Lucas Blakeley took victory on the opening night of the 2022 F1 Esports championship on Wednesday, as he converted pole position into the top step of the podium.

Blakeley will be seen as one of the favourites for the Drivers' title this year, with him in the championship hunt right until the final stages last campaign when driving for Aston Martin.

He has since made the move to McLaren Shadow for this season and his competitive debut for the team could not have gone much better, with him taking pole during qualifying at the opening event and then crossing the line first in what was a thrilling opening race.

How did the race unfold?

Blakeley led away from pole position but did not have it all plain sailing over the course of the race, with last year's champion Jarno Opmeer once again underlining that he'll be a factor this season as he looked to employ a long stint on the hard tyres in a bid to perform an overcut.

He was leading going into the final stages of the race but on lap 21 the McLaren pair of Blakeley and team-mate Bari Boroumand, who had been working together well to reel him in, both managed to overtake him on the main straight.

Not to be perturbed, Opmeer would get second place back from Boroumand on the final lap into turn one but ultimately Blakely was too far up the road to be caught, and it was the Scotsman who took victory to seal a positive opening race for him and his McLaren Shadow team.

Here's how Blakeley reacted to the win:

What next in the F1 Esports series?

The action keeps on coming this week with round two taking place this evening at Imola, whilst round three will play out tomorrow evening.

Blakeley will be looking to make it two from two tonight at one of the most popular circuits on the 12-venue calendar, though the likes of Opmeer will be eager to get that first win on the board as he aims to defend his title for Mercedes.