F1 Sim Racing 2025: All Drivers And Who To Look Out For

First ran under the F1 Esports moniker from 2017 to 2022, F1 Sim Racing is back for a new season after an interrupted 2023-24 campaign. There will be three sets of events made up of four races each, the first of which are this week followed by events from 11 to 13 February and 25 to 27 March.

Prior the first round, we finally know the identities of the drivers that will be representing each of the teams. There are plenty of interesting lineups that will surely make for an extra close race in both the driver’s and team’s championships.

Ferrari​

Drivers: Bari Broumand, Nicolas Longuet, John Evans

As reigning team champions, Ferrari’s philosophy is “if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it”. Bari Broumand has been a real force in the competitive F1 game scene for a long time, and not only helped deliver the team championship for Ferrari but also McLaren in 2022 when he was teammates with driver’s champion Lucas Blakeley. But for Bari, he just fell short of achieving that for himself last season.

With a very solid support in the form of Longuet who is also a proven winner, Broumand stands a very good chance of winning that elusive driver’s title this season. Whilst all teams have three drivers, not all of them will use their third driver like Ferrari did last year, so do not expect to see Evans who raced the last two seasons for Aston Martin.

Whilst the focus will be on their attempted defence of the team’s championship, the glory of the driver’s title will of course be ever so enticing and Broumand is more than capable. But it is not just Ferrari sticking to their guns.

KICK Sauber​

Drivers: Thomas Ronhaar, Brendon Leigh, Tycho Hardy

Just like Ferrari, no changes have been made for the two main drivers in the KICK Sauber team. First up, Brendon Leigh who after a very accomplished career in the series, will be retiring after the conclusion of this season. He won the first-ever F1 Esports championship at the end of 2017, and was relatively untroubled the following season, winning six of the ten races. Having raced for Mercedes at that time, he struggled to replicate his form in the seasons after even following his move to Ferrari.

Now at Sauber, the Leigh of old seems to be returning with winning titles in independent F1 game leagues. The pairing of him and 2022 top rookie and last season’s runner-up Thomas Ronhaar has proven solid. Ronhaar has been a contentious presence in the F1 Sim Racing scene, with multiple accusations of running software to increase grip, but has proven capable of winning in an onsite environment where supposedly it is impossible to get away with running such things.

Just like last season, Sauber ran the full campaign with just their two main drivers, so their third driver Tycho Hardy is unlikely to play a part. Like Ferrari, expect Sauber to be a force to be reckoned with although both may have reason to be nervous because of the titanic line-up that the next team are running.

Red Bull​

Drivers: Frederik Rasmussen, Jarno Opmeer, Sebastian Job

Last season saw seemingly forever bridesmaid never the bride Frederik Rasmussen finally get that duct off his back. In 2018, he was the only one who held a candle to Brendon Leigh and only missed the runner-up spot due to sitting out two races and then from 2019-2022, he was runner-up every season. Rasmussen and Red Bull’s focus for the most part was on the team’s championship, which they did win in 2019 and 2020.

But they could be perhaps the favourite this season due to who they signed, none other than 2020 and 2021 driver champion Jarno Opmeer. The former Renault F1 academy driver turned esports racer has made the jump over to Red Bull and forms a scary pairing with Rasmussen, and once more like in previous seasons, Red Bull will most likely only run their two primary drivers.

They do have a solid back-up in the event either of them cannot compete, Sebastian Job. Having gotten a podium finish in the final round of the 2021 season, the two-time Porsche Esports Supercup champion also acts as Red Bull’s F1 simulator driver and even drove an F1 car back in October. But once more, do not expect to see him in action, as the pairing of Rasmussen and Opmeer may very well be enough for Red Bull.

Mercedes​

Drivers: Jake Benham, Dani Bereznay, István Puki

Just like in real life, Mercedes have lost their star driver to one of their main rivals. But Opmeer’s departure does leave room now for one of their other drivers to really showcase their potential, and that is Jake Benham. Having starred in the independent F1 league scene, he did not get much chance to spread his wings, with a limited 2022 campaign but a few solid results last season.

