F1 Manager 2024’s surprisingly feature-rich update adds pitlane starts

A new update is coming to Frontier Development’s F1 Manager 2024 today (18th November 2024).

The headline feature of the update is undoubtedly pitlane starts, which have been added to the F1 Manager series for the first time.

In a normal Formula 1 race weekend, car set-up cannot be changed once qualifying begins. Making a set-up change after this point, or changing an engine, gearbox or ERS component automatically warrants a pitlane start, something previously unavailable in-game.

This can be used strategically by players, especially on circuits where the chances of a lap one incident are high, or when it’s advantageous to fit multiple new components to enhance your car’s reliability in future races.

Other key changes

Drivers can now also be pushed towards developing three key areas of their team: Driver Development, Car Development and Marketability. Asking your driver to focus on one of these aspects will respectively increase their own stats; the research and design of car parts; and how quickly your team attains sponsorship goals.

‘Team Suitability’ is a new driver category also added in v1.9, where stats like your prospective driver’s rating and salary are matched against your team’s staff member ratings (and other stats) to offer a quick suitability ranking, with all drivers now proffering an overall opinion of your team.

A change to the scouting and hiring game mechanic means that players will now stand a better chance of gazumping a rival team for a staff member’s signature thanks to receiving intel from their scouts, with hints helping shape your recruitment process.

In addition, when any team signs a new member of staff or driver, an announcement is sent to players’ inboxes, keeping everyone abreast of F1’s transfer silly season.

In a final change, engine payments are now broken down on a monthly basis as opposed to a lump sum payment, making it much easier to keep control of your team’s budget throughout the season.

F1 Manager 2024’s v1.9 update is available to download now on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Nintendo Switch.

What do you make of F1 Manager 2024’s latest new features? Let us know in the comments below.

F1 Manager 2024 v1.9 changelog

New Pit Lane Starts

• Pit lane starts now fully supported for player and AI teams based on real-world regulations
• Principals will be prompted before making a change that break Parc fermé rules and incur a pit lane start
• New Driver Development
• Principals can now focus drivers into three new distinct areas of development in order to use their skills to benefit your team
• This is also applicable to affiliate drivers, giving extra reason and purpose to make use of affiliate positions
• New Team Suitability
• Added new “Team Suitability” rating uncovered when scouting staff and drivers to help inform hiring decisions
• The rating consider a variety of factors and results are dynamic dependent on the context
• New Contract Rumours
• Added new email content providing insight into negotiations and hiring happening elsewhere on the grid
• Stability & Performance
• Prevented saves reaching critical file size, leading to corruption (console only)
• In cases where there is a risk of save file corruption, additional protections have been implemented. The option to ‘Restart Season’ will be removed in order to mitigate this risk.
• Fixed crash that could occur during processing
• Fixed crash that could occur when confirming sponsor plans in quick succession
• Fixed crash that could occur at the end of the Australian GP during a long play session
• Improved performance when team HQ background is present (Nintendo Switch Only)
• Updated Powertrain Costs
• Updated powertrain cost balance
• Changed powertain payment structure to monthly from annual
• Updated finances screen to accurately reflect costs

Finances

• Fixed occurrence of mandatory activities not paying out at the end of the sponsor period
• Fixed occurrence of DHL Fastest Pit Stop prize money not being paid
• Fixed occurrence of cost to break contracts not being charged
• Updated Finances help screen to reflect monthly payment structure for board and prize money

Contracts & Hiring

• Fixed Hamilton not going to Ferrari at the start of Season 2
• Added positive and negative opinion considerations to the driver and staff contract negotiation process
• Updated email content when player staff/drivers are approached by other teams
• Fixed counter offer reminder email not sending when counter offer is received and left unresponded on day of deadline
• Fixed Staff Changes email displaying incorrect contract info
• Fixed Accepted Contract email displaying incorrect cost to hire
• Fixed Team Roster Update email including incorrect contract info
• Fixed Staff Poached emails displaying contract length as 0
• Fixed incorrectly displayed affiliate contract length in Affiliates Overview panel
• Fixed incorrect or missing cost to break contract for immediate start dates
• Fixed the empty reaction window when a contract offer results in a negative reaction

