Former F1 world champion Jenson Button is joining McLaren’s esports team in time for this weekend’s SRO E-Sport GT Series, pairing with factory drivers Ben Barnicoat and Martin Kodrić for a new esports competition on Assetto Corsa Competizione. The esports competition has been created following the SRO GT World Championships being postponed due to COVID-19.
The competition lasts for five rounds, with all three classes competing in separate races, then a grand final race to determine the best driver in each class.
The three classes are the Pro Series, for real-world drivers, the Silver Series, with top-tier esports drivers, and the Am Series, which is decided from open hot-lap qualifying sessions hosted on the game.
The other manufacturers that are taking part are Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lexus, Mercedes-AMG, Nissan and Porsche. The Pro and Silver series begins tomorrow, with qualification for the Am Series starting tomorrow and running until May 10.
Button is not the only F1 alumni participating in the SRO E-Sport GT Series, with former Toro Rosso and Force India driver Vitantonio Liuzzi representing Lamborghini in the Pro class.
You can watch the Pro and Silver Series first round live event here, which commences tomorrow night at 9:45pm AEST.
Race calendar: SRO GT World Championships
| Date | Event | Track |
| April 26th | Pro and Silver Series: Round 1 | Silverstone, England |
| April 26th – May 10th | Am Series: Hot lap qualification | |
| May 10th | Pro and Silver Series: Round 2 | Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium |
| May 16th | Am Series: Round 1 | Silverstone, England |
| May 17th | Pro and Silver Series: Round 3 | Nürburgring, Germany |
| May 23rd | Am Series: Round 2 | Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium |
| May 30th | Am Series: Round 3 | Nürburgring, Germany |
| May 31st | Pro and Silver Series: Round 4 | Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain |
| June 6th | Am Series: Round 4 | Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain |
| June 13th | Am Series: Round 5 | TBA (public vote) |
| June 14th | Pro and Silver Series: Round 5 | TBA (public vote) |