Next to Benham is Dani Bereznay, a former runner-up during his first stint at Mercedes alongside Brendon Leigh. He fought for the title in 2019 but in the many years since, that form he once had seemed to tumble. He has seemingly steadily rediscovered that form, scoring a pole and podium last season.

Replacing Opmeer is István Puki, who spent last season with Ferrari on the sidelines. Whether that means he will play that same role for Mercedes, we do not know. In either case, Mercedes may be hard pressed to fight the mightily strong line-ups at Ferrari, KICK Sauber and Red Bull, but they can surprise us for sure.

Haas​

Drivers: Shanaka Clay, Tamás Gál, Joris Croezen

Haas have elevated themselves from tailenders to being regularly competitive and winning races since joining forces with their former driver Romain Grosjean’s R8G Esports squad. They will be fielding an all-new line-up and for the most part, it is relatively unproven. First up is Shanaka Clay, a former karter who raced with the likes of Lando Norris and George Russell, sometimes even beating them.

Clay first made his mark in 2020, racing in Pro Exhibition events alongside the Virtual Grand Prix series and won in only his second outing. Since then though, limited campaigns in his first two seasons and only a best result of tenth during his more prominent presence in 2022. After a season away, can he finally fulfil his potential?

Alongside Clay are two rookies, Tamás Gál and Joris Croezen. The former is a champion in the second tier of the top F1 game league where all the other pros compete during the off season. Nevertheless, it is tricky to say for sure that Haas will be as much of a factor in the title race as previous seasons, having lost Ronhaar to fellow R8G-managed Sauber and also the driver who was winning for them last season to the next team on the list.

McLaren​

Drivers: Lucas Blakeley, Alfie Butcher, Wilson Hughes

It was a bit of a lacklustre 2023-24 campaign for McLaren after the double championship wins in the previous season, but a resurgence may be on the cards. Former champion Lucas Blakeley lines up for his third season in papaya, having scored only the solitary podium finish last season. He has been doing some real world racing, winning multiple races in British GB4 and even defeated four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel in the Race of Champions back in 2022.

Both Blakeley and fellow Scot Wilson Hughes will be looking to bring McLaren back to the top and their new teammate will be able to provide a leg up with that. Alfie Butcher made his debut in the series last season with Haas, winning in only his third start and went on to also win the finale, resulting in him finishing fifth in the final standings.

With a prospect as enticing as Butcher onboard, McLaren could very well be back to title hunting glory both with driver’s and team’s championships being a realistic prospect. Enough to challenge Ferrari, KICK Sauber and Red Bull? We will see.

Williams​

Drivers: Álvaro Carretón, Ismael Fahssi, Rubén Pedreño

It is “Vamos!” that will be the word Williams will want to hear as they field an all-Spanish line-up. First up is Álvaro Carretón, someone who has been a constant presence in the series since 2018, having driven exclusively with Williams throughout that entire time. Also carried over from last season is Ismael Fahssi, who starred on a number of occasions taking on drivers with more pedigree.

The only new presence on the team is that of Rubén Pedreño, having driven previously for Alpine and scored nine of the team’s eleven points last season. Having come into the series with a lot of hype, perhaps his time at Alpine was not representative of his ability so he will be hoping to hit the ground running.

Williams were one of the teams last season to give all three of their drivers seat time, and with Pedreño proving himself pretty handy, it will be interesting to see how Williams best utilises each driver.

RB​

Drivers: Ulaş Özyıldırım, Tom Manley, Declan Barrett

Moving on to the sister Red Bull team, they have picked up quite the signing with Ulaş Özyıldırım who has an impressive CV across sim racing. He has been successful on a variety of different sims, and finally got into the series last season. Only having a fifth place being his solitary points, he perhaps did not get to showcase all of that potential but this move to RB may allow Özyıldırım to fully do just that.

Retaining their place at RB is Tom Manley, who managed a podium finish and two additional points finishes last season. Joining them is Declan Barrett, a first year rookie but has been showing immense promise in the independent leagues as well. Like the main Red Bull team, RB will be operated by Team Redline, the same outfit that current Red Bull driver Max Verstappen is a member of.

