There’s a lot to love about the action and intensity of Formula 1 racing beyond the insane speeds of the cars and the larger-than-life personalities who pilot them. Most relevant for us mere mortals who watch on is that so much of the technology F1 experts devise makes its way into the road cars we use every day.

Safety, engine performance, aerodynamics, and weight-to-power ratios are obvious improvements. But there’s also some fun stuff on board that can bring out the Lewis Hamilton in us.

During a recent Mercedes-Benz drive experience at Sandown Raceway in Melbourne, I had the chance to cycle through the brand’s latest AMG vehicles and quickly became infatuated with a system called Mercedes-AMG Track Pace.

The system logs a driver’s on-track performance data wherever they happen to be doing quick laps. Lamborghini has offered such a system since 2016, and BMW has just introduced its version in the new M3 and M4.

If you’re interested in tracking your abilities on closed-off race tracks, here’s a breakdown of what this clever technology can do.

Mercedes-AMG Track Pace

Jacquie Hayes

Think of the AMG Track Pace as a virtual race engineer, recording 80 vehicle-specific sets of data such as speed, acceleration, and braking 10 timers per second. Lap and sector times are recorded, with acceleration and deceleration values measured and saved.

As a Mercedes-Benz spokesman says, “It’s a very capable bit of kit for those interested in performance data.”

The system allows drivers to compare data from lap to lap, analyzing driving skills to see where there’s room for improvement. Even the weather on the day is included in the mix.

Mercedes-AMG vehicles already have quite a few legendary race tracks loaded into the Infotainment system and Track Pace adds another 60 pre-recorded circuits.

Melbourne’s Sandown Raceway, where we tested the system, didn’t make the list. Not that that mattered because you only have to circumnavigate the track once to record it on the system permanently.