Verstappen makes fun of virtual F1: “I will never participate!”

(Motorsport-Complete.com) – Instead of the Elephantine Prix of Vietnam, which should have had its premiere on Sunday, “only” a virtual Elephantine Prix took place again in the evening. The winner, however, is really struggling: Ferrari-Extensive name Charles Leclerc, for the first time in one of the e-sports occasions at Originate, secured victory on the Melbourne circuit ahead of Renault junior Christian Lundgaard and George Russell (Williams).

The virtual Elephantine Prix did not take place in Hanoi (Vietnam), but instead in Melbourne (Australia) because the new Formula 1 game for 2020 is not yet finished and Hanoi in “F1 2019 “does not exist. A qualifying was won first, which Lundgaard won. And then a race over 28 laps, in which it was much more civilized than two weeks ago in Bahrain.

The extensive name in the field, Leclerc, started on pole because Lundgaard had received a plus-five penalty. Leclerc then also dominated the race – and in the early stages it even looked like a double victory for the Leclerc brothers, because Arthur Leclerc in the second Ferrari was able to maintain second place for a long time.

“Everyone were very quick, “says Leclerc after his win. “We knew beforehand that the one who made the least mistakes would win. Because everyone was so close together.” When asked how long he had been preparing, he replied: “I started training eight days ago, but every impress for at least five hours!”

“Technical defect” at Lando Norris

Like two weeks ago, the virtual Elephantine Prix was not without technical glitches. Particularly bitter: crowd favorite Lando Norris couldn't even participate. After P9 in qualifying, he did not struggle with the originals in the race due to connection problems. Esteban Gutierrez (Mercedes) was also missing due to internet problems.

Instead, Norris called Max Verstappen, who persistently refuses to participate in the official Sim Racing occasions of Formula 1. Verstappen frankly admitted on the phone that he was currently playing on a different platform (iRacing) – and did not give the Formula 1 marketing people a shame: “I will never participate!”

Even before the official Vietnam Replacement event by rights holder Liberty Media was provided by the so-called #NotTheGPVersus from Veloce Esports and Motorsport Video games for virtual motorsport entertainment. Norris secured victory at the event, which was held for the first time in knockout mode.

The McLaren driver sat down in the final “Easiest of Three” Francorchamps) against the e-racer Tiametmarduk. However, it was a gift of victory, because at the end of the second heat Norris was already with his back to the wall before his opponent went off the gas after a fracture in the bus finish chicane to allow a decision run.

# NotTheGP Versus: Decision in the last warmth

Norris then won with a remarkable Maneuvers in the bus finish chicane. But he was big enough to recognize the true result of the #NotTheGPVersus: “Congratulations to Ben. Without this 'engine failure' I would not have won. He is the real winner.”

For one of the most exciting runs of the evening David Schumacher (nephew of Michael, son by Ralf) when he retired in the first round (Sao Paulo). Eighth and quarter-finals were run with “Sudden Death”; From the semifinals, two of three races won.

There was an exciting encounter between Mercedes teammates Gutierrez and Stoffel Vandoorne, who faced each other in the quarterfinals in Monza. Vandoorne struggle faster, but proceed behind Gutierrez – and unpacked the crowbar in the Parabolica. Although he theoretically won the Warmth, he retired due to a penalty from the race management.

The conclusion remains the same even after the next virtual Formula 1 evening: the occasions certainly provide entertainment, and especially the Twitch channel from Norris is always worth a click. But of course the virtual second-hand cars cannot be compared to real Formula One races. Also because they are more reminiscent of arcade than professional sim racing (which is also available) …

Re-Live: The two virtual Formula 1 occasions from Sunday evening in chronology!