Following the climatic, and at times confusing, scenes that unfolded at the Japanese GP at Suzuka, Max Verstappen has successfully defended his title to enter the prestigious club of multiple WDC winners in Formula 1.
While the Driver’s Championship is now irrefutably decided, the Constructor’s is still far from settled. With Mercedes and Ferrari duking it out for 2nd place, and McLaren and Alpine’s dogfight looking set to go down to the wire, ardent supporters of each team can make the most of free bet offers such as those offered by FanDuel by way of leading comparison platform OddsChecker, to back their favorites on the road to Abu Dhabi.
And while the driver’s championship has slipped from the grasp of the Tifosi, those sorry limitations imposed by reality have for a number of years been pleasurably waylaid by F1 fans jumping behind the wheel themselves to rewrite history in CodeMaster’s long-running official F1 games.
What’s more, since 2020’s version, steps had been taken to increase the degree of input players could have at a managerial level through the critically acclaimed ‘My Team’ career mode. Yet for those who want to get truly granular about everything from fuel loads to tire choices, this hasn’t always succeeded in delivering the comprehensive experience such diehards are seeking.
A New Franchise for a New Era
This is where F1 Manager 2022 comes in – a new franchise for 2022 developed by British studio Frontier Developments. Cut from the same cloth as hardcore sports simulators like Football Manager, this game takes the emphasis off the experience of driving itself and places it solely on the act of running a competitive F1 team seeking to out develop its rivals, score points and win races.
So is this the motorsport manager we’ve all been waiting for, or does it fail to deliver on this weighty promise? Let’s take a look.
A cursory glance at the game may prove disorienting to a new player, especially one unfamiliar with the ultra-involved nature of popular management sims. Yet F1 Manager 22 succeeds in striking the appropriate balance between guiding novice F1 bosses through its comprehensive menus and options and offering just enough hand holding to enable more casually inclined gamers to access its thrills without risk of overwhelm.
Between races, managers can oversee every aspect from negotiating driver transfers, to investing in engine and aerodynamic upgrades and testing tire compounds.
The arrival of a cost-cap in the sport for 2021 has also added a welcome layer of strategy, as top teams with resources to spare now have to compromise on unrestricted improvement in order to meet this imposed financial restriction.
Catch All the Action as It Unfolds
Where F1 Manager 22 really shines, however, is during races, where players can access a number of views that each provide a different lens through which to approach and inform unfolding strategies.
From weather radar, to track maps and sector times, the title really shines when it comes to making in-the-moment strategy calls that could win or lose you a points finish. There’s also the gorgeous on-board and broadcast camera views that give you unparalleled immersion and replicate the experience of watching a real-world race unfold before your eyes.