The motorsport’s head of digital media provides insight into F1’s esports strategy and the success of its recent virtual races

Frank tech talks

Formula 1 global head, digital media and licensing, Frank Arthofer talks to Broadcast Tech and Broadcast Sport editor Jake Bickerton about the F1 Virtual GP series, which replaced the real grand prix races during lockdown.

It involved 11 x F1 drivers and high-profile celebs racing head-to-head on virtual versions of real F1 grand prix circuits.

The series received impressive viewing figures, across digital and linear, and proved a notable success for F1 at a time when real racing wasn’t possible.

Arthofer talks about the popularity of the series and about F1’s future plans for esports, including whether F1 might bring in real-time virtual racing to enable fans to join in live races virtually in an esports environment at home.

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