The F1 Virtual GP returned with a bang at the weekend.
As ever, the Red Bull Ring did not disappoint with plenty of wheel-to-wheel action. It was the young F2 & F3 stars on the grid that impressed, with Enzo Fittipaldi beating out Arthur Leclerc & Stoffel Vandoorne for the win.
The second Virtual GP of this year takes the drivers to Silverstone!
Silverstone
The home of British motorsport and a truly iconic circuit, Silverstone will host the second Virtual GP of the year.
This high-speed track takes no prisoners and requires a good deal of nerve to get right.
While setup is key for out-and-out pace, the Virtual GP is run with locked setups. That will make ultimate pace tricky to find, however we expect to see plenty of battling throughout the lap.
Silverstone's flowing corners lend themselves to prolonged wheel-to-wheel fights.
Confirmed drivers
As expected, George Russell, Nicholas Latifi, and Alex Albon are confirmed to be racing this weekend.
Some other returning faces include Thibaut Courtois and the Fittipaldi brothers.
Meanwhile, two new faces in FDA stars Callum Ilott and Robert Schwartzman will be competing.
Here's the current list of confirmed drivers.
Team | Driver A | Driver B |
---|---|---|
Mercedes | TBA | TBA |
Red Bull | Alex Albon | Liam Lawson |
McLaren | TBA | TBA |
Alpine | Squeezie | TBA |
Ferrari | Callum Ilott | Robert Schwartzman |
AlphaTauri | Vitantonio Liuzzi | Luca Salvadori |
Alfa Romeo | Thibaut Courtois | Pie Face |
Haas | Enzo Fittipaldi | Pietro Fittipaldi |
Williams | George Russell | Nicholas Latifi |
How to watch
The Virtual GP will start at 6pm GMT on Sunday, 7 February.
It will start with a 5-lap qualifying race in which the F1 Esports stars will be trying to get their Virtual GP drivers as high up the grid as possible.
Then it's the main event. The F1 Virtual GP will be a 50% race distance affair, with one manadory pitstop.
Fans can watch live on Sky Sports F1 in UK, as well as on the official Formula 1 Facebook, Twitch, and YouTube channels.
We fully expect some of the participants to be live streaming their on-board race on their individual channels too.
Standings
This year, the teams involved are all racing for charity.
There is a £100,000 prize pool that will be divided up based on the Constructors' standings at the end of the Virtual GP.
After the first round Haas are in a commanding position thanks to the Fittipaldi brothers getting a huge 35 points.
Just behind them is Ferrari, with Mercedes ready to pounce as well.
Here are the full team standings after round 1:
Team | Points |
---|---|
Haas | 35 |
Ferrari | 23 |
Mercedes | 22 |
Red Bull | 12 |
Alpine | 6 |
AlphaTauri | 2 |
Alfa Romeo | 2 |
McLaren | 0 |
Williams | 0 |