This Might Be Your Only Chance to Drive Ferrari’s Official Formula 1 Simulator
Normally, the multi-million-dollar rig is closed to the public. But Ferrari is making an exception.
Your at-home sim racing rig might be nice, but it's nowhere close to Ferrari's official Formula 1 simulator in Maranello. It's an exclusive, completely immersive contraption used to recreate the conditions felt behind the wheel of real F1 cars at tracks across the globe. Normally it's reserved for the likes of Charles LeClerc and Sebastian Vettel—at least for the time being—but someone from the general public will soon have a go in it...for a price.
RM Sotheby's is auctioning off an opportunity to drive the Ferrari F1 sim in the name of charity. It's a no-reserve lot that'll gather all proceeds for #RaceAgainstCovid, and bidding ends on June 22.
Ferrari, much like every other F1 team, typically keeps its official sim under wraps to hide any developments made to its racing car. As such, whoever wins the auction will surely be required not to tell anybody else exactly how cool it is. I can only imagine...
Whereas there are plenty of force-feedback rigs on the market, Ferrari's is bespoke and all-encompassing. Thanks to hydraulic arms that hoist it up like a spider, it can translate every bump in the racing surface to the driver. This enables them to fine-tune the car's setup to react accordingly with each circuit—a must when you're competing against the sport's elite.
The winning bidder will be awarded three 30-minute sessions in the sim, but only after passing a medical check. You need to be pretty fit to strap into this machine, apparently. It also helps if you can hold onto your lunch in case the whole room starts spinning in one of Monza's many chicanes.
At the time of publishing, the top bid sits at £1,850, or $2,284.38. There are still two days left for that price to climb higher and higher, but remember, there's no reserve set for this auction. Unless a well-to-do philanthropist comes through soon, someone is bound to get a scorching deal on the sim experience. For reference, Dallara charges $12,000 a day for teams to use its high-end rig.
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