These players displayed dominant performances on the weekend.
Photo credit: Studio 397
The popular Formula 1 Virtual Grand Prix series amazed the audience on Sunday. George Russell dominated the race in Azerbaijan from start to finish. After the Williams pilot took the pole position, there was no stopping him. The 22-year-old finished 6.857s ahead of runner-up Alexander Albon.
With the GPs of Spain and Monaco under his belt, Russell has now scored three victories in a row. If the virtual races awarded points, Russell would now lead the standings 22 points ahead of Charles Leclerc. The Monégasque won two virtual Grand Prix back-to-back himself. In the last race, however, he finished on a disappointing 14th place.
Virtual GP returns on June 14 with the Canadian edition. Two weeks after that another one is going to be held in virtual France. The French edition is going to be the last digital event for the time being, as the real Formula 1 starts on July 5 with the Austrian Grand Prix.
Vandoorne shakes Wehrlein off
The ABB Formula E #RaceAtHome Challenge in rFactor 2 also came to a conclusion on the weekend. Stoffel Vandoorne and Pascal Wehrlein went as favorites into the double-race weekend on Saturday and Sunday with 105 and 104 points respectively. Everything pointed to an exciting neck-and-neck race between the Belgian and the German.
In Round 7, Wehrlein edged out a victory, while Vandoorne only finished fourth. With a 14-point-advantage, the Mahindra Racing pilot was in an excellent position to take the championship in the final race. However, right at the start of Round 8, Wehrlein was involved in a crash which threw him so far behind that he wasn’t able to recover. He eventually placed ninth.
A NIGHTMARE start for @PWehrlein in the Grand Final #RaceAtHomehttps://t.co/9KqVKEr3qA pic.twitter.com/vefC1pnyKK
— ABB Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) June 7, 2020
As the last race awarded double the points, a second place, slightly behind Oliver Rowland, sufficed for Vandoorne to overtake Wehrlein in the standings once again. The Mercedes driver secured the Formula E championship, placing at least among the top 5 in every race. Although dropping points in the last two races, Vandoorne earned the overall victory deservedly.
Cem Bölükbaşı rocks Renault’s esports series
The young racing prodigy Cem Bölükbaşı emerged victorious from both races in Round 2 of the Formula Renault Esport Series in virtual Montreal, Canada, on Friday. The Turkish racer started in each race from the pole position and displayed pure skill behind the wheel. In a statement, the M2 Competition pilot said:
It feels great to get this clean sweep. After the unlucky first round, this is what I needed to get back some motivation for the series. M2 Competition has been great helping me and Callan [O’Keeffe] to prepare for this one. We have good chemistry in the team and we prepare well. We will keep that up to get the chance for another clean sweep.
The Formula Renault Esports Series returns on June 19 at Circuit of the Americas with its next two races.
🏁 Lights to flag win for @G2Bolukbasi as the @M2_Competition driver takes the chequers at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve to score his maiden #FormulaRenaultEsport win! pic.twitter.com/fwO4fGidYz
— Renault Sport Series (@RenaultSpSeries) June 5, 2020
