For almost every F1 fan out there, the odds of ever getting into the cockpit of one of the cars in the top tier of racing are pretty low. The bar for getting a team spot is incredibly high; even getting a test run is out of reach for most. For those who still want a taste of the experience, however, there are plenty of other ways to get involved and experience the thrill for yourself.
VR in Entertainment
Ever since virtual reality arrived as a concept around a decade ago, the entertainment industry has been working harder and harder to integrate it into different media. Theatres have been working on immersive performances, cinemas have been pushing towards 360-degree movies designed for VR, and even online casinos have been looking at the tech. You can see here the Starburst slot game, which is possibly due for a future VR release, given that developers NetEnt were the first to experiment with VR in the industry.
Thanks to advances in the hardware, more and more experiences are becoming available, and sports like racing feel closer to the real thing than ever before. Adding to VR have been companies producing haptic feedback systems and wearable electronics that let you feel physical effects from your virtual activities. With this potential, it was only a matter of time before F1 and its teams started to offer their own options.
Licensed F1 Experiences
F1 teams have long been using some form of VR in their own driver training simulators, but as the tech becomes more accessible, they have opened up some services to the public as well. For instance, Aston Martin have been offering full VR test-driving experiences on recreations of F1 tracks around the world, not just on their F1 cars but their entire luxury catalogue as well.
Beyond specific teams, the F1 brand has put a number of VR experiences out into the public market, often paired with full-motion simulators for a complete virtual option. They make use of officially licensed media on the software side, meaning that all the official teams, drivers, and tracks are faithfully represented.
Other Options
The amazing fan community behind F1 contains more than a few talented engineers and designers, and that has led to a wide range of unofficial experiences. At the top end of the scale are things like the FormulaVR system, a full simulator pod completed with VR immersion designed for home use.
More interestingly, however, is the side of VR less about emulating the driving experience and more about immersing the viewing audience of a race. Just this year, designer John LePore released a concept for a new F1 app with virtual reality and augmented reality features that would let users watch a race interactively, bringing up data, track maps and more through an interactive interface. While it’s still only a concept, this kind of technology to get viewers more engaged has been a big priority for F1 in the past, so it has a good chance of becoming a reality.
