Sim-Lab Mercedes-AMG F1 Wheel Review

This is the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 steering wheel, and it’s easily one of the most realistic sim racing steering wheels money can buy. And you’ll need a lot of money if you do want to buy one, but I’ll touch on that more later.

I have been waiting for this moment since this wheel was revealed back in 2024, and quite simply, I have not been disappointed. As a huge Formula 1 fan, being able to race with a replica of the wheel George and Lewis were using last year is a special feeling.

The wheel looks, and I imagine it feels just like its real-world counterpart, and it is easily one of the most impressive wheels I’ve ever sim raced with. And that is the end of this review… All joking aside, I want to take a deep dive look at this wheel. Everything from design and performance to price and compatibility. My goal of seeing whether this wheel is worth its extreme price tag, and if it’s right for you.

Watch our Sim-Lab Mercedes-AMG F1 Wheel Review

What is the Sim-Lab Mercedes-AMG F1 wheel?

Starting at the top, this steering wheel was built by Sim-Lab in partnership with the Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 team. Sim-Lab had access to the wheel’s real-world CAD model, which is one of the reasons why this replica is so close to the real thing.

The manufacturing process is almost a mirror of how the real-world wheel is produced. You get a wheel made almost entirely out of carbon fibre, with a huge number of inputs at your disposal. Around the back are true-to-life Formula 1-style paddles, including a unique hinged clutch for nailing those perfect standing starts.

The real party piece is the large 4.3 inch LCD display. This screen can show a huge range of live telemetry and is fully SimHub compatible, as well as being configurable with Sim-Lab’s own RaceDirector software.

Price of the Mercedes-AMG F1 wheel

And that brings me to the price. Being a replica Formula 1 wheel, I expected it to be expensive. Whether I expected quite a high price tag as it demands, I’m not sure. However, Sim-Lab does have previous, with its GRID Engineering Porsche 911 RSR replica wheel fetching £1,929 or $1,999.

This Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 wheel beats that price, with an asking price of £2,265, $2,699, or €2,654. That, by far, makes it one of the most expensive sim racing steering wheels you can buy in 2025, admittedly beaten by the insane €9,500 Cosworth CCW Mk2 Pro wheel.

What is the competition?

You’ll be hard pressed to find other steering wheels in this price range. Nothing really tops the £/$2,000 mark. The best steering wheels from premium brands such as Cube Controls, GSI, and Ascher Racing only really stretch up to around £/$1,500. Fanatec has its Bentley wheel that costs £/$2,000 on the nose, which is the same price as the GRID Engineering Porsche 911 RSR wheel.

That positions the Mercedes-AMG F1 wheel in a class of its own. And that is because this style of Formula 1 replica hasn’t ever really been done before. The closest we’ve got to an official F1 wheel in the past is the £/$350 Thrustmaster SF1000. Despite that wheel being a decent budget option, these two F1 wheels couldn’t be more different.

Unboxing and what’s included

So what do you get for your £2,265 / $2,700. The box itself is very smart with a spot UV design on the top. You get a quick start guide and sticker sheet so you can customise your inputs. You also get a really nice quality braided 10 foot USB extension cable, a coiled Lumberg to USB cable, and a bag of tools to help you mount the wheel to a quick release adapter.

Inside this bag, you can really start to see the levels of detail that Sim-Lab want to achieve with two different sticker sets. One with Lewis’ signature purple, and the other with George Russell’s blue, and both have slightly different function layouts to mirror the different driver’s preferences. You also get an additional blue encoder which can be swapped in place of the pre-installed purple encoder if you do want to go full George Russell mode.

Then, we have the wheel itself which is incredibly well protected by its foam cutout.

The design of the Mercedes-AMG F1 wheel

Sim-Lab’s attention to detail when building this wheel is incredible. A lot of the real-world wheel has been incorporated into this replica, and it’s all based on the real-world CAD model supplied by Mercedes-AMG.

From there, each steering wheel is handbuilt, with a fully carbon fibre shell, just like the actual wheel. The entire design, the number of inputs, and even the actual inputs themselves, such as the rotary encoders, are the same as the ones used on the real F1 wheel.

The wheel itself has the exact dimensions of the original, measuring a perfect 280mm across. Every element is essentially a mirror image of the wheel it is replicating.

The hand grips are an anti-static rubber silicon, which is never my first choice for a steering wheel. However, it once again mirrors the original, and they do feel incredibly ergonomic. They are deeper than they are wide, giving them a chunky and girthy feel which I like.

Inputs

There are a huge number of inputs across the wheel with 9 rotary encoders. For any technical heads out there, these are Grayhill switches, exactly the same as the original wheel. You also get 12 front-facing push buttons and 2 additional buttons on the rear of the wheel, just above where your index finger rests. And we all remember those buttons after Lewis’s brake magic incident at the Baku Grand Prix in 2021.

