F1 25: Next-Gen Exclusive with Fresh Rookie Lineup

By now, you’re probably gripping your controller or racing wheel like your life depends on it, because EA Sports F1 25 just dropped. And yeah, this time it’s only on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC — no old-gen versions this time, which kinda sets the bar high. Plus, we’ve got six rookies joining the grid, so the whole vibe feels a little fresher right off the bat. We threw on our gloves and helmets and jumped back into EA Sports’ latest F1 game, reminding us why many fans prefer to buy cheap games to keep up with every new release.

After taking a year off, Konnersport is back with season three of Braking Point — the story mode that’s basically like the F1 version of Drive to Survive. The early seasons were cool, but now it’s way more about forced drama that honestly isn’t really there. Braking Point’s riding that same wave, so if you’re down to sit through some serious cringe, you’ll probably have a good time. Before, the mode felt kinda easy and made us wanna bounce, but Codemasters added a new difficulty that actually challenges you this time.

This season, Konnersport is coming in strong, focusing on the top tier instead of the usual midfield. You get to pick who you wanna play as each chapter — Callie Mayer or Aiden Jackson — though it doesn’t really change the story much. The cutscenes got a bit of a glow-up compared to before, and during interviews you actually see your character instead of some random journalist. Nothing groundbreaking here, but it’s a nice break from the usual intense online races or career mode grind. If you were into the story in the past games, you’ll probably vibe with this one too. And once you finish the story, you can jump straight into career mode with the same character, which is pretty cool.

My Team Mode Revamped—Manager Role Takes Over

After totally revamping the Driver Career, it’s now My Team’s turn for a glow-up. But heads up, this time you can’t be both team boss and driver at the same time. You’re straight up in the manager’s seat, recruiting two drivers to rack up points for your squad. Honestly, that kinda sucks because we’re way more into racing as ourselves than as some F2 driver from last year. Plus, F2 only got updated with the current lineup in the individual races, which feels lazy. Another bummer is you can’t pick big-name drivers like Bottas, Perez, or Ricciardo — it’s mostly just F2 rookies. If you dropped extra cash on the fancy edition, you do get some icons though. Still feels like they missed some solid chances here.

But setting the driver drama aside, the mode did get some solid upgrades. It’s pulling some moves from the F1 Manager games now. You gotta handle more behind the scenes stuff, like managing upgrades and actually developing new parts instead of just researching them. So, do you pump out one new front wing before the next race to give one driver an edge, or wait and drop two next week to keep the peace? The choice is yours. Also, you gotta pick which driver you control each weekend, but honestly it’s probably smarter to let the AI handle your best driver since it’s gotten way better. Makes you wonder why there’s still no option to create your own character.

The other modes didn’t really change. You can still jump into free races, split-screen, and online. F1 World is back too. And now three tracks — Zandvoort, Silverstone, and Spielberg — can be raced in reverse. Spoiler: it’s not just flipping the car 180 degrees, they actually moved the brake markers and escape routes. We wish every track got this treatment because racing circuits backwards feels totally different. Silverstone especially hit different. The only downside? You can only race these reversed tracks in Grand Prix and online modes.

Handling Tweaks and Realistic Tire Wear Shake Up Racing

On the track is where it really matters, and once again they tweaked the handling. The cars feel way lighter now, but they still spin out like a cargo ship stuck in a canal when you hit those slow corners. You can definitely feel more dirty air messing with your rhythm, making it tougher to stick close to the car ahead. Plus, tire wear is way higher, so strategy actually matters this time. All that together makes racing super fun, whether you’re on a controller or a wheel. We just wish the force feedback when steering was a bit stronger. The good news is, running a full race feels less exhausting now, but it’s way harder to tell exactly when you’re about to lose grip. Let’s just say we’ve spun out more times than we want to admit.

Like we hoped, dropping last-gen consoles means the graphics got a big glow-up. The game still runs in 4K at 60 frames per second on Quality mode, but there’s also a Performance mode rocking dynamic 4K at 120 frames per second. If you’re rolling with a PS5 Pro, you can even hit 8K at 60 frames per second. Five tracks got scanned with LIDAR, which means everything from the track itself to the surroundings looks way more real. You really notice it at the Miami chicane. It’s not a massive difference yet between scanned and non-scanned tracks, but we’re definitely hoping they bring that treatment to all circuits next year.

Improved Colors but Mixed Player Model Impressions

The colors also look way more natural now, which is nice. The only real gripe, besides Tsunoda still looking way too big, is that Antonelli and Hadjar got the same oversized treatment. Also, the faces of your team’s department heads? Kinda meh. The lip-sync is kinda off, and while the drivers look pretty good, the people around them just feel low-key basic. Every new F1 game comes with some bugs, and this year’s no different. Our biggest annoyance was the race engineer. He straight-up says stuff that’s not true, like telling us an opponent is a certain number of seconds behind when they’re not. He even mentioned an engine failure that never happened, the car was still running fine. And sometimes during the race, he gave us goals like “keep this driver behind for a few laps,” but we missed those because we went for an undercut instead.

F1 25: Fresh Updates and a Revamped My Team Mode

New year, new F1 game, and honestly it’s a solid one. The My Team mode needed a serious makeover, and even though some choices are kinda weird — like not being able to create your own driver or pick big names like Bottas, Perez, and Ricciardo — the changes mostly hit right. The controls got a fresh update too, with more tire wear and dirty air making races feel way more real. Scanning tracks with LIDAR makes the circuits look next-level, but it’s a bummer they only did it for five tracks. Same with racing circuits backwards — it feels totally different, but we’re stuck with just three tracks that have this option. Overall, we’re pretty hyped about the game and would definitely recommend it to any F1 fan.