Formula E racer fined for using a substitute driver during an eSports race

Audi racer Daniel Abt (pictured above) has been fined €10,000 (AU$16,700) and had all points earned in the Formula E online competition series stripped because he used a substitute driver.

Mr Abt was found guilty of misconduct following an admission that he had brought eRacing professional Lorenz Hoerzing in to compete for him on Saturday for round five of the Formula E Race at Home Challenge in Berlin.

“I would like to apologize to Formula E, all of the fans, my team and my fellow drivers for having called in outside help during the race on Saturday,” Mr Abt said in a statement.

The Race at Home Challenge is Formula E’s online competition designed to give fans and drivers access to racing during COVID-19 lockdown measures.

Suspicion mounted of foul play following Mr Abt’s second place qualification and third place finish results in round five. By comparison, his previous bests were ninth in qualifying and 15th for a race finish.

According to The-Race, officials pieced together Mr Abt’s deceptive conduct by cross-referencing IP addresses to determine he could not have been the person racing in round five.

Mr Abt’s punishment includes disqualification from round five, being stripped of all points accrued in the competition thus far and a fine in the form of a “compulsory donation” of €10,000 (AU$16,700) to charity.

Mr Hoerzing, who competes in a separate virtual racing eSeries, has been banned from all future rounds of the competition.

The disqualification is not the first for Mr Abt, after having a 2017 result in the real-life Formula E roster overturned for using parts not assigned to his car.

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