Lando Norris is often hailed as one of the talents who could win a world title in the future. That’s why McLaren has tied him till 2025 with a contract worth $97.5 million, making him one of the richest drivers on the grid.
However, being an F1 driver requires enormous motor skills and reflexes. And only a few weeks away from the machinery can make drivers go rusty and give them physical difficulties against G forces.
While the physical aspect can be dealt with by hitting the gym and circuits but keeping up with the reflexes, a simulator is very important over there. Almost every driver on the grid uses them and harnesses their skills over the year.
Lando Norris talks about his $36, 521 sim that sustains his multi-million career
In the latest video uploaded by Cool Performance, Norris talks about why he has a GT simulator that, according to Simracing setup, the price of his sim set up is £30,000 ($36,521).
He claims that not only it’s there to entertain him and do some online racing but also to keep his muscle memory intact before taking on a real-life F1 car. The McLaren star reveals that driving a sim setup isn’t easy and helps in doing the arm strength training crucial to driving real cars.
He also talks about how a driver can customize the entire setup according to the series they are driving. Therefore, it’s the best investment for a racing driver away from the car and tracks that allow him to be at the top level.
Sim racers can drive professionally
Max Verstappen, who is constantly seen engrossed in sim racing, has talked about the constantly thinning difference between sm racers and real-life racers. The current F1 world champion reveals that the sim setup is so identical to the actual racing that the virtual drivers have adopted the skills of professional racers.
Apart from hitting the gym and being at the top of their fitness, sim racers are getting at the level of their real-life counterparts. This scenario is also reflected in the last few editions of the race of champions. Valtteri Bottas, the alfa Romeo driver, lost to a sim racer this year, and Sebastian Vettel lost to the same driver last year in the same competition.
Some of the virtual racers have also started enrolling on the junior series of Formula racing. Therefore, there could be a time when a sim racer could turn up to be an F1 driver.
