{"id":877894,"date":"2020-05-26T12:04:25","date_gmt":"2020-05-26T09:04:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=877894"},"modified":"2020-05-26T12:04:25","modified_gmt":"2020-05-26T09:04:25","slug":"daniel-abt-axe-does-real-punishment-really-fit-the-esports-crime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=877894","title":{"rendered":"Daniel Abt axe: Does real punishment REALLY fit the esports crime?"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<header id=\"lbs-article\" class=\"article header article-header section layout layout--article-header\">\n<div class=\"col headline\">\n<div>\n<h1> Daniel Abt axe: Does real punishment REALLY fit the esports crime?<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"summary body\">When did esports become so serious? Daniel Abt&#8217;s Audi contract termination for his misguided but otherwise harmless esports indiscretion\u00a0set\u00a0a concerning precedent\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"section two-column\">\n<div class=\"col article-info\">\n<div>\n<address> Ollie Barstow <\/address>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div><time datetime=\"2022-03-31T04:09:45+00:00\">Updated: 31 Mar 2022<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col article-actions\">\n<div class=\"block block-better-social-sharing-buttons block-social-sharing-buttons-block\">\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div id=\"lbs-content\" class=\"content wide-two-column-sticky section layout layout--wide-two-column-sticky\">\n<div class=\"col first-column\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<figure> <source srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/field\/image\/Abt.jpg?width=1920&amp;format=webp&amp;aspect_ratio=16:9 1920w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/field\/image\/Abt.jpg?width=1800&amp;format=webp&amp;aspect_ratio=16:9 1800w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/field\/image\/Abt.jpg?width=1600&amp;format=webp&amp;aspect_ratio=16:9 1600w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/field\/image\/Abt.jpg?width=1500&amp;format=webp&amp;aspect_ratio=16:9 1500w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/field\/image\/Abt.jpg?width=1200&amp;format=webp&amp;aspect_ratio=16:9 1200w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/field\/image\/Abt.jpg?width=900&amp;format=webp&amp;aspect_ratio=16:9 900w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/field\/image\/Abt.jpg?width=800&amp;format=webp&amp;aspect_ratio=16:9 800w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/field\/image\/Abt.jpg?width=600&amp;format=webp&amp;aspect_ratio=16:9 600w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/field\/image\/Abt.jpg?width=400&amp;format=webp&amp;aspect_ratio=16:9 400w\" sizes=\"(min-width:1024px) 710px, (min-width:768px) 62vw, 97vw\" type=\"image\/webp\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"body\">\n<p>Well that certainly escalated quickly!<\/p>\n<p>As far as unusual outcomes for some tales go, Audi Sport\u2019s decision to entirely suspend Daniel Abt from its team \u2013 real-world racing included \u2013 for a clumsy indiscretion while competing in an esports race is perhaps the most bizarre moment of what is already a strange period for motorsport.<\/p>\n<p>Looking solely at the facts of the matter, Abt\u2019s conduct during the Formula E Race at Home esports event this weekend is ill-conceived at best and dim-witted at worst.<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/01HFFHnyLg8\" width=\"560\"><\/iframe>\n<p>However, was it an offence worthy of having your real-life contract terminated? Not really\u2026<\/p>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-title\"><span>Article continues below<\/span><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-title\"><span>Article continues below<\/span><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>First a little background. The German circumnavigated stipulations by Formula E that he \u2013 and every other contracted driver \u2013 must participate in the esports races by pretending to be racing on camera, enlisting a more seasoned esports \u2018ringer\u2019 named Lorenz Hoerzing to race in his place.<\/p>\n<p>As one of racing\u2019s more \u2018influential\u2019 social media personalities, whether Abt did so because he thought it would be an amusing (albeit misguided) \u2018bit\u2019 for his channels or because, frankly, he isn\u2019t very good at computer games, we\u2019ll perhaps won\u2019t ever know.<\/p>\n<p>The ruse wasn\u2019t terribly well executed though as both Stoffel Vandoorne and Jean-Eric Vergne called him out directly, accusing Abt \u2013 whose webcam was obscured during the live event \u2013 of not being at the controls of his virtual Audi en route to third place in the Berlin race. It didn\u2019t take much digging by Formula E officials to realise the IP address in use wasn\u2019t that of Abt.<\/p>\n<p>The penalty from Formula E was swift, Abt disqualified from that and every other race up to that point. He was also made to donate 10,000Euros to charity, with a contrite Abt apologising for his actions afterwards, saying:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would like to apologise to Formula E, all of the fans, my team and my fellow drivers for having called in outside help during the race on Saturday. I did not take it as seriously as I should have. I am especially sorry about this, because I know how much work has gone into this project on the part of Formula E organisation. I am aware that my offence has a bitter aftertaste, but it was never meant with any bad intention. Of course, I accept the disqualification from the race. In addition, I will donate 10,000 Euros to a charitable project.&#8221;<\/p>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-title\"><span>Article continues below<\/span><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-title\"><span>Article continues below<\/span><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>That \u2018bitter aftertaste\u2019 however has gone on to leave a very nasty taste in the mouth of Abt after Audi rebuked him by not only criticising his conduct but going to the lengths of axing him from the team with immediate effect. After more than five seasons in the team \u2013 plus two wins and nine podiums &#8211; it has taken one esports clanger to get Abt sensationally dropped.<\/p>\n<p>In Audi\u2019s defence there are mitigating circumstances beyond Abt\u2019s individual actions. The incident has drawn some rather embarrassing publicity to the German brand \u2013 one that has been magnified by the generally thin motorsport headlines doing the rounds at the moment \u2013 citing how his actions don\u2019t align with the brand\u2019s core values for integrity.<\/p>\n<p>It doesn\u2019t help that the whole Race At Home format is being sponsored by such a huge and noble charity as UNICEF, which admittedly emphasises how face-palming Abt\u2019s actions have been.<\/p>\n<p>However, it\u2019s difficult to see how the punishment really fits the crime on this occasion. After all, while Formula E disqualified him for races up to this point, it appeared he was free to race on in the ensuing events (webcam unobscured).