F1 22 lets you drive the Safety Cars

F1 22 is racing off the line in less than two months, ushering in a new era for F1 games under EA’s influence. Regulation changes in the real-life 2022 season mean the cars will be noticeably heavier and more challenging to drive.

Not only can you drive supercars in F1 22, but you can also get behind the wheel of the official 2022 F1 Safety Cars.

Drive the Safety Cars in F1 22

Speaking during an F1 22 preview event, Senior Creative Director Lee Mather confirmed that F1 22 will let you drive the Safety Cars for the first time in the series.

Specifically, this means you can take the official 2022 Aston Martin Vantage and Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series Safety Cars for a spin around the track.

Powered by a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 delivering an increased output of 527 hp, the Aston Martin Vantage Safety Car debuted in the 2021 F1 season. It also inspired the Aston Martin Vantage F1 Edition, which you can also drive in F1 22.

Replacing the AMG GT R Safety Car, the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series Safety Car debuted this year. With a 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbo producing 730 hp, it’s the most powerful F1 Safety Car Mercedes has ever.

Don’t expect to drive safety cars in racing scenarios. Instead, the F1 22 Safety Cars will be limited to time trials. Even so, the option to drive Safety Cars in an F1 game will be a fun novelty when you want a break from racing.

We’re curious to find out how F1 22’s road cars handle in contrast to the F1 cars and whether Codemasters implements a realistic or arcade-style driving model.

According to Codemasters, the F1 22 Safety Cars will be “deluxe bonus items.” While Codemasters hasn’t clarified what this means, we expect the Safety Cars will be preorder bonuses included in the deluxe Champions Edition.

However, we also expect Safety Cars to be purchasable with PitCoins for players who don’t own the Champions Edition.

F1 2022 isn’t the first officially licensed motorsport game that lets you drive Safety Cars, though – who remembers the driveable BMW M4 Safety Car in Moto GP 14?

Supercars

Based on the real-life Pirelli Hot Laps programme, F1 22 also lets you tear up the track in supercars from F1 team manufacturers including Ferrari, McLaren, Aston Martin, and Mercedes-AMG.

While you can’t race them, unlocked supercars can be used in time trials as well as Checkpoint, Drift and Autocross challenges among others. You can also show off your supercar collection in F1 Life.

Briefly shown at the end of the Miami Grand Prix trailer, the McLaren 720S is the only confirmed supercar in F1 22. However, reliable EA insider Tom Henderson has allegedly leaked the full F1 22 supercar list online.