A Turkish driver who came up through simracing, won in the Euroformula Open and spent a difficult 2022 in Formula 2.
A former simracer from Turkey, Bolukbasi moved into real cars in 2019 after motocross and esports. He won twice in the 2021 Euroformula Open, spent the 2022 season in Formula 2, and later raced sportscars in the European Le Mans Series for DKR and Nielsen.
Cem Bolukbasi is a Turkish racing driver who began in esports before moving to real cars in 2019. He won races in the Euroformula Open and was picked for the 2022 Formula 2 Championship, a season that ended early for him. He later raced sportscars in Europe, including the European Le Mans Series in 2024 and 2025.
How did a simracer become a real-car driver?
Bolukbasi raced for McLaren in the 2017 Formula One eSports Series and finished fifth, with a race win. He then moved to real cars in May 2019, when Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport announced his GT4 European Series entry. He finished 17th in 2019 and second overall in 2020.
He began competing in motocross at five and won the Turkish championship at six. In 2022 he named Fernando Alonso as his favourite Formula One driver, pointing to Alonso's personality and his movements on track.
The esports years were a serious part of his development. In late 2017 he was selected for G2 Esports FA Racing, which entered him in simracing competitions through 2018. In 2018 he switched to Toro Rosso, taking part in four of ten races and finishing 12th with 32 points. The 2019 season was thinner, with nine of twelve races and 21st place on four points.
During the 2020 lockdowns he won the inaugural Formula Renault Esport Series championship. That result came while he was also racing full-time in GT4, where he took three pole positions and three race wins on the way to second overall in the championship.
Two wins in the Euroformula Open and a Formula 2 season cut short by injury and a contract dispute.
How did he do in single-seaters before Formula 2?
His first single-seater outing came as a guest at the Hockenheim round of the 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup, where he finished 16th in race one. In 2021 he took part in the F3 Asian Championship for BlackArts Racing, finishing ninth overall, and he won twice in the Euroformula Open.
BlackArts Racing announced his place in January 2021, and the F3 Asian season was steadier than the Eurocup weekend had been. He scored points in thirteen of fifteen races, with a best result of fifth, and he finished ninth in the championship. The points came from consistency rather than from a single standout race.
The rebranded 2022 season with Evans GP went badly. He retired from all three races in round one, and a crash in race three damaged the rear of his car so badly that the repairs kept him out of round two. Just before round three he left the series, because his chances of gaining Super Licence points were slim.
How did the Euroformula Open season unfold?
He joined Van Amersfoort Racing for the 2021 Euroformula Open on 3 July 2021, and made his debut in the fourth round at the Hungaroring. He won the first race there, becoming the first esports driver to win a race in a formula series. He added third in the second race, and seventh on a wet track in race three.
At Imola he qualified third. In race one he ran second before a mistake with three laps to go dropped him to third. In race two he started fourth, got into third after the start, and was later overtaken by Jak Crawford to finish fourth. A collision with teammate Rafael Villagomez ended his race three.
The Red Bull Ring round produced steady points. He started race one fourth, fell to fifth at the start and finished there, then moved up to fourth after a post-race penalty for Reshad de Gerus. He started race two third and finished second behind Nazim Azman, then took sixth in the final race.
Monza was his strongest weekend. He finished third in race one from tenth on the grid and set the fastest lap. Race two was run in the wet, and he finished second. In race three he crossed the line first but was given a three-second penalty for cutting a corner, which demoted him to second.
The season ended at Barcelona with pole position and his second win in the series. He finished fourth in race two and fourth again in race three. He finished the season fifth in the overall standings, despite missing the first three rounds.
What happened in Formula Regional Asia?
Evans GP signed Bolukbasi for the first round of the 2022 Formula Regional Asian Championship. He retired from every race that weekend, and the last one ended in a huge startline crash that caused massive damage to his car. The damage kept him out of the second round, and he later withdrew from the championship.
He had first tested Formula Two machinery at Brno on 14 October 2021, driving a Dallara GP2/11, a car used in the GP2 Series from 2011 to 2016. His first official Formula 2 session followed at the post-season test with Van Amersfoort Racing on 18 December 2021, where he finished 22nd and last.
How did the 2022 Formula 2 season unfold?
Bolukbasi was announced for the 2022 Formula 2 Championship with Charouz Racing System in January 2022, after a test at Brno in October 2021. He qualified 20th for the opening round in Bahrain and finished 14th in the sprint race. A concussion in Jeddah ruled him out, and a broken rib from a Barcelona testing crash followed.
The Bahrain feature race ended badly. He spun on the restart late on and finished 15th. He returned at Barcelona, qualified 21st and finished 20th in the feature race after a slow pit stop. David Beckmann took his seat for the Imola round while he recovered.
Monaco brought his best result of the year. He gained six positions on the first lap of the sprint race and finished 12th, then took 11th in the feature race after several retirements behind the safety car. At Baku he was tapped by Roy Nissany in the feature race and hit the barriers.
At Baku the sprint ended with a collision with Calan Williams. He was still classified 18th, having covered more than 90 percent of the distance. Silverstone was a grind in the wet sprint, where he got to 19th and stayed there, and the feature race ended 18th after he struggled to get his tyres working.
Spielberg brought brake trouble in the sprint, and he pitted late and finished five laps down. In the feature race he made contact with Liam Lawson, broke his front wing, pitted early and did not return to the track.
At Le Castellet he qualified 22nd and last, but he climbed to 13th on the first lap of the sprint. A mistake at the final corner on lap 18 cost him two places, and he finished 15th. In the feature race he came into the pits in the closing stages and retired.
Formula 2 results by round
| Round | Sprint race | Feature race |
|---|---|---|
| Bahrain | 14th | 15th |
| Jeddah | Withdrawn after a concussion | Withdrawn |
| Barcelona | 18th | 20th |
| Monaco | 12th | 11th |
| Baku | 18th, classified | Retired after contact |
| Silverstone | 19th | 18th |
| Spielberg | Finished five laps down | Retired after contact with Liam Lawson |
| Le Castellet | 15th | Retired |
| Budapest | 16th | 13th |
What came after his Formula 2 exit?
Charouz ended the contract by mutual consent before the Spa-Francorchamps round in August 2022. The team argued that Bolukbasi had breached the agreement in a major way, while he said the two sides could not agree on financial terms. He described his withdrawal as unfair.
He did not stay idle. In December 2022 he took part in a Super Formula test alongside Liam Lawson, and in March 2023 he was chosen for the 2023 Super Formula Championship with TGM Grand Prix. His only points came from eighth and ninth places in the first three rounds, and he finished 18th with five points.
He then left Super Formula after a single season. In 2024 he found a drive in the European Le Mans Series with DKR Engineering. In 2025 he raced in the same series for Nielsen Racing, moving from single-seaters to the endurance grid.
