Simracing League "Accelerate" in Formula E
After the postponement of the start of the 2021 season, on January 7 of the same year, Formula E launched a new e-sports league to, among other things, bridge the time until the start of the championship. The sim racing series "Accelerate" consisted of six events between January and March 2021, which were held in the rFactor 2 software. Compared to the "Race at Home Challenge" one year earlier, Accelerate introduced some new features.
This time, the focus of Accelerate was primarily on professional sim racers and less on the "real" Formula E drivers. In a qualifying session on the virtual Formula E track of Berlin-Tempelhof in January, the fastest 24 drivers qualified. They each started for a real Formula E team and accordingly collected points for their team's account. In addition, they received expert tips, support and advice, as well as further talent promotion from their racing team.
As part of the fourth event and the final, two more virtual races were held with twelve real Formula E drivers - one per racing team. The points from these races were added to the team overall standings.
Two further "Accelerate" championship seasons were launched in 2022 and 2023.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Points |
| 1 | Frederik Rasmussen | Dragon | 143 |
| 2 | Erhan Jajovski | Venturi | 135 |
| 3 | Kevin Siggy | BMW | 75 |
| 4 | Graham Carroll | Virgin | 58 |
| 5 | Jarno Opmeer | Mercedes | 49 |
| 6 | Nikodem Wisniewski | DS Techeetah | 39 |
| 7 | Marius Golombeck | Porsche | 37 |
| 8 | Martin Stefanko | Jaguar Racing | 32 |
| 9 | Manuel Biancolilla | Audi | 28 |
| 10 | Lorenz Hörzing | Venturi | 28 |
| 11 | Kuba Brzezinski | Jaguar Racing | 25 |
| 12 | Bono Huis | Mercedes | 24 |
| 13 | Petar Brljak | BMW | 23 |
| 14 | Risto Kappet | Nio | 20 |
| 15 | Marc Gassner | Nissan | 8 |
| 16 | Jan von der Heyde | Nissan | 7 |
| 17 | Olli Pahkala | Mahindra | 4 |
| Pos. | Team | Points |
| 1 | ROKiT Venturi Racing | 203 |
| 2 | Dragon Penske Autosport | 167 |
| 3 | BMW i Andretti Motorsport | 134 |
| 4 | Mercedes-Benz EQ | 97 |
| 5 | Envision Virgin Racing | 79 |
| 6 | Jaguar Racing | 59 |
| 7 | TAG Heuer Porsche | 58 |
| 8 | DS Techeetah | 49 |
| 9 | Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler | 34 |
| 10 | Nissan e.dams | 25 |
| 11 | Nio 333 | 24 |
| 12 | Mahindra Racing | 13 |
>>> Race Results & Report of Race 1 (28/01/2021, New York City)
>>> Race Results & Report of Race 2 (04/02/2021, Hong Kong)
>>> Race Results & Report of Race 3 (11/02/2021, Berlin)
>>> Race Results & Report of Race 4 (11/03/2021, Diriyah)
>>> Race Results & Report of Race 5 (18/03/2021, Electric Docks)
Calendar & Dates
| Date | Event | Track | Formula E Drivers incl. |
| 28.01.2021 | Event 1 | New York City | no |
| 04.02.2021 | Event 2 | Hong Kong | no |
| 11.02.2021 | Event 3 | Berlin | no |
| 11.03.2021 | Event 4 | Diriyah | yes |
| 18.03.2021 | Event 5 | Electric Docks | no |
| 25.03.2021 | Event 6 (double points) | Rome | yes |
Race Format, Live Stream Broadcast & Prize Money
During the online races, all participants had to deal with the new features of energy management and Attack Mode, which were not yet available during the "Race at Home Challenge."
Each 25-minute race of the 2021 season was broadcasted in a 90-minute live streaming show, featuring Formula E drivers, team managers, and other guests. The races were live-streamed on the Formula E's social media channels and third-party streaming platforms.
Participants who competed in all six races received a share of the prize money pool of €100,000. The champion also received a test drive in a real Formula E Gen2 car. As a premium partner of Accelerate, the German insurance company Allianz was on board. ABB and DHL were also official partners.
