How to watch the virtual F1 Grand Prix: five Formula 1 drivers confirmed to race

(Image credit: F1 eSports Series)

Sports fans are experiencing a prolonged existential crisis, with live games, matches and races currently shut down. However, eSports is filling the live sport void and this weekend you can get your fill with the second installment of the official F1 Virtual Grand Prix.

Sunday, April 5 marks the second race in the Virtual F1 Grand Prix, which will see current Formula 1 drivers Charles Leclerc, Alex Albon, George Russell, Lando Norris and Nicholas Latifi duking it out with other famous cockpit cowboys. They include former F1 driver Johnny Herbert and England's Cricket World Cup Winner Ben Stokes.

But don't worry about the professional F1 drivers racing off into the sunset, as "game settings will be configured in such a way to encourage competitive and entertaining racing."

The drivers will be racing at a socially acceptable distance from home, using the F1 2019 official console game.

They'll be climbing into the virtual driving seats of their F1 cars at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne, Australia (this weekend actually marks the Vietnam Grand Prix on the official F1 calendar, but this brand new street circuit in Hanoi for 2020 isn't available in the 2019 edition of the game).

Reckon you can do better than the professional drivers? Prove it with your own copy of F1 2019.

When is the second F1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix?

The virtual F1 Grand Prix will take place on Sunday, April 5, with the race starting a 8pm BST (3pm EDT, 12pm PDT).

The race will take around 1 hour 30 minutes to complete, with 28 laps of the circuit set to be run.

Then, from 9.30pm BST (4.30pm EDT, 1.30pm PDT) a second race will take place featuring esports gamers behind the virtual wheel.

How to watch the virtual F1 Grand Prix

There are a variety of ways you can watch the virtual F1 Grand Prix. It will be available to stream live on the Formula 1 YouTube, Twitch (which we've embedded above) and Facebook channels, plus you'll be able to watch via Formula 1's various international broadcast partners including Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event in the UK.

John McCann
Global Managing Editor

John joined TechRadar over a decade ago as Staff Writer for Phones, and over the years has built up a vast knowledge of the tech industry. He's interviewed CEOs from some of the world's biggest tech firms, visited their HQs and has appeared on live TV and radio, including Sky News, BBC News, BBC World News, Al Jazeera, LBC and BBC Radio 4. Originally specializing in phones, tablets and wearables, John is now TechRadar's resident automotive expert, reviewing the latest and greatest EVs and PHEVs on the market. John also looks after the day-to-day running of the site.