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F1 Manager 24 review: navigating the perils of a new team

Third manager sim from Frontier seeks to up the stakes further with the introduction of more features

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Frontier’s latest F1 manager sim is now out. How does F1 Manager 2024 compare to last year?

F1 Manager 2024 review: battling sponsors and morale (Image Credit: Frontier Developments)
F1 Manager 2024 review: battling sponsors and morale (Image Credit: Frontier Developments)

The third iteration of a game can sometimes indicate a change of direction. Learning the lessons of previous mistakes and creating content to delight gamers or correct past misdemeanours.

Frontier opted to change course halfway through F1 Manager 23′s last cycle, introducing an easy mode. We stopped several times when we played last year’s version due to frustration.

Driver mistakes were far too frequent and out of character. At one point in our early play-through’s post-release, Oscar Piastri crashed out in Australia during the race, then destroyed his car in the first session next time out in Jeddah. Teammate Lando Norris then crashed out in the race.

This led to the game not being touched for a while, lying un-clicked in our Steam library. Frontier seemed to realise the issues early after release, adding easy racing and car development modes. These features stayed for 2024’s edition, but Frontier introduced several new features, which we played in the preview build. Now that we’ve had an extended period with the game, we can see the impact of the new features.

Create a team
The new "Create a Team" feature is a welcome addition to the game (Image Credit: Frontier Developments)
The new “Create a Team” feature is a welcome addition to the game (Image Credit: Frontier Developments)

This is the game’s flagship new feature: gamers can enter their own team on the grid, the first time this option has been available in a manager game since the 1990s.

Anyone who plays EA F1 2024 will see Frontier has taken heavy inspiration from EA’s offering. The menus and customisation options are very similar, and you can change the paintwork of your fledgling outfit. Anyone who wants to replicate the iconic Jordan livery can add animals, such as the famous shark, to their finishing touches.

Customisation goes as deep as deciding the angle and colour of individual logo elements. Fans can, therefore, create logos similar to those of their favourite non-F1 teams and organisations.

Next up was our “story,” which dictated our level of base competitiveness. The choice also affected our facility level and our starting personnel. Going in on the maximum available, our team had Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton as its default selected drivers. Andrew Shovlin and Gianpiero Lambiase became the default race engineers. Similar levels of excellence were replicated for all other vital roles.

Sponsor Commitments
The inclusion of sponsorship negotiations adds a layer of complexity to the gaming experience (Image Credit: Frontier Developments)
The inclusion of sponsorship negotiations adds a layer of complexity to the gaming experience (Image Credit: Frontier Developments)

Sponsor commitments kick in at the start of regular Manager mode or Create a Team mode. Commitments are measured by the amount of time they require from your team. Of course, the offset to this is your team becomes instantly more marketable.

However, choose wisely, as the money comes at a price. The requirements target areas of your team, such as staff performance and facility effectiveness. The higher the amount on offer, the more the areas are impacted.

Thinking ahead, we opted heavily for staff performance impacts, wanting our facility’s effectiveness to stay untouched. However, this decision led to being immediately hit with a fatigued and exhausted pit crew. Resigned to the fact that the first race of the season would be compromised, we ploughed on. The dream team of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamiton dominated qualifying, and Sunday looked set to be a one-horse race.

With Hamilton suffering a poor pit stop due to an exhausted pit crew, he had to fight back to pass Lando Norris’s McLaren to secure the one-two. However, the car began to suffer reliability issues after a few races. Verstappen had to nurse a gearbox issue in Australia, leading to a P5-place finish and a very unhappy board.

Moving back into the manager screen post-race, the mentality hub became problematic. Verstappen’s morale dropped, which would impact performance at the next race. A decision to place an affiliate driver into a practice session was hastily dropped. Including affiliate drivers is a welcome addition to the series, and it’s great to see the likes of Ollie Bearman appear on the practice timesheets.

Impact of mechanical failures and morale

Mechanical failures add a new level of peril for players. Thankfully, these are not the brutally race-ending failures seen in the classic games of old. Anyone who remembers playing the legendary Grand Prix Manager series will remember praying your car made it to the end of the race. Sadly, players could be greeted with the term “oil leak” or “engine” when they found their car at the bottom of the timesheets.

F1 Manager 24 employs the idea that a reliability issue can be managed. Of course, performance and precious points are lost; however, this is better than the alternative of retiring. It is another way to test players ability to think fast in race situation, prioritising patience over impulse.

Throw in driver mistakes, and it is very easy to see how a season can derail quickly without the player’s total commitment. This game requires you to give it your undivided attention and constantly think of how to improve or counter an issue, mistake, or team performance drop-off.

Conclusion
The new affiliate driver feature (Image Credit: Frontier Developments)
The new affiliate driver feature (Image Credit: Frontier Developments)

The issues that made F1 Manager 23 remain gathering dust in our collection for a short time are removed in F1 Manager 24. Multiple difficulty levels make this a much more enjoyable experience from the first play-through.

Sponsor commitments are a realistic addition to the game and will test players. However, the fact that gamers have to choose between money and performance is a tricky tightrope for players to walk.

Throw in mechanical failures; a gamer could quickly suffer a poor play-through. It is definitely worth a play; however, frustration may be experienced again. It will not be the constant companion found when last year’s edition launched, but it will lurk in the shadows.

Will Frontier need to release a mid-game overhaul again? Likely not. However, F1 Manager 24 is not a game for the faint-hearted or short of patience. You will need to throw yourself entirely into this game, and it will likely remain too much of a challenge to casual gamers for now.

F1 Manager 24 releases on Tuesday 23rd July, available on PC, PlayStation® 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch™, PlayStation® 4 and Xbox One.

 

Feature Image Credit: Frontier Developments

  1. I would der if the game will be so realistic it’ll have petulant British Verstappen throwing his toys out the pram when things don’t go his way.

    I hope so because reading his in-race remarks from yesterday, gave me a good laugh.

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