Following the madness of the limit decides the battle for victory late

(Motorsport-Total.com) – The Formula 1 race in Spain on Sunday night was not as spectacular as the virtual Brazilian Grand Prix. However, the virtual race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya also provided some exciting moments. At the end of the day, George Russell won because Charles Leclerc wanted to take advantage of a quirk of the game in the penultimate round.

Already during the race in China, all the drivers drove at full speed through the last chicane’s playoff zone because the game allowed it. In Barcelona, ​​drivers were able to considerably shorten the second part of the last chicane and thus save time. However, in the penultimate round, Leclerc exaggerated him and received a time penalty.

At this point, he was right behind George Russell, who had already received a three-second penalty on his Williams. If the Ferrari driver had finished right behind Russell without penalty, he would have won. But the British benefited from the thoughtless move. Leclerc sees it as sporty: “George was faster today anyway.”

Leclerc demands strict rules

However, what he dislikes is the possibility of shortening the last chicane. “That should be strict,” he says. Because then there would have been clear demarcations with the route limitation, so it was a guessing game for drivers how much can be shortened without penalty. And it is clear that they will be shortened; otherwise, there is no chance of victory.

“It doesn’t make sense. We have to figure it out,” he says after the race. “Because that makes it ugly to watch,” says Leclerc. He felt closer and closer to the border in the race. “And at some point it was too much and I already had a warning, so I received a penalty. Too bad.”

“When the news came out on the radio that he was punished, I almost pissed off,” laughs Russell, who had previously played with the limits of the track. “I would have had it without [Abkürzen] can do “.

“I only did it because I didn’t care about another punishment because I wouldn’t win anyway. But I was expecting you to receive a penalty if you followed me,” he told Leclerc. Then it happened.

And so Leclerc was unable to get his third victory in the fifth event. For the first time, Russell won an official virtual Grand Prix. He had previously secured pole position but had lagged behind after a poor start. Over the course of the race, he fought a couple of gripping duels with Leclerc, which initially didn’t seem important due to his penalty.

Norris gives up after three turns

Third place went to Mercedes driver Esteban Gutiérrez, ahead of Brazilian winner Alexander Albon, whose strategy did not work. He hit the pits twice and drove five seconds ahead of Leclerc in softer means. But the fact that he trusted Hard again in the last period turned out to be a mistake: therefore, he was unable to reach the leaders.

Fifth and sixth, followed by Nicholas Latifi and Antonio Giovinazzi, two other current Formula 1 drivers. Also in the top 10: Anthony Davidson (7th), Pietro Fittipaldi (8th), Antonio Fuoco (9th) and Max Fewtrell ( 10 °), all previous or junior pilots.

David Schumacher finished 13th in his second appearance after being 19th and penultimate after two laps.

Lando Norris once again caused a sensation. The British had already made two laps on the first lap and was hopelessly the last. After a pit stop and a third turn a short time later, he left the race in exasperation, this time voluntarily. Before qualifying, he had one of his now famous game cancellations.