I do not see it that way. We have seen with Vettel a few years ago how he destroyed Webber by learning corner by corner in the sim. We also heard of Danny Ric doing a lot of work this season on the brakes in the sim. And we had the Ham example in Stone with driving for the correct setup in the sim.Jolle wrote: ↑31 Jan 2022, 16:54I expect “the sim” is less important for the racing drivers to get to grips with the car, but especially important with the different procedures, strategies and protocols. This for the past few seasons have been a weak point of Mercedes team. How to maximise SC situations, what to do with trouble on track anywhere at any time, qualifying runs and timing, etc etc. Making the 50-ish people behind screens, pit wall and driver work as a well oiled machine.Henri wrote: ↑31 Jan 2022, 16:37https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/why- ... s/7733148/ sims are getting important
Also...driving backwards out of the gravel is certainly helped if you have practiced how to get reverse gear in quickly...
So I would say that "getting to grip" is exactly what is needed and can not be underestimated. Of course the rest is also needed, like maximizing a VSC. But I do not think this needs to be done at the prime sim at the factory. I would expect them to run simple sims for the procedures, most probably even based on rigs the driver can have at home and just connects remotely to the factory.
I would expect that Verstappen was not only going to Monaco between some races for his girlfriend, but also to sit in his rig and work with his engineers.