Why it matters to you
For many virtual racers, this one-year prize could be a dream job, enabling the winner to help improve the machinery of real-world Formula 1 racecars.
Logitech G said on Monday, May 7 that it teamed up with McLaren to create a new competition that will see the winner serving as an official Formula 1 simulator driver for an entire year. Called World’s Fastest Gamer, the competition will whittle virtual racers down to a handful of finalists who will race to win the one-year contract at the McLaren Technology Centre this fall.
“[The winner] will work with engineers at both at the McLaren Technology Centre and at grand prix circuits across the world to develop and improve the machinery driven in the real world by the team’s drivers, Fernando Alonso, and Stoffel Vandoorne,” Logitech said.
According to McLaren, virtual racers on PC, console, and even mobile will battle each other in the McLaren Technology Centre this summer. Gaming experts will select six of the best, and then add four more to the roster stemming from online events that will take place this summer as well. These ten individuals will then proceed to “the toughest job interview of their lives” over a five-day track.
Ultimately, the chosen individual will receive the “World’s Fastest Gamer” title and land the one-year contract with McLaren. As for what happens after that one-year contract expires, that’s unknown, but the player will walk away knowing he/she had a part in improving the Formula 1 in the real world.
“Not only will they race against each other across a variety of different gaming titles on different platforms, they will also need to demonstrate their engineering know-how, ability to work as part of a team, and display the mental and physical strengths required for such a unique position,” Logitech added.
Logitech G is the gaming arm of peripheral-maker Logitech. Its racing-themed products include the $400 G29 racing wheel (PS4/PS3), the $400 G920 racing wheel (Xbox One, PC), and the $60 Driving Force Shifter for the G29 and G920 wheels. Logitech G is also heavily into eSports, which sponsors a number of teams and individual players such as Zachary “Sneaky” Scuderi and Nicolaj “Incarnation” Jensen.
In addition to Logitech G and McLaren, the upcoming competition will also be sponsored by Ideas+Cars chief maverick officer and founder Darren Cox, who previously served at Nissan and Renault U.K. Also on board is the online sports media platform Givemesport, and racing equipment supplier Sparco USA. That latter company now offers a line of products for gaming such as the $259 Respawn seat.
Logitech G didn’t say when the competition will begin, but we will likely find out more once the E3 2017 gaming convention is behind us this June. The company also didn’t provide any specifics about the job such as its remuneration or payment of expenses.