F1 2021: to the top with EA?

F1 2021

You might think that the impressive dominance of the dream couple Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes is currently lacking in excitement in Formula 1 - thought wrong. With the newly established Aston Martin brand racing team with Sebastian Vettel and the comeback of Fernando Alonso, there will be a particularly exciting constellation in 2021. This is again properly upgraded by a lot of rookies like Mick Schumacher and Yuki Tsunoda. Raikkonen, Alonso and Schumacher in one season? Who would have thought that possible a few years ago - definitely not me.

While the hot phase of the premier class is already racing towards us at full throttle, it is still very quiet on the virtual race track - that could happen but change very soon! We know from experience that Codemasters drops its covers between March and April and presents the latest offshoot of the racing series that started in 2009. F1 2020 was able to provide a lot of fun with the newly established and extremely popular "My Team" mode and many useful improvements (our detailed test). There is a small chance that it will go a step further in 2021.

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Table of contents

1 EA as the new boss of the virtual premier class 2 The jump to the next-gen with F1 2021? 3 A look into the past 4 Like the Scuderia: step by step!

EA as the new head of the virtual premier class

Be Lawrence Stroll for once: Thanks to the new "My Team" mode, it is very easy in F1 2020 to set up your own F1 racing team - without a mountain full of millions ! Source: PC Games What exactly the takeover by EA means for the future of the series remains to be seen. But with internal data, EA's player base and stronger financial clout, there is at least hope that the already fantastic game series will reach a new level. Incidentally, this view is shared by Liberty Media, the owner of Formula 1. Managing Director Greg Maffei recently commented on the many new opportunities for the brand through the reach and marketing opportunities of EA. According to Maffei, the topic of e-sports in particular should receive more attention. The gaming giant is famous for takeovers in the past that gradually left studios creative and unsuccessful, but examples such as Respawn show that things can also be different. Codemasters should remain independent and benefit from the advantages of Electronic Arts in all areas.

The jump to the next-gen with F1 2021?

On the other hand, one should not forget that the two new next-gen consoles from Sony and Microsoft provide more power that is just waiting to upgrade the virtual racing experience properly. It is currently unclear whether F1 will be released for the new consoles in 2021. There is a realistic hope, but unfortunately there are also some counter-arguments. Due to the ongoing corona pandemic, adhering to planned game releases is tedious anyway. Implementing the game for the new consoles should be a bigger undertaking. In addition, many adjustments such as the motley racing calendar of Formula 1 cause all sorts of difficulties that have to be overcome.

Splashing champagne canceled? Things are currently anything but rosy for Scuderia Ferrari. Too many and too confused changes caused various flaws and problems in all areas. Sebastian Vettel prefers to rely on the brand new Aston Martin - understandable? Source: PC Games Hardware In order to be "Corona-compliant" and to minimize travel as much as possible, some old classics were dug up that actually no longer belong to the annual Formula 1 calendar - much to the delight of the fans! Courses like Mugello, Nürburgring or Portimao ensured particularly intense races and lots of action on the track in 2020. It is understandable that Codemasters was unable to react to such developments, but adhering to the official racing calendar will be a difficult undertaking even this year. With Saudi Arabia there is a completely new location with a brand new slope, which is definitely the focus of Codemasters. So how could all these factors affect F1 2021?

A look into the past

The answers may, as is so often the case, be located in past experiences. The last next-gen jump in the F1 series wasn't that long ago. In 2013 a new generation of consoles started with PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, back then there were just as many hopes among fans for the upcoming video game around the virtual premier class as there are today. Instead of a next-gen upgrade, however, there was F1 2014, which was only developed for PS3, Xbox 360 & Co. - a fantastic game, but not what an F1 enthusiast would have wished for.

A year later This was followed by the jump to the new consoles, but it was so slimmed down and incomplete that the time for a new legend: The deluxe content of F1 2019 was dominated by the two racing legends Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, while 2020 focused on Michael sSchumacher. Which motorsport icon can we look forward to in 2021? Hunt? Lauda? Hamilton ?! Source: Codemasters' Wrath of Fans has peaked so far. The lack of content was explained by Codemasters by focusing instead on a new graphics engine, which is essential for the upcoming games. Publishing a simple season update for F1 2020 and instead rushing to the year 2022 with full capacities is of course out of the question. Much like it is the case with FIFA, a contract with the official representative of the sport forces an annual release.

The F1 series is one of the most popular racing titles of the last few years, but besides the problems mentioned there are there are also some construction sites that are too much ignored by the developer every year. The damage model is far from realism and depresses the driving experience of the technologically impressive cars and the intensity on the slopes. The desire for a high-quality VR experience has long been a topic in the community and can be found under every article and video of the many F1 offshoots from Codemasters. What I'm getting at?

Like the Scuderia: step by step!

Everything new, everything better? Whether in real F1 or in the virtual racing circuit, no one should expect the big change in 2021 - it will not come until the following year, if at all. Source: Codemasters Brand new tracks, the implementation of old courses, virtual reality, a next-gen version, an improved damage model, the return of career mode, independent control of the car in the pit lane, loud and euphoric chants ..

There are many wishes, but the implementation does not happen overnight - the Scuderia can currently sing a song about that.

Codemasters has shown a great knack for the playful implementation of the premier class in the past (take a look to our detailed special on the history of Codemasters' F1 games) and the future of the series could hardly look more promising. But putting all these expectations into the latest F1 part, which will probably appear worldwide in the summer, is unrealistic and will certainly lead to a large pot of disappointment.

How Codemasters use the many possibilities and in which direction the series will go, has to show. But one thing is clear: F1 2021 and future top-class video games are in good hands, regardless of whether you mean those from Codemasters or those from Electronic Arts. Similar to what is currently the case with Ferrari, one cannot master umpteen difficulties at once, but only pave the way for a rosy and successful future in a well-thought-out and with a sense of proportion - step by step.

How do you see that? What do you expect from F1 2021? And how do you feel about the takeover by Electronic Arts? Tell me in the comments!