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Codemasters announces F1 Online: The Game
As if fantasy football wasn't enough of a workplace distraction, Codemasters has recently announced F1 Online: The Game, which is, as you may have guessed, a free-to-play, browser-based Formula 1 racing game/management simulator. Set to launch sometime in Q1 2012, F1 Online allows players to race as their favorite real-world teams, or as a fictional team of their own creation. Full-scale World Championships and Grand Prix events will be available, qualifying runs and all, and social networking integration means you'll be able to immediately notify your friends upon beating Cyber-Alonso's lap record by 0.000001 of a second. For the more managerially-minded among us, team-management functionality will let the player "manage the commercial, research, production and race crew functions required for success on track," meaning that those reports you needed to finish totally won't get finished. McLaren-Mercedes, Williams, Lotus-Renault, and Force India are all present and accounted for, and with the inclusion of world-famous circuits like Monaco and Silverstone, F1 Online: The Game looks to be the racing enthusiast's ideal time-waster.
British Grand Prix: A rare glimpse behind the McLaren-Mercedes F1 team (video)
Jealous much? Don't be. I had to sacrifice my ears to the roaring engines at Silverstone last Friday, just for you lovely people. While the Formula One teams were taking a break from the Grand Prix practice sessions, I was able to sneak into the pit area and get up close to Vodafone McLaren Mercedes' shiny stallions -- no touching allowed, naturally, but I did learn a thing or two about their pre-race preparation. And to top things off, legendary driver Jenson Button also popped by to share some thoughts on McLaren's F-duct system (a cunning and legal trickery that lets the driver's left leg redirect airflow over the rear wing in order to stall the flap, thus reducing drag when doing straights), as well as a few grumbles about the sharp corners on the recently renovated circuit. Video's after the break, and be sure to crank up your speakers for maximum sensation.%Gallery-97407%
Aigo "revs up" Formula One-themed PMP with 720p output
Unlike certain other Chinese devices, the Aigo Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP5 personal media player is actually a working, fully-featured PMP with support for FM radio, eBooks, and an adequate variety of audio and video formats -- it even outputs 720p content, though its own display is limited to 480 x 272. While Aigo's sponsorship of the McLaren Mercedes Formula One car is this thing's excuse for existence, it's technically also under the company's Patriot name (it's called the Patriot MP5-MK3510) but we're guessing the F1 theme will be more attractive to the Y chromosome than Winnie the Pooh. [Via PMP Today]
