The release of F1 25 is fast approaching with Codemasters and EA Sports pushing plenty of gameplay features. But our editor Luca is a firm believer in something that would truly reinvigorate interest in the series - historical tracks.
It is no secret that, like what it is replicating, the Formula One games have not been immune to the scrutiny of those consuming them. After fifteen years with Codemasters holding onto the official licence, the playerbase is slowly realising that the yearly release of these games is seemingly offering nothing of substance, and is now starting to respond with what matters.
Over the years, the games have seen many features added, the MyTeam career mode perhaps being the most successful. But for one positively received feature, there have been countless ones that have flopped, like F1 World, road-going Supercars, and podium celebration emotes. Even the Braking Point story mode, which I am not ashamed to admit I enjoyed, but I cannot deny that the majority of players did not.
Plus, it does not help when the developers openly admit to having no intention to fix certain game-breaking bugs.
Knowing that the majority of players are likely picking up the game for the current season's cars and drivers, it is rather mind-numbing trying to figure out what more they could add that the playerbase would be genuinely interested in. Many will claim "Classic Cars" but with them being removed after F1 2020, there may not have been enough of the playerbase driving them to be worth the expense of licensing those older cars.
But there is one feature that I have championed constantly over the years. If added to the F1 game, I am incredibly confident that it will bring some players back to the series.
I have many fond memories of racing these venues in modern cars; the joy of driving these additional tracks never wore off on me. Alternative tracks were featured when classic content returned in F1 2017, albeit merely shorter versions of pre-existing Grand Prix venues, Silverstone, Circuit of the Americas, Sakhir (but not the outer layout), and the 2.25km configuration of Suzuka.
They were alright. I did particularly enjoy a multi-class classic car race around Suzuka Short, but it did not provide the same level of magic as F1 2013.
Of course, the one major feature indicated in the F1 25 reveal trailer is the ability to race tracks in reverse. I cannot speak for everyone, but to me, that seems like a move that truly reeks of desperation and seems more like a novelty. I cannot see that many people choosing to drive any of the tracks in reverse beyond the first time out of morbid curiousity.
Whilst classic cars may not have been used by the majority of the playerbase, there is precedent to the idea that tracks not on the current season schedule would get usage out of them. In F1 24, the Portimão circuit - despite not being on the schedule since 2021 - is still able to be raced on in all titles since it dropped off the calendar.
Paul Ricard has not hosted a race since 2022 but still features in F1 23. For the years that Shanghai was not on the schedule, it continued to be in all games before its return last year. Coupled with the MotoGP games by Milestone featuring past-season tracks (e.g., Donington, Estoril, Laguna Seca, and Indianapolis), I am certain that this is what Codemasters and EA Sports can do to win back some goodwill points with the players.
Whilst that, of course, was due to the fact that the developers had to make the tracks and could not get them done in time for the game's release, it did have the unintended side effect of springing the F1 games back into the consciousness of the playerbase after launch. More people jumped back onto the game in those later dates to drive the new tracks, much like with any new bit of DLC that comes to a game.
Therefore, they could adopt that same practice by having all current season tracks at launch and adding bonus historical tracks intermittently over the remainder of the calendar year. Now for the tracks themselves! Two from relatively recent Codemasters F1 titles, two from near the beginning of their tenure with the F1 licence and two that have never featured in any of their games.
The first two are rather easy, Sepang and Hockenheim which last featured in F1 2017 and F1 2019 respectively. Despite being off the schedule for so long, both tracks are still very highly regarded by the F1 fanbase, so it only makes sense. Plus, it would not, in theory, be such a difficult implementation since both games in which they last appeared are on EGO Engine 4.0, the same game engine as F1 25. Unlike the next two, which were on games built on older versions of the EGO engine.
Next is Istanbul Park, which last featured in F1 2011, and Nürburgring GP, which appeared most recently in F1 2013, and no, not the Nordschleife, sorry pre-1976 F1 fans and all other avid sim racers. Both tracks were last-minute additions to the F1 calendar in 2020, and Istanbul even reappeared the following year when Suzuka dropped off the schedule, with many believing it would follow Imola and Portimão onto the F1 game as those two also filled the void for cancelled events.
When it comes to the last two, one already has the entire track model built, the Sakhir Outer Layout which takes under a minute to lap, plus it hosted quite the wild Grand Prix back in 2020. Finally, the other 2020-only venue is Mugello, where Lewis Hamilton won his 90th Grand Prix. With the track being owned by Ferrari, what more suitable addition to introduce with Hamilton now being part of the Scuderia and featuring prominently in the marketing for the game?
The high-speed Mugello circuit played host to the Tuscan Grand Prix just once, but the track was very well received by drivers and fans. Image: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Leaving aside how little time they had to do that, of course, what was it that resulted in the schedule having to go through that restructuring anyway? The same reason as to why the workforce at Codemasters had to work remotely and thus making such a task even more difficult. But it has been a few years now, and I am absolutely certain that if they did this, a large portion of the playerbase would hugely appreciate it.
As much as many of us would love to see classic cars return, the core casual demographic that plays the F1 games is not that interested in them. So, if only current-season cars are getting used, what better way to offer something beyond that than to give players the ability to race these additional tracks?
What other circuits from past seasons would you like added to F1 25? Let us know in the comments below, and join the discussion in our F1 game series forum!
It is no secret that, like what it is replicating, the Formula One games have not been immune to the scrutiny of those consuming them. After fifteen years with Codemasters holding onto the official licence, the playerbase is slowly realising that the yearly release of these games is seemingly offering nothing of substance, and is now starting to respond with what matters.
