Esports students win Formula 1 Racing League title

Sunderland College and East Sussex College’s Esports team stormed to victory in the Student Racing League Split 3 Season Championship.

Lucas Hull, representing Sunderland College, and Jayden Brunsdon from ESC travelled to the iconic Williams F1 Headquarters in Oxfordshire where they secured first team place and the title in dramatic fashion.

Despite missing the inaugural race of the season, the duo fought their way into the top three heading into the season finale at a virtual Silverstone.

The team got off to the worst possible start in the build-up when Jayden was involved in a car accident enroute to Oxford and missed practice and qualifying.

Arriving mid-race, he found teammate Lucas had secured pole, a position he held on to until the chequered flag. Jayden got into his rhythm immediately, making his way up through the pack and between them they secured the points to win the Split 3 championship.

Split 3 had the closest points finish, with just seven points separating Sunderland College/East Sussex College – representing McLaren – on 110 and Banbury & Bicester College on 103.

The race was streamed on Williams Esports Twitch account for the world to watch.

Lucas said: “Every race I would have my lecturer Chris Jeffrey by me to support and help me grow as a person which helped a lot when it came to the final being in such a professional environment.

“I went into the race as the only person from the North of England, representing Sunderland College nationally across colleges all across the UK. The whole experience was amazing – I went in only expecting to get second in the championship and ended up winning the Williams Student Racing League Champion.”

Early this academic year a Formula 1 Esports team was formed between students from East Sussex College and Sunderland College to take part in the first season of the UK-held Student Racing League, a joint venture between Williams Esports and British Esports – the national body for esports in the UK.

The Student Racing League had 3 tiers available, and the 30 fastest education centres secured their spot in 1 of the 3 tiers. Each tier had a high-quality battle all the way through their respective seasons with the final round for everyone being in-person for a title deciding last round at the Williams Experience Centre.

Chris Jeffrey, Lecturer and Programme Leader for Next Gen at Sunderland College, said: “I’m so proud of everything achieved with the Sunderland Seers so far this season.

“Well done to Lucas – it was an absolutely incredible performance from him, and I’ve enjoyed seeing his growth, ambition and hard work pay off this season.”

Lucas is currently on a work placement at Williams F1, who support multiple pathways through which young aspiring talent can join Williams Racing, including work experience, apprenticeships, industrial placements, and graduate programmes.

Lucas gets to learn on the job in a variety of areas, including coaching and human performance, broadcasting, event management, and marketing (social, media and content) and he will gain experience across so many different aspects of the esports industry.