F1 25 Beginner’s Guide: Best Place To Start

Jumping into F1 25 as a newcomer, can be daunting. With so many settings, game modes and systems to learn, it can be hard to know where to start. That is why I’ve created this F1 25 beginner’s guide, to run through all of the key systems within F1 25, share my settings and key tips and tricks. This is the ideal guide for both newcomers, and those returning who are looking to improve their lap times.

Watch our beginners guide video

Hardware setup and calibration

For those playing on PC or with a racing wheel, the first thing to do before even hitting the track in F1 25 for the first time, is to ensure your hardware is working correctly. This includes setting up your racing wheel and pedals, mounting them securely and ensuring they’re working with your PC or console. It also means optimising your PC performance to get the smoothest FPS while racing on track.

Controller, Racing wheel and pedal set up

Starting with a racing wheel or a controller, ensuring they are connected, updated and working is important for the best experience. There are a tonne of settings you can change on a racing wheel, both in F1 25’s settings, and wheel settings controlled via a PC app such as the Fanatec Control Panel or MOZA’s Pit House.

If you’re racing on a PC, you should download the software for your wheel. This will allow you to update your wheel’s firmware, which is normally required when a new game comes out. From there, you can change the settings in your wheel’s software.

Which racing wheel should I use in F1 25?

Below are my recommended racing wheels for F1 25 across three price categories.

Racing Wheel	Price	Budget
MOZA R3	£299 / $299	Budget
Fanatec CSL DD (8Nm)	€449 / $509	Mid-range
Simucube 2 Pro	£1240 / $1379	Premium

I have recommended settings for the most popular racing wheels, which I’ll link to below. You should use the settings for the wheel you’re using, as each wheel is different.

Some key settings to look for in F1 25 and your wheel’s settings are;

• Set your steering rotation between 360-400°: Lower settings will make your car feel a bit more responsive, while setting the rotation towards 400° will give a little more stability to your inputs.
• Increase the steering rate on a controller: A top tip when racing with a controller is to increase your steering rate up from 100%, to around 115-130%. This will make your inputs faster and allow for a more responsive car, although this can make your car slightly trickier to drive, so test this setting before jumping into a competitive race.
• Increase your linearity for more precise control: Another top tip for both a wheel and controller is to increase the linearity. This will affect the input curve, making the start of your input more gradual. If you’re learning to race without traction control, this is an excellent way of giving you finer control over your initial throttle input.

Below are our recommended settings for racing wheels and controllers in F1 25.

• Recommended controller settings
• Recommended Fanatec settings
• Recommended MOZA settings
• Recommended Logitech settings
• Recommended Thrustmaster settings
• All wheel settings

Choosing the correct AI difficulty for your skill level

When it comes to competing against the AI, knowing the skill level to choose can be a stab in the dark. But it doesn’t have to be. We have created an AI difficulty calculator just for F1 25. This will help you quickly find your recommended AI difficulty for each track.

To use this calculator, all you have to do is jump into a time trial session and set your fastest lap time. Then, head over to our calculator, choose the track you’re racing on, and then enter your lap time. The calculator will then show your recommended AI difficulty.

You can then jump back into F1 25 confident that the AI will be at your pace. I would recommend testing the AI difficulty, even after using our calculator, as you may need to tweak it up or down a few clicks. And this depends on your preference of whether you want to be competing for wins, or battling in the pack.

Set up your assists

One key area of F1 25, and any racing game, that makes the game more accessible are driving assists. These allow you to turn on or off a series of assists based on your skill level and realism you wish to achieve. Assists such as manual gears, racing line and ABS brakes are ideal for newer players. As you progress you may wish to start disabling assists to get a more authentic, and trickier experience.

It is worth noting that driving assists in F1 25 can limit your maximum lap time potential. This is because assists such as TC and ABS will kick in when wheelspin or tyre lockups are about to happen. These systems restrict the car’s potential compared to racing with them disabled. With that said though. If you struggle to keep the car pointing the right way with TC disabled, enabling these crucial assists can really aid with overall enjoyment.

Below are my recommendations for which assists to enable and disable based on your skill level.

Which game mode to play first

Once you have your assists dialled in, and your AI difficulty set about right, you can start to venture out on track and rack up some laps. F1 25 is a game where it can be easy to start lapping without making mistakes, but finding those final tenths or seconds can be very hard. And improving all comes down to practice.