Team Management

• Fixed ‘One for the Future’ achievement not being awarded after signing an affiliate with an offer deadline of 7 days
• Improved AI regulation voting logic
• Fixed issue preventing player continuing with their current team after selecting to switch team having not been fired
• Fixed Car Performance Overall Ranking not aligning with individual attribute rankings
• Fixed engineers not returning after Design Centre fire dilemma
• Fixed engineer increase not applying correctly after Design Centre Improvement email
• Fixed “Best Driver Position” in End of Season Board Review not considering drivers who left during the season
• Fixed board attending grand prix after selecting ‘Deny’ in ‘Board Attendance at Grand Prix’ email
• Fixed issue where an affiliate driver could be selected for both cars
• Race Weekend
• Players will now see the Results page after simulating a Sprint session
• Fixed cars not attempting to unlap themselves during a race
• Fixed incorrect classification of drivers who DNF on the last lap ahead of other lapped cars
• Fixed driver and constructor standings shown during race weekend not including previous sprint race points
• Fixed ‘DRS Enabled’ notification displaying at beginning of practise & qualifying sessions in wet track conditions
• Fixed driver entering pit at end of flying lap when taking manual control during qualifying
• Fixed fastest lap being awarded to a driver who retires on lap 1
• Fixed Track Acclimitisation resetting to 0% after loading a mid-session save
• Fixed loss of focus when navigating to the ‘Car Set Up’ during Qualifying
• Fixed timing tower losing coloured border after opening menus during a yellow or red flag event
• Fixed the data view snapping to top when scrolling down during a race
• Fixed affiliate drivers having no position shown in their Driver Panel after setting lap times in practise
• Fixed full screen map briefly showing blurry textures
• Fixed rear lights on cars not turning on during a race
• Fixed cars sometimes appearing to not touch the track
• Fixed Create-A-Team cars clipping through safety car
• Circuits
• Albert Park: Fixed cars driving over the kerb on pit entry
• Austin: Adjusted cars’ speed out of pit lane and into turn 1
• Hermanos Rodriguez: Fixed missing and incorrectly positioned cars in team garages
• Las Vegas: Fixed incorrectly placed 2nd DRS Zone
• Monaco: Fixed rare instance of safety car blocking pit exit
• Shanghai: Fixed incorrect pit lane marker
• Suzuka Fixed possibility of cars going through the barrier on Turn 2

Create a Team

• Improved balance when randomising generated staff when beginning a new ‘Create a Team’ career
• Fixed car livery model colour not being consistent with colour selected in UI
• Fixed incorrect starting budget being displayed for ‘Your Story’ origin
• Fixed incorrectly categorised livery sponsors
• Removed duplicate ‘Team Name’ header from the Team Branding menu
• Removed ‘Undo’ button when no changes present to undo

Presentation

• Fixed Charles Leclerc’s career history not showing for 2022 and 2023
• Fixed Jack Doohan’s career history not showing for 2022
• Fixed Ayumu Iwasa’s career history not showing for 2022
• Fixed incorrect race distance listed for Las Vegas and Qatar in the Circuits screen
• Fixed the monthly affiliates development email not showing affiliates signed in the previous season
• Fixed missing text in Design Centre Improvement email
• Fixed the Seasons Remaining value showing ‘-1’ in the Mid-Season Board Review
• Fixing ‘Engine Cooling’ not being displayed as a Negative Effect of sidepod and chassis damage
• Improved logic prompting notifications in UI
• Fixed cancelled projects still incrementing the part number
• Various UI improvements to the Facilities screen
• Various corrections to strings and formatting
• Updated Race Replay difficulty indicators