Pole Position, which was a great moment for the team.

“It was good to be able to get some points from the Netherlands. We ran a solid damage limitation race, making it to P6 despite some struggles with the car. Heading into COTA, we went for an alternative strategy which meant we lost positions to the Soft runners at the beginning, which was to be expected. We then got stuck in traffic coming back through the pack after pitting, using up a lot of battery so I was unable to make much more progress unfortunately. It hurt to not be able to convert the Pole Position into a win.

“Overall, it’s been a solid event and we come away from it with some good points for the team. We'll learn from this experience and come back stronger in the next one.”

Round 6 – Circuit Zandvoort

Qualified	8th
Finished	13th

Round 7 – Circuit of The Americas

Qualified	19th
Finished	14th

“It was great to get back in the rig. Qualifying for Zandvoort went pretty well. We didn’t quite maximise our set up which wasn’t ideal but it was great to get into Q3 on the first one back. At COTA, I was on for a good lap, but went too wide at the last corner, invalidating it and getting knocked out in Q1 which was tough.

“Looking at the race, we didn’t quite get it right at Zandvoort, so I lost a lot of positions and finished outside the points. COTA was going to be hard starting P19 but I made some good overtakes. We got a bit unlucky that 15 out of the 20 drivers chose the same strategy as us, but that’s how these races go sometimes. Overall, the team scored some good points and I’m looking forward to the next event.”

Joel Chapman, Team Manager, McLaren Racing, said:

“A mixed day to finish Event 2 of the Championship. Dani had a strong Qualifying for Zandvoort, and it was great to see him in Q3 at his first session back. Whilst COTA was difficult for him with the invalidated lap, it was a great moment for Lucas and the team when he put it on Pole for the first time this season.

“At Zandvoort, we started with both cars in the top 10. It was a wet race which always provides good opportunities, however, we took a risk to box Dani early and the Hard tyres didn’t fire up in the damp conditions. We pitted Lucas a lap later which resulted in more of an advantage and he was able to score some points.

“It was a shame to not be able to convert Pole Position to a win at COTA, but other teams took more of an aggressive strategy, making the Soft tyre work. It was going to be tricky for Dani to score points, but he did a good job and drove well.

“Overall, I’m really proud of the team and the work we did at an intense second event. We scored good points across great races and continue to fight in the Constructors' Championship, now sitting in P5. We’ll take time to rest, reset and then start preparing for a busy Event 3 next month.”