Which Simracing Game has the Best F1 Content?

Is F1 22 really the ultimate Formula 1 racing game.jpg

Which racing games do you use to drive F1 cars?

  • Raceroom Racing Experience

    Votes: 21 2.3%
  • Automobilista 2

    Votes: 237 26.0%
  • F1 22

    Votes: 222 24.4%
  • Assetto Corsa

    Votes: 559 61.4%
  • iRacing

    Votes: 52 5.7%

  • Total voters
    910
Formula 1 is racing again this weekend, and many simracers will be looking to enjoy these beastly cars at home. But which game should you jump into to for the most immersive, realistic and fun experience? Emily Jones has all the answers in this OverTake video.

Image Credit: EA Sports/Codemasters

This weekend, Formula One heads to Saudi Arabia and the Jeddah Corniche circuit for Round 2 of the 2023 season. With the sport returning to our screens, most simracers will be looking to experience the thrill of driving an F1 car at speed in the many games at our disposal.

The big question however is which simracing title is the best for simulating F1 racing? With plenty of games and mods on the market, Emily Jones - better known as Emree online - has compiled a list. In this video on the OverTake.GG channel, find out which game you should jump into for the ultimate F1 experience.


In the video, Emily, who often appears in videos with our good friends at Overtake, lists five games that feature modern F1 content. A lap of the Red Bull Ring in the most recent F1 machinery available in Raceroom Racing Experience, Automobilista 2, F1 22, Assetto Corsa and iRacing gave her a good idea of each game's handling.

F1 simulator: More than just driving​

Whilst Emily clearly has a favourite car to drive, handling and feeling isn't all one wants from a good F1 game. In fairness, each simulator brings its own unique selling point to what an F1 sim should be.

While iRacing certainly has the most accurate representation of a 2022 F1 racer having been created with real-world data, many will argue it is too hard. Furthermore, with little to no participation online, it doesn't get enough love in-game. As such, there really isn't much of a reason to use, or even buy the iRacing Mercedes W13.


When it comes to F1 22, as Emily mentions, the game simply feels off. The handling model requires many unrealistic inputs to be fast. From rapid downshifts and excessively early upshifts on corner exit, driving in F1 22 is almost a robotic experience. However, when it comes to the gameplay and visuals, the title is exquisite. One can manage their own team as they rise the ranks all whilst competing as a driver. This is a career mode style only present in the Codemasters and EA release, something that sways many a racing fan.

Despite being an older simulator and having some of the least attractive visuals in modern simracing, Raceroom brings excellent force feedback and a great tyre model to the fray. Simracers around the world praise this game on its feeling through the wheel. In fact, out of the five simulators, Emily claimed the Raceroom representation of F1 was the most intuitive and easy to get into.

Automobilista 2 has lots of F1 content both old and new.jpg


From a content aspect, it's tricky to surmount Assetto Corsa, but Automobilista 2 does a fantastic job. Whilst AC gets almost the entirety of its F1 content past and present from third party mods, AMS 2 features plenty of cars made in-house representing the pinnacle of the sport. Sure, Assetto Corsa can more or less recreate every F1 race from the past 70 years including full grids and correct tracks. But AMS 2's content hits an insanely high level of quality unrivalled by other sims.

Each game has its own, unique reason to be used for simulating the most prestigious championship in motorsport.

Which racing simulator do you use to drive F1 cars? What do you look for most in an F1 game?
About author
Angus Martin
Motorsport gets my blood pumping more than anything else. Be it physical or virtual, I'm down to bang doors.

Comments

What is the point of driving an F1 car if you aren't getting all the feeling of being an F1 driver? Completely context-less single races in Assetto Corsa are a far cry from what actually being an F1 driver would be like.
It's a matter of personal preference. What matters to me is how it feels, how much visceral and intense fun I get behind the wheel provided by the physics, the FFB, the road details, while driving on the edge. For those who can feel/appreciate this (not everyone can), everything else comes far behind.
I couldn't care less about driving a full season in an immersive way in F1 22 if the visceral fun I get is far from what I get in any other game. I'll simply spend my time thinking it's just a waste of my time because it would be immensely more fun to do the same race in rF2 or AMS1 because that's where I get the most of that visceral fun.
 
