The ongoing coronavirus crisis affects many sports and now also the Formula 1 Grand Prix. However, fans do not have to miss the races. Formula 1 has announced that the races will instead be shown virtually.
How will this work? Instead of the real races, there will be e-sports broadcasts on the weekends of the Grand Prix. The professional drivers, who would normally compete in racing cars, will instead play the official Formula 1 game “F1 2019” by Codemasters.
The first race on March 22 was the Grand Prix at the Sakhir circuit over 28 laps and was watched more than 1.2 million times just on YouTube. We have embedded the race for you here:
Every Grand Prix that is not available in F1 2019 will be replaced with an alternative. The drivers are playing from home, and the broadcasts will take place on the official channels of Formula 1 on Twitch, Facebook, and YouTube.
At the moment, it is planned to show the races in this way until May. However, if the situation does not improve by then, Formula 1 intends to extend the broadcasts. The races, however, do not award points, and the real Grand Prix is currently scheduled to be rescheduled.
Before Formula 1 the football derby of La Liga has also already taken place online in FIFA 20 to offer something to the fans.
„Unequal” Conditions and races with fans
That is why some drivers are allowed to “cheat”: Formula 1 explains that some of the drivers are already very good sim racers and correspondingly good at the video game. Others, on the other hand, have no experience at all.
To keep the races exciting, the conditions will be somewhat balanced. Weaker players will therefore be allowed to play with aids such as less vehicle damage, traction control, and adjusted setups.
This way, it should be ensured that the races are competitive, entertaining, and exciting since there are no points for the drivers anyway.
How can fans participate? On weekends when no official races take place, exhibition races will instead be held. Fans from around the world will be able to compete against the pros. However, there will be detailed information about this later.
E-sport still has a hard time in the sports landscape, although it has long since arrived in society. The current decisions by football organizations and Formula 1 could, however, help to promote e-sports further. The so-called sim racing has been considered one of the e-sports sports for some time, which is regarded by the organizers as “real” sport.
