Adrian Newey Tries Out The Red Bull Racing Simulator Challenge

High-technology racing simulators are the offspring of modern computing, allowing professional drivers to practice abundantly before facing the real thing. For that reason, it’s not unusual that Formula One teams invests plenty of money to make the simulators highly accurate. For many of the drivers competing in this world there’s sometimes no better way of polishing their driving skills in the hopes of getting one step closer to success. Not all drivers agree, however: Lewis Hamilton thinks differently about simulators.

The Red Bull F1 team has recently prepared an interesting challenge that will help people get a better understanding of how important the simulator really is. The idea is to allow famous motorsport celebrities to try out the simulator and see how they stack up to against former Formula One driver David Coulthard. He’s already set a lap of 1’17.960 at the Austrian A1 Ring circuit, and the time has now come for others to prove themselves.

Adrian Newey (head of the Formula One Red Bull team) is the first man to give it a try. Newey is no stranger to F1 fans, with 10 Constructors’ Championships to his name. His name should also be familiar to Gran Turismo players, as one of the main creative minds behind the hyper-quick Red Bull X-cars.

After much practice — and a hunt for a shortcut within the Armco — Newey finished a lap on the simulator with a time of 1’21.7. The Chief Technical Officer is almost four seconds adrift of the retired F1 driver! It’s going to be interesting to see what kind of people will get the chance to beat Coulthard’s record.

See more articles on Adrian Newey, David Coulthard, and Red Bull.