The F1 Esports Series Pro Championship presented by Aramco will return this week with an improved offering while the actual Formula 1 season proceeds at a rapid clip.
A new three-day per event structure is scheduled to debut on Wednesday, September 14. There will also be more live performances than ever before as drivers and teams compete for a huge $750,000 prize pool.
Four competitions will take place in 2022, each involving three days of activity, with qualifying and the race for each round occurring on separate days. On Wednesday, the new season gets underway at the Sakhir International Circuit. On Thursday and Friday, travels are made to Imola and Silverstone.
Suzuka and the Yas Marina Circuit have been added to the F1 Esports calendar for this year, and the Abu Dhabi venue will host the season finale, replicating the F1 championship.
The official F1 YouTube, Twitch, and Huya channels will stream every qualifying session live, and the race will be streamed on those same platforms in addition to Facebook. Selected television networks, such as Sky Sports F1, Viaplay, and ESPN, will also air all race day feeds.
Production will continue to originate from the Gfinity Arena in London, while drivers will continue to compete on the official F1 22 video game, created by EA and Codemasters, from team Esports facilities or factories, or their own homes.
Since the end of the previous season’s championship, a number of well-known drivers have changed teams, including Filip Presnajder from Alfa Romeo to Alpine and third-place finisher Lucas Blakeley who switched from Aston Martin to McLaren Shadow.
Jarno Opmeer, the current back-to-back champion, continues with Mercedes, Brendon Leigh and Davide Tonizza continue to race for Ferrari, and Red Bull has kept all of its drivers, including the successful pairing of Marcel Kiefer and Frede Rasmussen.
In terms of fresh talent, Alpine has signed Luke Smith, who placed second in the 2022 Pro Exhibition. Josh Evans, a semi-finalist in the Pro Exhibition, has signed with Aston Martin, while Thomas Ronhaar, the champion of the 2022 Pro Exhibition, has signed with Haas.
Nine drivers have switched positions on the grid altogether, while seven new ones have been discovered through the 2022 Pro Exhibition after qualifying via one of the F1 Esports Series qualification pathways, such as the DHL Time Trial.
