You have got your car all set up and you are ready to hit the track. Here are 3 things that you need to work on to squeeze those final fractions of a second from your lap time, and become a faster, and consistent driver overall.

Reference Points

The best way to improve in this area is to start with the racing line assist turned on. When approaching the red zone that indicates braking, grab a reference point like a brake marker, a tree or a bilboard, and save a mental picture of it. Never use a shadow as a break marker because games are now implementing dynamic time and weather, so there is a big chance it will keep changing during long races.

After you have all the brake points of the circuit memorized, you are ready to improve your technique. The reference point is not 100% absolute, and it depends on a lot of factors: Weather, tires, and fuel load, mostly.

You can start squeezing the reference point further than where it is until you feel a good exit speed out of the corner. A good indication of a proper corner entry and exit is that you don’t need to accelerate before hitting the apex.

Another thing that can affect your entry speed is exiting a corner with a gear lower than needed. This can be tricky in some games, especially F1 by Codemasters, due to its arcade nature. Fast racers in this game usually enter with a gear lower than needed to avoid understeer but quickly upshift without accelerating to avoid wheelspin.

Even real Formula 1 drivers like Lando Norris have complained about the game being too slippery, and that real F1 cars are easier to drive. It is quite a statement to be honest. The game needs to rework its physics.

Back to the lower gear; you will notice this because as mentioned above, the engine brake will slow down the car so much that you will need to accelerate before hitting the apex, hence unbalancing the car. Accelerating the car will always produce understeer, that is why it is important to accelerate at the right time, and not before.

A proper braking technique is as follows:

• Brake in a straight line,

• be consistent with your downshifts,

• release the brake smoothly,

• let the momentum carry you through the apex,

• accelerate gradually once you hit the apex to avoid rear wheelspin.

Some corners require trail braking, and even a combination of both brake and throttle. You don’t need to fully press the brakes on every corner, especially fast ones. In some cases, just lifting the throttle a little bit will help you navigate through the corner.

Pedal work

As mentioned above, both throttle and brake pedals must be pressed gradually; they are not to be treated like an on and off switch. The main reason is because harsh inputs will upset the car’s balance too much; the result of this is loss of grip at the front or rear.

Being nimble on the throttle will help you stay away from oversteer when exiting a corner, or suffering from rear wheelspin. A proper throttle technique will keep you inside the track and also provide better exit speed when coming out of a corner.

A good throttle technique will also help you go through fast corners that require you to lift off just a little bit, without having to press the brakes unnecessarily.

Brakes on the other hand are even more crucial. Proper braking technique is directly related to how you press the pedal. You need to confidently press the brakes all the way and then release them gradually as you approach the turning point.

There is a theory in sim racing called the string theory. It can help you visualize how much input the pedals and steering need. Imagine that the wheel has strings tethered to both pedals. The further you press the pedals, the more tension it creates on the wheel, and naturally it wants to re-center.

In other words, the more angle the steering has, the less you should press either pedal; that will keep you out of under and oversteer, and wheelspin altogether.

Looking at the apex

One thing that separates race drivers from causal sim racers is eye placement. A professional race driver and sim racer will both have their eyes locked on the apex of the corner they are navigating; they will quickly shift their eyes to the next corner quickly.

On the other hand, most casual sim-racers and enthusiasts will place their eyes on reference points and right in front of the track. They will also tend to look more onto the digital display or other information, like the game’s HUD during a lap.

To become faster, it is imperative that you start to shift your focus to the apex of each corner and quickly lock onto the next one. You need to develop this as second nature and not be thinking about it all the time.

Looking at the apex will help you navigate through the corner naturally, and your body will be the one feeling the car, rather than you consciously thinking about corner entry, braking, turning, accelerating, and exiting.

Driving should feel like a natural thing. Your brain needs to be less saturated when racing, because it limits our potential. Racing with a saturated brain will get you closer to making mistakes, on the other hand racing with a calm mindset and going through the motions naturally, will keep you away from unnecessary mistakes.

Racing helps.

We often dive into mindless practice sessions. We usually download a ghost and try to improve its lap time. Don’t get me wrong, this is one of the best ways to become faster in sim-racing, however, the point is to be consistent.

You can set yourself a delta time during practice; once you set a competitive lap time, make it your goal to be 100th of a second within it during a considerable number of laps, let’s say 15 or 20. If you are able to achieve this, then it means that you are a consistent race driver.

Whilst that will help you further develop consistency, the only way to really improve your technique is under racing conditions. During a race you are under the threat of being overtaken, there is traffic to handle, and you also need to catch up to the cars ahead.

Being under this kind of pressure will really test your technique, and it will also test the mental strength to deal with a race. It is imperative that you don’t fall into your bad habits, and that you stick with what you have learned and practiced. First you might have to constantly remind yourself of the good habits you have picked up. The more you race, the more natural this will become; that is why it is imperative to expose ourselves to racing as much as practicing.