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Albon on sim racing: "The real work is more predictable"

18 June 2020 at 18:45
  • GPblog.com

Many of the drivers on the current grid are involved in sim racing, and although it doesn't come close to the real thing and although it's a lot less spectacular for the fans, it's a good moment of competition for the athletes. Alexander Albon said even more adrenaline to feel during sim racing.

Max Verstappen's team mate also showed up on the posters of the official F1 simraces. We didn't see the Dutchman himself, but Albon defended the Red Bull Racing honour. The virtual race of Interlagos, Brazil the Thai-Briton even managed to win.

In conversation with AutoweekUSA the young driver says: "Yes it is true and I think the other drivers agree with me. I felt more adrenaline online because during real racing weekends we are so confident and sure of our work that there are actually no surprises".

Uncertainty behind the computer

Albon goes on: "In the simulator, you're often not completely at ease because you're simply not used to it. The difficulty lies precisely in the details. To race on the limit and make sharp turns is much more difficult on the simulator".

Gradually the large scale sim races will decrease because the real work will start again. For the enthusiast there will still be racing online on a smaller scale. For example Verstappen regularly gets behind the sim wheel with his sim racing friends from Team RedLine.

Albon concludes: "We do it mainly to have fun. In the past few months it was also the only thing that kept us involved in sports and competition to a certain extent".