Rising start in Esport, Harvey and his journey through F1

We asked Harvey about his journey, mistakes, and lessons he has learnt as a development driver for McLaren Shadow

How did yet get into Esport?

I started with go-karting, which is a form of motor sport, and that’s what really what got me involved in the first place, and my love of motor sport. And then, three years ago, I moved to the Czech Republic, during the lockdown. That’s when this whole Esports journey started.

What has been the biggest achievement for you so far?

My biggest achievement is signing with McLaren Shadow[1]. I think that’s been the highlight of my career so far. To be signed with such a big name as McLaren and be part of a team like McLaren Shadow is really a huge deal and it’s something that I’ll forever be grateful for. I’ve had other highlights such as making the 2022 Formula 1 Pro exhibition, which is a huge Esport competition.

What is your role within the McLaren Shadow team – how were you involved?

My role is gathering data, such as tyre per lap, energy management per lap, the current F1 cars have something called ERS, which is basically a battery that you can deploy throughout the lap to give the car extra horse power, so my job was to gather data on how much I could use per lap, how much you would be able to save per lap. I was also invested in helping with the set ups the driver would use, as set ups can have a huge difference on how a driver drives and the time of the lap. I’ve also been helping out with engineering and guiding the drivers.

”Making people think I’m not good enough was one of the biggest mistakes.”

When you say that you’re helping the drivers, do you mean, the Formula 1 drivers?

Yes, the main drivers within the Esport, and then it did correlate a little bit into the real life F1, but not so much. It was mainly our team. We have three main drivers – those being Lucas Blakeley, Bari Boroumand and Wilson Hughes – and then we have three development drivers who really gather the data, which is the role that I’m in.

What have been the most challenging things/ times?

It has been challenging in recent months, especially balancing out schoolwork and putting in many work hours a day. The school helps and supports me throughout - allowing me to leave school a little bit earlier when I don’t have a class; giving me extensions, if necessary, to make sure I get the work done to a good standard – all of this truly helped. Another challenge was self-development as a driver. I’ve not been up to the standard of what should have been Esport at the start of this year. I had to greatly increase my pace and my development as a person and driver has been a challenge to handle, such as keeping my focus on where the end goal is and where I want to be.

What is the end goal?

”The end goal is to be a main driver in F1 Esports.”

I think that’s what everyone in an Esports team says, and I’m fortunate enough to have the opportunity of  being in a position where it seems extremely close, next season or maybe next year. I need to capitalise on this chance and if I keep up the rate of growth that I have so far as a driver, I think I might be in a place where I can be a main driver next season.

How do you work on developing yourself and being the best driver that you could be?

To be the best you can be, you need to be very good in many areas. I’ve had to improve my time-management, recently. I’ve never really been very good with my time management throughout all my school years, but I had to learn that that’s where you need to start. Exercising is a big part, especially in Esports and a lot of the mental games which helps me stay focused.  Exercising also helps calm me down, refocus and clear my mind which is crucial for my work at school and performing outside of school.
Another challenge is to stay on topic. In school, it’s easy to get distracted by friends but I’ve learnt that sometimes, it’s best to just distance yourself – maybe not from a friend group, but during school, and just get your work done. It can be frustrating and it can feel like it‘s a long day and it can be boring, but I figured that through the school years and recent times, that it’s best to just get it done in school, no matter what it is, just work hard and then you’ve got all your free time at home.

What has been the biggest mistake that you wish you wouldn’t have done?

You need a lot of self-confidence to be one of the best in the world at the sport you’re doing. You have to dig deep. You cannot let people tell you what you can and cannot do. If you know you have the ability, if you know you can do something, if you have a passion for something; anything – you need to work hard for it. You need to have that self-belief, because if you don’t, you won’t be able to get anywhere. If you let other people’s thoughts and opinions affect you too much as I did at one point, then it will only hinder you. I’ve learnt recently, throughout this year, to shut off from critics, shut off from what anyone says and as long as I know that I can perform and I can do it myself, I’ll be able to get the best out of it.

What would you recommend to someone who wants to get into Esport.

Esports is becoming huge. A couple of years ago, no one really knew what Esports was and now it’s global. It’s all over the news, people are always talking about it. So, it’s very accessible to join as long as you have something to play on – but to be the best, you need to put in a lot of practice.  If there’s people that have come from places where all they had was a controller and they’ve made it in Esports then anyone can do it. You don’t need a lot of money; that’s the good thing about Esports. There’re certain sports, like motorsport, where you need millions to even start, whereas, in Esports, you don’t need anything. Just get started. If you want to do it, take the jump. You never know what can happen. It can start as a hobby and become a fulltime job as it did for me.