F1 23’s F1 World mode adds car upgrades, division-based ranked races

In last season’s F1 22, we saw the introduction of F1 Life, which was set to be a bold new addition with customisable apartments and driveable road-going supercars.

The thing is, that’s kind of all it was. Unlockable wallpaper, whoop.

However, for F1 23, F1 World seems to be, based on the latest Deep Dive video, a much more expansive addition, befitting of the term ‘mode’.

While it appears to have a similar menu vibe – a swish customised building with avatars conversation, the gameplay has significantly changed.

Separate from the likes of My Team, F1 World appears to offer car upgrades – to the generic 2023 vehicle model called the ‘F1 World Car’ – that enhance performance. Playing through ‘series’ events will help unlock these performance-altering parts, alongside team member recruitment and contacts.

The overall aim seems to be raising your ‘tech level’, which presumably these staff additions and car parts will help increase over time. Further upgrades and stickers (more on that below) can be ‘crafted’ using what looks to be cash and XP. Complete a range of ‘goals’ also offers a similar set of awards.

Some of the events shown include a set of races across tracks in the Americas, while another is just at the Red Bull Ring. Both customised F1 cars, official F1 cars, F2 cars and the returning supercars will be used across the challenges.

Football stickers

Within here there’s also the ability to unlock virtual stickers to place within a ‘compendium’ aka a fictional football sticker book, but by Codemasters and not Panini. It appears to include real-world images from Formula 1’s history, broken down into four categories:

• The teams
• The drivers
• The Circuits
• Season in review

New online ranking system

The online ranking system has been given a makeover – will it produce cleaner racing, only time will tell.

Interestingly, this is part of the F1 World game mode now, and includes seven clear divisions:

• Bronze
• Silver I
• Silver II
• Gold I
• Gold II
• Gold III
• Elite

Coincidentally, the upcoming MotoGP 23 game also recently released information about a very similar ranking system. In F1 23, it replaces a ladder that has remained unchanged for several seasons.

Rather simply, enter races, earn points and then at the end of each week, you have the chance to be promoted to a higher rank, which also factors in the results of those in the same 100-player strong divisional group. Of course, you earn XP towards the Podium Pass cosmetic item unlock system, which returns, with greater boosts earned once the higher divisions are reached.

Braking Point 2 includes a progression system and Natalie Pinkham

While not giving much more away about the story within the narrative-led mode, Braking Point 2, we do know that playing through it will earn XP that goes towards two in-game levels:

• Performance
• Reputation

It would appear that on-track actions and results can increase performance, while decisions off-track – such as responses to interviews by F1 journalist Natalie Pinkham – can alter your reputation level. It’s said that rewards will be paid out based on these levels, although it’s not yet clear what these will be.

The drama will be held across two seasons: 2022 and 2023, with a bit of Formula 2 thrown in for good measure. EA SPORTS F1 23 launches on 16th June. Let us know your thoughts so far in the comments below and also read up on the red flag system.

How red flags work in the F1 23 game