Mercedes has announced F1 Esports champion Brendon Leigh as part of its four-man Esports team for 2018.
The 19-year-old beat an entry of 66,000 players to win the inaugural F1 Esports World Championship last year. He will be joined by fellow Briton Harry Jacks (24), Poland’s Patryk Krutyi (22) and Hungary’s Dani Bereznay (18) in the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports team.
Jacks was a finalist in McLaren’s World’s Fastest Gamer competition last year. Krutyi is a multiple champion in Poland’s online gaming scene and Bereznay made it to the final 40 in the F1 Esports Series 2018 Pro Draft.The quartet will compete in the F1 Esports Series 2018 beginning in October.
Mercedes says it is beginning construction of a dedicated training centre for its Esports team headquarters of its F1 operation in Brackley. It will operate out of the same building as the team’s Driver-In-Loop Simulator.
The team says the Esports programme “will benefit from transferable elements pertinent to optimising car set-up and honing race craft.”
“The programme also focuses on human performance and will give the Esports team members access to the on-site Performance Centre covering the core areas of nutrition, physical conditioning and wellbeing that support the gamers in reaching their full potential,” it added.
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Joao (@johnmilk)
7th August 2018, 12:26
Brendon! Go play outside! Read a book once in a while! Do you think you will make a living playing those silly games?
Mom, leave me alone!
BRENDON! I won’t tell you again! I will cut off your ps plus subscription
Mom!?!?!?!?
Enough is enough little boy, now clean your room!
Fast forward to 2018…
Jere (@jerejj)
7th August 2018, 13:29
@johnmilk LOL.
Hugh (@hugh11)
7th August 2018, 12:48
Woah Brendon’s been hitting the gym.
Also good to see Harry getting in there too, still think he’s the most talented eSports driver out there, he just doesn’t play enough to do well nowadays. It really showed in WFG last year when they went to Forza, a game that none of the competitors really knew, and he beat everyone in qualifying by half a second or so.
Loving how F1 is getting really involved in eSports, will reap rewards and hopefully make some new gamers interested in the sport.
Pat Ruadh (@fullcoursecaution)
7th August 2018, 13:29
Agreed, Leigh might get the headlines but Jacks is the real signing here, the natural talent.
Put the sniper rifle down Harrison. Put it down.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
7th August 2018, 14:54
Not sure if it was announced in this site, but Williams eSport team has a real life pro in its line-up, argentinean Agustin Canapino, Super TC2000 champion, Turismo Carretera champion, Top Race V6 champion and long time sim racer. Guess he took his hobbie to the next level now!
Christopher Bowers (@darkstar)
7th August 2018, 18:10
This has nothing to do with motorsport. So off topic it hurts.
F1Bobby
8th August 2018, 6:30
My thoughts exactly.
Bernie's Minotaur Grocer
7th August 2018, 21:16
How did they find 66,000 children playing video games and not constantly screeching obscenities on voice?
Johns
9th August 2018, 0:22
F1 escorts championship. I thought grid girls were banned?