F1 25 Silverstone Car Setup: Full Setup & Guide
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F1 25 Race Strategy Guide: Choosing The Best Strategy Every Race
Deciding on the best race strategy for any race in F1 24 is a very important decision. A good strategy can help you gain positions or keep hold of the lead. Our F1 24 race strategy guide runs through tyres, fuel and strategies.
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Race strategies are a huge part of racing, both in real world competition, and in the sim. In F1 25, your race strategy can be the difference between pulling off the perfect 1 stop and winning the race, or running out of tyres and having to pit one time too many.
Choosing the right race strategy before every race can give you the biggest advantage heading into a Grand Prix. No matter whether you’re starting on pole position, or in the mid-pack, your race strategy can make or break your weekend.
In this guide, I’m going to look at what you can change in the race strategy screen in F1 25. I’ll also recommend my top tips for choosing the best strategy every race.
The race strategy settings
Before every race, you’ll see the race strategy screen. This is where you choose your tyres for the race, when and how many times you’re planning on pitting. Of course, you can go off piste and make changes to your strategy mid race, and sometimes a well timed safety car can require on the fly changes to your strategy. However, planning the best strategy before you start a race will put you in the best position.
Choosing a race strategy
In F1 25, you are always presented two race strategy options before the race. You have the default strategy which is often the quickest, and then an alternate strategy. This alt strategy can include a different number of pit stops and/or tyre choices.
Depending on where you are starting the race, the default or alternate strategy may be the best option for you. You can always see the overall race time in each strategy box to help you decide which one to choose.
Personalised race strategies
If you took part in the practice sessions, the race strategies can be personalised to your own driving. The strategies will take your tyre wear and usage throughout the practice sessions to customise and adjust your strategy to be more accurate to your own driving style.
Changing your strategy
Just because a certain strategy is presented in the two options, doesn’t mean you have to stick to the recommendations. you can go into and adjust various parts of your strategy to pull off the exact strategy you want each race.
The elements that you can change in your F1 25 race strategy are;
- Your starting tyre compound.
- How many pit stops you’ll make during a race.
- What lap or laps to pit on.
- What tyres you will switch to after pitting.
- Your starting fuel level.
- Your car setup.
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Choosing your tyres
The tyres you use during a race are one of the biggest decisions when it comes to your race strategy. After all, choosing the wrong tyre can result in your lap times dropping off as your tyres wear, or having to make an extra pit stop compared to everyone else if not planned correctly.
The goal with tyre choice is to choose the fastest tyres possible that can be used, while ensuring the tyre wear isn’t too bad. Ideally, you’ll want to pit either once or twice, and very rarely three times. Choosing the softest tyre that allows for a one stop or two stop strategy is the best route.
You’ll rarely want to use the hard tyre more than once as it is the slowest of the three compounds. However, the soft tyre can often wear too fast, leading to too many pitstops, making it unviable for the race.
You can see the tyre wear and lap time estimates in the race strategy screen. These are represented by the coloured blocks.
- The declining coloured block shows the tyre wear across a stint. Each tyre will wear at a different rate. You’llk generally want to change tyre before reaching 65-75% wear.
- The increasing dotted line shows estimated lap time. This shows how your lap times will get slower as the tyres wear.
Tyre differences in F1 25
Each tyre in F1 25 has its own characteristics.
- Soft tyre: The softest tyre, marked by the red sidewall, will be the fastest tyre, but will wear the fastest. It’s often not a good race tyre as it can overheat quickly, and wear fast.
- Medium tyre: The medium, yellow tyre is often a very good race tyre. It balances tyre wear and performance in between the soft and hard.
- Hard tyre: The white hard tyre will last the longest, but will be the slowest tyre. When performing a one stop strategy, this is often a popular tyre as it can normally last over half of the race before wearing too much.
- Intermediate tyre: The green intermediate tyre is to be used for light and medium rain.
- Full wet tyre: The extreme wet tyre, with the blue sidewall, is designed for the heaviest rain conditions.
Which tyres to choose for a race?
Deciding on a tyre to use in the race comes down to a few things. First and foremost, how long it will last. Secondly, how fast it is. There is no point using the hard tyre for the whole race to reduce your pitstops if it is way slower than the medium or soft tyres. Often, a two stop strategy, using softer tyres, can be faster than one stop strategies that use the slower hard tyre.
Generally, the medium and hard tyres should be used during a race as the red soft tyre can wear incredibly fast. If you are planning on pitting twice, you may be able to use the soft tyre, as you won’t be using it for as many laps.
The Formula 1 tyre rule: It is a rule during a race in F1 25 that you use at least two different tyre compounds during a dry race. This means that you always need to use two out of the three dry tyres during a race, and you cannot use just medium tyres for an entire race, for example.
