F1 drivers race online, Buren wins virtual Indy!

London, March 22

Red Bull Formula One driver Max Verstappen pulled out of the second All-Star Esports Battle on Saturday but Rudy Van Buren, the ‘World’s Fastest Gamer’ in 2017, made sure there was a Dutch winner anyway.

The 20-lap race on a virtual Indianapolis road course featured a cast of top drivers and gamers, competing remotely, after the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak brought motorsport to a standstill.

Van Buren, a former simulator driver for McLaren who now performs the role for the Mahindra Formula E team, finished third in last weekend’s first All-Star race and this time won from third on the grid.

McLaren Shadow esports racer Kevin Siggy was second with Portuguese gamer Nuno Pinto third.

Spaniard Dani Juncadella, who races in the German Touring Car (DTM) championship, was the highest finishing real racer in fourth.

Others who failed to make it through the heats to the 20-car final included former F1 racer Juan Pablo Montoya and Brazilian Tony Kanaan, both winners of the Indianapolis 500.

Verstappen finished 11th last weekend in a race hastily put together by Torque Esports and the-race.com after Formula One’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne was cancelled. — Reuters