A Drive Through The History of F1 Games

Published on 16th April 2024 by Will Davies. Last updated on 13th August 2024.

Engine notes rise and the drivers put pedal to the metal as F1 makes its way down to turn one of the 2024 racing season. With the twists and turns that face teams and drivers ahead - whether chasing the ferociously fast Red Bull or scrapping for points in the reignited Williams Racing – it is sure to be another epic season of racing.

If you’re looking to emulate the season or create your own path in the top tier of motorsport then EA Sports F1 24 released on 31st May 2024. Whilst we can’t wait to get on track with this year’s edition, we look at F1 games from past to present in a series that has evolved over time, much like their counterparts on track.

EA’s Early Days

Starting the millennium, EA Sports bought F1 2000 to us. As the revs build on the start line in similar fashion to the PlayStation 1 disc drive spinning up, it put players on track battling against the likes of Schumacher and Häkkinen across the official Formula 1 season to achieve racing glory. It introduced the racing game world to a full grid of features such as full immersive qualifying session, damage models, and your engineer on the radio to you giving crucial information, such as lap times and position changes for the rest of the field.

A quick pit stop...

Drivers and teams change constantly in Formula One, and in a similar track the F1 licence was given exclusively to Sony Studios from 2003 until Codemasters took it back on in 2009. Formula 1 games became a PlayStation exclusive for the following years with a title released annually featuring the most up to date drivers, teams and liveries. It ended with Formula One Championship Edition on the PlayStation 3.

While it followed the basics of its predecessor, Formula One 06, it was made for the (at the time) next gen capabilities of the console. Sixaxis controls were brought to the forefront, wet weather was properly implemented to give players a new challenge on track, and custom grid selection meant many hours could be spent battling your way from the back of the field. Making you feel like an absolute hero when you win only to realise you still had the AI set on easy – but no one needs to know that do they?

The Codemasters’ Era

In 2009 Codemasters restarted the engines of Formula 1 games, bringing the series to the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation Portable initially. Featuring at the time the revolutionary motion controls of the Wii remote it put players directly into the driving seat – even if understeer was king if the remote had a funny five minutes. 2010 onwards saw the F1 series race on to the current gen consoles of the time, with every evolution of the title bringing new features such as safety cars, formation laps and detailed career modes.

F1 2020 saw the introduction of My Team, merging the race on track with the race behind the scenes in a season long development race to produce the fastest car. Allowing players to choose their own team colours and logo, along with a choice of engine partner and the world’s top drivers, it gave the platform to showcase how good you can be at running a team and finding success.

EA Returns

EA Sports took their place in the driving seat once again in 2021 building on the foundations of simulation Codemasters had built.

The 2021 edition of F1 took the career mode to a new level bringing a dedicated story mode called ‘Braking Point’.

Following the young and upcoming driver Aidan Jackson the player battles for his place on the grid against his Formula 2 rival, Devin Butler, and the pressure F1 entails. It was met with great reception, bringing a new dimension to the sports games that hadn’t been seen in this depth since the TOCA Race Driver series from the early 2000’s.

The Braking Point series locked up and missed the turn in F1 22 not appearing again until F1 23, where Jackson and Butlers rivalry were reignited on track alongside a pitstop full of gameplay changes to improve the game. Racing simulation had always favoured those with a steering wheel as a controller, right back to the Nintendo Wii. But F1 23 unlocked the potential of the PlayStation 5 DualSense and Xbox Series X controllers to give those on gamepads an unparalleled driving experience. No more spinning on the hard to tackle kerbs or slightly misjudged overtake ending up in the gravel furiously hitting the flashback button…again.

EA Sports F124

As we wait to see what this seasons holds on the real track for 2024, EA Sports F1 24 will hit the shelves this May to let us drive our dream seasons. With dynamic handling models and boasting an all-new Driver Career mode we look forward to getting on track and putting pedal to the metal (or carbon fibre most likely.)

EA Sports F1 24 released on May 31st, 2024. Get it at GAME.