The opening question is this:

Which Simracing Game has the Best F1 Content?​

Many people have answered correctly. The Codemasters F1 simulations obviously. No other sim comes close. The last one before that series was F1 99-02 and before that it was the legend that is Geoff Crammonds Grand Prix 4.
So answering AMS 2 or AC etc is just factually incorrect. They might have the odd car and track but that is hardly a simulation of Formula One.
I rest my case M'lord. :thumbsup:
Best content doesn't mean most content. Having the most complete recreation of a F1 season doesn't necessary make it the best content if you also have the worst physics, FFB and tracks. It's for you, good for you, enjoy, but it's definitely not for me and many others, has I explain in my previous post.
 
Modern F1 is so gimmicky (hybrid, DRS, forced tyre compounds, sprint races, Q1/Q2/Q3 quali sessions) that it's very difficult to "simulate" race weekends in anything but the official Codemasters games.

Slightly older F1 (early 2000's and earlier) can be simulated to 95% accuracy by most sims, so it's mostly a pick between AC, rF2 and AMS2 as to which physics/driving feel you prefer. Each have their own shortcomings: AC has bad AI, rF2 lacks F1 content that isn't bad ports from rF1, and AMS2 doesn't have mod tracks and is missing a lot of famous F1 circuits.
 
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However the real winner is F1 Challenge 99-02 with the VB all seasons mod, i mean you can't compete against a game that have every championship, cars and tracks from 1950-today
Until you run the first Monaco GP and all the AI pile up in the first corner and get stuck because AI in that game has always been broken.
 
Best content doesn't mean most content. Having the most complete recreation of a F1 season doesn't necessary make it the best content if you also have the worst physics, FFB and tracks. It's for you, good for you, enjoy, but it's definitely not for me and many others, has I explain in my previous post.
Well the question was what simracing game has the best F1 content, not what simracing game gives you best "feelz".

And please, do explain exactly why the codies games have the "worst" physics, if no other game replicates mechanical components that are absolutely essential to recreate a modern F1.
 
Well the question was what simracing game has the best F1 content, not what simracing game gives you best "feelz".
I don't know why I answer, it was pretty clear and I'm sure it will be a waste of time, but as I said, "best content" without context covers many aspects and so is subjective depending on which aspects are more important for you. Not everyone has the same priorities, and there is obviously no game that has the best content on every aspect, so unlike what you think, the answer is subjective, and for most people who have their priority on "how good it feels to drive" or "how realistic is the physics", F1 22 definitely doesn't have the best content, while it will be for people wo care more about immersion, car features, full grid and so on.
And please, do explain exactly why the codies games have the "worst" physics, if no other game replicates mechanical components that are absolutely essential to recreate a modern F1.
Those components have not much to do with how good it feels to drive the car or how realistic is the physics (even if it can have an impact on it, like regenerative braking). As great as it is to have them, in a world where we can't have both, I prefer better physics and FFB anytime.
 
Well the question was what simracing game has the best F1 content, not what simracing game gives you best "feelz".
The title reflected the content of the video which is nothing more then one persons opinion.

Actually wasn't the question for the poll :

WHICH RACING GAMES DO YOU USE TO DRIVE F1 CARS?​

You may like driving a sim that doesn't have the best content and wow you might drive it because of feel.
 
The title reflected the content of the video which is nothing more then one persons opinion.

Actually wasn't the question for the poll :

WHICH RACING GAMES DO YOU USE TO DRIVE F1 CARS?​

You may like driving a sim that doesn't have the best content and wow you might drive it because of feel.
That was only the POLL question.
 
