FIORIANO MODENSE, Italy – All ten teams from the roster of the real-life Ferrari Driver Academy grid were featured for the first time at the F1 eSports Pro Series in 2019. Ferrari signed up along with Mercedes after the former missed the inaugural season.
The decision to sign up turned out to be an outstanding move on Ferrari’s part. The star player of their FDA Hublot Esports Team, David Tonizza, clutched the driver’s title at the final race, which was hosted in Brazil.
FDA principal Mattia Binotto expressed his pride for the teenager, who was the sole scorer of the team’s 184 points in 2019.
This was made even more elating by the fact that the 2019 season was the first year they had participated, said Binotto.
Binotto went on to say that the Ferrari Driver Academy acknowledges the importance of eSports for the younger generations.
He also said that their team had been fortunate to have won the gold on their very first season of playing, but the fact that they have the “right driver” may have tipped the odds in their favor.
Binotto expressed deep pleasure at Tonizza’s sweeping win on behalf of the entire FDA.
With this development, it has become quite clear that eSports have truly begun to cement their place into the world of motorsports.
Tonizza had recently turned 18, which is the legal driving age in Italy. With his racing eSports skills in hand, he is poised to get into real-life racing, as many of his fellow racing gamers have.
Notable examples include Brendon Leigh of the Mercedes F1 team, who has appeared in Formula Ford, and Cem Bolukbasi, of Scuderia Toro Rosso, who was reported to have tried the Formula Renault Eurocup, as well as GT racing, in 2019.
As of the moment, Ferrari is in charge of some of the most formidable junior drivers in F1 racing.
These include Callum Ilott, Robert Shwartzmann, and Mick Schumacher, who all appeared at several F1 Esports games in 2019. All of them have also been selected for competitive Formula 2 seats for the 2020 races.
The above top picks will also be joined by Ferrari prospects such as Giulian Alesi and Marcus Armstrong. In light of these fresh faces joining the ranks of the junior drivers, Binotto further stressed the importance of eSports for the Ferrari Driver Academy.
In acknowledgment of the importance of eSports for the new generation of F1 racers, Principal Binotto has enacted its full incorporation into the Ferrari Driver Academy program.
No longer an auxiliary addition to the academy’s offerings, it is now an integral part of it, says Binotto.
