Ferrari to join official F1 Esports championship

Ferrari is set to compete in Formula 1's official Esports league after being the only team not to commit to an Esports programme on the grid.

Ferrari was the only team not to take part in the official pro draft for the league with the team announcing that it would create an in-house esports programme within its driver academy for the competition.

Mercedes' Brendan Leigh retained his championship last season, going back-to-back in 2018 to become a double F1 esports world champion.

The Mercedes driver has also transferred over to real-world racing, competing in the BRSCC National FF1600 championship in 2019 with Kevin Mills Racing.

"It's incredibly exciting to welcome all 10 teams to take part in the 219 F1 New Balance Esports Series for the first time," F1's head of Esports Julian Tan said in a statement.