Mercedes F1 car heading to iRacing

Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images

Mercedes F1 car heading to iRacing

Esports

Mercedes F1 car heading to iRacing

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iRacing and the Mercedes-AMG F1 team have confirmed that two Mercedes Formula 1 cars – the 2021 Mercedes-AMG F1 W12 E and the yet-to-be-named 2022 car – will be coming to the popular racing simulator.

The announcement was expected after images of iRacing’s backend development software were shown on a live stream hosted by the company itself. In that stream, viewers could make out a pixelated “Mercedes W12” as an option to be selected in a dropdown box. The news that the 2022 Formula 1 car will also be joining the simulator was a surprise.

“We have been working closely with iRacing since the start of 2021 to bring the W12 life in iRacing’s virtual environment,” said James Vowles, Motorsport Strategy Director, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team.

“The intent was to create as accurate a representation of W12 as possible from a performance and driving perspective. Throughout the process we have held a unique and close relationship with the developers, which has generated a model we hope everyone enjoys driving as much as our drivers have.”

Mercedes has conducted its own set of testing with their car on iRacing to provide feedback. The feedback received has already been implemented in some of the simulator’s other open-wheel cars.

This will be the first Formula 1 car on iRacing since the McLaren-Honda MP4-30 that was released shortly after the 2015 F1 season. The first Formula 1 car on iRacing was the Williams FW31 released in 2010, nearly a year after that car had finished competing.

A release date for the Mercedes W12 has not been announced. A likely date would be early December, when the car has finished competing and iRacing publishes its final quarterly update for the year.

“We couldn’t be more excited to add world-class race cars like the Mercedes-AMG F1 W12 E Performance to iRacing in the near future,” said iRacing executive vice president Steve Myers.

“The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team has been the dominant marque at the highest level of motorsport for quite some time, coming off seven consecutive championships for its cars and drivers, and bringing their world-class machines to iRacing further establishes our commitment to providing our nearly 200,000 devoted iRacers the world’s most authentic sim-racing experience.”

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