Two Eventful Seasons
As a result, two of the most eventful seasons of the 2000s went without official digital representation. 2007 saw the debut of Lewis Hamilton and his rivalry with Fernando Alonso at McLaren, with Kimi Räikkönen and Ferrari eventually capitalizing on the internal battles of their Mercedes-powered rivals. It was also the year of the Spygate scandal, which led to McLaren's disqualification fromt he Constructor's Championship. 2007 saw the debut of another future World Champion in Sebastian Vettel, who substituted for Robert Kubica at BMW-Sauber in Indianapolis, as the Pole had suffered his spectacular high-speed crash at the previous round in Montreal.
Things did not settle down the following year: With Alonso having returned to Renault, the championship battle between Hamilton and Ferrari's Felipe Massa went down to the very last corner of the season – "is that Glock?" Vettel, meanwhile, took a memorable first career win for Toro Rosso at a rain-soaked Monza, and Renault tried its hand at some race fixing at the Singapore Grand Prix, ordering Nelson Piquet Jr. to crash on purpose so Alonso's could go on to win the race due to his strategy.
Since then, F1 games have returned to an exclusive license, with Codemasters releasing a title every year and being taken over by EA Sports in 2021. F1 22 was the first to be released under the EA banner, with F1 23 set to follow suit in June.
Things did not settle down the following year: With Alonso having returned to Renault, the championship battle between Hamilton and Ferrari's Felipe Massa went down to the very last corner of the season – "is that Glock?" Vettel, meanwhile, took a memorable first career win for Toro Rosso at a rain-soaked Monza, and Renault tried its hand at some race fixing at the Singapore Grand Prix, ordering Nelson Piquet Jr. to crash on purpose so Alonso's could go on to win the race due to his strategy.
The Modding Community Steps In
F1 fans who wanted to get their fix of up-to-date cars and tracks at the time had to resort to mods: Grand Prix 4's modding community was already firing on all cylinders a few years earlier and put out complete season sets, even including track-specific car models, liveries and drivers. GTR2 also had mods for both seasons available, and rFactor, of course, was no exception, enabling PC sim racers to enjoy both seasons. Console players, after getting exclusive treatment for four years, did not get another opportunity to go on track with an up-to-date game until 2010 – or 2009, if they owned a Wii. Formula 1 2009, however, received mixed reviews and wasSince then, F1 games have returned to an exclusive license, with Codemasters releasing a title every year and being taken over by EA Sports in 2021. F1 22 was the first to be released under the EA banner, with F1 23 set to follow suit in June.
Your Thoughts
Did you miss having official F1 games for the 2007 and 2008 seasons at the time? What mod alternative was the best in your opinion? Let us know in the comments below!- Previous page: Overview
