Many Formula One teams and many other motorsport categories use some of these simulators that we are going to present to you Not all of them have the same strengths or weaknesses, each one is good, or better, in some detail that makes it special, be it the quality of the simulation, the quality of the graphics or sound, or its online gameplay.
If you have seen any video of Formula One drivers testing in their simulators, you will see that there are hardly any details of the environment, except for the basic references of the circuit. That’s because they dedicate all available technology to things like asphalt details, weather, tire behavior, brakes and engine.
In a real simulator everything is measured. Temperatures, wear and consumption are recreated as they would be in the real world. We can even extract telemetry from our driving and compare it with that of other pilots, even with those of professional pilots.
You will see that in this list there are no very popular games, especially in the world of consoles. In my opinion, and I would also say that of the most expert simracing community, they are not really simulators. Its main attraction is having some impressive graphics, almost realistic, but they are not one hundred percent a simulator.
You will be able to enjoy a spectacular sunrise, with a car detailed to the millimeter, but once on the asphalt you can do crazy things driving that would not be normal in the real world. In a simulator you can not have the slightest error. It’s all about driving and just concentrating on driving.
iRacing
We could say that today iRacing It is one of the most professional simulators in the simracing world.. It began its journey in 2008, but since then it has been modernizing and updating the software, being today one of the most used simulators in online competitions, even by professional teams.
Despite the fact that its creators are American and at the beginning almost half of the content consisted of oval-type circuits and Nascar cars, its “non-oval” content is spectacular, covering a good part of the most famous circuits in the world, created from laser mapping that capture and recreate any detail of the track almost to the millimeter.
All available cars are licensed and it is the brands themselves that validate their digital version. The only difference with respect to the rest of the simulators on the market is that works by subscriptionso every 3 months or every year you have to go through the box.
That’s for the basic and free content, which includes a few tracks and cars. The extra content must be downloaded separately, and you also have to go through the box. To sum it up, it’s not a cheap simulator.
It is designed for online competitions, so that the driving quality is controlled. Using the outside of the track or collisions, even slight ones, with other users will be penalized. All based on a points license, which is what allows you to participate in the championships divided into categories from Rookie to Pro.
It is a simulator to train, a lot, and compete for real. In fact, many professional pilots use this simulator In his spare time, as is the case with Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz, Charles Lecrerc and other Formula One drivers.
Assetto Corsa
This platform developed by Kunos Simulazioni, an Italian programmer based at the Vallelunga circuit, it is a very complete simulatorwith many cars and circuits. It has the great advantage of being able to add and modify community-developed contentin some cases with amazing quality.
Assetto Corsa It was created in 2013, and over time, despite the updates, it has lost some quality in its FFB (Force Feedback) compared to more current simulators. Still, it’s still one of the top sims in any simracing library.
The basic version has an affordable price (even on sale it can cost as little as €5), it is ideal to start, and it will allow you to download a lot of extra content over the network. There are also versions for a slightly higher price that already include all the official downloadable content. Furthermore, it does not require an exceptionally powerful computer to function.
Asset Corsa Competition
The older brother of Assetto Corsa. A simulator specialized in GT3 and GT4, in fact it is an official license. maybe one of the best simulators today in terms of Force Feedback sensation. The sensations provided by the steering wheel convey all the details of how the tire is performing, its grip and its wear.
It is one of the few simulators that has a graphics engine that adds rain to the simulation, a fact that dynamically influences grip, creating more humid areas, even flooded ones, which can cause aquaplaning.
Its basic version also has an affordable price, and to it you can add packs from different seasons and categories, always with GT vehicles. In this case, the simulator does not allow you to modify or add new content.
driver 2
Automobilista 2 is a Brazilian creation. Their predecessors in the Game Stock Car saga already promised a lot, but in Automobilista 2 the Force Feedback is one of the best you can find in simracingapart from some very good graphics, which allow the transition between night and day and weather in real time.
In its most basic version it incorporates a good part of the best-known Brazilian circuits, but additional packs with European circuits and other car categories can be purchased.
The amount of sensations behind the wheel is superior. Dry and wet track at different points, humidity, puddles. Wear and flats on the tire.
RaceRoom Racing Experience
A simulator used officially in the WTCR (World Touring Car Championship). Nails on very good physics, more than acceptable graphics and spectacular sound. The basic package is somewhat fair, but then there is a store included in the game itself where you can add tracks and other categories of cars at very affordable prices.
It can also be purchased directly by packs: Initial, Pro and Premium, apart from other packs grouped by type of circuit or car.
rFactor2
A piece of simulator that has taken years to find its way due to various setbacks. has always been the best in terms of physics, but some graphical problems and some online gameplay problems they involuntarily separate it from the simracing community, since it is not one of the most used currently.
However, its development is constant. An example, which you can see in the image, is its latest technology called Real Road 2.0, which makes the asphalt have real grip behavior depending on weather conditions such as temperature, humidity, sun or shade, etc.
