BWT Racing Point F1 Esports Team explain exactly what F1 Esports is all about and what it means to them while highlighting their best moments.
With Esports taking centre stage in providing entertainment and action for sports fans around the world during the lockdown, interest in the virtual platform has grown significantly in popularity.
But what is F1 Esports? For those who are new to the phenomenon, we’ve brought in our F1 Esports Pro drivers to help get you up to speed on the world of virtual sporting competition.
In this edition, Lucas Blakeley and Daniele Haddad are here to explain all things F1 Esports!
What is F1 Esports?
LB: “F1 Esports is the sim racing platform used by Formula 1 to allow gamers to compete against each other on the official Formula1 games by Codemasters.”
What happens in F1 Esports?
DH: “Every Formula 1 team has their own Esports team that competes in the F1 Esports Series. Each team spends many hours each day working to find the perfect setup for their equipment, the best race strategies for different scenarios and the ideal car settings so that their drivers can be competitive in the race events – the really exciting part of F1 Esports!
Who competes in F1 Esports?
LB: “20 of the best Esports drivers in the world come together at the GFinity Arena in London for several events across the year, with two drivers representing each of the 10 real-world F1 teams and aiming to win the F1 Esports Pro Series Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships”.
What is the Pro Draft?
LB: “The F1 Esports Pro Draft is an opportunity for drivers to showcase their skills and professionalism to the Formula 1 teams and hopefully get picked to represent them in the F1 Esports Pro Series. That’s how I got selected – I competed in two Pro Drafts, being picked second time around by Racing Point.”
What’s been your best memory from F1Esports?
DH: “Last year I had a lot of good feelings but the best one was Qualifying at Spa. I struggled in the opening two events before that with a number of issues – but at Spa, I managed to get a strong lap in towards the end of Quali. I was P2 for a while and eventually ended up in the top four, which was a really cool feeling.”
LB: “The most significant moment for me was getting picked in the Pro Draft in 2019 – just because of how emotional it was.It really changed my life. I worked so hard after not being picked in 2018 and had to wait an entire year to have another go. I put in a crazy amount of hours to improve. There was a lot of emotion on that day and a real sense of relief to have finally made it.”
How can I join F1 Esports?
DH: “By driving a lot, first of all! You need to learn as much as you can within the game, so going into time trial modes to learn every single trick and every line you can use, comparing yourself with the very best on the game. Once you have the pace, the work isn’t done yet. You need to compete in leagues to understand the feeling of racing against other players. It’s a long process – but when you’re ready, you can try to enter the Pro Draft via the online qualification events and then see if you get picked by a team.”
