Frontier Developments’ F1 Manager 2022 title has today (6th December 2022) received a gameplay-affecting update which reduces the effectiveness of DRS, it has been announced.
Update 1.11 has addressed the long-time issue where cars within the DRS (Drag Reduction System) zone could use the increased top speed over the vehicle in front while maintaining its tyre life, effectively giving the car behind a net grip advantage.
Overall, the effectiveness of the DRS has been reduced, while the slipstream effect’s range has been increased. Players will lose speed from the DRS adjustments but will potentially gain some back from slipstreaming.
This, however, has been tempered by the increased effectiveness of dirty air – ie: the aerodynamic wash from the car in front. Dirty air causes following cars to lose aero efficiency; thus they slide around and wear their tyres more in-game, affecting pit-stop strategies.
The sub-400MB update has also implemented a much-requested feature – the ability for lapped cars to unlap themselves under safety car conditions. A special Abu Dhabi setting is not part of the update, however…
Interestingly, players can choose whether they want to implement the new aero updates in the settings menu, selecting either ‘recommended’ for the new system or ‘original’ to keep the pre-v1.11 aerodynamics simulation.
What are your thoughts on the new aero settings in F1 Manager 2022? Let us know in the comments below.
F1 Manager v1.11 update changelog
Gameplay
- Updated Safety Car procedure to allow lapped cars to unlap themselves, when appropriate
- Updated overtaking behaviour to allow cars to unlap themselves in normal race conditions, when they demonstrate sufficient pace compared to the car on the lead lap
- Reduced strength of DRS performance
- Increased effective range of slipstream, meaning that following cars will be affected by slipstream at greater distances behind a leading car
- Increased effective range of ‘dirty air’, meaning that following cars will be affected by dirty air at greater distances behind a leading car
- Added ‘Aerodynamic Balance’ option to the Settings Menu, under the Gameplay tab. This option allows players to choose between the “recommended” setting, featuring all the aerodynamics balance updates in Update 1.11, or the “original” setting, in which those changes will not be active. After updating to 1.11, all players will default to the “recommended” setting. Players can only change between these settings when they are in the Headquarters or Main Menu screens; changing this option will not be available during the Race Weekend.
Weather
- Resolved issue causing unintentionally inaccurate weather predictions in the ‘Track Condition’ areas
Race Simulation - Increased the tyre wear threshold for AI cars to pit under safety car conditions
Razer Chroma
- Support added for Razer Chroma peripherals. This covers team colours, racing flags (red, yellow, chequered), replays, and ‘lights out’ sequence.
Car Part Development
- Updated the description of rushed manufacturing to remove incorrect information
- Performance gap for the ‘DRS Delta’ stat is now more significant, increasing its potential effectiveness
Fuel Usage
- Updated text string on pre-session screen to remove inaccurate details
