F1 Manager 2022 showcases regulation changes and on-the-fly strategy calls
F1 Manager 2022 continues its journey towards full release by presenting the changes to the Sporting Regulation in more detail.
Do you think you can do a better job than the Ferrari Formula 1 team’s strategy department? Ok, I’ll put it another way: do you think you can do a better job than the strategy department of any other Formula 1 team? If the answer is still yes, then F1 Manager 2022 seems to be the game for you.
During a live stream on F1 Manager’s YouTube channel, the game’s community managers Steve James and Chris Groves talked us through a night race in Bahrain as they made a bold strategy call to their driver, Alex Albon. In 2030…
The 34-year-old Briton, who still drives for Williams, started from seventh place on the hard compound tyres. Groves and James decided to get him to an early stop to get out of traffic and bolted on a series of catchy softs.
The decision allowed them to undercut Charles Leclerc for the position and also gave them the ability to issue team orders. Williams number two, Théo Pourchaire, is quickly told to let Albon through. The fact that Pourchaire drives in Formula 1 at all means that the game’s Formula 2 driver progression mechanics work well.
After climbing to fourth, the team brings Albon to a final stop and opts for medium compound tires with instructions to push for the remaining 17 laps of the race. Coming out 11th and with the cars in front tending their medium and hard tires to the end, Albon pulls off an exciting march forward and takes the win from Lando Norris’ Mercedes (!).
The live stream also highlights the game’s use of real F1 audio samples. As the checkered flag flies, Alex Albon’s race engineer James Urwin joins his thoughts over the team radio: “Who says you can’t drive around here?” Brilliant.
F1 Manager 2022: Shaping rules and regulations
Perhaps the most interesting feature to appear during the live stream, however, is a more detailed look at how players can shape F1’s rules and regulations via an in-game voting mechanic.
Players will be sent different options to vote for, with three separate regulation categories: Athletic, Technical and Financial. Changes to sporting regulations include voting for or against a point for fastest lap and pole position, as well as gearbox and engine restrictions. Presumably there will be a greater variety of proposals each season, but that’s unconfirmed at this time.
The technical regulations cover all aspects related to the chassis, underbody, suspension, sidepods and front and rear wings, although we didn’t see how detailed these options were. Likewise, changes to the Financial Regulation were not shown in detail.
It remains to be seen whether the political influences of the teams will prevail in F1 Manager 2022. For example, if you run Ferrari, will you be able to put pressure on other Ferrari-powered teams like Alfa Romeo and Haas to vote the same way? Will Ferrari continue to virtually veto rule changes as they do in the real world?
It’s certainly food for thought and we look forward to seeing for ourselves how the game balances political, sporting and financial factors into a fun and interesting F1 experience. F1 Manager 2022 will be released on August 30, 2022, with digital pre-orders available five days earlier.
What do you think of the new features of F1 Manager 2022? Let us know in the comments below.
