Buy yourself a Ferrari F1 simulator for the home – €300,000

September 9 2011



Ralf Lauren and Jamiroquai’s Jay Kay are among the first names on the order book for the new F1 simulator launched yesterday by Ferrari here in Monza.

The simulator is essentially the same as the one I drove at Spa(above), which Shell had purchased from Ferrari’s supplier All in Sport, which is run by former Ferrari and Red Bull electronics guru Anton Stipinovitch.

I posted on it at length during the Spa weekend. It’s a great tool, with stunning graphics and gives a real sense of how the tyres work and how the downforce comes in at speed and bleeds off under braking.

Essentially this is the same device as Shell will be touring the world with for fans and guests to use and as the sim used by the Ferrari Driver Academy. In other words it is a training device, rather than a full sim on which you can try out the latest aero developments. It has the F1 ECU and a real Ferrari monocoque, steering wheel and pedals, but it does not have the full electric rams, rather it has mini actuators which give a sense of movement and G force, but not the full experience. The benefit of that is that it’s less tiring than the real thing, so obsessives can drive it all day without their neck giving up.

There is a catch, however. To be able to buy one of these you must already be a Ferrari owner….

For those with a more modest budget, how about the Codemasters Ferrari replica Steering wheel, also launched yesterday? A snip at €199, which can be used on all game platforms.

* One final note – Ferrari engineer Rob Smedley’s F1 charity auction last week in aid of Zoe’s Place children’s hospice in Middlesborough, raised £50,000. Thanks to the JA on F1 readers who bid for the fantastic auction lots.