The third Formula 1 race of the season was scheduled to take place in Vietnam this weekend, but after the first part of the campaign was shelved, racing fans instead have the second installment of the F1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix Series to look forward to.
Live coverage will be available on the official Formula 1 YouTube channel on Sunday, April 5th, as a mix of racing drivers and streamers compete over half the distance of a full race on the F1 2019 video game.
There were more than 300,000 live viewers as Formula 2 driver Guanyu Zhou claimed victory in the first Virtual Grand Prix two weeks ago, and the 20-year-old will take to the grid on the Australian track this weekend hoping to make it back-to-back successes.
Zhou was convincing in victory in ‘Bahrain’ on March 22nd, finishing 11 seconds clear of second-placed Stoffel Vandoorne, with Philipp Eng in third.
McLaren’s Lando Norris is the favorite
All three of the aforementioned drivers are among the favorites to triumph on Sunday, but the clear front runner according to online betting sites is Lando Norris – the Brit who racked up 49 points in the F1 Drivers Championship with McLaren in 2019.
Not only is Norris a supreme talent as far as real-life racing is concerned, but the 20-year-old is also an avid gamer. Norris, who believes his experience with gaming has helped his career, regularly streams his F1 2019 sessions on Twitch.
Technical difficulties proved costly for Norris in the Bahrain race, essentially eliminating him completely, but, as his +150 odds on Bet365 suggest, he is expected to be in the mix at the front if there are no such issues this time around.
Norris’ car was AI-controlled for most of the Bahrain Virtual Grand Prix, but once the pre-race favourite was able to take the reigns, he was involved in perhaps the most exciting battle of the whole evening with YouTuber Jimmy Broadbent.
Broadbent, a potential dark horse at +1400 this weekend, got the better of Norris on the final lap albeit courtesy of some contact at the very end. The Sim Racing enthusiast’s aggressive strategy will stand him in good stead going forward in these races.
Coming in behind Broadbent and Norris was Williams driver Nicholas Latifi, who you can get at +1000 to win in ‘Australia’. Esteban Gutierrez, Luca Salvadori, and Dino Beganovic are the other drivers priced at +2000 or under.
While the inaugural Virtual Grand Prix gave fans a fair indication as to who will be among the main contenders in the second race this weekend, there is still an element of unpredictability. The possibility of technical issues during the live event, which were enough to reduce the race from 28 laps to 14 laps last time, should be factored in.
The odds for this race do vary across the board, so it is worth comparing sportsbooks and betting site offers before placing wagers.
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