For those of you who follow Formula One, have you ever wondered what it was like to drive one of these things around a circuit?

I must admit, that thought has occasionally crossed my mind. Well, SingTel recently gave us a chance to find out, when they held an event to launch their latest Formula One simulator ahead of the 2011 Singapore Grand Prix.

Media invitees were given two chances at trying out the simulator, one on a test track, and one on the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

During the briefing, I kept thinking, this should be easy, considering the hours I spend on the XBox playing games like Forza Motorsport. So things like braking late and hitting the apex should be a problem.

How wrong I was.

From the moment you are sat very in the cockpit, you just know that this is a totally different experience. Your legs are inclinded upwards towards the pedals, and you form a sort of a slight V-shape, a bit like doing leg lift-ups.

The pedals too, require quite a bit of force to depress and operate, so trying to find the right pressure can be tricky initially.

On the go, it just feels completely different from every day driving. For example, when you're cornering, you have to brake hard, downshift using the paddle shifters, and then turn the wheel, in that order. You can never do two actions at the same time, because you will either stall or lock the wheels and spin off.

It is a lot to think about at more than 200km/h, even if it is just simulation.

Practice makes perfect though, and I believe that once you get a few laps in, you start to get the hang of it.

If you want to have a go, SingTel is organising a 24-Hour Simulator Challenge at Plaza Singapura on the 23 and 24 July, where members of the public get a chance to challenge themselves and set the best time on the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

For more details, go to www.singtel.com/f1 to find out more.