Formula E: Accelerate

Formula E: Accelerate is a professional esports competition created by Formula E in 2021, following the success of 2020's event, the ABB Formula E Race at Home Challenge in support of UNICEF.^[1][3]

Formula E: Accelerate

2021
Tournament information
Sport	Formula E
Dates	28 January–25 March 2021
Administrator	rFactor 2 Formula E
Tournament format(s)	Open Qualifiers: Online Entry Period: 7–13 January 2021^[1] Top 3 fastest drivers will receive an invite to participate in Formula E Accelerate.^[2] Race: Six race competition with each race lasts for 25 minutes^[2]
Venue	Online
Final positions
Champions	Frederik Rasmussen
1st runners-up	Erhan Jajovski
2nd runners-up	Kevin Siggy
← N/A 2022 →

The competition is run on the platform rFactor 2 platform,^[4] with seat time at home for competitors, with additional venue events for some rounds. The championship grid is made up of esports teams associated with the manufacturers from the real-world ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, with drivers who are selected through early qualification rounds to represent those teams.

The competition is broadcast on various Formula E social and streaming platforms, such as Twitch, Facebook, and YouTube.

The championship offers a €100,000 prize-pool and some real-world seat-time with laps in a Gen2 Formula E car.^[5][6]

2021

In the inaugural 2021 season, over 600 professional sim drivers in addition to plenty of talented gamers entered the qualifiers in January 2021, competing for seats in 12 official teams.

Danish sim racer Frederik Rasmussen was crowned as the 2021 Formula E: Accelerate Champion ahead of Erhan Jajovski, taking the €20,000 top prize and a drive in a real Gen2 Formula E car.^[7][8] ROKiT Venturi Racing secured the Teams' Championship Title, finishing 36 points clear of the field.^[9]

2022

The 2022 season added VIP tickets to the Seoul e-Prix to the prize, this time with six rounds of the qualifying competitions, known as "the Road to the London Final," to reduce the field down to a conventional grid size matching the real-world series. This grid then raced at a final round held at the London e-Prix.^[10] The six qualifying rounds were held at the virtual versions of Rome, Monaco, Berlin, Jakarta, Vancouver, and New York.^[10] Frederik Rasmussen won driving for Dragon/Penske with Jarno Opmeer second for Mercedes-EQ.

2023

For 2023 the prize pool was reduced to €40,000, with two open qualifying rounds taking place remotely at the virtual versions of Berlin and Rome, but on the same weeks as the real-world rounds. The top 88 drivers from open qualification will go forward into Qualifying races at the same circuits. The top 11 from each event will then make up the 22-car grid for the final to be held at the London e-Prix.^[11] The championship will use Gen 3 cars.^[12]

Drivers

2021

Team	Race drivers
	No.	Driver name	Rounds
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler	33 11 11	Manuel Biancolilla   Kelvin van der Linde   Michi Hoyer^[13]^[14]	All 1–2, 5–6 3–4
BMW i Andretti Motorsport	28 27	Kevin Siggy   Petar Brljak	All All
DS Techeetah	25 13	Nikodem Wisniewski   Arthur Lehouck	All All
Dragon / Penske Autosport	7 6	Frederik Rasmussen   Peyo Peev	All All
Envision Virgin Racing	37 4	Graham Carroll   Tímea Bencsik	All All
Jaguar Racing	10 20	Martin Stefanko   Jakub Brzeziński	All All
Mahindra Racing	29 94	Olli Pahkala   Lucas Mueller	All All
Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team	17 5	Jarno Opmeer   Bono Huis	All All
NIO 333 FE Team	88 8	Risto Kappet   Jiayu Zhang	All All
Nissan e.dams	23 22	Marc Gassner   Jan von der Heyde	All All
ROKiT Venturi Racing	71 48	Erhan Jajovski   Lorenz Hörzing^[15]	All 1, 3–6
TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team	36 99	Marius Golombeck   Jaroslav Honzík	All All
Sources:^[16]

