Guanyu Zhou Races To Victory In First Virtual Championship Grand Prix Race

There was no real-world Formula 1 action this weekend, but that did not stop the race from going ahead virtually.

Formula 1 created a virtual Grand Prix series to give the fans some racing action as the ongoing coronavirus situation continues to hamper the calendar.

Lando Norris, Niko Hulkenberg, and Johnny were some of the ones to participate on Sunday night for the no-holds-barred 14-lap Bahrain virtual Grand Prix.

The winner of the race was Guanyu Zhou from third on the grid. Phillip Eng and Mercedes reserve driver Esteban Gutierrez were on front row though Zhou and Nicholas Latifi from Williams were in the second row.

Zhou is a Formula 2 driver for UNI-Virtuosi Racing and current test driver for Formula 1’s Renault team.

Lando Norris, known to be a keen gamer, was involved in some drama in the last corner as Jimmy Broadbent, a YouTuber, shunted the Briton out of the way to drop him down to fifth place.

The grid also included multiple-time Olympic champion, Chris Hoy, and former One Direction member, Liam Payne.

Former Formula 1 drivers, Anthony Davidson and Johnny Herbert, were also part of the race along with many YouTuber personalities. The race was illustrated on Sky broadcaster network and many other gaming platforms.

Broadbent, who began in 16th position for Racing Point, proved to be a threat considering he set a flurry of fastest laps and even managed fifth position seven laps into the race. That was before being joined by Norris. He spinned him into the wall at the final corner.

Latifi finished in sixth position ahead of Luca Salvadori. The early spin by Hulkenberg did not put him off entirely as he managed to keep up with Latifi and Dino Beganovic. Beganovic came in ninth while Hulkenberg took tenth position.

Herbert came in 13th behind ESports star, Sadokist. Nicholas Hamilton, Lewis’s brother, ended in 14th position while Payne rounded out the pack.

Alfa Romeo ESport driver, ‘Cyanide,’ dropped out because of technical issues while Robert Shwartzman retired his Ferrari late in the race.

The organizers have the hope of running similar races on every weekend of the already suspended Chinese, Holland, and Spanish Grand Prix races.

At the same time, the 128 club Quaran-team tournament, as organized by the English side Leyton Orient also started with the matches being broadcast by teams from everywhere in the world.