F1 Manager 2024 preview – creating your own history

It’s now been two years since the first instalment of Frontier Developments’ F1 Manager series, and the third game is just over the horizon. Following a solid, but a little uninspiring first game, F1 Manager 2023 built on those foundations to produce a real gem in the sports simulation genre, and it looks like things are only going to get bigger and better with F1 Manager 2024.

For us, the biggest new change is the addition of the Create A Team mode. While in the first two games, you were limited to existing teams, this year’s game adds the chance to create a brand-new one. Choose your colours, livery, uniforms, drivers, and staff, then set off to overthrow the likes of Red Bull and Mercedes.

It feels as if real focus has been put on long-term saves in this year’s game. As someone who prefers sticking with one save for a long time, the prospect of starting from the bottom with a fledgling constructor and making your way to the top is an exciting one.

Adding to this is the introduction of affiliate drivers. You’ll be able to take a look at some of the top talent from F2 and F3, potentially signing some of the hot prospects to your own team and building a dynasty – but this means the AI can do the same. It’s this potential to really make a save your own that makes other simulation games so gripping and is a welcome change to this year’s game.

The driver confidence system that was introduced last year has also been improved, making it even more important to your success. Your drivers and staff all have unique personalities, and you’ll need to cater to each of them to keep them happy. 

Favouring one driver over the other could improve their confidence and help them race better, but risks upsetting the other one in the long run, and could even see them getting poached by other teams. Your team members losing faith at the wrong time could cause a run of bad results that end up costing you the championship.

It’s not just the management aspect that’s seeing new features, as the actual races have received their own changes, the biggest of which is the introduction of mechanical failures. Winning races will require you to push your drivers and their cars to the limit, but now that comes with a risk. 

Throughout your races, you’ll need to balance the sustainability needed to complete a race with taking the risks needed to edge out in front. Push your car too hard too early in the race and you could need to head back to the pits too early. But wait too long and it might be too late to gain any ground. Balancing this is incredibly important and will be key to winning championships.

Of course, the game has also received all the customary upgrades that come with a yearly release. The visuals, which were already excellent for a sports management sim, have had their upgrades, with tracks looking more realistic and the liveries looking sleeker than ever. There’s even a new ‘helicam’ camera option to view the race from above, which is a nice touch. Going back to the graphics on other games like Football Manager 2024 is certainly a reminder of how good F1 Manager players have got it.

If you were already on board with the F1 Manager series, then you’re going to be on board with this year’s game, as it’s looking to be a straight upgrade on every front. We aren’t sure yet whether or not these upgrades are enough to warrant splashing out over last year’s game immediately. Even so, F1 Manager 2024 is undoubtedly shaping up to be a treat for F1 fans and we’re looking forward to the full release.