Everyone loves a classic television crossover episode, and motorsport has its own, with McLaren drivers from our Extreme E, INDYCAR and esports teams all competing in the 2023 Race of Champions.

Felix Rosenqvist, Tanner Foust and Lucas Blakeley all drove in this year’s Race of Champions, which brings together some of the greatest drivers on the planet from different racing disciplines and pits them against one another in a variety of identical cars on an icy, snowy parallel track built on the frozen Baltic Sea in Sweden.

NEOM McLaren XE’s Tanner was representing the USA, Arrow McLaren’s Felix was racing for the Nordic Team, and McLaren Shadow’s Lucas was driving for Team eROC.

While Felix was making his debut, Tanner and Lucas had both appeared in the event previously. ROC is widely regarded as one of motorsport’s most epic events, and all three drivers were delighted to get the chance to compete on the snow and ice in Pite Havsbad, Sweden.

“It is always an honour to be invited to the Race of Champions with drivers from so many disciplines that are so accomplished in their fields,” said Tanner, a Nations Cup semi-finalist in the 2009 Race of Champions. “The conversation in the locker room is always fascinating, and the competition on the track is always heated.”

Felix added: “I think ROC is the kind of event that every sports fan dreams of, and motorsport is actually one of the few sports where it becomes a reality to involve older generations of drivers mixed with the young drivers, and from all the different categories. It’s racing back to its simplicity of going flat-out 1v1 to see who wins!”

Lucas made his ROC debut in 2022, where he famously beat four-time Formula 1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel in a heat as part of the eROC ALL STAR team. On this occasion, he beat Valtteri Bottas in a heat. However, Team eROC was later knocked out by Germany.

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Discussing his return to the event, Lucas said: “It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Getting to come back for a second year meant that I could enjoy it a lot more as I was already familiar with a lot of things. It allowed me to enjoy the overall experience a lot more.

“You get to meet and talk to the drivers. ROC has a real family atmosphere, so everyone is easy to speak to, and they are amazing people. There is nothing else like the Race of Champions, it is such a special event every year.”

The 2022 F1 Esports Pro Drivers' Champion earned his spot in Team eROC by winning the eROC title, which sees sim races compete against one another on simulator rigs, before each completing a physical flying lap on the snow. The combination of sim and real-life racing illustrates the transferable skills between the two, proving that it’s possible to make the transition and be competitive.  

“As an esports driver, I think getting experience on the track is very beneficial,” Lucas continued. “I was able to build on last year, and I feel I made a massive leap. I had some good pace and felt competitive, which was really encouraging. Of course, as a driver, you always question yourself and ask whether you would be able to cut it in this situation, so I am glad to have been able to rise to the challenge.

“The skills are 100% transferable if you apply yourself in the right way. The Race of Champions is really special due to the fact that is gives us sim racers the opportunity to show that we can be competitive against some of the best drivers in the world. It was one of the best weeks of my life, and I loved every second of it.”

Hailing from Varnamo, Sweden, Felix was competing on home turf, and the 31-year-old said it made the experience all the sweeter.

“Being in Sweden made it all a little extra special to me,” Felix continued. “To make my debut in ROC at home is a dream come true. There is a lot of passion for motorsport up in the north of Sweden, and it’s always a great time talking to the fans there.

“They remind me a bit of the US fans - very technically interested in the cars, and normally most of them have some kind of real-life experience with racing!”

Although they were all busy with their teams and individual racing programmes, Felix, Tanner and Lucas managed to catch up during the event to chat about McLaren and their drives.

Lucas won the 2022 F1 Esports Pro Championship in December, whilst Tanner and Felix are preparing for their 2023 campaigns. INDYCAR’s campaign begins on 5 March on the streets of St. Petersburg, and Extreme E starts in Saudi Arabia on 11 March.  

“It was really cool to speak to the other McLaren drivers,” said Lucas. “Getting to talk to them and watch them on track was really special. It was one of those moments in your life where you just cannot believe what is happening. To sit and chat with my fellow McLaren drivers about racing and the cars was surreal.”

Felix continued: “I did not talk to them before the event, but as we spent many days together in Sweden, there was never a bad moment to ask for some advice. Unfortunately, no one asked the racing drivers for advice as there was no tarmac to be found!”

Tanner concluded: “The event is an incredible experience with a relaxed vibe between the drivers. With several fellow Extreme E competitors in the line-up, there was a lot to talk about leading into 2023. I spent time with Felix, and we spent a lot of time in the sauna and at dinner talking about future McLaren projects.”

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