F1 sim racer becomes first-ever esports driver to make Formula 2 cut

sportskeeda.com:

Professional F1 sim racing driver Cem Bolukbasi recently announced that he would be participating in the 2022 Formula 2 Racing championship.

Cem Bolukbasi is a Turkish racing professional who started his career in motocross in 2006. He subsequently switched to sim racing and has won multiple major tournaments in recent years, including the FR3.5 esports champion in 2020.

Cem Bolukbasi harbors the ambition of becoming an F1 driver and was signed by the Charouz Racing System for Formula 2. By doing so, he became the first Turkish Formula 2 driver and also became the first person to transition to the sport from esports.

23-year-old Cem Bolukbasi recently participated in a Formula Regional Asian Championship campaign in 2021. He also participated in recent Formula 2 preseason testing with Van Amersfoort Racing and has plenty of experience racing in various F1 feeder categories. Bolukbasi claimed the following at the time of the announcement:

Cem Bolukbaksi also spoke about his F1 ambitions and outlined his determination to improve in the coming time:

In recent years, Cem Bolukbasi has also tested various Formula 3 and Formula 4 cars. Charkouz Racing System’s owner Antonin Charouz said the following on the occasion:

The youngster's rise to fame as a sim racer has brought a lot of attention to the star, making it an interesting journey for Formula racing fans to keep an eye on