While the real circuit will be inaugurated this weekend, preview access to the F1 2022 game allowed me to test the Miami circuit, the opportunity to discover the Codemasters racing game under the Florida sun ! Namely that a second article will follow next Monday, which will detail the game itself, but I don't have the right to talk about it yet, unlike the circuit which has a different embargo.
Two possibilities to take to the track: Grand Prix or Time Trial. Not much to say about the latter, a circuit, a car, and the opportunity to turn to improve with, as before, a world ranking which pushes to do better than its rival. So I opted very quickly for a Grand Prix and I chose to drive with Ferrari, in the company of Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque driver, current leader of the driver's championship, has since been announced as the title's ambassador. He will thus be in the foreground of the jacket, alongside Lando Norris and George Russel. Perfect ! Besides, it looks like the Ferrari is working strong this year, so it should go well.
Several options to configure my weekend beyond the team and the driver: the format of the weekend (free practice, qualifying, sprint format), the number of laps, the rules (flags, safety car), the passage to the stand (immersive or broadcast style...), the weather... I won't go into more detail about all these parameters that define how the simulation will take place, or I'll be hit on fingers !
The Miami circuit has an intermediate difficulty according to the game, with its 19 turns and its 5,410 kilometers to be covered in an anti-clockwise direction. The top speed promises to be staggering (320 km/h) with a long straight line of more than one kilometer and three DRS activation zones. On the side of the environment, palm trees, buildings and the blue sky. A false marina (which is also quite a bit talked about) brings the sea to the side of the road, the circuit being in fact almost 6 km from the ocean! You should know that the circuit was built around the Hard Rock Stadium of the Dolphins, which allows to have stands already in place and all the infrastructure for this unique circuit, created for the occasion.
Thanks to the various aids integrated into the game, learning the route is easy. And this in particular thanks to the dynamic trajectory which indicates the path to be taken, but also whose color changes according to the speed of approach. Contrary to what I thought, the route turns out to be much more technical than it seems, with a very fast part, with wide turns to be taken at full speed, followed by a very winding part, with very tight turns. The overtaking windows exist and clearances have been provided to allow the pilots to save the furniture in the event of a misfire, and to avoid ending up in the wall. Despite everything, expect a lot of red flags this weekend. The walls brush against each other in several places, with a high risk of seeing some errors on the part of the pilots who will try to exceed the limits to gain hundredths of a second.
Once the circuit is more or less registered, I change teams, and I return to Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton, the driver I support every weekend. To accompany it, I put on my virtual reality helmet, the HTC Vive, a great first for me on a car racing game. The immersion is immediate, especially since I have a racing seat and I also took out my Thrustmaster T300 RS wheel with the F1 wheel. It also turns out to be much easier to gauge the limits of the track Only downside, the character's steering wheel does not move, but I'm sure this will be corrected in the final version. More than ever with this subjective view, I realize the size of these new 2022 cars, and especially the width of the tires which sometimes prevent optimum visibility.
Thanks to me, Lewis took the fastest lap and the victory. Could this be a sign of renewal during this weekend for the world champion team, which has been struggling since the start of the season?
As a sports fan, I'm quite logically enthusiastic about the game, it's great to be able to discover the Grand Prix route even before the race weekend, and that in the drivers' helmets. Of course, not being a great driving pro, I am unable to judge the realism or even the road behavior of single-seaters. It's very pleasant to handle, but beyond that... I've noticed a few more obvious problems, such as the steering wheel that doesn't turn in VR, missing texts, a problem detecting my pedals (which are independent from my steering wheel), or even updates not made (as above, Hamilton who still wears his purple helmet from last season). But the game only comes out on July 1, which still leaves plenty of time for the Codemasters teams to refine their already very convincing game!
You can now pre-order the Champions Edition which pays tribute to the four previous world champions on the grid this year: Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen. On the program, additional content, including a limited-time pack inspired by the city of Miami and three days of early access.
https://www.ea.com/fr-fr/games/f1/f1-22/buy
