F1 22 My Team: Mode gets an uplift in new game

A new journey as team owner is approaching in F1 22 My Team.

New cars, a new track, and thanks to Codemasters’ hard work, new features are awaiting players in the My Team mode.

So, what do we know about F1 22 My Team so far? Let’s take a look!

Latest news - New Icons

Icons are a big part of My Team, giving players the chance to bring historic F1 drivers back to the grid as their teammate.

In F1 22 three new Icons are being added as part of the Champions Edition!

F1 22 My Team

My Team has been a storming success since its introduction in F1 2020. The mode places players in the dual role of team boss and driver of an 11th Formula 1 team. In such a role not only are players tasked with doing the driving and plotting the R&D like in Career Mode, but they have to sign sponsors, invest in departments, and design the team livery!

There are several specific My Team upgrades, as well as ones that cover the general in-race experience and Career Mode too.

Let’s start with those new features that are specific to My Team.

Entry Status

For the last two years players have been able to join the F1 grid with a car that was about level in performance with the worst team on the grid. That’s nice given that usually new teams start way off the pace of everyone else and have to play catch up.

This year, players are given the choice of three different Entry Status’ for their team. They are: Newcomer, Midfield Challenger, and Title Contender.

This will represent the finances and facilities you will start with. The Newcomer will be around the same position as players are used to. While the Midfield Challengers will start a bit better off, while Title Contenders will be able to high top drivers and expand facilities quickly.

Expanded department events

The department events arrived in F1 2021 as moments in time where players had to make a choice. Be that investing in their aero over their chassis or how to deal with a particular staff issue. They were a good addition, but a bit shallow. In F1 22 they will matter much more.

These new department events can balance short-term gain over long-term sustainability. Or performing quick fix that then requires more investment over the long run rather than getting a problem addressed appropriately where you take a short hit but save money down the road.

Customisation

The Formula 1 games are not known for their expansive customisation suites, and there are several reasons for this that lie outside of Codemasters’ control.

However, for F1 22 there are a few quality of life changes coming to the game.

You’ll finally be able to copy a colour from one screen to the next, saving the need to note down your codes manually.

There are also paint finishes coming into the livery creator. Players can pick between gloss, satin, matte, or metallic finishes for their cars.

While this is still fairly basic in the grand scheme of racing games, given the limitations Codemasters is working under it’s a really nice addition to make.

Race day

There are several changes to the way players can interact with race day in F1 22.

Formation laps are more interactive, with players being able to position their car in the grid box. That means you can angle across to defend from your rival, or point yourself at the racing line to get a better angle into turn 1.

Pitstops are also getting more interaction this year. Rather than just letting the AI deal with your stop, now players must time their entry to the pitbox. This is a tricky mechanic and one that will take some time to master.

Codemasters has also added a “broadcast” option for safety cars, letting players speed up the often painfully slow and tricky experience of driving behind the safety car.

Perhaps the best part of all of these though, is that these are entirely optional. If you liked the way F1 2021 handled formation laps then the game will just default you into your grid slot. You can turn off the interaction for pitstops, and still drive behind the safety car if you prefer.

Adaptive AI

Codemasters has introduced a new AI system for younger and newer players this year called Adaptive AI.

This system slows down the AI to race closer with the player. This encourages wheel-to-wheel action through the race and prevents new players just lapping the track by themselves and getting bored.

Jeff is no more

After more than 10 years of the same voice in our ear, the trusty race engineer Jeff is hanging up his headset.

Jeff is being replaced by Marc Priestley, aka F1 Elvis. Marc is a former race engineer for McLaren, and recorded all his lines for the game on a real F1 headset, improving the level of authenticity when you are racing.