With only 15 days left until launch, F1 Manager 2022 is nearly here. As the first officially licensed F1 manager game in over 20 years, F1 Manager 2022 will offer a level of authenticity never seen in a motorsport management game before.
As the name suggests, F1 Manager 2022 puts you in the shoes of a Team Principal managing one Formula 1 teams in the current 2022 season.
However, there is no limit on the number of seasons – you can still be a Team Principal in the year 2030 and beyond. This is a stark contrast to Codemasters' F1 games, which are limited to ten seasons.
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What happens in F1 Manager 2022 after the current season ends? And what new regulations can be introduced? These questions were finally answered in the latest F1 Manager 2022 livestream.
What F1 could look like in 2030
During the livestream, Frontier Developments showcased what a race weekend can look like in the year 2030 playing as Team Principal for Williams.
In this fantasy F1 season, the once-struggling Williams team has turned around its fortunes, finishing second in the 2029 Constructor’s Championship and is currently ranking second in the 2030 Constructor’s Championship behind Red Bull.
In 2030, Alex Albon has kept his seat at Williams. Over the last eight years, his driver rating has increased from 80 to a respectful 91. Current Williams driver Nicholas Latifi, on the other hand, has retired, replaced with Formula 2’s Théo Pourchaire who has an 82 driver rating.
Other teams have had driver shuffles, too. Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris now race for Mercedes, while George Russell races for McLaren George after showing his potential at Mercedes.
Driver ratings will dynamically change throughout the season depending on your decisions and driver development – no two play sessions will be the same.
Drivers can retire as they get older, but this doesn’t happen at predetermined ages. In Frontier Developments’ save, Lewis Hamilton has retired from Mercedes. If a driver retires, you’ll need to scout for young fictional drivers and staff.
Older, more experienced drivers have noticeably higher driver ratings than younger drivers in 2030, with many drivers rated over 90. This could create some balancing issues, but Frontier stressed that drivers will have different ratings in other player's saves.
Regulation changes
Like in the real-life F1, regulations can change and affect team strategies. Using the inbox, you can vote on proposed regulation changes at the start of a new season, but there’s no guarantee they will be approved as other teams can also vote.
For example, in Frontier’s 2030 save game a new regulation change awards a bonus point for drivers who earn pole position in qualifying or set the fastest lap. Another regulation awards double points for the last race of the season. It’s also possible to change engine supplier, with Williams powered by a Red Bull engine in 2030.
Practice and qualifying
We also got a closer look at how practice and qualifying sessions work in F1 Manager 2022. These sessions last several hours when played in real-time or they simulated at up to 16x speed.
As you send drivers out for practice runs, your drivers provide feedback on tyre compounds and car setups. Adjusting the setup by tweaking factors like the front and rear wing angle, tyre camber, and toe-out affects the driver’s confidence in the setup.
Finding the right balance is key when optimising the setup and improving your driver’s confidence in the car and driving skills. Crucially, however, configuring the car takes time away from practice sessions, giving the driver less time to acclimatise to the car setup and track. Longer practice sessions improve a driver’s track acclimatisation and increase their driver rating ahead of the race weekend.
Frontier Developments also showcased the Bahrain Grand Prix at night for the first time, and the night-time effects looked stunning combined with the authentic broadcast-style cameras.
After a disastrous qualifying session for Williams, a two-stop pit strategy and switching to fresh medium tyres late in the race resulted in Albon winning the Bahrain Grand Prix after starting in seventh, showing how your actions as a Team Principal can affect the outcome of a race.
The main takeaway here is that the world of Formula 1 is unpredictable, and this is reflected in F1 Manager 2022 - just look at the recent driver drama with Oscar Piastri and Alpine.
In F1 Manager 2022, you might see Ferrari’s Charles LeClerc switch to Red Bull or George Russell drive for McLaren after the 2022 season. Combine this with sudden regulation changes affecting strategies, and F1 Manager 2022 will keep players engaged far beyond the 2022 season.
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