Australian Oscar Piastri has enjoyed a successful virtual campaign overnight, with the Victorian teenager securing a top five finish in Formula 1 and top honours in Formula 2.

 

After claiming a dominant feature race win in his Formula 2 virtual debut, where he led the race from start to finish, Piastri’s big test came in the virtual Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix up against seven Formula 1 drivers including Charles Leclerc, Alex Albon and Virtual GP newcomers Sergio Perez and Pierre Gasly.

 

However, Piastri showed no signs of nerves during the round’s qualifying session as he occupied the top three throughout the whole session, before edging out Pietro Fittipaldi on the final lap to qualify in fifth place.

 

When the race eventually did get underway, it was a disaster for Piastri as he got spun by Fittipaldi off the line and was sent down the order to as low as 15th around the opening turn.

 

Despite the early setback, the Renault Sport Academy driver showed his skill on the simulator, climbing back up to seventh within three laps before shortly getting the better of Williams’ Nicolas Latifi to steal sixth place – where he stayed for another 15 laps.

 

Eventually Piastri found himself in another tight battle with Fittipaldi for fifth place, which he won after pulling off a fantastic move using the DRS.

 

Taking out the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and his third consecutive virtual Grand Prix was Williams’ George Russell, who like Piastri in Formula 2, led the field from lights out to the chequered flag ahead of Albon and Mexican Esteban Gutiérrez.

 

Finishing around five seconds ahead of Piastri to pick up fourth place was McLaren’s Lando Norris, who did a good job in the 25-lap race after starting in P9.

 

While Norris will be lining up alongside Daniel Ricciardo in the 2021 Formula 1 season at McLaren, he got a taste of pairing up with an Australian during this virtual race with teammate and YouTube streamer Benjamin Daly crossing the line in eighth place.

 

Formula 1’s final virtual Grand Prix will take place in Canada on Sunday, before the real-world championship gets underway in Austria next month.