F1 boasts of a thriving sim racing community with an official F1 Esports championship being held every year. All the F1 teams have their own Esports department with drivers fighting for a million dollars in prize money. However, despite the stakes being so high, Mercedes Esports driver Jarno Opmeer has lashed out at F1 for forcing them to use sub-standard equipment.
Opmeer is a two-time F1 Esports champion. He claimed his first championship title, driving for the Alfa Romeo Esports team in 2020. He followed that up in 2021 with another title win, this time with Mercedes.
However, Opmeer failed to claim the third title in a row as he lost out to Lucas Blakeley of McLaren last season. The Dutch sim racer ended up finishing P5 in the championship.
Heading into the 2023 edition of the F1 Esports championship, Opmeer seems to be very dissatisfied with the quality of the equipment that they are being provided by F1.
Mercedes Esports driver speaks out against the official F1 Esports sponsor
The equipment that the Esports driver use are provided by Fanatec, a sim racing brand from the US. They are the official sponsors for the F1 Esports series. However, it seems that their products are definitely not up to professional standards.
Opmeer was so frustrated with the Brake Pedals provided by Fanatec that he went ahead and asked his followers to not buy them. He claimed that there is a defect in a sensor in the pedal that is causing them to break.
Equipment plays a major role in determining the outcome of a competition as close as F1 Esports. Therefore, poor equipment can affect the performance of a player in more ways than one.
F1 content creator Tiametmarduk also commented about Fanatec recently. He quipped that the sim racing brand must make big changes to its product line in 2023.
Brake Pedals or Break pedals
Fans had a plethora of reactions to Opmeer’s outburst. Some sympathized with him and shared their own problems, while others looked at the funnier side of things.
Tiametmarduk himself chipped in with a sarcastic comment telling the Silver Arrows rep that it is his own fault for not calibrating the brake pedals. He claimed that he has been using the same brake pedals since 1973, much before he was actually born.
Twitter user Dani shared similar feelings with Jarno. He commented that he learned his lesson long ago and does not trust Fanatec anymore.
Another twitter user made a funny wordplay on brake pedals and called them break pedals.
Charlie managed to take a dig at Ferrari out of nowhere. He claimed that Opmeer should try driving for Ferrari because their stuff do not even last for a single weekend.
There were also fans who defended Fanatec and claimed that their products have lasted long enough and maybe it is an issue with Opmeer.
Overall, it remains to be seen how F1 will respond to this, whether Fanatec will improve their products or if F1 will allow drivers to race with equipment from other brands.
