F1 2010 review

It’s this level of realism that puts F1 2010 head and shoulders above other racers. For example, you can change brake balance and adjust engine revs out on track, and your race engineer will tell you when this is necessary. For those that want to take on the engineer’s job, you can tweak every conceivable setting while in the garage, but there’s also an easier method where you can move a slider to activate a driving style, such as oversteer, neutral or understeer.

Another familiar Codemasters feature is the concept of flashbacks. If you make a mistake, you can rewind time and try the corner again, for example. At harder settings, fewer (or no) flashbacks are available.

In the main career mode, your objectives will depend on your team. Drive for Lotus and finishing the race might be your goal, but with McLaren or Red Bull anything less than a podium finish could be considered failure. Another objective is to beat your teammate. Do this and you’ll get parts upgrades, and also be promoted to the number one driver in the team. There may also be timed challenges, say a certain laptime, in order to get a new part.

Outside of your career, there’s also a quick-race mode, time challenges and multiplayer. The latter uses the Games for Windows Live platform, which you can sign into with your Xbox Gamertag if you have one.

It’s been a long time since the last truly great F1 simulation on the PC, and we’re relieved that F1 2010 has taken up the mantle. As always, we recommend playing racing sims with a wheel rather than your keyboard, but whichever you use, F1 2010 easily deserves its Best Buy award.