We drive Ferrari's virtual F1 racer

An unassuming commercial building in the back blocks of Modena plays host to a vital -- and secretive -- training tool for the Scuderia Ferrari team.

A pair of Formula One racing simulators, one static and one dynamic, are used by drivers to hone their skills, study circuits in impressive detail and maintain their incredible reaction times, while also building an invaluable catalogue of data for the team and its engineers.

Valued at $US150 million, the high-tech machinery replicates the movements and speed a driver experiences on track -- precisely. The car’s cockpit, controls and even lack of comfort all exactly mimic the real thing.

The chassis is an official Ferrari chassis used during the 2009 Formula One season, as is the simulator’s steering wheel and electronics – and all are FIA-approved. The pedal set-up is the same as that used in the current car, with both Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa finalising pedal pressures with simulator staff to ensure the highest level of accuracy.

The virtual car, as driven by motoring.com.au, is based on the current Ferrari F2012. Its motion and sound – representing an accurate, albeit quieter version of the 800hp V8 engine found in the real deal -- are all designed to give the driver the closest experience possible to that found on track.

Ahead of my stint in the driver’s seat, Ferrari Academy engineer Anton Stepinovich said that the simulator’s modeling uses some of the most advanced laser track surveying, telemetry, on-screen graphics, tub movement and control resistance possible, making it an essential part of the way Formula One teams develop their cars -- and drivers.

“In my day, we used to drive from first light in the morning until last light at night. And we used to do hundreds of thousands of kilometres a year on the track,” reminisced Mr Stepinovich.

“Since 2008, testing has been banned in Formula One and in most race formulas. So the world of simulation starts to get very involved and simulators today are the only way the team can develop the car.”

This year, official Formula One testing is restricted to three pre-season tests (Jerez, Barcelona and Mugello). Spending and wind tunnel time are also limited by the sport’s governing body. Simulator use, however, is unrestricted.

Teams including Scuderia Ferrari use simulators like the pair in Modena to not only hone the skills of their drivers but to assess mechanical changes, gear ratios, electronic systems or new aerodynamic elements.

A driver can ‘bench-test’ an engine at a particular circuit remotely in real time. The simulator will display a specific track and the driver will give it his all, while back at the Ferrari factory an engine strapped to a dyno will be analysed by a team of engineers.

Sound too good to be true? Well, I thought so too. But then it was my turn, after Mr Stepinovich gave me a detailed explanation of the Monza circuit’s every detail, outlining every corner, every bump and every chicane.

“There are corners where the chicanes will help you, and others that will make you spin out,” he said, stressing that spinning out is one of the biggest issues for an uninitiated driver.

“If you brake and turn the wheel more than this you will spin,” explained Mr Stepinovich, turning the simulator’s wheel a few degrees. “If you throttle and turn the wheel more than this you will spin. Pay very much attention to the bumps, it [they] tend to destabilise the car, and you will spin,” he reiterated.

My trepidation was rising -- and I only had four laps to get it right!

Stepping on to one of the simulator’s hydraulic actuators and then on to a narrow platform alongside the cockpit, I get our first glimpse at the narrow driver’s seat. The thin carbon-fibre shell is shaped perfectly to suit the driver. Padding, says Mr Stepinovich, ruins the driver’s feel of the track.

Once seated, the pedals are brought forward to my feet, the steering wheel locked in place and the aerodynamic collar slipped around my neck. The four-point harness is strapped tight around my hips and over my shoulders, the belts’ retracting motion helping to assist the intense G-forces felt by the driver during braking. It’s not a place for the claustrophobic.

I ‘roll’ out of the garage and turn right down Monza’s long pit lane, cautious not to clip the garage wall with the right-rear tyre. Mr Stepinovich talks me through my first lap, explaining that brake and tyre temperatures are crucial in getting the car to “stick”.

Accelerating hard and then braking repeatedly brings the brakes and tyres up to temp, a process we must perform with gusto if we have any chance of a decent lap time. Braking for the first time, I find the force required to slow the car is immense, but not easy to modulate. Stomp the pedal too hard and the tyres on the screen ahead lock in a cloud of blue smoke.

Familiarisation is over all too quickly and as the instruction to accelerate hard in fifth gear out of the Parabolica is given, I’m on my own for three of the hardest laps I’ve ever encountered.

As the main straight flashes by it’s time to remember those braking markers and the pressure required to pull the car up for the esses.

“One-tenth of a second is equivalent to 12 yards of the track”, I recall Mr Stepinovich saying, so getting my timing wrong will cost critical moments.

The forceful feedback through the wheel is immense as the car’s lateral loads buck the tub hard through the tight chicane, the LEDs atop the steering wheel flashing as a reminder to change up as I accelerate hard from what felt like a near standstill.

Black tyre marks on the track show where I locked up the tyres under braking during the previous lap and in the moment it took my brain to notice this small fact, I’d overshot my braking marker and messed up the next bend.

With so few laps to get this right, the psychological pressure and sheer concentration is matched only by the physical effort required to keep this ‘car’ accurately pointed at speed. It’s amazing how much detail goes into a lap, really, and in just over six minutes it’s all over.

Suffice to say after four short laps at the wheel I’ve not missed my calling as an F1 driver, but I did make it round in one piece.

Drivers come to the Academy chasing tenths of a second. For me, it’s more like tens of seconds. And although the kind-hearted Mr Stepinovich assured me an afternoon at the wheel would see me right, my time at the controls of this expensive apparatus were nonetheless over.

It’s a small but overwhelmingly impressive insight for us mere mortals into not only the precision of Formula One drivers, but the dedication and practice that go into crafting the perfect lap.

Add to that a couple of dozen other cars, temperatures double that of our air-conditioned room and the pressure to perform from team and sponsor – lap after lap, race after race - and you begin to understand that these guys are more than just drivers. They’re athletes of the highest order, and the Ferrari Driver Academy is their virtual training field.

Now, if only I could get one of these in my hand luggage…

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