F1 2010 What's your programme, huh!?

F1 2010 The Game (Codemasters)
For those who have the time for long weekends... What's your strategy during the P1/2/3 phases of the weekend? I'm not much of a tuner and looking for tunes is how I got here. But, once I saw what the tunes were and not why I decided that I didn't want to play that way. So I haven't used one tune from RD yet. Up until last night I would simply use just the quick setups and which ever one got me the best consistent time, I used. I thought that's not much of a strategy so I began to dig a little deeper. Like I said, I'm not a tuner so I don't mess with much. But, I was wondering what others do. Here's my strategy so far...

P1:

  • Look at track bio, find top speed and tune gear box. If the straights aren't huge then I pretty much tune out 7th gear and make sure 6th is 2-5MPH faster than the tracks top speed and stair step 5th - 2nd from there. If I find I'm redlining at a undesirable point I'll do little adjustments.
  • Always start with the wet (quick setup) that's closest to the first dry setup.
  • Heavy fuel, on primes
  • Run 8 laps
  • If handles okay and seconds ahead of field, then sit and wait to see who gets within 2 seconds.
  • @30 mins, no one within 2 secs, switch to options, run 8 laps
  • I expect my time to be about 2 secs faster on opt's, if not save setup and begin tuning areo.
I'm not racing at hardest or hard levels, so I usually don't have too much work to do in P2/3. I only end up only running about 5-8 laps in P2-3 and I'm smoking everyone else, so I can relax.

So, what's your strategy???
 
I'm playing on expert/legend at the moment, long weekends for the sake of practice.

P1 - Prime tyres, drive until i can get a decent laptime with default settings as well as pushing the car too far so i can test some of the limits. Then i switch to lowest downforce engineer preset, see if i can drive faster with it (almost always yes, on every track), and test limits.
P2 - Practice with option tyres, using the lowest downforce setting until i am comfortable
P3 - Same as P2 but work on qualifying time, test a pitstop.

In general that, along with RD goals. How much time depends on the track, i will only drive until i am comfortable that i can consistantly do decent laptimes. I generally find the Engineer setups are good enough for all the tracks, as the car comes with pre-made base setups for each track anyway, gear ratios with lowest downforce settings are usually ideal for all tracks. I dont bother with high fuel load testing, i just get on with it when it comes to the race.

Q1 - Primes, usually do 2-3 laps, enough to get into Q2
Q2 - Option, i do 1-3 laps. Just enough for Q3
Q3 - Option - Do 1 lap, to save the tyres for the race. In the dry atleast.

Race - I always pit 1 lap earlier than the recommended pit strategy unless i think its going to rain, works nice as i seem to destroy option tyres when i drive, its enough time for the crossover point for primes to be as fast/faster though with the track rubbering in and the fuel weight being less.
 
Sounds like a solid approach! It's kind of disheartening to know that you can use quick setups in expert/legendary mode and still be competitive. Almost makes me want to reset my career and start there. I like your Q1-3 approach as I pretty much do the same. I got an achievement for ranking 1st in P1-3, is there one for Q1-3? Being lackadaisical I let Hamilton beat my Q1 time by like .200s since I started doing it this way and don't know. Do you?

Where do you see your pit strategy during the race. The only way I've been able to tell is when the crew chief tells me to pit next lap? I have to say that for the life of me I can't figure out why they left out so much of what they had in F1 200? in the PS3. The release date probably had much to do with it, but that aspect of the game is so missed.
 
you can check the pit strategy in the tyres menu an race day at the bottom you can also change it.

My strategy for race day is pretty mush the same as bazzs

P1 - Prime tyres, keep driving till i start getting consistent times then i pay particular attention to as to how much spped i can get up to on the longest straights. Then set 7th about 10 kmph more than that and step the gears down from 6th to 3rd and keep 3rd to 1st level and put first about 40 kmph over slowest corner on the track. Save the current setup and advance to P2

P2 - Put in 3 laps then i start tweaking other setups such as brakes so as not to lock up in certain corners, engine map fast when dry slow when wet, alignment, balance, anti roll bars, and every time i change one thing i put in 2 laps after each category. If it makes the times worse i go in the opposite direction. Lastly the downforce and as it effects top speed i make sure its not redlining if so set 5 to 10 kmph higher. Save current setup and advance.

P3 - I mainly just perfect my corners braking exit on corners to try shave as much time off my laps usually 10 to 12 laps then retire to the pits and wait to see if the AI can get close to my times within 1 or 2 seconds. If they do i put in 2-4 more laps and try knock more time off. Run full fuel load for 4 laps and test out handling speed etc. If i do then i go back to the pits and wait for the end of practice. Also do R&D objectives.

Q1 - If the weather is the same as practice day ill use my custom setup from practice Option tyres for this qualifing session set a hot lap 1-3 laps to do this. once i get the best time i can head for the pits and wait for ending.

Q2 - Run Prime tyres and set a hot lap 1-3 laps again and set my best time.

Q3 - Primes again and do 2 laps as to save rubber usually wait till theres enough time to get 2 laps in and then go out on the track when its fast and rubbered.

