Formula One is known for its high spending and advanced technology. But over the past decade, the sport’s attempts to reduce costs have seen increasing restrictions on the amount of testing it allows teams to conduct on the track.

Testing could cost the richer teams about $35 million or more a season, and they, of course, could afford more track time than poorer teams. So when drivers like Michael Schumacher could use test circuits for hours between race weekends, efforts to reduce spending saw the sport’s regulator, the International Automobile Federation (known by its French acronym F.I.A.), impose limits on the amount of time teams could spend track testing.

But teams still need to try out new technology and ideas. There are new engine parts, wing designs and racing strategies to work on. With track time reduced, teams turned to virtual reality and now do much of their testing on simulators.

Far superior to virtual gaming in home entertainment systems, a Formula One simulator is a massive computer larger than a studio apartment. It usually has hydraulics that provide a full range of motion, replicating the effect of being on track — allowing teams and drivers to learn circuits, to assess new parts before track testing and to supplement learning.