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The F1 Esports Series presented by Aramco is BACK for 2020!
Yes, the wait is almost at an end. F1 Esports blasts back onto the scene in a major way this August, with the F1 Esports Pro Draft Reveal Show lighting up billboards and broadcasts alike on August 27.
The F1 Esports Series, presented by Aramco, will be the fourth instalment of F1’s digital racing scene, where the 10 official teams compete for a share of a mouthwatering $750,000 prize pot.
The action gets underway with the “Pro Draft Reveal Show” on Thursday August 27 2020, where the finalised three-driver rosters of 10 official F1 teams will be revealed. Each team must select at least one driver from a pool of 45 up for selection. They will then add this driver to their roster of previously-signed drivers, making a three-person squad eligible for racing.
All Pro Draft qualifying drivers are available for selection, with no knockout racing qualification as the series adapts to a shorter process due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the online draft and team picks will take place online in advance.
More than 237,000 attempted to qualify for this year’s competition, showcasing the meteoric rise of F1’s virtual racing spectacle. With that almost quarter-million cohort being whittled down to the finest 45, make no mistake: these drivers are the best of the best.
As with other major sporting events, the F1 Esports Pro Series, which will take place this autumn, has adapted to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and will therefore be operating remotely in 2020. All competitors will race from their own homes and team factories to ensure the safety of all the teams and drivers involved.
Mandatory equipment and anti-cheating software will all made available to the drivers, to ensure absolute fairness throughout.
The 2019 F1 Esports Series saw Ferrari’s David Tonizza crowned drivers’ champion alongside Red Bull, who took home the constructor’s championship, with over 8.7m viewers across digital platforms and TV, and 169m social media impressions, making it the most successful season to date.
The Pro Series will run between October – December, following the same format as 2019, with a 12-round championship made up of four events featuring three races each. However there are some changes, the first of which being that races will now run to 35% of a real-life race distance. Qualifying will also now comprise of a a full session, broadcast live ahead of racing.
This year’s Pro Series will provide fans with more watchable content than ever before with eight live broadcasts, doubling last season’s offering. There will be live racing on Wednesday and Thursday across an event week, and this season will also see the introduction of supplementary live-streamed qualifying sessions on both days, further adding to the action on offer for fans across the globe.
The F1 Esports Pro Series 2020 will be broadcast on F1’s social channels (Facebook, YouTube, Twitch and Huya), as well as select TV broadcast partners, with two live shows per event from the Gfinity Arena.
We can’t wait to get going! Make sure you save the date for Thursday August 27, where our journey begins…