Unlike in real life F1, the secondary Red Bull outfit have been in recent years able to defeat the main team. In 2018, Frederik Rasmussen’s charge with the then-named Toro Rosso team helped them finish second in the team’s championship behind Mercedes. It is perhaps a safe bet that they will not be doing that this season, but improving on last season’s eighth? May be a real possibility.

Aston Martin​

Drivers: Fabrizio Donoso, Duncan Hofland, Otis Lawrence

Aston Martin have not enjoyed a lot of success in the series for a few seasons since losing Lucas Blakeley to McLaren. But this year may very be their best since. First up is Fabrizio Donoso, runner-up in the first edition of F1 Esports and since drove for Force India/Racing Point, Renault/Alpine, Ferrari then found himself back at the same team he started with.

Duncan Hofland has been involved with Aston for a while as a reserve, he did some British F4 Esports on iRacing for them and is only just now getting onto their primary F1 roster. But when it comes to the most tantalising prospect on the Aston team, that undoubtedly has to go to Otis Lawrence. The 16-year-old has been hugely hyped in the F1 league racing scene and he is finally making his long-awaited debut.

Whether or not this blending of experience and untapped potential can help Aston solidly move up the order, that is yet to be seen. But do not be surprised if Lawrence in particular is challenging for strong points finishes or maybe even wins from the word go.

Alpine​

Drivers: Josh Idowu, Joni Törmälä, Piotr Stachulec

Lastly, we come to Alpine who have struggled for the past few seasons. Finishing at the bottom of the standings last season and second-to-last in the previous season, a change of management and a full shake-up of the drivers may be what they needed. Alpine parted ways with their long-time sim racing collaborative partner Race Clutch and joined forces with G2 Esports, who were previously aligned with Red Bull and netted them two team’s titles.

Coming along from the Red Bull fold with G2 are Josh Idowu and Joni Törmälä. The former having gotten a pole in his debut season and just missed out on a win with McLaren, then scored three podiums and another pole position after moving to AlphaTauri. That got Idowu a promotion to the main team last season, but ultimately fell short of expectations, resulting in Red Bull losing the team’s title.

Törmälä was part of Red Bull’s championship winning team in 2019, but since being demoted to AlphaTauri has not enjoyed anywhere near the same level of success. Perhaps a change of environment will do both Idowu and Törmälä some good, and also for their third driver Piotr Stachulec who returns to the series after a lacklustre rookie season which did not reflect his potential, hopefully he can get some track time. Together, these three could be the key to returning Alpine to glory.

F1 Sim Racing 2025: Format​

For people who have not seen the series before, the twelve rounds consist of four races each spread across three days. Tuesdays and Thursdays consist of the solitary races at 20:00 UTC with Wednesday having the second race of the day ran at that time with the first at 14:00 UTC.

All races are 50% Grand Prix distance, with grids set by the typical full Q1-Q2-Q3 format we know from real life. The points system is the same as real F1 with the addition of a point for pole and for fastest lap. Just like last season, all drivers will be racing in an onsite environment like they did from 2017-2019.

Editor’s Take: Luca​

“I am personally rooting for Bari Broumand to win the driver’s title this year, although Thomas Ronhaar will give him a real run for it. Red Bull are undoubtedly the favourites for the team’s championship, but I also said that about Alfa Romeo back in 2020 with Opmeer and Bereznay, and that never panned out.

Otis Lawrence will surely make an immediate first impression, but the one I am keeping a close eye on is Alfie Butcher as he performed above his already lofty expectations last season, and hopefully that can make it a four-way race at best in the team’s championship.

Lastly, I really hope Alpine do well, both Idowu and Stachulec have immense potential. Ultimately, there will have to be a team that finishes last even though there really is not much in the way of a weak link amongst all of them. This season is going to be really close, I reckon.”

Which driver or team will you be rooting for this coming F1 Sim Racing season? Let us know in the comments below and join the discussion in our F1 game series forum!