Victor Martins discusses what it is like being an F1 simulator driver with Williams in this week’s Sim Racing Roundup. I also have details on a first real-world win for a sim racer, new esport competition details and more!
Overview
From Sim Racing to the Real Thing
What is it Like Being a Williams F1 Simulator Driver?
As a Formula 3 champion and and one of Oscar Piastri’s main rivals in junior formulae, Victor Martins hasn’t quite made it to Formula 1. But the Alpine Hypercar driver, who has been tipped for a Formula E move with Nissan, now serves as Williams’ test and development driver. At the Belgian Grand Prix, he told Autosport all about his job.
“For the simulator for young driver development, we try to get as close as possible to how a car behaves on track, so it naturally is similar. But we’ll try and work on models from feeder series – F3, F2 – to try and reproduce everything they might have in junior categories. But there are similarities, it’s the same in the end.”
Why Simulators Are So Important in Formula E
Formula E has turned the simulator into an essential part of its competitive toolkit. This Racecar Engineering feature explores how teams use simulation to develop car setup, understand energy management, prepare drivers for unfamiliar circuits and rehearse race strategies before they ever reach the track. With limited testing opportunities and the unique demands of electric racing, the simulator has become far more than a driver-training tool—it is a critical part of the engineering and performance process.
Sim Racing Star Rogers Takes First Real-World Car Victory, Then Triples Up
Porsche Coanda Esports driver Joshua Rogers has taken his first real-world car racing victory. Then backed it up with two more during the same weekend. Rogers took his maiden real-world motorsport race victory, and immediately backed it up with two more at Knockhill.
Competitive Sim Racing News
UK vs. Australia vs. South Africa
Three great sporting nations are set to battle it out in the Tri-Nations Esports Cup and your country needs you! 10 drivers from each country will be selected to fight it out in a two race event on 6th September. First up is Pre-Qualifying 21st – 23rd August in @iracingofficialTime Attack.
Find out more on the following link – https://esports.motorsportuk.org/events/tri-nations-esports-cup
FIA Esports Championship 2026: Inside Its Global Sim Racing Plan
On 17 August the FIA closes a tender that could produce the first genuinely global, officially sanctioned sim racing championship. Behind it sits something bigger: a rulebook, a license system and a stewarding structure that already exist. Motorsport’s governing body is quietly building the institutional layer sim racing esports has never had.
Box This Lap looks at the implications of this new plan here.
Sim Racing Tips & Techniques
Should Beginners Start on Slow Cars in Sim Racing?
Sim Racing Tech Roundup
Inside a PRL Driver’s Sim Rig Setup
- Driven Dynamix Opens New Showroom in Bellevue, Washington (Driven Dynamix)
- Thrustmaster T248R Review: A Beginner’s First Steps into Sim Racing (Box This Lap)
- Moza R5 Pro Bundle Review: Best Budget Direct Drive Wheel (2026) (Box This Lap)
- Best PC racing wheels in 2026: my favorite direct drive and budget steering wheels for sim racing (PC Gamer)
General Sim Racing News
- EA Is Now Saudi-Owned. What That Means For Racing Games (Box This Lap)
- Why Brands are Betting on Sim Racing (Outdrive GP)
- What Project Motor Racing is working on next (Traxion)
- Le Mans Ultimate console versions “on track for early-to-mid” 2027 (Traxion)
Author: Mark Boudreau
Mark is the publisher of Motorsport Prospects and the host of the Motorsport Prospects Podcast. 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.
