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Formula 1 launches Virtual Grand Prix Series to replace postponed races

formula1.com

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Re: Formula 1 launches Virtual Grand Prix Series to replace postponed races

#11

Post by torbital »

runawaybottle wrote: post #3

Is the game a good enough simulator? Should real drivers be the best F1 streamers with a good wheel setup? This is really pushing the notion of work from home.

I'm surprised they didn't go with a more mainstream title like Forza, which has surprisingly accurate physics in it. It's not specifically built for F1, but maybe they could do a DLC for this.

The other huge benefit is that players can put themselves in the same setups as the drivers and compare speeds. That would be awesome.

Re: Formula 1 launches Virtual Grand Prix Series to replace postponed races

#12

Post by tentboy »

w-m wrote: post #4
runawaybottle wrote: post #3

Is the game a good enough simulator? Should real drivers be the best F1 streamers with a good wheel setup? This is really pushing the notion of work from home.

In the Netflix series, Drive to Survive, you could see one of the younger drivers (I don't recall who it was) play the Codemasters game at home. It didn't look like exposition or product placement, but rather like something that they regularly did to train.

I think they showed Max or Alex but I don't remember for sure - but that was certainly product placement/he was just playing it for fun. Lando and Max play alot of iRacing which is the most comprehensive and realistic simulator which can actually help you train for motorsports (I use it to learn tracks before I race in a miata) and I think they recently got Carlos and Alex into playing.

Besides, all the teams have their own non commercial simulators miles ahead of what you can play at home

Re: Formula 1 launches Virtual Grand Prix Series to replace postponed races

#13

Post by sprsquish »

joncrane wrote: post #5
runawaybottle wrote: post #3

Is the game a good enough simulator? Should real drivers be the best F1 streamers with a good wheel setup? This is really pushing the notion of work from home.

No. In the less formal event last Sunday, the e-sports drivers dominated the race and the highest finishing "real" F1 driver was in 8th, and incredibly proud of that achievement. Edit: this is for a variety of reasons. The greatest of which is that when you're actually going 200 MPH and risking hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage, and moreso your own life and limb and those of your competitors, your risk avers…

I think your point about not feeling the car is a big part of what makes driving a simulator so difficult. Every part of a real car is giving the driver direct feedback into various parts of their body. How hard they are on the brake and throttle. Small changes in lateral g-force let them know how close to the edge of traction they are. The screen isn't going to be the same as the real world. The only feedback you get from an (affordable) at-home sim is through the screen and wheel. It requires you to tune into different sensations.

On the last stream Lando Norris (McLaren F1 driver) was asked if it felt like the real thing. He was response was something like, "Not at all. Nothing is like driving an F1 car."

Re: Formula 1 launches Virtual Grand Prix Series to replace postponed races

#14

Post by Someone »

joncrane wrote: post #5
runawaybottle wrote: post #3

Is the game a good enough simulator? Should real drivers be the best F1 streamers with a good wheel setup? This is really pushing the notion of work from home.

No. In the less formal event last Sunday, the e-sports drivers dominated the race and the highest finishing "real" F1 driver was in 8th, and incredibly proud of that achievement. Edit: this is for a variety of reasons. The greatest of which is that when you're actually going 200 MPH and risking hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage, and moreso your own life and limb and those of your competitors, your risk avers…

I would think the physical aspects aren’t the largest barrier to entry.

As one could bluntly state it: because it takes a lot of money and connections to even be considered as a driver, it is statistically highly unlikely that, talent-wise, the current F1 drivers are in the top 1% or even top 25% of the world.

If Senna were born in tropical Africa, or even if he hadn’t had wealthy parents, he probably wouldn’t ever have raced a F1 car.

It’s way more likely for a talented soccer player from a similar background to make it into a top team.

Re: Formula 1 launches Virtual Grand Prix Series to replace postponed races

#16

Post by magila »

runawaybottle wrote: post #3

Is the game a good enough simulator? Should real drivers be the best F1 streamers with a good wheel setup? This is really pushing the notion of work from home.

