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Itâs time to charge up your controllers and dust off your racing wheels â qualifying for the 2023 F1 Esports Challengers is now open!
Running from February 1-14, owners of F1 22 on PlayStation, Xbox and PC will have to complete an in-game scenario and score as many points as possible to be in with a shout. The scenario in question places you in the cockpit of Lando Noirrisâ McLaren. The Briton finished his home race in sixth place, and your task is to climb higher, re-writing the history books. To pass the scenario, you have to get past Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc to finish at least fourth. After that, the possibilities are endless!
Challengers is our official qualification route into the big time. As ever, youâll be scored based on clean driving, how many assists you use, use of flashbacks, and your overall race time. Thereâs no secret formula here â just finish as high as possible, and in the shortest time to give yourself the best shot of making it through!
Make sure you’re signed up to participate, and that your gaming account is linked to F1 Esports, otherwise your efforts might count for nothing. Simply head to the sign-up section on the F1 Esports site to make the connection, and you’ll be added to our leaderboards once you complete the scenario! You have until 11:59 PM, GMT, on February 14 to register an effort, so put any Valentine’s Day plans on ice for now…
The strongest drivers will be invited to our qualification pathway later this year, but donât despair if you donât make the cut â as a second scenario is available starting on February 15. More details are set to follow on this one, so keep your eyes peeled on social and watch out for in-game updates on F1 22.
The qualification pathway is your very real shot at making it big â and it all starts with you booting up the game at home.
More details will follow about the qualifying championship and second event, but for now, get out on track and show us what you can do!
All good things must eventually come to an end, and thatâs the case with our 2022 F1 Esports Challengers! After six events, 18 streams and 36 races, weâve unearthed the very best in sim racing talent. Three ultra-competitive leagues with 16 drivers apiece have produced 18 new superstars, each of whom will progress to the 2022 F1 Esports Series Pro Exhibition. More on that later!
For now, letâs find out who scored big in our final event â and who has made it into the all-important top sixâŠ
Nine out of 12 wins. Three quarters of the season won. To call Tom Manleyâs Challengers campaign dominant would be a huge understatement. Nobody came close to his unassailable score of 274 points, and he ended up with more than TWICE the points of second place!
He could not claim victory in both races in the finale however. Finlandâs Miko Huatajoki took his first win at the penultimate race in Mexico, with Manley trailing by just half a second. It was complete role-reversal in the second race in Brazil, as Manley took win number NINE of 2022. Hautajoki hustled him all the way to the like though, and the winning margin was a miniscule 0.029s!
After coming into the event eighth in the standings, Hautajoki moved up into the top six courtesy of taking a win and second place. He found his pace at the best possible time, and secured qualification. It was a close-run affair â third place down to sixth were separated by just TWO pointsâŠ
Nobody could catch Dutchman Joost Noordijk in the PlayStation contingent, after already booking his qualification last time out. However, the fight behind was anything but decided.
Mexico City hosted the first race of the event, with Matthew Alder on pole. But it was Noordijk who came through from fourth to take victory, his fifth of the championship. Modesto Mena punched above his weight, taking second place after not scoring a podium all year.
Mena then went one better in Brazil, taking the very last win of the championship â almost unthinkable after starting down in P13. It was sadly not quite enough to qualify, and he wound up in eight with 76 points, just seven points adrift of the cut-off. That crucial place went to Georges Nader, who crucially scored sixth in the final race to vault over both Mena and Simone Ferri, and make it into the qualifiers. It was also too little too late for Corne de Bakker and Xander van Dijken, both of whom notched their first podiums of the season in the final event.
The PC league has been a tale of Polandâs dynamic duo; Tomek Poradzisz, and Piotr Stachulec. They shared the podium six times in 12 races, and only on one occasion were both of them absent from it.
Itâs fitting then, that both these drives took victory in the final event, with the pair finishing 1-2 in the very last race. Poradzisz left it late in Mexico, pouncing on long-time race leader Primoz Miklavcic on the very last lap to claim his sixth win of the season, winning exactly half of the races.
He kept the momentum up for the final race and rocked to pole position in Sao Paulo, and in true tyle, Poradzisz and Stachulec put on a ding-dong battle on the final lap to give Challengers the finale it deserved. Poradzisz started the lap in the lead, but Stachulec snatched the lead on the final lap with the help of DRS, and just held on to take the win, by 0.043s, almost as small as that seen in the Xbox race.
