It’s an age-old argument that has been at the centre of attention for quite a while, but the usefulness and validation of professional racing simulators has been called into question yet again, this time by F1 World Champion Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton. Last weekend’s Grand Prix took place in Azerbaijan – a new race in the calendar – and in regards to steps taken to learn the Baku circuit, Hamilton was more critical than most about the simulation suites provided by F1 teams:
“When you get in the simulator you have to adjust all your feelings – you don’t get the same movements, the same bumps. You drive the same track the day before and on Monday you drive the simulator and the bumps aren’t there, the kerbs are different, the speed is different. You don’t feel the speed, you don’t feel the physicality of it.”
Hamilton claims that he could spend a relatively small sum on a Playstation and learn the same amount as the incredibly expensive simulators from a driving perspective. He does make mention that from a technical and engineering standpoint simulators have their uses. It seems like the Brit’s main problem is with how a real car feels as opposed to the simulator citing that:
“When you get into the simulator you have to adjust yourself to it and when you get in the car you don’t adjust to it, you drive.”
The complaints levied aren’t just at his current team though, making mention that at McLaren he felt the simulator was used ‘too much’ with no real outstanding benefit to the simulation runs. Traditional methods of learning a track also escape Hamilton, with him insisting that whilst walking around a track may help other drivers it makes ‘zero difference’ to his driving. Hamilton stopped walking around tracks in 2010.
The sensation of driving is something many simulators try to capture – without the emotion and adrenaline that factor into being ‘one with the car’, it can prove a difficult task capturing the feeling of actually driving beyond the more technical and measurable aspects.
In relation to the actual tracks being driven, it’s near impossible to perfectly create an accurate circuit with every bump and crevice there for the driver to experience. Regardless, Hamilton’s comments do spark interest in the debate about how useful simulators really are for racing drivers, and where the focus should be moving forward for teams looking to prepare their drivers correctly.
See more articles on F1, Lewis Hamilton, and Simulator.
It looks like some of us forgot the difference and the purpose of simulation between us and a f1 world champion.
For a f1 driver simulators maybe aren’t a so valuable training, but for a everyday driver or an occasional racing driver they are extremely helpful.
Of course you won’t get the skills to win a f1 championship but simulators will improve average driving skills for sure.
Keyword here: For Learning a Track
That’s because a lot of them use rFactor Pro which is old as hell now and frankly, never was the best sim that even us normal consumers can get. I wonder if Ferrari’s simulator uses Assetto Corsa. If so they’ll be much better off than Lewis
i believe, that for a world champion a simulator is not much help.
but what i tried as an amateur: i trained red bull circuit in GT 6 and then went to real track with real car.
the breaking points, the line, the points that need special attention – it all was clear from first round on.
The best uses for simulators are for the team’s engineers to work on car set-up prior to an upcoming event, especially at a new track or a modified previous track. They can have a good stab at downforce levels and the car’s gearing etc. Saving time during the free practise sessions for fine tuning. They don’t even need the race day drivers for this, the third driver or anyone else on their books would be sufficient.
Have he ever tried iRacing?
Yes he has.
This is an excellent thought provoking article, and one of the reasons I come back to GTPlanet regularly even though there may not be much news on that GT in GT Planet!
As processors and GPU’s develop there will be more physics calculations and more detail to the tracks…
Simulation will always be an art as compromises need to be made in order for it to run in real time, there is an art to choosing compromises and I believe a lot of it comes down to individual taste. What I focus on when I’m driving may be different to others and hence I favour a simulation that relays those factors.
Also today’s simulators only cater to a couple of senses, with visual being the closest to reality IMHO right now. Maybe the VR headset coupled with tilting and gravity to simulate the acceleration force will help to convey the speed, but until they can exert more force on the user, it’s fairly limited in the acceleration it can simulate.
Obviously then the F1 teams should all poor ridiculous amounts of money into a game developer then to make the ultimate racing sim instead throwing it at their practically worthless simulators. :)
I think GT Academy program was the salution when moving from a simulator into reality.
In simulator – you learn the breaking points & accelerating points.
KAZ himself used the simulated nurburgring to win the event.
Kaz won the Nurburgring event eh? You’d think GTP would be all over that as a news story.
Any simulator will only ever give you a rough idea of a track, where the turns are, the distances to them, how the track flows etc. It can never truly replicate the real thing and that is what Lewis is saying.
The reason being a track is a living thing, PD or any company could make an absolutely perfect scan of a track and the next day it would be different. Heck, even an hour later it could be. Temperatures change, grip levels constantly change for a myriad of reasons, the tarmac even physically moves over time, introducing bump/undulations that weren’t there before.
My intention was a confirmation & a reminder.
I know what Hamilton meant – hence “Braking points & accelerating points” not “everything on the track” :)
By the way – the bumps were simulated also – play De La Sarthe on the lomg straight line section & see how the car moves X)
Even the waterboxes were simulated in a certain spots on the track based on mardenborough :)
About the changing of the course by the minute – it’s natural & the salution to get it back to it’s original state or almost the original state is to rebuild or rework on the certain spot by the Asphalt Truck ( forgot the name ) by flatining the road or just fixing the holes which can leave the bumps X)
Funny he should mention walking the track. Back in the stone age when I was karting I guess some of the guys saw a TV special or something and used to walk new tracks before first practice. When a couple of them asked why I didn’t go I said, “I’m going to be going around the track at 60-80 mph I don’t think walking is going to help me much”. Glad Lewis feels the same…lol
A motion rig is pretty much limited to <1g by basic physics. I doubt proper physicality of driving a race car will ever be simulated.
Not until we get true Matrix-style VR.
Tank: “Operator”
Lain: “Tank, I need a driving programme for a Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid Formula One car.”
:D
Maybe he could have done with a bit more simulator work this time around…
Hammy has a point, but as usual he is not exactly looking st the bigger picture. We do have a long way to go, but with VR/AR, and awesome upcoming techs in motion manipulation, there is and will be a lot of stuff to take away from Sim Racing. Hammy’s kinda a little whiny spoiled brat too, so keep that in mind.
Not sure what his attitude has to do with this when Several drivers, including Matt Dibenedetto, have said some of the same things (yet didn’t get as much attention because they aren’t current F1 champions of course). Point he is making is simulators only simulated the looks of the track but not the actual feeling of speed or the car (The Physicality of it as he put it), which is funny enough what many people have said over the years. Sure we’ll have VR and all that other stuff. As of right now though, there is still a sizable gap between sim and real life. And honestly, I’m not even sure VR will be the end-all solution just yet.
Says the guy whining about Hamilton..
Seeing as how he’s the F1 world champion I think it’s pretty safe to say there is no one in the world looking at a “bigger picture” than Lewis. If you read and understood what he said, he’s saying that the feedback you get from the simulator is confusing relative to the real thing and his focus is on the real thing. He has to learn and unlearn every time he uses it so in that regard, a console or computer sim is just as good for his purpose.<<<<key words.
“Hammy has a point, but as usual he is not exactly looking st the bigger picture”
what bigger picture?? Uhh yeah because motion manipulation will someday make me really believe I’m driving F1 through Monaco close to certain death…. puhhlease.
“Hammy’s kinda a little whiny spoiled brat too, so keep that in mind.” – what the hell does this even mean??? some of you people I swear just hate on crap for the sake of fulfilling your own haunting inadequacies… give it a rest man. Not cool.