Formula 1 pushes reset with new cars, and F1 22 responds beautifully

polygon.com:

Like the drivers in real life, I’ve had to learn all over again how to drive a Formula One car.

Ordinarily, the makers of an iterative sports title like F1 22 would avoid overhauling fundamental gameplay. But all-new F1 cars, with new aerodynamics and new, larger front tires, left Codemasters, a scrupulously authentic racing specialist, no choice. It’s not like the EA Sports studio completely remapped the controls, or changed how the throttle works. But in driving a video game car with a truly distinctive feel, I’ve had to take corners and chicanes that I’ve driven thousands of times as if I’ve never been on the track before.

It’s the best trait of F1 22. New cars are nice to look at — the teams’ chassis have never been more distinct — but without them performing in an understandably different, yet still accessible, way, F1 22 would feel like an expansion more than an all-new game.

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So, the competitive reset that the FIA hoped for with its new F1 specifications has carried over to the video game as well. For example, the early time trial leaderboards, at fast tracks like Bahrain and Austria, and technical mainstays like Spain and Great Britain, are across-the-board slower than last year. My best time at Bahrain in F1 2021 would be No. 1 on Xbox in F1 22. And I was startled to realize that at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, where I was nine full seconds behind the No. 1