Tom Manley â Xbox 1st place
Ryan Jacobs â Xbox 2nd place
Jed Norgrove â Xbox, 3rd place
Sam McLean â Xbox, 4th place
Miko Hautajoki â Xbox, 5th place
Harvey Cowan â Xbox, 6th place
Joost Noordijk â PlayStation, 1st place
Duncan Hofland â PlayStation, 2nd place
Matthew Alder â Playstation, 3rd place
Mirko Suriano â PlayStation, 4th place
Jordin Poland â PlayStation, 5th place
Georges Nader â PlayStation, 6th place
Tomasz Poradzisz â PC, 1st place
Piotr Stachulec â PC, 2nd place
Szelle Kristof â PC, 3rd place
John Evans â PC, 4th place
Samuel Bean â PC, 5th place
Wilson Hughes â PC, 6th place
These 18 racers will now have the task of waiting until the Pro Exhibition in the summer, where they will be put through their paces along with other qualifiers. The 10 official F1 Esports Series teams will be keeping a very close eye on the drivers, identifying those who have the skills to pay the bills in the Pro Championship in the autumn.
Along with our Challengers hopefuls, drivers from the invitational DHL Time Trial will also progress, as well as our winners from the Womenâs Wildcard and China Championship. Stay tuned for announcement details on all of the above!
Weâre into our fourth event week of red-hot F1 Esports Series Challengers action in 2022, and the fight for the top six positions in each group is reaching boiling point.
As a quick reminder we have three groups comprised of 16, drivers, one for each platform. Every two weeks, these groups convene for two 25% races, and the top six drivers from each group at the end will qualify for a spot in The Pro Exhibition. From there, they can go on to be selected by one of the 10 official F1 Esports teams, should they catch their eye. Hereâs what went down in Belgium and the NetherlandsâŠ
The Xbox group were first up once more, as racing took place at the fearsome Circuit Zandvoort in the Netherlands, before a short trip across the border to Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.
Tom Manley had been the dominant force in the first three events, but he was cast aside in Spa, with Jed Norgrove taking pole position in soaking conditions. Heavy rain persisted throughout the race, and no pitstops were registered, so it was an out-and-out fight to the flag. With no DRS to worry about, Norgrove held the lead for the entire race, until, agonisingly, the final corner. He ran deep at the Bus Stop chicane, allowing not only Harvey Cowan through, but also Zak Oates in the other Red Bull car, and they crossed the line 1-2-3. Miko Hautajoki grabbed fourth, with Manley spinning over the line in fifth. Sam McLean ruined his streak of scoring in every race in Belgium, sliding off at Pouhoun on the wet kerbs.
It was back to standard operating procedure around Zandvoort, with Manley zipping off into the lead and breaking the DRS one-second buffer, streaking clear to take an unthinkable sixth win in Challengers. After two podiums last time out, Andrew Corapi went one better and snagged second, with Ryan Jacobs in third completing the podium. After his DNF in Belgium, McLean bounced back to take P4, with Hautajoki taking another strong result in fifth.
Manley now has more than double the points of his nearest rival, and with four rounds remaining has enough points â 181 â to guarantee at LEAST second on Xbox. Now thatâs mind-blowing⊠Jacobs is second on 89 points, with McLean third on 70, and Cowan up to fourth with 69 after his first win. Oates is fifth with 65, and Norgrove and Hautajoki are tied in sixth with 55 apiece.
Our PlayStation racers were next up on Wednesday, and in the first race around Spa, it was Georges Nader who grabbed pole around the seven-kilometre circuit.
The Lebanese driver held his nerve and indeed his race lead, with the pit stops on Lap 3 doing little to shake up the order. Agonisingly for Nader, Joost Noordijk in P2 timed his move to perfection, sweeping past along the Kemmel Straight on the very last lap to take his second win of Challengers. Behind Noordijk and Nader came Jordin Poland, Mirko Suriano, and Benjamin Bolwerk.
Noordijk continued his momentum into his home race in the Netherlands, but Duncan Hofland got the better of him at the start and grabbed the lead. Hofland kept the lead, but further back there was all sorts of chaos. Three cars retired on Lap 1 with accident damage, and on Lap 12, Jacopo Derosas and Modesto Mena tangled on the exit of Turn 4 and both retired after hitting the wall. Suriano spun into the wall after a collision with Valentino la Bella on Lap 16, and a few corners later, the latter tangled with Bolwerk, putting them both out. Just eight finishers then, in the most chaotic race of the series yet. Of those eight, it was Hofland who took the win, with Simone Ferri second, and Noordijk took third after a penalty for speeding in the pit lane.