Calendar

2021 Round ePrix Circuit Duration Date Broadcast 1 New York City ePrix   Brooklyn Street Circuit, Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York 25 Minutes 28 January Formula E: Accelerate Round 1 Full Race on YouTube 2 Hong Kong ePrix   Hong Kong Central Harbourfront Circuit, Hong Kong 4 February Formula E: Accelerate Round 2 Full Race on YouTube 3 Berlin ePrix   Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit, Berlin 11 February Formula E: Accelerate Round 3 Full Race on YouTube 4 Diriyah ePrix   Riyadh Street Circuit, Diriyah 11 March Formula E: Accelerate Round 4 Full Race on YouTube 5 Electric Docks^[17]   Lester Special – Electric Docks^[18]^[19] 18 March Formula E: Accelerate Round 5 Full Race on YouTube 6 Rome ePrix   Circuito Cittadino dell'EUR, Rome 28 March Formula E: Accelerate Grand Final Full Race on YouTube Sources:^[20]

Note: Fictional tracks are marked in cyan.

Results

Season summary

Round ePrix Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver Winning team 1   New York City ePrix   Erhan Jajovski   Kevin Siggy   Erhan Jajovski   ROKiT Venturi Racing 2   Hong Kong ePrix   Erhan Jajovski   Frederik Rasmussen   Erhan Jajovski   ROKiT Venturi Racing 3   Berlin ePrix   Kevin Siggy   Olli Pahkala   Kevin Siggy   BMW i Andretti Motorsport 4   Diriyah ePrix   Frederik Rasmussen   Marius Golombeck   Frederik Rasmussen   Dragon / Penske Autosport 5   Electric Docks   Frederik Rasmussen   Jakub Brzeziński   Erhan Jajovski   ROKiT Venturi Racing 6   Rome ePrix   Frederik Rasmussen   Frederik Rasmussen   Frederik Rasmussen   Dragon / Penske Autosport

Note: Fictional tracks are marked in cyan.

Championship standings

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top 10 classified finishers in the race, three points for pole sitter and one point was given to the driver who set the fastest lap inside the top ten.

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Pole	FL
Points	25	18	15	12	10	8	6	4	2	1	3	1

In the event of a tie at the conclusion of the championship, a count-back system is used as a tie-breaker, with a drivers'/teams' best result used to decide the standings.

Drivers' Championship standings

Pos. Driver NYC   HKG   BER   DIR   LES   RME‡   Points 1   Frederik Rasmussen 9 2^F 2 1^P 3^P 1^P^F 143 2   Erhan Jajovski 1^P 1^P 4 2 1 4 135 3   Kevin Siggy 3^F 3 1^P 3 10 13 75 4   Graham Carroll 13 4 20 5 12 2 58 5   Jarno Opmeer 6 14 14 10 5 3 49 6   Nikodem Wisniewski 14 10 8 18 2 6 39 7   Marius Golombeck 5 5 18 6^F 15 8 37 8   Martin Stefanko 20 8 5 7 6 9 32 9   Manuel Biancolilla 2 DSQ 7 14 8 11 28 10   Lorenz Hörzing 16 DNS 12 8 4 7 28 11   Jakub Brzeziński 15 11 9 11 9^F 5 25 12   Bono Huis 4 15 16 4 DSQ 16 24 13   Petar Brljak 18 7 3 9 13 14 23 14   Risto Kappet 8 6 6 13 22 17 20 15   Marc Gassner 7 16 13 16 11 10 8 16   Jan von der Heyde 10 12 23 22 7 15 7 17   Olli Pahkala 11 9 10^F 12 19 12 4 18   Lucas Mueller 12 18 11 19 DSQ 24 0 19   Arthur Lehouck 24 13 Ret 15 21 18 0 20   Peyo Peev 17 19 21 17 14 19 0 21   Tímea Bencsik 23 21 15 23 16 21 0 21   Jaroslav Honzík 21 17 22 24 18 22 0 23   Kelvin van der Linde 19 22 17 20 0 24   Michi Hoyer 17 21 0 25   Jiayu Zhang 22 20 19 20 20 23 0 Pos. Driver NYC   HKG   BER   DIR   LES   RME‡   Points Sources:^[21]

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Other points position Blue Other classified position Not classified, finished (NC) Purple Not classified, retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not enter Annotation Meaning P Pole position F Fastest lap

Note:

• ‡ – Double points were awarded in the last race at the Rome ePrix, Rome.^[22]

