We’re now less than a month away from the release of F1 Manager 2022. And there’s one question excited fans are asking more than any other: can we create our own custom teams in F1 Manager 2022?
It’s a valid question. F1 22 has the popular My Team mode where you create the grid’s 11th team. You might assume, then, that F1 Manager has something similar, right? No, sadly – at least not yet.
Why F1 Manager 2022 doesn’t have custom teams
There are a few reasons why F1 Manager 2022 doesn’t have custom teams. This is an officially licensed game representing the 2022 season, with licensed teams, drivers, mechanics and other staff members.
Yes, F1 22 allows players to create custom teams, but considerably fewer people are represented in the game. Only F1 and F2 drivers are represented in F1 22, plus a select number of Icons. F1 Manager 2022, on the other hand, has the entire roster of F1 drivers, plus every F1 team’s frontline staff along with all the F2 drivers, F3 drivers and F1 reserve drivers.
Frontier describes F1 Manager 2022 as “an authentic management simulation of the current world of F1.” Custom teams would hinder that vision. The emphasis on “current” means Frontier wants to match the 2022 F1 season as closely as possible.
Expecting custom teams in F1 Manager 2022 is also unreasonable considering this is Frontier’s first F1 Management game. For now, Frontier needs to focus on getting the fundamentals right and build on that foundation. After all, it took Codemasters over ten years to add the ability to create your own F1 team in the mainline F1 game series, with My Team debuting in F1 2020.
This doesn’t F1 Manager won’t get custom teams in the future, however. If there is enough demand, Frontier has hinted that next year’s F1 Manager will have a game mode with custom teams. Question is, do custom teams belong in F1 Manager?
Bespoke racing
Creating and running your own F1 team is an exciting possibility - especially one in your own name. Sadly we’re not all Bruce McLaren, Jack Brabham, Eddie Jordan or maybe soon Mario Andretti, so for many of us, the dream is dead. But being able to create a custom team in a video game is the next best thing.
F1 22 puts you in the boots of McLaren and Brabham, running the team whilst also getting behind the wheel. But what if you want to be Eddie Jordan? Right now, the closest we can get to running an F1 team in a video game is Motorsport Manager.
Motorsport Manager is an excellent management game, but it has limitations. There are no licensed racing championships. Instead, there are fictional teams inspired by real-life F1 teams and generic drivers resembling real-life F1 drivers.
However, Motorsport Manager benefits from an active modding community adding the latest F1 grid to the game. But for those who don’t want to add mods, you play the same teams in the same championships, with the only difference being the team you choose to manage.
While you can customise an F1 team in Motorsport Management to an extent, it lacks the authenticity and depth an officially-licensed game would offer.
So why haven’t we had a fully licensed F1 management game that lets you create your own team? Licensing, probably. F1 is a valuable licence to obtain with strict regulations possibly preventing Frontier adding custom teams to F1 Manager 2022. This could change in the future if F1 Manager 2022 sells well, but we can’t blame Frontier for playing it safe for the first iteration.
Does F1 Manager 2022 need custom teams?
If F1 Manager 2022 is designed to mirror the real-life 2022 season as authentically as possible, it's safe to assume the sequels will also represent their respective seasons without custom teams.
Right now, Frontier is focusing on creating a franchise that gives Codemasters’ F1 series a run for its money when it comes to representing Formula 1, with the management aspect providing a new take on F1.
Adding the ability to create custom teams would detract from this, even if Frontier went the same route as Codemasters by having the custom team take the 11th spot on the grid. This begs the question: does F1 Manager 2022 need custom teams?
Not having the ability to create a custom team won’t spoil F1 Manager 2022 because you can create your own fantasy scenarios with the current teams. Want to turn Williams from backmarkers to podium chasers? You can.
Or you can help Vettel or Alonso to another world championship with Aston Martin and Alpine respectively. Maybe you'll take over Red Bull and teach Sergio Perez how to successfully stay ahead at the end of a virtual safety car.
George Russell could end up driving for your Ferrari team or Oscar Piastri could become Lando Norris’ teammate in your version of McLaren. Or imagine bringing Lewis Hamilton to Red Bull to partner with Max Verstappen. By hiring and firing mechanics, designers and pit crews, you can still mould your dream team – even if you didn’t create them.
By taking charge of an existing team, we can write our own F1 stories. The only real differences are the paint colour on the car and the name above the door.