It's a fun game, quite addictive. Start small and work your way up through the ranks. The politics add a neat touch to it. I got it on sale for like eight bucks and at that price it's a steal. Ended up getting a couple hundred hours out of it.



Great choice. So many people just choose the best teams, but starting with a weaker team and working your way up is the way to go.



Totally agree and I made the same points in this thread. It really is a cool system that makes the practice sessions more interesting. Tying resource points to these programs makes me feel like a part of a team and that I'm doing my bit to help us improve. Not sure if 2020 and 2018 are the same, but I always run them in this order

FP1 is the first four in reverse order. ERS, then fuel on one set of mediums, tires and acclimatisation on the other set of mediums. In FP2 it's the race program on softs and in FP3 the qually sim on softs but occasionally I will run mediums if I am very fast compared to the AI. Since my last AI bump to 95 though this is rare and I qualify on softs pretty much all the time now.. I always do flying lap and then straight to the garage. In this way I turn as few laps as possible in order to save wear on the parts. It's about 10 timed laps in total (plus in and outlaps) unless I have to run something a second time because I was unhappy with the result or the weather improved or something. I will often just use 'retry practice program' if I get a bad result, which turns back time and keeps me from piling up the laps. Hit 'em 'til you're happy as they say in golf


Good luck in your opening season. I saw that F1 2018 was the first one in the series to include the voice recognition. I had been wondering if it had it and apparently it does.

As mentioned I started a Driver Career by signing for Alpha Tauri and went on to have a good season. The car was midfield, and I finished fifth in the standings, the team sixth. Teammate Gasly endured a nightmare season or we would have been higher in the table. Managed a couple of podiums, but generally finished 5th to 8th with a couple non-scoring results, which is good considering the state of the car.

But I really wanted to get a seat driving for Red Bull after spending a year proving myself. I wanted to team up with Max and have battles with Mercedes for the title. Albon just wasn't cutting it at Red Bull. With a good season under my belt for Alpha Tauri, Red Bull saw enough promise to offer me the second seat for season two. Albon then took my vacated seat at Alpha Tauri. Grosjean retired, but Kimi hung around for another go.

At the end of the first season regulation changes were announced for the Aero department. I had seen in the My Team career how poorly the AI teams seemed to deal with this. So what to do? Should I spend my resource points to make the progress we had made over the season conform? At this point I hoped to be on another team come the start of next season. But I couldn't be certain of that move at that stage. So I did spend points to make most of Alpha Tauri's Aero development carry over to season two. But then I signed for Red Bull and arriving at their HQ I saw that they had saved nothing. Not a single Aero improvement had carried over, all reset to zero. That's good info, and if it's the same for every team, then this is the key to keeping a sense of competitiveness as the seasons tick by. I feel like I should just ignore regulation changes so that whichever team I am on suffers from them same as the AI teams. If I don't then we surge too far ahead. I want a tight battle with Mercedes every year if I can achieve it.

And for season two at least that's exactly what I've gotten. Red Bull trail Mercedes a little on the performance charts, but it's close. Results so far in season two have been great, with all four drivers from both teams within just a few points of each other through the first half of the season, and the constructors race is very tight. Verstappen has struggled over the past three races with a DNF (while leading at Austria) and two grid penalties and Mercedes have taken the lead, but still half a season to go. The battles in qualifying and during the race have been fantastic, with fine margins separating the four cars.

And I could see first-hand how much the conforming work I did before departing Alpha Tauri affected their cars. In the first few races, Alpha Tauri were very strong. I reckon they were the only team on the grid with any aero work done at all. Interestingly it didn't seem to last long, as by mid-season they were back to where you'd expect. I had thought they'd be able to maintain it and push on, but they've seemed to fall off.

So if at the end of the season new regulations are announced I will try to be disciplined and not spend points to conform my parts, so that at the start of the following season Red Bull has not gained an insurmountable tech lead. I have the competition finely balanced right now and if I could keep it that way I could have fantastic racing season after season. That's key to keeping me engaged in a long term save.

