F1® 2020

I'll be honest: when split-screen disappeared from the F1 series for the better part of ten years, I stopped dragging friends into race nights. F1 2020 fixes that, and it fixes a lot else besides. Two-player split-screen is back, with mixed difficulty settings so the gap between your mate who watches every race and the one who just likes fast cars doesn't end the friendship on lap one. It's limited to standard Grand Prix races rather than full career modes, but for a Saturday night session it absolutely gets the job done. The bigger headline, though, is My Team. You create the 11th constructor on the grid, design your livery, sign a second driver from the F2 pool, chase sponsors, and upgrade your facilities across a full season or shorter 10- or 16-race calendars. It wraps genuine team management around the racing instead of bolting on a thin story mode, you are balancing constructors points, sponsor obligations, and inner-team rivalries at the same time as hitting apexes. It is, frankly, the kind of mode that makes you miss sleep. For players who just want to drive, the traditional Career mode is still here, untouched and solid. On track, the handling feels like the most accessible version of the Codemasters formula to date without completely defanging the simulation. There is a dedicated Casual Mode with simplified settings for complete newcomers, and ERS deployment has been simplified to a single overtake button press that mirrors how real drivers manage the system. The AI has been tuned for fairer wheel-to-wheel battles, and the adjustable difficulty slider means you can dial in a genuinely competitive field whether you are racing in a wheel-and-pedals rig or on a gamepad. Wheel support is solid, and the handling rewards the investment without being unplayable without one. The 22-circuit roster includes two brand-new additions at the time of release, the Hanoi Street Circuit and Circuit Zandvoort, plus alternate short layouts at Bahrain, Silverstone, and COTA for extra variety. Classic cars (16 of them) round out the content, though the most iconic Schumacher machinery is gated behind a separate edition. The rough edges are real but minor. Split-screen is two players only, no four-player chaos, which does limit the party-night ceiling. The online infrastructure is competent, with ranked playlists, league tools, a Super Licence safety rating system, and esports integration baked into the menus, though lobby stability has historically been inconsistent in the series. There is also an in-game Paddock Pass progression system that drew some side-eye at launch, though it operates passively enough that ignoring it entirely is easy. The Denuvo DRM was removed post-launch, which is worth knowing for long-term installs. For casual fans, F1 2020 is the easiest entry point the series has ever had. For the sim crowd, the depth in My Team and Career is genuine. The 94% positive Steam rating across nearly 40,000 reviews is not an accident, this is a package that earns its audience rather than assuming it. Just know that split-screen tops out at two and that a steering wheel, while not required, will meaningfully change the experience for the better.

Riley · Scout Team

Sports & racing

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