Over the years, the games have seen many features added, the MyTeam career mode perhaps being the most successful. But for one positively received feature, there have been countless ones that have flopped, like F1 World, road-going Supercars, and podium celebration emotes. Even the Braking Point story mode, which I am not ashamed to admit I enjoyed, but I cannot deny that the majority of players did not.
Plus, it does not help when the developers openly admit to having no intention to fix certain game-breaking bugs.
Knowing that the majority of players are likely picking up the game for the current season's cars and drivers, it is rather mind-numbing trying to figure out what more they could add that the playerbase would be genuinely interested in. Many will claim "Classic Cars" but with them being removed after F1 2020, there may not have been enough of the playerbase driving them to be worth the expense of licensing those older cars.
But there is one feature that I have championed constantly over the years. If added to the F1 game, I am incredibly confident that it will bring some players back to the series.
Historical Tracks
Codemasters' first foray into classical content was back in F1 2013, though it was not just cars but also some tracks. In addition to a range of cars from the 1980s and 1990s, players could drive on historical versions of Jerez, Brands Hatch, Imola, and finally, Estoril (before it was ruined). But the best part? That was not just with the classic cars, but also with the 2013 cars.I have many fond memories of racing these venues in modern cars; the joy of driving these additional tracks never wore off on me. Alternative tracks were featured when classic content returned in F1 2017, albeit merely shorter versions of pre-existing Grand Prix venues, Silverstone, Circuit of the Americas, Sakhir (but not the outer layout), and the 2.25km configuration of Suzuka.
They were alright. I did particularly enjoy a multi-class classic car race around Suzuka Short, but it did not provide the same level of magic as F1 2013.
Of course, the one major feature indicated in the F1 25 reveal trailer is the ability to race tracks in reverse. I cannot speak for everyone, but to me, that seems like a move that truly reeks of desperation and seems more like a novelty. I cannot see that many people choosing to drive any of the tracks in reverse beyond the first time out of morbid curiousity.
Whilst classic cars may not have been used by the majority of the playerbase, there is precedent to the idea that tracks not on the current season schedule would get usage out of them. In F1 24, the Portimão circuit - despite not being on the schedule since 2021 - is still able to be raced on in all titles since it dropped off the calendar.
Paul Ricard has not hosted a race since 2022 but still features in F1 23. For the years that Shanghai was not on the schedule, it continued to be in all games before its return last year. Coupled with the MotoGP games by Milestone featuring past-season tracks (e.g., Donington, Estoril, Laguna Seca, and Indianapolis), I am certain that this is what Codemasters and EA Sports can do to win back some goodwill points with the players.
Which Tracks?
Unlike F1 2013, which had actual historical configurations, there are more than a few suitable candidates from recent seasons that could be added to F1 25. Plus, they do not even need to be added immediately, as Codemasters did with F1 2021. The three new tracks for that season, Imola, Portimão, and Jeddah, were not in the game at launch, getting added in as free DLC at later dates.Whilst that, of course, was due to the fact that the developers had to make the tracks and could not get them done in time for the game's release, it did have the unintended side effect of springing the F1 games back into the consciousness of the playerbase after launch. More people jumped back onto the game in those later dates to drive the new tracks, much like with any new bit of DLC that comes to a game.
Therefore, they could adopt that same practice by having all current season tracks at launch and adding bonus historical tracks intermittently over the remainder of the calendar year. Now for the tracks themselves! Two from relatively recent Codemasters F1 titles, two from near the beginning of their tenure with the F1 licence and two that have never featured in any of their games.
The first two are rather easy, Sepang and Hockenheim which last featured in F1 2017 and F1 2019 respectively. Despite being off the schedule for so long, both tracks are still very highly regarded by the F1 fanbase, so it only makes sense. Plus, it would not, in theory, be such a difficult implementation since both games in which they last appeared are on EGO Engine 4.0, the same game engine as F1 25. Unlike the next two, which were on games built on older versions of the EGO engine.
Next is Istanbul Park, which last featured in F1 2011, and Nürburgring GP, which appeared most recently in F1 2013, and no, not the Nordschleife, sorry pre-1976 F1 fans and all other avid sim racers. Both tracks were last-minute additions to the F1 calendar in 2020, and Istanbul even reappeared the following year when Suzuka dropped off the schedule, with many believing it would follow Imola and Portimão onto the F1 game as those two also filled the void for cancelled events.
When it comes to the last two, one already has the entire track model built, the Sakhir Outer Layout which takes under a minute to lap, plus it hosted quite the wild Grand Prix back in 2020. Finally, the other 2020-only venue is Mugello, where Lewis Hamilton won his 90th Grand Prix. With the track being owned by Ferrari, what more suitable addition to introduce with Hamilton now being part of the Scuderia and featuring prominently in the marketing for the game?
The high-speed Mugello circuit played host to the Tuscan Grand Prix just once, but the track was very well received by drivers and fans. Image: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Could It Happen?
If Codemasters and EA Sports were really planning on surprising us, they would most likely have dropped this information already. But one thing that seems to be somewhat lost on the playerbase is the time and resources that would go into developing these tracks. Rewind back to before F1 2020 was released, and many players were convinced that all the new late additions for that season would be added to the game.Leaving aside how little time they had to do that, of course, what was it that resulted in the schedule having to go through that restructuring anyway? The same reason as to why the workforce at Codemasters had to work remotely and thus making such a task even more difficult. But it has been a few years now, and I am absolutely certain that if they did this, a large portion of the playerbase would hugely appreciate it.
As much as many of us would love to see classic cars return, the core casual demographic that plays the F1 games is not that interested in them. So, if only current-season cars are getting used, what better way to offer something beyond that than to give players the ability to race these additional tracks?
What other circuits from past seasons would you like added to F1 25? Let us know in the comments below, and join the discussion in our F1 game series forum!
