FREDE RASMUSSEN: “Anything Is Possible”

P4 // 1 win // 115 points // Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports

Silver. It’s bright, it’s beautiful, and it’s precious. But, it’s not gold. And one man who has taken the silver medal more than any other in F1 Esports is Frede Rasmussen. Coming home directly behind the drivers’ champion in 2019, 2020 and 2021 means he is by far and away the most consistent driver.

But if he’s to ascend to the highest position possible in 2022, he needs a silver bullet. And this time round, it’s not a Silver Arrow in front of him. Rasmussen sits P4 in the standings, behind McLaren Shadow duo Lucas Blakeley and Bari Boroumand, and Haas’ Thomas Ronhaar. So, what can he do in the final event?

“Winning every race would be great!” said the Dane, looking ahead of the Grand Final.

“Japan is a good track for me – I’ve won a race there twice. Brazil is my worst track in the whole calendar.”

If Rasmussen’s worst track is Brazil, he certainly didn’t show it last time out at Interlagos. The Red Bull Racing Esports star took victory there as the 2021 Pro Championship concluded, narrowly missing out on the title to Jarno Opmeer. Despite the success, Brazil doesn’t hold a special place in Frede’s heart. But Japan is a whole ‘nother story.

Suzuka has played host to two F1 Esports races. Rasmussen won them both. And the third track featuring in Event 4 is no slouch either.

“With Abu Dhabi, I’m not sure, as I haven’t driven the new layout at all. But last time I drove it in 2018 I was pretty good at it.”

Indeed – a P3 finish at the 2018 season finale was nothing to scoff at, rounding out an impressive season which saw him finish third overall. Of course, since then it’s been all twos for him.

THE STORY SO FAR

“There have been two highlights so far: the win in Silverstone, and getting three pole positions in a row.”

The word ‘mixed’ could be used to describe all of our championship contenders’ seasons, including Rasmussen’s. But he really hit his stride in Event 2. Off the back of a win from Pole in Silverstone, he took the top spot in qualifying for the next two races, coming home second in both Austria and Belgium.

However, Event 3 didn’t deliver the same levels of results for the Dane.

“Event 3 was probably one of the worst I’ve ever had. I think the pace was still good, but we just couldn’t really capitalise on it. Working out what to do during the races this season has been one of the toughest challenges.”

A pair of P5 finishes sandwiching a non-score in Mexico are not the standard one might expect from Mr Consistency. But all five title contenders have dropped points this year. Opmeer and Boroumand have had non-scoring races, Ronhaar suffered a DNF in the opening race in Bahrain, and even Blakeley had a lean third event, losing ground to the chasers.

So, how does that leave the state of play going into the last three races?

“Everyone is fast; everyone can win it,” he summarised.

“But if everything goes well and we get a bit of luck, anything is possible. I’m just going to do my best. I don’t really have any goals, I’m just going to see what happens!”

Tune into the Grand Final from Wednesday, December 14 to see if Frede Rasmussen can go one better than previous years! And join us on tomorrow, when we’ll be quizzing Bari Boroumand on his feelings ahead of the Grand Final.