Sir Chris Hoy will compete in the Formula One Virtual Racing Series for Red Bull at the Bahrain Grand Prix, the F1 team announced in a statement on Saturday.
The six-time British Olympic cycling champion will join Austrian driver Philipp Eng at the wheel for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
F1 announced on Friday that they will host the esports competition after the first six races of F1’s season have been postponed, with Monaco Grand Prix organisers making the decision to cancel their event outright.
The series, run on a PC version of the Codemasters F1 2019 game with drivers playing remotely, will begin with a race of Bahrain’s Sakhir International Circuit, which was supposed to host the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 22.
Golfer Ian Poulter and Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois have also signed up to compete against last year’s F1 rookie of the year Lando Norris in Veloce Esports’ Not the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday.
The F1 Virtual Racing Series and Veloce Esports events are separate races but both will take place on the same day. A start date for the new F1 season is hard to predict but championship bosses hope to begin with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in June.
All of the action from #NotTheBahGP can be followed live on the Veloce Esports YouTube and Twitch channels, with the race set to start at 18:00 GMT.