The presentation, in the form of a mock real-world Formula 1 car launch, featured a life-size single-seater and was hosted by racing driver and Sky Sports F1 presenter Naomi Schiff and Oracle Red Bull Racing content creator.
In the nearly nine-minute presentation acting as an F1 23 tease, following yesterday’s tease of the tease, there was the unveiling of a fictional yellow and purple car livery for the Konnersport Racing Team, an interview with returning character Devon Butler and an actor portraying the team’s Senior Vice President Tim Fellows.
F1 content creator, commentator and pundit Matt Gallagher also made an appearance. It’s all mostly a lot of hot air about the not-real season ahead.
In one section, the voices of real-world commentators David Croft and Alex Jacques can be heard pumping up the tyres of Butler, the F1 22 game introduced the option to switch between the two. There’s also the sound of EA ambassadors Azerbaijan Gran Prix pole-position setter Charles Leclerc and newly minted double champion Max Verstappen.
What does this mean for the F1 23 game?
Good question – hard to tell at the moment. Firstly, the presentation ended with a note that reads:
- “Official reveal – begins May 1”
Monday, 1st May 2023 then, not long now.
In the meantime, however, it’s important to note how Konnersport might fit into the F1 23 game.
In F1 2019, where Devon Butler was first introduced, after a very brief story, he became a rival within the My Team managerial mode. In F1 2021, there was the Braking point story, where again, he drove for real-world teams, only this time was not within My Team.
So, with Devon now driving for a fictionalised squad, and the expectation that the story mode is returning based on the two-year cadence Senior Creative Director Lee Mather revealed, is it now an extension of My Team? Or will this new outfit simply be part of a story mode isolated from team management?
Let us know your theories in the comments below.
EGO engine, F3 omission, expected
Meanwhile, Electronic Arts’ landing page has been updated. It only has the fictional car launch video embedded, but at the bottom note how Formula 1 and Formula 2 are licenced, but Formula 3 remain absent – unlike yesterday’s F1 Manager 2023 teaser.
Also, there are copyright notes for the developer’s Codemasters EGO engine, a technology base that the F1 games have used in various forms and revisions since F1 2010.
EA SPORTS F1 23 is set for release on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S later this year. Its phone and tablet-based sibling, F1 Mobile Racing, is also set for a 2023-season update soon.
