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The fourth season of F1 Esports Series has been confirmed to run from October to December with the Pro Draft taking place on August 27.
An increased prize pot of $750,000 makes it one of the highest paying racing esports competitions ever run.
A total of 237,000 players attempted to qualify for the Pro Draft via the online qualifiers, with the best of those soon to be vying for a place in one of the 10 F1 Esports teams.
Each real-world team has to pick one driver from the Pro Draft to join their two existing esports drivers, with 2019 F1 Esports champion David Tonizza joining Ferrari last year through the Pro Draft.
Similar to the 2019 championship, 12 races will be run over the course of four different events – although the drivers will be racing remotely this year due to COVID-19 precautions.
In previous years in-person events have been held at the Gfinity Arena in London and sometimes at grands prix.
Race distances have been increased to 35% and qualifying sessions will now be livestreamed, with the format of them being changed to be more in line with the real-life F1 world championship.
Each event will be livestreamed and run on the Wednesday and Thursday of the race week.
“F1 Esports has had a huge year with the massive success of the Virtual Grand Prix series that we ran through lockdown,” said Julian Tan, head of digital business initiatives and esports for F1.
“This has set us up well for the launch of the 2020 F1 Esports Series, which will be our biggest and most innovative season yet.”
“With over 237,000 participants this year, up from 109,000 participants in 2019, we are seeing incredible growth.
“We also continue to push boundaries by offering our largest ever cash prize fund of $750,000 – which is industry-leading – as well as continuing to innovate by adapting quickly in the current landscape and operating the series entirely remotely as we look to ensure an enjoyable, but safe, Pro Series this year.”