Noordijk is back in the lead of the championship with 118 points, after previous points leader Matthew Alder failed to score a single point in Event 4. Hofland takes second with 89 points, ahead of Alder (84), and the remaining top-three spots consist of Suriano (76), Poland (75) and Nader (74).
Our final stream once again saw the PC gang in force. Tomek Poradzisz took pole in Spa, and it was a similar occasion to the PlayStation race. Poradzisz kept the lead until Lap 10 of 11, when Piotr Stachulec seized the lead along the Kemmel Straight, taking his second win in a row, ahead of Poradzisz, Samuel Bean, John Evans, and Wilson Hughes.
The final race took us to Zandvoort, where Poradzisz once again took pole and led away from the start. Evans filed in behind, with Stachulec third, all three of them maintaining a remarkably consistent half-second gap to one another. There they stayed, with Can Akinci in fourth and Bence Szabo-Konyi completing the podium.
Polish duo Poradzisz and Stachulec are both into triple figures, with the former on 149, the latter on 117. Next up is Szelle Kristof with 86 points, Evans with 80, Hughes in fifth with 68, and Bean holds the sixth and final qualifying spot at present.
Four events down, two to go. We have eight races in the rear view mirror, and four more on the horizon through the month of March! Join us for the next instalments when weâll be racing in Italy and the USA.
We love streaming F1 Esports events for you, and weâre delighted that our fourth week of Challengers racing tipped us over the milestone of 1 million hours of watch time on Twitch. Thank you so much for watching, and weâll see you for the next one on March 15!
The third week of F1 Esports Series Challengers in 2022 brought yet more incredible racing! As we hit the halfway point of the championship, some of the frontrunners are beginning to emerge.
To remind you of how Challengers works, we have three groups of 16 hungry drivers, one for each platform. Every two weeks, these groups meet to contest two races at 50% length, and the top six drivers from each group at the end will qualify for a spot in The Pro Exhibition. Hereâs what happened this time around Austria and Great Britain.
The Xbox cohort began the weekâs proceedings on Tuesday, with our 16-strong squad bearing down on Austriaâs Red Bull Ring and Silverstone in the UK.
Tom Manleyâs nigh-on unbelievable start to the first two events (three wins and one P2 finish) continued in dramatic fashion in Bahrain, where he cruised to pole in a dry-wet session. However, Lewis Groombridge made the better start from the front row of the grid, and took the lead away, holding onto it for three laps.
Lap 4 saw Groombridge lose the lead to Manley, and then lose second to Andrew Corapi just one corner later. This allowed Manley to surge into the lead and immediately break that all-important one-second DRS bubble, clear of the chasing pack. The pit stops came and went, and Manley continued out in front, but behind him the fight for the podium intensified. It came to a head on the final lap, as Groombridge dropped from a possible second place to a gutting sixth. Behind Manley, those that passed Groombridge were Ryan Jacobs, Corapi, Matthew Roberts, and Harvey Cowan.
Another venue, another pole for Manley. The 16-year-old took pole and yet again broke the DRS gap, making himself truly untouchable! Amazingly, the podium for Silverstone was identical to that in Spielberg, after Jacobs got the jump on Corapi in an epic last-lap pass. Behind the top three came Rowan Plak,
Manley now sits on a throne of 145 points, more than three race victories ahead of Jacobs in P2, who has 66 points. The remaining top six are Sam McLean (58), Zak Oates (47), Cowan (42) and Roberts (41).
Our PlayStation racers joined in the fun on Wednesday, with Marcus Short taking pole in Austria. He made the best getaway and headed into the lead, but there was chaos on Lap 1 as Marcel Altstadt collided with Mirko Suriano, dropping the latter well down the order.
Short lost the lead as the pit stops came into play, and instead Duncan Holfland took centre stage. What was until the penultimate lap though, as Jordin Poland sent a move down the inside at Turn 5, holding on for his first win in Challengers ahead of Hofland, Benjamin Bolwerk, Georges Nader, and Matthew Alder, who completed the top five. Poleman Short wound up P7.
