Platform: PC, Xbox Series, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4
Genre: F1 racing management sim

As we head into the second half of the largely predictable yet drama-driven Formula 1 season, surely more than half of the Formula 1 fanbase thought to themselves – “I bet I could have came up with a better strategy for Monaco” or for Ferrari fans, “Can we restart the season?”.

Regardless of which camp you are on, F1 Manager is back this year with its somewhat improved 2023 edition, allowing you to more effectively assume the roles of the likes of Toto Wolff, Christian Horner or the best of the lot, Gunther Steiner.

Need For Speed (Management)

To the uninitiated, F1 Manager 2023 requires players to manage, plan and strategize for their F1 team both on race day and the preparation leading towards it. Of course, choosing to manage Red Bull is the easiest way to secure points and podiums but where’s the fun in that? It’s akin to managing Manchester City in Football Manager 2023; with an overpowered machine and two racers who are clearly helmets and shoulders above their peers, a podium finish is almost guaranteed with Red Bull.

Try getting a McLaren to a top-5 finish, Haas cars into Q3 or stop Alpine drivers from killing each other. Now that’s a proper challenge.

Just like the first F1 Manager 2022 game, ‘managers’ sift through the nitty gritty of an F1 team management. Heck, if you want to build a dream driver’s lineup, go ahead – budget-permitting, of course. Not only do you manage the budget for your staff recruitment such as mechanics, designers and drivers’ wages, but also to upgrade your respective factories and even wind tunnels; all for that extra percent of improvement over your grid rivals.

This can be done by constantly developing and upgrading your car parts throughout the season and when the opportunity arises, you can even do a Haas and ignore all improvement for the current season altogether. Instead, start researching for the upcoming season. Using sliders to come up with the optimum setup, managers can compensate for their respective cars’ weaknesses while also doubling up on their strengths either for the rest of the season, or a specific race in the calendar.

Make no qualms about it, the presentation of F1 Manager 2023 is top-notch. While not to the levels of its driving simulation brother, which closely captures the experience of a race weekend, props for the developers Frontier Dynamics who managed to effectively present the magnitude and high stakes all teams face over a three-day race weekend.

Motor Master

The devil is in the details and it is highly recommended that team managers to look at all factors leading into the weekend such as track and ambient temperature and chances of rain which leads to wet races. Like in real life, a wet qualifying session is adequate enough to get a mid-tier team through into Q3 simply with a perfectly timed lap. Managing to pull off a decent time on a bone-dry track before the rain hits is always a sure-fire way to bump your cars up the grid.

Preparations for each session can be either done manually or simulated entirely. This covers the whole gamut of race preparations, from the super meticulous borderline-obsessive attention to detail to the totally negligent who clicks on the ‘Simulate Session’ more often than Carlos Sainz blaming others for his crash.

Those who love to micromanage can choose to tinker with their individual cars’ setup down to the tyre camber across all three practice sessions to get the highest driver satisfaction in their setup. Or they can just simulate the whole thing and focus on the macro side of things.

We won’t judge you based on your style of play but nothing beats seeing a score for your driver’s satisfaction setup in the high 90s. Like in real life, each setup is custom to a specific driver which is affected heavily by the track they are on. So we do recommend keeping a note for all the setups for individual tracks on a spreadsheet document, for example. Sadly, like last year’s game, there isn’t any in-game option to store these setups which would be super helpful once we get into multiple seasons.

One more gripe in terms of management is the ability to go to town with your team’s car livery. We understand sponsorships and team identities probably played a major role in this decision but we feel it would be cool to be able to redesign your team’s colour template and even have unconventional sponsors adorning your cars.

The main race is the cherry on top for each weekend and additional plans come into play. Do you stick with the recommended fuel load or do you pour in additional fuel to allow your car to be constantly pushed to its limit? Do you adhere to the recommended tyre strategy or do you try something less conventional to either undercut or overcut other cars? It’s entirely your call and do not discount the possibility of everything you planned being thrown out of the window due to a crashed Alpine.

Sprint races have been added into this year’s race which adds variety to race weekends and from what we’ve experienced so far, inter-personnel issues seem to crop up more frequently. However, this may be a result of our McLaren team underperforming early in the season.

Those who believe they are able to do better than what transpired in real life or just want to tackle a one-off challenge scenario can also attempt the Race Replay feature. Perhaps lead Lando to his first F1 win in Silverstone, for example.

Then there’s the Exclusive Scenarios mode which puts you in reimagined scenarios within specific conditions. This isn’t our favorite since some of the challenges are downright bonkers. Case point:

Worth A Long Pit Stop

Overall, F1 Manager 2023 is the game for F1 statistics nut out there. Clearly designed for those who appreciate the intricacies of running an F1 team more than the actual driving of the cars, F1 Manager 2023 is a step up from last year’s game; but barely enough. We wished for new features such as the ability to store a track setup or even custom designs. But since things are headed in the right direction albeit incrementally, this would do. For now.

Whether you’re a Gunther Steiner or a Christian Horner, F12023 allows you to chart your own unique career as an F1 team manager. Mid-season starts this weekend so it’s the perfect time to pick up the game – otherwise what are you going to do in between practice sessions? Talk to your kids?

Final Score: 60/100

PC review code provided by publisher.