Formula E driver Daniel Abt found cheating in esports race – UPDATE

Photo Credit: Audi Media Centre

Published by JohnnyX
25 May 2020

Formula E driver Daniel Abt was disqualified and ordered to pay £8,900 to charity for getting a professional gamer to compete under his name in an official esports race.

Organisers also took away all points won to date by the 27-year-old German in the Race at Home Challenge series.

Lorenz Horzing, who competed for Abt, finished third in Saturday’s race behind Britain’s Oliver Rowland and Belgian ex-F1 driver Stoffel Vandoorne.

Abt later apologised.

“I did not take it as seriously as I should have,” he said.

“I am especially sorry about this because I know how much work has gone into this project on the part of the Formula E organisation. I am aware that my offence has a bitter aftertaste but it was never meant with any bad intention.”

Vandoorne suspected Abt was not driving and French racer Jean-Eric Vergne asked the German to turn his video on in the next race so they could confirm it was him.

Daniel Abt has now been suspended by his Audi team for using a professional gamer to compete for him.

Abt had been taking part in the ‘Race at Home Challenge’ which raised funds for the UNICEF.
After being found not to have driven his car himself in the qualifying and fifth race of the series on Saturday, May 23, Abt apologized and was disqualified from the race as well as being fined 10,000 euros ($10,956).
Audi has now suspended the driver “with immediate effect.”
“Integrity, transparency and consistent compliance with applicable rules are top priorities for Audi — this applies to all activities the brand is involved in without exception,” Audi said in a statement.