Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN Esports got the job done at the fourth and final Event of the season, as the team successfully closed the gap on its main competitors to seize fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship. Nico Longuet brought the team back to the top step of the podium at the Japanese Grand Prix, in what has been his and the team’s first win in almost two years, following an impeccable race which also saw the Frenchman being awarded Driver of the Day. Different luck for Dani Bereznay, who despite a promising start with his best qualifying of the season, starting P5 in Suzuka, saw his race spoiled by on-track mishaps, eventually finishing twelfth.
Double points were the reward at the end of Round Eleven, hosted by the iconic Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo, Brazil. A great team effort and a good strategy allowed Nico and Dani to add precious points to the team’s tally, crossing the chequered flag in the Top Ten following an eventful race with changing conditions.
It was Tomek Poradzisz’s time to get back behind the wheel for the twelfth and final round of the season, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The Polish rookie made his first Q3 appearance of his F1 Esports career, lining up P8 on the grid, with teammate Longuet starting P14 due to some technical difficulties that affected his qualifying session. It wasn’t an ideal race for the team, with both drivers struggling and eventually finishing P11 and P17 respectively.
Despite the rocky season finale, the points scored during the tenth and eleventh rounds allowed Nico, Dani and Tomek to successfully secure fifth place in the 2022 F1 Esports Series Pro Championship, showing great progress throughout a strong season.
Round Ten: Suzuka
Nico Longuet (car number 40): 1st
Dani Bereznay (car number 15): 12th
Round Eleven: Brazil
Nico Longuet (car number 40): 4th
Dani Bereznay (car number 15):7th
Round Twelve: Abu Dhabi
Nico Longuet (car number 40): 11th
Tomek Poradzisz (car number 37): 17th
Cameron Cowell, Team Principal: “That’s a wrap for the 2022 F1 Esports Season. There have been lots of highs and lows. For starters, Tomek’s performance in Event Two, going from P20 to P10 was memorable. Dani found his form again over Events Three and Four, managing to hit Q3 in every race he participated in as well as scoring a good amount of points for the team. Of course, Nico getting a beautiful P1 in Japan has been the best highlight of the season. He has had an outstanding year, and we all thoroughly enjoyed seeing him race. As a team we set out to achieve Top Five in the Constructors’ Championship and we have achieved that. I just want to say a big thanks to our drivers as well as the team for the continuous support. Bring on 2023!”
Nico Longuet: “That’s it! The season has come to an end and I’m very satisfied with the overall outcome. We had some troubles in Event One and struggled to settle in at first, but we improved throughout the whole season by scoring more points event after event. Our goal was to finish in the Top Five Constructors before this event, and we managed it beautifully, with a great win in Japan and double points in Brazil. My teammates showed great performances and improved each day, and they pushed me to be better as much as I pushed them. It has been a challenging season; the gaps were insanely close, and we gave it our all. Now, it’s time to take a small break, but not for too long: league racing will be back soon. Thank you for the support and see you next year!”
Dani Bereznay: “The season just ended, and I miss it already! Over the last six months, since the beta release of F1 ’22, we practiced every single day to get every bit of performance out of ourselves. Now, our hard work has been rewarded. We had a tough start, a Top Five finish didn’t quite seem within reach at the beginning of the season, but we made it! This is a great improvement from last year as a team, first, and for myself individually as well. The last two events were huge steps forward to where I want to be compared to where I was over the last two years, and I’m really proud of this development. I already can’t wait to face the challenges of 2023 to move forward on this road.”
Tomek Poradzisz: “My first ever season in the F1 Esports Series Pro Championship came to an end, and whilst it was a very tough experience, I am super proud of the progress I have made since the first event. I accomplished the goals I had set for myself before the season and got plenty of valuable experience that I intend to carry over to future seasons. The most important thing is that we finished in a very strong P5 as a team and have improved with each event, so much so that we were pretty much one of the top teams in the last one. There are several positives to take from the past three months, and I think we can all be super proud of the job we’ve done. Now, the goal is to carry this momentum going into 2023 – we are definitely not done yet, as there is so much more to achieve.”
