Celebrating London’s E-Prix and Accelerate championships.
It may not quite have the prestige of F1, but the sport is rapidly growing in popularity.
And it’s not just about electric cars, but virtual ones too.
On Friday night the second Accelerate esports championship took centre stage at the London E-Prix.
Streamed live onTwitchandYouTube, it saw drivers going head-to-head to win a share of 100,000.
The esports arm of Formula E grew during the pandemic and a need to engage racing fans online.
What’s particularly impressive is how advanced simulation racing has become in replicating the real world of driving.
These same sim racers are also available in the event’s Gaming Arena for the public to try.
It’s different for players.
“The ideal scenario is we licence the Formula E IP into an existing game with an existing fanbase.
That’s really the goal for us.”
So what does it take to become an esports champion?
Jarno Opmeer is theF1 2020and 2021 esports world champion, who also competed in the Accelerate London Final.
He’s since transferred into esports, owing to his strong ability on test simulators.
“Usually you want to be practising every day.
Anything from three to six hours usually makes you improve slightly day over day.
I think consistency is probably the most important part.”
And if you crash, it’s far less expensive.
“For esports you could, of course, practise as much as you could.
And you want to practise as much, otherwise you’re not going to be winning.”
That’s why his experience as a real life racing driver arguably gives him an edge in esports.
“I think it’s definitely possible,” he says.
“I think some people have already done it.
But I think it’s much harder than a lot of drivers think.
“Just jumping into a car straightaway is probably way too hard.
Probably you’d have to go through the ranks as well.
I don’t think we will see anyone go directly from esports to F1, or even F2.
I think you definitely have to start lower and also learn your way up.”
“That doesn’t happen anywhere else, right?
If you’re good at FIFA, it doesn’t mean you’re a good footballer.
But if you are a good sim racer, theoretically you’re a good driver.
So that’s really unique.”
you’ve got the option to practically hear F-Zero’s “You got boost power!”
announcer in your mind.
And that makes Formula E ideal as an esport.
And the FIA can be brutal as they need to be at times.”
What’s more, most competitions have been solitary lap timings where it’s just the racer and car.
This is further leading to a more inclusive esports environment.
TheFIA Girls On Track programmeaims to empower young girls and promote gender equality in esports.
That’s had a knock-on effect in esports, too.
“I don’t think it’s sunk in yet.
P2 In Formula E today.
A further way of doing that is in gaming itself.
Perhaps changes could be made as early as the next season - especially consideringissues at RFactor2 developer Motorsport Games.
“Conversations are ongoing for season nine,” he says.
“We don’t have any partnerships locked in at this point.
So not much I can really talk about there.
But we’re having conversations with lots of people for season nine.”
Could we also see an official Formula E game in the future?
“I’ll never rule it out, because I think it makes sense.
I just think it’s more of a question of timing,” says Holmes-Darby.
“But it’s definitely on the table.
We’ve had conversations with game developers about it already.
I would say that it will happen.”