Joost Noordijk grabbed pole position at Silverstone, and raced away on the first lap to take the lead, until pitting on Lap 4. Fellow front-row starter Alder, though, continued out in front and when he emerged from his pit stop on Lap 6, he was in the lead, executing a textbook overcut strategy. They remained one and two until the very last lap, with Noordijk catching Alder down the Hangar Straight. They then went wheel-to-wheel through the final three corners, crossing the line almost simultaneously. In doing so though, Noordijk went off track and was hit with a penalty, slumping to P8. Behind Alder therefore came Poland and Hofland, who both grabbed their second podium of the night, then Nader and Simone Ferri rounded our the top five.
Alder takes over top spot with 84 points, ahead of Hofland, whose double-podium sees him move up to second. Noordijk drops to third after a disappointing event for him that saw him score just four points, tied on points with Mirko Suriano on 64. Polandâs superb win and P2 put him in fifth place with 59 points, and Nader holds that crucial sixth spot with 48.
The PC squad ended the week with two exciting races in Austria and Great Britain. Tomek Poradzisz was our Pole on pole once again, dominating qualifying and putting on a flawless display in the race. It was utter mayhem behind him though, as the rest of the field jockeyed for position.
You canât make heads or tails of the last lap without seeing it, so check out the replay here! Myriad penalties and incidents during the race meant that Ruben Vallejo, who started dead last, wound up second as he crossed the line behind Poradzisz, followed by Piotr Stachulec, Wilson Hughes, and Szelle Kristof.
The final race of the weekâs action took the field to Silverstone, and it was once again Poradzisz in control on pole.The race was far less chaotic than the Austrian event, but nonetheless, top two Poradzisz and Stachulec put on an almighty scrap for the fight. They swapped positions several times, but Poradzisz was able to hold off his rival to take his fourth win overall, and third in a row! Kristof completed the podium, with Can Akinci fourth, and Samuel Bean compelted the top five after starting way down in P13.
Poradzisz extends his lead on top of the table, ahead of Stachulec, Kristof, Bean, John Evans, and Wilson Hughes has the final Pro Exhibition slot at present.
Thatâs your lot for Event 3, and weâre now halfway through Challengers for 2022! Join us next time out as we stay in Europe for races in Zandvoort and Spa-Francorchamps. See you on Twitch and Huya!
Just two weeks after we kicked off proceedings, weâre back for the second event of F1 Esports Series Challengers 2022!
Held across the early months of January-March, this six event, 12 race series will help us find some of the stars of the future, and weâll get 18 fresh recruits to join us at the Pro Exhibiiton later in 2022. Hereâs what happened in our second event.
The Xbox gang kicked things off again, as our 16-strong field touched down at Imola for the first race of the stream.
Just like last time out, it was Tom Manley who started in the best fashion, taking pole position at the much-loved circuit. He powered through the race and never looked like losing the lead, charging to an unprecedented third win in a row, a first for a driver in Challengers. Matthew Roberts pulled off a brave last-lap move to steal third from Miko Hautajoki, which then became second as Sam McLean was penalised, and dropped to fourth. So behind Manley came Roberts, Hautajoki and McLean, with Ryan Jacobs picking up fifth spot.
On to the second race in Portimao, and Manley once again was the authority in qualifying. He stormed to another pole position, and led the majority of the race once again, until he was displaced on the final lap by Zak Oates. Breathing down his neck and pouncing right at the death, Oates became the first non-Manley winner of the Xbox Challengers, with the points leader settling for second. Harvey Cowan grabbed his first podium of the series in third, ahead of Jed Norgrove in fourth, and McLean in fifth.
This leaves Manley on a staggering 93 points, 44 ahead of his nearest rival McLean, who has 49. Oates is close behind with 41, then comes Hautajoki on 33, and Norgrove, Jacobs and Cowan are tied on 30 points each.
The PlayStation contingent joined the fun on Wednesday, and the first race in Imola brought inclement weather. For the first time in 2022, a wet race in Challengers!
Despite only scoring five points between them in the first event, Guillame da Rugna and Gianpietro Oggiano secured the front row in qualifying, proving that the field is full of surprises and hidden superstars. The start of the race was the most chaotic yet, with several cars colliding at the start, but there was no such issue for Oggiano. He powered past da Rugna for the lead on the first lap and never looked back. The only question now was strategy… do you change to intermediates, or stay on wets? The crossover was close, but evidently the intermediates were slightly more favourable. Simone Ferri demonstrated this best, starting a lowly P15, but storming through to take an unbelievable fourth place â surely the performance of Challengers so far! At the front, Oggiano led da Rugna over the line, and Joost Noordijk completed the podium.
