eSports take center stage as races are cancelled around the world

ESports takes center stage as motorsport cancellations around the world leave a gap in the weekend - a weekend that should have seen the start of the Formula 1 season.

'Not the Aus Grand Prix' saw Lando Norris racing for McLaren, Esteban Gutierrez and Stoffel Vandoorne in the Mercedes seats and Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois taking up residency at Racing Point.

The Veloce esports competition was run on the Formula 1 2019 Codemasters game with a one-lap shootout qualifying and a 50% distance Grand Prix.

Veloce esports driver Dani Bereznay won in an Alfa Romeo with Norris sixth and Courtois just outside of the points in a race that saw numerous time penalties handed out for pit-lane speeding and corner-cutting among other misdemeanours.

The Race are hosted an 'All-Star esports Battle' while Veloce Esports are ran 'Not the Aus Grand Prix'.

In the 'All-Star esports Battle', Max Verstappen was the headline driver competing for the $10,000 prize pot, while Formula E drivers Antonio Felix da Costa, Neel Jani also raced alongside several Indycar drivers and those from other disciplines.

Competing on rFactor 2 at the Nurburgring, the former host of both the German and European Grand Prix events, Verstappen emerged victorious from his qualifying round but struggled in the final, professional sim driver Jernej Simoncic taking the overall win.

IndyCar driver Felix Rosenqvist finished as the top real world driver, finishing seventh in the 24-driver final.

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