The third Feature Focus for F1 Manager 2024 has now dropped. This dives into three major new features coming to the series, including how sponsors work, how to keep your team marketable, and introducing the all-new driver affiliate program.
Let’s take a look at the Navigating Challenges Feature Focus for F1 Manager 2024.
Sponsored drives
Narrated once again by P1’s Matt Gallagher, the first section of the latest F1 Manager 2024 Feature Focus looks at how players can finance their F1 dreams. Sponsorship is crucial to the continuation of F1, with every team relying on external backing to stay on the grid.
The same will be true in F1 Manager 2024. Those choosing to build their own F1 outfit in Create a Team or take over an existing team will need to source and secure sponsors in order to fund the team’s development.
Title sponsors will take the spotlight on your team’s car and branding while providing the bulk of your starting finances. Players can also choose up to five secondary sponsors to gain additional funding.
Players will get to choose from a list of sponsors when first setting up their team and throughout their playthroughs. Each sponsor comes with a different upfront payout amount, as well as a list of bonuses and demands that your team will need to fulfill.
These demands are both performance-based and include fulfilling sponsor obligations, be they facility tours, driver appearances, or other activities. These events will impact the performance of the affected area of the team, so choose your sponsors wisely when the time comes.
Keeping sponsors happy will benefit your team greatly in the long term. Failing to appease sponsors could see them drop their support, potentially jeopardizing your team mid-season.
Improving your team’s marketability will get more sponsors interested in your team. The best way to achieve this is by excelling on track. Your drivers also have a marketability rating that affects the overall team standing.
Driver marketability is dictated by their popularity, recent success, and how many sponsor activities they have been involved in. The nationality of your driver is also key, as drivers from countries with a higher number of F1 fans will generate more sponsor interest.
This last factor will fluctuate randomly both as your game progresses and between save games. Therefore players can experience a diverse range of sponsor opportunities based on their F1 grid, with no two playthroughs seeing the same drivers attract the same sponsorship levels.
Ultimately, the better you and your drivers perform in races, as well as how well you handle off-track obligations, will see you attract more sponsors to fund future successes.
Future talent
Speaking of the future, the Navigating Challenges Feature Focus also highlights the new driver affiliate program team principals have access to. This sees up to ten young drivers join your team, with you making the choice on how to develop them.
Whether they stay with your team, racking up time on the simulator to help develop the car, or head out to the F2 or F3 feeder series to gain valuable track time, it’s key to manage each driver’s progression carefully to get the best out of them.
These driver affiliates act the same way as driver academies, a heavily requested feature from F1 Manager fans. Team principals can choose to place a driver in the car for an F1 practice session, giving them valuable experience they can use to develop.
Using the returning development focus feature from F1 Manager 2023, players can blaze a trail for their young talent right the way to the top of Formula 1. Stories like Max Verstappen’s journey from rookie to world champion or the potential breakthrough of Andrea Kimi Antonelli in 2025 are now possible in F1 Manager 2024.
F1 Manager 2024 release date and platforms
F1 Manager 2024 is due to arrive in the paddock just before the F1 summer break begins. The game is set to release on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One on July 23. No early access period is available this year, with all players starting the race on the same date.
Two editions of the game are available to purchase. The Standard Edition is available to preorder for £29.99 ($34.99) on all platforms. Preordering this edition will give players an extra F1 202024 Show Car livery preset for the new Create a Team mode.
The Deluxe Edition, priced at £39.99 ($44.99) on all platforms, comes with an additional five extra liveries for Create a Team. This is in addition to five fictional Race Replay events for players to play outside of their careers.
Frontier has also confirmed F1 Manager 2024 will be digital-only this year. This means there will be no physical version for completionists to collect.
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