McLaren invests in eSport and wins an official simulator driver position

At the end of March, a new sponsor appeared at McLaren, namely Logitech, which was positioned on both sides of the drivers’ helmets. While the announcement was relatively discreet at the time, the initiative unveiled today by the two partners is of a completely different magnitude.

Indeed, Logitech is a specialist in computer peripherals. The brand has therefore understood the importance of positioning itself in the growing eSports market. It has developed a range of dedicated products for this practice and invests heavily in social media communication.

McLaren has therefore decided to rely on this expertise to launch the World’s Fastest Gamer competition, as Zak Brown, the CEO of the Woking team, explains: « This is an extremely exciting opportunity, not only within the video game industry but for everyone at McLaren and in motorsports in general. We have long been following the growth of online video games, and right now, the parallels between the real and virtual worlds have never been closer. This is the right time to create this unique and exciting proposition. It will connect the world of motorsports and video games like never before. »

The competition includes a two-stage selection process: six players will be chosen by video game and Formula 1 specialists (understand the managers from McLaren and Logitech). But four additional spots will also be reserved for players who will be selected through a number of platforms.

This is a notable difference from other previous examples, such as the famous GT Academy developed by Nissan with the Gran Turismo video game, which allows players of the renowned video game—only available on PlayStation—to become professional drivers within Nissan’s various teams every year. However, McLaren has partnered with Darren Cox, who is precisely the founder of this competition.

Zak Brown explains that there is no constraint at this level: World’s Fastest Gamer really wants to democratize the process of finding the best virtual driver. The competition is not limited to a single platform or one. We do not want to restrict access but rather welcome the entire gaming community, whether they are on mobile or on highly developed simulator platforms.

But McLaren has also chosen to associate other existing team partners, starting with Sparco. The Italian brand has been providing drivers’ suits since 1996 and will be integrated into the competition as the official supplier of seats used in simulation races, as explained by Claudio Pastoris, its CEO: « In the past, champions trained on go-karts. Today, more and more, they gain experience on simulators. Technologies change quickly, and you have to keep up with the times. We believe that eSports are part of the future of motorsports, and we are confident that our experience in developing seats will contribute to the success of this project. »

The prize won is indeed one of the most significant as it simply involves a full season as a simulator driver for the team. This includes both long sessions in the team’s simulator in Woking and attending Grand Prix races to gain insights from Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne. The winner will become an integral part of our team at McLaren. It’s for real: we absolutely need more support for our two simulators. The competition and selection process will therefore be rigorous, ruthless, and exciting to watch, added Zak Brown.

With the participation of www.racingbusiness.fr