London to host inaugural F1 Esports Series Semi-Finals next week

The world’s fastest virtual Formula 1 drivers will descend on the Gfinity Arena in London next Tuesday in a race to qualify for the inaugural F1 Esports Series World Final in Abu Dhabi. The event will be shown live on the official F1 Twitch and Facebook accounts and streamed on f1esports.com.

The F1 Esports Series is a partnership between Formula 1, the world’s premier motor sport; Codemasters, the leading racing game developer and publisher; and Gfinity, the global leader in esports events and competitions.

The F1 Esports Series is a partnership between Formula 1, the world’s premier motor sport; Codemasters, the leading racing game developer and publisher; and Gfinity, the global leader in esports events and competitions.

The 40 semi-finalists reached the London event through a series of qualifying rounds held over the past few weeks on the F1™ 2017 game using the famous Monza and Suzuka circuits. Ten of the 40 qualified online through the PS4 platform, 10 through the Xbox One and 10 via PC Windows.

Nine drivers reached the semi-finals from the F1 2017 Affiliated leagues, held using all platforms, while the 40th semi-finalist is a wildcard entry, selected by a vote from an independent panel, including former F1 driver David Coulthard, based on ability, skill and knowledge of esports.

A total of 63,827 drivers took part in the qualifying stages, completing 976,870 laps. Over 195,000 race times were posted on the official leaderboards at f1esports.com.

“We are very pleased to see how successful this first edition of the F1 Esports Series has been,” said Frank Arthofer, Director of Digital and New Business at Formula 1. “The number of participants exceeded our initial predictions, which confirms how much interest there is in Formula 1 within esports, a sector that is undergoing phenomenal growth. We can’t wait for the semi-finals in London to produce the fastest 20 competitors who will go on to battle for the first ever F1 Esport Series World Championship title.”

The semi-finals will consist of four heats and will use the Silverstone and Interlagos circuits. The top five finishers in each heat will progress to the Grand Finals, which will take place at Yas Marina as part of the 2017 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on November 24-26. At the end of a three-race event, the first Formula 1 Esports World Champion will be crowned on the same weekend as the final 2017 Formula 1 Grand Prix.

Alongside the pride and prestige of being the first ever champion, the winner will also be the Formula 1 Esports Champion Expert for 2018 and will automatically qualify for the semi-finals of next year’s Esports Series. The first winner will also be offered the opportunity to live the full experience of a Formula 1 race by attending one of the 2018 Grands Prix, as well as becoming a character in the F1™ 2018 game: a timeless reminder of his or her accomplishment.

Next week's semi-finals take place on Tuesday, October 10, with live streaming from 1800 local time (1700 UTC). For the latest information visit f1esports.com.