Compared to other racing simulators the official F1 games are, to put it kindly, not the highest fidelity. Their design is geared towards mass market accessibility, not accuracy.

For more serious sim racing, iRacing is usually the game of choice. Some of the younger F1 drivers play iRacing in their (now quite copious) spare time and they generally do quite well.

Re: Formula 1 launches Virtual Grand Prix Series to replace postponed races

#17

Post by C1sc0cat »

sprsquish wrote: post #13
joncrane wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. In the less formal event last Sunday, the e-sports drivers dominated the race and the highest finishing "real" F1 driver was in 8th, and incredibly proud of that achievement. Edit: this is for a variety of reasons. The greatest of which is that when you're actually going 200 MPH and risking hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage, and moreso your own life and limb and those of your competitors, your risk avers…

I think your point about not feeling the car is a big part of what makes driving a simulator so difficult. Every part of a real car is giving the driver direct feedback into various parts of their body. How hard they are on the brake and throttle. Small changes in lateral g-force let them know how close to the edge of traction they are. The screen isn't going to be the same as the real world. The only feedback you ge…

Its the shear physical impact on the driver - I recall seeing drivers having difficulty at the end of the race getting out of the car.

Re: Formula 1 launches Virtual Grand Prix Series to replace postponed races

#18

Post by joncrane »

Someone wrote: post #14
joncrane wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. In the less formal event last Sunday, the e-sports drivers dominated the race and the highest finishing "real" F1 driver was in 8th, and incredibly proud of that achievement. Edit: this is for a variety of reasons. The greatest of which is that when you're actually going 200 MPH and risking hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage, and moreso your own life and limb and those of your competitors, your risk avers…

I would think the physical aspects aren’t the largest barrier to entry. As one could bluntly state it: because it takes a lot of money and connections to even be considered as a driver, it is statistically highly unlikely that, talent-wise, the current F1 drivers are in the top 1% or even top 25% of the world. If Senna were born in tropical Africa, or even if he hadn’t had wealthy parents, he probably wouldn’t ever h…

You still need thousands and thousands of dollars for a decent Sim racing setup, a stable internet connection, and a room to do it from.

Sure, it's not formula racing, but there are still massive barriers to entry for sim racing.

Re: Formula 1 launches Virtual Grand Prix Series to replace postponed races

#19

Post by gil »

This will be entertaining due to the well known driver names BUT not high level by any means:

"Due to the wide variety of gaming skill levels amongst the drivers, game settings will be configured in such a way to encourage competitive and entertaining racing. This includes running equal car performance with fixed setups, reduced vehicle damage, and optional anti-lock brakes and traction control for those less familiar with the game."

More like a "So You Think You Can Dance" celebrity edition than anything else.

A much higher level event which also includes some IRL drivers from multiple series is: The Race All-Star Esports Battle (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_a_RV5UY8mk) Higher level mostly because they race in rFactor2 which is a better simulator than F1 2019 and there are no driver aids. Also because everyone on the grid are long-ish time sim racers, even if some of them also happen to be IRL drivers (Max Verstappen, Felix Rosenqvist, Antonio Felix da Costa, a few others)

Here's a good list of motorsports eSports events for the next few days: https://the-race.com/esports/the-complete-motorsport-esports...

Re: Formula 1 launches Virtual Grand Prix Series to replace postponed races

#20

Post by reidjs »

joncrane wrote: post #18
Someone wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would think the physical aspects aren’t the largest barrier to entry. As one could bluntly state it: because it takes a lot of money and connections to even be considered as a driver, it is statistically highly unlikely that, talent-wise, the current F1 drivers are in the top 1% or even top 25% of the world. If Senna were born in tropical Africa, or even if he hadn’t had wealthy parents, he probably wouldn’t ever h…

You still need thousands and thousands of dollars for a decent Sim racing setup, a stable internet connection, and a room to do it from. Sure, it's not formula racing, but there are still massive barriers to entry for sim racing.

True but it’s at least an order of magnitude less money to do the e-sport than the real one
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