F1 New Balance Esports Pro Series to Kick Off

As the 2019 F1 New Balance Esports Pro Series draws closer, all ten of the official Formula 1 Esports teams have announced their rosters for the competition.

Set to begin on 11 September, the run up to the Pro Series will consist of four live shows, the first at the GFinity Arena in London. The champions will take part in each show and the winning team will get a chunk of that $500,000 prize pool on offer.

Some notable changes for this series will see a new team enter the fray in Scuderia Ferrari, also the first esports event for them, who are entered as Ferrari Driver Academy. We reported earlier in the year about the Pro Draft which took place, and saw each team add a new player to the roster, to make teams of 3. All 30 gamers will now get a chance to become the F1 Esports Series Champion, but not if Brendon Leigh, the UK-based Merecedes-AMG Petronas Esports driver has anything to say about it.

Leigh is a two-time F1 Esports Series champion, and yet-to-be-defeated contender. He will have his work cut out for him though, as last year’s 2^nd place finisher, Daniel Bereznay has moved on to another team in Alfa Romeo Racing, with race-winner Salih Saltunc. Enzo Bonito will also be competing for the title, the new upcomer who made his name as a racing-sim star, who outpaced some professional drivers earlier in the year, at the 2019 Race of Champions.

The full list of racers and teams can be found below:
 

Alfa Romeo Racing F1 Esports

Dani Bereznay, Hungary

Kimmy Larsson, Sweden

Salih Saltunç, United Kingdom

 

Ferrari Driver Academy

David Tonizza, Italy

Amos Laurito, Italy

Gianfranco Giglioli, Italy

 

Haas F1 Team Esports

Floris Wijers, Netherlands

Jan Fehler, Germany

Martin Štefanko, Czech Republic

 

McLaren Shadow

Enzo Bonito, Italy

Bono Huism Netherlands

Allert van der Wal, Netherlands

 

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports

Brendon Leigh, United Kingdom

Patryk Krutyj, Poland

Daniel Shields, Australia

 

SportPesa Racing Point F1 Esports Team

Daniele Haddad, Italy

Marcel Kiefer, Germany

Lucas Blakely, United Kingdom

 

Red Bull Racing Esports

Frederik Rasmussen, Denmark

Joni Törmälä, Finland

Nicolas Longuet, France

 

Renault Sport Team Vitality

Jarno Opmeer, Netherlands

Cedric Thomé, Germany

Simon Weigang, Germany

 

Scuderia Toro Rosso Esports

Patrik Holzmann, Germany

Cem Bölükbaşı, Turkey

Manuel Biancolilla, Italy

 

Williams Esports

Álvaro Carretón, Spain

Tino Naukkarinen Finland

Isaac Price, United Kingdom
 

The three pro series events will take place over the next few months, with the Grand Final scheduled for the 4^th of December.

While we gear up for the 2019 F1 New Balance Esports Pro Series, the qualifying rounds for the 2020 Series have also begun, far earlier than the years before. Any player with a copy of F1 2019, the official video game, will be able to take part. Global qualifications are now open, and players can take part in the third qualifying races now, with the second to start at the end of the September. The final qualification phase will run from beginning November until the 17^th, and from there, could qualify for the 2020 Pro Draft.