New Formula 1 cars are pigs to drive: F1 22 reviewed

Enlarge / F1 young guns watch from the cover of F1 22 EA Sports

Earlier in July saw the release of F1 22, the latest installment in the official Formula 1 racing game franchise. the year since F1 2021: Sweeping new technical rules mean the cars look very different to those we've seen for several decades, several tracks have been revised, new tracks have been added and the race format now includes an occasional shorter sprint race alongside the main race. All of this is faithfully reflected in F1 22, and for some hardcore F1 fans, that will be enough to buy a copy.

For everyone else, I'm not so sure. Part of that is down to the game itself. For the first time since EA Sports bought the Codemasters studio at the end of 2020, we see the influence of the behemoth game publisher at work, and it is not particularly positive. For example, the sheer frequency of urgings to spend XP or buy microtransactions will likely be enough to make most Ars readers dislike F1 22.

But my frustration isn't just with the game itself: there's still wonderful physics that translates into engaging handling, whether with a steering wheel or a controller. No, these are the new F1 cars, which are bigger and heavier than they've ever been, and, frankly, a bit nasty to drive.

Enlarge / This year's cars are bigger and heavier than ever. EA Sports

Now rolling on 18-inch wheels, the tires have shorter, stiffer sidewalls, and the suspension designs are much less complex than before. Adhesion is limited; therefore, the front tires don't like being asked to do two things at once, such as braking and turning - best to slow down in a straight line before approaching that corner. The rear tires will also happily break traction in the lower gears, sending you into a spin unless you're extremely progressive on the throttle (or the traction control is pushed all the way).

All of this was predicted ahead of the 2022 F1 season, so Codemasters have done a faithful job of recreating the new machines digitally for our entertainment. I don't think the in-game cars suffer from the same porpoising that affected the real ones this year. But the aerodynamic phenomenon is very difficult to simulate, as we can see by the fact that none of the teams that encountered the problem detected it during their own extensive computational fluid dynamics simulations when designing their cars.

I have less positive things to say about the addition of supercars. Based on the fast supercar laps offered to VIPs at an F1 race, they add nothing to the experience. In particular, the handling and feedback you get from the supercars in the game is a far cry from anything like Gran Turismo 7. They are slow to respond, and it's annoying to have to complete them between two F1 drivers.