With the Formula One season delayed due to the coronavirus outbreak, those in charge have announced the launch of a new F1 ESports Virtual Grand Prix series. With this in place, fans will be able to watch live racing action despite living in self-isolation or quarantine. The season is now not expected to start before 7th June, but racing fans have something to look forward to until then.
Scheduled to run at least up till May, the first run will be held from 2000 GMT this Sunday on the official F1 2019 PC Game. It is scheduled at the slot when fans would have otherwise tuned into to watch the Bahrain Grand Prix and will be over 28 laps which are half of what the usual distance is under the Sakhir Floodlights.
The first race of the series will have all the drivers line up to race from the safety of their homes along with other superstars from the sports and gaming world. In a statement issued today, F1 said: ”In order to guarantee the participants safety at this time, each driver will join the race remotely, with a host broadcast live from (London's) Gfinity esports arena. The broadcast will be available on the official Formula One YouTube, Twitch and Facebook channels and is expected to run for 90 minutes with qualifying to set the grid positions.”
In Image: Gfinity Esports Arena
“Due to the wide variety of gaming skill levels amongst the drivers, game settings will be configured in such a way to encourage competitive and entertaining racing," Formula One added. This includes running equal car performance with fixed setups, reduced vehicle damage, and optional anti-lock brakes and traction control for those less familiar with the game."
In other news, the F1 also announced that it would host online exhibition races that would allow fans to go head-to-head with real racers on non-race day weekends. The idea is to keep the thrill of racing alive as the world troops fight the coronavirus and hopefully emerges stronger and better.
