F1 Virtual British GP Results & Standings: Russell wins after epic three-way battle

The start of the 2021 Formula 1 season is still a few months away, but the Virtual GPs are back to fill the winter gap.

Last week's season-opener in Austria was a nail-biting affair and we couldn't wait to see what Round 2 would bring.

Round 2 is also the penultimate round of this short season and took place at Silverstone in Great Britain. Could Enzo Fittipaldi repeat his amazing win, or would a returning George Russell win his home race?

Here's all the highlights from Round 2 in the UK!

Sprint Race

The 5-lap Sprint Race decides the order in which the drivers will line-up for the feature race. Last week saw Ferrari's David Tonizza best Dani Moreno, but who would come out on top in the UK?

Marcel Kiefer led from pole as Floris Wijers spun out of Village. Brendon Leigh was hot on the tale of Kiefer, but passing in Silverstone isn't easy, as the top five were all running nose to tail.

Leigh had DRS down the Hangar Straight on Lap 3 but wasn't quite able to challenge. The following lap though, we had a change in the lead as Leigh pounced down the inside into Brooklands.

Brendon Leigh Twitter sprint race win ferrari esports
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LOOKING GOOD IN RED: Brendon Leigh has been in inspired form since moving to Ferrari

Despite Kiefer's best efforts, he couldn't retake the lead and that meant that Callum Ilott would start on pole for the Feature Race.

F1 Virtual GP Sprint race classification
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Virtual British GP Highlights

Callum Ilott got off to the perfect start as Alex Albon fended off Thibaut Courtois for P2. The Real Madrid goalkeeper did manage to get ahead of Albon going into Maggots too!

Albon was desperately trying to get back past, but the Thai driver couldn't manage it and allowed George Russell onto the podium. Enzo Fittipaldi had an incredible start too and was up to P7 from P16 by the end of the second lap.

F1 2020 Silverstone Track Guide
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RETURN OF THE KING: Russell was back with a bang in the Virtual GPs

Russell hung it around the outside of Courtois at Luffield on Lap 3 of 26 to get into P2 and was the lead driver on the alternate strategy. Albon followed through into P3 before the Fittipaldi's rose to P4 and 5.

The gap to Ilott in the lead was three seconds and growing, the Ferrari test driver was in inspired form. Pietro Fittipaldi tried an audacious move on Albon for P3 on Lap 8 but couldn't make it stick.

On Lap 10, Albon sent it down the inside of Russell into Stowe and took over the race lead after Ilott pitted for new tyres. After the pit-stops, the top five remained in the same order, but they were all close.

F1 2020 Virtual GP 1
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FIRST TIME, THE BEST TIME: Ilott was amazing on his Virtual GP debut

On Lap 16, Albon was all over Ilott for the lead. A three-second penalty for Albon would mean he'd have to pull away from the Ferrari to win. The Red Bull man got past Ilott on Lap 17 into Village, as Russell closed on Ilott.

Russell would get by into P2 and the net race lead on Lap 18 after a lot of pressurising Ilott. Ilott was pushing as hard as he could to keep up with the leading pair but picked up a three-second penalty on Lap 21.

Russell was challenging Albon for the on-track lead and even though the Brit didn't need to make a move to win, he sling-shotted past Albon down the Hangar Straight with two laps to go.

Albon didn't take that lying down though, passing Russell back on the final lap. After penalties were applied though, it was Russell that stood on the top step of the podium.

Final classification

So, it was George Russell in P1, followed onto the podium by Albon and Ilott, but where did everyone else finish?

Position
Driver
Team
Points
1
George Russell
Williams
25
2
Alex Albon
Red Bull
19
3
Callum Ilott
Ferrari
15
4
Pietro Fittipaldi
Haas
12
5
Enzo Fittipaldi
Haas
10
6
Robert Shwartzman
Ferrari
8
7
Liam Lawson
Red Bull
6
8
Nicholas Latifi
Williams
4
9
Ben Daly
McLaren
2
10
Luca Salvadori
AlphaTauri
1
Showing 1-10 of 16
Row count:Go to page:

Standings

Enzo Fittipaldi still leads the standings, but Albon, Russell and Pietro are all still within a shot of the title.

Position
Driver
Team
Points
1
Enzo Fittipaldi
Haas
35
2
Alex Albon
Red Bull
31
3
George Russell
Williams
25
4
Pietro Fittipaldi
Haas
22
5
Stoffel Vandoorne
Mercedes
18
6
Arthur Leclerc
Ferrari
15
Callum Ilott
Ferrari
15
8
Marcus Armstrong
Ferrari
8
Robert Shwartzman
Ferrari
8
10
Oscar Piastri
Alpine
6

Social Media Reaction

Brendon Leigh Twitter sprint race win
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PROUD: Leigh was very happy with his first Ferrari victory

Brendon Leigh couldn't have been happier with his Sunday drive but Alex Albon was frustrated at being passed by a footballer:

Russell Albon British Virtual GP
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I'VE BEEN PASSED BY A GOALKEEPER! Albon wasn't happy at his performance off the line

What's the next round?

The next round of the Virtual GP season will take place in a week's time. This time it will be the Brazilian GP at Interlagos, a circuit that produced an incredible Virtual race last year!

Keep your eyes peeled on our site for all of the driver announcements ahead of the final race of the season!

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