The nine Formula 1 teams have chosen their racers for the 2018 ESports Championship after the Pro Draft in London on Monday night.
Following the hard triple header in the F1 season, the teams had no rest as they headed to the Gfinity Arena to select racers for their respective ESports teams that will compete for the titles in the second half of 2018 – all except Ferrari.
In attendance were also Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen and Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly to select for their respective teams. As per the chosen order set last month through a draw, Williams got the first chance to pick.
The British team opted for Finn Tino Naukkarine with Force India next going for 2017 runners-up Fabrizio Donoso Delgado from Chile. Both Williams and Force India selected only one each as they had signed two more drivers prior to the event.
Williams eSports’ line-up is completed by Gary Mitchell and Michael Thomas Coyne along with Naukkarine, while Hype Energy eForce India’s has Mads Krog Sorensen and Marcel Kiefer with Delgado – Sorensen finished 15th in 2017.
Next in the Pro Draft was Haas which went for Czech pair Martin Stefanko and Michal Smidl – the latter chosen in Round 2 of the draft. Mercedes picked up Hungarian Daniel Bereznay with Renault Team Vitality choosing three in all the rounds.
They had German Sven Zurner, Swede Kimmy Larson and Brit James Doherty – Zurner finished third in last year’s competition. Like Renault, the Sauber Esports with Veloce Sports also picked up three racers, which included a sibling.
They went for Brit Salih Saltunc first after which they picked Dutch Allert van der Wal. Their final pick drew huge emotions when they called for Sonuc Saltunc, brother of Salih – the latter finished 12th in 2017, with the former ending up last and Wal seventh.
Toro Rosso with Gasly went for fifth place finisher Cem Bolukbasi from Turkey in their first pick while they chose fourth placed Patrik Holzmann in their second. McLaren Shadow, meanwhile, opted for Finn Olli Pahkala who finished third in the Vegas ePrix.
Lastly, Red Bull with Verstappen went for Finn Joni Tormala and Brit Graham Carroll. The drivers will now prepare to fight for the drivers’ as well as teams’ championship in the second half of the 2018 season.
