Phoenix
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This article is about the team competing in Formula Virtual. For the team that previously competed outside of Formula Virtual please see Phoenix Motorsport.
Phoenix Motorsport is a British Formula Virtual team based in Greater Manchester, England. The team was founded by Alex Easton and Christian Sear, and is part owned by the pair along with Lucas Wilson.
Origins
Phoenix Motorsport was originally formed in December 2014 by Alex Easton and Christian Sear with the goal of helping young British drivers get their chance to prove themselves in Virtual Motorsport, the team providing a pathway to Formula Virtual.
Easton and Sear established the team in late 2014, setting up the team's base in Manchester, United Kingdom. The team built their base just behind the Vitafoam factory just off Don Street in Middleton, Greater Manchester, on the area previously occupied by the old Rex Mill which burned down in August 2000.
2015 was Phoenix's first season competing in Virtual Motorsport, entering the FV2 series before expanding into FV3 the following year. Phoenix operated in both FV2 and FV3 until 2018, when they gained entry to the top tier of Virtual Motorsport; Formula Virtual.
Ownership
Initially, Phoenix was part-owned by Easton and Sear following the pair founding the team in 2014. This continued throughout the team's time in the junior series and their first year in Formula Virtual, before DS Automobiles purchased a stake in the team in late 2018.
DS Automobiles
In late 2018, it was announced that DS Automobiles had purchased a 30% stake in Phoenix as part of a deal which saw the Mancunian team become a full DS works team for the 2019 season. As well as the deal with DS Automobiles, Phoenix also signed a title sponsorship deal with Ecotricity and so, for 2019, the official team name became Ecotricity DS Automobiles Team Phoenix.
The partnership was prematurely ended after just one highly successful season after DS Mathershaw switched to Porsche power for 2020, then DS Automobiles pulled out of Formula Virtual altogether; leaving Phoenix in a dire situation. DS Automobiles' stake in the team was sold back to Easton and Sear, but heavy debts were mounting.
Lucas Wilson
Following the departure of DS Automobiles - along with all the sponsors associated with them - Phoenix were left in a financial disaster, with the team entering administration in November 2019. Phoenix were reportedly days away from closing their doors for good before, in mid-December, investment from Lucas V-Prix owner and Team Principal Lucas Wilson saved the team.
Wilson, who owns the multi billion pound oil company Wilson Oils, purchased a 35% stake in Phoenix Motorsport as part of a deal which saw the two Downton powered teams enter a technical partnership in an effort to aid Lucas and Phoenix in their respective battles. Phoenix also made the switch from TotalEnergies fuel to Wilson Oils EcoPlus.
Phoenix's name reverted back to Phoenix Motorsport, however a title sponsorship agreement with energy drinks company XXX Energy saw the official team name for 2020 become XXX Energy Phoenix Motorsport.
Team logo and identity
Racing history - Formula Virtual
Judd engines (2018)
2018 season
DS Automobiles engines (2019)
2019 season
Downton engines (2020-present)
2020 season
2021 season
2022 season
2023 season
2024 season
Other Virtual Motorsport
Main article: Phoenix Motorsport
As well as competing in Formula Virtual, Phoenix have also competed in other Virtual Motorsport series over the years, including: FV2, FV3, Virtual 24 Hours, and Virtual Porsche Cup.
Phoenix Driver Academy
Main article: The Hive
Like most Formula Virtual teams, Phoenix operates its own Young Driver Academy. Affectionately dubbed 'The Hive', Phoenix officially formed the Academy in 2018 after they made their Formula Virtual debut.
The current members of The Hive are: Barney Hoskins, Zayna Radif, and Theo Marengo.
Complete Formula Virtual results
(results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Chassis | Engine | Tyres | No. | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Points | WCC |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | PX1 | Judd FV-18 |
G | AUS | JPN | CHN | MAL | GBR | FRA | ESP | AUT | GER | SVK | CAN | USA | BHR | TUR | BEL | ITA | MEX | BRA | 19 | 7th | ||
41 | ![]() |
14 | 19 | 23 | Ret | 14 | 10 | 12 | 11 | Ret | 11 | 11 | 19 | Ret | 8 | 11 | Ret | 9 | 17 | ||||||
42 | ![]() |
Ret | 18 | 18 | 91 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 10 | Ret | Ret | 11 | 8 | 12 | ||||||
2019 | PX2 | DS Automobiles FV10-19 |
G | AUS | JPN | CHN | MAL | GBR | FRA | ESP | CAN | USA | AUT | GER | BHR | TUR | ITA | BEL | MEX | BRA | 49 | 7th | |||
41 | ![]() |
Ret | 15 | Ret | 7 | 13 | 13 | 7 | 21 | 9 | 8 | Ret | 6 | Ret | 6 | Ret | Ret | Ret | |||||||
42 | ![]() |
19 | 23 | 15 | 9 | 22 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 11 | |||||||
2020 | PX3 | Downton MCL-2020 |
G | JPN | MAL | AUS | RSA | GBR | FRA | ESP | GER | USA | CAN | BHR | TUR | BEL | ITA | MEX | BRA | 37 | 9th | ||||
41 | ![]() |
8 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 15 | Ret | 13 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 8 | Ret | 8 | Ret | 13 | 9 | ||||||||
42 | ![]() |
11 | Ret | 16 | 14 | Ret | Ret | 19 | 15 | Ret | 10 | 11 | 13 | Ret | 9 | 17 | |||||||||
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22 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
2021 | PX4 | Downton MCL-2021 |
G | JPN | MAL | AUS | RSA | GBR | FRA | ESP | GER | UAE | TUR | BEL | ITA | CAN | USA | MEX | BRA | 31 | 9th | ||||
41 | ![]() |
14 | 17 | 12 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 13 | Ret | 10 | 13 | 17 | 11 | |||||||||
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21 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
42 | 26 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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WD | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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16 | 7 | 13 | 21 | 13 | 8 | Ret | 4 | 17 | 19 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 20 | 25 | ||||||||||
2022 | PX5 | Downton MCL-2022 |
G | JPN | AUS | MAL | RSA | FRA | GBR | GER | CZE | TUR | UAE | BEL | ITA | CAN | USA | BRA | MEX | 214 | 3rd | ||||
41 | ![]() |
9 | Ret | Ret | 6 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 19 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 8 | ||||||||
42 | ![]() |
8 | Ret | 2 | 5 | 6 | 26 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 4 | Ret | 4 | 7 | Ret | |||||||||
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17 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
2023 | PX6 | Downton MCL-2023 |
G | AUS | MAL | JPN | RSA | UAE | FRA | GBR | GER | BEL | ITA | TUR | CAN | USA | MEX | ARG | BRA | 129 | 6th | ||||
41 | ![]() |
7 | Ret | 10 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 18 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 13 | Ret | 21 | ||||||||
42 | ![]() |
8 | 14 | Ret | 3 | 5 | 9 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 7 | Ret | Ret | ||||||||
2024 | PX7 | Downton MCL-2024 |
G | AUS | MAL | SIN | FRA | JPN | GBR | GER | NED | BEL | ITA | KWT | CAN | USA | MEX | ARG | BRA | 18* | 4th* | ||||
41 | ![]() |
4 | 15 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
42 | ![]() |
7 | 12 |
* Season in progress.
1 Sergio Álvarez completed more than 90% of the race distance of the Malaysian V-Prix and so was credited as classified in ninth and was awarded the two points that accompanied this position.