Ferrari will tackle the Virtual Spanish Grand Prix, the fifth race of the “We Race On” initiative launched by Formula 1 just over a month ago, with a four-driver line-up. Joining the usual trio of Charles Leclerc, David Tonizza and Enzo Bonito will be Antonio Fuoco, the 23-year-old former student and now coach at the FDA (Ferrari Driver Academy). The “We Race On” programme consists of computer game versions of the actual Formula 1 Grands Prix on the dates they should have taken place on this season, until the pandemic made that no longer possible. This Sunday’s race therefore takes place against the backdrop of the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit.
Previous races. The first event was the Bahrain GP held on 22 March, which was followed on 5 April by the Virtual Vietnam GP (staged on the Melbourne track) and then on 19 April by the Virtual Chinese GP, with these last two both won by Charles Leclerc. Last weekend, the Virtual Dutch GP was run on Brazil’s Interlagos circuit, with Leclerc finishing once again on the podium, in third. This Sunday follows the now established format of two races, one for the professional sim racers and one for real drivers and other personalities from the world of sport and show.
Programme. Getting things underway on Sunday 10 May at 18 CET will be the Pro Exhibition Race over 17 laps in which David Tonizza and Enzo Bonito will be in the FDA Hublot Esports Team cars. They will be aiming for the podium on the Montmelo track, which they both know pretty well, even though it did not feature on last year’s F1 Esports Series. At 19 CET, it will be time for the celebrities to battle and flying the FDA Hublot Esports Team colours will be Ferrari Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc as well as former FDA student, Antonio Fuoco, who is an FDA coach and last season also competed in GT races at the wheel of a Ferrari 488 GT3. The line-up marks the return of the duo that dominated the 2017 FIA Formula 2 championship with the Prema Powerteam, taking eight wins overall and the title with Charles. As usual, in this 33 lap race, to account for the fact some drivers are not so familiar with this game platform, the cars will have identical set-up and performance levels, with a limit on the damage the cars can sustain. The racing can be see online on the Formula 1 YouTube, Facebook and Twitch channels, as well as the Ferrari and FDAFans Facebook channel.