Arthur Leclerc and PREMA Racing went back to winning ways at virtual Monte Carlo in the third FIA Formula 2 Championship eSport event of the 2020 season. The Monegasque driver proved competitive again in his digital home event at the world-famous street circuit. Leclerc, who had dominated the first round in Bahrain, scored the sprint race victory at Monte Carlo with a convincing performance.
In race 1, he started from third place and battled for the podium, dealing with the walls and challenges of the tough circuit, not featuring many chances for overtaking like its real-life counterpart. He then ended up spinning in the closing stages of the feature race and finished sixth, which enabled him to take-off from P3 in race 2. Leclerc successfully claimed P2 at the first corner and delivered a hard fight for the win with Juan Manuel Correa. Crossing the finishing line in P2, Leclerc was promoted to P1 by a penalty assessed to the former PREMA driver.
Joining Leclerc for the occasion was full-season Formula 2 driver Robert Shwartzman, driving for the first time in the F2 eSport series. The Russian racer struggled with technical issues on his gaming controls and eventually fell off the pace before retiring in race 2. He is now determined to ramp up his preparations for the late-starting 2020 season.
# 9 - Arthur Leclerc
"Qualifying has been very difficult as Monte Carlo is a tough track and I didn’t manage to put everything together. The start was nice, I gained one position but I received a hit from behind costing me a few spots. I tried to fight my way back and it was a good battle with Theo Pourchaire. I ended up P6 after a spin in the last lap. I started P3 in the second race and I went up to P2 behind Juan Manuel Correa who defended really well. I finished P2 on track and got elevated to P1 afterwards. It was a good event overall even if it’s really difficult to overtake!"
# 10 - Robert Shwartzman
"It was great to race at Monte Carlo as I love the track and I'm quite disappointed we will not race there this year, although I still have great memories of my previous time there. Unfortunately, I was concerned by some possible steering wheel issues and they eventually arrived. I couldn't fix the situation in time. I got up to P7 and there was the chance to fight, but as the race progressed, the technical issues intensified. At one point, it just stopped working. I'm sorry for today but I really can't wait to be back to the real thing. Now it's finally time to prepare to race again!"