Race - Same as bazz pit in one lap early but its near the end of the race as im running on prime tyres and can gain a considerable lead on the rest of the pack as most pit in early apart from alonso he always seems to run on primes at the start aswell which is where i got my strategy from. Thats my race weekend strategy.

Also thanks to bram as my practice tweaking is how he sets his cars up and it is really helpful
 
Ahhhh, thx I've never looked there right before the race. I noticed neither of you practice with heavy fuel loads. Is that because you've noticed no difference, or no need. I always wondered if the goal is the tune to a point where the car is perfectly balanced at half a tank, therefore you deal with a little bit of a pig at the start of the race because of heavy fuel loads and it's a little jittery during light fuel loads. I really don't know. I wonder what any actual racer (real life) would think.
 
i do run full fuel loads on the last bit of P3 and thats a very good point but after i run a light setting with my custom setup and full set up i dont feel the need to as the middle is somewhere in between not trying to be funny saying that.

The way i deal with this is in the race when full fuel load is put the wing to up and engine to fast whilst im racing so i can corner better and lighten fuel load quicker.

When running light i put the wing down as i can corner faster anyway and engine to normal as to not get too much oversteer plus the car will run quick anyway because of the lightness.

But in truth if i didnt do this i wouldnt notice much of a difference but i always do this anyway as i like it kinda like a race ritual lol.
 
Oh sorry I misread that. I thought you said you run with 4 laps of fuel at the end. I never thought about using the in-race wing adjustments like that. I normally, and forgot to add this to my strategy, run a set of laps with the wings adjusted + then a set with them adjusted - and compare time and feel after each setup change or tweak. The more I think about this the more I want to reset my career mode and set everything to expert and legendary AI but I'm setup to win Kuala Lumpar so I may wait until I finish. Heck it's only like the 3rd race so I won't be losing much.
 
what season are you in now im on my second and have won the first season am playing on pro its pretty good have tcs on medium abs off and gears in auto thats the only thing i need to get used to but i will try it soon as ive heard it will make laptimes better once you master it

im driving with force india at the moment and they are a pretty competitive car and the custom setups change it drastically and the car is very good imo kuala lumpar is a good track i like driving on it always very competitive on it 1st place finishes in both seasons

and as for the wing adjustments they are really handy when used properly definitely on monaco which is not my strongest track but with positive wing angle is very good as there are so many corners in it and not alot of straights in it.

Yeah i do like adding abit of strategy to it as thats what i feel it lacks more than anything else.
 
I've reset my career twice already so I'm in the 1st season 3rd or 4th race, not sure which kuala lumpar is. I'm racing with Team Lotus. I've always raced in manual, as I'm using the wheel most times. I would think that whether you're tuning the gearbox, or not that gains can be had using manual for the simple fact that you control the downshifting which can be a big help in late breaking. I wonder, have you race any tracks where you felt the need to continually adjust the wing for different portions of the track? Even though I feel I'm far from even an intermediate tuner I luv trying and learning this stuff. I may have choose the wrong career path ;)
 
yeah in some races it can be handy but you can only adjust it a certain amount of times per lap so i dont do it as often usually like i said when running heavy fuel loads and when running light i was just in a race in montreal there now that would be a track i would adjust the wing twice per lap as there are a few windy corners and straights that track is pretty much the only track i would do that on or bahrain in sector 2 i would put the wing + and 1 and 3 - for more straight line speed and i have plenty of tips for tuning ive been looking up alot of stuff about it since i bought the game so if you need a hand let me know
 
Cool, thx. I've actually been doing some studying myself since Forza 2. So I've got some gearhead geek pages I can pass along too. Have you ever read Brian Beckman's Physics of Racing? It's really good, but must admit I got lost when it got to the slip angle stuff.

I've been wondering if the tuning used in FM3 would be of any help in this game... but I haven't gotten that far. You talked about montreal being windy. Makes me wonder if you have your environmental effect set very high? That may just be a setting for the wheel tho, I don't know. That was another thing I was looking to change, but probably won't until I go to the legendary AI mode with expert setting, no assists. I'd like even do away with the medium traction control. I have a feeling it's not helping me judge the right amount of peddle pressure exiting the corners. In other words, not letting me spin out. Maybe I'll turn it to low and see if it makes it less forgiving.
 
i have no clue about setting up cars and race with fuel sim off.

p1: learn the track, try to make at least a clean lap above 24th.
p2: push, learn the track limits, crash a lot.
p3: run at least some 20 laps in a safe pace. try not to crash or spin. learn how to behave in the race, track wise.

q1: 2 hot laps with primes. if i'm well placed with 5 minutes to go, i run 2 more just to make sponsors happy. if i'm struggling to qualify, the last run is with options.
q2: same as above. running twice with options if i have little hope of making to the top 3 rows.
q3: ideally have 2 fresh sets of options if i'm gonna fight for the pole. i'll go with primes if i'm not expecting to be in the front rows.

race: 50% lenght

second season i'll probably go for short weekends with 50% races tho.
btw, does anyone know how r&d stuff is dealt when you're playing short weekends?
 
