

It began in F1 2016 last year and it carries on here. The key side effect of all this preparation, micro-management, and on-track unpredictability is drama. As with F1 2016, race distance and AI ability can be adjusted between every round, meaning we’re never stuck with a decision for a full, 20-race season. The best way to play F1 2017 remains with at least 25% race distance selected (where opponent errors, safety cars, pit strategies, and dynamic weather changes all come into play) but part wear is still scaled to your career even if you choose the shortest, five-lap races. “Codemasters’ ability to make the whole race weekend meaningful remains admirable and everything you achieve in practice, qualifying, and racing still adds to your development point haul. The older a part is the more prone to failures it will be, something I learned when I lost a gear in Azerbaijan, and then learned again when my turbo went on the fritz in Canada, and then learned again when I couldn’t select lean fuel mode in. Reliability throughout the season is also a real issue now as we need to manage wear on key car components over the course of the year. If it’s all a bit too obtuse you can ask for your engineer’s recommendations. Tables indicate the areas your team is trailing in – driving for Red Bull I’ve focussed almost exclusively on power unit upgrades to try and get back on terms with Mercedes and Ferrari – but the goal posts are always shifting as rival teams complete their own R&D. The research and development system has been drastically broadened, with an RPG-esque development tree that branches out across over 100 individual upgrades. The Long HaulWhile Codemasters still hasn’t added Dan Ricciardo’s signature podium celebration, it has added some significant tweaks to the 10-season career experience, which is really the most fulfilling part of this whole package. This is a really good-looking racing game, from the neon glow of Singapore’s skyscrapers to the shiny, wet asphalt of Albert Park. The grass glows a rich, deep green, the skies burn a brilliant blue, and everything in between looks more lifelike than ever. What’s notable is that all the tracks appear more vibrant and realistic than ever, and the desaturated tones that have defined Codemasters racing games for many years seem to have been finally trashed. Four of them do have new short routes we can use in custom GPs and time trials, but their effect on the overall package isn’t really seismic. Track AttackThere have been no new circuits added to the 2017 calendar so we have to make do with the same tracks we had in F1 2016.


I think it’s a clever and credible way of getting these old cars out on modern circuits, but the limited, greatest hits-style approach results in copies of the same car out on track whenever they’re all out racing. They’re a bit like the Showcase Events in Forza Motorsport 6.
F1 2017 CAR LAUNCHES SERIES
F1 2017’s classic cars are weaved through the career mode in a series of invitational events, which vary between overtaking challenges, checkpoint challenges, and handicap and multiclass races.
