Lauren Blake

Lauren Blake
Blake in 2020
Nationality	Aquitaynian
Born	(1999-06-14) 14 June 1999 Freyport, Aquitayne
Astyrian Formula One career
Debut season	2021
Current team	Sidus
Car number	6
Starts	43
Championships	1 (2022)
Wins	10
Podiums	22
Poles	11
Fastest laps	6

Lauren Blake (born 14 June 1999) is an Aquitaynian racing driver currently racing for Sidus in Astyrian Formula One. She was the Astyrian Formula Three champion in 2018 and the Astyrian Formula Two champion in 2020. Debuting in 2021 at the Aswickan Grand Prix, Blake is the first female driver in AstyF1 to participate in a full season. She took her maiden victory at the 2021 Khyragusian Grand Prix, and has since added two more wins in her debut season. In 2022, she became the first woman in history to win the AstyF1 Drivers' Championship.

Family and personal life

Lauren Blake was born on 14 June 1999 in Freyport, Aquitayne. Her father, Andreas Blake, is a police officer while her mother, Amarinta Blake (née Atmosoegih), is a dressmaker. She has a younger sibling, Jacob, who is also a racing driver, and two older siblings: Angeline, who is an optometrist, and Christian, who is a software developer. She is partly of Hindia Belandan descent.

Her interest in racing was fostered at the age of 6, when her parents took her and her siblings to an indoor karting track in Freyport. Blake immediately asked her father to buy her a go-kart. She received one for her 7th birthday, and began to compete in local karting competitions. Aside from karting, she also dabbled in motorcycle racing and quadbike racing. She cites Clayton Norris and Augustus Tertullius as her racing heroes.

Blake was educated at Pearson Secondary School. She described herself to be "terrible" at school, and said in an interview that she often rushed with her school activities so she can have time for karting. Nevertheless, she graduated secondary school with respectable grades. Her hobbies outside of racing include karate, biking, and sim racing. She is also a fan of football.

She currently lives in Vuornaa, Valkea near the Sidus F1 team headquarters.

Early Career

Blake started karting in 2006 and began claiming wins and podiums at regional competitions. In 2012, she graduated to KF3 karting, winning the AKRA Lorecian Championship and the Astyrian Super Kart Lorecian Cup in 2012, as well as the Astyrian Karting Championship in 2014.

That same year, she made the transition to car racing, joining the Aquitaynian Formula Winthrop Championship. However, despite missing three races due to a broken arm sustained from a racing accident, she finished 3rd in the standings. Her entry into the Aquitaynian Formula 4 championship was more successful, but despite leading the standings for much of the 2014 season, a costly spin at the final race saw her narrowly lose the title by three points to Maximilian Frentzen. She returned to Aquitaynian Formula 4 in 2015, taking seven wins and thirteen podiums to win the championship. She also made occasional appearances in other series in Lorecia, such as the 2015 Aswickan and ViZion Formula 4 championships.

In 2016, Blake entered the Lorecian Formula 3 Series with PDR Racing, finishing in 4th behind Bram Dichter, Christofer Elstad, and Decius Whitewall. She returned in 2017 and took the championship, clinching the title over Devin Acker. Blake then competed in the Astyrian Formula Three Championship in 2018, becoming champion in her rookie season. Alongside that, she was given a part-time drive in the Valkean GT Championship towards the end of 2018, participating in the final two rounds at Maarinnat International Circuit and Vestola Circuit.

She then drove for Pierce Motorsport in the Astyrian Formula Two Championship in 2019, partnering Julius Whitstone. Despite starting off the season with strong performances, including three wins and seven podiums, she eventually finished 3rd in the standings behind champion Sarah Musgrove and runner-up Maximilian Frentzen. She would continue with Pierce the following year, joined by fellow Sidus Racing Academy driver Alex Horn. Blake took five wins and ten podiums in a highly competitive field, beating Mitchell Townsend and teammate Horn to the 2020 AstyF2 Championship title at the feature race in Augusti Angelbridge Circuit.

Astyrian Formula One

Blake joined the Sidus Telenid F1 Racing Team in 2017 as part of the Sidus Junior Drivers Program, and became their official test and reserve driver in 2018. Her debut behind the wheel of a Formula One car came at the 2018 Nikolian Grand Prix, where she set the 2nd fastest time in 2nd free practice. At her 2nd testing session at the 2018 San Joaquin Valley Grand Prix, she set the fastest time for both Friday free practice sessions.