<\/p>\n<p>By going to the lengths of axing Abt from the team entirely, Audi has set a rather concerning precedent that sucks the fun out of the esports format which is supposed to be bringing entertainment for fans during this dearth of actual race action.<\/p>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-title\"><span>Article continues below<\/span><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-title\"><span>Article continues below<\/span><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Though not impressed by Abt\u2019s actions, his rivals have been swift to blast Audi\u2019s decision, vowing to cancel their Twitch accounts through fear of repercussions. After all, if drivers were aware their actual jobs were on the line based on their esports conduct, would they bother?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe lose sight of what we really do and what really matters &#8230; Do we accept fraud? No, but who never cheated on monopoly? Let us put things into perspective,\u201d BMW\u2019s Antonio Felix da Costa said.<\/p>\n<p>You only have to watch some of these Formula E races to see there is a pinch of salt when it comes to actual racing values, when you see glitches and spectacular accidents frequently occur as part of the entertainment.<\/p>\n<p>There is only so far esports can go to reflect real-world racing, which is what makes this real-world decision based on an esports race so bewildering.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. Kyle Larson was fired for his use of a\u00a0racial slur\u00a0during a NASCAR esports race, an outcome that would have occurred too had it happened in real life.<\/p>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-title\"><span>Article continues below<\/span><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-title\"><span>Article continues below<\/span><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>However, watching the F1 or MotoGP Virtual GPs you can see drivers and riders are bringing esports to an audience with a dash of fun, not least because of some of rather suspect overtaking moves and interpretations of track limits. But then there\u00a0have been numerous viral moments generated from these moments (George Russell frequently and deliberately crashing into Alex Albon being one such example)&#8230; in short, esports is a professional set-up in isolation but for drivers that risk their lives in the real-world, it&#8217;s clearly not taken too seriously.<\/p>\n<p>Granted, drivers must be prepared to represent their team colours at all times whether they\u2019re on camera or posting on social media and slip ups can indeed lead to serious repercussions, just as it would for you and me.<\/p>\n<p>One may have expected Audi to rebuke Abt by withdrawing him from the remaining esports races, but to drop a front-running driver from its physical team is unprecedented. Had he been a professional esports racer cheating, then fine, but\u2026<\/p>\n<p>After all, drivers have arguably committed worst offences on and off-track but save for a rubbing down, generally keep their seats.<\/p>\n<p>To me as a motorsport purist, esports has become an amusing and welcome alternative to nothing at all, but I consider it entirely separate to the real thing and it should remain that way.<\/p>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-title\"><span>Article continues below<\/span><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<aside>\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-block\">\n<div class=\"mpu-title\"><span>Article continues below<\/span><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Abt may have been correctly rebuked \u2013 and I expect another team will quickly snap him up before racing gets underway again &#8211; but for sure esports just became a little bit less enjoyable\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<h2>In this article<\/h2>\n<div>\n<div class=\"field_keywords\">Daniel Abt<\/div>\n<div class=\"field_keywords\">esports<\/div>\n<div class=\"field_keywords\">Audi<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"block block-next-prev\">\n<div class=\"next-prev-pager contextual-region\">\n<div class=\"items\">\n<div class=\"item prev\">\n<h3>  Previous<\/h3>\n<div class=\"card card_default\">\n<div class=\"content\"> Daniel Abt loses Audi Formula E drive over esports controversy<\/div>\n<source srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/field\/image\/A195463_blog.jpg?width=1920&amp;format=webp 1920w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/field\/image\/A195463_blog.jpg?width=1800&amp;format=webp 1800w,https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/a195463_blog.jpg&amp;format=webp 1600w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/field\/image\/A195463_blog.jpg?width=1500&amp;format=webp 1500w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/field\/image\/A195463_blog.jpg?width=1200&amp;format=webp 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class=\"sections\"> F1  News <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>McLaren hit out at \u2018uninformed and uneducated\u2019 politician&#8217;s claims<\/p>\n<div class=\"card-info\">\n<div class=\"time\" data-timestamp=\"1764940588\"> 6h ago<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<source srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/2025-12\/xpb_1390037_hires.jpg?height=270&amp;format=webp&amp;aspect_ratio=1:1 270w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/2025-12\/xpb_1390037_hires.jpg?height=180&amp;format=webp&amp;aspect_ratio=1:1 180w,https:\/\/cdn.crash.net\/2025-12\/xpb_1390037_hires.jpg?height=90&amp;format=webp&amp;aspect_ratio=1:1 90w\" sizes=\"100px\" type=\"image\/webp\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p> Source URL: http:\/\/crash.net\/fe\/feature\/938253\/1\/daniel-abt-axe-does-real-punishment-really-fit-esports-crime<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Daniel Abt axe: Does real punishment REALLY fit the esports crime? When did esports become so serious? Daniel Abt&#8217;s Audi contract termination for his misguided but otherwise harmless esports indiscretion\u00a0set\u00a0a concerning precedent\u00a0 Ollie Barstow Updated: 31 Mar 2022 Well that certainly escalated quickly! As far as unusual outcomes for some tales go, Audi Sport\u2019s decision [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":877895,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[47],"class_list":["post-877894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-crash-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/877894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=877894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/877894\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/877895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=877894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=877894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=877894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}