Back in 2018, the love of the game and the friendships formed from it brought together the founders of FuturEsportS. Since the team was established, it has gone through far-reaching growth and has become Hungary’s most successful Formula-1 esports organization. The team gained great international acclaim through the years thanks to outstanding results in multiple well-known racing series.
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The team themselves also commenced hosting racing events, running under the “FuturEsportS Cup” name. In July 2020, FES organized its first Cup with a 300 EUR price pool. Encouraged by the success of the first Cup, the leaders decided to continue the series. The next will be the 7th time when the Cup gets underway. The team also started a league series alongside the Cups, including several quick drivers worldwide.
After many drivers were interested in joining the team as a driver, FES started its academy program to help young talented drivers. The team’s commitment is to provide the opportunity to the next generation. This program contains well-organized practice sessions and racing opportunities. The system proved to be successful after many drivers starting in the academy are now part of the line-up of FuturEsportS.
Currently, 61 drivers form the team, including Academy and Elite drivers. Elite drivers are the best on the team, with regular attendance at significant international events. The team primarily consists of Hungarian drivers, although after recognizing the potential, six foreign drivers have already joined the Elites. The unit can be proud to have such committed and determined to play a game for hours daily. The good internal atmosphere is also indicated by the fact that drivers rarely leave the team with the intention of driving for other organizations. Their goal is to continue to build the community in this spirit to achieve the maximum of their potential.
Last spring, the first international Cup organized by FES and Online Racing League, called the “Nations Cup”, was a huge success. Drawing inspiration from the football World Cups, the series was based on different nations racing each other for the final win on track. The event created enormous interest, as the two-time F1 esports Pro Series Champion Jarno Opmeer and Daniel Bereznay, the most successful Hungarian F1 esports Pro Series driver, joined the series, alongside other contracted esports drivers. The Hungarian national team finished second, managed by FES.
In August 2021, the IV FuturEsportS Cup was Hungary’s first F1 esports event, broadcasted from a professional studio environment. The 750 EUR price pool was a serious selling point, and a record number of entries have been submitted.
In September 2021, the II FuturEsportS League got underway, which was the second most robust racing series after the official esports Pro Series.
The qualification for the Pro Series started in October 2021. This is the F1 Challengers Qualification, where everyone in the world, who is not yet a member of the Pro Series, gets the chance to participate in two events. Based on the events’ results, the Challengers field is compiled. Two months of hard work and determination in the project resulted in four Elite drivers making their way into the top 16 in the world as Challengers. In addition, 15 FES drivers achieved a strong result by qualifying for the top100. It was and still is a huge success, as an amateur team has never managed to delegate this number of drivers into Challengers or the top 100. During the 12-week-long race series, 1 FES driver made their way to the top 6, which meant he got the “Pro Rank”. This status is awarded to drivers who can sign with Official F1 teams in the Pro Series. A dream came true, a vision of all amateur teams working toward this goal.
As a result of the international success, several media partners joined the team, who keep their followers updated about the team.
During the Challengers, the III. FuturEsportS League started matching the race calendar and ruleset with Challengers. FES invited all the Challengers’ drivers to make a league series that provided perfect preparation for the actual races, for the whole field. The most famous and respected F1 league racing community commentator, George Morgan, whose co-commentator was Daniel Bereznay, also said yes to their invitation.
But all along the teams’ journey, the most significant event was the organizing of the first-ever Formula-1 LAN Championship in Hungary. The event occurred during ATMS at the Hungexpo (Hungary’s most considerable Automobile and Tuning Show), where thousands of gamers and car enthusiasts met with FuturEsportS. The visitors could experience actual simulator races and cheer for their favourites live on site. The final races, where Daniel Bereznay and Daniele Haddad, the Italian esports driver and the best FuturEsportS drivers, battled wheel-to-wheel for the final victory, dragged huge attention in front of the team’s stage. To organize such a spectacular event, FES gained support from multiple companies. The 20 meters wide set had 10 Playseats with full Fanatec gear, the best possible equipment combo available in the sim-racing industry. It is also a massive acknowledgement for the team that one of the best racing seat manufacturers stood behind the team, providing a professional environment for drivers and viewers. The first F1 LAN Championship in Hungary ended with great success. The FES team proved what great results an amateur F1 esports team could achieve with enthusiasm and hard work.
FuturEsportS is currently running its fourth league and has already begun preparing for the next Challengers Qualification. They aim to repeat last year’s results or even surpass them. They have all the resources and drivers to do so. We will see what the “Future” brings for them.
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