Arthur on podium in last Virtual F2 Race

Arthur Leclerc confirmed he is one of the best virtual Formula 2 racers, putting in two strong performances on the streets of Baku in the fourth and final round of the Formula 2 Virtual Race series. The Monegasque driver picked up another podium, coming out as the top driver in this series of virtual races, while Enzo Fittipaldi and Callum Ilott had a more complicated Sunday.

Qualifying. For the Virtual F2 races, drivers get just one flying lap to set a qualifying time and best of the field was Arthur Leclerc’s Prema Racing team-mate, Oscar Piastri, while Arthur got it all wrong hitting the wall on turn 3 and hard to start last. Enzo Fittipaldi (HWA Racelab) was a strong fourth, two places ahead of Callum Ilott (UNI Virtuosi Racing).

Feature Race. At the start of the long race, Fittipaldi lost a place, while Leclerc got a perfect start from the back. Enzo found himself wheel to wheel with Jack Aitken and got the better of it to take fourth place behind Piastri, Lirim Zendeli and Matteo Nannini. Callum unfortunately went off at turn 3 losing valuable time and had to start again from last place. Arthur staged a climb up the order that is a feature of virtual races and by the end of the opening lap, he was eighth. He kept on moving up the order to finish on the podium, thanks in part to Fittipaldi getting a penalty for exceeding the pit lane speed limit, which dropped him to fifth. The mandatory tyre change consolidated the positions with the exception of Nannini, who had connection problems and dropped back. Piastri won ahead of Zendeli and Leclerc, with Fittipaldi fifth and Callum way down the order. 

Sprint Race. The short five lap race had a chaotic start, with several incidents in the first three corners. Coming out best was Roberto Mehri who went into the lead at the end of the opening lap, while Leclerc was tenth, Fittipaldi 16th and Callum 17th. In such a short race, Arthur managed to move up to seventh, while Enzo was 13th. Callum had to make an unscheduled pit stop and crossed the finish line in 17th place. 

Real race. The next round of the FIA Formula 2 championship will be a real race not a virtual one. The junior series returns alongside the Formula 1 event in Austria from 3 to 5 July.