The second edition of the F1 Esports Series will feature every team except Ferrari.FORMULA 1
All Formula 1 teams, with the exception of Ferrari, "have committed to setting up their own esports outfits" to compete in the second edition of the virtual world championship this season, according to Alan Baldwin of REUTERS. An F1 spokesperson said, however, that talks with Ferrari "remained ongoing and there was still a possibility" that the sport’s "most successful and glamorous team" could participate. The spokesperson added, "They want to be involved but just said they were not ready yet." A Ferrari spokesperson agreed that "anything could still happen." He said, "It’s not a no, we just need some more time to evaluate everything." Nine gamers will eventually qualify for the "Pro Draft," with each "guaranteed a slot" at one of the nine F1 teams that are participating in the second half of the season (REUTERS, 4/4). THE ESPORTS OBSERVER's Trent Murray reported similar to the NBA 2K League, "players will represent the esports division of an official F1 team rather than a traditional esports organization." In this new format, the F1 Esports Series will be "comprised entirely of car brands with real-life F1 teams, such as McLaren and Renault." F1 Head of Digital Growth & Esports Julian Tan said that involving F1 teams was "always the goal" of the esports series. However, this means that "existing esports organizations with F1 2017/18 players, such as Esports+Cars, Redline, and G2 Esports," will be locked out of the competition (THE ESPORTS OBSERVER, 4/4).
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