Being an F1 driver must mean that you have a lot on your shoulders. I mean, imagine spending thousands of hours building an exquisite racing car only to have to face your boss by plowing it into the wall on the first lap. But what if you were the boss, and since you can be both driver and director in F1 2020, you could punish your disgruntled aerodynamics staff by shutting down their R&D department, ignoring your own disappointments.

Codemasters' F1 series has offered comparable depth in career mode over the past few years, but building and managing your own team really takes on a different level of emotional involvement. You are responsible enough for the outcome that you can clearly trace any mistakes back to your own bad decisions, from your press conference reception to your choice of appropriate teammates. And every variable, from acclaimed stats to sponsor choices to component wear to how to fill a new calendar with off-track events, is combined with other systems to create a cohesive whole. Of course, it's still an action-packed racing game.

Of course, this is "action" in the modern F1 sense of the word, and while there are moments of genuine thrills, such as a rival exiting the pits right next to you in turn one, there are also countless regulations that must be followed and component life must be managed, F1 is a much more cerebral racing game than its ilk. Lifting and coasting into corners saves fuel and recharges the batteries in the ERS. Steering too hard causes understeer and tire wear, and hitting a curb breaks delicate components. After years of tweaking, the F1 2020 undoubtedly represents the perfect mix of driving and management, and the best 10-year career mode ever. While newcomers will be underwhelmed, those who know the sport will appreciate its depth and authenticity. And you don't have to be a fan to enjoy it, with a new "casual" driving option and the ability to turn off all the deep elements; I let my 8- and 11-year-olds play it in split-screen mode, and they both had a blast.

The driving engine is by no means the most realistic, and the cars in the replay scenes still don't look like TV footage. But it plays just as beautifully, and it certainly looks gorgeous on a non-top-end machine: my Dell G5 5500 gaming laptop with RTX 2070 runs F1 at 70-80 fps at 1080p ultra, even in the rain, and 30 fps on the console version, which used to be Replays, which were previously 30 fps in the console version, also achieved around 50 fps. Similarly, the new split-screen mode recorded about 45 fps in this configuration, with no significant loss of resolution. It is also worth noting that if DirectX 12 (tested) is not an option, there is an option for DirectX 11 at load time.

Online multiplayer would be fun if one could join in the game, but at present it is difficult to do so. However, thanks to the more stringent rules for cutting corners in multiplayer this time around, the game is not full of cheaters, even if some people are inexplicably 5 seconds per lap faster than others.

The AI is decent, exhibiting textbook defensive driving and impressive opportunism, but it is a bit aggressive when defending a perfect overtake and will come around the back wheel the moment you pass it. The races are challenging and fun, and there is an option to rewind if you make a mistake that you don't think is your fault. You can rewind if it is your mistake, but relying too much on it makes the game much less rewarding.

F1 2020 is definitely a brilliant use of license, and although it took a while to get to this point after the series went through a generational shakeup about five years ago, we are seeing the real deal here. However, the Michael Schumacher scenario races are not recreated (Senna & Prost disappointed me last year), and the Special Edition Michael Schumacher content is not worth the extra money. None of the old cars feel like they appeared in the old game, and they don't look like they move as realistically as the on-board footage from back in the day, but they certainly look beautiful and feel great to drive. Just don't expect the affectionate retro treatment that "F1 2013" received.

But the full game is definitely enjoyable. This is a great, good-looking F1 sim, and the more you look into it, the deeper it gets. It is certainly very familiar, and still lacks the quality of car damage that it had a decade ago. It also could use a little more flair and personality in its presentation. But to not say that "F1 2020" is great would be putting too much on my shoulders. It's simply a great game.