If you’ve ever watched a driver during a Formula 1 race pushing inputs and making adjustments on their steering wheel and thought to yourself, that looks easy. Now is your chance to live up to that.

With 23 different inputs across the face and rear of the wheel, you can create the ultimate button layout for any sim racing game. It is worth noting that, unlike many premium sim racing wheels, there aren’t any button LEDs, resulting from the real-world wheel not having button LEDs. This could be an issue for sim racers who like to drive in a dark room, as it can make the inputs harder to find.

However, you can customise each button cap with stickers from the multiple sticker sheets included. I recommend doing this, as the stickers really elevate the look of this wheel. Here is a shot of the steering wheel before and after adding stickers.

When interacting with the inputs, everything feels tight and on point. The push buttons have a really short throw with a tactile click, and the rotary encoders are pretty stiff to rotate. Not to the point where it is difficult to make adjustments, but stiff enough to ensure you don’t accidentally turn an encoder or make an unintended adjustment.

One notable exclusion is the lack of a joystick or funky switch. Almost every sim racing steering wheel has at least one of these, and it makes it easy to navigate through game menus directly from the wheel without needing a mouse or keyboard.

This wheel doesn’t have any joysticks due to the real-world wheel not having any, so it’s not really a problem that Sim-Lab is accountable for. To keep this replica as real as possible, these switches haven’t been added. But it can be a small annoyance for those who are used to not taking their hands off the wheel to navigate menus or in-game HUD elements.

Shifters

Flipping this wheel over, things look surprisingly different from a regular sim steering wheel. For a start, there are three paddles rather than the usual four or six that many wheels have, like the Asetek Invicta Formula wheel that I’ve got here.

Across the top is a very thin rocker paddle. A warning to those who strive for good ergonomics, this shifter isn’t the most ergonomically designed, but it is true to the real-world wheel. You are almost forced to use your index finger to pull a shift as it sits high up the rear of the wheel.

However, it includes various hardware adjustments that let you change the activation stiffness. You can also use it as a one-handed push/pull shifter if you need an emergency drink.

Clutch paddle

Immediately below this is a single hinged clutch paddle. This, again, is identical to the real-world wheel, and is specifically designed for maximum control over your clutch release during any standing start procedure.

It does feel unusual at first, as there is a lot of travel in the clutch, although this can be adjusted. There are also two physical cutouts for two of your fingers to fit into. These may not be to everyone’s preference, but realism is realism.

After a little bit of trial and error, I really liked this clutch style. You can program your bite point in the RaceDirector software, and when the lights go out, you release a button on the wheel to automatically get to that bite point and then slowly release the clutch as you accelerate from the line. Its different and unique, and I rather like it.

Compatibility of the Sim-Lab Mercedes-AMG Wheel

Connection ports

Sandwiched between the clutch and shifter is the Lumberg connection port. This is how you connect the wheel to your PC. A coiled Lumberg to USB adapter is included in the box, and you can also decide to remove this connector and opt for a passthrough connection, directly through the mounting hub.

The inclusion of a direct-to-PC connection means that as long as you can physically mount the wheel to a wheel base, it can be used with any brand.

Mounting the wheel

Talking of mounting, the wheel is pre-installed with a hub with a 70mm PCD and threaded M5 holes. This makes it incredibly easy to mount to any quick-release adapter using just three screws, letting you use this wheel with almost any wheel base. I have my wheel mounted to a Fanatec Podium Hub, but you can opt for a Simucube or Asetek wheel base or any other wheel that features a quick-release adapter.

The digital display

I mentioned earlier that this wheel is compatible with both SimHub, and RaceDirector. Between these two pieces of software, you can really customise how the display looks and functions. With SimHub, you can create or download a huge number of custom dash layouts.

Although, if you are looking for ultimate immersion, I’m not sure you’ll need any community-made designs. Sim-Lab has replicated the real-world Mercedes-AMG F1 display with all of the same functionality and design, as well as including a variety of other dash designs.

I’ve been using this default F1 dash almost exclusively, as Sim-Lab has done an excellent job. You can see all of the key information, including your tyre and brake temperature, ERS battery level, fuel level and deployment mode. You also get the usual batch of lap time data, including your live delta, last lap time and lap count.

All of that information is great, but Sim-Lab has also designed the display to function similarly to the real-world wheel. This means that every time you cross the start/finish line, you’ll see a summary of key information. The screen also changes with a safety car and shows the changes to your car setup, such as brake bias or traction control adjustments, if racing a car with TC.

Imperfections

When you’re spending over £/$2,000 on any piece of hardware, you want the quality and the product itself to be flawless. I’ve run my eye over this Sim-Lab steering wheel and, well, I couldn’t spot too many issues with the quality at all.

After looking really hard, the only two minor quality issues I could see were a slight scuff on the rear of the carbon fibre and the smallest amount of glue seepage where the rubber hand grips are attached. And that is really it. With every wheel being hand-built, this may differ from wheel to wheel, but this example fills me with confidence that Sim-Lab has incredibly high QC requirements.

