Two years ago when the first F1 Manager title from Frontier arrived there was excitement and expectation from the fanbase. The third installment of the franchise has now arrived and it seems there is little energy left in the audience.
This is odd because, with the dwindling sales of Codemasters' F1 driving game, there should be an unfulfilled appetite for Formula 1 gaming out there. So can F1 Manager 2024 deliver the goods for players? Or are we in danger of double disappointment this year?
Create-a-team shines
Adding an 11th team to the Formula 1 grid was a big win for Codemasters in 2020 with the introduction of My Team and it's a big win for Frontier in 2024 in the new Create a Team mode. With this change you can create immediate differences in your F1 world by poaching drivers and staff from other teams, causing a chain reaction, and adding young drivers to the grid.
F1 Manager 2024 offers you multiple different entry points, from your classic backmarker in the style of Caterham or Marussia to a Brawn-style technological breakthrough team and an automotive giant with enough backing to get you Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton as your drivers.
The preset liveries are better quality than what you get in other titles, with clear inspiration taken from former F1 teams without going close enough to require licensing. They don't quite fit in with the real cars, but it's close enough not to look ridiculous in the races.
Small upgrades
There are small upgrades elsewhere throughout the game. The addition of sponsor package choices is a nice touch that adds a further degree of financial management to your savings. Likewise, the fine-tuning to driver mentality and happiness keeps you on your toes in longer-term saves.
The new sprint format is also a win for this game. It limits the time you are circulating without much purpose in P2 and P3 sessions just for those pesky "track acclimatization" points.
Outside of those changes though, there isn't too much that really impacts the gameplay.
Same old issues
At its core, F1 Manager 2024 is the same as previous games in this franchise. That isn't a surprise, but it is a shame.
The in-race management and car development, the bread-and-butter of this game, are unchanged which is great if you liked the last game and frustrating if you didn't.
Completing your first season in any Road to Glory save with Haas, Williams, or a Create-a-Team is miserable as you languish at the back with no hope of meaningful results. DRS trains and overtake loops feel like less of an issue this year, but they still happen more than you would expect.
It's also still frustrating to find driver commands like "Don't fight teammate" in the heat of the battle. This game also NEEDS an option to skip practices but set your race tyre allocation as skipping practice can leave you with rough options come race day.
Verdict
The fundamentals of F1 Manager 2024 are strong, and can absolutely scratch that F1 itch in a unique way.
However, the lack of true evolution in this series is a worry. Some fundamental issues like the incredibly busy UI in races have gone unresolved and the slider game for setups and part upgrades is getting old now.
Come race day though, this game does reward your inputs. You can make all the difference between maximizing what is possible and ruining the race for everyone. Misjudging safety car strategy or just forgetting to take battery usage down again can lead to disaster. But the other side of that is that you can be the reason for a race win or the stealing of a few points.
This is a game every F1 fan should try.
