What the game is
It is Codemasters’ twelfth annual F1 series title, released in 2022 to simulate the 73rd running of the Formula One World Championship. It belongs to a line beginning with F1 2009 and continuing through F1 2010, built under Codemasters’ long-running F1 series licence acquired in 2011.
How it actually plays
The game asks players to race Formula One cars across twenty-two Grands Prix. It enforces the 2022 technical regulations, including ground effect aerodynamics. Players must manage Pirelli tyres and two-driver team structure. At three designated events — Emilia Romagna, Austrian, and São Paulo — the sprint format applies. Each sprint reduces the full race weekend structure to a condensed loop: qualifying for sprint position, a short sprint race awarding points, then Sunday’s main race.
What works
It works as a procedural mirror of the 2022 season’s formal structure: twenty-two Grands Prix, dual championships (Drivers’ and Constructors’), mandatory two-driver teams, Pirelli tyres, and the sprint format at exactly three events — Emilia Romagna, Austrian, and São Paulo — as negotiated by teams over cost implications.
What does not
It does not simulate driver personality, team strategy beyond mandated rules, or meaningful consequences from the cost-cap compromise that limited sprints to three. It does not model the FIA’s governance role beyond its stated recognition of F1 as the highest open-wheel class. It withholds any design commentary on why ground effect returned in 2022, or how the sprint format altered racing behaviour beyond its scheduled presence.
Who it is for, and who it is not
It is for fans who want to replay the 2022 season’s official calendar, regulations, and format constraints. It is not for players seeking emergent racing dynamics, narrative framing, hardware-specific innovation, or critique of F1’s commercial or regulatory logic.
Is it worth your time
It is worth your time only if you want an annualised simulation of the 2022 F1 season’s regulatory and scheduling framework — not if you seek innovation, depth beyond licensed fidelity, or mechanical distinction from prior Codemasters F1 titles.