Adjustability

Adjustments are possible to the clutch paddle to allow you to tune it to your own preference. You can adjust the travel of the clutch paddle by simply turning the internal screw in either direction. This can help you feel more comfortable with the clutch travel.

You can also adjust the push/pull shifter paddle. This shifter can be removed entirely, allowing you access to the magnets and rubber pads inside. Swapping the layout of these magnets with the two additional magnets included in the box results in less shifter force.

In total, there are four different combinations, which result in a range from 0.2kg up to 0.9kg of force required to activate the shifter.

I’m never a fan of having to disassemble a steering wheel to gain access to adjustments. However, the clutch and shifter paddle adjustments are easy enough to make with a single Allen key.

Software adjustments

Moving over to this wheel’s software side, you get SimHub compatibility if you like having a centralised point to manage aspects of your sim racing setup. Sim-Lab also has its own software called RaceDirector.

This is where you can really dive into the functionality of the wheel and make key adjustments. After updating the firmware, your first choice is between simple and expert modes.

The difference here is that the simple mode removes the option to adjust your clutch bite point, and it sets all encoders to work as simple rotary encoders. Expert mode lets you change any of the encoders between being an encoder and a multi-position switch.

The display tab lets us choose which dash we want to show, with options for the W15 replica dash, or a variety of other real-world options. You can also cycle through these using shortcuts on the wheel itself.

If you click on the dash preferences, you can change the behaviour of the dash itself. You can adjust the levels for when you get fuel warning lights, set fuel consumption targets, and change some other settings. Crucially, this is where you can change between kph and mph.

You get an equal amount of adjustability over the LED lights. You can choose different profiles which affect which LEDs light up and when. You can also change the brightness and blink speed.

Performance review

Now, lets put this wheel through its paces on the rig, to see if performs as well as you’d hope.

To start, this is a 280mm wheel, which is the sweet spot for formula-style sim racing. Its small enough to feel nimble, but large enough to not feel too small and toylike. Being a true F1 wheel, it’s ideal for any form of open-wheel racing. If you plan on using this wheel for GT racing, the lack of a closed bottom to the hand grips can make it slightly more awkward to rotate the wheel past 180 degrees in either direction, but that isn’t its intended use.

During gameplay, every input is easily within reach. Formula 1 engineers have carefully considered the position of each input over years of development, so this is no surprise. Each button is firm to push and has an incredibly tactile feeling. The encoders do feel stiff and can be a little uncomfortable to use if racing without gloves.

The shifters themselves take a little getting used to due to the narrow design and high placement. After a few race sessions, I felt comfortable enough with them, and the activation feel is really solid. There is a reasonably loud sound with each shift, but it’s nothing compared to some wheels I’ve tried.

The wheel itself really holds up as you would expect. The carbon fibre construction makes this wheel incredibly light, making it nimble and responsive to use. At higher force feedback torque levels, the wheel remains completely rigid with zero noticable flex in any part of the wheel.

Is the Sim-Lab Mercedes-AMG F1 wheel worth buying?

My final question has two parts. First, would you spend over £/$2,000 on a Sim Racing steering wheel? If so, should you buy this Sim-Lab wheel?

The tiny quality control issues I mentioned earlier may be a factor for some sim racers. Additionally, the lack of button LEDs on a £/$2,000+ steering wheel or the rubber silicone handgrips instead of a more luxurious material such as leather or Alcantara could all be buying factors. However, this wheel is uncompromisingly realistic, for better or for worse.

If you are a Formula 1 fan, a Mercedes-AMG or a George Russell fan, there is no doubt that this is the ultimate sim racing steering wheel. I’ve had to pinch myself a couple of times during my time with this wheel when I’ve looked down and realised I’m using an officially licensed Mercedes-AMG F1 wheel.

This certainly isn’t the best sim racing steering wheel for all occasions. The price alone will put many off. However, the authenticity of this wheel draws me in. There are no other steering wheels on the market that compete directly with this Sim-Lab wheel.

On the rig, it performs as well as any other. The carbon-fibre shell makes it light and extremely rigid. All inputs feel premium to interact with, and the layout is superbly ergonomic and well-considered. A lot of this is thanks to years of Formula 1 development to design the perfect F1 steering wheel.

This Mercedes-AMG F1 steering wheel succeeds as a one-of-a-kind piece of art that is superb to sim race with and gorgeous to look at and display on a shelf.

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Review written by Felix König

About Felix König

Felix König is a professional Esports sim racer from Seattle, WA, and is the founder and editor of Sim Race Reviews. In addition to over 10 years of professional sim racing and competing in both iRacing and Assetto Corsa Competizione competitions, Felix has been sharing his sim racing knowledge and expertise with other sim racers. His passion lies in sim racing, and in particular in the plethora of sim racing hardware from racing wheels to pedals and more.

View all articles written by Felix König

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