Charles Leclerc won the virtual Grand Prix of Australia
The virtual series F1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix continues, although for long-time fans of Formula 1, it is somewhat strange that the race in Australia passes after the Bahrain stage. However, this is still e-sports, and not the real Formula 1, where everything is tied to logistics, so here the stages can be carried out in random order.
By the way, it was originally supposed that the second stage of the series would take place on a virtual city highway in Hanoi, but something didn’t work, and the race moved to Albert Park, which is also good. Recall that for F1 Esports Grand Prix used last year’s version of the simulator from Codemasters.
The riders had to overcome 29 laps, but first they had to pass the qualification, which was won by Christian Lundgard, the racer of the youth program Renault, who made his debut in Formula 2 at the end of last season.
However, the Dane for some violation was fined and lost five positions, so Charles Lecler started from the pole – he was second in qualification. The Ferrari pilot confidently started the race and after a couple of laps came off for almost 2 seconds from George Russell pursuing him.
It is curious that Arthur Leclair, Charles’s brother, who also plays for Ferrari, rode the third, but he was already caught up with Lundgard, who was gradually winning back position after position. On the 5th lap, Russell made a mistake and rolled back to 4th place, and the Leklera brothers led the race for a while, however, Lundgard actively pressed Arthur.
Antonio Giovinazzi looked good, the Italian pilot Alfa Romeo first participated in such a competition, but rode in 5th position. He was trying to catch up with Mercedes racer Stoffel Vandorn, their cars were separated for about a second.
On the 8th lap, Lundgard rushed into a decisive attack on Arthur Leclair and was able to get ahead of him, after which the Monegasque also let forward Russell and Giovinazzi. However, Antonio and Arthur soon went to the pit stop and returned to the track at 6th and 7th positions, respectively.
After 10 laps, Charles Leclair was still in the lead, but Jenson Button (who did not qualify well – probably had a lack of experience in virtual races) made it to the second position, though he still had a pit stop. When he went to the pits, Lundgard was behind the Ferrari racer, although he rode six seconds behind him.
In the middle of the distance, the first five looked like this: Charles Leclair – Lundgard – Russell – Arthur Leclair – Giovinazzi.
A curious struggle at this moment unfolded between Button and Albon. The driver of Red Bull Racing very aggressively attacked the veteran of Formula 1 and was already ahead of him, but could not keep the car on the track, so Jenson kept the 10th position. However, not for long: already through the circle, Alex stepped forward.
On lap 20, Arthur Leclair made a mistake and rolled back to 6th position, and Louis Deletraz, F2 racer and Haas test pilot, made it to the top five. But after a couple of laps, the Swiss did not keep the car on the track and crashed into a barrier. He was able to continue the fight, but only in 7th position.
There were five laps to go, Elbon had moved to 8th place by this time, and Button had fought for 10th position with Pietro Fittipaldi, another Haas representative, but the young Brazilian did not give up. At the same time, the Button himself was chased by Nicholas Latifi.
On the 25th lap Arthur Lecler overtook Giovinazzi and regained 4th place. On the 26th Button made a mistake, his McLaren was off the track, and Latifi got ahead of him, closing the top ten.
As a result, Charles Leclair was the first to see the checkered flag, confirming his highest racing qualification in the virtual Grand Prix. By the way, he also chalked up the best lap of the race. Christian Lundgard took second place, George Russell – third, which in real life, the Williams team can only dream of.
Leclair’s younger brother finished 4th, which is also not bad, and Antonio Giovinazzi crossed the finish line after him. Of the former Formula 1 racers, the best was Stoffel Vandorn, he got the sixth place,
Jenson Button – 12th, Anthony Davidson was 15th, Johnny Herbert – 17th.
“I am at home, sitting in an armchair, and there are no overloads like driving a real car, but I was still sweating terribly! – Leclair cheerfully shared after the finish. – This is all due to the fact that the concentration was at the limit, although the muscles do not hurt. But the race was awesome! ”
