F1 to launch eSports World Championship in September 2017

Aspiring to be a Formula 1 World Champion but don't have the means to get a seat? Well luckily Formula 1 has announced that they will be launching an official eSports World Championship. In fact, the inaugural season already begins this coming September 2017 coinciding with the launch of the 2017 F1 game.

For the F1 eSport series, Formula One will be partnering with Codemasters, developer of the F1 game, and Gfinity, an eSports specialists. The fastest 40 drivers will be selected through a qualification system, which will run for a month, once the game is launched.

“Of course as we do in Formula 1, we’ll continue to evolve and innovate in the way we run this virtual counterpart to the F1 Championship to ensure we provide the most exciting and enjoyable experience we can for our fans,” said Sean Bratches, F1 commercial boss.

From there, the top 40 drivers will then be invited to the live semifinals event to be held at the Gfinity Arena in London on October. Pitted against each other, only 20 drivers from the semi-final will move on to the finals, which will take place along side the season ender Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in November. The first ever Formula 1 eSports world champion will be awarded along side the proper Formula 1 World Champion.

Winner of the 2017 Formula 1 eSports series will be secured a qualification slot into the semi-finals of the 2018 championship, defending their championship position, and named ‘Formula 1 eSports Champion Expert’. Furthermore, the champion will also be included as a character in the F1 2018 game.

The new series marks Formula 1's first step into the eSports series of motorsports. However, McLaren has already previously ventured into eSports with their 'World's Fastest Gamer' competition, with the winner being hired the team's F1 simulator driver.

Want to be crowned as Formula One's first ever eSport World Champion? Better start practicing now.