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Footballers Thibaut Courtois and Ciro Immobile will join a grid for the Virtual Chinese Grand Prix that feature the highest number of F1 drivers yet in the third round of the eSports series.
With the Chinese Grand Prix due to have taken place on Sunday, only to be postponed by the coronavirus pandemic, drivers will instead get to grips with the Shanghai International Circuit on the PC version of the F1 2019 game, with rounds having already taken place at Bahrain and Melbourne over the course of the last four weeks.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc returns once again after securing an emphatic win last time out, and he is one of seven current F1 drivers who will take part in Sunday evening’s race.
Both McLaren and Williams will field their full 2020 driver line-ups, with Lando Norris joined this weekend by regular teammate Carlos Sainz while George Russell and Nicholas Latifi continue for the latter, while Ferrari, Red Bull and Alfa Romeo are all able to boast one of their drivers for the event.
With Leclerc turning out for Ferrari once more - and Sebastian Vettel not yet ready to join him - F2 driver Callum Ilott will join the two-time Grand Prix winner, while Red Bull’s Alex Albon will partner a familiar name in Real Madrid and Belgium goalkeeper Courtois.
Antonio Giovinazzi makes up the line-up of F1 drivers, and the Alfa Romeo star is joined by Juan Manuel Correa, the former F2 driver who continues to recover from horrific injuries sustained in a serious accident at Spa last season.
The other professional footballer on the grid sees Borussia Dortmund and Italy forward Immobile partner Red Bull academy driver Liam Lawson at Toro Rosso.
Neither Lewis Hamilton or Valtteri Bottas will race for Mercedes as they stick with the same driver line-up for a third consecutive race in Formula E driver Stoffel Vandoorne and test driver Esteban Gutierrez, while golfer Ian Poulter continues for Renault alongside Guanyu Zhou - an expected front-runner after he won the Virtual Bahrain Grand Prix before missing the Melbourne event.
Created with Sketch.
Created with Sketch.
1/21 F1 2020
The Formula One grid shows just two changes from the Class of 19, meaning there will be a fair few familiar faces returning next season. Here's how the grid lines up.
REUTERS
2/21 Mercedes – Lewis Hamilton (No 44)
Heads into his 14th season in F1 as a newly-crowned six-time world champion and is showing no signs of allowing his stranglehold on the sport to ease. Will once again be the man to beat, but his future could well prove the biggest talking point in 2020.
AFP via Getty Images
3/21 Mercedes – Valtteri Bottas (77)
Bottas comfortably made second place his own in 2019 but he still needs to find an extra gear or two if he is going to really challenge his teammate. Whether or not his divorce affected him mentally throughout the season only he will know, but a more focused and driven Valtteri Bottas could arrive on the grid next season if his distractions are out of his mind.
Getty Images
4/21 Ferrari – Charles Leclerc (16)
Based on results in 2019 the Ferrari No 2 should step up and become the Ferrari No 1, but will that actually happen? Regardless, Leclerc impressed immensely in qualifying last season, taking five pole positions including four in a row, and he finally found himself on the top step of the podium in a sign of things to come.
Getty Images
5/21 Ferrari – Sebastian Vettel (5)
Perhaps the most under-pressure driver in the sport in 2020, Vettel knows another year of failing to meet the grade will almost certainly end his time with Ferrari, particularly with so many good drivers on the market in 2021. Vettel showed signs of the fire within him still burning with his win in Singapore, but much more will be expected from the four-time world champion.
Getty Images
6/21 Red Bull – Max Verstappen (33)
A year wiser and with a car that improved rapidly as the season wore on, Verstappen could prove the biggest challenge to Hamilton and Mercedes in 2020 if Red Bull can find that top level consistency they crave. Verstappen is also out of contract next year and will be as sought-after as Hamilton, and a season-long duel between the two would spice up that uncertainty no end.
Getty Images
7/21 Red Bull – Alexander Albon (23)
Has convinced Red Bull enough in his half a season with the team to bag himself the second seat with the team for next year, or at least for the start of it. Looked a calm head on talented shoulders in 2019 and should have had a deserved podium in Brazil had it not been for Hamilton’s rash overtake attempt, but now he will have to start closing the gap to Verstappen if he is to secure a long-term future.
Getty Images
8/21 McLaren – Carlos Sainz (55)
The ‘best of the rest’ last season will hope to build on the late podium that he secured in Brazil that ended McLaren’s long five-year drought, with aspirations that the British team will be looking up at the top three rather than down over their shoulder.
