An Actual F1 Car Was Used to Make Sebastian Vettel’s Home Sim Racing Rig
The four-time F1 champion has an R&D chassis at his house that doubles as the ultimate sim setup.
We've all heard of taking work home from the office, but for you and me, that probably ends at a few late-night emails. Sebastian Vettel, though, is taking the concept to the next level. After logistical issues caused the Formula 1 driver to miss scheduled simulator seat time before the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix last year, Aston Martin Racing built Vettel a home sim-racing rig that's above and beyond other setups.
For one, it's not just some screens and a wheel—it's actually based on an R&D F1 chassis from the 2021 season and features a halo, mirrors, and a full cockpit setup. The seat isn't your typical gamer chair, either; instead, it features Vettel's actual belts, headrest, and seat pulled straight from the cockpit of his 2021 car so that the simulator fits him the same way the real car does. A legit F1 steering wheel and a triple set of monitors complete the package.
Vettel himself is no stranger to home sim racing, having competed in virtual Grand Prix events during the start of the pandemic against a host of other world-famous pro drivers. That said, the four-time champion has never had a personal rig like before. The new simulator's construction took months, having started in April of last year, and was overseen by the team's senior garage equipment manager Matt Tomalin. Gaming rig manufacturer Pro Sim was involved, as well, to bring its expertise to steering and pedal tuning to ensure Vettel's living-room practice car handles as much like the real thing as possible.
The Drive reached out to Aston Martin Racing for further comment on the rig, but a spokesperson declined to give more details. As a result, there's no official word on what this entire endeavor cost, or what underlying tech runs the system. It's safe to assume that it's worth a slight bit more than my current Xbox controller paired with a two-year-old homebuilt PC.
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