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F1 22 beginner’s guide – five tips you need to know

Codemasters' new Formula One racing game is here and there's a lot to look forward to; here are some important tips for beginners just starting out on F1 22

F1 22 beginner's tips: an image of an Alpha Tauri on Baku

A new era of Formula One is here and F1 22 will let players experience that for themselves. With refined gameplay and a deeper setup system, there’s a lot of things players need to keep in mind when taking to the track – whether you’re new to the racing game series or not. With that in mind, we have thrown together five important F1 22 beginner’s tips that should set you up for a fastest lap in no time.

F1 22 is not the easiest racing game available – but, that doesn’t mean it has to be hard. With these F1 22 beginner’s tips, we’re going to go over a handful of important things that you need to keep an eye out for when you’re just starting out. This includes your car setup, the assists you use, and the racing itself.

So, if you’re struggling to get the tyre grip on that final corner or you’re dropping seconds coming through that chicane, keep reading and you should find some advice to help you avoid that going forward.

F1 22 beginner’s guide tips

If you’ve played F1 2021, you should be well-suited to start racing in F1 22 – however, that doesn’t mean it’s exactly the same game. The new Formula One cars handle differently and you’re going to need to take that into consideration before you start going full throttle. So, without further ado, here are five important beginner’s tips for F1 22:

  • Know the track
  • Keep an eye on your racing line
  • Watch out for kerbs
  • Setup, setup, setup
  • Choose your assists carefully

Know the track

It goes without saying, but knowing the track you’re racing on is important – and, in F1 22, some of those have changed slightly.

We don’t have an exhaustive list just yet, but Codemasters has changed F1 22’s tracks to mirror their real-life counterparts. This means that Australia’s Albert Park Circuit will feature new corner layouts and updated cambers, something you need to keep an eye on going into any Grand Prix.

Similarly, tracks like the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and the Yas Marina Circuit also have updated corner layouts. It’s not always a major change, but if you’re someone who hugs the wall, you’re going to want to keep an eye on where that wall is going forward.

Keep an eye on your racing lin

The racing line assist is enabled by default for a reason – we do not recommend removing this. Why? Well, F1 22 features new handling mechanics to reflect the stiffness of this year’s cars and positioning your car correctly is an important part of getting the most out of a corner.

Speed is king in Formula One, but that doesn’t just mean when you’re travelling in a straight line. There are seconds to lose at every turn, even if you think you’ve taken it well. So, the racing line is an important guide to ensure that you’re more-or-less on the right track when it comes to entering and exciting a corner.

F1 22 Review: An arieal shot of a Red Bull car on Monaco

Watch out for kerbs

In F1 2021, kerbs were a menace – especially through high-speed corners. In this year’s F1 game, they’re even worse.

Making the most of a corner in F1 22 by using the kerb is a skill that takes time to learn and it’s important to not sacrafice your lap time for what looks like a faster racing line. Kerbs offer up less tyre grip than asphalt and accelerating off of one while turning can lead to a nasty spin – or worse. With most tracks including a handful of raised kerbs too, it’s important to know which ones you can use to your advantage and which ones you need to avoid. For the most part, this comes with practice, but it doesn’t hurt to check out some on-board footage online too.

Setup, setup, setup

Just like last year, car setup is one of the most important things you can do to prepare yourself for getting out on track. With more depth than ever before, though, F1 22 makes a this even more vital for players wanting to put in competitive lap times from the start.

From our experience, looking at the angle of your Rear Wing in the Aerodynamics section is one of the most important parts of setup. It’s easy to lose the back-end of your car accelerating out of a corner and having enough rear downforce to avoid this on tracks like Monaco and the Marina Bay Street Circuit is an important part of making it around in one piece.

Choose your assists carefully

Making the most of F1 22’s selection of in-game assists isn’t anything to be ashamed of, but it’s important to make sure you’re choosing the right assists – and, if you’re looking to improve, avoiding using assists that you rely on too much.

That’s why we recommend turning off the steering and braking assists completely. It’s worth making use of traction control assist and anti-lock brakes, but finding the racing line for yourself is always satisfying. In addition to this, we also recommend ditching ERS control assist. Deploying this boost in power when you’re split seconds from being within DRS range makes all the difference – having that on automatic doesn’t always give you that luxury.

Well, there are all the F1 22 beginner’s tips you should keep in mind if you’re taking to the track for the first time. Of course, there are a lot of ways to play this racing game and the F1 22 adaptive AI will help to cater to any level of player. So, it’s just important to have fun as it is to set the fastest lap times.