The three drivers in contention for the title are Jarno Opmeer, Lucas Blakeley and Frede Rasmussen. Whilst all three can mathematically win the championship title, Jarno Opmeer (the winner of the 2020 season) currently sits at the top of the table. 

Mercedes driver Jarno Opmeer, current 2020 champion and 2021 front-runner (Photo via @jarno_opmeer on Twitter)

Opmeer, who drives for Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports Team, could potentially join Ferrari’s Brendon Leigh as a two times esports championship winner. With 140 points, he is a gut-wrenching 5 points ahead of Blakeley and 8 ahead of Rasmussen. His race pace may be insane, and whilst his results have been off the charts, his qualifying hasn’t. Furthermore, his use of alternate strategy has paid off majorly in races such as Shanghai, where he started P14 and charged through the field to finish on the top step of the podium. 

Lucas Blakeley, Esports driver for Aston Martin

2nd in the championship standings with 135 points is Lucas Blakeley, driving for Aston Martin Cognizant Esports. The Scotsman hasn’t had much luck before this season, finishing 15th in both the 2019 and 2020 standings. His consistent qualifying results have allowed him to succeed so far in the 2021 series, resulting in P2 in the standings as we enter the final 3 races. Although, his qualifying isn’t the only reason he’s up at the top. His epic last lap battle against Nicolas Longuet in Bahrain had everybody on the edge of their seats. A fair share of wheel to wheel racing, and even some almost fear-inducing contact made for an amazing chance for Blakeley to win his maiden victory for Aston Martin. 

Red Bull’s Frede Rasmussen (Photo via @G2Frede on Twitter)

Rounding off the title contenders is Frederik “Frede” Rasmussen at Red Bull Racing Esports with 132 points. The Dane is no stranger to F1 esports, having competed in it since the beginning in 2017. Up until this season, Rasmussen’s results have been constantly up near the top. But surprisingly, none of these great season finishes have converted into a championship. His wins at Silverstone and Spa seemed to have come out of nowhere, as two P5s and a P6 didn’t set up for much hope coming into the third event. However, since those races, Rasmussen has been racking up constant and crucial podiums that of course have helped him along in title contention.

Once a driver has won the season, what happens next? 

The winner of the Formula One Esports World Championship will earn a large sum of money, along with the winner’s trophy. They will also earn a character of themselves in the F1 2022 videogame, which can be used in driver career mode and multiplayer races.

Where can I watch the finale? 

The event will be shown on the Formula 1 official Youtube and Twitch channels, with Race 1 and 2 having their qualifying sessions at 3:30pm GMT on Wednesday with a 7:30pm GMT race. Race 3 will be broadcasted on the same channels on Thursday with a 3:30pm GMT qualifying and 7:30pm GMT race.

All in all, each driver in title contention is deserving of the Trophy, as they all have fought so hard and trained to their absolute limits. The big question is, will it be Jarno, Lucas or Frede walking away with the championship? Well, that can only be decided in the F1 Esports Series Pro Championship finale.