It only feels right that a few months after EA’s F1 24 took its place on the grid, that its spiritual teammate F1 Manager would get a new outing too. F1 Manager 2024 is once again developed by Frontier Developments. And it once again sees you living your best Andrea Stella, Frédéric Vasseur, or Toto Wolff life, instead of throwing the car from apex to apex.
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In a lot of ways this is more of the same. However, there is progress. A few new R&D bits and bobs bolted on. Some tweaks to make the whole thing move that bit smoother and look somewhat new.
Create Your Own F1 Team
There are also some new modes in F1 Manager 2024. Create a Team mode is the biggest new addition, giving you the chance to participate as an 11th team. This is the first time you can really shape your own legacy and team.
This is a great addition that opens up the door to some cool ‘what if’ team-ups. Or lets you take F2 and F3 rookies to the big leagues. With the grid remaining mostly static over the last few seasons, it also adds some innate variety to a career.
You can set your team’s backstory, adding an interesting spin to things as you could be highly skilled, but cash strapped. Or willing to win no matter the cost and these work as a sort of difficulty in ways, as it will have an impact on your season.
Planning Formula
But, as is the way with F1 Manager, you are not just racing that weekend, you’ll also be having to think 2, 3 or even 5 rounds down the line. Meaning you’ll have to put as much time into development as you do race weekends, while also keeping everyone on the payroll happy.
This is handled by the new mentality system. This measures the team’s mood, and not just individual’s feelings, which is a more rounded system than past games.
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F1 Manager 2024 can be as hands on or hands off as you want. You can let the game just look after everything, with you just throwing an eye over reports. Or, if you want to deep dive into lap-to-lap elements, you can.
F1 Manager 2024 also now allows you to pick a manufacturer and upgrade them to start challenging for victories. This is far more dynamic than the previous instalment’s ghost difficulty bar.
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Previously, 80% of the grid would be trapped in the real-world placements, and that grew stale after a few seasons or few playthroughs.
When not at the track, you’ll still be drilling your pit team to get that perfect stop. Or, trying to squeeze that little bit extra from the car. And underneath the day-to-day stuff, next season’s affair will be looming larger and larger.
Everything Counts in Large Amounts
The games contract system is a bit ham fisted at times and can be overly drawn out, as you try and nail down your next driver. Sponsorship deals also return and can earn you a pretty penny, but at a cost that my impact your team overall.
The season as you would hope follows the real-world counterpart round for round, complete with the new sprint rounds – which lets you feel the pain of the real team leads.
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Though you can actually skip a full race weekend if you want. There is a new option of letting the AI take control, but for the best results you really need to be there yourself.
F1 Manager 2024 looks good, but not quite to the same standard as F1 24. The game does a solid job showing all areas of the sport and the drivers too. TV quality replays adding an extra layer to the presentation.
The cars and crowds sound good, the pit and the din of race day sound great. However, the commentary is quite dull, and can deflate the excitement at times.
From the Shadow of a Pit Wall
F1 Manager 2024 tries hard to break out of the shadows of a yearly update management sim. Efforts to keep it fresh year-on-year are not helped by the real-world sport remaining still. Despite its endeavours, F1 Manager 2024 feels like more of the same, just with a few tweaks and options that do enrich the package.
If past years’ games haven’t grabbed you, this year’s will have a real fight on its hands to win you over. Those already into the series, or fancy themselves as an armchair principal, will enjoy the upgrade and core gameplay.