Lando Norris Thinks Esports Drivers Could Join F1 Racing
According to McLaren driver Lando Norris, esports racers could make their way into the intense, competitive sport of F1 racing. I’m willing to believe it. I’m personally rubbish at racing games because they require split-second timing, concentration and knowledge of what these vehicles can do. The F1 Esports Pro Series Grand Final is on December 4. This year is like no other as real F1 teams are signing esports drivers to represent them in this esports competition.
The Precedent Is Already Set
You may think this idea from Lando Norris is ridiculous, but it’s already happened. Jann Mardenborough went from being a sim racer to taking part in Le Mans starter. They are presently in Super GT in Japan, and that’s no joke!
Norris spoke to RaceFans.net to say:
“In the future I think you can get people who start in Esports and come over. I don’t think they can go straight from Esports to Formula 1, they would have to still do some steps: F3, F2 and so on. But I think there’s already been some drivers who have proved that having skills on the simulator can translate very well onto the actual racetrack.
The better the simulators get and everything then the higher the chance of something like that happening.”
Coming from someone as talented as Norris, that says a lot. In my time with OnRPG, I covered the latest in F1 racing title news. One of the things I noticed is how much developers wanted their F1 racing games to be as close to the real thing as possible.
From Esports to Real Sports
These aren’t racers that play like it’s Mario Kart. Esports racers treat it as the real thing. French Formula 1 racer for Red Bull Pierre Gasly feels like F1 Esports is almost as exciting as the real thing:
“I was checking the lines the guys were taking, it’s unbelievable. That’s pure racing, milimetres from the walls every corner (at Baku). What I liked was how they prepared the overtake – the way they managed the batteries and energies.
It’s all planned, you can see when the guy is setting himself up for the move. The racing is almost more exciting than ours. It’s really good fun to watch.”
Sure, there are people in F1 that don’t think it’s serious and have disparaging things to say about F1 Esports and the gamers turned professional drivers, but it’s not up to them.
Thousands of people watch F1 Esports. The notion that players can shift from racing at their PC to racing in real life is incredible. It would take time, and they’d have to earn their way through the ranks, I’m sure.
These racers do their homework and practice treating cars like the real deal. They also take risks and make moves that real F1 racers are doing in real-life.
Despite these almost-real simulation races, there are still differences between the two. The temperatures and physical stress in racing are something you likely cannot replicate with a computer game. But it’s nice to see that esports professionals can move forward to the real deal.
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