🪑Antonelli sits in a seat.

"My sim rig has taught me invaluable lessons about racecraft, tire management, and how to convincingly explain to my partner why the credit card bill looks like a team's R&D budget."

NEWS FLASH

Get ready for another F1 fix: Netflix drops a documentary on rising star Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Titled 'The Seat', this 45-minute flick chronicles the young Italian's whirlwind past year leading up to his big F1 break. It covers everything from his F2 days to getting the nod from Mercedes to fill Lewis Hamilton's massive shoes in 2025. Expect exclusive behind-the-scenes looks at the intense selection process, his Mercedes test runs, and a peek into his personal life. Streaming May 5th, the doc even captures his debut Grand Prix, dubbed by Netflix as "the biggest driver change in F1 history".  

EA just slammed the brakes on Codemasters' rally team: Ditching the EA Sports WRC game series and tossing the official license back to the World Rally Championship org. The game reportedly undersold, potentially because EA's attempt to make it more beginner-friendly alienated the hardcore sim racers who flocked to Dirt Rally 2.0. This move comes amid broader EA layoffs impacting the Codemasters team, essentially killing any chances of a Dirt Rally 3.0. While the WRC license is already heading towards a "new direction" with someone else, the loss of Codemasters' rally expertise is a major bummer for virtual rally fans. Do you think iRacing will snap this series up too, or will 505 slide in and snatch it up with their recent Pimax cash injection?

FIA backtrack on backlash: Remember that FIA rule making drivers pay hefty fines for saying naughty words? Well, FIA President Ben Sulayem, citing "constructive feedback", is now thinking about tweaking the controversial Appendix B introduced for 2025. This follows costly slip-ups like WRC driver Adrien Fourmaux's €20k fine for a frank helmet confession. While Sulayem claims he understands drivers' demands as a former rally guy himself, the timing and lack of specifics raise eyebrows about whether this is real change or just image rehab. We'll see if the FIA's swear jar actually gets lighter or if this is just more hot air.

SIM RACING SNIPPETS

• Italian developer 3DClouds is shifting onto the scene in 2025 with Formula Legends, an arcade racer that dives deep into F1 history with a seriously cute visual style but surprisingly complex simulation mechanics under the hood. While it's not officially licensed, you'll recognize the 16+ iconic car designs and 14 tracks inspired by the real deal, complete with era-specific tech like hybrid systems or mandatory pit stops and over 200 drivers sporting unique perks. Get ready to race through decades in Story Mode or climb the leaderboards when it drops on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch.

• Simagic just unleashed its Alpha Evo direct drive wheelbases, seriously disrupting the scene with killer performance at prices that make competitors sweat—starting at just $399USD for the 9Nm Sport. Packing a punch well above their price tags, these bases (including the 12Nm Standard and 18Nm Pro) boast impressive force feedback, solid build quality, and user-friendly software. If you're a PC sim racer hunting for that premium direct drive feel without the premium sticker shock, the Alpha Evo lineup is definitely worth a look. Check out the video review from Boosted Media here.

• Fanatec just dropped a real-deal replica of the sleek Porsche Vision GT steering wheel straight out of Gran Turismo, transforming a virtual concept into tangible sim racing hardware. Built with premium aluminum and a new "Tactaris" microfiber, it ditches flimsy plastic for a solid, responsive feel, loaded with functional buttons, encoders, and magnetic shifters compatible with PC and PlayStation. While it carries a premium price tag and has a few quirks like some PC-only switches, GT Planet’s video review found it a luxurious and significant upgrade, quickly making it the star of their driving rig.

MOTORSPORTS REPORT

• The Hypercar party is set to keep rolling: Major players including BMW, Peugeot, and Aston Martin are pushing to extend the current rulebook through the 2032 season. The thinking is simple: why mess with a successful formula, especially when it gives incoming teams like Genesis, Ford, and McLaren a smoother entry without forcing costly revolutionary changes just yet? Expect the official confirmation around this year's Le Mans, likely keeping potential future tech like hydrogen power on the back burner for a while longer.

