Charles Leclerc completes esports quadruple

"In my spare time I like to do my job – alone on a computer"

Last year, he scored four pole positions in a row in his first season for Ferrari. And after just a few weeks of practice, Charles Leclerc has now completed an unprecedented quadruple.

Well, we have no idea if it's unprecedented given the number of people who have game consoles, but Leclerc has come quite a week to drive his Ferrari from the undoubtedly significant comfort of his Monaco home.

Yes, he likes esports – and sim racing in particular – on a large scale.

On Sunday, the 22-year-old won his fourth major esports race in a row – the Formula 1 Virtual China Grand Prix (it would have been the right Chinese GP this weekend). He qualified in pole position and drove another flawless race, beating Red Bull's Alex Albon.

In a field of 19 – including F1 drivers, other series racers and notable other athletes – Leclerc was the class of the grid

In case you were wondering, all professional drivers ended up for the & # 39; guests & # 39; including golfer Ian Poulter, Real Madrid and former Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and Lazio striker Ciro Immobile.

The star of the stars had to be Poulter, who finished last after crashing his Renault while being interviewed by the commentators with three laps to go.

"I've never sweated so much. You've got me all confused," he said when he hit the wall right at the start of the finish.

"You think you are okay, and you are actually nonsense" – wise words by Ian Poulter

Of course it is in & # 39; real & # 39; circumstances, of course, not likely that a 44-year-old golfer would line up for the F1 grid, but for the uninitiated, you can't really damage your car in this particular race. You can lose control and hit things, but you won't disappear into a cloud of dust and carbon fiber.

However, one professional disappeared. Antonio Giovinazzi of Alfa Romeo & # 39; left the race & # 39; with five more laps for unknown reasons – maybe someone pulled the plug?

Leclerc & # 39; s guise of form

Won the previous Virtual F1 GP, held on a simulated Albert Park track in Melbourne, after just a few days of practice, Leclerc has become obsessed. – by winning the Race For The World. Courtois also got involved.

Then, after a bag of chips and canned pop (possibly) and a few hours of chicken, Leclerc was back in it – this time for the Veloce Not The GP Versus series, where drivers including Jamie Chadwick, Alex Albon and Nicholas Latifi competed in one-lap race-offs.

Oh, and Courtois again. He went out in the first round.

That time, Leclerc defeated Williams' Latifi – but to contest a real Grand Prix thanks to the corona virus – in the final.

However, Leclerc recently suffered a disgrace in a truck race with Williams' George Russell. It didn't end well.

Leclerc said after Sunday's victory: "I actually enjoy playing and streaming a lot. But the post-race celebrations somehow feel a little different. Turn off the computer and go white pasta cooking is a little less glam than spraying champagne on the podium. "

During the race in China, former McLaren driver and current Mercedes Formula E man Stoffel Vandoorne finished in creditable third place.

That was only once behind what he managed to achieve in the esports version of his current track, as Formula E launched the Race At Home Challenge on Saturday with a test event on a virtual Monaco circuit. Max Gunther from BMW iAndretti won the race.

Formula E runs a nine-week season all over the lockdown, involving all drivers and teams from the currently delayed championship.