Virtual Spanish GP: Who's racing, how to watch, format, Pro exhibition race, confirmed grid, Leclerc, Albon, Russell, celebrity racers & more


Formula 1's Virtual Grand Prix Series is going back to back!

Sunday saw an astounding race at Brazil's Interlagos track for the Virtual Dutch GP. Alex Albon and Charles Leclerc fought wheel-to-wheel for the whole race after surviving a chaotic start.

Albon eventually took the win, denying Leclerc a third-straight victory. Who will take the honours this weekend as the Virtual GP heads to Spain's Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the Virtual Spanish GP?

Virtual Spanish GP F1 drivers

As ever, some F1 drivers will be taking part in the Virtual Spanish GP.

We will see Charles Leclerc, Alex Albon, and George Russell take part again, along with Antonio Giovinazzi, Nicholas Latifi, and Lando Norris.

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We are still waiting on the rest of the F1 grid to get involved. Carlos Sainz raced in China, and on Sunday's stream Pierre Gasly said he will be getting involved once he's back in the UK.

Sebastian Vettel has also taken delivery of a sim rig, so we are hoping the four-time World Drivers' Champion will soon join the grid - and the same goes for Valtteri Bottas too.

Junior drivers

russell latifi virtual gp
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DOUBLE VISION: The two Williams drivers have been central to the Virtual GPs

A lot of up-and-coming drivers have taken part in the races so far. Louis Deletraz, Pietro Fittipaldi, and Guanyu Zhou have been the stars so far.

Sunday saw F3 driver David Schumacher, son of Ralf, join the grid too, so we can expect more future F1 stars to compete.

Celebrity racers

Sunday saw a battle of crickets as Ben Stokes and Stuart Broad took part in the race. Will we get a similar contest in Spain?

Given the virtual race takes place near Barcelona it would be amazing to get some Catalan heroes on the grid. Does Lionel Messi have a sim rig??

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CHAOTIC START: Every Virtual GP has seen a lot of carnage

Others like Ian Poulter and Thibaut Courtois have also been very active in the sim racing community since lockdown so it would be cool to see them race too.

Confirmed grid

Here are the confirmed drivers so far.

Team
Driver A
Driver B
Mercedes
Anthony Davidson
Esteban Gutierrez
FDA Hublot Esports Team
Charles Leclerc
Antonio Fuoco
Red Bull Racing
Alex Albon
Sergio Aguero
McLaren
Lando Norris
Nic Hamilton
Renault
Ian Poulter
Max Fewtrell
Racing Point
Jimmy Broadbent
David Schumacher
Haas
Pietro Fittipaldi
Arthur Melo
Alpha Tauri
Vitantonio Liuzzi
Andrea Pirello
Alfa Romeo
Antonio Giovinazzi
Thibaut Courtois
Williams
George Russell
Nicholas Latifi

F1 Esports Pro Exhibition Race

The last three Virtual GP races have been preceded by a "just for fun" F1 esports race.

The grid is made up of the stars of the F1 esports world like two-time champion Brendon Leigh and last year's winner David Tonizza.

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Sunday saw Red Bull's Marcel Kiefer take a dominant win before lending his technical and tactical knowledge to Alex Albon.

With the field remarkably close and immensely talented the races have been a remarkable sight.

How to watch

The F1 Esports Pro Exhibition Race will take start at 5pm BST on Sunday, 10 May.

It will be streamed live on Formula 1's official YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch accounts.

The Virtual Spanish GP will follow with a start time of 6pm BST. It will be streamed on the same channels, with broadcasts live around the world (check local TV listings).

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