F1 Simulator Racing on the Rise: How VR is Driving the Simulator Market Toward the 100-Billion Level?

F1 Sim Racing on the Rise: How VR is Driving the Simulator Market Toward the 100-Billion Level?

1. Simulators: Experiencing Life as an F1 Driver

As the roar of engines faded, the F1 Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai came to a successful conclusion, finally welcoming the first Chinese driver to cross the finish line—Zhou Guanyu. On April 21, Zhou finished 14th in the main race, becoming the first Chinese driver in history to complete an F1 race on home soil. Formula One (F1) is one of the world’s three major sporting events, alongside the World Cup and the Olympics. However, racing is also a sport that is difficult to “popularize”. In the racing world, there is a saying: F1 drivers are rarer than astronauts. With only 10 teams globally, each with two primary drivers and one reserve, the threshold is so high that most enthusiasts can only dream from afar.

“The scarcity of formula drivers in China is largely due to the immense talent required and the enormous costs involved; most people simply never get the chance to touch the sport,” a staff member noted at the event. Is there a way for more ordinary people to experience the charm and challenge of F1? Racing simulators were born for this purpose. These devices, consisting of steering wheels, pedals, and displays, provide a realistic driving experience for entertainment, professional training, and e-sports. In a simulator, you too can become Zhou Guanyu.

At the Shanghai International Circuit’s interactive zone, fans lined up to experience the thrill of the track through various simulators, including those using curved “ultrawide” screens. “Learning where to accelerate, brake, and how to take the racing line in a real car is too far out of reach for most people. Simulators allow me to experience these skills in a safe environment,” said one F1 enthusiast.

Actually, since the advent of VR, the exploration of virtual environments has never ceased. Whether it is Pimax’s 8K ultra-high-definition headsets, Oculus’s Touch controllers, the KAT Walk platform, or Noitom’s motion capture technology—all aim to expand the boundaries of the VR experience, attempting to place humans in a virtual world as “free” as reality.

Sim racing is no exception. It is not a new invention; as early as 1974, enthusiasts were already figuring out how to incorporate racing into arcade games using newly invented microprocessors. Atari—where Steve Jobs once worked—introduced the Gran Trak 10 arcade machine, featuring a physical steering wheel, pedals, and gear shifter, making it the ancestor of racing simulators. Subsequently, simulators evolved through Namco’s Pole Position, the PC era’s REVS, and into the 90s with Formula 1 Grand Prix. In the early 21st century, with the internet, professional titles like Live For Speed and rFactor emerged, followed by next-gen works like Assetto Corsa. These tools not only enhanced immersion but also became essential for professional drivers to hone their skills.

 

Today, simulators range from high-end to consumer-grade, with prices spanning from millions of RMB to just a few thousand. The top-tier brand is Cruden from the Netherlands, costing up to 1 million RMB per unit. It is used by F1 drivers to familiarize themselves with tracks; the Red Bull Racing team reportedly owns one to record and analyze driver data to improve performance.

“In modern competitive racing, simulator technology plays a vital position,” said the CEO of Richer Tech, a company focused on racing simulation equipment. Highly detailed physical models can precisely recreate the behavior of tires, suspension, steering, and aerodynamics to mirror real-track characteristics. By adjusting parameters, teams can shorten prototype development time and predict performance, while drivers can test different setups under diverse conditions—crucial for pre-race preparation. These professional advancements are now trickling down to consumer products, allowing tens of millions of players to experience a professional driver’s perspective.

2. From Triple Screens to VR Display Technology

In sim racing, triple-screen setups and VR simulators each have their own merits.

• Triple-Screen Simulators: Offer a wide field of view and realistic visual distortion. The three screens mimic peripheral vision and enhance situational awareness. However, they are costly, occupy significant space, and have a fixed field of view. Users must invest in three high-quality monitors, powerful GPUs, and mounting stands. Because the view is fixed, users cannot turn their heads to see behind them, which can reduce total immersion and allow environmental distractions to break focus.
  

• VR Simulators: Provide perfect immersion; putting on a headset feels like literally sitting inside the car. VR enhances situational awareness, allowing users to accurately judge distances and braking points, which improves reaction speed. Through physical interaction devices, VR can also provide more realistic haptic feedback.
  

Why isn’t VR “mainstream” yet? The primary reason is the clarity limitations of current “mainstream” headsets. For example, the Quest 3 offers 2K per-eye resolution, which is spread across a massive field of view in VR, making the perceived clarity much lower than a flat monitor. In racing, players need to see distant track markers and vehicles clearly; in low-resolution VR, these become blurry, ruining the experience and potentially causing motion sickness.

A reporter who experienced a simulator equipped with a Pimax Crystal headset noted: “Despite having zero real racing experience, sitting in the cockpit and putting on the VR headset instantly ‘teleported’ me into an F1 car. The roar of the crowd and the engine’s growl immediately triggered that pre-race adrenaline rush”.

3. The Driver Behind “Replacing Screens with VR”: High Definition + High Computing Power

The VR field is evolving; simulators now require powerful computing and excellent clarity to distinguish complex track details. High-end hardware is establishing a lead in the market. According to OverTake, the Pimax Crystal features 2880 x 2880 pixels per eye, a 120Hz refresh rate, 200 nits of brightness, and a 20,000:1 contrast ratio with local dimming.

Flight simulation is also a massive, active market. The Finnish company Varjo, known for industrial VR, released the consumer-grade Varjo Aero, offering 2880 x 2720 pixels per eye and a pixel density of 35 PPD (Pixels Per Degree), raising flight sim graphical quality to new heights.

A new trend of “replacing large screens with VR” is arriving. It is predicted that within 3 to 5 years, high-definition VR will become the “mainstream” choice for these gamers. With over 37 million active users in the flight and racing simulation sectors, the market potential is huge.

Game Title	Performance/Stats
Forza Horizon 5	10 million players in the first month
Forza Horizon 4	Over 15 million users
Euro Truck Simulator 2	Over 5 million copies sold; ~200k-300k monthly active users
Gran Turismo Sport / Assetto Corsa	Millions of copies sold due to high precision and physics
iRacing	Hundreds of thousands of active subscribers; highly optimized for VR

“High-end VR products like Pimax are already used by many professional iRacers to win top-level competitions. Many say that once they choose VR, they can never go back to triple screens,” said a professional iRacing player.

“The simulator market is a niche with a very high ceiling,” said Mei Fang, a partner at Duanmu Capital. “User stickiness is extremely high, and the market scale is large, making it an excellent investment target”. He noted that while people often ask for a “killer app” for VR, for high-end hardware, simulators ARE the killer app. The demand is rigid, users are active, and the market potential could easily reach the 100-billion level.

Mei Fang believes that as VR resolution improves, latency decreases, and comfort increases, we will see an accelerated integration of VR and simulators. This technological progress not only attracts traditional simulator users but also introduces a broader consumer base, potentially reshaping the market landscape of related industries.