A closer look

The Mercedes F1 wheel,
recreated to the millimetre.

Sim-Lab built this one hand in hand with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team, working from the real car's CAD files. This isn't a review, it's just the things that stuck with me after spending proper time with it. It costs a small fortune, so it isn't for everyone. If it's not for you, let's enjoy it together anyway.

5 min readFindings€2,699

Sim-Lab Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team sim racing steering wheel, front

Watch the walkaround

The whole thing, box to first laps.

The notes below are the shortlist. The video is the full unboxing and the first stint in the Mercedes around Monza, where most of this actually clicked for me.

What stood out

Five things I keep coming back to.

01
It's a true 1:1 replica, not a tribute
The engineers worked from the real team's CAD data, so this is dimensionally identical to the wheel Hamilton and Russell drove in the W15. Not “inspired by”. The same shape, the same layout, the same magic buttons and rotaries in the same places.
Richard at Sim-Lab told me they brought this and the genuine article into the Mercedes factory and had people pick the real one from the sim one side by side. Some of them genuinely struggled. That's the level we're at.
02
It's light, and that turns out to be the point
The shell is handcrafted carbon fibre and the whole wheel comes in at just over a kilo. My first thought was that light meant less premium. It's the opposite.
On a strong base, in my case the SIMAGIC Alpha EVO Pro, a light and rigid wheel gives the motor less mass to fight. The base can move quicker and the fine detail arrives at your hands cleaner. I'm no engineer, but every loaded corner felt more talkative than I expected. The lightness is a feature, not a corner cut.
03
The shifters feel like a trigger
The rocker shifters and the clutch take a very precise amount of pressure, the way a trigger does. There's a clear point where they engage and nothing mushy before it.
What surprised me most was letting go of the clutch in anger. You brace for a harsh metal clack and it just isn't there. Soft stop, no metal on metal, all the way around. The encoders are stiff in the best sense too, so you never dial in three clicks when you meant two.
04
The grips mould to your hands
The grips are a soft anti-static silicone, and lower down they go softer still. Your hand sinks in and moulds to them without ever losing grip. After a long stint I noticed I was holding the wheel far lighter than I normally would, which is usually the sign of a good thing.
It was designed for an actual F1 cockpit, so the ergonomics are sorted. Thumbs reach almost everything without your palms leaving the wheel.
05
The display lives inside the glass
The 4.3 inch display and the rev lights are built into the same pane of glass, so the face stays flush and sleek instead of looking bolted together. Change brake bias mid-lap and it pops up on screen exactly like the real car. Small thing, but it pulls you in.
Is it missing the funky switch and the little mouse nub you get on a dedicated sim wheel? Yes, on purpose, because the real F1 wheel doesn't have them. With 12 buttons and 9 rotaries you can build your own funky switch out of two encoders and a button and never miss them.

The numbers, quickly

Weight: 1129 g shell, 1240 g with hub
Display: 4.3 inch, 480 x 800
Shell: Full carbon fibre
Diameter: 280 mm
Grips: Anti-static silicone
Inputs: 12 buttons, 2 rear, 9 rotaries

The honest bit

I thought it was a mantelpiece.
I was wrong.

When this was announced I called it a lovely thing for a shelf. Something you keep in a glass box and take out once a year. A few stints in and that idea was gone. It wants to be used. It feels like it could take a serious pounding and not blink, and it just disappears into your hands the second you start driving.

The one real pitfall is the price. At €2,699 it is genuinely expensive, and the licensing and the hours that went into it are exactly why. It isn't for most people, me included on a normal day. But if that number doesn't leave a dent on you, or it's a gift for an F1 mad someone, you will not be disappointed by a single part of it.

A note on who it's for

If you race formula cars and have the budget, this is a brilliant wheel first and a showpiece second. If the price stings, the videos are free and the wheel looks just as good on camera. No shame in either.

Want a proper look

See it on Sim-Lab's site.

The full spec sheet, every photo and the buy page live on Sim-Lab. Their affiliate program is referral-only, no code and no markup, so clicking through costs you nothing and sends a small commission back to the channel.

View on Sim-Lab My Sim-Lab rig

If the videos have helped, using the link here is the easiest way to keep them coming. No extra cost to you.