F1

In what’s now an annual tradition, sim-racing peripheral manufacturer Fanatec has revealed its limited-edition ClubSport Steering Wheel F1 just in time for the Black Friday sales.

The latest entry in the officially licensed, annual series of F1 games, F1 22, is set to be officially revealed on April 21.

With the start of the 2017 Formula 1 season a little over a month away, Codemasters has finished the post-game development on its latest official Formula 1 video game with a small but important patch.

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:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9DP-ccz210

I just got in from the Gran Turismo 5 launch party here in Madrid – packed with media representatives from around the world, it was a fitting way to celebrate the end of GT5’s long and dramatic development. Here’s what I learned:

It’s always kind of interesting to find out that a celebrity shares your hobby for sim racing – especially when that celebrity competes in the highest level of international motorsport!  Renault Formula 1 driver Nelson Piquet, Jr. gave lots of Gran Turismo fans something to smile about when he recently posted the above picture to Twitter from what appears to be his apartment in Monaco.  As you can see, he’s at Suzuka East with the “racing line” enabled – needless to say, that’s something that’s earned him some friedly jibes in our forums!  Regardless, Nelson embraces the web, and communicates frequently via Twitter about everything he’s doing – it’s worth following him at @NelsonPiquet_ (you can follow @GTPlanetNews, too!).

Sim racers love their hobby, and we’ve seen some pretty impressive setups over the years (see our Racing Cockpits forum for more).  This, however, raises the bar to a completely new level – it’s a full size replica of a Ferrari F1 car wired up for video gaming, and it can be yours for £13,500 ($18,944 USD).  The mysterious model is actually listed for sale on a website where ‘real’ F1 cars can be bought and sold, but this one substitutes a PlayStation 2 in place of a V10.  Yes, that’s right – more than $18,000 and you don’t even get a PlayStation 3!