F1 23’s official X account has teased the return of Daniel Ricciardo to the game. Returning to Formula 1 for the Hungarian Grand Prix, it’s been a mixed bag for Ricciardo so far. But let’s be honest, it’s just great to see the Australian back in the sport.
EA teases Ricciardo’s return
Update: EA has since confirmed the date when Daniel Ricciardo will return in F1 23.
In the post on X, a sim rig can be seen with F1 23 open on the screen in the background. Although blurred, the driver on screen is unmistakably Daniel Ricciardo wearing his AlphaTauri racing suit. The caption with the post contains a series of emojis saying ‘Honey Badger soon’.
It was never a secret that Ricciardo would be added to F1 23, as we confirmed back in June, but to see the Honey Badger suited up and ready to race fills us all with joy. After his rather anticlimactic exit from F1 at the end of last year, many wondered how long it would be before we’d see the famous smile return to the grid. But with the sudden departure of Nyck de Vries after only 10 races, Ricciardo was confirmed to be stepping in for the remainder of the season.
How long do you think it’ll be before an F1 World event pits Ricciardo and Perez against one another?
EA reveal how EA Playtesting helped develop F1 23
In a recent interview with EA Playtesting, Codemasters’ Creative Director Gavin Cooper revealed the part EA Playtesting played when developing F1 23. Major aspects of F1 World were shaped based on feedback from the Playtesting process, including adding shortcuts from the menu to underutilised areas of the new game mode.
The story of Braking Point was also tweaked using player feedback, making the story more balanced when compared to the on-track action.
With F1 23 being the first F1 title to use EA Playtesting, Cooper stated that the whole process was valuable to help make F1 23 the best it could be. Cooper also hinted that EA Playtesting could be used for future F1 titles, starting with F1 24 next year.
You can read the full interview with Gavin Cooper and Senior User Experience Researcher at Electronic Arts Playtesting, Alistair Wood, here.