F1 25: The Ultimate Pit Stop Upgrade

With Monaco Grand Prix basically in the rearview of this F1 season, it’s the perfect moment to buy games like the latest F1 title from Codemasters and EA. Hype for the top-tier motorsport has never been bigger, and this annual game keeps leveling up — dropping those gameplay features we’ve all been asking for and getting closer to straight-up photo-realism with the cars and tracks every year. F1 25 isn’t a total game-changer, more like a slick upgrade, but honestly, it’s the best F1 experience we’ve gotten so far.

Intense wheel-to-wheel racing action

Race to the Top with Legends and Newcomers Alike

F1 25 lets you dive deep into the whole F1 vibe. You can run full seasons across all the big Grand Prix, racing with real stars like Lando Norris and Max Verstappen, rookie sensations like Gabriel Bortoleto and Isack Hadjar, or your own custom driver grinding for that top spot. It’s as addictive as ever. This year, Braking Point is back — yeah, that story mode about the fictional Konnersport team. The shady Davidoff Butler now owns the team and is basically the villain hanging over the start of the story. Things get wild soon though, shaking up the team big time. The story doesn’t always hit all the feels, but the drama had me hooked through the ups and downs of their season. You’re not just racing though. Playing as Callie Mayer and Aiden Jackson, you also handle some team leadership stuff — like when to hype things up in the media or focus on boosting your car’s performance. Plus, you get to deal with the press, picking how Callie or Aiden respond after races to push different stats. Those small boosts might not be game-changing, but getting to live all the sides of your team and drivers really pulls you into the heart of the action.

Close-up of cars battling a sharp corner

From Konnersport to the Pits — Your Career, Your Legacy

Once you’re done with Konnersport’s dramas, you can carry the team through into the main career mode, snagging that 11th spot in the pits. It’ll be interesting to see if they’re there again next year, as Cadillac will fill that slot, but for now, Konnersport feels like a legit addition, if not for fans of ultra-realism. Of course, Braking Point doesn’t have the sole place on the drama grid this year, with the F1 Movie also coming along for the ride. The film, dropping in June and starring Brad Pitt, appears here as a series of playable chapters alongside clips from the film. The first one’s ready at launch, with the rest hitting on June 30th. It’s a pretty solid inclusion, but it’s very much a small taste of what’s to come. The most important part? Being able to yoink that 11th spot in Career mode away from Konnersport and putting APXGP there instead. Not gonna lie, Brad Pitt’s character model is worth it alone. I’m assuming most players are here to grind multiple seasons of Career mode, taking their fave team, whether it’s a proven winner like McLaren, a fan-favorite like Haas, or a fictional creation to the Constructors’ Championship. Various improvements have been made to the behind the scenes stuff here, from research and development being unique to each of the cars in your garage, to more detailed facility expansions. They’re solid upgrades, and the overall process actually hits different now rather than just being tedious. dapting from last year’s game to the changed handling in F1 25 was lowkey surprisingly tricky at first. Even though F1 24’s handling model got absolutely dragged by the community, we kept playing the game throughout the past 12 months, and though it had various issues, we never felt like we were getting cooked. The new model is fundamentally more realistic, with less grip and bigger differences between the different tire types, including clearer and more gradual tire degradation.

Dynamic racing on a realistic F1 track

Precision Over Brute Force — Mastering the Controls

That said, playing on controller is now way more brutal, requiring even more precise and smooth trigger inputs, while there’s seemingly way more chance of locking up. The wheel handling, meanwhile, has been massively improved, feeling way more settled and precise, making it the superior choice for F1 25 right now. For those community members looking for a more realistic and actually enjoyable experience, I think Codemasters absolutely understood the assignment. The computer AI for other racers helps to seal the deal on that. While last year’s opponents tended to be more passive, here the AI has been made way more aggressive, pushing harder and racing like they actually want that dub. There’s also more personality to them, with genuine variation and unpredictability to their performances. While you can count on the best racers continuing to perform as you’d expect, the game offers more chances of a wild result, or a racer having an absolutely insane race, than we probably get in the real world. It doesn’t mess with the push for realism, instead adding some spice, but some players might not vibe with it. Visually, this is straight up the best looking F1 game we’ve ever had. Everything here looks more detailed, and five tracks — Melbourne, Bahrain, Miami, Imola and Suzuka — have received the laser-scanning LIDAR treatment, making them even more accurate to the actual circuit. These are now so close to the real-life track that they’re basically identical; it’s only disappointing that it’s limited to a small percentage of the overall roster. We reviewed on PS5, where the game looks absolutely fire, but PC players can push for more ray tracing features, right up to a full path-traced option.

Dramatic cutscene

F1 25: Flip the Script — Race Iconic Tracks in Reverse

For those who’ve been racing around the same tracks for years, F1 25 also throws in the option to race some of them in reverse. Silverstone, Austria and Zandvoort can now be experienced backwards, making those familiar corners and racing lines completely useless. It’s another cool addition, and probably best for those most obsessed with the series, but it does open up some possibilities if the real-world sport ever needs to switch things up. The improved visuals extend off track, especially in Braking Point, and Codemasters have clearly put in work on the character and facial animations to make the whole experience feel closer to watching an actual F1 production, or a show like Drive to Survive. Each of the racers also look more accurate than ever before to their real-life versions, and it just brings F1 25 closer to the actual sport, which is exactly what every fan is looking for. F1 25 is a clear glow-up over last year’s entry, with improved handling, the returning Braking Point story mode and more all coming together to create an absolutely solid F1 racing experience.