F1 Manager 2022

F1 Manager 22 is a strong step back into managing a Formula One team, with plenty of depth and a thrilling race weekend experience.

F1 Manager 2022 is a strong first entry in Frontier’s new series, filling a niche that’s been sorely lacking on PlayStation for years. Capturing the spirit of Formula 1 with its strong attention to detail, there’s some thrilling races to be had and we’re impressed by how well it handles race days with its 3D engine. As a management sim, it’s a slow burner and we do wish you could create your own teams, but it still holds a distinct charm of its own. If you've got the patience for the long haul, F1 fans won’t want to miss this.

As far as motorsport management games go, F1 Manager 22 is a cracking first effort from Frontier Developments with just some minor issues that will hopefully be addressed in future updates. There’s a lot to get your head around, but for those who put in the time and effort to learn every aspect, this will be wondrously rewarding.

With some fine-tuning of the AI, the game could own the sim racing manager game niche. This is a good start for a game that seems poised to be the start of a new franchise. Despite current shortcomings, F1 Manager 2022 does make you feel like a manager of an F1 team.

The races themselves are a blast. I found the majority of the races to be completely absorbing and, to my surprise, even more exciting than most actual racing games. But the massive scope of the game is both a blessing and a curse: Hardcore Formula 1 fans will lose themselves in the seemingly limitless options of team management, while newcomers to the sport may be turned off by the steep learning curve.

As an aspiring manager, you enter Formula 1, mainly turning the knobs behind the scenes. The sport is also incredibly interesting on that side and this is presented in an excellent way, albeit with a high entry threshold. Furthermore, F1 Manager 2022 still has some issues here and there regarding the AI and tires, but that will be fixed. A pity is that crashes look visually lousy and it can be very difficult for newcomers. However, connoisseurs of the sport will have a good one here.

The organizing as well as the development of a competitive F1 team that houses a large number of people has been rendered almost flawlessly. But technical problems during a race and lots of bugs pulled the brake on our hopes for something even better.

F1 Manager is a nice collection of elements that most manager sim fans would want, but rarely feels like more than the sum of those parts.

F1 Manager 2022 succeeds in its first steps on next-gen consoles. There is plenty of material to keep you busy and spend hours in front of it. However, there is a certain redundancy after a while.