Mercedes-AMG F1 cars to feature in iRacing

Online racing simulator iRacing has signed an agreement with seven-time Formula One champions Mercedes-AMG to bring its current and next race cars to the service.

Having won every driver's and constructor's title since 2014, and currently leading the 2021 team's championship, it's hard to argue the Silver Arrows aren't the quickest cars in motorsport's top tier, having carried Lewis Hamilton to his record-equalling seventh title last year.

Mercedes-AMG's 2021 car – the W12 E Performance – will likely become a part of history, as Hamilton is just one win away from taking an unprecedented 100th victory in the sport, something that many thought impossible after Michael Schumacher's 91 career wins.

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Valterri Bottas in the W12 E Performance at Monza

iRacing's executive vice president Steve Myers said the relationship will allow the platform's nearly 200,000-strong member base to experience one of the quickest cars to ever hit the race track.

“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 Myers.

“The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team has been the dominant marque at the highest level of motorsport for quite some time, coming off of 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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Lewis Hamilton at the Hungarian Grand Prix

James Vowles, Mercedes-AMG F1's motorsport strategy director, said the W12 in the simulator will be as close as can be physically replicated to the real thing.

“We have been working closely with iRacing since the start of 2021 to bring the W12 to life in iRacing’s virtual environment,” said Vowles.

“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.”

Formula One is set to undergo a massive regulation change in 2022, aimed at increasing the quality and closeness of racing by reducing aero wash, placing a higher dependence for downforce on the underside of the cars rather than over the top.

iRacing currently has a range of older Formula One cars on its service, from the Cosworth DFV-powered Lotus 49 and 79, a Williams FW31 from 2009 and McLaren-Honda's MP4-30, which competed in the 2015 season.