Esports News UK caught up with 18-year-old British Formula 1 Esports Series World Champion Brendon Leigh following his win, to ask him about the final and his thoughts on F1 getting involved in esports.
Questions by Esports News UK’s Serdil Kaya and interview arranged by Dom Sacco.
Esports News UK: Tell us a bit about how the grand final went down, what were your feelings going into it and throughout it?
Brendon Leigh: My feelings during the grand final were very strange, never before in life had I been under the pressure for driving like that!
Going into the grand final it was a nervous time because I knew nothing about anyone else and how fast they could be.
Who would you say was the hardest opponent at the Championship? And did you feel the pressure of representing Britain while you were there?
I personally think Sven was my hardest opponent in the grand final.
I personally didn’t feel any extra pressure while racing as I was too focused on what I needed to do.
“My main aim is to defend my title for the next season of F1 esports, I would like to see F1 run an Esports Series side-by-side with the real F1 races.”
Brendon Leigh
What are your aims and ambitions in F1 esports, and what would you like to see from it in the future?
My main aim is to defend my title for the next season of F1 esports, I would like to see F1 run an Esports Series side-by-side with the real F1 races.
What inspired you to get into F1 esports, was it your love for racing?
I just love racing so it was only natural for me to sign up.
How much of an impact do you think F1 esports will have on the wider esports scene and also the motor racing industry overall?
I think because the F1 brand is so big, it will have a huge effect on esports in general.
I also believe it will affect real world motor racing because of how similar it is to that.
You can check out more comment from Brendon in this interview with the Daily Mail. You can also follow him on Twitter here.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
