It puts a much bigger emphasis on areas like free practice, which used to be left down to players’ imaginations. Your engineer will set you targets and challenges in each one, so the more you tick off the faster you improve your car. Mid-season engine improvements are unlocked with points, earned from every practice, qualifying and race session. You can monitor all this progress in the team’s motorhome, through a neat laptop menu screen packed with satisfying detail. Go straight in at the top and you’ve got to maintain your winning streak.

Sign for one of the back markers and it’s up to you to build your team’s competitiveness. That’s a bit of a downer: if you go to Ferrari, either Kimi Raikkonen or Sebastian Vettel vanish from the game until you switch teams. You can join any of the 11 teams from the get-go, deciding which driver to replace. The personalisation doesn’t go so far that you can don Hamilton-style tattoo and diamond piercings, but maybe that’s a blessing… It finally returns for 2016, with a depth of addictive immersion we’ve not seen before.Ĭreating your character, designing your crash helmet, picking your career race number… it all helps make it feel like you’re part of the racing calendar. It’s the totally revised career mode where you’ll find the biggest changes.

Mercedes f1 2016 download free