Formula 1® has today announced plans for the F1® Esports Series Women’s Wildcard, a female-only qualification route into the Pro Exhibition, where F1® teams will be scouting talent to add to their rosters for this year’s Pro Championship, which will start in the autumn.
The Women’s Wildcard will be open to female competitors only, where drivers will compete to set the fastest lap times on the official F1® 2020 video game, developed by Code masters, across a one-week window in early May (3-9). The participant who sets the fastest time will be invited to take part in the Pro Exhibition later that month, an online combine where the next generation of Esports drivers will showcase their talents in a series of in-game assessments, testing their abilities for the ten F1 ® Esports teams to assess and potentially choose for their Pro Championship rosters. The Pro Exhibition show featuring the Women’s Wildcard qualifier will be broadcast on Thursday 27 May on the official Formula 1 YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, Huya (China) channels.
Whilst previous F1® Esports events, such as the Virtual Grands Prix, have had female participants, there has never been a female driver competing in the professional ranks of the F1® Esports Series. This is the first female-only competition the sport has run, which Formula 1 ® hope will encourage more drivers from the passionate and talented female sim racing community to engage with the F1® Esports Series at a grassroots level, in the hope of becoming the first-ever female driver to be signed by an Official F1 ® Esports Series Team.
The introduction of the F1® Esports Series Women’s Wildcard follows the reaffirmed commitment to improving diversity and inclusion Formula 1 ® has made as part of the WeRaceAsOne initiative for 2021 and beyond.
