Four gamers have caught the break of a lifetime as the inaugural members of Mercedes-AMG's newly founded eSports team. On Tuesday, the company announced the Mercedes-AMG Petronas eSports team will enter the 2018 F1 eSports Series. eSports, or electronic sports, are a form of organized video game competition featuring numerous players, many of them often professionals.
Mercedes-AMG picked some of the best talent from the eSports racing segment. The first is British gamer Brendon Leigh (second from left), who won last year’s inaugural F1 eSports Series. Also on the team is fellow Brit Harry Jack (first on left), who holds numerous league titles. Rounding out the team are Patryk Krutyi from Poland (second from right), who holds four league titles in his home country, and Hungarian Dani Bereznay (first on right). Bereznay was selected only a few weeks ago from the F1 eSports Pro Draft.
Mercedes-AMG Petronas eSports won't fill the gamers with Red Bull and Fritos and shove them onto the virtual track. The eSports team means serious business and the gamers will be stationed at the premises of the Formula One team in Brackley, England, to help them hone their skills. The state-of-the-art facility features a Driver-In-Loop Simulator, where F1 drivers provide engineering feedback on virtual car models. Mercedes-AMG said some of its F1 prep elements will transfer to the eSports team.
The team will also have access to the Performance Center, which covers drivers' (and now gamers') nutrition, physical conditioning, and overall well being.
Construction of the facility is underway and the 2018 F1 eSports Series will kick off this October.