Lando Norris says the official Formula 1 game series has made its impression of driving the cars more realistic.
However he said gamers who want an authentic impression of what racing cars are like to drive should try other titles.
“They are still very, very different, like an actual simulator to a game,” Norris explained. “Even the new game, it’s honestly nothing like it, it’s so far from it.”
Driving a car in the official F1 game is much smoother than it is in real life, said Norris.
“The games are so easy and nice, there’s no bumps, kerbs you can just drive over. Generally on the game they’re [lapping] like five seconds quicker than we ever do on the track, which makes no sense.”
F1 23, the latest edition of the official Formula 1 series, has been released today. Norris published a video of him driving the new Las Vegas Strip Circuit on it earlier this week.
“I’ve not driven the new one that much, I just did Vegas on it the other day, which was cool. I think it’s still getting there.”
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In 2020 Norris entered IndyCar’s iRacing-based official online series. He said simulations like this offer a more realistic impression of what driving a racing car is like.
“You have games and you have actual simulation programmes and there’s a big difference between these two,” he said. “One, it’s a game at the end of the day, it’s meant to just make you happy and you’re meant to enjoy it. It’s not often that you enjoy driving on the simulator because it’s a very different experience. You’re actually driving it rather than just playing.”
The official F1 game is “getting better, little bit by little bit,” said Norris. “But if you actually look at the programs which are designed to be a simulation like iRacing, rFactor, they’re way better than the F1 game because [that’s] a game, it’s not designed to be exactly like Formula 1, I think.”
IndyCar ended its collaboration with iRacing at the start of this year. It agreed a deal for Motorsport Games to produce an officially-licensed title, which has been delayed until next year.
Video: In-depth F1 23 review by RaceFans
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2023 Canadian Grand Prix
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