[sprsquish]

I think your point about not feeling the car is a big part of what makes driving a simulator so difficult. Every part of a real car is giving the driver direct feedback into various parts of their body. How hard they are on the brake and throttle. Small changes in lateral g-force let them know how close to the edge of traction they are. The screen isn't going to be the same as the real world. The only feedback you get from an (affordable) at-home sim is through the screen and wheel. It requires you to tune into different sensations.

On the last stream Lando Norris (McLaren F1 driver) was asked if it felt like the real thing. He was response was something like, "Not at all. Nothing is like driving an F1 car."

[C1sc0cat]

Its the shear physical impact on the driver - I recall seeing drivers having difficulty at the end of the race getting out of the car.

[sjm-lbm]

This is correct - Top Gear did a test years ago where they put a very good sim racer in a real race car (https://www.topgear.com/car-news/gaming/geek-rebooted).

TLDR: he did OK, but was nowhere up to the physical challenge of staying in that car for full race distance. And, for the record, that car won't be on the same planet as an F1 car in terms of physical forces put on a driver.

[lozaning]

I've heard that nascar drivers can lose up to 8 pounds in sweat over the course of a race. The constant forces on your body for that long have to take a physical toll on your body.

[lttlrck]

An hour of karting did that to me...