Formula E starts a new “battle royale” online series this weekend

Enlarge / No, I have no idea why it looks like someone's covered up one of the cars with a black box in this screenshot that Formula E sent us. (credit: Formula E)

On Wednesday morning, Formula E became the latest real-world racing series to announce a move online to esports as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to make public gatherings impossible. Starting this coming Saturday, the electric racing series will start a nine-race esports competition using rFactor 2 as the platform. And since the series has always been a little more socially conscious than more traditional forms of fossil fuel-powered racing, it's partnering with UNICEF, collecting donations from viewers to pay for projects like buying protective equipment for healthcare workers and setting up home-schooling programs.

The first race-scheduled for April 18-is going to be the equivalent of a pre-season test, with no points on offer for the winners. But for the following eight weekends, the championship will be scored in the usual Formula E fashion, including points for fastest lap and qualifying in pole position, plus double points for the final race. In fact, each Saturday will see two races held in parallel.

One will be for the real-world Formula E drivers, with 14 of the grid confirmed for this coming weekend's race. The second is for professional esports racers and influencers, with entries going to the fastest 18 qualifiers of events held during the week leading up to each race. There's a pretty good prize for the influencers-the winner of that championship will get a test in an actual Formula E car, which puts them in good company alongside several colleagues from other publications who have been lucky enough to drive the electric race car for real rather than in a sim.

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