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We’re about a third of the way through the F1 season in real life, but the start of your own F1 season is right around the corner as the release date for F1 24 fast approaches. We’ve got our hands on a preview build of the game, and beyond all the customary updates to drivers, teams, and circuits, we got to try out some of the new features that are set to make F1 24 the best one yet.
As a preview build, we didn’t have access to the full game, instead we were limited largely to Career Mode, Grand Prix, and Time Trial. Luckily, this was certainly enough to get a feel for the game and see first hand some of the improvements in this year’s iteration.
The biggest addition to this year’s game is without a doubt the changes to Career Mode, which has had its biggest update for almost a decade. The new Driver Career Mode sees you take control of an existing driver or create your own, before playing through their career, starting either as an established F1 driver or working your way up from F2.
Not only can you play as current F1 stars like Verstappen or Hamilton, but for the first time players can take control of icons of the sport to relive their careers. The likes of Senna and Schumacher, as well as new additions like Hunt and Montoya are available. This is a welcome touch for longtime fans of F1.
And it’s not just about winning races, as the Driver Recognition and Accolades systems provide unique challenges and milestones to complete, raising your reputation based on how many you complete. If you choose to play as an existing driver, these Accolades will be based on their real-life career and achievements, letting you really live out the career of these F1 legends while you play.
Another new feature is the Challenge Career, a new community-focused mode with episodic play and challenges to complete. Your scores in these challenges go onto a community leaderboard, giving you the chance to compete with your friends. And if that’s not enough competition for you, a new Two-Player Career Mode lets you and your friend duke it out directly, whether that’s as part of the same team or as part of rival ones.
As for the driving itself, F1 24 goes all out updating the game’s physics to make this year’s game as immersive as possible. They’ve worked to improve the feel of the car to make it as realistic as they can and really deliver the experience of being in the cockpit of an F1 car.
For those F1 obsessives who want to control every aspect of their cars, there’s plenty to do here. Plenty of car setup options let you tinker with almost every aspect of your car, letting you tailor it to your driving style and match every track you’re on perfectly.
While driving, you’ll have your team radioing in to remind you to keep track of a variety of systems, like tyre temperature, brake pressure, and the conditions of the track, keeping you on your toes and rewarding the players who know what they’re doing with the most control over the car in any F1 game to date.
Of course, there are the usual changes to the game, too. All circuits have been updated, with certain popular tracks like Silverstone and Spa receiving major overhauls to make them as authentic as possible. The cars themselves have received the same treatment, with team liveries updated to their 2024 designs.
Yearly sports titles can be accused of failing to innovate year on year, and cashing in on the regular releases. Luckily, the F1 series looks to be bucking the trend, and is set to make some significant additions to the game. Whether you’re a diehard fan of the series or a casual F1 fan, there’s a lot to enjoy here, and here’s hoping that the full title lives up to that expectation.
F1 24 arrives on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox on 31 May 2024.
