The inaugural F1 Bahrain Virtual Grand Prix was thoroughly entertaining and a part of the credit goes to Lando Norris. The McLaren driver was one of the highlights in yesterday’s race – not because of his race craft but everything else that happened off track. The Briton dialled up Max Verstappen before the race start and received some not so sound advice from the Dutchman.

Lando Norris calls up Max Verstappen

Norris started on the last row of the grid after a disastrous qualifying session. The Briton failed to set a lap time during the 18-minute session and started 19th alongside sim racer Jimmy Broadbent.

Before the race began, Norris called up Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to get some sound advice regarding the sprint race. Verstappen obliged by advising Lando to turn off his computer and watch tv instead.

“Don’t Brake Turn 1, take everyone out”

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“Then One lap in reverse then I would fully send it,” said Verstappen.

Norris came very close to following Max’s advice at the race start. The Brit bolted ahead of the pack as the lights went out. Unfortunately, Norris was given a mighty shunt from behind at the first corner rendering his hard work useless. Despite the setback, the Briton went on a steady charge and recovered towards the end of the race.

However, the last lap wasn’t drama-free. Norris was involved in a tense battle with sim racer Jimmy Broadbent (who started last). The Duo engaged in some nailbiting wheel to wheel action but threw it all away at the final turn on the last lap.

Norris, in a bid to stay ahead at all costs, cut across Broadbent in the final turn. The move sent Norris into the barriers and Broadbent emerged victorious from the battle.

An eventful first race

F2 and Renault junior academy driver Guanyu Zhou won the inaugural Virtual Grand Prix for the French team. A mix of professional racers, non-racers and sim racers meant the event was full of thrills and spills.

Norris finished fifth but the most exciting part of the event was Norris’ off-track adventures. The Briton dialled up several people from the F1 world including George Russel and McLaren team boss Zak Brown.

The first F1 Virtual Grand Prix was a resounding success and round 2 in China cannot get here any faster.