The Dutch company Sim-Lab has released a steering wheel designed for racing simulators that "as close as possible" copies the steering wheel used by driver Lewis Hamilton in Formula 1 races. More specifically, it is the steering wheel from the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One car.
The $2,499 price tag isn't cheap by any means, and that's not the only expense anyone looking to buy this steering wheel will have to pay. Additionally, the device requires a basic setup that converts steering wheel turns and button presses into in-game commands and provides feedback.
This also costs several thousand dollars and is not included in the kit. The high price of the Sim-Lab steering wheel is due to the fact that it is officially licensed by the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One team, which provided the manufacturer with drawings of the original steering wheels fitted to the racing cars.
The device is enclosed in a handmade carbon fiber body, thanks to which the weight of the steering wheel is 1,240 grams with sufficient stiffness. As a result, the player will fully feel the vibrations and resistance produced by the wheelbase.
The body contains 9 rotary knobs, 12 buttons, 2 switches, gear shifters, anti-static silicone rubber holders and 25 RGB LEDs with a telemetry output that can be read at a glance.
And in the center there is a 4.3-inch LCD screen with data output, the layout of which corresponds to the interface for the drivers of the Mercedes F1 team. In other words, it is an exact copy of a steering wheel from a modern Formula 1 car.