Not even canapés and free wine can steal my attention, because sat on the other side of the room are two replica F1 car monocoques.

These aren’t just static models either. No, these are state of the art simulators, each facing five-metre-wide screens with the image of Monza’s pitlane displayed on it.

They’re parked in the function room of a swanky west London hotel, where the preview event for Ferrari World Barcelona is taking place – it’s located here because sunburnt Brits are expected to be the park’s most common visitors.

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Ferrari has drafted in its test driver, ex-F1 racer Marc Gené, to talk us through the park’s rides. “It’s the closest you can get to Formula 1,” he says enthusiastically. “The roller coaster does 0-180kmh in five seconds. It’s actually faster off the line than an F1 car.”

A few more stats are mentioned and Gené says he’ll be taking his family to the park later this year, although it won’t be complete and open to the public until April 2017.

Then it’s the moment I’ve been waiting for: the simulators. Ferrari’s staff can see I’m itching to get a go so they usher me towards one of the cars and I slip in. “It’s almost identical to the real thing,” Gené had said earlier. “The steering wheel and pedals, they are all like the 2016 F1 car.”

Indeed, the wheel, now clicked into place ahead of me, looks and feels like the real thing. At least I think it does, having never driven a real F1 car before. My feet sit out in front of me, in line with my bottom and with a slight bend in my knees. It feels as genuine as anything I’ve experienced.

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