Formula 1 will be crowning its first virtual driver champion this year with eSports Series
Formula 1 eSports Series is video games first foray into the world of Formula 1 racing, where the best virtual driver will become World Champion for the first time in 2017, it has been confirmed.
The eSports Series is a collaboration between Formula 1, game developer Codemasters, and eSports specialists Gfinity. Inaugural season will kick off in September to coincide with the launch of the F1 2017 game, with a qualification system running through the month to determine the 40 quickest drivers. They will then be invited to the live semifinals, which will be held at the Gfinity Arena in London on October 10 and 11.
Top 20 from the semis will qualify for the finals, which will take place as part of the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in November. A three-race event will see the first-ever F1 eSports World Champion crowned on the same weekend as Formula 1 World Champion proper.
“This launch presents an amazing opportunity for our business: strategically and in the way we engage fans,” said F1 commercial boss Sean Bratches. “First, it’s a growing category with tremendous fan engagement that we’re entering in a big way; and we are proud to have Codemasters and Gfinity joining us on this ride.”
The 2017 eSport Series champion will secure automatic qualification to the semifinals of the 2018 World Championship, as well as be named the ‘Formula 1 eSports Champion Expert’ for the following year and included as a character in the F1 2018 game.
While this is Formula 1’s first official step into the eSports business, motorsport has had its fair share with gaming for a number of years through the Nissan GT Academy programme, famous for taking gamers and turning them into factory Nissan GT drivers.