Signing with Red Bull proved to be a good move. In Max Verstappen I have one of the best drivers in the sim as a teammate. The car was competitive, and made more so through time with R&D, so that by the end of season 2 there was little to separate Red Bull from Mercedes, nearly identical on the performance charts. Throughout the second season, the table was tight, with just a handful of points covering first to fourth. With two races to go the spread was just 12 points, with me in third trailing Hamilton by 11. The penultimate race in my schedule is Interlagos, a track where I am strong (it's my favorite to drive in the sim too). It rained for the first half of the race before the sun came out. I won, and Hamilton suffered a last-lap retirement for mechanical failure. Tough break there Lewis, but you were due, weren't you? So I arrived in Brazil 11 points down, but left on top, with an 11 point lead. Final race of the season is Abu Dhabi, not my strongest circuit, but not my worst either. Managed to nick pole and win the race on strategy with a 15-second gap. I was the only car to take hards on the first stop and with the others forced to stop a second time I cruised to an easy victory and my first Formula One Driver's title. Red Bull claimed a double by winning the Constructor's title as well.

Finding the right balance for the AI is not easy, but as this season proved if you get it right, the results are fantastic. What a great season, highly competitive, with drama and awesome racing. To illustrate, in this season Max won five races, Bottas and I each won four, Hamilton won two and even Shoey Ricciardo won once, at Spain. That sort of balance makes for great racing and a fantastic title chase. With four cars still in with a chance to win the championship in the final race it's compelling stuff.

The start-finish straight at Suzuka. Here, I trail Sainz in the McLaren and Leclerc in the Fez. I went on to finish 10th





I've made a long thread here about this sim. I sort of bought it on a whim, when it turned out that I didn't get on with the Moto GP sim I had recently bought to get a racing fix. When I heard of the My Team mode I knew I had to try it. As I talked about, My Team is a fun way to play, I really like it, it just requires some house rules to keep it interesting if, like me, you don't want to dominate and would rather run a competitive league. Driver Career is good too, a little less involved, but the reduced player involvement goes some way toward keeping the field more level.

Here, my Red Bull makes the run down to Ascari at Monza. I went on to win this race.






In all, I've dropped about 300 hours in to F1 2020. I raced F2 cars, several career modes, learned car setup, pit strategies, tire preservation and all the finest points of the sim. I can turn laps in practice and make the right setup changes to dial the car in, making it faster and more competitive. Over time I continually boosted the AI until I found the right level for me. It's a moving target as I improved and the car did too. In most racing sims the car is static in terms of performance, but this sim throws that extra curve at you by having the R&D side, with continual evolution of the competition. They get faster, the hierarchy shifts, drivers move between teams or retire. Ferrari for example fell off a cliff, while Renault charged toward the front. Another save might see that reversed or another dynamic entirely. This dynamic element is wonderful in a racing sim. So much so that I would really miss this sort of thing in a racing sim that did not have it.

My Red Bull in action





So with that much time in the sim a few things I like and don't like about F1 2020. Obviously I love the dynamics of the career modes. Graphics and performance are top, sounds too. The ability to talk to the engineer with voice recognition is a game changer for me, and how do I now race anything without it? Race events are a lot of fun. The practice programme mechanic is one of my favorite things. As mentioned a few times, this keeps the sessions interesting and relevant, making me feel like part of a team and that I have a role to play, doing my bit to help us improve. A really neat touch. The rivalry system adds a parallel narrative through your season, as you have a direct battle with another driver over the course of half the season. The options are extensive, the sim is ridiculously customizable, and finding the right setup for each player is going to be no problem. Anyone can find comfortable settings, or even uncomfortable if that's your bag and you like to be pushed at the edge. The weather system is amazing. The effect this has on the racing is wonderful, the way it forces you to adapt, how it shakes up the order or wrecks your strategy. It can be anything from a light drizzle that doesn't even require wets and passes quickly to a full-on monsoon that lasts the entire race. Sometimes you get all of this in one session, from sun, to rain, to sun again and rain once more. When I think of the sims I've raced in the past, it's striking how much better a racing sim is with this sort of weather system. Combined with the dynamic tech side of the sim (and voice recognition), it's hard to see going back to a sim without these.

There isn't much I can pinpoint that I do not like. The main thing though is the lack of variability in the AI. I'd like to see more chaos and mayhem. A crash now and then, a car running wide or off track. Real Formula One is often chaotic, but the sim has none of it. There are occasional bumps, an AI car might need a new front wing every now and then, and one or two cars might have a random mechanical failure per race that forces their retirement. But the wild and unpredictable nature of the sport is missing from the sim. The AI is too much like AI, and not human enough.

