'F1 Manager 2022' is a solid, deep, and kind of addicting game. It helps sell you into the role of being a Formula 1 team principal and leading the organization...For those die-hard fans who have loved the sport and their team, it's what they are looking for.
The prestige and elegance of Formula 1 have changed ever since ‘Drive to Survive’ came out on Netflix. Learning how ruthless and aggressive teams can be, how the sport can put up above the clouds one minute, then back to reality and out of a ride the next (see Daniel Riccardo and McLaren). It’s such a money-driven and illustrious sport that you’d kill to be a fly on the wall. Well, have I got an offer for you! No, it’s not the Team Principal role with Audi. It’s ‘F1 Manager 2022.’ Do you want to be the villain of Christian Horner? Or the clueless leader for Ferrari (I’m sorry, but they are an absolute trash fire right now). Now is your time, kiddo.
NOTE: This is going to be a lot of photos and screenshots to help explain the game.
‘F1 Manager 2022’ thrusts you into the multimillion-dollar, cutthroat, and aggressive world of being in charge of a Formula 1 team. You control all the world. What drivers you want, when to make pitstops, even if you want to watch the entire race or fast forward to the meaningful parts. You really are the god of this world. At first, this feels extremely overwhelming to someone new to the sport. Even for someone like me, that watches motorsports religiously. It was a lot to take in. Being a major fan of underdogs and blue cars, I chose to manage Williams. The aid that walks you through everything sticks with you through the first weekend in Bahrain. I’m never one to like handholding in games. Even in these ‘simulator’ games. Something about it feels annoying to me. I love how they work it in though, and then once you show you’re competent. The game then becomes the deadbeat parents of a 17-year-old and says ‘here’s 200 bucks, get some pizza, don’t burn the house down.’
The actual gameplay is a bit of ‘hurry up and wait.’ You’ve got menus on menus that feel like you’ve had a spreadsheet vomit on your desk and then multiply. It’s a learning curve of figuring things out even with the aid. Your main goal is to keep the team afloat and the board happy. Your team’s base lays out all you have control. Control over what the team focuses on, develops, researches, and eventually builds to go out on track.
The most fun comes when it’s race weekend. You begin to see your work come to light. You’re in control over practice, quali, and the race itself. From strategy to set up to what driver you want out first in qualifying. You are a true team principal. The game is a blend of balance of ‘paper pushing’ at the team headquarters on weekdays to have fun on weekends. Seeing the hard work pay off on race day. It gives players an interesting step back to see what goes into running a competitive F1 team. Even if it just is a game, it takes a good look at what it takes. Getting into a quali session as team principal at Williams was tense. The goal I had was to make it to Q2. Just be faster than five cars. It’s a dog fight. Granted, you can choose Mercedes or Redbull and never worry about that, but hey, I like a challenge.
A full-blown race simulation is a blast. Watching the narrative of the race unfold. You can simulate the session for the time to go by faster or watch the race lap by lap. Being in the race session is intriguing. You’re always trying to think ahead. You’ve built the strategy before, but it can be changed in a split second with a safety car coming out. It feels like a true F1 race.
The game does have some issues. If you’re not a die-hard race fan or F1 fan, this is going to be a massive learning curve. Even if you are just a casual fan of the sport, there is a lot of information to take in and learn. Menus on menus and textboxes galore. This is an information trip that even had me struggling in the beginning.
Visually, the game is OK. It’s not the most breathtaking game, but it’s graphically solid. Cutscenes are kind of wonky. Like someone grabbed your glasses the funny way. Moments of the camera attempting to be dynamic and show the depth of field fail and turn into shots being out of focus and feeling awkward. Drive models are OK. Nicholas Latifi kept giving the ‘you’re my only hope at being relevant’ look with his eyes. Actual racing scenes are nice, and fun to watch. Shots from the team headquarters are about the most beautiful part visually.
‘F1 Manager 2022’ is a solid, deep, and kind of addicting game. It helps sell you into the role of being a Formula 1 team principal and leading the organization. The biggest issue I have is the learning curve. I’ve only recently become a loyal F1 fan, and I felt overwhelmed at times. This is definitely a game that doesn’t cater to the casual fan. That’s OK, though. For those die-hard fans who have loved the sport and their team, it’s what they are looking for.
