iRacing has reached an agreement with the Mercedes F1 team to produce virtual versions of their legendary Formula 1 cars for the leading sim racing platform, with this year’s W12 in the works and the 2022 car also on the cards.
This will be a big boost to the professional and amateur online multiplayer racing platform that is tightly regulated to meet real world racing standards and conditions. The service attracts F1 drivers like Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.
Most real racing drivers – from oval to street circuit, from open bike to tin roof – use the service regularly, from NASCAR to Skip Barber and everything in between.
The current collection of F1 cars on iRacing are: McLaren Honda MP4-30, Williams-Toyota FW31, Lotus 79 and Lotus 49. The service has a virtual version of the Mercedes AMG GT3.
So far, the current era F1 virtual cars have only been available in Codemasters’ official F1 game which is part of Electronic Arts.
Press release:
iRacing and the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team are pleased to announce that the legendary racing team will bring multiple vehicles to iRacing in future builds.
First up is the Mercedes-AMG F1 W12 E Performance, which is currently leading the constructors’ world championship.
“We are very excited to add world-class racing cars such as the Mercedes-AMG F1 W12 E Performance to iRacing in the near future,” said Steve Myers, iRacing Executive Vice President.
“The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team has been the dominant brand at the highest level in motorsport for some time. It has won seven consecutive championships for its cars and drivers, and bringing its world-class machines to iRacing underscores our commitment to delivering the most authentic sim racing experience in the world to our nearly 200,000 dedicated iRacers. “
“We have been working closely with iRacing since the beginning of 2021 to bring the W12 to life in the virtual environment of iRacing,” said James Vowles, Motorsport Strategy Director, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team.
“The intention was to create as accurate a representation of the W12 as possible from a performance and driving perspective. Throughout the process we have had a unique and close relationship with the developers, which has resulted in a model that we hope everyone will enjoy driving as much as our drivers. “
The work to bring the vehicles of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team to iRacing has been a long process. As part of the development work, the team ran extensive testing within iRacing and provided feedback and data to improve iRacing’s entire open-wheel physics model. Many of these adjustments to the physics model have already been rolled out to the iRacing user base.
The Mercedes-AMG F1 W12 E Performance is again clad in a striking black livery and started the 2021 season with a double podium in Bahrain, with the seven-time and reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton taking the win.
At the Italian Grand Prix, the car took teammates Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas to four wins, 18 podiums, four poles and six fastest laps. The team is currently pursuing the eighth driver and constructors’ championship in a row with the car.
In addition to the W12, iRacing will work on bringing the team’s challenger from 2022 into the simulation in the coming year. The 2022 vehicle will be developed according to revised championship regulations.
The new technical regulations include the reintroduction of ground effects for the first time since the 1980s, simplified engines, certain standardized components and larger 18-inch wheels.
The addition of the two Mercedes-AMG F1 Team vehicles comes after iRacing has already presented or announced a large number of current Grand Prix venues, including the Hockenheimring, the Red Bull Ring and the Hungaroring, in recent months.
They join other 2021 Grand Prix hosts such as Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps, Monza, Suzuka and the Circuit of the Americas, among others as tracks iRacers will be racing immediately after each car is released.
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