The replay system is also sort of weak, Papyrus has it beat twenty years ago. Part of this may be due to the Flashback feature, which lets the player rewind at anytime and try again. Overcook a turn? You can just flashback to the previous corner and do it better this time. In general though the replay system is limited. But overall I really have enjoyed my return to sim racing with F1 2020. It really got its hooks in me. I like the events, the modes, the features. But the thing that really pulls me in is the racing. From the grid to the flag I just can't get enough of it. I love the tight competition, the need to be precise and consistent, the strategy, the screaming engines and interval deltas. My settings were on the edge for me, and every now and then I'd need to pause, sit back and let out a whew!. It's intense and challenging. Thrilling even. I'm a big fan of the sport and the sim is a natural extension of this, letting me lose myself in my own F1 fantasy, my own alternate reality in which I am a rising star on the biggest stage. And now, World Champion

The season totals for the Red Bull drivers. Good work, Max. I always blink at the instant the photo is snapped haha

I am a simracer at heart and I do like F1 2020. It is probably the best version of the series to date. Bad part is with Codemaster being bought out by Take Two it will likely be the last good installment relative to having a good physics engine. IMHO, YMMV

Yeah Patrocles, not sure what's in store with new owners. The physics of the sim is something I haven't talked about. Frankly I'm no longer that sort of simmer. There was a time when I would have been critical of slip angles, and torque curves and aero coefficients and the sort, but these days I'm more like, does it feel good? F1 2020 feels pretty good to me, but then again I'm am utilizing some aids, so that really muddles things. In the end I think F1 2020 feels about right, and good enough for me. Could things take a nosedive with Take Two involvement? Perhaps. But I reckon Codemasters will continue to operate as they do now, and I wouldn't expect any significant departures to the series. Guess we will see.

What I do expect is a name change, to F1 2K21, and probably the addition of more unlocks and microtransactions. Codemasters cost a fortune, so Take Two will be looking to recoup that ASAP, and I expect the microtransactions will increase.

OK, a quick update about how AI teams deal with the regulation changes.... so it appeared to me that the AI teams ignored this, and failed to conform their parts, meaning they took the full hit to the regulation changes, losing all progress in the affected departments. But at the start of season three of my current career I noticed it isn't exactly true. Looking at the performance chart, I saw that most teams failed to make a dent, but two teams did, Mercedes and Racing Point. While most teams had a steep drop on the line graph at season's start, those two teams had a much shallower drop, suggesting they conformed some parts. With me not doing so in order to keep a competitive, level playing field, I suddenly found my car outclassed by those two teams. And really, this is the worst possible way for it to work. If they all did it, or all didn't do it, it would be a simple matter to follow suit to keep the competitiveness of the division. But having a split makes that impossible, and the player either needs to keep pace (and outclassing most of the field), or to ignore it, and falling well behind the teams who do conform to the new regs.

In the end it's not a huge deal, and this has the effect of mixing things up from season to season, as some teams rise and some fall, but next season they've got another shot at it. Things don't necessarily snowball, with fading teams unable to arrest the slide and the improving teams getting out of sight. There's a bit of a reset during the offseason, and each new season brings some sense of unpredictablity. One season McLaren will be strong, but the next Renault are, while McLaren are now off the pace. The hierarchy shifts and it's pretty cool, an element of dynamism in the order of the field. That's keeps thing interesting and refreshing as the seasons tick past. So maybe these regulation changes are a double edged sword, with some good and some bad that comes out of it.

Supposedly the Assetto Corsa series has the most realistic physics modelling among all auto racing sims but what does that matter if the gameplay is dull as hell? At least for me it was and I really, really tried to like Assetto Corsa but it was just too sterile.

Is that right, does AC have that rep? I have the sim, and I've played it, but yeah, it never quite grabbed me. Might be worth another look in the current config. That video Frank posted of the '66 cars mod in the GPL thread looked wonderful really.

Then again, if Cyberpunk comes out on the 10th then I won't be doing much else for a while I don't think.

So random thoughts... I was thinking about how I could shake up my career in F1 2020. The plan all along was to start on a smaller team, impress, get signed by a big team, then compete for championships. Done and dusted.

So I was thinking that after the current season I'll look to change teams again. That would leave Red Bull in a fine state due to the influence I have had on their development, and then I'll move on to a rival, and build them up, then do it again. Spend a couple years at a team, then move on and see if this has any lasting effect down the seasons. So maybe I'll swap over to Fez next season, if they'll have me. Try to win with them, and then move to Racing Point or Mercedes for a couple more seasons. Driver Career is ten seasons, and not sure I'll see them out. But shifting between teams seems a good way to keep it interesting.

Yes, I I should have been more clear in that I feel Codemasters is making progress with the game physics (at least for what I have seen from owning and playing F1 2016 through 2018) and having the options to increase the realism is not necessary but a good thing in my book. I worry now that with Codemasters being bought out that Take Two may tell them to "dumb it down." Hopefully, you are correct and Codemasters will have some independence and continue improving the game.

