Sadly, it looks like those cars will be gathering more dust than their drivers would like in the coming months, as the coronavirus has led to a shutdown of the regularly scheduled F1 Grand Prix as it has for so much else. However, there may be a solution in the form of the above mentioned F1 game series, developed by Codemasters, that more and more established sporting events are turning to.
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Codemasters is responsible not only for the official F1 game series, but also for the adaptation of other popular racing icons into videogames, whether from companies, sports events like F1, or movies. While it looks like the company’s Fast and Furious: Crossroads will be delayed due to the delay of the latest film in the franchise (Fast 9), its most recent F1 title, F1 2019 will soon see much more traffic than previously thought possible.
The Formula One Group recently announced that the planned racing events of F1 will now be replaced by in-game eSports races between real-life professionals, using a virtual racetrack to replace the ones the coronavirus has made unavailable. The first of these virtual races occurred on March 22, and more are scheduled for the following weeks, although these races will not be for titles, so the championship will not change hands.
The Formula One Group is not the first sports organization to attempt to replace its canceled season with a virtual substitute. The NBA will be closing out its season in NBA 2K20, or at least attempting to, and with Formula One now attempting the same, a precedent has been set for other sporting events to temporarily transform into eSport events. There will be some changes from the main game, including anti-lock brakes and reduced car damage, which Formula One has put in place to help its professional drivers. After all, they are far more used to driving a real car than a car in a video game.
These are not the only draws to F1 2019 that fans will have to look forward to, as exhibition races are planned that will see pros compete against all comers in the game who dare to challenge them. Considering F1 2019 is considered to be a huge step forward in racing games, this is a great chance to both show off what the game is capable of and for players to try their skill against real-life pros.
Another big draw is the fact that celebrities from outside the racing scene will be competing in the official Esports Formula One Grand Prix races alongside the pros. While celebrities like Snoop Dogg have been added to sports games like NHL 2020, this is the first time in this unprecedented situation where they will be competing in a real-life competition along real pros that has been transferred into a video game.
F1 2019 is available for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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Source: IGN
