Hinwil, 29 October 2021 – Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN Esports endured a challenging second week of action in the F1 Esports Series as the three rounds in the programme delivered two points for the team.
Racing in a trio of classic venues like Silverstone, Monza and Spa-Francorchamps, the team aimed to build on the positives displayed in the opening events: a combination of circumstances, however, conspired to limit the inroads our drivers, Filip Prešnajder and Simon Weigang, could make into the top ten.
Qualifying in Silverstone was difficult, with both drivers failing to clear Q1, and hopes of a comeback in the race were dashed by a first lap contact between Filip and Simon. Having to stop for repairs meant they could only finish in P17 and P15 at the chequered flag.
Monza saw an improvement for Simon, who made it all the way to Q3 to line up tenth on the grid, while Filip was in 19th. In the race, the Slovak was the victim of a clash with a rival, finishing in P17 after a spirited comeback. Simon, on the other hand, held on to tenth for most of the race before some late battles demoted him to 14th.
Thursday brought an uptick in performance as the championship headed to Belgium. Qualifying remained the bogeyman, with Filip 19th and Simon finishing 15th after having his best Q2 lap invalidated. In the race, Simon, in the only Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN Esports car following a technical failure on Filip’s hardware, made good progress on the wet track, climbing all the way into the points in seventh. Battling with old, worn tyres, he was able to call upon his talent and experience to salvage ninth over the line, grabbing two points for the team.
At the halfway point in the series, the team is ninth in the championship with nine points. There will be now four weeks to regroup and focus before the next event kicks off with first timer Portimao, Zandvoort and USA on Wednesday 24th November.
About Sauber Group of Companies:
The Sauber Group of Companies is composed of two operational entities: Sauber Motorsport AG, which operates and manages the Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN Formula One team; and Sauber Engineering AG, which focuses on third-party business in the areas of prototype development and additive manufacturing, in addition to full and model-scale testing in the factory’s state-of-the-art wind tunnel and ground-breaking innovation in the field of aerodynamics. The companies collaborate closely and share know-how to apply the expertise of more than 500 dedicated individuals at the headquarter in Hinwil, Switzerland, to all internal and external projects. Since its founding in 1970, the passion for racing has been at the heart of Sauber.
For more than 50 years, the innovative Swiss company has been setting standards in the design, development and construction of race cars for various championship series, such as Formula One, DTM, and WEC. Following its own Formula One debut in 1993, Sauber Motorsport AG has established one of the few traditional and privately held teams in the sport. After 25 years of competition in Formula One, the company launched a long-term partnership with Alfa Romeo in 2018 and enters the 2021 championship under the team name Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN.