Best content doesn't mean most content. Having the most complete recreation of a F1 season doesn't necessary make it the best content if you also have the worst physics, FFB and tracks. It's for you, good for you, enjoy, but it's definitely not for me and many others, has I explain in my previous post.
Well they not only have the best content, they also have the most content and the most atmosphere of simulating a Formula one race weekend. I really don't care if the FFB is not up to your standard. I remember race sims way before FFB came into the equation. So I am not one of these spoilt by make believe physics or FFB that recreates make believe racing. I used to race Grand Prix 4 with a joystick. And the ones before that like Indy 500 with a keyboard. Remember it's all Pretend Racing Cars. :thumbsup:
 
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Those components have not much to do with how good it feels to drive the car or how realistic is the physics (even if it can have an impact on it, like regenerative braking). As great as it is to have them, in a world where we can't have both, I prefer better physics and FFB anytime.
Richard and I disagree on a lot, but this is something he's right about. How would you know how realistic the FFB is? How accurate are those "better" physics? We are talking F1... any data available is always questionable at best. Sure, I also prefer the RSS mods of the world, but cant beat an official F1 game when it comes to at least implementing all F1 has to offer.
 
I've only used offline simulators for years. For offline racing, F1 2020 (the last one I got), for me is the best, for all the atmosphere, physics and AI are not too bad. The AC for running offline is terrible, bad AI, crashes, etc.

In AMS2 and RR with the same cars, changing only the skin and talent file I don't even try, for me "monobrand F1" does not exist, I don't see simulation in running with an F1 mod in which the cars are the same.
 
Premium
Richard and I disagree on a lot, but this is something he's right about. How would you know how realistic the FFB is? How accurate are those "better" physics? We are talking F1... any data available is always questionable at best. Sure, I also prefer the RSS mods of the world, but cant beat an official F1 game when it comes to at least implementing all F1 has to offer.
Most of us have never driven a real F1 car. So we don't know from our own experience if a car in a sim drives or feels exactly the same as a real F1 car. If the physics are a bit close or not (which is not the same as the ffb) we can see by looking at the speeds in a corner, the straight line speed, the acceleration and the braking distance to corner and comparing these from the car in the sim with a real F1 car on tv. It can only be a rough indication, because the circumstances are different from day to day or even on the same day in real life, and we don't drive exactly the same as real F1 drivers. But when it is not difficult to be much faster in the sim then in the real car, you could say something is wrong.

The ForceFeedback is not the same in the sim compared to what a driver feels in a real F1 car. For most sims, that is not the goal. The problem with a sim compared to a real car is, in a sim you don't feel with your body in which direction the car is moving and you don't feel the bumps in the track with your body. Most of us are sitting in a chair which is not moving at all. There are sim rigs who try to create these forces as well, but this is nothing more than an attempt to feel something instead of trying to simulate the real forces exactly. In real life, when steering into a corner but the car is not turning as much as you steer into the corner, you can feel this instantly with you whole body. And when steering into a corner and the car is turning much faster as you steer into the corner, you also feel this instantly. The human brain reacts faster to what we feel than what we see. If you are missing this feeling, like most of us will in our sim, it is more difficult to react when understeer or oversteer occurs. Therefore a number of sims have build something in to translate this feeling into changing ffb, so you can feel it in your steering wheel. You can argue about this if this is realistic or not, because it is not exactly the same as what you feel in a real car. But, even for people who really know the difference, people who race in a kart on a regular bases for instance, it is very easy to get used to, so it really helps with the driving. It feels much better and in a way closer to the real thing compared to when this kind of ffb is not build in.

If you drive in a racing car or kart in real life, you can experience the difference between driving in real life or driving in a sim, you don't have to be a real F1 driver for this. So you can experience if the ffb is some kind of realistic or not.
If you will experience this yourself, go to a karting track with rental karts and give it a go. A kart does not have suspension with springs and dampers, the bearing of the axle is mounted directly in the frame. So you wil feel every bump in the track in detail. Drive over some kerbs to experience how this feels. Be aware that kerbs can be very different, so on one kerb you could be launched to the moon and on another kerb you even could feel almost nothing at all.
A kart also does not have any power steering at all. So you can feel what your tires are doing very well on your steering wheel. Compare this to what you feel in your sim and you will have an idea if it is any realistic or not at all.

