F1 News
Results Virtual Austrian GP: Formula 3 driver proves his worth
- GPblog.com
This Sunday evening, the first virtual Grand Prix was held on a digitalized Red Bull Ring in Austria. With both known and unknown names on the grid it turned out to be an exciting race, in which time penalties rained down on all but one driver. Enzo Fittipaldi crossed the finish line first and did good business for the Haas team.
Intended to shine a light into the dark times of lockdown, the FIA has again scheduled a number of Virtual Grands Prix this year. The team that wins the three feature races, half as long as a normal Grand Prix, gets to donate the prize money to a charity of their choice.
It was an eventful race, in which the digital race control had to come into action several times. Tonio Liuzzi, for example, was disqualified on the sixteenth lap, probably for cutting off the first corner. Time penalties were also handed out for ignoring track limits. By the midway point of the race, only three drivers had not incurred a time penalty, and only Oscar Piastri crossed the finish line unpunished.
Enzo Fittipaldi wins for Haas
Four laps from the end, Arthur Leclerc, then second, was awarded another time penalty, thus becoming totally dependent on a mistake by Enzo Fittipaldi, the only driver ahead of him, to win. Calmly waiting, however, did not seem to be attributed to the younger Leclerc when, two laps from the finish, he attempted an overtake that earned him an additional penalty for exceeding track limits. This left Arthur Leclerc stuck in third place, as he was passed by Stoffel Vandoorne for silver.
Enzo Fittipaldi, Pietro's brother, eventually took the win. With a fifth place for his teammate and older brother, the Haas team did good business today.
Results of the Virtual Austrian GP:
1. Enzo Fittipaldi
2. Stoffel Vandoorne
3. Arthur Leclerc
5. Pietro Fittipaldi
6. Marcus Armstrong
7. Oscar Piastri
8. Anthony Davidson
9. Luca Salvadori
10. Jimmy Broadbent
11. Christian Lundgaard
12. Nicholas Latifi
13. Thibaut Courtois
14. Jack McDermot (‘Pie face’)
15. Ben Daly (‘Tiametmarduk’)
16. Jeffrey Herlings
17. Alejandro Perez (‘FlowstreetYT’)
18. Vitantonio Liuzzi - DSQ