Russell set for unofficial F1 Virtual GP title with Leclerc absent

A total of five Formula 1 drivers will contest the Virtual Canadian Grand Prix, the last in the championship's official Esports racing series.

Valtteri Bottas, who made his debut in the Monaco round, is returning for Mercedes after skipping the last race in Azerbaijan, but Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc is absent from the entry list.

Both Leclerc and fellow Virtual GP regular Lando Norris are racing in the Virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans this weekend which clashes with the Virtual Canadian Grand Prix round.

While there is no official championship title on the line, Leclerc’s absence means Russell will become the unofficial Virtual Grand Prix champion, with the Williams driver is looking for his fourth consecutive victory in the series this weekend.

Fellow F1 drivers Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly and Nicholas Latifi also return for the seventh and final round for the sim racing series, which has acted as stand-ins for the real-word races that were called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Canadian Grand Prix was scheduled to take place this weekend at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, but the race was postponed due to coronavirus and is widely expected to be cancelled altogether for 2020.

Among the celebrity guests include Biffy Clyro frontman Simon Neil, who will line-up alongside Gasly at AlphaTauri, while former gold medal winning skier turned YouTube personality Jon Olsson makes his debut for Red Bull.

F1 YouTuber Tiametmarduk returns for McLaren after claiming eighth place on his debut in the Virtual Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Fellow content creator and Alfa Romeo Esports ambassador Aarava will compete for the Swiss squad.

Renault’s line-up will be formed entirely of its junior drivers, with Virtual Bahrain GP winner and Formula 2 star Guanyu Zhou partnering Formula Renault Eurocup racer Caio Collet.

Haas’ line-up will once again consist of test drivers Pietro Fittipaldi and Louis Deletraz, while David Schumacher and Callum Ilott are returning for Racing Point and Ferrari respectively.

The 35-lap race will be broadcast live from the Gfinity Esports Arena from 6pm BST on Sunday 14 June.