British golf star Ian Poulter is to join the line-up of the Renault DP World F1 Team taking part in Sunday’s first Official Formula 1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix.
He'll be racing alongside Renault’s test driver Guanyu Zhou in the first online event organised by Formula 1 to fill the gap left by the cancellation of the opening seven rounds of the 2020 F1 season.
A motor racing fan of long standing, Poulter is best known for his pivotal role in the Ryder Cup. He's been a mainstay of the winning European team on five occasions and is currently a DP World Global Ambassador.
DP World was unveiled as Renault F1's global logistics partner and title sponsor in a media event held in Melbourne just before the Australian Grand Prix season opener has to be cancelled.
Like Zhou, Poulter will be racing remotely from his own simulator. The pair will be up against 18 other racers formed of current Formula 1 drivers, reserve drivers, junior members and celebrities.
"I love cars, I love Formula 1, I love everything about motorsport," he told Sky Sports from his home in Florida. "It should be fun not just for me but viewerships around the world which are craving sports.
"We'd love to get back to normality in sport as soon as possible," he added. "But if we can do it in a different format it will be quite fun for everyone to see."
Red Bull has already confirmed that it will field a line-up consisting of six-time Olympic gold medal track cyclistSir Chris Hoy alongside professional WeatherTech SportsCar Championship driver Philipp Eng.
Mercedes will delegate reserve drivers Stoffel Vandoorne and Esteban Gutierrez, while racer Nicholas Latifi is also confirmed, as are Lando Norris and former F1 driver Nico Hulkenberg.
Poulter has been putting in the laps in preparation, with hours of extensive practice of the Bahrain International Circuit. He's also been receiving tips from real world Renault drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon.
Meanwhile Zhou will be pleased to be able to get back into the driving seat again, after the start of his second season in the Formula 2 support series was deferred by the shutdown of sport world wide in response ot the spread of of coronavirus.
Guanyu Zhou
The Virtual Bahrain Grand Prix will be broadcasted live on Formula 1’s social media channels tonight from 20:00 GMT. In the UK it will also be aired on the Sky Sports F1 digital subscription channel.
"In order to guarantee the participants safety at this time, each driver will join the race remotely, with a host broadcast live from the Gfinity Esports Arena," said the official announcement
The virtual race will be run over 28 laps, half the real distance, with the event as a whole taking around 90 minutes including qualifying.
F1 is also planning further Esports events for weekends where a Grand Prix had originally been scheduled. However the F1 2019 PC video game platform being used is based on last year's championship, which means that other venues will have to stand in for Hanoi and Zandvoort.
Meanwhile Max Verstappen was forced to pull out of Saturday night's The Race All Star Esports event at short notice. "Unfortunately will not be able to race in the All Star E-Sports Battle," he told fans on social media.
Instead he will be racing for Team Redline Sim in the Real Racers Never Quit, having ruled himself out of the official F1 Esports series because it uses a platform that he's not familiar with,
However he remains a huge devotee of virtual gaming. "It's keeping me sharp," he explained. "What else can you do at this moment? You have to stay inside."
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