EA Sports F1 25 review

When it comes to Codemasters’/EA’s F1 racing game series, every other year’s release has been the one that makes real improvements. And so, while last year’s EA Sports F1 24 was good, it didn’t do all that much to change up the formula. Now EA Sports F1 25 is here, and once again it proves to be a much more substantial upgrade to what’s come before.

For a start, this year’s release features the return of Braking Point, the story mode that first appeared in F1 2021 and was then continued in F1 23. It once again follows the fictional Konnersport racing team, which, having established itself, is now competing with the big names in the sport. Across its 15 chapters, players will find themselves racing as both Aiden Jackson and Callie Mayer, and in between races they’ll also occasionally be playing from the viewpoint of the team principal, making important choices that will determine both the performance of the team and how it’s perceived by press.

Thanks to a handy story recap, newcomers can jump into this year’s Braking Point and still enjoy it, though those who have played the previous two instalments will perhaps get the most out of it. In any case, there’s plenty of drama both on and off the track, and thanks to strong performances across the board you’ll be invested throughout. There’s much more player agency this time around, too. You’ll sometimes be able to choose between driving as Aiden or Callie, for example, and the choices you make between races can sometimes alter race objectives. Add in new difficulty options, and this year’s Braking Point is once again a highlight of the package.

Thankfully there’s more to EA Sports F1 25 than just Braking Point, though. The popular My Team mode has also had a revamp, making you an actual owner and manager of your own F1 team rather than a driver and manager. It means that you’re now able to race as either of your team’s drivers when you come up to a race weekend, and you have to think more about your team on the whole. When it comes to researching and then developing parts, for example, if you’re only able to manufacture one upgrade before the next race weekend, who gets the benefit of it?

Having to make such choices makes My Team feel like a deeper and more rewarding management experience, especially when you factor in other changes made to the most in areas such as team personnel and sponsors. Everything is much more of a balancing act, from entering talks with other drivers that you might want to join your team should one of your current drivers leave, to making redundancies to balance the books that will no doubt hit team morale. You now really have to think about what’s best for the team, and make the tough decisions when you need to.

There are tweaks to other modes as well, including F1 World, which now has special Invitational events that challenge players to work together as a team online in order to earn rewards. And there’s a wealth of underlying changes that make for a better game in general. There are the usual iterative improvements to the game’s visuals and presentation, for instance, making EA Sports F1 25 the best-looking and most authentic F1 game yet. It never fails to impress when you run a little wide and see gravel or grass picked up by a tire, which then dissipates as you race on.

The racing physics have also been improved a little, as well as the AI of your competitors: they seem a touch more aware of what’s happening around them. On top of all this, LIDAR technology has been used to make five tracks (Bahrain, Imola, Melbourne, Miami and Suzuka) more realistic than ever, even down to track elevation and the surrounding vegetation. It’s just a shame that it hasn’t been used to improve more tracks, but I assume it will be something done over time, with next year’s F1 release featuring even more tracks made as accurately as can be with LIDAR technology.

Put everything together, and it’s clear that EA Sports F1 25 is one of the better yearly releases in the series. I’ve encountered some minor visual issues on certain tracks playing the game on PS5 Pro that I hope are patched out quickly, and perhaps there’s still room for more player agency when it comes to Braking Point, which I hope continues in a future release, but overall this is a treat for F1 fans. It’ll particularly please those who have been wanting more strategy when it comes to My Team, where they’ll find themselves more in control than ever. In any case, whether you’re a casual or ardent F1 fan, EA Sports F1 25 has something substantial to offer.