Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
George Flood

F1 Virtual Chinese Grand Prix: Charles Leclerc beats Alex Albon to claim second successive win

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc beat Red Bull rival Alex Albon to record his second consecutive Formula One Esports Virtual Grand Prix victory on Sunday night.

Having won on his debut around a computerised version of the Australian GP track at Melbourne's Albert Park earlier this month, the Monegasque racer, 22, repeated his impressive showing on the virtual Shanghai International Circuit.

Fellow F1 driver Albon finished just behind Leclerc in second place, while the final spot on the podium went to Formula 2 driver Guanyu Zhou, who triumphed in the opening race of the series last month.

Williams' George Russell came fourth, with Stoffel Vandoorne, Esteban Gutierrez, Nicholas Latifi and Carlos Sainz also in the top 10.

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, Lazio striker Ciro Immobile and golfer Ian Poulter also took part in the race, but finished well down the field.

"I'm actually enjoying very much playing, and streaming," tweeted Leclerc - who only started playing Codemasters' F1 2019 video game earlier month - after his latest win.

"And I enjoy it even more when I win. But the post race celebrations are somehow feeling a bit different.

"Switching off the computer and go [sic] cook white pasta is a bit less glamour than spraying champagne on the podium."

Albon said: "I didn't crash this time which was the main thing. Charles got the better of me and I am disappointed, back to the drawing board for round three.

"Racing is the only sport where you could keep active in a realistic way. It's not the real thing but to keep time ticking over it's been really good."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.