With the first part of the year under our belt, it’s time to reflect and sum up some of the amazing moments I’ve experienced since being crowned World’s Fastest Gamer.

February

By now most of us know the story that started in November 2017. But just before Christmas I got the invite to the Race of Champions in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

A very cool event with loads of world class drivers in it. The days there were a blast. Amazing people, fun cars and most importantly very good results!

Just two days after getting back from ROC, it was time for my first real work-day of the year.

Obviously this was major and a moment that I had looked forward to. Notes were taken, plans were made, and everything went as it should.

March

The McLaren Formula 1 car launch this year was at Navarra, a track in Spain. I was there for two days, and one of the best parts was standing on the S/F straight with F1 drivers Fernando Alonso, Stoffel Vandoorne and Lando Norris. A moment I’ll never forget.

March wasn’t done yet though, as two weeks later I attended the two-day F1 pre-season test in Barcelona.

The difference between car launch and testing was that in Barcelona I got to see a lot of the cars running on track. Listening to all the communication between the drivers and their engineers in the garage was incredibly useful, and a crucial step in the learning process of communicating with the engineers from my side in the sim.

Within 24 hours of leaving the Barcelona track, it was time for a week of snowboarding in Italy. A bit more careful than I usually am on a snowboard, but still a good way of relaxing.

April

After getting through a week of snowboarding while staying in one piece, it was time for more sim work.

It was here that I put the lessons I learned during the MCL33 car launch and the pre-season test to use. Gains were made, and everybody was content with the test work being done.

May

Like any other professional driver, my time in May was split between racing, media and marketing activities at the McLaren Technology Centre. Of course, I also spent some time working on my home sim-setup, in order to make my Twitch/YouTube streaming even better.

June

The first F1 race of 2018 that I attended was the Austrian Grand Prix. On Friday and Saturday, we gave the media a sneak peek of McLaren’s new esports programme - Shadow Project.

The rest of the weekend included photoshoots and enjoying the various racing series running around the track!

July

In July the big news came out. I was going to Goodwood Festival of Speed to drive the legendary McLaren M23 up the hill. This was the hardest thing to keep quiet by a country mile. I obviously knew this a few weeks before it went public, but as you can probably imagine if such thing comes out you want to share it to everybody.

The day itself went by in a heartbeat. Amazing car, amazing people. Lifetime memories made.

The fun wasn’t over there yet! Five days after Goodwood FOS I was at the German Grand Prix to take part in Pirelli Hot Laps in a McLaren 570S. What a rocket ship. The performance from such a road car on a circuit is mind-blowing. I drove the car on alternating days with Lando and had a blast doing so.

August

When the weekend in Hockenheim was done it was time for my summer holiday break. At the time of writing this blog I have already been back for my simulator work, but more on that next month!

Rudy.