But, at the end it is all a matter of personal taste. If you have never driven a race car or kart in real life, and have no intention at all to do it, why should you care if your sim is realistic or not? The only important thing is if you are enjoying it or not.
 
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What is the point of driving an F1 car if you aren't getting all the feeling of being an F1 driver? Completely context-less single races in Assetto Corsa are a far cry from what actually being an F1 driver would be like.
You're not limited to single races in AC. You can play entire season in a form of custom championship. I did that and it wasn't (at least for me) that much different from doing a season in Codemasters F1. Obviously you won't get this type of immersion as Codemasters can deliver but many people don't care.

In fact I think now about doing entire "career" in AC in the form of Custom Championships - from F4/GT4 to F1/prototypes or so.
 
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Most of us have never driven a real F1 car. So we don't know from our own experience if a car in a sim drives or feels exactly the same as a real F1 car. If the physics are a bit close or not (which is not the same as the ffb) we can see by looking at the speeds in a corner, the straight line speed, the acceleration and the braking distance to corner and comparing these from the car in the sim with a real F1 car on tv. It can only be a rough indication, because the circumstances are different from day to day or even on the same day in real life, and we don't drive exactly the same as real F1 drivers. But when it is not difficult to be much faster in the sim then in the real car, you could say something is wrong.

The ForceFeedback is not the same in the sim compared to what a driver feels in a real F1 car. For most sims, that is not the goal. The problem with a sim compared to a real car is, in a sim you don't feel with your body in which direction the car is moving and you don't feel the bumps in the track with your body. Most of us are sitting in a chair which is not moving at all. There are sim rigs who try to create these forces as well, but this is nothing more than an attempt to feel something instead of trying to simulate the real forces exactly. In real life, when steering into a corner but the car is not turning as much as you steer into the corner, you can feel this instantly with you whole body. And when steering into a corner and the car is turning much faster as you steer into the corner, you also feel this instantly. The human brain reacts faster to what we feel than what we see. If you are missing this feeling, like most of us will in our sim, it is more difficult to react when understeer or oversteer occurs. Therefore a number of sims have build something in to translate this feeling into changing ffb, so you can feel it in your steering wheel. You can argue about this if this is realistic or not, because it is not exactly the same as what you feel in a real car. But, even for people who really know the difference, people who race in a kart on a regular bases for instance, it is very easy to get used to, so it really helps with the driving. It feels much better and in a way closer to the real thing compared to when this kind of ffb is not build in.

If you drive in a racing car or kart in real life, you can experience the difference between driving in real life or driving in a sim, you don't have to be a real F1 driver for this. So you can experience if the ffb is some kind of realistic or not.
If you will experience this yourself, go to a karting track with rental karts and give it a go. A kart does not have suspension with springs and dampers, the bearing of the axle is mounted directly in the frame. So you wil feel every bump in the track in detail. Drive over some kerbs to experience how this feels. Be aware that kerbs can be very different, so on one kerb you could be launched to the mood and on another kerb you even could feel almost nothing at all.
A kart also does not have any power steering at all. So you can feel what your tires are doing very well on your steering wheel. Compare this to what you feel in your sim and you will have an idea if it is any realistic or not at all.

But, at the end it is all a matter of personal taste. If you have never driven a race car or kart in real life, and have no intention at all to do it, why should you care if your sim is realistic or not? The only important thing is if you are enjoying it or not.
You rambled on for quite a while... lol

Now we are comparing karts to F1? :roflmao:
 
You're not limited to single races in AC. You can play entire season in a form of custom championship. I did that and it wasn't (at least for me) that much different from doing a season in Codemasters F1. Obviously you won't get this type of immersion as Codemasters can deliver but many people don't care.

In fact I think now about doing entire "career" in AC in the form of Custom Championships - from F4/GT4 to F1/prototypes or so.
But even that is not going to give you the same F1 experience as Codies F1 simulators. I care. Hotlapping in a F1 car is all that AC is good for.
 
