F1 has revealed names for the final Virtual GP at Interlagos, as Charles Leclerc helps Pierre Gasly with some running in the Monegasque’s kart.
The final F1 Virtual GP at Interlagos will see Williams’ George Russell aim to win his sixth ESports race on the trot, as Haas will look to win the teams’ title with Pietro and Enzo Fittipaldi returning to drive the VF-20 albeit virtually for one last time.
Also continuing will be Red Bull’s Alexander Albon, with Alfa Romeo keeping Thibaut Courtois & Jack McDermott (The Pie Face), AlphaTauri retaining Vitantonio Liuzzi & Luca Salvadori. It is not clear if Williams will have Nicholas Latifi partnering Russell.
Returning to F1 Virtual GP will be Ferrari’s Arthur Leclerc alongside newcomer Dino Beganovic, with Mercedes – also coming back after missing the second round – with motorcycle racer Jake Dixon and cycling world champion Rohan Dennis.
The newcomer list will also feature Nicolas Prost with Alpine alongside comedian Arnaud Tsamere, while Red Bull will have Red Bull Driftbrother Johannes Hountondji alongside Albon. The second Williams driver and McLaren line-up will be revealed at a later stage.
The F1 Virtual GP at Interalgos will start with a sprint race involving Pro Sim racers, which will set the grid for the main race. It will broadcast from 18:00 GMT on February 14 on the official Formula 1 YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, Huya (China) and Weibo (China) channels, as well as broadcast by international television partners including Sky Sports, ESPN, FOX Sports and Ziggo.
“We are thrilled to have been able to bring fans around the world competitive racing in the off-season for the first time, as we look ahead to start of the 2021 season in Bahrain next month,” said Julian Tan.
“I’d like to say a big thank you to all the drivers that have taken part in the competition, doing so for their teams’ charity, whilst putting on a show for supporters at home. We have a big year ahead planned for F1 Esports, and this has been a fantastic way to kick it off!”
UPDATE: The Brazil F1 Virtual GP line-up was completed with the announcement from Williams and McLaren regarding their drivers, with the former not fielding Nicholas Latifi but taking in streamer Flowstreet, while the latter continue on with Jimmy Broadbent and bring in Nicolas Hamilton in the second car.
The Pro Sim Racers line-up goes:
Mercedes: Jarno Opmeer and Dani Moreno
Red Bull Racing: Frede Rasmussen and Marcel Kiefer
McLaren: James Baldwin and Josh Idowu
Alpine: Nicolas Longuet and Fabrizio Donoso
FDA: David Tonizza and Bendon Leigh
AlphaTauri: Joni Tormala and Manuel Biancolilla
Alfa Romeo: Dani Bereznay and Thijmen Schutte
Haas: Samuel Libeert and Cedric Thome
Williams: Alvaro Carreton and Alessio di Capua
Here’s how F1 British Virtual GP panned out
Pierre Gasly goes karting:
It seems like AlphaTauri’s Gasly has recovered from the COVID-19 bout as the Frenchman had his first track run at Dubai Kartdrome on Wednesday. He used his F1 rival and friend, Ferrari’s Leclerc’s kart chassis – a set-up done by the Monegasque during his last visit.
Gasly appreciated Leclerc for sorting him out, “so much fun yesterday!! Great to be back putting laps on a track, thanks Charles Leclerc for sorting me out,”, as the Monegasque responded cheekily to his ‘PR’ work. “Beautiful! The publicity stunt for the CL chassis, too bad you didn’t put a photo with the beautiful helmet you wore that day,” wrote Leclerc.
Here’s couple of photos shared by Pierre Gasly:
Here’s Pierre Gasly teaming up with Senna foundation