On to Portugal, and Noordijk stayed at the pointy end, taking pole in Portimao. Suriano usurped him at the start, but they switched back on Lap 5 before the pit stop phase came into play. Sat in third place after the stops, Noordiijk pounced at the end of lap 10 to power past Goerges Nader AND Suriano ahead of him â a double overtake to move from third to first! This was not the end however, and Suriano snatched the lead back on the very last lap to take his first victory, ahead of Noordijk, and Matthew Alder returned to the podium to take third.
Noordijk takes over the lead of the standings with 60 points, just ahead of former leader Suriano on 56. Alder is next with 48, with Duncan Hofland further back on 34. Oggiano vaults up into fifth place in the standings after his win, with 31, and Simone Ferri currently holds the sixth and final qualifying position, with 26.
The final stream of the week once again fell to the PC squad. Imola pole went to Ruben Vallejo, and after no points in the first event, he looked set to open his account in the best possible way. However, after leading the opening laps, he failed to manage his speed coming into the pits on Lap 6, and received a crushing time penalty.
He raced on under a cloud, and swapped positions with Szelle Kristof on several occasions. The terminal move came at the start of Lap 15, as both Krostof and John Evans charged past to take the top two positions on the road. Evans got an incredible run on the final lap and almost made the move at Tamburello, but they crossed the line as they were, with Kristoff, Evans, and Tomek Poradizisz on the podium. The unfortunate Vallejo was relegated to outside of the points, a real shame after his mighty drive.
On to Portimao for the final race of the week, and Poradzisz grabbed pole position around the rollercoaster Portuguese venue. The race simmered away, with Poradzisz maintaining his lead until the pit stop phase. That allowed a couple of laps as race leader for Iker Baena, who made his Challengers debut, standing in for the unwell Floris Wijers, who dropped out of the first race in Imola.
The pit stops shuffled the pack, with Pitor Stachulec jumping past Samuel Bean for second. Bean got his revenge on Lap 16 though, passing Stachulec on the run down to Turn 1. However his glory was short-lived, as Ulas Ozyildirim came from absolutely nowhere to pounce on both Stachulec and Bean to grab second place on the final lap, in a move that is sure to attract the attention of teams, should he qualify for the Pro Exhibition. Bean dropped down the order, while Stachulec finished third behind the rampant Poradzisz and Ozyildirim.
Poradzisz leads the way after his brace of wins, with 73 points. He leads Kristof (53), Stachulec (47), Evans (44), Ozyildirim (42) and Bean, who is hanging in the top six with 39 points.
Event 2 may be over, but weâll be streaming again before you know it. Event 3 of Challengers arrives on Twitch over February 15-17. See you there!
The first two rounds of racing in the F1 Esports Series Challengers are in the history books, with our three groups of talented turning laps in anger for the first time.
Held across January-March, this six event, 12 race series will separate the great from the sublime, and offer us 18 incredible drivers to bring to the Pro Exhibition later this year. Hereâs what went down in the first event!
First up in the weekâs trio of Challengers streams came the Xbox qualifiers. This group represented the fastest participants of the in-game events in October and November 2021, and the group of 16 assembled at Shanghai International Circuit, China.
Tom Manley put it on pole in the first race, but it was the pair behind him that caught the eye. A scintillating first-lap fight between Zak Oates and Ryan Jacobs for second pace saw half a lap of wheel-to-wheel racing. Oates ended up leading the race after the pit stop phase, but a penalty incurred during his pit stop dropped him well down the order, and out of the points. Manley led them home, with Jacobs second, and Sam McLean in third.
Lewis Groombridge took pole for the second race in Bahrain, but wasnât able to capitalise, and instead it was Manley â who qualified a lowly P11 â who took the secondd win, using a brilliant alternate strategy to carve his way through the pack, making his move on the very last lap with superior grip. Jed Norgrove grabbed second after missing out in the first race, with Zak Oates third, after similarly missing out in China. With a near-perfect start, Manley sits on top of the standings with 50 points, ahead of McLean on 27, with Norgrove and Jacobs joined in fourth with 18 points.
Wednesday heralded the turn of the PS4 and PS5 racers, and Matthew Alder was the man in form in the first race in China. The 16-year-old put it on pole in Shanghai, and only lost the lead during the pits stop phase. Georges Nader and Duncan Hofland kept the pressure on behind in a major way, but they finished in that order to take the first podium of PlayStation Challengers 2022.
