Deagen Fairclough has already been reaping the benefits of his ROKiT British F4 Championship certified by FIA title triumph, having completed his prize simulator experience with the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team.
Closing out what has been a year to remember for the Hitech Pulse-Eight driver, where he clinched the 2024 crown in record-breaking fashion, Fairclough has wasted no time in capitalising on one of the many rewards that come with winning the UK’s premier single-seater series.
Spending a half-day at the home of the eight-time Formula 1 World Constructors’ Champions at their headquarters in Brackley, the 18-year-old was granted the opportunity to undertake a full session in the Mercedes-AMG F1 simulator.
After being given a pre-session briefing, Fairclough embarked on a similar simulator programme to that of seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton, his team-mate George Russell and the inbound Andrea Kimi Antonelli – working closely with the team’s engineers throughout.
Once the session was complete, Fairclough concluded his day with a post-session debrief where he was provided with feedback and additional coaching insights from the session.
Deagen commented, “I spend a lot of time in esports and training in race simulators, it’s how I won my drive in British F4, through the ROKiT Racing Stars programme. However, the F1 simulator was just incredible! The level of preparation with the Mercedes engineers in advance and during the session, was fascinating and helped enormously in making the most of the day and improve my lap times! I’d like to thank Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team and ROKiT British F4 for a day I’ll remember for a long time. I’m determined in the future to be back in a F1 simulator doing race preparation!”
In addition to his simulator experience with the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team, Fairclough also has a year-long coaching programme with the BWT Alpine Formula 1 ® Team and a Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine post-season test provided by Pirelli still to come.
