The kind of simulator utilized by Components One groups and their drivers are world-class. They’re large rooms with management panels, feeds from each angle, terabytes of information being beamed to engineers that use that info to tell their growth of the real-world automotive. I want I may present you an image of the one I visited a number of years in the past, however I can not—these groups have their simulators on full media lockdown.
However what’s an F1 driver to do once they’re not near their workforce’s world-class F1 simulators? The workforce brings the simulator to them.
The Aston Martin F1 workforce has simply launched particulars of an F1 simulator they’ve dropped off on the home of four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel, and it is critically beautiful. Its most putting characteristic is the duplicate AMR21 chassis making up the premise for the simulator cockpit—a useless lookalike for the chassis utilized by the workforce within the 2021 Components One World Championship.
The cockpit is made up of Vettel’s personal race seat, headrest, and seatbelts from the 2021 championship. The wing mirrors, steering wheel, and headrest all match the true deal, too.
Direct in entrance of the cockpit sits three large screens, hooked as much as a strong gaming PC. Apparently a two-screen model “proved limiting”, which makes me assume a modest funds wasn’t a figuring out issue within the design. There’s sure to be some severe graphical energy inside that PC to make sure these three screens are in a position to sustain with a World Champion’s driving capability, however we’re sadly missing specifics. Little doubt there is a high-end graphics card in there, an RTX 3090 or RX 6900 XT.
There is a slew of Logitech audio system surrounding the cockpit for immersive audio—although I doubt anybody’s racing at residence with the quantity set to match the roar of the V6 Turbo Hybrid engines utilized in F1 right now.
Even the metallic body that holds all of it collectively has been customized formed for this sim rig alone.
My solely criticism of your entire construct is that it seems the tempered facet glass of the PC continues to be coated within the plastic. I positive hope that is not nonetheless the case now that it is occupying house in Vettel’s own residence.
The design of the sim rig began in April 2021, led by senior storage tools designer Matt Tomalin. Professional Sim, a simulator designer and producer, helped put collectively the wheel suggestions system and calibration of the brake pedal to imitate an F1 automotive’s actual response.
“In such a worldwide championship, logistics and time constraints could make simulator time difficult to accommodate, so the house simulator presents Sebastian the prospect to get into the zone forward of Grand Prix weekends,” a blog post says.
All in, this simulator lives as much as F1’s costly tastes and expectations. These high F1 groups do not do something by half measures, clearly, and even with a cost-cap now in place to create a funds ceiling, not often is an expense spared on the subject of extracting high efficiency. Whereas there’s not an actual worth hooked up to this sim I shudder on the considered how a lot it prices.
I am additionally attempting to not really feel put out by the very fact my at-home racing sim rig is a wheel that I can barely match between me and a chest of drawers and a few pedals held in place by a block of wooden. Although I have to admit my lap instances aren’t precisely world championship materials.
How a lot a high-end simulator will assist in the approaching season, solely the professionals can say. Vettel has had a number of jokey phrases to say about his preparation for the approaching 2022 season, which begins this weekend and can see main modifications to all of the vehicles on the grid according to sweeping new rules.
“Possibly it’s higher to leap on the town bus quite than the simulator earlier than the race to get the preparation achieved,” Vettel mentioned to reporters in Bahrain (by way of PlanetF1).
“The vehicles now are completely different. The very first thing that stands out is the load, the vehicles are loads heavier, it’s simply extra inertia, extra mass, so due to this fact the driving has to adapt.”
