The Formula 1 eSports Series Pro Championship opener is fast approaching. Round 1 commencing October 13th is only around the corner.
The Formula 1 eSports PRO Championship is almost ready for round 1 in the F1 2021 game by Codemasters. The greatest teams and drivers are getting final preparations and setups dialed in.
The season opener kicks of with round one at the Sakhir Circuit in Bahrain on Oct 13th, after that Round 2 fires into action on the same day.
The wait is finally as over as the F1 Esports Series Pro Championship returns this week, and if the racing is half as entertaining as the action currently taking place on the track in real-world F1, we’re in for a treat!
As we enter the fifth year of sim-racing’s biggest competition, the best racers in the world will battle it out in 12 races across four events to earn a share of the huge $750,000 prize pot for their teams.
Previous season championship standings
| Year | Game | Venue | Driver Champion | Team Champion | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | F1 2017 (Codemasters) | Yas Marina Circuit, United Arab Emirates |  Brendon Leigh |
Not awarded | |
| 2018 | F1 2018 (Codemasters) | Gfinity Esports Arena, United Kingdom | Brendon Leigh |
 Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports |
|
| 2019 | F1 2019 (Codemasters) | Gfinity Esports Arena, United Kingdom |  David Tonizza |
 Red Bull Racing Esports |
|
| 2020 | F1 2020 (Codemasters) | Online |  Jarno Opmeer |
Red Bull Racing Esports |
Coverage begins on Wednesday with a double-header starting in Bahrain before heading to China, as we get our first glimpse of the drivers in action, with a number of big-name drivers set to feature for their new teams.
There was a total of 17 roster changes from the 2020 season, with McLaren and Alfa Romeo changing their entire three driver line-ups and two world champions, Jarno Opmeer and Brendon Leigh, joining new teams – Mercedes and FDA respectively.
Event 1 continues on Thursday as drivers take to the Red Bull Ring aiming to finish the first week with a flourish!
|
Day |
Session |
Time (GMT) |
Coverage |
| Wednesday 13 October |
Qualifying Show 1 |
15:30 – 16:45 |
Twitch & YouTube |
|
Evening Show 1 |
19:30 – 21:00 |
TV & Online |
|
| Thursday 14 October |
Qualifying Show 2 |
15:30 – 16:45 |
Twitch & YouTube |
|
Evening Show 2 |
19:30 – 21:00 |
TV & Online |
Tune in for live coverage:
Defending Champion Jarno Opmeer
“The aim [for me] is to win every race. Everyone is starting on zero points so we need to try and get a head start which is not going to be easy. As a team we have no idea where we will be placing at the moment until the first qualifying session in Bahrain.
It’s the same for everyone that we don’t really know how we all compare to other teams until the first qualifying. As much as possible, we’re focussing on winning both the Drivers’ and Team Championships. If we score a lot of drivers points, we’ll automatically go up in the Team Championship which is what we’re aiming for.”
The official line up
Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Esports Team were up first, revealing an identical line-up to 2020, of Daniele Haddad, Lucas Blakeley, and Shanaka Clay.
Uralkali Haas F1 Esports Team retained their star man Cedric Thomé, and drafted in new faces Matthijs van Erven and Samuel Libeert, with their operations being overseen in 2021 by Romain Grosjean and his R8G Esports outfit.
Williams Esports kept on their ever-present racer Alvaro Carreton, as well as their 2020 racer Michael Romanidis, and newcomer Italian Alessio di Capua.
A third successive team to keep one familiar driver, Scuderia AlphaTauri Esports retain Joni Tormala, while bringing in new face Dario Iemmulo, and series returnee Sebastian Job.
McLaren Shadow were the first of two teams to completely re-vamp their trio, with Dani Bereznay stepping in as their most experienced racer, accompanied by onetime Mercedes racer Bari Boroumand, and new blood Josh Idowu.
FDA Esports Team stacked their team with two champions; Brendon Leigh and David Tonizza form a solid partnership, with series newcomer Domenico Lovece stepping up too.
Merecedes-AMG Petronas F1 Esports Team drafted in the reigning champion Jarno Opmeer, alongside 2020 rookie sensation Dani Moreno. F1 Esports veteran Bono Huis completes the line-up.
Alpine Esports Team keep Nicolas Longuet and Fabrizio Donoso from 2020’s roster, and add Hungarian ace Patrik Sipos to their formula for this season.
Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN F1 Esports Team’s brand-new line-up features faces familiar and less so, with Simon Weigang, Filip Presnajder, and Thijmen Schutte on board.
And finally, reigning team champions Red Bull Racing Esports continue with Frede Rasmussen and Marcel Kiefer as their dynamic duo, with DHL Virtual Fastest Lap competition winner Liam Parnell taking the third spot in the team.
F1 2021 Game
F1 2021 is the official video game of the 2021 Formula One and Formula 2 Championships developed by Codemasters and published by EA Sports. It is the fourteenth title in the F1 series by Codemasters and the first in the series published by Electronic Arts under its EA Sports division since F1 Career Challenge in 2003.
To purchase visit: Buy F1® 2021 The Official Videogame – An Electronic Arts Site (ea.com)
