“It’s light’s out and away we go” on a new journey with F1 23. After months of waiting, I finally got my hands on the new game and to be honest, Formula 1 really does prove to be the pinnacle of virtual motorsport. After playing F1 22, the differences in gameplay and graphics are on another level. And with Las Vegas coming this season, it would be a treat for players to get through the new circuit before any of the drivers do. Stepping into the cockpit this time around feels just as exciting because of the changes Codemasters have made. The game is now simply in a league of its own with Career Mode, World Drive and the latest instalment of Braking Point that started with F1 21. If you can’t wait for the new game to come out or still have any doubts about whether or not you should pick it up, our F1 23 Review should put them all to rest.

If you’re an F1 fan like me, the visuals, handling and ride will have you eager to get into Career Mode and fire up the car. As a Mercedes-AMG Petronas fan, I quickly fired up Career Mode to do a Flying Lap around Bahrain in the new W14. With Red Bull still dominating this season, fans might want to see how the cockpit of the RB 19 feels on track. That said, the new F1 World was also an interesting game mode to check out. The sequel to Braking Point was nothing short of a drama. Netflix probably did a better job with Drive to Survive, but Braking Point had its own dramas. Plus, Crofty’s iconic voice makes some starts even more exciting as I wait for the lights to go out.

The gamepad controls in F1 23 are superior to all other entries in the series. While driving in F1 22 was difficult due to the new rules and heavier cars, those issues have been comfortably resolved. Controlling these cumbersome cars is no longer a problem and even driving them on street circuits is much more comfortable. Last year I crashed into the walls of street circuits far more often than I would like to remember. But even driving through Baku felt like a cruise this time around and if I had put on a VR set I would probably feel like I was actually driving through one of the best street circuits in Formula 1. Furthermore, the understeer and oversteer of last year have been greatly reduced on the gamepad. While it may come down to skill differences, the tight corners and slow angles are easily countered this time around.

Besides multiplayer, Career Mode is the most obvious choice fans make. You can create your own fictional team or play with one of the teams as their driver. My obvious choice was to start with Mercedes-AMG Petronas and go for the World Driver’s Championship. However, I did build my team and fought for the Constructors Championship for a while. While I didn’t finish it, creating your own team is a different experience and one that players should try. To clarify my situation, I didn’t finish it because I wanted to explore the other game modes and of course drive the W14. However, I would like Lewis Hamilton to sign for my team at some point in the future, so I’ll get to that soon enough.