Albon beats Leclerc in thrilling Virtual GP battle at Interlagos

Alex Albon and Charles Leclerc gave Sunday's massive online crowd their money's worth thanks to a thrilling Virtual GP battle at Interlagos from which the Red Bull driver emerged the victor.

The pair, which started the 36-lap race from the third row, survived a start line crash that set back poleman Stoffel Vandoorne, with Albon putting himself in command but closely followed by Leclerc.

The two drivers built themselves a small cushion over their pursuers before engaging in a thrilling wheel-to-wheel fight and swapping positions repeatedly.

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The frantic action was temporarily put on pause on lap 13 when Leclerc head to the pits to take on a hard set of tyres. Albon undertook his own change - to mediums - three laps later, emerging just behind his rival.

Meanwhile, Williams' George Russell held the option for third after dispatching Alfa Romeo's Antonio Giovinazzi.

Up front, Albon took advantage of his softer rubber to overhaul Leclerc on lap 22. Leclerc clawed his way back in to the lead but a series of track limit infringements were frowned upon by the stewards.

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Undeterred by the looming penalty, Leclerc continued to snap at Albon's heels while a contact between Giovinazzi and Nicholas Latifi put both drivers out of the fight for third.

Albon held his own, aware of his Ferrari rival's penalty-induced demotion, to take his maiden Virtual Grand Prix win.

Russell savoured his runner-up spot handed to him by the punished Leclerc, while Mercedes' Vandoorne and Esteban Gutierrez clocked in fourth and fifth.

Renault's Christian Lungaard was sixth, ahead of Ferrari's Enzo Fittipaldi, Haas' Louis Deletraz and Latifi. Lando Norris rounded off the top ten, the McLaren driver completing a full Virtual Grand Prix race distance for the first time in the series.

"I was shaking and sweating after crossing the line as I had so much adrenaline in my body," said the day's winner.

"I think my Team and our strategy ultimately gave us the edge as on pace, Charles was very quick.

"Qualifying wasn’t great but I’ve been practising my starts and I’ve got to thank Honda and my engineer (pro sim racer) Marcel for the great launch!

"Once Charles and I had built a gap we started to fight and it was really good fun, I enjoyed it a lot and ultimately, we had the best strategy," added Albon.

"It was nice to get the adrenaline going and feel the pressure slightly – it’s something we miss from the race weekends. It was great too to have my teammate Ben back and he did a great job after all the practice he’s put in."

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