Simulation-style games are very hit-and-miss for me, as there is a level of ‘hands-off’ that I sometimes struggle to get to grips with. I like to be in control of what’s going on at any given moment, and in racing, it’s even more so. So when F1 Manager 2024 became available, I decided to have a go because there is so much to the sport I am still learning, despite being a fan (albeit very casually).
First things first, new content. New in F1 Manager 2024 is the Create-A-Team game mode, wherein you, exactly as the name implies, create your own F1 team with you as the team principal, making all (and I do mean ALL) of the decisions for the team for the upcoming Formula 1 season.
In the Create-A-Team mode, you start by naming your team (I went with FF Racing to honour my GT7 racing team) and selecting the team colours for your car, and then choosing two drivers to make up your team. I chose my all-time favourite driver Lewis Hamilton, and Canadian driver Lance Stroll as my driving pair, with Hamilton in Car 1 and Stroll in Car 2.
After choosing my driving pair, I was presented with my engineering team, which was thankfully already chosen for me with some high-rated engineers and driving assistants. All told, creating my very own team took about 10 minutes, and then I was off to the races, so to speak.
“Part manufacturing and research play a huge part in the success of an F1 team in real life, and it does it in F1 Manager 2024, too. “
One of the new additions to this year’s title is the Mentality Hub. This is a section of the main hub where you monitor the mood and mentality of everyone on your team, from the drivers to the engineers. Mentality is affected by race results, qualifying performance, car performance and more. There were multiple times throughout my first season at FF Racing that one or both of my drivers were unhappy with race performance or qualifying performance, so it was important to pay close attention to the strategy used in each of the (up to) three qualifying sessions ahead of a race.
Mentality also affects negotiating new contracts with your team members and the willingness (or unwillingness) to re-sign for you. Thankfully, I managed to keep both of my drivers and my entire engineering team happy enough to stay on for a second season at FF Racing. There were a couple of times that Stroll was unhappy with me for Hamilton having the better car, despite them both having the exact same parts installed, so that was interesting to reconcile in my head.
F1 Manager 2024 also features mechanical failures for your car, and these can happen at any time during the race weekend as key components of the car experience wear and tear. The severity of these failures can be something simple like a front wing needed replacing, or the ERS system could experience a fault, resulting in your car’s inability to recharge the battery for several laps. Each of these issues can be mitigated by staying on top of the status of each part in the menu ahead of the race weekend.
Part manufacturing and research play a huge part in the success of an F1 team in real life, and it does it in F1 Manager 2024, too. Staying on top of part wear and manufacturing timelines was something I was wholly unprepared for but quickly came to grips with. Since you only get three manufacturing slots at the start until you upgrade your factory, you need to be a bit strategic with what you decide to manufacture and when.
The same goes for part research and design. You have the option of designing new parts for your cars and can adjust the focus to be tailored for high, medium or low-speed races. This level of customizability was something I hadn’t seen in a very long time and took a while to get used to. I thought almost all of the races in Formula 1 were at least medium-speed, but it’s all relative. For example, a high-speed track like Imola can have a vastly different part setup than a medium-speed track like Bahrain.
Moving away from Create-A-Team, I want to talk about the Race Replay feature. This is a mode where you can relive a specific moment from a previous race this season in the real-life Formula 1, and attempt to rewrite history and change the outcome. For example, at the Hungaroring in Budapest, Hungary, you have two options: complete the whole race from the paddock of any team on the grid, or take control of the Aston Martin team and try to earn a minimum of three points while taking control for the last 34 laps of the race.
I absolutely love the Race Replay feature and found myself going through most of the moments to rewrite history and change the outcome of the race. It forces you to think on your feet and really manage the cars on the track through pit stops, tyre choices and when to push and when to save tyres/fuel.
“I really enjoyed my time with F1 Manager 2024, as it scratched a particular itch of mine that came from a high attention to detail.”
The last mode available in F1 Manager 2024 is the option to take over an existing team and get the most out of the team for as long as you can. All of the options to manage the team are the same as in Create-A-Team, so the real difference is going to be in your team owner’s expectations and budget available.
With options for bringing in sponsorship opportunities to add additional revenue, whether it’s through live appearances, factory tours, etc., there is the potential to drastically effect your budget available. And like always, on-track performance helps bring in a lot of attention and opportunity for additional sponsors.
I know what you’re probably thinking: “That’s only three game modes. How can that be enough for a brand-new game?”. Well, it is. I can’t explain it simpler than that, as you can sink hours and hours into creating your very own team and micro-managing every minute aspect of the daily goings on. You also monitor academy drivers through Formula 2 and Formula 3 to make sure you always have a fight for the driving seat and more.
I really enjoyed my time with F1 Manager 2024, as it scratched a particular itch of mine that came from great attention to detail. There were multiple times that I was watching a race play out, seeing who was moving up in positions and who was having issues, and talking out loud to the TV, planning pit strategies based on current conditions until a random safety car came out and spoiled everything. If you have the itch to see the behind-the-wall view of Formula 1, I can’t recommend F1 Manager 2024 enough.
