Covid-19/Formula 1: an eSports competition to compete in the postponed Grands Prix virtually

Formula One Group has launched a new series of virtual Grand Prix "featuring a number of current F1 drivers" to compete in races postponed in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, announced the body on 20/03/2020. The 2020 Australian and Monaco Grand Prix have been cancelled, while the 2020 Azerbaijan, Bahrain, China, Vietnam, Spain and Netherlands Grand Prix have been postponed.

The first virtual race, held on 22/03/2020 on the F1 2019 video game (developed by Codemasters) on a video game verison of the Sakhir GP in Bahrain, pitted current F1 drivers (Lando Norris and Nicholas Latifi) against drivers from various disciplines (Formula E, Formula 2, DTM, Moto GP, go-karting...), retired drivers as well as personalities from other sports (golf, cycling) and business sectors (eSports casters, influencers and singers).

The race, broadcast on the official Formula 1 YouTube, Twitch and Facebook channels as well as on F1.com, was won by Chinese Formula 2 driver Guanyu Zhou (test driver for the Renault DP World F1 Team).

"Every subsequent race weekend will see the postponed real-world Formula…