F1 Manager 2024 Review: Gameplay Impressions, Videos, Features and Modes

F1 Manager 2024 from developer Frontier Developments is the third effort in the budding sports management simulation series.

It happens to face the tallest task of any yet in the expectations department, too. While the first game caught some by surprise and raced to a podium finish, the sophomore effort hit a bit of the stereotypical slump.

On paper, though, F1 Manager 2024 could represent the series rounding into form. The game promises a handful of key features, including the ability to create teams and manage driver personality, that could forge the best release to date.

Given a fantastic as-is foundation, the performance of those major additions will outright decide where the 2024 edition stands on the podium.

Gameplay

Fans of annual sports games know that there are years where gameplay doesn't change all that much as development focuses on modes and vice versa.

This is one of those years where things stay much the same on the gameplay side—though that doesn't have to be a bad thing.

That almost overwhelming simulation side of team and vehicle management returns in full force. New players will learn a lot, to say the least, while veterans will enjoy the depth and challenge. Managing everything from individual parts (tweakable to say, take a risk like less durability for better aero) to driver's personalties to overarching sponsorships that play into team money is still enjoyable, even if most of it is clicking around menus.

Actual on-track gameplay falls into the same similar pattern. It's fun, opposing driver A.I. is good and perhaps the freshest thing added is the strive for realism via the sheer randomness that can happen on a given race day.

The biggest new aspect of this is the presence of the aptly-named mechanical failures.

These can happen at any point during a race weekend. Some can be mitigated by monitoring things like temperature control, but the stress on a vehicle's components is real. While it doesn't feel good to suffer it, players can benefit, too—A.I. opponents can suffer the same mishaps, adding a serious dose of realistic randomness.

This new mechanic never felt overdone or unfair. Sometimes aggressive driving and fuel management in the name of making a key push produces it, just like in real life. And sometimes even the biggest names going against a player have to juggle the same setbacks.

Added to wrecks, differing weather conditions and generally realistic-feeling A.I. behavior, the anything-can-happen vibe of the simulation is both enjoyable and realistic.

Of course, the length of races and seasons has been a point of conversation in this series' early stages. The 2024 edition here, at least, permits players to simulate whichever sessions and outright races they prefer.

Graphics and Presentation

It isn't just the gameplay above that helps the series feel super realistic.

Like its predecessors, the 2024 edition does the major and minor things in tandem to achieve this. Major things include some incredible motion blur to assist the sense of speed, joining notable details like smoke off screeching tires and the roar of engines.

Sound design remains an impressive strength, with the creative, real-world radio dialogue system blatantly receiving an influx of new additions to keep things fresh.

A year ago, the new visor cam was a welcome addition to help immersion. Likewise, new camera angles have been implemented into different perspectives. There's also a new overhead view that provides a fun view of a race's scope, giving it a broadcast feel.

This can also lend a slower look at the impressively detailed real-world tracks, which offer up a variety of locales, some—like nighttime events—that really show off the game's impressive lighting work.

Replays are once again a fun look at the sheer amount of game detail, but especially because of the creative camera angles and approaches the game uses.

Like the rest here, the game's user interface (UI) doesn't appear to be changed all that much. But it's a not-broken-don't-fix-it sort of thing, as the menus are easy to navigate and the on-track information fed to players is fantastic.

Features and More

Create A Team is the new headliner this year and the chief example of sheer game modes being the focal point.

Like the mode's namesake, players take the role of Team Principal to create a custom livery for a team, meaning designs on the team logo, vehicles, and even racer attire.

It isn't limited to just the appearance of the team, either, but the starting conditions, challenges and goals.

Players can, for example, simply leap in as the 11th team with a stacked roster. Or, as is popular in other sports games, craft a sort of underdog team that must rise through the ranks. There's a certain fun in just arriving with a major bankroll and steamrolling events, but the underdog story can't exactly lose its charm, either.

Management and marketing are again a fun side thing to juggle atop the usual racing items. Planning funding through deals and hitting goals to keep the money flowing into the team is both fun in an RPG sense and critical.

This has far more depth than usual now, which is refreshing. Before, players would just pick a sponsor and go. Now, there is a main sponsor and secondary sponsors with their own deals. Meeting something for the latter could negatively impact the former, a driver's motivation or something else, so the proper balancing act is a must.

Elsewhere, scouting is important, as keeping an eye on the talent throughout the sport's landscape is a must. After all, team shakeups can happen in response to each driver's motivations. The ability to bring on developmental drivers who work through F3 and F2 is just another added touch of depth that makes things feel realistic. It's yet another addition of nuance compared to prior versions, where players had to merely shove as much practice time as possible to the young drivers and hope for the best.

That leads things to the new mentality system, which keys on each driver's motivations and goals and how the player's team situation impacts those. In turn, for example, a driver whose attitude is pessimistic is going to be more difficult to work with at the negotiations table. It's a fun detail that adds depth and felt reasonable enough—putting a top pro behind the wheel of a poorly-tuned vehicle didn't exactly make them happy.

Race replay returns, letting players step into moments from the actual 2024 season. If nothing else, it's a nice option to have for fans.

A robust set of options that finally implemented a mid-race save last year returns, too.

Conclusion

F1 Manager 2024 is the best game in the series to date.

While it was debatable to classify last year's game as a must-have, the sweeping additions to modes and features within are a must-experience for fans or a nice jumping-on point for the curious.

Granted, adding things like team creation and improving scouting and star personalities is typical checklist stuff for a sports game. And yet, the impact the well-implemented systems and modes have on the overall experience is profound.

From here, it will be interesting to see what the next installment prioritizes. But the series is on a big upswing and has carved out a nice niche for itself that it can now grow, starting with this well-rounded installment.