We are excited to show you the first Gameplay Deep Dive for F1®️ 24, the official game of the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship™. You can learn about all the game-changing upgrades we’ve made to the driving experience with development support from reigning champion, Max Verstappen. You will feel the difference on track when F1®️ 24 releases on May 31.
EA SPORTS Dynamic Handling represents the biggest physics upgrade that we have ever made in a Codemasters F1®️ title. Your personal driving style now creates new strategic racing opportunities thanks to this immersive new handling model.
EA SPORTS Dynamic Handling
We worked closely with Max Verstappen, on the new EA SPORTS Dynamic Handling which will redefine the feeling of the car to produce more realistic and predictable performance across wheel and pad.
It starts with a brand new suspension kinematics system that gives our cars a much more realistic feeling of weight distribution and center of gravity. The spring and damper forces have been revised to give a better sense of how the car reacts to varying loads and attitudes through all different types of corners.
This also gives you more flexibility over car setups. You’ll need to prioritise the right suspension compromise, depending on each track layout and your personal driving style. As a driver, do you want more stability in the high speed sections, or better traction at low speed? You now have better control and more realistic tools to tune these variables to your liking.
Improved Tyre Model
We’ve made some big improvements to how tyres behave in F1®️ 24, to add even more to the realism of the cars.
Our temperature model in F1®️ 24 is brand new, with more variation in both the carcass and surface temperatures depending on factors like the tyre pressures, ambient conditions, track conditions, and your own driving style.
In clean air, a smooth operator can make the most of their tyres and extend their stint in the race, whereas an aggressive driver in dirty air, locking their brakes, is much more likely to damage their rubber and wear it out faster.
We’ve also improved how the tyres interact with the track surface in variable conditions. For instance, as the track starts to dry out again after a rain shower you can seek out the remaining wet parts of the circuit to cool your wets or intermediates. You’ll also notice more realistic transitions between wet and dry, creating more jeopardy around when to make that all important decision to box for a change.
All of this, combined with the new suspension physics, makes for a more immersive experience; and we’re not done yet!
Improved Aerodynamic Modeling
Dynamic Handling in F1®️ 24 wouldn’t be complete without reviewing the all-important aerodynamics of these amazing machines. On top of the revolutionary suspension and tyre updates we’ve used Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to bring significantly more detail to our aero simulation.
This gives you a much more accurate feeling of the forces that generate downforce from the wings and the floor. When you’re behind another driver you'll of course feel slipstream effects on the straights, but we now have much more realistic turbulence or “dirty air” too, which creates a realistic reduction of grip in the corners when you’re closely following a rival.
The Drag Reduction System (DRS) also benefits from this improved aeromodelling. If you run a car setup with a lot of rear wing angle, the increased drag will naturally hurt your top speed on the straights, but you will notice a bigger benefit when the DRS is open, compared to a car with a very skinny rear wing setting that can already get closer to terminal velocity without the DRS open.
The benefits don’t stop there. Improved vehicle modeling means that the chassis and floor profiles for each of the 2024 season cars are more accurate than ever before. This will give more experienced players the chance to experiment with the ride height settings to fine tune their aerodynamic performance on each track by adjusting the rake of the car. Don’t forget to study your laps in EA Racenet and through community telemetry apps to find those all important tenths of a second.
New Power Unit Settings
What’s on the inside counts too. We’re giving you more control over your car’s power unit to give you more opportunities to adapt to changing circumstances and strategies in the races, just like real life.
Our throttle maps have been enhanced so that the cars sequentially request more horsepower as your input on the pedal gradually increases on the exit of a corner. This reduces wastage from the electrical part of the hybrid engine and opens the door for more advanced tactical driving. For example, for the first time you can now manually “de-rate” the power delivery and put more energy back into the ERS (Energy Recovery System) by lifting and coasting at the end of a straight before the braking zone, saving you vital battery power to deploy in attack or defense later in the lap, or later in the race.
The ERS deployment modes have also been adjusted for this year. By popular demand (and because it’s more realistic!) we have brought back the option to swap between ERS modes on the fly in every session of a race weekend. Meaning settings like ‘Low’ and ‘Hotlap’ can once again be used in the race, further enhancing your tactical options in battle. The Overtake mode has also been made more aggressive.
All this means that while some settings like Overtake will drain the ERS battery faster than in our previous games, you now have many more tools and tactics available to quickly recharge the battery and get back on the front foot in the race.
Next Up: Career Mode
Stay tuned for more about F1® 24 in the coming days and weeks. Starting with our next Deep Dive, focused on this year’s massive evolution in the fan-favourite Career mode.
Players who pre-purchase* the digital-exclusive Champions Edition by May 1 will get immediate access to a selection of 2024 liveries for use in F1®️ 23’s special Time Trial mode^, as well as the two new Icons, 18,000 PitCoin**, an F1® World Bumper Pack, up to three days of early access starting May 28 including exclusive Verstappen-inspired special events with unique unlockable rewards, and one bonus VIP Podium Pass.
Plus, those who own F1®️ 2021, F1®️ 22, or F1®️ 23, can take advantage of a 15% loyalty discount on F1®️ 24 Champions Edition pre-purchases***. Load any of these games to find out how.
Players pre-purchasing* the Standard Edition will receive 5,000 PitCoin** and an F1® World Starter Pack.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2488620/F1_24/
*Conditions and Restrictions apply. See https://www.ea.com/games/f1/f1-24/disclaimers for details.
**Virtual currency to spend in-game.
***Offer ends on May 31, 2024
^Online connection required alongside copy of EA SPORTS F1® 23. Only applicable to Champions Edition pre-orders.