iRacing and Formula 1 is shaping the future along with manufactures such as Audi and Porsche to the masses. Sim racing and motorsport is in a golden era.
What better time to be a sim racer and motorsport fan as iRacing and other titles bring the reality to the virtual world with Audi and Porsche on the horizon.
There are plenty of changes afoot in the world of Formula 1 at this moment in time, both in terms of tweaks that will help the individual driver experience given recent rule changes, but also when it comes to the rule book itself given the regular, and ongoing, controversies that are created by perceived favouritism and at points, illogical loopholes in the existing regulations when it comes to the safety car usage and a couple of things that might be fun.
But that applies to ‘real’ racing and Formula 1 and for those who prefer to risk their virtual lives when going over 200 KPH (as opposed to doing it on your local freeway or, motorway or autobahn, esports and multi player racing, or even simply challenging yourself again computer generated users is a far wiser way to go. You do not need those complications in your life as the multitude of video games out there handle all of that for you – whether it is the long standing Grand Turismo franchise, the Forza or Dirt Rally alternatives, there are a plethora of options out there that would suit your individual tastes.
iRacing is another option and the 2023 Season 1 update gives gamers three new cars to deal with, along with new tracks and AI updates, and whilst you would naturally expect further improvements in future months and years, the simple fact that the F1 side of racing have already announced that Audi and Porsche will be entering in the 2026 season means fans have even greater elements of the experience to look forward to.
Chief executive officer of the parent company of the Volkswagen group, Herbert Diess, stated simply. “You just run out of arguments to not to join F1. As Audi chairman Markus Duesman always tells me, you usually make up one second per season on a medium-sized race track simply by optimising details. But you can’t catch up on that when you join a new team: you need five or 10 years to be among the front-runners. In other words, you can only get on board if you have a major rule change.”
Whilst he admitted the ultimate decision was obviously numbers led – they believe it will bring more revenue than it costs – he further admitted it did split opinion in the board of directors, but one of the compromises was Porsche itself will now reduce other race commitments and activities so it can focus on Formula 1.
In the current climate of global warming and climate change, one thing that Diess felt forced their hand was if they did not jump now, it could be another decade before they could more quickly compete given F1’s new 2026 engine regulations.
But that is for the future, for now fans will have to simply enjoy the AMG Mercedes W13 E performance F1 car from the 2022 season, as that now headlines the choices for the 2023 edition, reported DailyStoke.
Mercedes may not have had the greatest of successes of late as they work through engineering and race issues but for any aspiring Lewis Hamilton or George Russell’s out there – if this is your game of choice, that beauty has to be a go to.
Even if you can now choose from the BMW M Hybrid V8 and the Toyota GR98. It will certainly keep you occupied on cold nights (or warm ones) until more options are available.
