London, Apr 2 (IANS): Star England all-rounder Ben Stokes will join five F1 drivers at this weekend's F1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix. This weekends race is the second race in the new F1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix series, designed to give fans the chance to watch some F1 racing action, despite the ongoing coronavirus situation.

This weekend's race, in lieu of the inaugural Vietnam Grand Prix, will see Stokes race alongside Leclerc, Red Bull's Alex Albon, Williams' George Russell, McLaren's Lando Norris and WIlliams' Nicholas Latifi.

Due to the unavailability of the Vietnam circuit on the current version of the official F1 video game, the race will take place on the Albert Park circuit which should have hosted the season-opener in Australia.

The race will take place on Sunday and get underway at 8:00pm (UK time), with a qualifying session and 28-lap race broadcast on YouTube, Facebook and Twitch.

Julian Tan, F1's Head of Digital Business Initiatives and Esports said: "Following the massive success of the F1 Esports Bahrain Virtual Grand Prix, we are thrilled to be able to come back online again this weekend to provide fans with some racing action.

"A star-studded grid is shaping up with our F1 stars – past, present and future – as well as huge names in sports and entertainment. We look forward to providing some light relief through esports as we all navigate through these difficult times together, where our fans can engage with our sport in a different but familiar way."