EA Sports F1 24 Review

For EA Sports F1 24, developer Codemasters has mainly been extolling the virtues of the game’s innovative 'Dynamic Handling'. It's exactly the sort of thing that might have once been emblazoned on the back of a game box in huge letters, and, perhaps it would sound exciting enough to send you reeling to the checkout, then back home to hurriedly slot the disc into your console. Undoubtedly, it's still on the back of F1 24's box somewhere, but what really matters is what it means in real terms. In short, it makes for the most immediate and pure Formula 1 experience Codies has conjured to date.

And while you may be forgiven for thinking this year's F1 game is a little redundant, what with the 2024 season seeing no drivers moving teams, and only two of said teams changing their names and liveries (even the game’s cover stars are the same), you shouldn't sleep on F1 24. A revamp to physics and suspension makes for the most accomplished driving model we've encountered in an F1 game – a familiar refrain that might be, but I've never been more compelled to keep playing and continue coming back to a Formula 1 game quite this much. The handling is sublime.

If you've considered battling your way through all twenty-four races in a full season to be a chore, you're highly unlikely to find that to be the case in F1 24. The simple act of throwing an F1 car around corners at Monza, Silverstone, Miami, or Monaco is a joy, and there's more than ample opportunity to do so, be it in Career or F1 World. Career mode encompasses the single-player Driver Career and My Team, as well as the Two-Player Driver Career, while F1 World has been expanded with the Fanzone. This enables you to choose your favourite team and driver, then race under their banner, earning Fan Points towards shared community goals. It’s a neat touch.

Outside of the core Career mode, the Fanzone is a great place to frequently return to, as there are always objectives to complete and progression to be made in various quick race events, be they online or offline. Those seeking further bite-sized racing thrills can also opt for the Challenge Career, with a series of events to tackle for a place on the leaderboards. Career mode proper remains the crux, of course, taking you through an entire season as a driver of your choice (with much-improved likenesses), including a selection of F1 legends like Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, Michael Schumacher, James Hunt, and Juan Pablo Montoya. You can even start as an F2 driver, if you like, and work your way up to the big leagues.

F1 2021 and F1 23's Braking Point story mode is absent again this year (presumably set to return for F1 25), although there's a smattering of story-like choices to make during your Career, as your agent arranges secret meetings with other teams and such. These can seem a little superfluous. During my Career playthrough as Lando Norris, for instance, I’d be given the option to attend secret meetings with Williams, which makes little sense. Why would a young driver on the rise like Lando entertain a move from McLaren to Williams? More to the point, why would your agent even set it up in the first place? Silliness. Suffice it to say, these intermittent cutscenes don't add an awful lot to Career mode.

Nonetheless, all of those staple Career mode choices are great, although the continued omission of classic cars to thrash around your circuit of choice remains a tragic shortcoming, and a personal bugbear. Granted, there's a lot of content stuffed into this year's game, but I'll never stop longing for Senna's world-beating McLaren or Mansell's iconic 'Red 5' Williams. Maybe the years we don't have story mode, we can have classic content? Still, with every 2024 season circuit rendered in ludicrous detail (Spa, Lusail, and Jeddah have undergone significant improvements), and the action running at a super-smooth lick (the sense of speed is blistering), Codemasters has raised the bar again.

As ever, the plethora of customisable assists, accessibility options (flashbacks are still in, thankfully), and other settings enable you to completely tailor your experience, whether you want to make every race a breeze or a hard-fought fight from the grid to the chequered flag. You can set the length of each Grand Prix, be it five laps or the undiluted real deal, replete with tyre strategies, ERS management, and pit stops; and adjust the rival driver AI to match the level of challenge you’re after. Whatever you opt for, the driving model is unbelievably good - I found myself completing every practice and qualifying session (I’d usually simulate most of these pre-race bits), and striving for perfection during each GP event. R&D also allows you to improve your car, and you can forge rivalries with both your teammate and opponents from other teams in the race for the championship, while completing goals for engineers will grant development buffs. This is the deepest and most detailed F1 Career mode we’ve enjoyed thus far.

Another year, then, and EA Sports F1 is yet another terrific racing sim. F1 24 may seem like a somewhat iterative series entry, but the handling and physics have been honed to such a degree, that it's hard not to sit up and take notice. It leaves me wondering: how can Codemasters go about improving upon such a lofty benchmark for F1 25? This is quite simply the most responsive and purely gratifying F1 game the studio has made yet, which is some feat given the standard it's delivered in recent years. F1 24 is a triumphant racing sim that's up there with the very best, and I can't get enough.