Virtual GP: George Russell aims for another win before F1 return

George Russell will bid for his third consecutive victory in the Virtual GP series as he takes on seven of his Formula 1 rivals in an online Azerbaijan GP on Sunday night, with three football internationals also on the grid.

Russell, the Williams starlet with links to Mercedes, has been an impressive winner in the last two races - in Spain and Monaco respectively - and another tonight on Sky Sports F1 would see him overtake Ferrari's Charles Leclerc as the most successful driver in the eSports championship.

But the Englishman will have tough competition, with Leclerc, Alex Albon and Lando Norris also involved, while Sergio Perez, a two-time Baku podium-sitter, and Pierre Gasly will be making their Virtual GP debuts.

The Racing Point and AlphaTauri drivers complete F1's list of eight, with Antonio Giovinazzi and Nicholas Latifi looking for their first online wins.

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A four-car battle around the virtual streets of Monte Carlo ended with a crash between Lando Norris and Arthur Leclerc at Ste Devote

With the start of the delayed 2020 Formula 1 season set for July 5 in Austria, tonight's race is the penultimate in the series.

Who else is on the grid?

As ever in F1's virtual races, there's an eclectic grid with other professional drivers, plus three footballers.

Thibaut Courtois, who has appeared in both of the last Grands Prix alongside Sergio Aguero and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang respectively, is swapping the Real Madrid gloves for a steering wheel again tonight, joined by fellow goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, of AC Milan.

Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte is representing the Premier League with his F1 debut.

Along with two Fittipaldi youngsters, Sky F1's Anthony Davidson is also making his return, alongside Esteban Gutierrez, who has shone in recent races, for Mercedes.

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George Russell took an early lead at the Virtual Monaco GP after passing Pietro Fittipaldi on the first lap

Can Russell continue form?

After his dominant win last time out in Monaco, Russell admitted to Sky Sports F1 that his Virtual GP exploits were helping his F1 reputation.

"I got more publicity from winning an Esports race than I got from any single Formula 1 race last year by coming around at the back of the grid," he said.

And if that's true, it's a perfectly-timed boost for Russell with a Mercedes seat possibly up for grabs next season.

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Williams driver George Russell joined The F1 Show to talk about his Esports success and whether he'll be a part of the driver merry-go-round

While Toto Wolff stated earlier this week that the door is not shut for Sebastian Vettel with the sport's world champions, he said they would look internally first - mentioning Russell as one of the lead contenders.

The 22-year-old, winner of the 2018 F2 championship, has yet to score a point in F1 but his performances at the back with Williams have been praised.