Nine teams, three live events and one grand prize.

The first round of the F1 Esports Pro Series begins at the Gfinity Esports Arena in London, with drivers competing for the top spot using the official F1 video game.

After a hard-fought battle between our drivers at the McLaren Technology Centre, Olli Pahkala and Bono Huis will represent McLaren and take the wheel to virtually race at Australia, China and Baku. 

Viewing Essentials

Where	Three tracks: Albert Park, Shanghai International Circuit, Baku City Circuit
When	9 October 2018
Start time	19:00 - 21:00hrs BST
Game	F1 2018
Laps	25% race distance

Hear from the team

Olli Pahkala, Bono Huis, Enzo Bonito and Ben Payne look ahead to the first live event of the series.

Olli Pahkala, McLaren Driver

"I’d like to think that the McLaren Shadow team are in the mix performance wise.

"We’ve been training really hard and we’ve definitely improved but tomorrow it just comes down to how you handle the pressure and if you can get the most out of yourself but I definitely feel that as a team we’re as prepared as we can be.

"Whatever happens in tomorrrow’s competition we’ll review it and use it to prepare for the next stage in a few weeks."

Bono Huis, McLaren Driver

"We don’t really know what to expect from our competition. All of the teams are keeping their cards very close to their chests.

"Personally I’m a fan of the Baku and China tracks even though Baku is a street circuit so the most difficult to navigate. It’s also the last race of the competition so we’ll need to stay focused for that.

"The Australia circuit is challenging with the track limits, but were hoping for the best."

Enzo Bonito, McLaren Driver

"I have 100% confidence in Olli and Bono to get the job done tomorrow.

"We’re all fully prepared and evenly matched, so I’m ready when called upon to step in and do a job for the team. I can’t wait for the lights to go green." 

Ben Payne, Head of esports

"We’re really proud of the McLaren Shadow team and we couldn’t have done any more to prepare them for this week’s competition.

"We’re excited that through Bono, Olli and Enzo, McLaren fans can experience racing in a new way and we can’t wait to see them race tomorrow."

Head over to our Facebook at 19:00BST on Wednesday to watch the LIVE head-to-head.

Race on.