F1 2021 almost hides among the list of this week’s Xbox Game Pass drops.
Codemasters’ latest Formula 1 racing sim is the official video game adaptation of the pinnacle of motorsport. Because the pandemic left Codies without the bandwidth for features like classic cars and a wider array of modes, it instead leaned into creating a definitive simulation of the 2021 season.
Speed. I am speed.
The 2021 F1 season was important an historic one. The nailbiter Driver’s Championship fight between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen grabbed headlines around the world. But the season was also notable for being the final year of the sport’s Turbo Hybrid cars. F1 has raced in Turbo Hybrid cars since 2014, an era that saw Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes dominate the field. 2022 brings a whole new generation of cars and technology to the paddock. When the lights go out for Round 1 in Bahrain this weekend, a new era of Formula 1 begins.
F1 2021 is dedicated to that historic final season of Turbo Hybrid racing. These are cars that rocket up to 330km/h with nothing more than the downforce from their front and rear wings keeping them on the ground. At that speed, your movements must be precise and reflexes must be instant. To achieve these breakneck speeds, the cars are necessarily lightweight and fragile. There’s no room for dirty driving in F1. Such behaviour will often leave your car crumpled against a wall. If you actually get away clean, you’ll still receive a time penalty for reckless driving. Penalties are served when you come in for your pitstop. Time penalties are utterly brutal in F1. In a sport where the difference between first and last place is measured in tenths of a second, a five-second penalty feels like an eternity.
Because these cars were so dependent on aerodynamics for speed and agility, you only have certain opportunities for overtaking and climbing through the pack. Pair this with combative driver AI that ranks among the best in the series and it becomes a challenging, strategic racing game.
There are some of you recoiled from how technical this sounds right now, I’m sure. Please don’t. Give it a go. Turn the assists on and ease yourself in. For real, if you like racing games it all, you should play F1 2021. The combination of strategy and skill makes it such a challenging and thrilling experience. And it’s on Game Pass! You’ve got nothing to lose! Except for the race maybe, I don’t know.
F1 is back, baybee
Between this, the return of Drive To Survive on Netflix, and the year’s first race this weekend, it’s a tremendously big week for F1. In the words of Mercedes senior race engineer Peter Bonnington, Get In There.
F1 2021 drops on Xbox Game Pass for consoles this week. Game Pass for PC players will have to wait a little longer, but we’re sure it’ll find its way onto the platform in time. If you’re not on Xbox, no worries. Ahead of the new season, the game is currently 75% off on Steam for PC, and 80% off on the PlayStation Store.
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