F1 25: Mastering Driving Without Traction Control

The traction control assist is the most commonly used assist in F1 25. This is because controlling all of the torque that a Formula 1 car offers without traction control is incredibly tough. So tough in fact, that many seasoned F1 sim racers use traction control.

In this guide, I’m going to run through my top tips on how to disable traction control, and still enjoy F1 25. I’ll look at tips for improving your throttle management which is key to disabling TC.

Is traction control on or off faster in F1 25?

One of the big debates with traction control, is whether its faster to use it or not. Theoretically, while using traction control on full or medium, you can drive a lot more aggressively than someone not using it. This certainly makes it easier to control your car in F1 25, and many sim racers will find themselves quicker when using it.

Despite this, if you are really pushing the limitations of the car in F1 25 and your lap times, then disabling traction control will almost certainly be faster.

Why is disabling traction control faster?

This is because traction control kicks in before it detects your wheels are about to spin. When the system detects a wheel spin could happen, it automatically cuts some of the power to one or both of your rear wheels. This lower power will reduce the torque sent to the wheels temporarily, and therefor, you won’t break traction and spin up your wheels.

By cutting the torque and engine power, you aren’t using all of the power available to you. For this reason, disabling traction control, and manually controlling your power delivery is almost certainly faster.

How to disable traction control in F1 25

Lets get the easy bit out of the way first, and that is how to actually disable TC in F1 25. This setting is found in the assists menu from almost any settings or pause screen. Simply head into the assists menu and turn off traction control.

You will notice multiple settings for traction control. These include “Full”, “Medium” and “Off”.

• Full: This enables the entire traction control assist, making it very tough to spin your car.
• Medium: The medium option lowers the limit of how much traction control will interfere. It will kick in right at the last minute and lower your engine output. However, it won’t stop a spin altogether.
• Off: This setting completely disables traction control, and is the most true-to-life setting, as Formula 1 cars do not have traction control.

Top Tips for disabling traction control and not spinning

Now I want to run through my top tips to make it easier to drive in F1 25 with the traction control assist turned off.

Use the medium traction control assist

My first tip is to actually not disable traction control right away. Instead, lower it down to medium. This will make the car feel a little freer and looser under acceleration. Drive using the medium traction control assist for a while, adjusting your throttle inputs to prevent the rear wheels from spinning.

I would only recommend using the medium traction control setting in F1 25 for a limited time. The last thing you want is to get used to this setting. This can make taking the leap to disabling it altogether a little tougher.

Use optimised controller and wheel settings

Adjusting your controller and racing wheel settings in F1 25 can have a big impact on how the car feels to drive. There are some key settings that include the linearity setting, which can give you more detailed control over your inputs.

I would recommend following our recommended controller settings for F1 25 for the most optimised route. We also have guides for the most popular racing wheels from Fanatec, Logitech, MOZA and others.

View all F1 25 racing wheel setting guides here.

Lower your on throttle differential setup

Your car setup has a direct correlation to how easy your car is to drive in F1 25. Setting it up to be aggressive can make it tougher to drive. One key setup option that you can change to improve your throttle control is the on throttle differential setup.

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This setup option changes how locked your differential is under acceleration. Setting this closer to 100% will give you more drive out of corners, improving your pace. However, it will also make it easier to break traction and spin your rear wheels.

Learn exactly what the differential setup does in F1 25, and why you want to be changing it throughout a lap.

I would recommend lowering your on throttle differential manually at corners where you often spin your rear wheels. These are typically slow corners where you accelerate hard. Think turn 1 at Bahrain, and turn 3 at the Red Bull Ring.

Accelerate in a straight line

One of the biggest culprits of wheel spin is when you accelerate while also applying steering input. When your car is turning, a lot of the tyre’s grip goes towards cornering, meaning less grip is available for acceleration.

If you apply the throttle aggressively while applying some steering lock, your car is much more likely to rotate on you, compared to if you were pointing straight.

There are corners where this isn’t possible. In these situations where you need to accelerate while turning, the best tip is to modulate your throttle pressure. Gradually increase it as you straighten your car. Once you are pointing straight, you can then apply 100% throttle input.

Modulate your throttle input

That brings me nicely onto my next top tip for driving without traction control in F1 25. Managing your throttle input is the most important technique when driving without traction control enabled. You cannot apply full throttle out of every corner, as your tyres simply cannot cope with the power.

You will have to gradually, and smoothly apply the throttle as you start to exit a corner and speed up. The ultimate goal when exiting a corner is to apply enough throttle to quickly accelerate you out of the corner without losing time, but not exceeding your tyres grip which will cause them to spin.

Learning this technique is tricky and one of the hardest parts of driving without TC enabled. I would recommend learning and practicing this in time trial mode or a practice session. Complete multiple laps, and each lap, accelerate a little harder each time.

After a few laps, you’ll quickly find the limit of where your car starts to oversteer. From there, dial your throttle input back slightly, and continue to refine your inputs.

Use short shifting

Short shifting is my final tip, and its one that can really be helpful when accelerating from a lower speed. You can even look at it as a manual traction control. Short shifting is the name given to the technique of changing gear before you normally would.

By changing gear before you reach the optimal shift point, you will naturally reduce the engine power ever so slightly. This dull in power can be enough to prevent the rear wheels from becoming overloaded.

I would recommend using this technique at specific problem corners. If you simply cannot get the power down without lighting up the rear wheels, try to change gear a little earlier. This can be especially useful when accelerating from lower gears such as second or third gear.

Using the correct car setup

Choosing the right car setup in F1 25 is crucial. A well-tuned setup not only makes the car easier to drive but also helps unlock more performance on each track. Using a setup that is stable will help make driving without traction control that little bit easier.

For a quick and effective solution, try our free F1 25 car setups, available for every track. These provide a stable and improved alternative to the game’s default setups.

Looking for maximum performance? Our F1 25 Pro Setup Pack includes multiple optimised setups per track, created by top league racing drivers. It features stable car setups designed to make the car easier to control.

Unlock lap time with our F1 25 pro car setup pack.

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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