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AFP via Getty Images
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EPA
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REUTERS
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REUTERS
1/21 F1 2020
The Formula One grid shows just two changes from the Class of 19, meaning there will be a fair few familiar faces returning next season. Here's how the grid lines up.
REUTERS
2/21 Mercedes – Lewis Hamilton (No 44)
Heads into his 14th season in F1 as a newly-crowned six-time world champion and is showing no signs of allowing his stranglehold on the sport to ease. Will once again be the man to beat, but his future could well prove the biggest talking point in 2020.
AFP via Getty Images
3/21 Mercedes – Valtteri Bottas (77)
Bottas comfortably made second place his own in 2019 but he still needs to find an extra gear or two if he is going to really challenge his teammate. Whether or not his divorce affected him mentally throughout the season only he will know, but a more focused and driven Valtteri Bottas could arrive on the grid next season if his distractions are out of his mind.
Getty Images
4/21 Ferrari – Charles Leclerc (16)
Based on results in 2019 the Ferrari No 2 should step up and become the Ferrari No 1, but will that actually happen? Regardless, Leclerc impressed immensely in qualifying last season, taking five pole positions including four in a row, and he finally found himself on the top step of the podium in a sign of things to come.
Getty Images
5/21 Ferrari – Sebastian Vettel (5)
Perhaps the most under-pressure driver in the sport in 2020, Vettel knows another year of failing to meet the grade will almost certainly end his time with Ferrari, particularly with so many good drivers on the market in 2021. Vettel showed signs of the fire within him still burning with his win in Singapore, but much more will be expected from the four-time world champion.
Getty Images
6/21 Red Bull – Max Verstappen (33)
A year wiser and with a car that improved rapidly as the season wore on, Verstappen could prove the biggest challenge to Hamilton and Mercedes in 2020 if Red Bull can find that top level consistency they crave. Verstappen is also out of contract next year and will be as sought-after as Hamilton, and a season-long duel between the two would spice up that uncertainty no end.
Getty Images
7/21 Red Bull – Alexander Albon (23)
Has convinced Red Bull enough in his half a season with the team to bag himself the second seat with the team for next year, or at least for the start of it. Looked a calm head on talented shoulders in 2019 and should have had a deserved podium in Brazil had it not been for Hamilton’s rash overtake attempt, but now he will have to start closing the gap to Verstappen if he is to secure a long-term future.
Getty Images
8/21 McLaren – Carlos Sainz (55)
The ‘best of the rest’ last season will hope to build on the late podium that he secured in Brazil that ended McLaren’s long five-year drought, with aspirations that the British team will be looking up at the top three rather than down over their shoulder.
Getty Images
9/21
Getty Images
10/21
Getty Images
11/21
AFP via Getty Images
12/21
Getty Images
13/21
Getty Images
14/21
EPA
15/21
Getty Images
16/21
REUTERS
17/21
REUTERS
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REUTERS
19/21
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20/21
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21/21
REUTERS
The grid is made up by Sky Sports F1 presenter Anthony Davidson and online streamer Jimmy Broadbent for Racing Point and F2 driver Louis Deletraz joined at Haas by test driver Pietro Fittipaldi.
Here’s what you need to know about the event.
When is the Virtual Chinese Grand Prix?
The event takes place on Sunday 19 April 2020.
What time does it start?
The event is due to get underway at 6pm, with a 15-minute qualifying session followed by a 28-lap race. The entire event is expected to last around 90 minutes.
Where can I watch it?
The broadcast which will be available on F1.com, the official Formula 1 YouTube, Twitch, Weibo and Facebook channels, and will also be shown live on Sky Sports F1 and on ESPN in the US.
Driver line-up
Mercedes: Stoffel Vandoorne, Esteban Gutierrez
Ferrari: Charles Leclerc, Callum Ilott
Red Bull: Alex Albon, Thibaut Courtois
McLaren: Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz
Renault: Guanyu Zhou, Ian Poulter
Racing Point: Anthony Davidson, Jimmy Broadbent
Toro Rosso: Ciro Immobile, Liam Lawson
Alfa Romeo: Antonio Giovinazzi, Juan Manuel Correa
Haas: Louis Deletraz, Pietro Fittipaldi
Williams: George Russell, Nicholas Latifi