Exclusive: Multiplayer and the addition of Formula 2 the biggest changes for F1 2019 game

In less than a month, racing fans will be able to play F1 2019 for the first time. GPToday.net spoke exclusively with the game's director Lee Mather from Codemasters about it. 

F1 2019 is the tenth edition of the Formula 1 games developed by Codemasters, and the game developer is therefore presenting a large number of innovations in this game. The biggest enhancement is the addition of the Formula 2 seasons of 2018 and 2019. The 2018 season will also be integrated into the career mode, allowing players to move from Formula 2 to Formula 1.

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"The biggest change is that Formula 2 is in the game," said Mather. "We wanted to add that, not only for the extra cars and content, but also to expand on the career journey for the driver.

"In real life, the drivers don't just turn up to Formula 1, but they have a history behind them and some rivalries that they've already built. That's what we wanted to do with Formula 2. We added that class to build the driver's story, with accompanying rivalries."

Career mode gets storyline in F1 2019

Codemasters considers the introduction of Formula 2 very important and has therefore added commentators Alex Jacques and Davide Valsecchi to the game. Players can choose which F2 team they want to drive for, and that choice could also have consequences for the teams that will be offering a seat in Formula 1. Formula 2 will also provide a storyline in career mode.

"The most important thing for the players is that it's not just about racing. There's a lot more to it", Mather continued. "It's about building that journey for the player. Now, of course, you start in Formula 2 and move to Formula 1. The team you choose when you go to Formula 1 will determine the rest of your career path. If I go in and choose one of the lesser teams, I won't win a championship for seasons, but I'll have to develop the car.

"That's a journey some people might like to take, while others want to choose a top team and win immediately. If I don't perform well enough, I'll can get sacked and I'll have to find a drive at a lesser team. It's great that we're giving the players different ways to progress their careers, but also that we're representing Formula 1 in an authentic way."

Major changes to multiplayer features

According to Mather, the multiplayer part of the game has also been significantly improved. The weekly events, which were already present in the games in recent years, are complemented by an online Grand Prix. Players can practice at the beginning of the week, then qualify at the end of the week and race against players of the same level.

Other additions include the option to make leagues (mutual competitions with friends) and the possibility to get creative with the creation of colour schemes. For this purpose, Codemasters, together with Pat Symonds and Ross Brawn, have developed a generic F1 2019 car, for which colour schemes can be created and purchased.

Finally, the Esports part of the F1 games will also be tackled. In F1 2019 there will be a separate part in the game for Esports. There, players from the game will be able to participate in the qualification events for the F1 Esports Series, watch the races of this competition live and keep up to date with rankings and the latest Esports news.

Three variants with different extras for sale

F1 2019 will be for sale on various online platforms and shops from June 28th. However, there is also the possibility to pre-order the game now. This is possible in the online stores of PlayStation, Xbox and on Steam (for PC). There is a choice of three variants.

The standard version will be playable from June 28th and therefore contains all new functions, including the old historic cars that were already present in F1 2018. The Anniversary Edition can also be played on the same date and with it, the players get two extra historic cars to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the game series: the McLaren and Ferrari from the 2010 season.

The most expensive version is the Legends Edition. This version can be played three days earlier (on June 25th) and contains, besides the content of the Anniversary Edition, also a special game mode. With this mode you can put yourself in the shoes of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.