The unusual April break has left Formula 1 fans at a loss, but now the F1 23 beta could be a lifesaver. After the cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix, fans have been left with a four-week break in the early part of the season, somewhat crushing the enthusiastic revival of F1 22.
Last year's game saw renewed interest when the new season started, but overall F1 22 has been something of a disappointment to regular players, league racers, and even F1 Esports drivers. As a result, the desire for F1 23 to arrive has been stronger than usual.
Before F1 23 was revealed, Codemasters announced plans for the beta testing of the new game. Here's how you can get involved and play F1 23 before anyone else!
Latest news - Final F1 23 beta announced
If you're hoping to play F1 23 early, time is running out. EA has announced the second and final public closed beta will take place later this month ahead of the general release date on 16 June.
For a chance to take part, you need to register your interest by Thursday 11 May, so you don't have long.
F1 23 beta
Plenty of sports games have betas, and F1 23 is no different. These are usually to stress-test aspects of the game, as well as get player feedback on gameplay.
Codemasters is no stranger to running a beta, but now that they are fully under the EA umbrella things are a little different to how they used to be.
Players have to sign up to be EA Playtesting in order to take part. You can sign-up here.
To be eligible to enter the playtest you just need to sign up to the EA Portal with your details. You can be anywhere in the world to take part, and the beta is usually available on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.
The beta is CLOSED. Which means you are not allowed to share your experience with anyone. So don't expect to be seeing people race on F1 23 on Twitch any time soon!
Registration for the first beta ended on Friday 21 April. Sign-ups for the second and final beta end on Thursday 11 May, so be sure to sign-up soon!
F1 23 release date
We now know the F1 23 release date. F1 23 will release on 16 June on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC. This is earlier than usual as F1 2021 and F1 22 were released in mid July and late June and early July respectively.
This signals EA's desire to get their sports games out as close to the start of the season as possible. F1 requires more time than that in order to get data from teams that inform Codemasters' development, handling, physics, and car performance.
Players who pre-order the Champions Edition and start racing three days early on 13 June.