Well that pretty much settles it for me. I finished my race at Lampar lastnite and it was just too forgiving. Started on opt's pitted around lap 9 with enough lead to come out with Button sniffing my butt (pretty cool feeling). Lost a little pace on the primes, but was still dominating, spun twice but luckly managed to stay on track, pitted again with 9 laps to go (50% race) and still won very comfortably. Too easy, plus I don't get the option of picking my tire setups. I can't find where to turn the fuel and tire sim on so I assume it's done at the start.
 
fuel and tyre sim is in the motorhome. when you're gonna start a session, click on the difficulty tab and scroll down.
if by tyre setups you mean race strategy, it's done at the garage just before the start of the race. one click to the left and you'll see it.
 
P1: I put on Prime, load up with 15 laps of fuel and learn the track in the game since I may "know" the track, but the game is sometimes different. I keep lapping until I run out of fuel. When I can consistently lap within .2-.5sec every lap I will begin on setup. A good setup may get me an extra second, if I'm lucky. Learning the track will get me 5-10 seconds, sometime more(Catalunya and that dang final chicane...)
Figure out how the car behaves and adjust, where am I losing time, where can I lower the downforce, etc.
If I can lap cleanly, I back off the downforce until it is just at the edge, when I am slightly fighting the car to stay on line.
If I'm having issues with turn-in, or braking, stability issues: I will adjust toe and camber to make it feel right.
With 15-20min to go I will throw on the option and try and get a flier. I will note how the car behaves differently on the option, see if I can back off downforce even more and still be alright on the prime.

P2: Start on prime, 8 laps of fuel. Work on problem areas of track. For Monaco it was Casino, for Catalunya it was turn 9(bumpy...) and the final chicane. When I can do an entire fuel load without going off track, I'll throw on the options and run them until they are dead.

P3: Do some off the wall settings to see if all my previous work was for nothing. Do odd combination of settings to see if I get lucky. You see it all the time in real life, a front wing gets damaged, then the driver sets fast lap... Make sure I return to the best setting before end.

Q1: On prime, set some fliers. I've found that there isn't as much jockeying in the game as there is in real life. In the game, not everyone is to the wire, they just set one and come back to the pits.

Q2: Pending track position and tires left, I'll use the options most times. Most of the others are on prime and it helps getting into Q3 easier.

Q3: If I am in 1st during Q2, I will normally try on the prime. If I can qualify top 5 on the primes I will keep it. If I'm 5-10, I'll throw on the options. I've found that the later you pit, the less slow cars you get around. Getting stuck behind HRT in Monaco really sucks. Most will start on option so if you can go deep on the primes, you can come out within the front runners.

Race: I can generally keep the tires for an extra couple laps past the recommended. This helps in my normal race strategy. Avoid running wide at Melbourne(always get corner cutting warning, PITA), and stay wide on turn 1 on entrance to avoid corner cutting warning and worse smashing into the wall.
 
fuel and tyre sim is in the motorhome. when you're gonna start a session, click on the difficulty tab and scroll down.
if by tyre setups you mean race strategy, it's done at the garage just before the start of the race. one click to the left and you'll see it.

Gonira (what a name :D) I'll look there, but I swear I've looked. However, I do wear glasses so... As for tyre strategy, before I reset my career before it showed me the wear of my primes and options. I also saw a number of options and each showed it's current wear. I'll look again tonight. If I can change that then I may hold off on resetting my career again and see how well I can do with those on. Thx
 
just before the race, there's a last option in the tyres screen, "race strategy", right in the bottom of the menu.

gonira is not my name, just a meaningless nickname that, btw, doesn't sound like gonorrhea in my language, lol.
 
P1: I put on Prime, load up with 15 laps of fuel and learn the track in the game since I may "know" the track, but the game is sometimes different. I keep lapping until I run out of fuel. When I can consistently lap within .2-.5sec every lap I will begin on setup. A good setup may get me an extra second, if I'm lucky. Learning the track will get me 5-10 seconds, sometime more(Catalunya and that dang final chicane...)
Figure out how the car behaves and adjust, where am I losing time, where can I lower the downforce, etc.
If I can lap cleanly, I back off the downforce until it is just at the edge, when I am slightly fighting the car to stay on line.
If I'm having issues with turn-in, or braking, stability issues: I will adjust toe and camber to make it feel right.
With 15-20min to go I will throw on the option and try and get a flier. I will note how the car behaves differently on the option, see if I can back off downforce even more and still be alright on the prime.
So when you first start do you choose a particular quick setup and start learning from there? I normally start with the stable setting and start learning the track from there. I don't have fuel/tyre sim on so I can't do that part. You mentioned backing off downforce until riding the edge, so does that mean when you first start custom tuning you start with the areo package and THEN go to the camber, toe, etc.. I've been really trying to figure out where the best place to start custom tuning should be. Not everyone is in agreement on that.
 
just before the race, there's a last option in the tyres screen, "race strategy", right in the bottom of the menu.

gonira is not my name, just a meaningless nickname that, btw, doesn't sound like gonorrhea in my language, lol.

:) that actually makes it funnier to me (not trying to be mean). I don't think I could have actually spelled it correctly anyway. :D I would of just said "drip, drip". <chuckle>
 

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