UK-based esports tournament provider has been selected to deliver the new F1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix Series.
The F1 Esports Series has been created to enable fans to continue watching Formula 1 races virtually, in light of the ongoing COVID-19 situation that has impacted the live Grand Prix events.
Gfinity worked closely with Formula 1 on the conception of the F1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix series and will now oversee the delivery of the tournament, including operations and broadcast production.
The F1 Virtual Grand Prix will be played every weekend in place of a postponed Grand Prix.
The first race, the Virtual Bahrain Grand Prix, took place on Sunday March 22nd and featured Formula 1 drivers and a host of celebrities and esports personalities, including British host Paul ‘Redeye’ Chaloner.
It was won by Renault test driver and Formula 2 star Guanyu Zhou.
The Virtual Grand Prix’s are currently scheduled to take place until May and will be extended if the COVID-19 pandemic results in further Grand Prix cancellations.
The series uses the official F1 2019 PC video game, developed by Codemasters.
Each race is broadcast live from the Gfinity Esports Arena in London and will be available on the official Formula 1 YouTube, Twitch and Facebook channels.
John Clarke, CEO at Gfinity, said: “We are excited to be involved in the delivery of the F1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix series.
“At Gfinity we are committed to delivering esports solutions for our partners and we are proud to be part of the series that will bring exciting entertainment based virtual racing to a legion of Formula 1 and gaming fans around the globe.”
Gfinity recently outlined plan to cut costs, with their previous CEO and chairman stepping down.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
