Thanks to the Hamilton/Verstappen controversy at last year's finale, the Netflix documentary "Drive to Survive," and a major rule change for close racing, Formula One is once again on the rise. Every team has scored championship points by the midway point this season. Pick any of these angles and you're off to a great start in the racing game. So why start "F1 22" with a soft focus?

Well, remember the "Live the Life" philosophy of "F1 2010. The game takes that to its logical conclusion and offers a whole new living space for billionaire avatars. Other players can visit your space online and view your collection of racing trophies, supercars, and choice of uprights. It's not very interactive, however. Instead of walking around your new abode, you just flick left and right to go from room to room, and the cosmetic options are fairly limited. Another concern is that it is geared toward microtransactions, as all items can be purchased by purchasing "pit coins" (groans) with real money.

But did someone say "supercar collection"? Yes, for the first time in the series, this game allows you to collect supercars and display them in your living room. Still, you can see the appeal. There are some truly beautiful cars available right from the start, such as the gorgeous Ferrari F8 Tribute and the rather swanky McLaren 720S.

The physics simulation of these public road-going beasts is impressively smooth and precise, and the softer suspension makes the driving feel much more realistic than the raw thrill of F1 and F2 cars. Supercars can be driven in time trials and "Pirelli Hot Laps" challenges, with 40 challenges scattered throughout the career mode or accessed through a unique menu, with three levels of difficulty. From drifting events to average speed checks, the most difficult targets are very tricky. However, they are a bit lackluster and make you feel like, "Oh, I'm playing Supercar again. They are relatively slow and unwieldy, and if you want to drive something like this, you must have already bought an Asset Corsa. Tokens are unlocked as you play, and by the end of the first season you have enough to fill six bays in your apartment.

But let's stop there. Frankly, the entry of supercars into the sport will only highlight F1's raison d'être. Fortunately, F1's content is the best ever. You get plenty of choices before you decide what kind of experience you want. With the return of "My Team," you can start a new F1 team from scratch, play the triple roles of owner, team principal, and driver simultaneously, and do everything from driving to extending a second driver's sim time. Driving is a must, but there is no doubt that there is so much to control that it is encroaching on the realm of "F1 Manager". The only thing missing is porpoising (severe bouncing due to the new ground effect rules), but simulating poor Lewis' back pain may be a step too far.

With three levels of initial funding available, one could start with limited funds and try to build the team into a top group. Or they can start with ample funds and a competent engineering department and immediately challenge for the title.

Or they can hire past stars like Prost, Senna, and Schumacher as anachronistic teammates. The motivation to improve is certainly there. Similar to FIFA, EA's servers download the current driver's real-world positions and car performance. Not only does this mean real-world positions for the drivers in the race (aside from the OP's Mick Schumacher), but it also allows the season to start at the current point in the actual 2022 season. Of course, this special magic is only available for a few more months, but it is still a real treat for those deeply invested in the actual sport. Sprint races are also included, as well as the full lineup of playable 2021 F2 races, making for a complete career package that will make sense once you get into it. [I will be eagerly checking the timesheets to see if Carlos Sainz is really the "Smooth Operator" or if it's just me.

Regular practice sessions are back, mandatory in the career mode, but can be skipped or simulated. The skill tree system is deep, yet straightforward, and woven beautifully into an authentic full weekend experience. The development points gained in the practice sessions really feel important as the team's strength goes up and down as the season unfolds.

Underlying all of this is the extensive menu of options. You can adjust every possible factor to your liking, from the accuracy of the weather forecast to the frequency of mechanical problems to the limits of parc ferme. Accessibility options are also comprehensive, and there is even an option to convert voice chat to text.

Even in areas previously controlled by computers, there has been a noticeable move toward greater interactivity. You can now drive the entire parade lap before manually lining up your car on the grid. You will feel very smug, being told that you were parking brilliantly, until your finger slipped from the clutch and you instantly received a drive-through penalty. There is also a new QTE for getting into your box during a pit stop, which adds a second or two to your stop time if you get it wrong. This is all completely optional, but there is depth if you need it.

The damage system is more realistic than ever, with sidepod and floor damage, broken suspension rods, and more debris; it's not a crash simulator like Wreckfest, but full simulation makes the car realistically fragile, which appreciated by fans who want the experience. If only the external view of the crashes were as compelling as in F1 2010. These cars are almost always glued to the ground.

The core act of racing is great and is augmented by all the additional systems like DRS and the overtake button, which can be deployed manually to conserve energy, fill up the battery, and prepare for a big push for a few laps. If you forget to use the battery, the engineers will remind you; the AI is impressive when it is in a defensive position, covering from the inside line. Still, it will rush you if you are not completely sideways, which can be frustrating if you are maximizing fragility, but at least the flashback comes back so you can undo the rush and try a different approach. Less risk is probably a more authentic solution.

On a rare negative note, changing direction with the controller is oddly time-consuming, as there is a definite delay between steering extremes, presumably to simulate the act of turning the wheel. You will certainly get used to it, but the car feels heavy, which is not a good thing, especially when absolute precision is required on a track like Monaco. Especially on a circuit like Monaco, where absolute precision is required.

As for difficulty, it is not a perfect balance, as the AI pace varies from race to race. AI in the rain is tougher than the same setting in the dry.

Surprisingly, the last criticism is that F1 22 does not look as good as it probably should at this point. The TV replay angles look more realistic than last year and the on-track action is excellent. The pit crews are still all denizens of the uncanny valley, but more fundamentally, the ray tracing is not particularly impressive, even at ultra.

The effect is applied in stages, so that each time an object moves, the quality of the reflection diminishes and is drawn back in when it is stationary. This is done in many games, but when you are driving at 200 mph, you don't spend as much time standing still (oddly enough), so the reflections are usually a bit blurred compared to traditional lighting. The effect looks undeniably beautiful in stills, but it's not worth the performance on the track; there are several DLSS and TAA options, and benchmark tests; on the RTX 2070, with ray tracing disabled, you can get around 100fps at 1080p Ultra and looks great.

Small complaints aside, F1 22 is another great simulation of the sport, the most compelling and exhaustive to date. However, while it is an improvement, it is also the most modest evolution we have seen in a while. The supercar and avatar nonsense makes the game look new without significantly changing it, and doesn't make up for the absence of last year's "Breaking Point" story mode. It's a masterclass in racing game design and plays so well that it's still easy to recommend, but not since "F1 2014" has an annual release felt so unnecessary.