Football stars Sergio Aguero and Arthur Melo have joined the grid for Formula One’s esports event this Sunday.
F1’s Virtual Racing Series sees events held in place of postponed or cancelled races. On Sunday, the series will use Codemasters’ F1 2019 game with a simulated Spanish Grand Prix around Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya.
The race will be broadcast live in the U.S. on ESPN2 at 14.30 Eastern Time.
Joining the grid for the first time is Manchester City striker Aguero, who will partner Red Bull’s Alexander Albon, who won the most recent event.
Albon ended Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc’s dominance of the Virtual Racing Series by winning around a simulated race at Brazil’s Interlagos, which was held in place of the Dutch GP as the Zandvoort circuit is not on the F1 2019 game.
Barcelona midfielder Arthur Melo will also make his debut for the Haas team, joining a list of athletes from the wider sports world which includes golf’s Ian Poulter and Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Albon and Leclerc are two of six current F1 drivers signed up for the event. McLaren’s Lando Norris, Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazi and Williams pair George Russell and Nicholas Latifi will also take part.
We’ve netted another huge name for this Sunday’s #VirtualGP thanks to @puma! 💪⚽️ @ManCity goal scoring machine @aguerosergiokun is ready to race! 🤟🏁 #F1 pic.twitter.com/VHSqfCmheb
— Aston Martin Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) May 7, 2020
Former F1 driver Tonio Liuzzi will make his Virtual Racing Series debut with Alfa Tauri, the new name of the Toro Rosso team he once raced for.
Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel recently made his esports debut in an event hosted by The Race, but it remains to be seen whether the four-time world champion is involved in this event. Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas also teased a picture of him driving on a racing simulator at his home during lockdown, although he is yet to take part in any event.