• F1 gave the nod to figure out ways for engine makers to catch up if their 2026 power units end up being duds, aiming to keep the competition tight. But a spicier proposal to dial back battery power during races to prevent cars gasping for energy on the straights sparked a major disagreement among the teams. Both issues got punted to committees for more wrangling before any final calls are made.

• Ayrton Senna's iconic 1992 helmet, famously worn when he rescued Érik Comas at Spa-Francorchamps, just smashed auction records, selling for a hefty £720,000. This sale blows past the previous record held by Charles Leclerc's helmet, solidifying the enduring legend (and market value) of the three-time world champion. The custom Shoei lid, featuring Senna's signature colors, represents not just racing history, but a remarkable act of sportsmanship.

THE SPOTLIGHT

Dedication Over Dollars: How Patrick Mason Challenged Sim Racing Norms

So, you scroll through Instagram and see those insane sim racing setups – wrap-around screens, wheels fancier than your car's, pedals that cost more than rent. Makes you think you need a trust fund to even think about competing, right? That the sim racing world belongs to folks with bottomless wallets and years logged on virtual tracks.

Enter Patrick Mason from Mississauga, Ontario. Picture this: a childhood dream of being a race car driver shelved because, well, life and lack of cash happened. Fast forward to Black Friday 2023. Mason, on a whim, built his first PC thanks to YouTube and a basic sim setup. We’re talking a step up from an Xbox controller, but definitely not the pro gear flooding your feed. He jumps onto the notoriously tough iRacing platform in January 2024.

Here’s where it gets wild. Within one month – February 2024 – Mason finds himself qualifying for the Porsche eSports Sprint Challenge Canada. Seriously. On what gear, you ask? An old 59Hz monitor (not the buttery-smooth high-refresh ones), no fancy direct-drive wheel, no pro pedals. His secret? Pure grit and a refusal to blame his tools. Mason decided his modest setup wasn't an excuse, poured everything into practice, and believed hard work could bridge the gap.

And it worked. He reportedly qualified with one of the lowest iRating scores ever seen, proving he was fresh blood. He even snagged a reserve driver spot for another top series later.

This shreds the "pay-to-win" narrative. Sure, better gear like load cell pedals (which measure brake pressure, not just travel) and direct-drive wheels (giving you way more detailed feedback) can help you learn faster and be more consistent. But they don't magically grant you skill. That comes from relentless practice, mastering the fundamentals (racing lines, braking points), and developing racecraft. As Mason shows, dedication trumps dollars, especially early on.

The cool part? Getting started isn't as pricey as those flashy rigs suggest. A solid beginner wheel/pedal set runs $250-$400. Use your existing TV or monitor. You can build a decent setup without selling a kidney. Plus, platforms like iRacing have free starter content, and the web is loaded with free guides and communities (think YouTube University for racing).

Mason’s story proves sim racing is more accessible than ever. It’s even a legit path to real motorsport (think GT Academy, World's Fastest Gamer). Mason himself plans to get behind the wheel of a real Radical SR3 track car soon.

The bottom line? Don't let gear envy hold you back. Focus on skill, use the resources available, and practice like Mason did. Oh, and maybe take a page from his book on balance too – he mixes intense sim racing with gym time, friends, and other hobbies to avoid burnout.

Your talent and dedication are the real engine.

Make sure you catch Patrick in the Toyota Gazoo GR Cup series running for us at SRN Esports.

AROUND THE WEB

During this month: Harry Miller's 1920 patent wasn't messing around, packing in cutting-edge racecar tech like 4-wheel brakes, pierced drums, flat spoke wheels, and even using the engine as a structural part of the chassis.

That’s neat: Become a virtual used-car tycoon in Car Dealer Simulator, where you'll buy, fix, and sell your way to a dealership empire when the full game launches May 29th.

Wow: Still something that you just can’t recreate. Ross Chastain’s last lap video game move on Martinsville.

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