The Halo Effect

Faithful to its licence, F1 2018 is both high-tech and outdated.

- Phil Iwaniuk

You’ve got to feel for Codemasters’ design team when the annual, ‘What shall we put in next year’s game?’ meeting cropped up at the end of the 2017 season. “Well, there are unsightly head protectors on the cars now, so they’ll be going in.” Everyone gives resigned nods. “And… shall we totally overhaul the game engine?” No. No we shan’t, Callum, because the game’s out in eight months.

Working to an annual deadline, it’s testament to the developer’s talents that the series has maintained, by and large, a high standard worthy of the licence. But that licence is a double edged sword: Over in the real sport, Lewis Hamilton has been a blur of Petronas logos for what feels like ages, drivers are openly bemoaning the tedium of racing, and the most discernable change of the 2018 season is the reviled ‘halo’ protector.

What F1 2018 does in response to this bag of lemons, knowing that its fundamental handling was stellar in F1 2017 and in need of very little revision, is focus on its career mode. Press interviews return, having debuted in