F1 24 Preview – Hands on the Dynamic Handling, circuit updates & career

thesixthaxis.com:

The last couple of races have given Formula 1 fans a fresh injection of high octane excitement, with Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s inevitability suddenly in doubt thanks to a resurgent McLaren at the hands of Lando Norris. Throw a healthy step forward for Ferrari, and it this could turn into a very fun season to watch. You know what else is fun? Video games, and Codemasters will be glad of the real sport’s entertainment to drum up interest for F1 24, which is shaping up to be another big step forward for their motorsports series.

Once again, Codemasters has committed to making some significant changes to the game’s simulation and physics modelling. Coming under the capitalise branding of Dynamic Handling – something shared with last year’s excellent WRC – there’s a new suspension kinematic system that will more accurately represent how cars move around under the massive aerodynamic loads, modelling of how tyres heat up, improved aerodynamics modelling and more.

It’s difficult to truly quantify how meaningful the all-new suspension model is, but without any tweaking it presents a more challenging drive than F1 23, feeling twitchier and more abrupt than its predecessor. There’s a raft of options though to tailor the handling to your personal preferences, and I was able to dial it in to a point that felt comfortable and responsive.

Alongside the handling, there’s been several updates made to the accuracy of each track, but in particular the development team has focused on fan favourites Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps, as well as giving recent additions Losail and Jeddah another pass, adding extra detail to both the track elements, and the wider setting. You can see this in Saudi Arabia with the arrival of the vibrant colours of the track limits and cut-off areas, making it feel closer than ever to the real thing.

That commitment to replicating the real thing extends this year to the inclusion of speech from each driver, so you can hear Daniel Riccardo’s downbeat