Two years ago, I called F1 2018 a racing dream come true At this point, the team at Codemasters Birmingham has been stewards of the official F1 game for over a decade They are veterans of developing games about the top level of motorsports, so perhaps it's no surprise that F1 2020 feels as sharp, nuanced, and passionate a simulation of that world as the past few previous titles

To be honest, I don't pick up a new F1 title every year, as I do with most annual sports titles I'm not going to pick up a new F1 series from Codemasters because, like "MLB The Show" for baseball fans, it's almost guaranteed to get better with each successive series The problem, of course, is that even a good annual sports series needs to bring something fresh and new every year, and that is no easy task

However, we can confidently say that "F1 2020" does just that, thanks in part to the game's new My Team mode: if "F1 2018" is a condensed version of your boyhood dream of becoming an F1 driver, "F1 2020" is the realization of your fantasy of being a team principal If "F1 2018" was the culmination of my boyhood dream of becoming an F1 driver, "F1 2020" will allow me to realize my fantasy of being the team principal and in charge of everything

I won't delve into how F1 2020 behaves on the track, because if you've played the last four years or so of the franchise, there won't be many surprises My PC is a GeForce GTX 1070 and that's about it, but I was still surprised that I was able to run the game at 60 frames per second with the graphics settings maxed out

Still, Codemasters has made some useful adjustments to the gameplay The car's energy recovery system is now more convenient and intuitive to use, and instead of using the controller or steering wheel D-pad to switch modes, you can now simply tap the overtake button for a short power-up This means less tinkering on the road and more focus on racing - which, of course, is the goal

Where F1 2020 really brings new ideas to the table is the My Team mode, and if you've ever played "Motorsport Manager" on PC or mobile and wished you could sit in the driver's seat in those games as well, "My Team" will love it (As a side note, if you've never touched "Motorsport Manager," get it as soon as you finish reading this)

In My Team, you start as the 11th team on the F1 grid and follow the rise of your crew The game allows you to invest in different departments, from power unit development to marketing The R&D skill tree from previous titles will also return, filling the monthly schedule with driver development events, PR press tours, team building exercises, and more For those who imagined that the ideal racing simulation would have a franchise mode, this will be a delight

You can even design your team's livery and sign up sponsors to be displayed on your car All these sponsors are fake, which is not a big problem, but I seem to remember that Codemasters' other classic racer, "Grid", had a similar mechanism built in, except for the real brands I can't help but imagine that the FIA's regulations might be getting in the way of such an experience in an official F1 title

One of the things I absolutely love about MyTeam is that the game treats the addition of an 11th constructor like a big deal

If you're not familiar with F1, it really is an exclusive sport There are no more than 30 or so clubs with 40 rosters and hundreds of players in the farm system, as is the case in other sports So when a new team enters the market, its presence is felt

What makes my team especially important is that I am the driver and the owner And this fact is made firmly apparent to you right from the start of the game

As the team begins its journey, an interview with Formula 1 driver Will Buxton begins As a motorsports geek and a huge fan of Will's, having watched F1 racing on the Speed Channel since I was a teenager, I was giddy at this bit of world building

The elements that make F1 2020 a success are what make the game not just a great simulation of motorsports, but a testament to its respect and understanding of the sport

When choosing a second driver to accompany your team, you will be encouraged to choose from a selection of up-and-coming Formula 2 stars who are ready to take the next step into the premier class Among them is Juan Manuel Correa, an American Formula 2 driver from Ecuador who was mortally injured in a brutal crash last season He is still recovering and not racing at the moment, but it is an emotional gesture to have him as a driver for hire in the game

Antoine Hubert, another driver who tragically lost his life in the exact same accident as Juan, will remain in the game if he joins the F2 campaign To say the least, the fact that these two drivers are in "F1 2020" stopped me in my tracks

I must also admit that the 2020 F1 season, like many other sports around the world, is going to be a bit strange To that end, "F1 2020" allows the length of the season to be customized, with 10 races to choose from instead of the original 22 You can individually choose which venues to keep and which to exclude This is a wonderful degree of freedom for people like me who, when it comes to the Singapore Grand Prix, don't have the energy to move on (A wonderful freedom if, like me, you find it difficult to muster the will to go on once you reach the Singapore GP (I'll never remember that awful circuit)

The only problem with being able to shorten the season is that it can have strange consequences for the calendar: it doesn't change the timing of events throughout the year, just which events happen and which don't The F1 season is two to three weeks apart Since grands prix are held and tend to incorporate two or three one-month breaks, there are very long periods when the schedule can be filled up with indiscriminate team-improvement practices This leaves no strategy or challenge to determine which areas of the team to invest in and when

If you are an F1 fan, eager to race as much as you can these days (and who isn't?), then picking up "F1 2020" is a no-brainer But if you're the kind of person who dabbles in this type of game every few years, or if you think you can get excited about a racing sim that puts as much emphasis on team management as it does on racetrack action, check out "F1 2020" as well

Simulating cars on a track is not particularly rare or difficult these days For me personally, the future of the racing genre (and perhaps sports games in general) looks exciting for the same reasons that "F1 2020" was so successful Codemasters is not just simulating racing here, but immersing us in the spectacle that is Formula 1 What more could a fan want?

F1 2020 is available now on PS4, Xbox One, and Steam