Virtual Azerbaijan GP: Russell wins 3rd race in a raw

Williams driver George Russell completed a hat-trick of esports wins on Sunday to knock Ferrari's Charles Leclerc off the top of Formula One's virtual grand Prix standings with one race remaining.

The Briton, who failed to score a point on the real racetrack last year in an uncompetitive car after winning the 2018 F2 title, led from pole to checkered flag on the simulated Baku circuit.

It was the 22-year-old's third race win in a row, and he was boosted by Leclerc finishing 14th and behind Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois in 11th.

Russell's Williams teammate Nicholas Latifi of Montreal finished in 7th place.

The virtual race held on the day the postponed Azerbaijan Grand Prix scheduled to take place before the COVID-19 pandemic ripped up the calendar.

Russell won the virtual Monaco Grand Prix by a large margin on May 24, and he won the Spanish Grand Prix on May 10, edging out Leclerc, who collected a three-second penalty for exceeding track limits on the penultimate lap.

F1 has been holding virtual races because the real series has not started this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The final race of the esports series will be the Virtual Canadian Grand Prix, on a simulated Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, on Sunday, June 14.

It's the same date the actual Canadian Grand Prix was supposed to be held before it was postponed. F1 has yet to reschedule a new date for the event held annually in Montreal.

The actual F1 season is set to open July 5 with the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring, followed by a second race on the same track one week later on July 12.