I like the sound of the F1 season from your description. I will likely pick up F1 2020 in the new year. Then I need to start finding more time to play the game!

Do you mean the newest game Assetto Corsa Competizione (ACC). People seem happy with the physics and tire modeling. rFactor2 and Automobilista 2 are also highly rated with the physics and tires. I know what you mean about having a dull game - iRacing may not have the "latest and greatest" physics but the online racing is so easy to join, fun, and exciting that I spend 80% of my game time with their sim.

I never tried iRacing, despite the Papy lineage. Was it pay to play at launch? That might have been why. It has a top rep. Cool to see you're still in to it.


Here's a shot I like. Me trailing Max in the chicane following the long back straight in France. Paul Ricard is a track I had never run prior to getting F1 2020. I like it. Too flat, but a good racing track with overtaking opportunities. Nice flow and a lot of different corner types.

Yes, my understanding is that the game has a monthly fee and you pay for any additional cars. That plus the lack of AI-controlled cars turned me off to buying it.

Yes, iRacing is mainly online racing game and it can be expensive. The quality and frequency of online racing events is what keeps me using the game. AI has been deployed as early beta and is available to all members with limited cars and tracks at the moment. The AI itself is quite good and should be getting better.

iRacing has frequent deals for new members and discounts for current members. The base membership has about 40 pieces of content spread across Road, Oval, Dirt Road and Dirt Oval. Additional cars and tracks can run from $10 - $15 each. If one is interested in online racing then iRacing is always worth a trying one of the discounts.
https://www.iracing.com/membership/

F1 2020 is half-off on Steam at the mo. Get it while it's hot! (and less expensive)

Still kicking along with my career. For some reason I cannot wait for the current season to end so I can switch to Ferrari. Something about the prospect of resurrecting a fallen giant that has great appeal. I have about five races to go in the 2022 season, and trail Max by 14 points. Of course there is no guarantee I'll get a seat at Fez I suppose. But by that time I may be double World Champion so they may make room

My concern is that if I do get hired by Ferrari that I'll replace Leclerc instead of Kvyat. There's no control over this and I wonder how the game decides which current driver gets replaced when signing the player. We would stand a much better chance of a return to glory with Leclerc in the fold.

I'm having some great racing at this stage. I complain about the AI being too much like AI, with little to no chaos or mistakes. But the flip side to this is that it's like racing a field full of professional, sporting, talented drivers. Unlike many racing games, the AI in F1 2020 doesn't shunt you, knock you off the track or generally run in to you at all. It's all very clean, which is really nice. It means I can race side by side through consecutive corners and not worry about being sent flying off the track. The only problem spot that I've encountered is turn 10 at Bahrain, which is a very slow left-hander. If I slow a little too much on entry I have been run in to from behind, but it does more damage to the other car than to the back of mine, and the resulting new wing that car will need during the next pitstop means they'll pay about a 7 second penalty for running in to me.

So while I do complain about the AI being too good, there's a positive side to this as well. Racing in heavy traffic is very nice in F1 2020. As long as you hold your line it makes for some really close and thrilling racing.

Now that you guys have mentioned it, yes I think it was the lack of AI for offline racing, combined with the pay to play that sent me in a different direction. I think it was around the same time that GTR2 came out and I know I was racing that sim, plus still racing GPL and N2003 too at the time. iRacing's always intrigued me, but at this stage it's unlikely I'll give it a go. I'm really happy with what F1 2020 is giving me, as far as a single player experience it's probably the best racing sim I've tried, though MP has some issues by all accounts.

I'll be buying it tonight! Once my friend and I finish our 2019 League season we will be transitioning to 2020. We would definitely be interested in starting a league with you and other SimHQ members.

I'm in! It would be cool if we could get at least say six drivers, have three teams, and have both a driver's and constructor's fight for the titles. All MP cars are equal, so which chassis you choose doesn't matter. If we ever get around to this I think it would be a blast.

Agreed. Now we just need to recruit 3 more people.

I considered it for a second, even though I don't have a wheel and would really like to have one before getting into a racing sim, but the clincher for me is lack of VR support. That is a must for any flying or driving sim for me.

It has Virtual Racing, that counts right?

Ah, so close to our first recruit.

But yeah, if anyone reads this and wants to join the SimHQ Formula One Racing League let us know. Looking for three drivers to commit to it. Maybe we could kick this off around the New Year? If there's any interest I'll start putting it together.

I am interested in possibly racing but it would depend on dates and times. Are you guys all east coast US so far?