Teams' Championship standings

Pos. Team NYC   HKG   BER   DIR   LES   RME‡   Points 1   ROKiT Venturi Racing 1^P 1^P 4 2 1 4 203 16 DNS 12 8 4 7 2   Dragon / Penske Autosport 9 2^F 2 1^P 3^P 1^P^F 167 17 19 21 17 14 19 3   BMW i Andretti Motorsport 3^F 3 1^P 3 10 13 134 18 7 3 9 13 14 4   Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team 4 14 14 4 5 3 97 6 15 16 10 DSQ 16 5   Envision Virgin Racing 13 4 15 5 12 2 79 23 21 20 23 16 21 6   Jaguar Racing 15 8 5 7 6 5 59 20 11 9 11 9^F 9 7   TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 5 5 18 6^F 15 8 58 21 17 22 24 18 22 8   DS Techeetah 14 10 8 15 2 6 49 24 13 Ret 18 21 18 9   Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 2 22 7 14 8 11 34 19 DSQ 17 21 17 20 10   Nissan e.dams 7 12 13 16 7 10 25 10 16 23 22 11 15 11   NIO 333 FE Team 8 6 6 13 20 17 24 22 20 19 20 22 23 12   Mahindra Racing 11 9 10^F 12 19 12 13 12 18 11 19 DSQ 24 Pos. Team NYC   HKG   BER   DIR   LES   RME‡   Points Sources:^[21]

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Other points position Blue Other classified position Not classified, finished (NC) Purple Not classified, retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not enter Annotation Meaning P Pole position F Fastest lap

Note:

• ‡ – Double points were awarded in the last race at the Rome ePrix, Rome.^[22]
• The standings are sorted by best result, rows are not related to the drivers. In case of tie on points, the best positions achieved determined the outcome.

References

1. "Formula E: Accelerate Esports Competition Sparks Search for Next-Gen Electric Racing Stars". FIA Formula E. 7 January 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
2. "Fomula E Accelerate Qualifier". Studio-397. 6 January 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
3. "Formula E launches new Accelerate Esports competition". Autosport. 7 January 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
4. "Formula E's new esports tournament features main series crossover rounds". Sportspromedia. 8 January 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
5. "Formula E launches new Esports series, offers real-life test". Motorsport. 7 January 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
6. "Top Three Formula E: Accelerate Qualifiers Stick Themselves in the Selection Mix Ahead of Round 1". FIA Formula E. 14 January 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
7. "Rasmussen in Disbelief after 'Massive Comeback' to Win Formula E: Accelerate, €20,000 and Gen2 Drive". FIA Formula E. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
8. "Sim racers take to the track in the Gen2 Formula E car". FIA Formula E. 24 May 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
9. . Venturi Racing. 26 March 2021. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
10. "Formula E: Accelerate esports competition offers real-world test". us.motorsport.com. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
11. Finder, Grid. "Join Formula E | Accelerate Championship on Grid Finder | rFactor 2 PC Sim Racing League". Grid Finder. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
12. "Formula E's esports competition returns with Gen3 cars". us.motorsport.com. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
13. @Michi_Hoyer (February 10, 2021). "I am proud to announce to be picked by @abtmotorsport Formula E Team to replace @KelvinvdLinde as a one-off in the @FIAFormulaE Accelerate Series tomorrow" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
14. @audisport (February 11, 2021). "Race day: Round 3 of #FEAccelerate in Berlin. The 90-minute broadcast will begin at 20:00 CET, including our drivers @Michi_Hoyer (#11) and @MB_Whitelilac (#33)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
15. @Loozbert (February 4, 2021). "Tough pill to swallow, misses out Round 2 of Formula E: Accelerate due to internet connection. Looking forward to berlin and let's hope for some points there!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
16. "Grid full of esports stars confirmed with Formula E: Accelerate set to fire into life". FIA Formula E. 27 January 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
17. "Dario's guide to the Electric Docks circuit ahead of Formula E: Accelerate Round 5". FIA Formula E. 18 March 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
18. Studio-397 (19 April 2020). "Formula E Test Circuit". Steam Workshop. Retrieved 30 November 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
19. Jeffrey, Paul (20 April 2019). "rF2: Gen2 Formula E and Lester Special Edition Released". RaceDepartment. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
20. . fiaformulae.com. 27 January 2021. Archived from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
21. . fiaformulae.com. 29 March 2021. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
22. @FIAFormulaE (March 24, 2021). "Formula E: Accelerate concludes on Thursday with DOUBLE POINTS on offer and amazing prizes to play for" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

External links

• Official website^{[dead link]}