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F1 eSports has every team except Ferrari

15:51, 05 Apr 2018

byNicolás Quarles van Ufford

Every team will be active in this year's second edition of the F1 eSports Series, except for Ferrari, who have decided to opt out.

Last year's inaugural season of the F1 eSports Series proved to be a success, with Brendon Leigh crowned champion.

Nine F1-teams will be represented by drivers who will be carefully selected by the teams. The drivers will be going through a qualifying round and a 'Pro-series'.

The first part of the season offers the chance for online players to earn a place on the official driver line-up for the nine competing teams. The first qualifying round will be held on April 13th.

In July, a draft will be held in London, like the format in sports leagues like the NFL and the NBA. Each team will pick at least one driver, who will then be part of their team for the rest of the season.

Starting in September, the second half of the Esports season will see three live events take place to determine the 2018 F1 teams’ and drivers' world champions with a prize fund of $200,000 up for grabs.

Julian Tan, head of F1 eSports, walks us through the process.

“By the time the qualifying rounds are done, we will have 36 drivers, 9 drivers per round and 4 qualifying rounds, who will go to the Pro Draft.

"We're then going to give an opportunity to the top three from last year to automatically advance to the Pro Draft, and finally we will have a minimum of one wild card to make up 40 drivers.”