F1 22 is here which means it is time for our F1 22 My Team guide!
My Team is perhaps the best mode in all sports titles, with players able to create and manage the 11th team on the F1 grid while also driving all the races for that team.
There are plenty of options and routes to go with My Team, some are good and some are not-so-smart. Thankfully we are here to guide you through the early stages of My Team and set you up for success!
F1 22 My Team Guide
The home screen has had a redesign for F1 22, so finding My Team isn't easy.
You'll need to go to the Career tab and then select single-player career.
From there you can select New Career and My Team.
Now it's time to start your F1 22 My Team journey!
Entry point
The next menu you get is choosing your entry point, and this is new to F1 22.
You can choose between "Newcomer", Midfield Challenger", or "Championship Contender".
Each option comes with its pros and cons.
Newcomer is the classic My Team option. You start with nothing, fighting at the back of the grid and having to pick an F2 driver as your teammate.
As Midfield Challenger you will start with level 6 Acclaim, an extra $5 million in the bank and at least level 1 on all your HQ departments.
To get the car into midfield contention you also have a few levels of R&D done too.
With Championship Contender you naturally get even more. Level 16 Acclaim, $10 million starting cash, and level 2 on your HQ departments.
That means you could afford the most expensive engine and Michael Schumacher if you are playing with Icons on!
Once you have picked your entry point you need to sort your settings such as season length, assists, weekend structure, that sort of thing.
Then it's time to customise your driver and team.
There are plenty of options here, and with Podium Pass more liveries, suits, and badges will become available as the year progresses.
Once that's done, the next big choice awaits.
Sponsor, engine & driver
Picking your main sponsor is crucial, not only as they will have the most visible logo on your car, but they will also be your main source of cash!
Sponsors are available depending on your entry point. Newcomers don't have access to some of the bigger sponsors that Midfield and Championship entry points do.
You'll want to pick a contract goal that you think you can meet. It's better to exceed the goal and collect the big multi-million dollar bonus than take a higher weekly income and signing bonus but miss the goal!
Once you've signed a sponsor you'll have to pick your engine supplier.
There is one definitively best option here, and it is Red Bull Powertrains.
At just $2.9m they leave you with enough money to sign any F2 driver, including Oscar Piastri, even if you start as a Newcomer.
Since update 1.05 the engine performance, reliability, and price has changed.
With these changes the Ferrari PU becomes the best option given its performance edge. The durability doesn't really matter as it's not going to explode after 100 miles like the real thing!
If you are starting as a Championship Challenger then you'll have the money to grab the Ferrari power unit at $4m, with the difference in cost being pretty negligible for such a wealthy team.
At the start as a Newcomer though, every dollar matters.
Then it's onto your driver choice.
You'll get a selection of F2 drivers to pick from, not the whole field. This means you might not get the driver you want, but you can always change later, with the first window to sign anyone opening in July of your first season
Oscar Piastri is the best option, and most popular, but you'll have plenty of chances to develop your #2 driver thanks to activities between races!
Starting your journey
With that all sorted, it's time to get your welcome interview with Will Buxton out of the way.
The only thing you should really pay attention to in the Buxton interview is to make sure to praise each department. This can increase their morale and make your first round of R&D purchases cheaper.
It's a crucial little trick as those R&D parts will make your car better.
The My Team car is a bit of a dog at the start, especially if you are a Newcomer. It's twitchy and unpredictable compared to the other teams, so getting those new parts on it ASAP is vital. As soon as you're into the My Team save, go and order a new chassis part and aero part if you can afford both.
After that you need to select your first activities. These are crucial to improving your #2 driver, increasing department morale, and bringing in more cash and resource points.
The Driver training camp is crucial to pick as it gives your #2 driver a +3 boost to every stat. After that you should fill your time as much as possible to get these passive boosts.
Just be aware that sometimes focusing on one department will be detrimental to another, so just keep it all well-balanced.
After every race a new set of activities will be available in the gap before the next race, so make sure you revisit this screen regularly.
Driver perks
This is a little gem that a lot of players forget about.
To find the driver perks you have to go to Corporate -> Contracts and hit the perks button (Y on Xbox, Triangle on PS).
The best one to get right away is development feedback.
This gives you a 10% boost to resource points for the cheap price of $250,000.
Like we said earlier, every dollar counts!
Quick practice
We don't all have the time to do lap after lap in practice sessions, but a problem here is that's where a lot of resource points come from.
Thankfully, there is a quick practice mode you can use. While this isn't available for the very first session in Bahrain, you can use it after that to sim through the practice programs and pick up your points.
There are only a few that are 100% guaranteed for you, but you can get a lot done in a short time with these options, setting you up to focus on qualifying and the race without worrying about how much time you are spending!