It’s a strange move adding supercars to a Formula One game.
There are countless racing games where you can get behind the wheel of some of the hottest supercars in the world, so why add them to F1 22? Ultimately, we suppose there are two reasons. One is to add a little more variety to the game’s career mode, keeping it fresh. The other is so that you can show off in the game’s new F1 Life hub.
In F1 Life, eight supercars are available for you to unlock, though you’ll need to acquire tokens to do so. Thankfully you’ll rack them up by simply playing the game: cover miles in either F1 or F2 vehicles or supercars you’ve already unlocked, and you’ll be given tokens at certain milestones. There’s no need to spend your hard-earned money on them.
The supercars available are:
- Aston Martin DB11 AMR
- Aston Martin Vantage F1 Edition
- Ferrari Roma
- Ferrari F8 Tributo
- McLaren 720S
- McLaren Artura
- Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series
- Mercedes-AMG GT R Pro
Once unlocked, your supercars can be displayed in your personal space in F1 Life. But why just display them when you can take them for a spin on the track of your choice? Taking the supercar of your choice around an official F1 circuit like Bahrain is a lot of fun. It makes you appreciate the dynamics of F1 vehicles more, that’s for sure. It’s just a shame you’re limited to time trial mode with the cars you own, and can’t set up an actual race.
Related: F1 22 Preview: Hands On With the Material F1 Life
Thankfully, though, there are more ways to go hands-on with supercars in F1 22. Jump into career mode and you’ll now periodically be presented with optional Pirelli Hot Laps events. These let you get behind the wheel of a supercar to take part in a range of challenges. There are rival duels, checkpoint challenges, time attack events and more. Complete them, and only will you have a sense of satisfaction, but you’ll also earn a cash reward and some acclaim.
These Pirelli Hot Laps challenges can be freely undertaken outside of career mode, too. Each one has a car and track dialled in and, thanks to solid handling and physics, they’re enjoyable to complete. You can even choose between three difficulty levels to make sure your abilities are tested. What you can’t do, however, is create your own challenges. And that’s disappointing.
The addition of supercars in F1 22 is surely going to be looked down upon by many. After all, the core audience will mostly be buying the game to get behind the wheel of official F1 and F2 cars, something that no other game series currently offers. But still, there’s no denying that it adds a bit of variety to the game’s career. And who doesn’t like completing driving challenges? It might be unnecessary, then, but when it’s implemented in such a complementary way, it can only be considered a win.