The second race in Bahrain provided heaps of entertainment from the off, with Dutchman Joost Nordijk taking pole position. He went largely unchallenged in the early stages, but there was plenty of action elsewhere. Lap 7 saw China race-winner Alder attack Marcel Altstadt, but they pair collided at Turn 1; the latter spinning, and the former falling out of the points late on.
With just a few laps to go, the race reached boiling point, as Noordijk, Mirko Suriano and Nader went three-wide into Turn 1. Though the circuit is wide, it wasnât wide enough for all of them, and Nader spun after contact between the trio, dropping back and eventually retiring. Suriano defended from Noordijk, but it was no use, and the polesitter was back in front, taking the lead on the final lap. Copying his China form, Duncan Hofland completed the podium in third.
The results put Suriano and Hofland join on top of the standings with 30 points apiece, ahead of race winners Noordijk (28) and Alder (25).
As with the other two platforms, China was the first event, with plenty of familiar names among the grid. Tomek Poradzisz was the man to beat in qualifying, taking pole in Shanghai. He didnât waste time in the racing, crushing the opposition with a winning margin of more than seven seconds â a lightyear in F1 Esports terms! Ulas Ozyildirim and Szelle Kristof completed the podium.
As night fell in Bahrain, John Evans was the man on pole, and he put up a hell of a fight, leading most of the race under the floodlights. As with many other races, Samuel Bean left it late to strike, and blasted past for the lead on the final lap, with a daring pass late on the brakes at Turn 1. Wilson Hughes completed the podium, with former F1 Esports Pro Series racer Floris Wijers close behind in fourth.
With that dominant win in the first race, Poradzisz leads the championship on 33 points, ahead of Bean in second on 27, and Ozyildirim third with 24.
The next Challengers streams will be coming your way in a matter of days, with Xbox, PlayStation and PC all back in action on February 1-3. See you there!
Another month, another qualification for the 2022 F1 Esports Series presented by Aramco! Just like in October, you have the whole calendar month to try out this custom scenario and test your mettle on F1 2021, to see if you can qualify for Challengers.
Anyone with a copy of the game is eligible, and signing up is but the work of a moment. Hereâs whatâs cooking this month.
We all remember Esteban Oconâs fairy-tale win at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix, right? From the chaotic first corner to the chase between Ocon and Vettel, it will surely go down as one of the races of the season.
What if we told you that your mission… is to undo the dream? Yep, in this version of alternate F1 history, your job is to take Esteban Oconâs incredible maiden win, and replace it with victory for another driver. Placed in Lewis Hamiltonâs cockpit, youâll need to hunt down the race leaders and win the race. You have nine laps, and a fresh set of medium tyres to help you on your way.
Scoring a podium will pass the scenario, but really your best bet is to take the victory – so make sure you get to the front by the chequered flag! As ever, your score will be scored on lap times, clean driving, use of assists, use of flashbacks, and race time.. Simply, maximise your points-scoring with the best performance you can, and youâll stand the best chance of earning a spot in F1 Esports Series Challengers.
This is your second and final opportunity to reach Challengers for 2022. The cream of the crop from our October and November events will combine, and form our Challengers grid for next year. This 12-race championship will play out early next year, with the very best drivers becoming part of the talent pool available for selection by the 10 official F1 Esports teams in 2022.
Make sure you have your PSN, Xbox Live, or Steam account linked to make sure your effort is counted. Simply head to F1Esports.com, scroll down to the bottom of the homepage, and go from there.
Are you our next digital superstar? Prove it! Get practicing, get racing, and good luck!
Qualification for the 2022 F1 Esports Series presented by Aramco is GO! The month of October heralds the arrival of our first qualification route into next yearâs F1 Esports Series, and it couldnât be easier to take part.
Anyone with a copy of F1 2021 is eligible, and signing up take but the click of a few buttons. Hereâs how to get involved!
Carlos Sainz has had a very strong season with Ferrari so far, racking up a trio of podiums and leading a good chunk of the race in Russia. In Austria this year, he converted a middling P11 start into a superb P5 finish. But your job is to take him even further. With a handful of laps remaining, itâs your job to ascend through the field and finish as high up as you can.
If youâve taken part in one of these scenarios before, you know the drill by now. But if not, the premise is simple. Youâll be scored on your lap times, clean driving, use of assists, use of flashbacks, and most crucially, your race time and finishing position. Simply, maximise your points-scoring with the best performance you can, and youâll stand the best chance of earning a spot in F1 Esports Series Challengers.
