I have invested a frankly unhealthy amount of time into F1 Manager 2022. Any game combining my love of F1 with my Football Manager addiction was always going to take over my life. What do I have to show for it? Several world championships and a PS5 platinum trophy are what. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
As the first F1 Manager title, 2022’s instalment was always going to be a rough diamond, with F1 Manager 2023 confirmed to launch this Summer, here’s what I’d love to see on the next lap.
1. More real-life drivers
The driver pool in the first game wasn’t tiny, it contained all of the F1 grid (and the reserve drivers), as well as the F2 and F3 series. What I personally was disappointed by however was a lack of the W Series. It was a real missed opportunity for women drivers to be included, especially as the series ran alongside F1 on race weekends. I really wanted to make Jamie Chadwick an F1 World Champion, instead, I had to play for around 15 seasons until I could develop a female driver and help them become a champion.
If F1 Manager 2023 were to include the new all-female F1 Academy series and perhaps even Indycar and Touring car drivers, that would make it immediately essential.
2. Create a team
In my mind, this was something that was a glaring omission from F1 Manager 2022. I’d love to make my own team, Andy Autosport, with my own livery (racing green) and build it from the ground up. This is something that F1 2022 (the racing sim) did really well and arguably makes even more sense in a management game.
This would also open up opportunities to give your team’s headquarters more identity rather than the glorified spreadsheet it seemed like last year. I’m not expecting to walk around the factory and call every employee by name, but having more team events with significant impacts would be appreciated.
3. Better driver interaction
The racing engine was the best part of F1 Manager 2022, and something that really blew me away. The graphics were great and it was very exciting to watch the individual battles on the track. One aspect that was less impressive was the feedback from drivers.
They each only had one or two lines of dialogue. I love Lando Norris but if I have to hear him say “&%$* I crashed” ever again it will be too soon. It would be brilliant to say, ask the drivers what tyre they want or how their grip is mid-race, even if some of them just say “Leave me alone” (we miss you, Kimi).