I’d highly recommend your first outing be in time trial mode. Here, tyre wear is disabled and the track conditions are set to maximum grip. This is the ideal playground to get used to the new handling in this year’s F1 25 game.

From there, head into your first Grand Prix weekends, but try to always enable at least one practice session. Track conditions and varying tyre grip will make your car feel slightly different compared to time trial mode. So I recommend putting in a few practice laps before heading into qualifying or a race.

Below is an overview of all game modes that are available in F1 25.

• Time Trial: Time Trial mode is all about pushing for the fastest lap times. Compete against drivers from all over the world to set the quickest laps on the track. It’s a fantastic way to practice on new circuits while also comparing your performance with friends and rivals.
• Grand Prix: The Grand Prix mode offers a quick race experience, allowing you to compete against AI drivers. You can customise your race weekends and schedules, making it perfect for practicing and competing in personalised championships.
• F1 World: F1 World introduces a progression system to the offline modes, serving as your hub for customising your car and competing in a variety of events. Participate in scheduled multiplayer races, and unique scenarios to enhance your gameplay experience.
• My Team: The My Team mode returns in F1 25, giving you the chance to create and manage your own Formula 1 team. Build your car, hire drivers, and progress through multiple seasons as you grow your team into a powerhouse. This mode offers a deep RPG-like experience.
• Career: The updated Career mode adds more depth to your multi-season journey. Race as a custom-created driver or take control of any of the current Formula 1 or Formula 2 drivers as you work your way through a full championship career.
• Multiplayer Races: Test your skills against real-life drivers in exciting multiplayer races. Compete for supremacy on the track in real-time, challenging others for the top spot.

Unlock your potential with car setups

When you are sitting in the garage, or on the grid during a Grand Prix weekend, you’ll notice the car setups tab. Jump into here, and you’ll see a few preset car setups that you can choose from. Your car setup essentially changes key areas of your car to make it handle and perform differently.

You’ll often hear commentators such as Crofty during a real-world race talk about downforce levels, ride height and tyre pressures. These are all parts of the car which can be changed each race.

The goal with adjusting or creating a car setup is to maximise your car’s potential for the upcoming session. Your setup will differ from track to track based on each tracks characteristics and the weather conditions.

I want to run through each part of a car setup briefly, but if this all seems a little daunting we’ve got you covered. You will see over the course of the F1 25 game launch and the year to come, we’ll release free F1 25 car setups. These are setups designed to be better than the in game car setups for each track. They make the car easier to drive and faster, making them ideal for most F1 25 players.

Maximise your speed with our pro setups and strategies

If you are competing online in a league or against friends, we do also have our Pro setups. These F1 25 Pro setups are optimised much more for performance, making them extremely competitive while racing online. They include multiple setups for each track as well as recommended qualifying and race strategies for every race.

Check out our pro F1 25 car setups to unleash your full potential.

Below is an overview of what each part of your car setup does;

• Aerodynamics: The aerodynamics of your car control the level of downforce, influencing both cornering grip and top speed. Increasing downforce improves handling through turns but can reduce your maximum speed, while decreasing it boosts speed but may sacrifice cornering stability.
• Differential: The differential controls how your rear wheels rotate relative to one another. Fine-tuning it impacts how the car behaves in corners, influencing wheel spin and the rotation of the rear wheels for better control and stability.
• Suspension Geometry: Suspension geometry determines the positioning of your tires relative to the track surface. This setup affects tire wear and the amount of mechanical grip available, impacting your car’s handling and performance over the course of a race.
• Suspension: Suspension settings dictate the stiffness or softness of your car’s response when cornering or passing over bumps. Adjusting this affects the overall balance, stability, and responsiveness of your car, influencing how it handles different track conditions.
• Brakes: Your brake setup alters the braking power and the distribution of braking force between the front and rear wheels. This adjustment is key to achieving optimal braking performance, allowing for precise control during deceleration.
• Tyres: Tyre pressure settings control how your tires heat up and respond to the track. Adjusting pressure can affect tire wear, grip, and overall responsiveness, influencing both speed and handling across various conditions.

