F1 23: First Handling Impressions

F1 23 WIP Screenshot Alex Albon Yuki Tsunoda Lance Stroll Abu Dhabi Yas Marina.jpg
The handling model is what makes or breaks any sort of racing game or simulation, which is why EA Sports claims to have improved in this area for F1 23 compared to its predecessor: Real data from the actual Formula 1 teams have influenced development to make driving the cars more realistic, but also more enjoyable - has it worked? We have looked into this in the pre-release version of the game.

Each year, the F1 game franchise has to walk the fine line between realism and accessibility. The World Championship has millions of fans around the world, so the series should appeal to the majority of them - convincing all of them is impossible, as a result. On one hand, there are more casual racers that play on a console and PC using a game pad, on the other hand, there are the sim racers with wheels, pedals and rigs.

To fully experience the reworked handling model, we have tried it without assists, both in Grand Prix and time trial mode. A big gripe of many players of F1 22 was the throttle response of the cars, which was mentioned as a point of improvement in particular in the Gameplay Deep Dive. The power curve seemed to have a very sudden peak, leading to unforeseen spins while on the throttle in lower gears.

Less unpleasant surprises​

Now, turbocharged hybrid F1 cars without traction control will have wheel spin under acceleration if you are not careful, there is no doubt about that. But in F1 23, this feels more predictable. It did happen during our testing, but usually, you knew immediately that you have overdone it while you watched your car head for the closest barrier to integrate itself in. A light foot on the loud pedal while accelerating out of slow corners is a must as a result, but there should be less suprises in the form of involuntarily swapped ends of your vehicle.

The cars also feel less understeery than before on the default setups, making it easier to get them to turn into corners - as they should, judging from onboard recordings of real F1 cars, as they are glued to the road by an abundance of downforce. This, however, also makes them feel a bit lifeless until you really start pushing them hard. Only then will you feel the 1000 hp, 798 kg rocketship you are in charge of move around a bit. Whether or not this is entirely realistic is up to those who have actually driven a modern Formula 1 car - Like McLaren pilot Lando Norris, who has already given the game a try.


Force Feedback​

F1 23's Force Feedback does what it needs to: It is possible to predict slides and spins and catch them if your reflexes are quick enough, the system communicates what the car is doing well enough. However, it seems like road details are often absent, at least in the preview version - even on bumpy tracks like Interlagos.

Infusing more life into the FFB system could go a long way to make the cars feel even more alive as a result. In general, they handle well and affect the FFB in a predictable manner - although some time needs to be factored in to get your settings just right, just like in any game or sim.

Your Thoughts​

What do you hope for with F1 23's refined handling model? Are you excited to give it a try? Let us know in the comments below!
About author
Yannik Haustein
Lifelong motorsport enthusiast and sim racing aficionado, walking racing history encyclopedia.

Sim racing editor, streamer and one half of the SimRacing Buddies podcast (warning, German!).

Heel & Toe Gang 4 life :D

Comments

How lame that Norris' video is, not interesting, not informative, absolute paid garbage. These guys just do not respect money, they have too much of it.

A much more interesting video not from a F1 driver but a much more professional individual (and a fast e-driver) :
For sure it is sponsored content so be careful. But, even if he doesn't mention the bad aspects, at least he shows the improvements.

Racedepartment doesn't need a big name clickbait, we are already there as passionate simracers ; it is better focusing on quality information. The old Paul's video review format was interesting, I hope these kind of informative videos will be back.
 
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I just want to know if this on PC will have that awful EA Anti Cheat that FIFA had
 
D
You know what it is. I am a bit fed up with these strange video's promoting sims/games. If you believe you're a respectable racingsim-developer I would create the right video. Showing the proper rig, the proper fov, the proper monitordistance, etc, gameplay, etc. This is just an ad.
 
Premium
You can't see in a video how the ffb feels, you have to feel it yourself. FfB is a personal thing, there is no "best" ffb. So if somebody explaining how it feels, you need to kbow the preference of this person compared to your own preference very well. Otherwise it means not much. The best way to go is try it yourself.
 
I just want to know if this on PC will have that awful EA Anti Cheat that FIFA had
Yes that's my biggest worry. No matter what I did (and I have tried everything) I cannot get FIFA 23 working on my PC. So I dread to think they might use the same anticheat crud.
 
Would this be the year they finally implement mouse control in the menu`s?

Bet not...
One preview video I watched (by Boosted Media?) mentioned mouse support... still not being in the game.

That's such a silly oversight. I play in VR and I always feel like fumbling in the dark using the menus in Codemasters' games.
 
One preview video I watched (by Boosted Media?) mentioned mouse support... still not being in the game.

That's such a silly oversight. I play in VR and I always feel like fumbling in the dark using the menus in Codemasters' games.
have you tried using voice attack and using that to navigate the menus by voice?
 
Yes that's my biggest worry. No matter what I did (and I have tried everything) I cannot get FIFA 23 working on my PC. So I dread to think they might use the same anticheat crud.
Agreed. I tried on two different machines and couldn't get it to open consistently on either. I know it's far from a sim, but I enjoy the career mode and I've bought all of them from the beginning. If this has the anti-cheat, then I'll be skipping for the first time ever
 
Other videos and articles mention that this is the first F1 game after the departure (since EA aquired CM) of the physics head manager, who had been in charge since F1 2009. But no tremendous change for F1 23 (and the current physics are not definitive so be cautious about the current beta testers' feedback).

Wirh EA's money, more people have been dedicated to the esport side of the game. The solo and the MP parts have received more attention, like 2 distinct games.

F1 23 still is just an evolution of the series (minus the classic cars), nothing revolutionary., but it may be a solid entry. The revolution is expected with F1 24 bringing a new engine.

These are absolutely not my own opinions, just a compilation of a few news.

I'll personnally wait for F1 24 and hope something new the last one I've got is F1 2019, last game of the series with many classic cars). On the good side, from the videos, it seems the color s1turation has been lowered, making the game look much more realistic (I don't know whether it is on the level of F1 2020 which I think is the most realistic looking F1 game of all the series).

I'm curious about the new engine, an evolution of the madness engine?
 
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