Formula E today announced the return of elite international sim racing esports competition, the Accelerate Championship. The first round took place ahead of the 2023 SABIC Berlin E-Prix races in Germany last weekend (22 and 23 April).

Now in its third season, Accelerate brings together the world’s best sim racing talent with a €40,000 prize pool on offer. Competitors will race in all-new Formula E GEN3 race car simulators on Formula E race tracks while representing teams in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

The first online qualifying series took place 15 and 16 April with 88 contenders. Twenty-two went forward to the first Berlin event which was streamed at the Gaming Arena in the Allianz Fan Village and online on Formula E’s official YouTube and Twitch channels.

Two rounds will continue at the 2023 Hankook Rome E-Prix race weekend on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 July. The top 11 competitors from across the Berlin and Rome events will win a place in the Accelerate Championship live final to be staged at ExCeL London as part of the huge season finale weekend of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 July. 

Building on the appeal of the Accelerate Championship to the global gaming community, Formula E is launching an all-new influencer-led esports series. Accelerate AMPED will bring together 11 influencers each representing Formula E teams and generating entertainment-led competitive content. 

The influencer racers will aim to score points to help their teams take home the Accelerate Teams Championship.

Accelerate AMPED heats will take place alongside the Accelerate Championships in Berlin and Rome giving fans the chance to watch the action live on stage on the Gaming Arena. The Accelerate AMPED final will also take place live at the 2023 Hankook London E-Prix race weekend.

Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports driver, Frede Rasmussen, won both previous Accelerate Championships in 2021 and 2022.

Kieran Holmes-Darby, Gaming Director, Formula E said: “Formula E is delivering highly-competitive, world-class racing both on the track and in the sim racing world with the Accelerate Championship. This year’s competition is set to take it up another level with the inaugural Accelerate AMPED series. We are merging the worlds of competitive gaming and influencers to introduce a new wave of competitors and give fans an exciting new way to engage with Formula E.

 “Our GEN3 car is also featuring in a video game for the first time, having launched in Factor2 ahead of the Berlin qualifiers and will also be launching in Real Racing 3 before our Rome Accelerate AMPED event!”