Her official debut as an AstyF1 racing driver came at the 2019 Khyragusian Grand Prix, replacing Simo Rassinen after he suffered a major accident at the 2019 Nikolian Grand Prix. This marked the first time a female driver has competed in AstyF1 since 1985. Blake qualified in 8th position and went on to finish in 7th. Rassinen would return at the following race in the 2019 Kelonnan Grand Prix.

Sidus

2021

Blake at the 2021 Aswickan Grand Prix

After Rassinen's shock retirement after winning his 2nd Drivers' Championship in 2020, Sidus announced that Blake will be driving for the team for the 2021 season, partnering Beriquois driver Guy Bassett. She qualified 6th on her full-time season debut at the 2021 Aswickan Grand Prix and worked her way up to 3rd in the race, becoming a handful of drivers who finished on the podium on their debut. Two 4th place finishes followed at the next two rounds in Mizialand and Azmir, reaching 2nd in the Drivers' Championship. However, at the 2021 Astyrian Grand Prix in Caranthea, Blake collided with Pekka Koivu while attempting to pass him on Lap 22, resulting in a 10-second penalty. A race restart after Nick Hardy's accident saw Blake drop down the order to 16th - the first pointless race result of her career. This was followed by her first DNF at the 2021 Noordenstaat Grand Prix, when Robert van Grol collided with Blake on Lap 53 and brought out the safety car.

Blake would rebound at the 2021 Nikolian Grand Prix, finishing in 2nd ahead of Koivu. At the 2021 Khyragusian Grand Prix, Blake claimed her very first pole position, with Bassett also locking out the front row for Sidus. She was able to convert her pole position into a victory, taking her first career win in AstyF1 and marking the first grand prix victory taken by a female driver in the sport's history. She went on to have a solid result at the 2021 Kelonnan Grand Prix, where she was able to hold 5th for most of the race. At the next race in ViZion, she set the fastest time in qualifying, but was handed a 3-place grid penalty for ignoring yellow flags. In the race, she pitted early due to her tires wearing faster than normal, yet was able to finish 3rd. At the 2021 Monsa Grand Prix, Blake started and finished in 7th place, while she finished in 5th place at the 2021 Caprican Grand Prix, which was cut short due to Steven Grey's accident. Another 5th place followed at the 2021 San Joaquin Grand Prix.

Her next big triumph came at the 2021 Hindia Belandan Grand Prix, where she qualified on the front row alongside Ivan Jovanović. At the race start, she got off the line well and tried to squeeze the Nikolian wide before the first turn, but Jovanović held his line and Blake had to back off. A lap later, she used her pace to overtake Jovanović on the start-finish straight. Sensing that her tires were degrading quickly, she pitted early on Lap 16 and opted for a two-stop strategy to counter DiParadisa. After her second stop, Blake pushed hard and fought the Confederate driver for the lead, eventually making the pass on Lap 40 and building a considerable lead. Despite a safety car that bunched the field back up, she was able to hold on to the lead and claim her 2nd win. At the 2021 Scottopian Grand Prix, Blake qualified in 4th behind Musgrove, Prescott, and Lakowski. Despite a strategic error in the race that saw her lose some places in her pit stop, she was able to push hard and finish on the podium in P2.

The next few races saw a slump in form for the Aquitaynian rookie. At the 2021 Nynorsk Ostlijord Grand Prix, Blake incurred a 10-second penalty for entering the pit lane while it is closed, and she only finished 5th. At the following round in Valkea, she was caught out by a storm during the race, which resulted in a 9th place finish. The 2021 Sloverti Grand Prix didn't start well for Blake, only managing to be 9th fastest in qualifying, but she was able to make up for this by finishing 4th in the race. But at the 2021 Nidwaldeser Grand Prix, she struggled with her pace and finished the race in 9th. At her home race, the 2021 Aquitaynian Grand Prix, she stunned the paddock by qualifying on pole ahead of Musgrove and Bassett. Her race started off well, with her leading several laps, but was hampered by a slow pit stop and fell out of the podium places in 4th. For the final two races of the season, she finished the 2021 Arimathean Grand Prix and the 2021 Confederate Grand Prix in P7 and P6, respectively. Blake finished 3rd in the Drivers' Championship and was awarded as 2021 Rookie of the Year.

2022

Blake started off the season strong by qualifying on the front row in the season opening Aswickan Grand Prix. She went on to win the race, catching and passing Bram Dichter on Lap 46 to secure the victory. Because of this, she took the lead of the Astyrian Formula One Drivers' Championship for the first time, becoming the first ever woman to do so. She would go on to further extend her lead in the Mizia Grand Prix, taking pole and converting that to another race win.