Oscar Piastri has a very different view of the simulator than Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time world champion declared this season that he would avoid the simulator as much as possible, after the tool had put the driver on the ‘wrong track’ for the Miami GP. For Piastri, however, the tool is a fixed part of his preparations for a race weekend: “But I also grew up in a different generation than Lewis.”
Read more FIA sets the following ambitious goal: ‘Make cars eighty kilos lighter again’
Simulators meanwhile play a key role in the preparation of an F1 team for a race weekend. With the help of test and simulator drivers, the teams can already collect data and get familiar with a circuit ahead of a Grand Prix. However, not all Formula 1 drivers are fans of the simulator themselves.
After the Miami GP, Lewis Hamilton spoke about his love-hate relationship with the Ferrari simulator. According to the world champion, the simulator had put him on the ‘wrong track’ that weekend: “So I think I’ll stop doing simulator work now.” Two weeks later in Montreal, Hamilton explained that the simulator is also not a necessity for him: “It’s a tool that can be powerful, but I’m old school and probably better off without it.”
Read more Disney Formula 1 helmet signed by twenty drivers fetches record amount at auction
Different generation
Oscar Piastri, however, has a very different view of the simulator than his older colleague. “I actually find it useful. I also grew up in a different generation than Lewis did,” the Australian driver told the media. “Simulators have of course existed for a long time, but I understand that they are not suitable for everyone. The current cars are very complicated, and I find it very useful to use a simulator, both for myself and for the team.”
Still, the simulator is no replacement for the real thing, Piastri also says. “Simulators will never be perfect. They will never be an infallible tool, and they will never be as good as driving a real car. You work with the tools you have, or you don’t, if you think that is better for you.”
Read everything about the Dutch GP in Zandvoort here
