It was an eventful evening for both Alex and Kai in F1’s Virtual Monaco Grand Prix after a disappointing qualifying session for both drivers made for an even tougher 39-lap race than expected.
Alex did well to recover from ninth on the grid to finish the race in fourth after surviving several hard fought on-track battles. Kai, who made his F1 Esports debut this evening, was unfortunate to get disqualified in a wet qualifying session which meant he started the race in 20th and through plenty of grit and determination finished the race in a well-earned 17th.
Alex commented, “It was the most carnage race I think we’ve had. First, we had qualifying in the wet, which I made a mistake in, and then in the race it was just bumper cars. I got punted something like fifteen times, spun around twice and I still managed to finish fourth. I couldn’t believe it! Some parts of the race were frustrating but it was still good and now I’m looking forward to the next event in Baku. Well done to my teammate Kai too, he did a great job to fight back after getting taken out and he put a lot of effort in. We had a lot of fun!”
Kai added, “What a fantastic experience that was. I had so much fun racing against the best in the world, even if it was virtual. I tried my absolute best but I had a bit of a shocker in qualifying and the rain really threw me. But in the race I had an awesome start, got taken out by someone and came back from last to 17th. The whole experience was insane, it’s just unbelievable to see the speed these guys have going around the track and hopefully I can spend more than one week on the sim to improve my time and get closer to their level. It was a pleasure to be on the same track as them, I can’t thank TAG Heuer and Aston Martin Red Bull Racing enough for this opportunity, as well as F1 Esports – it’s been amazing. Aloha!”
F1 Virtual Grand Prix Result
1. George Russell – Williams
2. Esteban Gutierrez – Mercedes
3. Charles Leclerc – FDA Hublot Esports Team
4. Alex Albon – Aston Martin Red Bull Racing
5. Arthur Leclerc – FDA Hublot Esports Team
6. Pietro Fittipaldi – Haas
7. Lando Norris – McLaren
8. Nicholas Latifi – Williams
9. Louis Delétraz – Haas
10. David Schumacher – Racing Point
…
17. Kai Lenny – Aston Martin Red Bull Racing
The next round of the F1 Esports Virtual GP Series takes place at Baku on Sunday 7 June.