Learn race strategies

Your race strategy during a Grand Prix can have a big impact on your finishing position. Your strategy is comprised of a few key areas. The most important decision is your tyre strategy, as this will determine when and how often you pit, as well as your performance on track.

Below is an overview of each tyre type;

• Soft (Red): These tyres offer the most grip and performance, but wear the fastest. Great for qualifying laps or short race stints.
• Medium (Yellow): The medium tyre is a great race tyre, balancing performance and tyre longevity.
• Hard (White): The hard tyre is the slowest, but lasts longer than both the soft and medium. This is often a popular tyre for long race stints.

During races over 25% distance, I’d recommend choosing a medium to hard strategy, with a single pit stop for most tracks. There are exceptions where you can use the soft tyres when tyre wear isn’t as high. Pitting once instead of twice can save you a lot of time, as a pit stop will lose you on average 20 seconds.

When in doubt, opt for a medium to hard strategy, but this is another area where our Pro setups and strategies can help. Our F1 25 bundle includes optimal qualifying, tyre and race strategies for every track. Never worry about choosing the wrong strategy again.

Some key tips for optimising your race strategy are;

• Choose the race strategy with the quickest overall race time: This is displayed on the strategy screen before a race. You can customise any strategy to change your pit lap, or the tyres you use.
• Learn to manage your tyres during a race: One area which can improve your overall race is tyre management. Driving within the tyres limits, so not wheel spinning, following cars too closely or pushing the tyres too hard, can make them last longer. This can open up better strategies, letting you run a faster overall race.
• Manage your ERS throughout a race: You can activate ERS overtake mode to give you extra performance. However, this will drain your battery faster. Ensure you don’t empty your battery completely, otherwise you can be vulnerable to being overtaken. Use overtake sparingly throughout a race.

Essential driving techniques to learn

Now for some on track tips for F1 25. While you will develop pace and become faster and more consistent over time, with practice. Learning a few key tips early can really speed up your progression.

These tips will allow you to put in faster lap times, and manage your car and overall race pace easier.

• Learn throttle control: One of the hardest parts of racing in F1 25 is not spinning your car. This makes disabling traction control one of the harder assists. Learn to accelerate gradually, and not too fast out of corners to avoid wheel spin. You can use my tips for adjusting your controller settings, or practice gradually applying the throttle during acceleration.
• Hit the apex of corners: Utilising the correct racing line will shorten the track, and allow for higher minimum corner speeds. Use the racing line assist to learn the best racing line for each track, and ensure you hit the corner apexes for the fastest laps.
• Use the full width of the track: Following on from the apex tip, using the full width of the track on corner entry and exit will let you maintain high speeds. This means using kerbs on the exit of the corner to allow you to accelerate harder. And always approach the corner on the opposite side of the track at the furthest point away from the apex where possible.
• Trail braking: Learning to trail brake is an advanced technique but can help you slow your car better, brake later and rotate your car better. It is the art of gradually lifting off the brake pedal as you rotate in towards the corner apex. This can keep the weight of the car over the front tyres, helping with grip. While combining the braking and steering phases can result in you being able to brake later into a corner.

Starting a career mode

Once you’ve spent some time in F1 25 learning the systems and setting everything up, jump into a career mode to put everything to the test. There are multiple game modes and career modes in F1 25.

• The My Team game mode lets you create your own team and is the most involved game mode. It is close to an RPG, letting you upgrade and manage your car and team, and even hire new drivers.
• You can opt for a driver only career, where you manage your own career, make contract negotiations, swap from team to team, all while chasing the F1 drivers world championship.
• There is also the Braking Point game mode. This is a linear story-driven game mode which can be a great way to learn different areas of the game.

Conclusion

Truly mastering F1 25 will take a lot of time, with practice being one of my top tips, no matter which route you take. Hopefully, all of the tips in this F1 25 beginners guide will have helped you get the best start in this year’s game. Most importantly, take your time, and enjoy the game first and foremost.

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Article written by Rich

Founder of SimRacingSetups.com

Rich is the founder, F1 car setup creator and content writer for SimRacingSetups. With over a decade of experience as a graphic designer, marketing director, competitive sim racer and avid motorsport fan, Rich founded SimRacingSetup.com to share his passion and knowledge of sim racing and Formula 1 with other sim racers. Regularly writes for sim racing website SimRaceReviews.com

View all articles written by Rich