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How to get the most out of F1 2018's brilliant Career Mode
F1 2018's Career Mode is better than ever – this tips guide will help you win and have the best experience.
F1 2018 features the most in-depth Career Mode ever seen on an F1 game. With everything from mid-season regulation changes to developing your chosen car using one of the bespoke development trees, there are plenty of ways to maximise your experience playing through F1 2018’s new and improved Career Mode – this tips guide will help you get the most out of it.
1. Start from the bottom
In order to get the most from career mode, it is best to start your career at a team that is a bit lower down the grid than Red Bull and Toro Rosso. When playing, I decided to begin my journey with Williams, a team that has seen their fair share of difficulties and challenges this season.
Rather than jumping straight into a Red Bull, beginning with a team lower down the grid gives you plenty of options when it comes to improving and developing the car, thanks to the new development trees that are now bespoke to every team in the game.
I found it very rewarding securing a good points finish in an underperforming car, which adds to the challenge of proving your worth to the other teams on the grid.
It's a good idea to start Career mode in a Williams
© Codemasters
2. Always complete every session
If you’ve decided to pick a team that is struggling on the track, it is vital that you participate and complete all the tasks in every practice session. Completing all the practice programs will give you the highest amount of resource points to spend on developing the four key areas of the car – powertrain, aerodynamics, chassis and durability.
Like in F1 2017, the resource points allow you to drive the development of the car in any way you like. Is your car lacking power on the straights? Invest more of your points into the powertrain development tree, but be careful when making that decision.
3. Invest resource points wisely
One of the new additions to Career mode on F1 2018 are mid-season regulation changes. These changes have the potential to ruin your development path, so investing your resource points is critical if you are to see improvements on the track. This new element means that it is important to invest resource points into all areas of the car in case the regulations compromise your development.
If you still decide to invest all your points in one area, it is now a huge gamble because a rule change can render all your hard-earned points worthless, putting you back at square one! The addition of the regulation changes makes the decision of where to invest the resource points more challenging if you want to get your car further up the grid.
4. Strike a balance between sportsmanship and showmanship
The addition of the Sportsmanship and Showmanship slider indicates whether you are more of a team player with your media interviews or you are only looking out for yourself. Your team will have a preferred attitude and adhering to it will increase your reputation with them, which becomes very important when it comes down to contract talks.
Your interview answers determine whether you're a sportsman or showman
© Codemasters
It’s not just your team that notice how you are acting both in media interviews and on-track performances. Other teams will also notice how you are behaving which could be the difference between moving to a new team, being dismissed by your current team or even moving further down the grid!
If you are aiming to be a showman, then selecting the more arrogant and self-centred answers in the media interviews are the way forward, and this approach could favour you depending on which team you are racing for. However, if your team is wanting more of a team player, sportsmanlike answers are the way to go. In order to get the most out of the media interviews, I’ve found it best to select a balance of sportsmanlike and showman answers to maximise the chances of moving further up the F1 grid.
5. Create rivalry
Selecting a rival is a sure-fire way of gaining respect within the paddock. If you think you can beat one of your fellow drivers on the grid, the game will choose a rival for you to beat. If you beat your rival, gaining that respect from the other teams could see you in their seat for the following season.
By adding a rival to your career, it adds a good challenge if you are battling it out in one of the slower cars on the grid, and keeps the game competitive even though you aren’t battling it out for a victory.
6. Achieving targets
Beating the targets that are set by your team is very important in career mode. Exceeding your targets is a great way of maintaining a positive relationship with your team and will work in your favour when acquiring a new contract.
Making sure that you are able to beat the targets will further increase your reputation, potentially giving you the coveted number one driver status in your team. If you fail these targets during a season then your reputation will get to a point where you will be dismissed from your team!
7. Play your way
Career Mode in F1 2018 has been engineered to be played in every possible way so all players can get more out of the most in-depth experience in the series. Whether you want to jump straight into a Red Bull or work your way through the ranks, the game is designed to remain entertaining regardless of how you decide to play.
The regulation and driver changes between seasons keep the game feeling fresh, extending its longevity in comparison to previous career modes, where it has often felt repetitive.
This is the best and most complete career mode there has ever been on an F1 game, and it will definitely be keeping us busy until the release of F1 2019!
