Image credit Quadrant
Lando Norris has played the new Formula 1 game before it’s officially released to the public.
His reactions to the game, the cars and the virtual versions of himself and the other F1 drivers are priceless.
F1 24
EA sports produce the official Formula 1 game. It’s used for the increasingly high-profile F1 E-Sports championship where the world’s best sim racers compete to win the virtual Formula 1 world title.
This year, at the end of May, they are releasing the updated version of the game titled F1 24. Lando Norris has had a chance to play it before pretty much anyone else in the world.
The physics & realism
Lando tries a couple of different races on the game (playing as himself, of course). First he goes for a dry race at Silverstone, followed by a soaking wet race at Spa Francorchamps.
In qualifying for the Silverstone race he manages to put it on pole position. His response is “0.25 seconds ahead of Max… that’s a first.” Not any more Lando, not since your Miami win!
He makes a number of comments regarding the updated handling and physics of the car. He says it’s easier to control the degredation of the tyres in the dry.
Then, when he’s racing in the rain at Spa, he comments that the handling is much, much more realistic. In previous versions the game felt like the cars had too much grip in the wet which, Lando says, wasn’t quite right.
This new version, according to Norris, feels like the cars are much more realistic in the rain. He said that now it almost feels like they’re drifting, which is an accurate feeling. The car’s comparative lack of grip compared to previous versions is much better.
He also said that you have to be very careful not to lock a front tyre in the wet, which is very easy to do.
Disqualified
At the start of the race at Silverstone Lando is hurridly trying to work out which button is the clutch. In doing so he jumps the start.
That comes back to bite him, as he’s given a drive through penalty. A few laps later he’s told to serve the penalty of face disqualification. He ignores the warning and, sure enough, is disqualified from the race. Naughty boy.
Virtual drivers
Lando also gets to see whether the game’s designers have done him dirty with the virtual version of himself, and his fellow F1 drivers.
This version of Lando is slightly questionable:
Lando remarks “they’ve made me look rather tall… I didn’t think I was that tall but thank you”. He also questions why they didn’t give him a moustache… what moustache Lando?
Then there’s his teammate, complete with wavy hair:
And the champ Max Verstappen:
Plus a slighty dodgy looking Checo Perez:
Check out the full video of Lando’s reaction to the new F1 24 game on the Quadrant YouTube here:
