India’s first official F1-sanctioned sim racing competition is currently underway. Run by Mumbai Falcons, F1 Sim Racing India Open offers Indian fans and budding racers a different, and far more accessible entry point to motorsport. In fact, Mumbai Falcons already has plans in place to bridge the gap between sim and real-world racing, giving the best performing participants the chance to join its driver development programme.
- Two categories: Junior and Senior
- Finale to be held in Mumbai in November 2026
From sim racing to single seaters
Over the years, Mumbai Falcons has fielded teams in several international karting and Formula Regional championships. The team has played a crucial role in the junior careers of prominent drivers, including Kimi Antonelli, Oliver Bearman, Arvid Lindblad and Kush Maini.
Speaking to Autocar India, Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited’s Managing Director Ameet Gadhoke explained that the idea for the F1 Sim Racing India Open stemmed from the team’s experience in single-seater racing. “I’ve seen how important sim racing was for [our drivers] before they went onto the track,” he stated.
The team isn’t treating sim racing as a separate category; instead, it forms a key part of Mumbai Falcons’ driver development pathway. The best performers in the F1 Sim Racing India Open will join the team’s ‘Agla Star’ programme, with the top 1,000 players earning the chance to train with 4-stroke karts. The top 100 from here will then move up to 2-stroke karts, and those who impress the most will then be trained to step up to single-seater racing.
“The idea is to find the Agla Star. We want a guy or girl to come from here and go into single seaters as fast as possible. We’re doing a talent hunt programme, we’re not [just] doing sim racing,” Gadhoke explained. “So for those who actually understand motorsport, but cannot afford it, this is the pathway. The idea is if this person is good, then we take him out of the group, put him in real karts and then go into single seaters.”
Mumbai Falcons has also teamed up with several schools across India for this. As the team explained, the goal with this is “to introduce students to sim racing, motorsport technology and structured talent development opportunities at an early age”. As part of this initiative, partner schools will receive simulator infrastructure, training support and structured learning modules. Gadhoke says he’s targeting partnering with around 1,000 schools across 20 cities in India.
F1 also runs its own global sim racing championship, which often acts as a launchpad for wider opportunities in both sim racing, as well as motorsport in general. Gadhoke shared that Mumbai Falcons is also exploring representing India in this F1 Sim Racing World Championship.
F1 Sim Racing India entry fees, format
Open to both newcomers and experiences players, the F1 Sim Racing India open is divided into two categories – Junior (ages 10-14) and Senior (above 14 years old). Registrations are currently underway, with the F1 Standard package costing Rs 3,499, and the F1 Elite package costing Rs 4,999. While the former simply gives access to competition entry, the more expensive F1 Elite package also includes priority slot for the zonal qualifiers, a 30-minute tutorial, telemetry data, 10 percent discount for online coaching and 10 percent discount on merchandise.
The competition is divided into 10 zones across the country. Phase 1 includes online laps as well as Mumbai Falcons’ school programme. For this, all those who have registered can compete on the F1 25 game through rough Steam, PlayStation Network, Xbox Live or via an EA Play membership.
Participants can set their fastest lap times on one selected circuit within a 60-day window. Ranking is based on lap time, so the faster your lap, the higher your position. Participants can also continue trying to improve their lap times during the 60-day window.
The top 5,000 juniors and 5,000 seniors from each zone will then make it to the Zonal stage. The 50 fastest juniors and 50 fastest seniors from each zone qualify for the national finals.
F1 Sim Racing India Open: Finals
The national finals is slated to be held in Mumbai’s NSCI Dome in November 2026. Here, participants will compete in the Playseat Formula Intelligence F1 Edition cockpit, along with the Fanatec ClubSport Racing Wheel F1 system.
The top 30 from each category will progress to the last stage. The junior finalists will then compete across nine races, while the senior finalists will compete across 12 races. The Junior and Senior champion will each win Rs 1 crore.