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You rambled on for quite a while... lol

Now we are comparing karts to F1? :roflmao:
Mans the actual message is the only thing you don't seem to get from that. Essentially he said if you drive karts then you'll have a general idea of what realistic ffb feels like. If you've never raced then it might not even matter at all to you what realistic ffb is.
 
Mans the actual message is the only thing you don't seem to get from that. Essentially he said if you drive karts then you'll have a general idea of what realistic ffb feels like. If you've never raced then it might not even matter at all to you what realistic ffb is.
Lol... Then the message is deeply flawed. Karts should not be used as a baseline comparison to realistic FFB for racing games in general.... Unless... you are comparing a real Kart to KartKraft or equivalent representation.
 
What is the point of driving an F1 car if you aren't getting all the feeling of being an F1 driver? Completely context-less single races in Assetto Corsa are a far cry from what actually being an F1 driver would be like.

So F1 22 is a F1 championship and a F1 driver simulator now. Fine by me.

There was someone (I believe more than one) asking for proof why F1 is not a F1 car simulator, by today's standards. I invite them to populate the following forums/discords for a couple of days in their physics/tech sections: AMS2, rFactor2, AC Custom Shaders Patch (discord), ACC, BeamNG Drive (the latter 2 not even in this poll, while F1 22 is, for some reason).

Some of us might get the feeling they're a rally driver in a rally championship driving Art of Rally. Some of us might get the true feeling of being a farmer while playing Farming Simulator. Some of us might get the feeling they're informed while watching the news. Nobody's here to contradict your feelings. Hammond too had a feeling for cars judging by his job. Until he tried the R25.

But when it comes to facts, even Automobilista 1 is better at simulating a modern F1 car than EA's series, but don't quote me on that. Listen to Niels Heusinkveld, instead.
 
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So F1 22 is a F1 championship and a F1 driver simulator now. Fine by me.

There was someone (I believe more than one) asking for proof why F1 is not a F1 car simulator, by today's standards. I invite them to populate the following forums/discords for a couple of days in their physics/tech sections: AMS2, rFactor2, AC Custom Shaders Patch (discord), ACC, BeamNG Drive (the latter 2 not even in this poll, while F1 22 is, for some reason).

Some of us might get the feeling they're a rally driver in a rally championship driving Art of Rally. Some of us might get the true feeling of being a farmer while playing Farming Simulator. Some of us might get the feeling they're informed while watching the news. Nobody's here to contradict your feelings. Hammond too had a feeling for cars judging by his job. Until he tried the R25.

But when it comes to facts, even Automobilista 1 is better at simulating a modern F1 car than EA's series, but don't quote me on that. Listen to Niels Heusinkveld, instead.
I don't need to be in said discords to talk physics, much less to learn anything from them, because 99% of "physics" discussions in simracing are total and utter bollocks anyways, and none of them are objective.

Oh and i listened to Niels yes , if you mean his private modern F1 mod that he made for himself. I even said to him as much that good as it might be, its not closer to the real F1 than the codies car is due to lack of said systems. He might believe it obviously, but he has no idea, and no data to proove otherwise, and all we can do is compare onboard laps, something that was once used to actually proove that the "formula ultimate" that is in AMS1 is not as good as the codies F1 car, and all the simracing world dismissed it.

The exact same thing happened with the iRacing mercedes, complete fantasy, way faster than the real thing, and yet, all the simracing world dimissed it again.
 
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Premium
Lol... Then the message is deeply flawed. Karts should not be used as a baseline comparison to realistic FFB for racing games in general.... Unless... you are comparing a real Kart to KartKraft or

Lol... Then the message is deeply flawed. Karts should not be used as a baseline comparison to realistic FFB for racing games in general.... Unless... you are comparing a real Kart to KartKraft or equivalent representation.
Well, you have something better then? Something you have done yourself, and is possible to do for most of us?
 

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