Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois will join six Formula One drivers in this weekend’s official F1 esports event. The Virtual Chinese Grand Prix will take place on April 19 and will be broadcast live on the ESPN network in the U.S. from 13:00 ET.
Courtois, who took part in separate online race against F1 drivers earlier this year, will race for Red Bull alongside the team’s main virtual driver Alex Albon. The Red Bull duo will go up against current F1 drivers Charles Leclerc, George Russell, Antonio Giovinazzi, and Nicholas Latifi, who are all returning to the virtual grid after racing in the Vietnamese Grand Prix esports event two weeks ago.
This weekend’s virtual grand prix is the third race in F1’s Virtual Grand Prix series, which was set up in lieu of the races cancelled and postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The races are played on F1’s official video game and Sunday’s race will take place at the Shanghai International Circuit, which was originally scheduled to host the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend.
“From an esports perspective, the last Virtual Grand Prix was one of our most successful events we’ve ever put on, so it’s great to be back and be able to continue building something that has proven hugely popular,” F1’s head of esports, Julian Tan, said.
“It’s very important to us that we can give our fans something to look forward in these uncertain times, so to see such an impressive list of returning drivers is fantastic. We hope the racing action is just as thrilling and fun as last time out!”
The rest of the grid is expected to be announced in the coming days.