Russell set to return for F1 Virtual British GP after missing opening round

Williams F1 driver George Russell is set to take part in this weekend’s Virtual British GP after missing the opening round of the Esports championship.

Lewis Larkam

04 Feb 2021

George Russell (GBR) Williams Racing.
© xpbimages.com

Williams Formula 1 driver George Russell is set to take part in this weekend’s Virtual British Grand Prix after missing the opening round of the Esports championship.

He will be joined in Williams’ line-up by his real-life teammate Nicholas Latifi, who finished 12th in the first virtual race held at Austria’s Red Bull Ring.

This year’s Virtual GP series sees the drivers and teams competing for a $100,000 charity prize pot to donate to their nominated causes and features a revised format with F1’s Pro Series racers contesting a five-lap Sprint Race to determine the grid for the main Feature Race.

Alex Albon returns for Red Bull alongside 2021 DTM teammate and Red Bull junior Liam Lawson, while Virtual Austrian Grand Prix race winner Enzo Fittipaldi once again partners his brother Pietro to form Haas’ all-Brazilian line-up.

Ferrari test driver Callum Ilott and Formula 2 star Robert Shwartzman will represent the Ferrari Driver Academy in Sunday’s race.

Ex-F1 driver Vitantonio Liuzzi and motorcycle rider Luca Salvadori will compete for AlphaTauri, while Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and content creator Jack ‘PieFace’ McDermott return for Alfa Romeo.

Meanwhile, France’s biggest YouTuber, Squeezie will make his Virtual Grand Prix debut for Alpine, with the full line-up set to be announced ahead of the event.

F1 Esports head Julian Tan said: “It’s great to welcome George and Nicholas back to the grid this weekend, alongside a host of fantastic names from across the motorsport world.

“The drivers always enjoy driving around the iconic Silverstone circuit, even virtually, so we are really looking forward to Sunday’s race.

“The first event was a lot of fun, and it is terrific to see our drivers do good for charity whilst entertaining fans around the world as we await the start of the 2021 season.”

Sunday’s Virtual British Grand Prix - the second of three consecutive Virtual GP races - takes place at 6pm GMT and will be once again broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 in the United Kingdom, as well as on F1’s official YouTube and social media channels.