Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One aces Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas have both been tuning up on their simulator rigs at home. World champion Hamilton is a global ambassador for PlayStation’s Gran Turismo Sport game and recently released a special package for players to compare their lap times at selected circuits.
 

Bottas took part in the official F1 Virtual Grand Prix Series, racing around the virtual streets of Monaco against some of his regular rivals including Charles Leclerc, Alexander Albon and George Russell. In fact, half of the drivers that regularly fill the F1 grid have taken part in at least one of the Virtual Grand Prix.
 

While these virtual races have become more prominent during this current period without actual races, the reality is eSports has been growing in importance for the past decade.
 

In 2018 Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport started its own eSports teams, based at the Brackley factory with the F1 team so the drivers can help with the actual simulator that helps tune the outfit’s real cars. So some of the success Hamilton and Bottas have enjoyed in the real world is thanks to the hours spent pounding around virtual tracks.