You get home from work and want to ignore reality for a few moments. Fire up the sim setup and you instantly become the best racing driver in history, with more victories and championships than Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher. You’ve kicked Max Verstappen so hard he’s gone crying back to Holland, his dad coddling and shushing him an orange cape. Toto Wolff has you on speed dial for when his driver catches COVID, and you’ve got more charisma than Valtteri Bottas on a lads weekend.
Then time to turn it off, and you go back to filling last year’s tax returns; the kids need feeding, and the wife isn’t happy because you’ve spent all evening ‘playing silly little computer games’. But that’s okay because we know that they’re games, and we don’t spend our time pretending that we are the best racing driver in the world. Or do we?
When we are sat back in our racing chairs, playing make-believe in our pixelated F1 world, it’s nice to have gadgets which sink you further into that world. There’s no better way of doing this than having a game-specific sim-racing steering wheel. So if you’re racing F1 games, you’ll want a steering wheel to reflect that, and there are few more advanced steering wheels in the world than the ones lapping Formula 1 circuits over a race weekend.
Here are some of the best F1 sim racing wheels money can buy today.
This add-on steering wheel means you already have to have a Thrustmaster set up before you can replace your original wheel with this. It’s compact in size, looks and feels like an F1 steering wheel and is compatible with most modern gaming computers. It could be a low-cost fix to your racing woes.
The Add-on is compatible with the Thrustmaster T-GT, which CAR has reviewed.
Pros
- Low cost
- Well respected brand
- Compatible with a wide range of Thrustmaster products
Cons
- You have to have a Thrustmaster base and pedals already
Yes, I know, we all want to drive for Ferrari, don’t we? Those red cars with the prancing horse must be the pinnacle of motorsport. But I guess all that glitters isn’t gold. Ask Seb Vettel. No matter which car you’re racing for on screen, you can show your unadulterated love for Ferrari with this Thrustmaster Add-on steering wheel. It even has some more F1-style flicks and turning knobs.
Pros
- It looks like a Ferrari F1 steering wheel
- More dials and levers make it more immersive.
- Plenty to adjust
Cons
- Need a Thrustmaster set-up already
On sale
All right, Thrustmaster, we get it. You like Ferraris, and you want everyone to drive for them. But this is cool, however. The SF1000, if you didn’t know, was the car Ferrari used in the 2020 season and this steering wheel is a replica of that. While it wasn’t the most successful car Ferrari ever built, finishing sixth in the constructor’s championship and amassing 131 points, it’s still pretty cool to look at and use.
Pros
- Trusted brand
- Won't have Ferrari reliability issues
- LED lights and Screen
Cons
- Not everyone wants to drive a Ferrari
www.demon-tweeks.com
This Ascher Racing F28-SC V2 starts to blur the lines between racing sim steering wheels and an actual steering wheel. The impressive lithium battery will give it two or three years of gaming, even if used daily. It’s wireless to Simcumbe 2 systems, too, so no more messy cables complicating your rig.
Pros
- Mega battery life
- Ergonomic soft grips
- It only weighs 1kg
Cons
- It looks more LeMans style than F1
www.demon-tweeks.com
Playing with the big boys now, there are more dials and levers on this than you can shake an angry fist at. These have the sense and feel of an F1 steering wheel but are more suited to GT-style races. However, with clutch control and traction control settings, you’re likely to put Simon from sales to shame with this.
Pros
- Plenty of adjustments
- A bit more weight is no bad thing.
- A closed grip gives more rigidity.
Cons
- No screen, and considering the price, it would be nice.
www.demon-tweeks.com
We’re starting to look more and more like the steering wheel Lewis Hamilton claims to have designed. Adding a high-resolution LED touchscreen gives you access to yet more information and data to pour over in the search for the perfect lap time.
Pros
- High-resolution LED touchscreen
- Plenty of dials and controls
- Aluminium and carbon fibre construction
Cons
- Getting pricey for your everyday sim racer
www.demon-tweeks.com
This is as close as we can find to a modern-day Mercedes AMG F1 steering wheel without having the actual steering wheel in your hands. The button and screen surround is a single piece of CNC 6061 billet aluminium with 12 backlit buttons so you can play no matter the lighting conditions. A full colour, high-resolution screen with RPM LEDs, 14 across and three on each side for ABS and other functions. The LEDs can be fully customisable, and the screen display will provide all the essential race data, which is compatible with all popular sim software. For the mega sim racer.
Pros
- The ultimate level of F1 geekery
- Backlit LED push buttons, come on.
- Full carbon one-piece construction
Cons
- The price is very high
www.f1authentics.com
Of course, if you wanted to buy an actual F1 steering wheel, head to the F1 store, where you can buy a replica of the F1-75 steering wheel. It replicates the one used by both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in 2022, using original Ferrari CAD data, finishes and paint code. Cool.
Pros
- Too cool
Cons
- Need to remortgage the house