The launch of F1 2021 is rapidly approaching.
Codemasters’ new game will be packed full of new features and will be their first release under the EA umbrella following the takeover earlier this year.
Multiplayer will be a huge part of the upcoming title, especially with the new two-player career mode. Here, we’ll be looking at everything on offer.
Launch day
It's now less than 24 hours until those with the Digital Deluxe edition can get playing.
If you still need to get up to scratch, we've got all you need to know about the game here!
Multiplayer lobbies
Multiplayer has become increasingly more important in F1 games, especially with the rise and prominence of the F1 Esports series.
Over the last couple of years, the league system and online driver ranking has become a popular feature. For 2021, the structure of the ranked play remains but has been revisioned with the Social Play Lobby.
This allows players to jump into a Beginner or Experienced lobby, offering either casual, fun and friendly areas for racing, or a more standard race style with longer racers and the inclusion of collisions.
Beginner will be akin to the Casual Style mode, with full ghosting and a more relaxed atmosphere. That means a guarantee of no torpedoing into turn 1.
Experienced will turn some of the usual rules back on, and be more like the current unranked lobbies.
Players will of course have the option to create their own lobby with a custom set of rules.
Two-player Career mode
On previous editions of the game, there was a fairly simplistic two-player career. But this year, thanks to the ever-changing, progressing and tweaking of the career mode from Codemasters, you can now play a fully-fledged career mode with a friend!
Essentially, two players can play and compete within the game’s very strong career mode experience. The way this works depends on the player(s).
You and your friend could join the same team and compete against one another for the Drivers’ championship, while also hoping to secure the Constructors’ title for your chosen team. Of course, you can also race for opposing teams, and then maybe further down the line the two of you will wind up racing for the same team.
This will bring into play all the other features you can find in the game’s career mode: driver rivalries, meet the press, and developing the car.
It's truly new and innovative way of playing F1 2021, and we can't wait to try it out!
F1 2021 release date
The official Formula 1 game has a release date of 16 July.
Those itching to play sooner can get early access with the Deluxe Edition of F1 2021, which unlocks on 13 July.
F1 2021 will be available on PS4 and Xbox One, as well as PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.