Sim-Lab has just launched a new $2,499 steering wheel that it says is "as authentic as possible" to the steering wheel used by Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 team car. It's a nice piece of hardware to just look at, but be aware that getting into an emulator can be dangerous to your budget. If the price tag has your chin on the floor, do not bother. You can't just insert the steering wheel into the PC and hit Montreal's Simulation Street. It should be attached to the wheelbase, translating the twisting motion of the steering wheel and button inputs into a racing game while providing feedback.

They will also cost you thousands of dollars and are not included in this roll. What makes Sim-Lab's new wheels so expensive? First, it received official licensing from the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One team, which shared computer-aided design (CAD) data used to build steering wheels for its multi-million dollar cars. Sim-Lab's steering wheel is the closest thing to a racing car, not replacing Lewis Hamilton as the team's driver when he moves to Ferrari next year. Not only does it maintain its weight of 1240 grams, it also ensures that it is extremely strong so that the vibrations and resistance from the wheelbase are accurately transferred to the players' hands. It doesn't squeal or strain when going into simulated corners at speeds in excess of 150 mph.

The steering wheel features nine dials, 12 buttons, two switches, carbon fiber shift paddles, anti-static silicone rubber grips and 25 controllable RGB LEDs for instant telemetry data. If that's not enough, there's a 4.3-inch LCD screen in the center of the steering wheel with data laid out like what a Mercedes F1 driver would see.

To most of us this may seem like a cheesy splurge, but for racing simulation fans struggling to recreate the real F1 experience, the only thing that seems to be missing is race engineer Bono saying: “Okay Lewis, it's hammer time.