How often to pit
Deciding on whether you one or two stop in a race in F1 25 comes down to how fast or slow each tyre is. A pit stop will generally cost you around 20-25 seconds of time, so you’ll want to do it as few times as possible.
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If you can comfortably pit once, you can save yourself that 20 seconds. However, if you are on slow tyres to make a one stop strategy happen, it can be beneficial to consider a two stop strategy. A two stop strategy works if you can make up the 20-25 seconds that a pit stop costs by using the softer tyres.
As an example, a one stop strategy using the medium and hard tyres could result in you lapping a second slower than a driver who is on the soft tyres and pitting twice. Across a 30 lap race, this one second per lap difference can result in the two stop strategy becoming faster.
Weather forecast
On the strategy screen, you can see the estimated weather changes during a race. This can help you plan which tyre strategy to choose. If you can see its going to rain around half way through the race, you may choose a strategy where you start on the hard tyre, which will last until it rains. Then you can pit once to change onto intermediate or wet tyres.
This would be faster than using softer tyres initially, pitting early, and then having to pit again when it starts to rain.
Choosing the right starting fuel level
Another choice you have is your starting fuel level. This is the amount of fuel put into your car at the start of a race. Unlike many forms of motorsport, you cannot refuel your car in Formula 1. This means you need to make this fuel last the entire race.
Generally, an extra lap of fuel is advised, as it lets you push harder and not have to fuel save during a race. However, the more fuel you add to your car, the heavier and slower it will become. This is a balance between not adding too much fuel that you lose too much lap time. But having enough that you don’t run out or need to fuel save during a race.
Undercuts and overcuts
A strategy call that you can make mid race, is whether you undercut or overcut. These terms are given to pitting before or after your opponents with the intention of pulling off an overtake in the pits.
Undercut is the term given to pitting before a car your racing, while overcut is pitting after your opponent pits. Both strategies can work, and it all depends on the track, grip levels, position after pitting and your tyres.
Undercut pit strategy explained
An undercut will see you pitting before a car you’re racing. This can work by pitting onto faster tyres before your opponent. Then, you will be able to put in faster lap times than the other cars after pitting. By the time the other cars pit, you will have gained on them thanks to your fresher, faster tyres.
Overcut pit strategy explained
The overcut strategy is the opposite. This can work when your opponent pits onto slower tyres than you are already on, or if they get stuck behind slower cars after rejoining the race track. When you are leading a race, overcutting can work well as you may be behind slower cars who haven’t pitted after rejoining the track.
Car setups
The final part of your race strategy is your car setup. You can change a few options before the race. If you don’t have Parc Ferme enabled, or haven’t taken part in qualifying, you can change your entire car setup.
If you did qualify, and do have Parc Ferme enabled, you will only be able to change a few settings including, the front wing, on throttle differential, brake bias and tyre pressures.
Use the fastest car setups
At Sim Racing Setups, we have a range of F1 25 car setups to help you find the fastest car setups for every track.
Our free F1 25 car setups are created by our community and include a recommended setup from us. These are ideal for players of different skill levels and are a good baseline setup.
We also have pro F1 25 car setups. These are created by some of the fastest drivers in F1 25, and are ideal for skilled players looking to extract the highest performance from their car at each race.
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Frequently asked questions
What is race strategy in F1 25?
Race strategy in F1 25 refers to how you plan your tyre choices, pit stops, fuel levels, and energy deployment during a race. A good strategy balances speed and tire management to maximize your finishing position.
How do I choose the best race strategy in F1 25?
To choose the best strategy, consider track conditions, weather forecasts, tire wear, race length, and your starting position. Adjust your plan based on in-race data like tire degradation and track temperature for optimal performance.
Is it better to pit once or twice in What’s the difference between a one-stop and two-stop strategy?F1 24?
A one-stop strategy saves time with fewer pit stops but requires careful tire management. A two-stop strategy gives you fresher tyres and faster pace but costs extra pit time. Choose based on track layout, tire life, and your race pace.
When should I pit during a race in F1 25?
Pit when your tyres start losing grip or during a safety car to minimize time loss. Avoid waiting too long, as worn tires can severely hurt lap times. Use the in-game tyre wear indicators and feedback to guide your decision.
Should I change strategy mid-race in F1 25?
Flexibility is key. Changing weather, tyre degradation, or race incidents may require you to adapt. Switching to a new strategy mid-race can often save time and position if the original plan no longer fits the conditions.
Article written by Rich
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 RichDisclaimer: Some of the links on this page may be affiliate links. We may earn commission from any sale after clicking a link. Read our affiliate policy.