Our core qualification route, thatâs what! The very best entrants from this qualification event will be put forward into our cohort of Challengers for 2022. Combined with qualifiers from the second qualification event (coming November), weâll embark on a 12-race championship in early 2022 to decide who the 10 official F1 Esports teams can pick from later in the year.
Crucially, make sure you have your PSN, Xbox Live, or Steam account linked to make sure your effort is counted. Simply head to F1Esports.com, scroll down to the bottom, and click the link that looks like this.
So get out there, and get racing! And who knows, maybe weâll be crowning you as our next F1 Esports champion in years to come…
This is it! The last push, the final countdown. The F1 Esports Series Challengers 2021 draws to a close, with our hopeful racers all poised to make it through to the highly-coveted Pro Exhibition. With just six drivers progressing from each platform, there are sure to be heartbreaks for some, but the very best of the best will make it through.
Letâs take a look at the final two rounds of the competition, shall we? With a handful already qualified, the final two races â around the United States Grand Prix venue of COTA and the curtain-closer in Abu Dhabi â presented the last chance to make it to the Pro Exhibition. Hereâs who made it, and how!
After his storming double-win last time out, Valentin Bruffer picked up where he left off with pole position in COTA. He didnât get the best start though, and was bumped down to second by the fast-starting Thijmen Schutte. There Schutte remained for the rest of the race, save for the pit stops. The polesitter was schuffled down to fourth after the stops, and so it was Schutte, Javier Perez, and Matthijs van Erven completing the podium. Points leader Domenico Lovece dropped to fifth in the race, and out of the lead of the championship.
The second race in Abu Dhabi saw one-shot qualifying go to Bruffer for a clean-sweep of qualifying on the night, and this time, he got to keep it, with a flawless race seeing him take the final victory of the championship. Bernardo Perez started in third, but dropped to last on the opening lap. Duncan Hofland claimed second, getting himself into the all-important top six, with van Erven taking the final podium slot.
Marcel Altstadt started down in P12, and though his spirited effort hoisted him into the points in P9, he lost out on a Pro Exhibition spot to Dario Iemmulo by just four points. Just ONE point separated top two Bruffer and Schutte in the end. Could we see them fighting closely in years to come?
Valentin Bruffer
Thijmen Schutte
Dominico Lovece
Matthijs van Erven
Duncan Hofland
Dario Iemmulo
The top two were hard to separate when the Challengers final came to Xbox, with Antoine de Zulaski and Kedon Lutt both dominating proceedings. De Zulaski took pole in COTA, but was unable to hold back Lutt and Christopher Parry during the race. Parryâs mega start got him into the lead for the opening half of the race, until a decisive overcut from Lutt put him in the net lead of the race. That was all the motivation he needed, and he led home Parry and de Zulaskion the podium.
If he lost out in COTA, nothing and no one was going to stop him from taking the win at the finale in Abu Dhabi. He took one-shot pole and led from lights-to-flag for the ultimate send-off from the Challengers. He led home Lutt and Zak Oates for the final podium, with all three making it to the Pro Exhibition.
Miko Hautojoki put in a fine performance to finish fourth in Abu Dhabi, but just missed out on a top-six position. Lutt was the clear winner, with the remaining drivers separated by a few points each.
Kedon Lutt
Antoine de Zulaski
Christopher Parry
Jonas Rutten
Ewam Le Naour
Zak Oates
The third and final stream of the event, and in fact the final stream of the Challengers in general, brought us yet more fascinating PC racing. Going into the event, di Capua had a huge lead after a double-win last time out. This time though, it was Josh Idowu who took the honours, taking pole in COTA to kick off Event 5 strongly. He lost the lead to Patrik Sipos at the start, but waited patiently and struck back with just one lap remaining to take the win.
In a reversal of fortunes, Sipos then took pole for the Abu Dhabi finale and led away for the first few laps until di Capua struck on Lap 5. The final lap of the race saw di Capua leading from Idowu, Sipos, Nicolas Mateo and Ruben Vallejo, with the latter four all fighting for second place. Idowu got tagged by Mateo going into the chicane at the end of the straight, and was hit with a time penalty for going wide. As di Capua in the lead crossed the line with a penalty, Sipos was given the win, until adjudication removed Idowuâs penalty, handing him back-to-back wins.
The result meant that di Capua won the Challengers, ahead of Idowu, Mateo, Sipos, Vallejo, and Atte Kauppinen completed the final six.
