We spoke to two-time Formula One Esports Series champion Jarno Opmeer at the IWC’s iRacing Esports Sim Challenge, ahead of the 2022 Season Grand Final this month.
“I reckon the other drivers are under pressure because we gained so many points in such a short amount of time”
Despite currently trailing in fifth place in the Driver’s Championship, the Mercedes man’s confidence hasn’t wavered and his expectations are simple; “to come out winning.” This comes after back-to-back victories in the Dutchman’s last two races, significantly closing the gap on the leading pack.
“We are on the back foot of course because we’re 22 points behind, which is almost one complete race win, but after Monza we were 56 points behind and closed it to 22 in the space of two races. So it’s definitely not impossible, and I do think we have a good chance because I reckon the other drivers are under pressure because we gained so many points in such a short amount of time.”
On potentially becoming a three-time World Champion
Opmeer would become the first three-time champion if he does win a third title, placing him clear as the undisputed best F1 Esports driver, however he insists there’ll still be motivation to continue competing at the highest level even after achieving such a feat.
“I’ve already won it twice, so for me it doesn’t really matter as much if I come first or third, I feel a lot less pressure. And we’re the ones hunting them down and not the other way around.”
On staying motivated..
“I don’t think I really need to get motivated very much, I’ve been racing all my life. Every single time you do a competition or get into a car, you have to prove yourself. And that’s the exciting bit of racing in general, because you’re only as good as your last race, of course, and that keeps me going – at least for the next few years. I just really love competition and that’s why I’m going to keep doing it, for sure.”
“If I want to start it, I have to start it now”
The Formula 1 Esports Series saw increased viewership over both of its last two seasons, in part down to a “growing passion for virtual racing and the appeal of all things Formula 1 amongst young gamers” according to Gfinity CEO John Clarke.
This has conveniently coincided with Opmeer’s emergence as a content creator, boasting 390k YouTube subscribers alongside his professional racing career, something that he claims was “never my plan because I was very awkward on camera.” However, that changed after winning his first F1 Esports title; “when I became world champion I was like, ‘if I want to start it, I have to start it now’ because there was so much media attention.”
“The advantage I had was that the previous two esports champions did nothing content-creation-wise, so I was like ‘if I want to pull it off, I have to start right now’ – which I did, and that started the ball rolling.”
The former Dutch karting champion made headlines during the COVID-19 pandemic by beating Formula One drivers such as Max Verstappen and Lando Norris in F1 sim racing events while the IRL season was put on hold. Such events highlighted a unique feature of sim racing esports; in that the required skillset is very similar to that of the real thing.
When asked whether this could help to validate Formula One Esports amongst traditional fans, Opmeer highlights that ‘real’ drivers also using the simulators “can help it [the esport] very, very much” as it “makes it more interesting for normal viewers to get into sim racing as well.”
However, he goes on to explain how “in some ways, it’s also very much against it, because people are always going to be comparing it to the real thing, of course, which is very much not a thing with FIFA or Call of Duty, for example, because that’
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