George Russell made it back-to-back victories as the Williams driver dominated Formula One’s Virtual Monaco Grand Prix to win by 39 seconds.

Russell, who won the virtual Spanish race two weeks ago, led from the first corner after Haas’ Pietro Fittipaldi went backwards off pole position.

And the 22-year-old enjoyed a relatively quiet 39 laps, pulling further and further clear while carnage reigned behind – with Mercedes’ Esteban Gutierrez snatching second place after barging Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari out of the way in the final stages.

With ‘damage mode’ turned off, drivers took full licence to race aggressively on the street circuit, with plenty of spills and spins the inevitable result.

Fittipaldi had taken a surprise pole as qualifying was contested in wet conditions, but squandered it off the line and quickly slipped back to sixth place.

Leclerc and his brother Arthur prospered in the early going on their home track and looked capable of keeping the pressure on Russell, but the Williams man was able to last longer on his medium tyres and once the pit stops began, his lead only kept growing.

Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, making his virtual GP debut, finished 16th in his McLaren.