Alessio di Capua
Josh Idowu
Nicolas Mateo
Patrik Sipos
Ruben Vallejo
Atte Kauppinen
Weâve absolutely loved the Challengers this year, and itâs provided us with a taste of some of the high-level racing coming up later this year! Our 18 Pro Exhibition qualifiers will get the chance to show their skill when we go live on May 27. There, they will have the chance to be selected by one of the 10 official F1 Esports teams, and just maybe, become our next superstar. See you then!
We. Go. Again! F1 Esports Challengers hits its penultimate event, and the picture for the Pro Exhibition qualifiers is starting to become clearer. Much like last time out, the venues for Event 4 were a proper pair of fan favourites: The ultrafast Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Italy, and Japanâs fearsome Suzuka Circuit, a much-loved test of skill and guile for all.
So, whoâs in the best shape after races 7-8? Letâs take a look at what went down in our three mini-leagues. As a reminder, we have three groups of 16 racers (across Xbox, PS4 and PC), with the top six from each group progressing to the Pro Exhibition.
Valentin Bruffer entered this event 42 points off leader Thijmen Schutte. He ended it SIX behind new leader Domenico Lovece. An almost-perfect 50-point romp from Bruffer thanks to back-to-back wins means heâs now the man with momentum ahead of the final Event.
The first race in Monza saw Marcel Altstadt take pole, and a calm and collected drive saw him retain it for 12 laps. Unfortunately, the race was one of 13 laps, and Bruffer stole the lead on the very last lap with a perfectly-timed move on the main straight. Altstadt held on for second, with Mathijs van Erven in third. Points leader Schutte wound up in fifth.
For the second race in Suzuka, one-shot qualifying went Brufferâs way. However, Schutte stole a march at the start to power into the lead. The pit stops shuffled the pack, but as the pack stabilised, Schutte and Bruffer remained the top two. Bruffer saved his move for the penultimate lap this time round, swooping past on the main straight at the start of Lap 12 to take the win, and eventually the win.
Special mention goes to Domenico Lovece for a fabulous overtake on Schutte around the outside of 130R to snatch P2 at the very end of the race. The move flustered Schutte, who spun and dropped to a disappointing P10 over the line.
Much like the PS4 races, the Xbox standings changed drastically after Event 4. Long-time leader Kedon Lutt held a colossal 36-point lead going into these races, but a score of just six points saw that lead cut to five points, with Christopher Parry and Antoine de Zaluski hot on his heels.
De Zaluski took pole for the Monza race, and the race session greeted the racers with torrential rain. The poleman held on through the tough conditions to take the win, with Jonas Rutten second, and Sam McCabe third, taking his first podium in the championship. Points leader Lutt mustered a P7 finish to build on his tally.
The second race in Suzuka was much drier, so the on-track racing provided the chaos instead. An opening-lap smash between Chandler Sieta, Kedon Lutt and Jaden Munoz put all three well down the order, compromising their races. Meanwhile at the pointy end, Parry was having a whale of a time, leading from one-shot pole to take a superb win ahead of Rutten, with Zak Oates third.
The final of our three streams took place on April 1, but one man who proved he was no fool was Alessio di Capua, who put on a truly dominant display across the two races. His crushing tally of 135 points means he will finish at least third in the PC standings, making him the first guaranteed Pro Exhibition driver from the Challengers.
In Monza, di Capua placed his car straight on pole, just edging out Josh Idowu in second. A huge jump start for Atte Kauppinen caught everyone off guard, and Idowu pounced, taking the lead into Variante Rettifilio. Di Capua did not waste time in resolving his situation though, and re-passed Idowu for the lead on Lap 2. This was to set the tone for the race and indeed the event, with Idowu shadowing di Capua throughout the race, chasing him all the way to the line, eventually crossing the line just four tenths adrift, with Nocolas Mateo right behind in third.
After the photo-finish in Monza, the close racing continued for Suzuka. Di Capua took one-shot pole ahead of Mateo and Idowu. Once again, the battle between di Capua and Idowu was intense, and as Lap 12 began, the Italian made a bold albeit fruitless move into the first corner. He tried again entering the final lap though, and pounced with just one lap to go to make it back-to-back wins, with Sven Knoller completing the podium.
Just one round remains, and there are still plenty of unanswered questions. The Pro Exhibition beckons, but our final trio of events across 27-29 April come first, and will decide the 18 drivers who progress once and for all! Join us then, as we go live on Twitch from 19:30.