Surprising picks in F1 Esports 2020 Pro Draft

Surprising picks in F1 Esports 2020 Pro Draft

Aug 27, 2020 11 Min Read Posted by Maik Jahn

Check out all driver picks for the F1 Esports Pro Series disclosed in the Pro Draft Reveal Show.

Photo credit: Gfinity

The results of the F1 Esports Series Pro Draft are public. While the selection process already took place on August 13, the picks were only revealed two weeks later in the Pro Draft Reveal Show. More than 237,000 esports racers took part in a month-long qualification process to secure their spot in the draft.

Only 45 players made it to the final stage. Each esports department of the ten real-world F1 teams was obliged to pick at least one driver from the pool. They are set to compete for an increased prize pool of $750,000 between October and December in F1 2020.

HOW DOES THE F1 PRO DRAFT WORK?

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Picks took place in reverse order from last year’s team championship results. Below, you can find all picked drivers and their new teams in their original picking order:

Haas picks Simon Weigang

The German raced for Renault Vitality in the 2019 season. Although he only took part in four races, he was able to score points in three of them. Weigang also took part in #NotTheAusGP where he finished in ninth place. He joins second Haas driver Cedric Thomé, who became 13th in the 2019 season, and Floris Wijers who reached P19 in the former edition of the series.

AlphaTauri picks Manuel Biancholilla

Another well-known face from F1 esports returns to the stage. Manuel Biancholilla drove three races for Toro Rosso in the 2019 season, finishing in 22nd place. The Italian is also proficient in other racing games as he came second in the GTE class at the 24 Hours Le Mans Virtual with Aston Martin Racing. He joins two absolute veterans with Joni Törmälä and Patrik Holzmann being his teammates. Biancholilla sure has to show good results in order to stand out from those two.

Mercedes picks Bari Boroumand

Bari Boroumand is a very experienced racer both on real and virtual asphalt. The Iranian has won the national karting championship in his country for the last seven years in a row. He dominated the 2020 F1 Esports Challenger Series, winning three out of six races and finishing second in two of them.

Another addition, however not from the draft, is Bono Huis. The five-time Formula SimRacing champion won races and championships across several esports racing titles and finished the 2019 F1 esports season in seventh place.

Their teammate is none other that two-time F1 esports champion Brendon Leigh. The Briton aims to reclaim his title in the upcoming season after only reaching a disappointing fifth place in 2019.

BWT Racing Point picks Shanaka Clay

Shanaka Clay won several national karting championships in Britain before he turned to esports racing due to financial reasons. The 20-year-old already took part in the 2019 Pro Draft but was not successful. Shanaka’s teammates will be Lucas Blakely and Daniele Haddad, who both took part in the 2019 season.

McLaren Shadow picks Dani Moreno

Spaniard Dani Moreno is a new face to the F1 scene. Although we have not yet seen him race in the official F1 esports, he proved his worth in the qualifying races. Moreno came third in the PS4 qualifiers.

The newcomer will have to show good results to prove himself against his teammates. World’s Fastest Gamer James Baldwin will make his F1 esports debut this season for McLaren. Filling the third place in the British team’s line up is Matthias Cologon.

Williams Esports picks Michael Romanidis

Being just 16 years old, Romanidis is one of the youngest competitors in the field. The Greek driver is not only an avid F1 esports racer. He will also take part in the newly-formed V10 R-League for Williams Esports.

He races alongside Salih Saltunc, who already took part in the first season of the F1 esports series, and Alvaro Carreton.

Renault Vitality picks Casper Jansen and Fabrizio Donoso

First pick Fabrizio Donoso is a true veteran of F1 Esports Series, reaching second place in his maiden season. The Chilean partnered with Racing Point Force India in 2018, before taking a break in 2019. Now, the 21-year-old is back and hungry for a successful comeback.

Renault Vitality is the only team this year to pick two drivers from the pool. Their second pick is an investment in the future for sure. The 17-year-old Casper Jansen was the time trial winner on PlayStation 4. The youngster obviously already has the pace, now it’s up to his new team to combine it with the skills of successful racing.

Nicholas Longuet who placed 17th in the 2019 season remains with the french roster completes Renault Vitality’s line-up.

Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen picks Dominik Hofmann

Hofmann took part in the 2018 Pro Draft. The Austrian is a well-known face in F1 esports competitions, winning the eF1 Championship. The 22-year-old already hinted at being picked on his twitter account – now we also know which team he will compete for.

Hofmann can learn from the best. His teammates are Jarno Opmeer and Daniel Bereznay, who finished fourth and third in the 2019 F1 Esports Pro Series.

Ferrari picks Filip Presnajder

The Slovakian Presnajder hoped for a chance in F1 esports in the 2019 Pro Draft. After repeating his dominant performance from the 2019 Challenger Series this year, it was only a matter of time until teams took notice of him.

He joins the prestigious Italian manufacturer which became second in last year’s team championship in their maiden season. The team’s sucess was mainly caused by one person: David Tonizza, 2019 F1 Esports Driver Champion. The Italian stays at Ferrari and tries to defend his title this season.

The third Ferrari driver is Tonizza’s fellow countryman Enzo Bonito who is proficient in many esports racing titles and became 12th in the previous F1 esports championship.

Red Bull Racing Esports picks Tino Naukkarinen

The number one has been picked again. Tino Naukkarinen was the first player ever to be picked in an F1 Pro Draft when he was selected by Williams in the 2018 edition. He also participated in the 2019 season for the team and finished the season in 11th place.

We are eager to see what he will achieve with his new team. Red Bull once again looks very powerful and like a title contender. Their other drivers are Marcel Kiefer and Frederik Rasmussen, two absolute machines in F1 esports.

Which pick was the most surprising one for you? Who do you think is going to dominate the competition? Tweet us your opinion via @overtake_gg! Visit OverTake.gg to ensure you don’t miss any information on the F1 Esports Pro Series.

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Maik Jahn
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Born and raised close to the Nürburgring.