PC Critic Reviews

F1 Manager 22 is a great way to create alternate narratives for fans. Pick your favorite team, try to find ways to push it to ever-increasing performance, despair when races don’t go according to plan, pump your fist when you create the perfect strategy, and manage to get past Leclerc and Hamilton on the final two laps of Bahrain. The game will draw in fans who simply want to see if they can do better than real managers and obsessives that aim to tinker with the setup during each practice session. The biggest drawback of the experience is that it requires patience and time for the gamer to enjoy everything it offers. Yes, you can simply simulate everything else and engage with the races. But true joy lies in exploring all simulated aspects of Formula 1. Give F1 Manager 22 your attention and it will deliver a wonderful racing experience.

F1 Manager 2022 drives a perfect line by clearly taking some inspiration both from that game as well as from the series' own (distant) past, but it feels like something fresh. Every element of it feels refined in a way that is clearly specific to the real-life sport, and it is both defined by and pays homage to reality. It's a game that has shockingly few true flaws, and while it is also very much geared toward a specific crowd, I had a great time elevating Haas to (just a little bit more) glory.

In the end, though, the most important thing about any game is how it makes you feel. It may be a little rough around the edges at times, but F1 Manager 2022 is a truly immersive experience, and it’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of a race weekend. Securing a 10th place finish with some strategy tinkering at the opening race of the season in Bahrain had me beaming from ear to ear, and getting both cars into Q3 in Azerbijan made me feel like a true motorsport mastermind. Yes, there are some areas where the game could improve. Yes, the animations do break the immersion a little bit, the menus can be finicky, and they could do with making things quicker. But when your drivers are battling with opponents, none of that really seems to matter. If you love Formula 1 and sit at home on a Sunday afternoon thinking you could do a better job than Ferrari’s strategists, then this is the game for you.

F1 Manager 2022 is an excellent look at what it takes to be a Formula 1 team principal. There is so much depth to the game, and the real-life statistics make the experience incredibly authentic. Everything about the game feels polished, from the look and feel of the cars and tracks to the in-depth look at the car data, and I can’t wait to see what new tricks the series will bring in future versions of the game.

F1 Manager 2022 brings depth and accessibility to quickly win over Formula 1 fans and bring them dozens of hours of fun, but also tactics as they try to get their team to the top.

A solid management game that finally let us play as the Team Principal of our favourite F1 team. There are plenty of meaningful decisions to take, both on and off track, but sometimes all the numbers risk to feel overwhelming.

My major disappointment comes from the lack of F1 Sprint at launch. It might not be the most tactically engaging aspect of F1, but it is a major component of 3 weekends (6 from 2023). I think it could provide a really interesting challenge with players only having 1 session to work on their setup before parc ferme locks the majority of changes, something that real team principals are forced to contend with. A shame, but as a foundation F1 Manager 2022 is an incredible triumph that has me excited for the future of motorsport management.

F1 Manager 2022 is a deep managerial game for F1 lovers, with a lot of details to learn and explore in order to become the best and fastest team.

F1 Manager 2022 has almost everything needed for a successful first installment. Satisfying gameplay, good immersion and licensed content that knows how to delight the fans of the discipline. The title lays a good foundation, and we are eager to see the developers expand the content for future sequels.

Even after my worst race results, where everything fell apart at the seams despite having what I felt was a concrete strategy and top-line drivers, I never walked away from a session in F1 Manager 2022 without a dumb smile on my face. Sure, sometimes the racing can look a little robotic and there are some key facets of modern F1 racing that are missing entirely, but this never detracts from the thrill of watching my drivers cross the line for some hard-earned points or their first-ever podium. The excitement and thrill of Formula 1 is here in spades.