F1 22 puts the biggest regulation shake-up in years behind the wheel, and Codemasters mostly sticks the landing. The game launched on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on 1 July, carrying the official licence for the 2022 Formula One and Formula 2 championships. It is the fifteenth entry in Codemasters’ F1 series, and the first built for the cars that actually raced in 2022.
Trailer, via EA SPORTS F1.
New Car Models and a Traction Fight
The 2022 technical regulations forced new car models and updated physics into F1 22. That is the headline change, and it is also the most divisive one. The revised handling model drew criticism over its new traction system, a fight tied directly to the real-life regulation change Formula 1 saw that season. Cars that punish a heavy right foot are not automatically a flaw. Here they mostly read as the point.
Miami and Three Rebuilt Circuits
F1 22 ships with an updated track list. It adds the new Miami International Autodrome for the new Miami Grand Prix, and it rebuilds three circuits to match real revisions: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the Spanish Grand Prix, Yas Marina Circuit for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and Albert Park Circuit for the Australian Grand Prix.
| Track | Event | Status in F1 22 |
|---|---|---|
| Miami International Autodrome | Miami Grand Prix | New addition |
| Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya | Spanish Grand Prix | Revised layout |
| Yas Marina Circuit | Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | Revised layout |
| Albert Park Circuit | Australian Grand Prix | Revised layout |
| Algarve International Circuit | Portuguese Grand Prix | Added via update |
| Shanghai International Circuit | Chinese Grand Prix | Added via update |
The Algarve International Circuit and the Shanghai International Circuit arrived later through an update. Formula One sprints, new to the sport, are in the game too.
F1 Life Is the Weak Link
F1 Life is the mode that will decide how you feel about this package. It is a customisable hub where players collect supercars, clothing and accessories. Pirelli Hot Laps, the supercar runs, sit inside it, and the main menu carries a licensed soundtrack.
Most user criticism landed on the lack of innovation compared to previous titles and on F1 Life specifically. That verdict is fair. A showroom of clothes and cars is not racing, and it eats attention the career mode could have used.
My Team Signs Four Icons
The acclaimed My Team career mode returns with more depth, and it now lets players sign four new Icons: Nico Hülkenberg, Mark Webber, Jacques Villeneuve and Mika Häkkinen. Häkkinen was added after release.
The mode still works because it treats team-building as the real game. Signing a former champion to a midfield outfit is a better fantasy than any hub.
Adaptive AI and Split-Screen
F1 22 includes adaptive AI, which adjusts the pace of AI cars to the player’s performance so races stay competitive from one event to the next. That is a quiet, genuinely useful addition.
Modes cover single player, multiplayer, co-operative and split screen. Perspective options run first person, third person and virtual reality. VR support is confirmed for PC via Oculus Rift or HTC Vive headsets. Immersive broadcast options, modelled on televised Formula One coverage, and interactive pit stops round out the presentation.
Players can also pick their main English commentator: David Croft from Sky Sports or Alex Jacques from Channel 4. It is a small touch that changes the feel of a race weekend more than it should.
Two Drivers Who Never Race
The driver lineup carries one oddity worth naming. Nyck de Vries does not appear in the game at Williams, having deputised for Alex Albon at the Italian Grand Prix. Nico Hülkenberg is in the game, but he does not race for Aston Martin after replacing Sebastian Vettel at the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix. Vettel missed those two races after testing positive for COVID.
These are snapshots of a season that kept moving after the disc was pressed. They are not bugs. They are the cost of shipping a licensed game against a live sport.
Broadcast Options Carry the Presentation
The presentation work is where the game quietly wins. Broadcast options, interactive pit stops and a choice of commentator all make a race weekend feel televised rather than assembled.
The cars are the reason to buy F1 22. New models, updated physics and a rebuilt track list make the 2022 season feel like its own thing rather than a roster update. The traction debate is real, but it is a debate about a simulation being honest, not about a game being broken.
F1 Life is the opposite. It is the one addition that makes the package feel thinner, not richer. Collecting accessories is not a racing mode, and the criticism aimed at it is earned.
F1 22 holds an 8.3/10 critical aggregate across five outlets, and that lands about right. It is a confident simulation with a genuine new car to learn and a track list that reflects the season it licensed. It is also a game carrying one mode nobody asked for and a handling model that will split its audience down the middle.
The delisting in March 2024, following the announcement of the forthcoming F1 24, means this is now a game you find rather than buy new. That is a shame for a title this complete, because F1 22 is the version of the 2022 season that still holds up.
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