--- title: "iRacing Just Gave Sim Racers a Tool That Formula 1 Teams Use" date: "2025-08-28" modified: "2025-08-28" authors: - name: "Adam Ismail" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/adam-ismail" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/iracing-just-gave-sim-racers-a-tool-that-formula-1-teams-use" categories: - "Culture" - "News" - "Video Games" --- # iRacing Just Gave Sim Racers a Tool That Formula 1 Teams Use ![Person plays iRacing]() *\iRacing\* Sim racing is serious business, particularly for the people who do it competitively or those who do it to stay sharp and practice outside the car. Sometimes, these people are [one and the same](). It stands to reason that their tools should be too, which is why today's announcement that iRacing has entered into a technical partnership with [Cosworth]() got my attention. Long story short, it'll give iRacers free access to plug their telemetry data into Cosworth's Pi Toolbox software, which professional racing teams already use to visualize and better understand their performance on track. An upcoming version of Pi Toolbox will be capable of reading ".IBT" data files that the simulator generates, according to an iRacing press release. The two companies advertise "seamless integration" of Cosworth's telemetry tools within iRacing's ecosystem; custom, pre-built workbooks within Pi Toolbox geared for iRacing and first-time users; and live remote telemetry, meaning that spotters and teammates will be able to follow your data mid-session and offer feedback over comms in real-time. Until you shut them up, anyway. Now, third-party software to deliver some of these services already exists, but a deep, native integration with iRacing should make Pi Toolbox more capable. Drivers could conceivably compare their analytics from the sim against corresponding figures from an actual race car equipped with Cosworth's tech, all in the same app. And it should be said that Pi is used at the highest levels of motorsport—[yes, even F1](). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXvyDT7Ayas Many developers in this space like to talk about how they've built their simulations through technical partnerships with teams and [suppliers](), but this tie-up between iRacing and Cosworth approaches that from the other side of the equation, in a much more functional way. Naturally, the rest of this initiative will bear out in plenty of Cosworth sponsorship across all [iRacing Studios games](). But, all the same, it'd seem to be a testament to iRacing's authenticity that it can be plugged into the same software that actual motorsport folks use. [According to iRacing](), members should be able to start getting their hands dirty with Pi Toolbox on September 16. *Got tips? Send ’em to tips@thedrive.com*[]()[]() ## Author Adam is a Senior Editor at The Drive, concentrating on curating and developing the site's slate of daily journalism, from initial pitch to final copy edit. When he's not at his desk researching leads and working with writers, he's testing vehicles or reviewing racing games, new and old. He joined The Drive in 2023, following seven years of covering consumer technology and cars. A car lover and gamer since his earliest memories, Adam came to know the automotive world through video games. First it was Daytona USA, Sega Rally, and Ridge Racer; then came Need For Speed, which inspired an encyclopedic knowledge of '90s supercars, and, of course, Gran Turismo. If not for them, he'd assuredly be doing something else right now. Adam is based in the suburbs outside Philly, where there are ample roads for his hot hatch to stretch its legs. In his car, he's probably listening to indie rock, drum and bass, or Yankees baseball. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()