Brendon Leigh – the inaugural Formula 1 Esports champion and now real-life British esport racing driver, who joined the Ferrari Driver Academy’s (FDA) official esports team for season 2021 – encouraged aspiring sim racers to sign up for this year’s Ferrari Esports Series.
The qualification stage – which involves four hotlap sessions to decide the participants of the qualification races – will run from April until July and is now open to drivers across the UK and Europe.
The first qualifiers – which run until April 18 – take place on the world-renowned Brands Hatch circuit which has been laser-scanned to ensure ultimate authenticity.
Brendon Leigh, official esports driver – Ferrari Driver Academy said:
“If you love sim racing and want to test your skills amongst the elite drivers of Europe, then the Ferrari Esport Series is a great place to start, and I encourage talented sim racing drivers to get involved. You never know – it could be you that is in with the chance of driving with us on the FDA team next year. The competition is fierce, and you have to work hard – but being a professional esports driver as part of the Ferrari team in Maranello has changed my life: I sincerely offer the best of luck to all participants in the 2021 Series.”
Ferrari will offer an outstanding, money-can’t-buy prize for the Grand Final’s winner – the opportunity to become an official esport racing driver and join the famous Ferrari Driver Academy Esports Team at Ferrari HQ in Maranello.
*The 2021 tournament will use Kunos Simulazioni’s Assetto Corsa and will feature four of Ferrari’s real-world vehicles, including two exclusively available to drivers who register for the Series – the Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo and the brand new Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo.
So far nearly 10,000 talented sim racers from across Europe have signed up for the 2021 series, which is double the number of participants compared to last year’s inaugural season. The 2020 series was won by 21-year-old Italian racing driver, Giovanni Da Salvo -, who drove to victory after an extremely close-run tournament.
Two additional elements have been added to the competition in 2021 in order to add to the fun and competition – registered players will be offered the chance to participate in various prize draw events throughout the season, with a selection of outstanding prizes up for grabs (more details to be revealed soon). The winner of each prize draw will be announced live on air by the race broadcast team during each race’s live-streamed event.
Secondly, 2021 will also feature an original official competition developed especially for artistically creative Ferrari esports fans: the all-new Car Livery Contest. Participants will be able to create and submit liveries for the four cars used by the Series via a specially created website. The best of the liveries will be shared on Ferrari’s official social channels, and the design most popular with the Ferrari community will be incorporated into the game and used during the official Series races.
All the action will be streamed on the Ferrari Esport Twitch Channel https://www.twitch.tv/ferrariesports on the last Tuesday of the month from later August until the end of the season.
Qualification stages of the 2021 Series are happening between April and July. To be in with a chance of winning the life-changing prize, participants from across the UK and Europe can register via the official website:
Ferrari Esports Series – ferrari.com