The grid for ESL R1 keeps filling up: Just three of the 12 teams set to compete for the first time on February 11th at IEM Katowice remain without an announced driver line-up – Williams Esports is the latest squad to unveil its roster after a cheeky Twitter teaser the day before.
Sim racing fans had to have gotten excited at first when they saw the Williams Tweet about their ESL R1 lineup – then they saw a grey square where a graphic should have been. A technical mishap? More like a teaser: Shortly after the initial tweet, another one stating “We will try tomorrow again” surfaced, implying that it was intentional.
When the curtain was finally lifted, three trusted Williams drivers and a new hire were unveiled: Dennis Schöniger, formerly behind the wheel for Unicorns of Love, joins the Esports division of the famous Formula 1 team. Schöniger had been with UoL for about a year, mainly competing in Assetto Corsa Competizione.
On the other hand, Kuba Brzezinski, Nikodem Wisniewski and Dáire McCormack already have some experience in Williams colors under their belts: Together with Agustin Canapino and Michael Romanidis, Brzezinski and Wisniewski managed to secure 5th overall in the 2022-2023 Le Mans Virtual series in rFactor 2 while McCormack has seen his share of successes with the team in ACC: The Irishman most recently scored a second place in the SimGrid x VCO World Cup alongside Tinko van der Velde at Paul Ricard.
With the RENNSPORT platform being new to all drivers on the grid, predicitons on who is likely to end up on the top step of the podium are that much more difficult – we will find out soon how they get on!
Need an overview of all cars and teams in ESL R1? Check out our social media guide!