Senior Creative Director for the F1 game series, Lee Mather, sat down with Game Rant and spoke about Real Season Start and the process of adding it into the game. On top of this, Mather touched on the realism the developers focused on when creating F1 2021. Mather has been an important part of the F1 series for years and F1 2021 has been created as a balance of the usual racing simulation with a variety of new features as well.

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Bringing F1’s Active Season In-Game

F1 2021’s release on July 16th lines up with the middle of the actual F1 season. In previous years, this had been a bit of a missed opportunity for the developers. Real Season Start now can take advantage of the ongoing F1 season by allowing players to participate in the championship in a virtual way. Making the real season more relevant than ever was part of the reason why Mather and the team looked to add this feature to their gaming series.

The new feature allows players to start a season in F1 2021 from any point. Players can jump into the actual ongoing season with the standings as they were at that exact race. At the time of the game’s release, the F1 season will be heading to the British Grand Prix with Red Bull driver Max Verstappen leading the Driver’s Championship by 32 points. Players will be able to jump right into the season and either cut down that lead or expand it, depending on their driver selection and preference.

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Real Season Challenges

This being a new feature for Mather and the Codemasters team meant that its implementation was going to be a bit of a challenge. Having the pandemic alter the regular season schedule has certainly added a level of difficulty that the team couldn’t have anticipated either. With tracks being subtracted, moved, or added at unpredictable times, Codemasters have had to be adaptive in their approach to this new feature.

This approach is one that indicates the team’s commitment and has been to replicating reality as best it could. Mather and Codemasters wanted the Real Season Start feature to feel as close to reality as possible and to bring players right into the title fight as soon as it has changed. And despite challenges with getting every circuit, the team is still able to ensure that the point system and standings are still accurate and up to date.

In-Game Realism

And this is all part of F1 2021’s commitment to realism. As a racing simulation game, the F1 series has always aimed at replicating the feel of the motorsport to the players. This comes from continued relationships with actual F1 teams as well as a commitment to replicating difficulty driving these cars as well as the consequences that can come along with small mistakes.

This is part of the general theme when it came to making F1 2021: the replication of the motorsport. Allowing players to not only jump into the actual, ongoing season of F1 but also making sure their cars are as accurate as possible. This option has long been part of the game series overall appeal and it remains a part of the latest title in the series.

F1 2021 will be available on July 16 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

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