The next F1 world champion will be a sim racer, yes you read that right. You will see what I mean in this week’s edition of the Sim Racing Roundup. I also have more examples of sim racers succeeding in real life racing (IRL), how race drivers use sim racing as a development tool and the usual sim racing tips, news, and tech reviews.
It’s all in this week’s edition of the Sim Racing Roundup on Motorsport Prospects. It’s sim racing news for racers not gamers.
From Sim Racing to the Real Thing
The Robb Report Hong Kong recently profiled the new Drivers Lab in Dubai.
“Generally, the best outcome when guests drive the simulator is when they get out, say nothing in particular about the simulator unless asked, and go straight to work in the engineering room to work on their driving,” says Wells. “This is the biggest compliment because it means they are straight away working on their driving as they would in the real world. In fact, many pro racers often have their own simulators used as conditioning exercises, second only to being on track.”
You can read the article here.
I noticed an interesting point that came up in Chloe Chong’s recent Feeder Series interview about how drivers are using the gap in the schedule between F1 Academy races to work on driver development skills and it relates to personal sim rigs.
“At the beginning of the year, Prema discouraged us from buying a sim because they said it wasn’t going to help. They didn’t want it to distract me from their team sim. But we finally decided during the summer break to invest and try renting one out. So we did that and it helped so, so much.” Her routine during this break was “sim every day, training every day” and working on the “little things like mindset” to improve the psychological side on her racing. This hard work translated into better on-track performance.
Chong: 2024 F1 Academy calendar gaps ‘very useful’ for driver development
Box This Lap looks at how sim racing is in pursuit of ultimate realism in the 21st Century. “However, as technology advanced and developer expertise grew, modern sim racing titles have pushed the boundaries of what’s possible. Today’s titles boast an extensive range of racing disciplines, from Formula One to GT3 to rallycross, catering to a diverse audience of fans.”
Box This Lap also looks towards the future of sim racing. “Gone are the days when high-fidelity racing experiences were reserved for professional teams or deep-pocketed enthusiasts. Today, the democratization of sim racing has made immersive racing setups accessible to a wide range of enthusiasts, fostering a vibrant community of virtual racers.”
Road & Track has an interesting article on how so many of the current crop of F1 drivers are avid sim racers.
Streaming is also a bigger and bigger part of an F1 driver’s life. Verstappen’s Team Redline keeps him busy. The weekend after he clinched his second championship, he was doing an endurance sim race. He has been setting up his own GT3 racing team with a stated goal to provide a ladder for sim racers into real cars. He told his own Verstappen.com website, “Using Verstappen.com Racing, we sponsor and support the racing activities of various people close to me via consultations and advice. It all started with the sim racing of Team Redline.”
F1 Is in Its Streamer Era
Competitive Sim Racing News
- Screen To Speed’s Dream Team to Feature Real-Life Racer Beitske Visser in VCO Infinity Event (INIT Esports)
- 2023/24 F1 Sim Racing calendar announced (McLaren)
- F1 Sim Racing World Championship – Event 2 (Capsule Computers)
- GT Champions announces one-make iRacing series, the GTC Porsche EuroCup (GT Champions)
- Ferrari announces HP as new F1 team title sponsor (Autosport)
- First Nordic Esports Championship to take place this month (PMW)
Sim Racing Tips & Techniques
In the video above, Ryan volunteered his time to let Danny Lee hone/practice his coaching methods. In just one hour it’s all about identifying the biggest potential drags on his progress, or most important things to work on correcting.
Sim Racing Tech Roundup
Here is a roundup of the latest sim racing tech news, reviews, and recommendations from around the world
- Logitech Pro Racing Wheel (Podium Life)
- 5 best sim racing cockpits in 2024 (SportSkeeda)
- Playseat has a new sim racing cockpit with F1 branding (Autoidustriya)
- Best PC racing wheels in 2024: my favorite direct drive and budget steering wheels for sim racing (PC Gamer)
General Sim Racing News
- Release date of F1 24 video game confirmed (SpeedCafe)
- Why Codemasters Hasn’t Changed Game Engine For F1 24 (Overtake)
- 13 of Max Verstappen’s best, worst and most controversial sim-racing moments (Oversteer48)
- Motorsport Games and British Touring Car Championship Announce Settlement and New Licensing Agreement (Business Insider)
- Want to know what driving the Grand Prix of Long Beach track is like? Now you can — sort of (Los Angeles Daily News)
- Cooler Master Brings Next-Level Simulation Racing to the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach (Business Wire)
- Red Bull partner with EA Sports for 2024 F1 season (BlackBook Motorsport)
- Inside EA Sports F1 24’s Massive Physics Overhaul (The Drive)
- Star football players join Norris’ McLaren ‘sim racing school’ (GP Fans)
- New Gran Turismo 7 Update Coming This Week (Racing Games)
Author: Mark Boudreau
Mark is the publisher of Motorsport Prospects. As a lawyer, he applies his legal background and research skills to assist race drivers by showcasing the resources they need to make their motorsport careers happen.
