F1 2020 – How to get the most speed possible out of a setup

Like a lot of racing games, your setup is key to success in F1 2020.

You could be in the fastest car on the grid, but if you opt for a setup that is wrong for the conditions, you’ll be slow. Just 0.1 seconds lost per lap is enough to ruin your race.

We’ve produced a lot of setups for F1 2020 so far, but they’re for racing situations. Therefore, compromise had to be made between being fast and good tyre life.

We’re going to do something different today and produce an ultimate setup for the fastest possible lap time over one lap. There are some variations to be made depending on which circuit you’re driving at, but in general, this is the fastest possible setup!

Aerodynamics

This is the part of the setup which will vary the most depending on which track you’re setting this lap on. There’s no “one size fits all” solution for aerodynamics.

The wing angles which you use define how much downforce the front and rear of the car will produce. Higher wing angles make more downforce, which helps through the corners. Lower wing angles improve acceleration and top speed but at the cost of cornering speed. 

In F1 2020, it’s probably best to opt for slightly higher than normal wings for ultimate one lap pace. This can change depending on your driving style though, as more aggressive drivers will need more downforce. “Normal” varies at each track, you can’t run Monza wings at Monaco and expect to be fast.

Transmission

Transmission dictates how the power from the engine is delivered to the wheels. A more open differential will make traction more gradual at the cost of overall grip. 

To be the fastest you possibly can in F1 2020, you need to set the on-throttle diff to the minimum value (50%). The off-throttle diff should be the polar opposite, the 100% max setting, as F1 cars are rear wheel drive.

This will make the car unstable, but it will also make the car as fast as possible. Plus, the higher downforce levels you should be running will help this situation.

Suspension Geometry

Suspension geometry sets how much of the surface of the tyre will be in contact with the road. The more contact the tyre has, the more grip will be produced but it will wear your rubber out faster. 

You should therefore set the toe and camber values to the lowest possible settings, for maximum grip. You’ll be rapid through the corners and smooth with throttle application with these settings. 

Suspension

In theory, the stiffest springs possible will make the car as fast as possible. This is due to the car being able to go back to its ideal body position, i.e. as little roll as possible. 

However, this is very hard to run effectively, almost impossible, in fact. You’d have to avoid all the kerbs around a circuit, but this is possible, so we will say 11/11 front and rear suspension.

The anti-roll bar also needs to be as stiff as possible, as this aids turn-in and change of direction mid-corner. Again, this will make the car more unstable, but in theory, this is fastest.

Finally, for the suspension, there’s the front and rear ride height. Theoretically, 1/1 would be the fastest, as the drag produced by the car will be as little as possible.

However, the bottom of the car will be scraping along the floor more often. This will reduce straight-line speed and make the car more unstable. 

In general, we find that 3/4 front and rear ride height is the lowest you can go without losing out on grip.

Brakes

100% brake pressure would make the brakes as effective as possible, but you’re certain to lose time on your lap.

Lockups would be extremely common, and the discs would be less effective thanks to overheating, especially around tracks like Singapore and Monaco.

The highest brake pressure you can get away with in time trial is around 90%, although you could go higher than this, especially if you’re on wheel rather than pad. 

The brake bias is usually best around 53 or 54% towards the front axle. This does vary with each track though, so be sure to check out our setup guides first!

Tyres

Your tyre pressures dictate how much grip and what temperature your Pirellis will be running at during hot laps.

The higher the pressure, the more grip you get but that comes at the risk of overheating rubber and reduced tyre life. 

In time trial though, your tyres are always the ideal temperature, so overheating isn’t an issue. Therefore, to be as fast as possible, use maximum tyre pressures for the quickest lap time. That means 25.0 psi on the fronts and 23.5 psi for the rear axle.

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