Williams driver George Russell has snared a commanding victory this morning in the Virtual Monaco Grand Prix after having led from lights-to-flag and cruising to an unrivalled triumph.
Qualifying second behind Haas pilot Pietro Fittipaldi, Russell stormed off the line to take the lead on the run into Sainte Devote, which he would keep for the entirety of the 39-lap affair to cruise home 40-seconds clear of the podium finishers Esteban Gutierrez and local hero Charles Leclerc.
Younger brother to the Ferrari star Arthur Leclerc lost out on fourth after a race-long battle with rival Alex Albon.
The Red Bull driver opted to run an alternative strategy by starting on the slower Medium compound of tyre before switching to the softs in the latter stages of the race.
The move paid dividends and Albon narrowed the margin to Leclerc across the closing laps before successfully executing a bold lunge at the Grand Hotel Hairpin on the final tour.
Behind them Lando Norris, Nicholas Latifi and Fittipaldi were trading time penalties as frequently as positions, with ex-Red Bull driver Vitantonio Liuzzi consequently being disqualified for straight-lining the chicane.
Ultimately the Haas of Fittipaldi would come home in sixth, eight seconds clear of Norris who made a handful of costly errors in the final stages to rule himself out of the running.
Latifi, Louis Deletraz and David Schumacher rounded out the Top 10.
Russell’s dominant victory is his second successive Virtual GP win after he fended off a late charge from Leclerc at the virtual Spanish GP a fortnight prior.
Deletraz and Arthur Leclerc shared the spoils in the virtual F2 event earlier in the show, while kiwi ace Marcus Armstrong managed a ninth in the feature race before being tagged into a spin in the sprint affair and ultimately finished a lowly 14th.
