Formula 1 goes for multi-year agreement with Gfinity for F1 Esports Series

Formula 1 extended its relationship with Gfinity, an eSports and gaming solutions provider, to deliver the main elements of the F1 Esports Series in 2020 and 2021, plus the 2022 qualifying events.

In addition, the previously announced F1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix Series has been extended to June of this year.

As part of the agreement for the F1 Esports Series, in 2020 Gfinity will deliver the Pro Draft Reveal Show and the Pro Series; in 2021 Gfinity will deliver the Challenger Series qualifying events, Pro Draft live show and Pro Series; and in 2022, Gfinity will deliver the qualifying events. Full details of the 2020 season format will be announced in due course.

Dr. Julian Tan, head of digital business initiatives and Esports, Formula 1, said: “We are delighted to extend our agreement with eSports leaders Gfinity for another two years. Since 2017, we have seen the rapid growth of the F1 Esports Series and Gfinity have played a core part in that through their continued support in developing and delivering the series. We are excited to build on this foundation to bring further excitement to F1 Esports fans across the globe in the coming couple of years.”

Under the terms of the contract, Gfinity will deliver a dedicated account management team responsible for the delivery of all elements of the programme; a full league operations team responsible for writing all rules and governing the drivers participating in the tournament; and provide the use of ‘Race Control’, Gfinity’s proprietary in-race adjudication system. The Gfinity Arena in London will also be the main venue for live broadcasts.

Gfinity has been working with Formula 1 and Codemasters, a UK publisher of racing games, to design, develop and deliver the main elements of the F1 Esports Series since 2017.

In addition, further to the announcement on 23 March 2020 that Gfinity had been selected to deliver the new F1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix Series, the Series has now been extended until June. The Virtual Grand Prix Series will replace each live F1 Grand Prix that has been postponed due to the coronavirus.

Gfinity worked closely with Formula 1 on the conception of the series and oversees the delivery of the tournament, tournament operations and broadcast production. The first race, the Virtual Bahrain Grand Prix took place on Sunday 22 March 2020. Since then there have been four additional Virtual Grand Prix in Vietnam, China, the Netherlands and Spain, and three F1 Esports Challenge Driver events.

John Clarke, CEO, Gfinity, said: “The F1 Esports Series is one of the most exciting eSports tournaments in the world and we are delighted to be working with F1 for a further two years. Signing a multi-year agreement highlights our ability to leverage our unique position at the centre of the eSports ecosystem to design and develop eSports solutions for our clients. The Virtual Grand Prix Series has also caught the imagination of race fans as, shown by the amazing viewing numbers, and we are excited that a new, younger global audience is experiencing the F1 brand in a totally different way.”

Dr. Julian Tan, head of digital business initiatives and Esports, Formula 1, is now on the speaker line-up for SVG Europe’s online version of the Sports OTT Forum which is taking place on Wednesday 27 May. He will be on the programme at 1pm.

Sports OTT Forum 2020 online, sponsored by Panasonic, will feature exclusive live and ‘as live’ interviews and panel sessions that will be released in conference format, with each session being premiered at different times throughout the day, from 11am until 4pm.

Click here to learn more about the Sports OTT Forum 2020 and to register