Sainz becomes seventh F1 driver on Virtual Chinese GP grid; Courtois, Poulter in action; Coverage starts at 6pm on Sky Sports F1
Friday 17 April 2020 15:47, UK
Thibaut Courtois and Ian Poulter have been confirmed as the latest sporting stars who will take on Formula 1 drivers in a Virtual GP, with the pair set to line up alongside Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz for Sunday's race.
The Virtual F1 Esports championship moves on to China for an online race around the Shanghai circuit this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1, following an action-packed second event 'in' Australia - won by Ferrari driver Leclerc.
F1 say a "host of other exciting names" will be revealed in the lead-up to the race but Poulter, the iconic English golfer, and Courtois, the Real Madrid goalkeeper, are already notable additions to a star-studded grid.
Poulter will be driving for Renault while Courtois will be partnering Alex Albon at Red Bull, filling in for Max Verstappen and replacing cricketer Ben Stokes who raced in the series on the 2019 F1 game last time out.
Leclerc, along with the five other members of the F1 2020 grid who joined him for that race, Alex Albon, Lando Norris, Antonio Giovinazzi, George Russell and Nicholas Latifi, will all be in action again on Sunday night.
And Carlos Sainz has become the seventh F1 driver to confirm his presence.
Also in action will be F2 drivers Callum Ilott and Juan Manuel Correa - the American youngster who was involved in the horrific crash that tragically killed Anthoine Hubert at the Belgian GP last year.
Correa, who is stepping up his recovery, will be driving for Alfa Romeo. Ilott, the British junior at Ferrari, will be alongside Leclerc.
Guanyu Zhou - the winner of the first event 'in' Bahrain - will be back for Renault, alongside Poulter, who also took part in the Bahrain race.
Coverage of the Virtual Chinese GP will start at 6pm, two hours earlier than the previous two races, and you can watch live on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports F1, as well as our YouTube channel.
A short qualifying session will be followed by a 28-lap race, as F1 puts on a virtual series in the absence of real on-track racing.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Callum Ilott, Ferrari
Alex Albon, Red Bull
Thibaut Courtois, Red Bull
Lando Norris, McLaren
Carlos Sainz, McLaren
Guanyu Zhou, Renault
Ian Poulter, Renault
Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo
Juan Manuel Correa, Alfa Romeo
George Russell, Williams
Nicholas Latifi, Williams
