Ferrari the only team to miss this year's F1 Esports Series

Codemasters' F1 2017 will once again be the game that headlines this year's Formula 1 Esports Series, although the setup for this year's event is being drastically evolved compared to that of last year's competition.

It'll start off with a Pro Draft, whereby a number of the best drivers will compete against each other for the chance to be selected by one of the big teams. Selection will be done in a rather novel manner, with players taking on the final five laps of the Chinese Grand Prix, working their way up from sixth to a podium place.

There'll be racers playing on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, and the fastest three on each platform will be guaranteed a place with one of the following teams: Force India, Haas, McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull, Renault, Toro Rosso, Sauber, and Williams. As alluded to in the headline, there's only one absentee on this list, with Ferarri not competing this year (they want to get involved, but apparently they're not ready just yet, this according to a spokesperson from the team).

Beyond the nine racers who are guaranteed a spot in the finals, 40 more will be available for selection based on their performances during the Pro Draft. Qualifying begins on April 13, and then after that, there will be three live events to determine who will be crowned world champions (drivers and teams), with a prize pool "at least" $200,000 up for grabs.