Grand Prix Drivers and Other Sports Stars Turn to Esports Over Coronavirus Boredom

Star Mclaren driver Lando Norris, Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, and Formula E driver Stoffel Vandoorne took part in a virtual Australian Grand Prix, the BBC reported on Sunday.

The three took on esports professionals and Youtube stars amid the cancellation of the real life racing event at the Albert Park Circuit due to the coronavirus epidemic spreading across the world.

​The event was organised so that sports stars would have something to do with the free time they had because of the mass postponement of sport over the weekend.

"Esports is a very fast growing and exciting industry and what we wanted to do this weekend is put on a fun race for fans that are without racing in Formula 1," said Jamie MacLaurin, founder of VeloceEsports - which organised the event.

"We sat down together and thought people will be without a Formula 1 race and sport in general and they will be staying at home trying to avoid the coronavirus so where better to put on a race than online?"

"We got in touch with Lando and he was really interested", added MacLaurin.

"Both parties were really excited about continuing and not letting the coronavirus affect things as much as it could - and putting a positive spin on what is a negative situation we are all in."

MacLaurin said that we would see a spike in esports events as public venues and games begin to close and suspend activity as the virus proliferates.

"There's also Fifa for football, and lots of athletes are into Fortnite too", he said.

"It is hard to get too positive about it given the circumstances with the coronavirus but what we'd like to do is keep people upbeat and give people something fun to watch."

"This is a huge opportunity for esports because for people who may have been watching the real sport and want to have something to watch and give them that fix, this may be able to provide a bit of that."

BBC Radio 5 live commentators Jack Nicholls and Jolyon Palmer also oversaw another virtual race on Sunday which included driver Max Verstappen and ex-F1 star Juan Pablo Montoya.

​It is not just F1 drivers giving virtual alternatives of their games a try, as professional cyclists have also found themselves stuck at home during the outbreak and have also been hosting or taking part in e-sporting events.

Winner of the 2018 Tour de France, Geraint Thomas, has been organising his own bike races online 

​Vuelta a Espana winner Simon Yates and his twin brother Adam have a near-daily schedule of races, with members from both their men's and women's squads getting involved.

"We can't do too much training because we don't know when the next race is," Yates said.

"You can't keep going full gas but you need to keep ticking over, just keeping fit, keep active."

Sunday's Seville football derby between Sevilla and Real Betis, which was also postponed, is taking place on a virtual pitch as Real Betis striker Borja Iglesias and Seville left-back Sergio Reguilon face off against each other on Fifa 20.