2025 F1 Sim Racing World Championship (Event One) Rounds 1, 2, 3, and 4

Thursday, 16 January 2025

The 2025 F1 Sim Racing World Championship has officially kicked off in Sweden!

Hear from McLaren Shadow drivers Alfie Butcher and Lucas Blakeley after four rounds of racing, as well as Team Manager Joel Chapman.

Alfie Banner

Round 1 – Albert Park Circuit

Qualified P17
Finished P6

Round 2 – Shanghai International Circuit 

Qualified P11
Finished P5

Round 3 – Bahrain International Circuit 

Qualified P10
Finished P7

Round 4 – Jeddah Corniche Circuit

Qualified P7
Finished P4

“An enjoyable few days at my first event with the team. Plenty of ups and downs throughout the week with a few Qualifying sessions that perhaps didn't go our way, but we always managed to recover in the race which shows just how strong our pace is.   

“I've secured some good points for the team, and we'll be looking to build on that at Event Two by challenging at the front for race wins.”

Lucas Banner

Round 1 – Albert Park Circuit

Qualified P14
Finished P15

Round 2 – Shanghai International Circuit 

Qualified P19
Finished P12

Round 3 – Bahrain International Circuit 

Qualified P2
Finished P16

Round 4 – Jeddah Corniche Circuit

Qualified P15
Finished P12

“It’s not the start to the season I would have liked, and I feel that we definitely deserved a few more results across the event. There were some moments that were unfortunately out of our control, and we’ve just got to focus on bouncing back.  

“We've learned a lot this week, and we’re determined to take those learnings into the next event. I’m pleased for Alfie who got some solid points on the board for the team. Hopefully next time we have a little more luck with both cars.” 

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Catch up on the racing action

Joel Chapman, Team Manager, McLaren Racing, said:

“I’m really proud of how the team have worked throughout Event One. We've taken lots of learnings away from this event and we’ll be focusing on developing our consistency with Qualifying performance heading into next month’s races. 

“Reflecting on what we have achieved across the three days, we consistently had cars moving forward in every single race and that allowed for points to be scored from some difficult positions.  

“Alfie's debut with the team was really impressive and he can be proud of the performances shown. On Lucas’ side, he knows that there are a few missed opportunities, mostly completely out of his control, and we'll walk away from the event in Sweden feeling a little bit hard done by.  

“The crucial thing is that the pace was there for both cars in all four races and we will take that important factor into Event Two.”