Picture Credit: Twitter
The 2020 Championship winner with Red Bull Racing ESports Marcel Kiefer has decided to switch teams and will now compete for the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS in the upcoming season. Marcel Kiefer has competed in every season of the F1 Esports Pro Series and joins one of the most successful teams in Mercedes which has won two Drivers’ and Constructors' Championships. Mercedes announced this signing with a tweet and a short video.
The German driver also took to social media to announce this new venture ahead of the 2023 season. In the post on Twitter, Marcel Kiefer looked excited as he wrote, "German Team - German Driver. Let's do this".
The three-time F1 Esports winner was part of the championship with RedBull in 2020 along with Frederick Rasmussen. The 24-year-old started to take sim racing in 2017 at the inaugural Pro series, where he made it to the top 40 fastest drivers and reached the semifinals in London. Marcel qualified for the 2017 F1 Esports Series semifinal by setting the third-fastest time on the Xbox Time Trial Qualifier.
The German finished fifth in 2018 with the Force India F1 Esports team and eventually won his first title at Silverstone. This title earned him a move to RedBull where he showed his calibre by finishing third in the Drivers’ Championship and winning the Constructors’ Championship with the team.
The German will drive with two-time World Champion Jarno Opmeer and Jake Benham. Although Opmeer and Mercedes are yet to confirm his presence, those two together boost their chances of winning their third Constructors title. The XBOX Round 1 starts in Bahrain on April 18.