British F1 professional race driver Lewis Hamilton has hinted about why he’s not a part of the F1 Virtual Grand Prix Series.
The tournament, announced back in March, has been a success, bringing pro drivers, esports sim drivers and other personalities together to take part in virtual races online, including pro drivers Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.
Speaking in a Mercedes video interview, as reported by Motor 1, Lewis Hamilton explained why he’s not a fan of sim racing.
“I’m not interested in much driving simulated racing,” he said.
“I never drive simulators, very, very rarely. With simulators it’s very, very difficult, because the movement is never perfect. It’s something they constantly try to improve on.
“Obviously if you’re at home with a simulator the seat doesn’t move, and your mind is telling you that the car’s moving, but you’re not getting any cueing of movements.
“You have to kind of override your mind and I don’t really like doing that and going through that process. Then you get in the real thing, and it’s completely different.
“I don’t find it personally any benefit doing the simulation thing, but the actually fun gaming side of things, when you get to play with friends and people online, that’s a plus stage.”
Lewis also said that Sony had sent him a Gran Turismo set-up to play at home, and he has been trying to beat his own time trials, but that he has veered away from playing competitively in online races for the reasons explained above.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
Countless pro racers play sim racers. Russel proved it’s the car Hamilton has no advantage, so he can’t win. The same reason he doesn’t go for the Race Of Champions.