Summer has come, which means that the time has come for a new part F1 from Codemasters. It so happened that only in virtual F1 you can see the full calendar of this season, consisting of 22 Grand Prix. Due to the pandemic, the official championship was postponed for three months and significantly reduced in stages, and some routes will be used even several times. Therefore, the game was in a better position than the real event.
The calendar F1 2023 got two new tracks in Vietnam and the Netherlands. Hanoi is a city track with long straight lines where you can squeeze the maximum speed, and Zandvoort, which has been redone a bit for the sake of security, which is why some turns have become wider.
At the same time, the game lost the Hockenheimring track, located in Germany. For those who, for whatever reason, do not want to drive the full season in career mode, you can choose between two shortened options for 16 or 10 Grand Prix.
Career is now divided into two modes: “Pilot career“And”My team“. The first offers either to start your journey in the younger Formula 2 with the ability to choose the duration of the season, or immediately jump into the Formula 1 championship with the choice of any of the existing teams. This is by and large a career option from last year’s game.
In turn, “My Team” is a completely new mode with many new features. This is the first time in a series that you can create your own team by choosing the main sponsor, the engine for your car and co-pilot.
Starting capital, tasks for the season and the amount of weekly payments depend on the choice of sponsor.
Engines differ not only in power and durability, but also in the amount of money they ask for them.
For the remaining money you are invited to choose a co-pilot. Of course, the starting capital is not enough for an experienced professional, so the initial choice will be between the pilots of the slower third-tier teams and those from the junior championship F2.
After you have made your choice, they will conduct an interview with you, where, depending on the answers, bonuses will be distributed among departments. There are six of them now: two are aimed at developing the team and the second pilot, and four, as before, are aimed at improving the car.
In addition to the improvements opened in the development departments, the departments themselves can also be improved. This will allow you to develop more details at the same time, reduce the risk of unsuccessful creation, accelerate the pace or allow you to get more resources weekly.
The visual design of departments changes as you pump. Now, instead of being tied to a specific Grand Prix, a part is developed a certain number of days. You can take a chance and start an accelerated production with a big chance of failure in order to catch up to the next Grand Prix.
Time can and should be used not only to develop new parts. Between the Grand Prix, they give you a choice of a random set of activities with different execution times.
For example, after a successful Grand Prix, you can spend a day celebrating victory, which will increase the mood in the development departments and reduce the risk of failure and price. Or spend a few days developing the skills of the co-pilot.
Between the Grand Prix, you can be invited to additional races, participation in which brings a little money and reputation. In addition to the main sponsor, who will be with you all season, you can sign a contract with smaller sponsors. Each one has a different number of weekly and prize payments, terms and conditions of the contract.
As you level up your team’s reputation, you open up additional slots for sponsors, up to four.
Reputation increases with success on the track and in interviews. The professional / showman system has been abolished. Now the answers only affect the overall reputation and mood of the development departments.
When the contract with the co-pilot comes to an end, you can renew it or try to get a more experienced and faster pilot on the exchange. But do not think that you will immediately get to buy the same Lewis Hamilton. When you go to your team, pilots are interested in not only money, but also the degree of development of your development departments and the level of reputation of the team.
During negotiations, there will be three options for salaries: with an average, low and high rate. Depending on them, the chance of signing a contract is calculated. In addition, if the pilot is already a member of one of the teams, then an auction begins, where you are already bargaining with his current team.
In this case, no one bothers you to grow a champion from a novice pilot, but it will take money and time. But keep in mind that time is limited: you have no more than 10 seasons at your disposal, as a career is designed for 10 years.
All of this micromanagement is quite fun to do, and it dilutes well the main gameplay, which has hardly changed since the last part.
