F1 teams raise money with new Virtual Grands Prix series
F1 News
- GPblog.com
The Virtual Grands Prix launched last year are returning. The series replaced Grands Prix that were cancelled or postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. With four victories, George Russell emerged as the winner at the time.
Charity prize pool
A series of three races has been organised for this year at the Red Bull Ring, Silverstone and Interlagos. Starting next Sunday, January 31, the races will be held over three consecutive weekends. A sprint race by Formula 1 Esports Pro Series drivers will determine the starting grid for the feature race, which will be run by Formula 1 drivers and other celebrities.
The races raise money for charitable projects chosen by the teams. For example, Red Bull will be raising money for Wings For Life. Wings for Life has been the official charity partner of the team since 2005. On behalf of Red Bull, Alexander Albon will take part in the event, together with Dutch MXGP world champion Jeffrey Herlings.
Drivers and celebrities
Wednesday a large part of the participants in the Virtual Grands Prix was announced. Participating current/former Formula 1 drivers are George Russell and Nicholas Latifi, Stoffel Vandoorne and Pietro Fittipaldi. Several teams are also contributing their junior talents, including Ferrari juniors Arthur Leclerc and Marcus Armstrong and Alpine juniors Christian Lundgaard and Oscar Piastri. Enzo Fittipaldi and Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid) have also been confirmed.
The first race starts on Sunday 31 January at 18:00 GMT and can be followed on all streaming services including Twitch, YouTube and Facebook.