F1 22 Guide To ERS – ERS Tips & Tricks

F1 22 sees the return of ERS, and continues using a similar format for how it works. You can manage how your ERS is deployed during all sessions. However how you manage it changes depending on whether you are practising, qualifying or racing.

In this guide, I’ll show you exactly how ERS works in F1 22. I’ll run through how to manage it during each session throughout a Grand Prix weekend. Along with how to optimise your ERS in F1 22 for the fastest lap times.

What is ERS?

ERS stands for Energy Recovery System and is a part of a Formula 1 car’s powertrain. Essentially, it stores wasted energy in a battery pack. Then while a driver is accelerating, it will deploy this stored energy to give the car an extra power boost.

In F1 22, ERS works in the same way as it does in real-world Formula 1. It captures both wasted kinetic energy and heat energy and stores it.

There are two parts that combine to form the energy recovery system. The MGU-K stores kinetic energy, and the MGU-H stores heat energy.

Drivers can deploy the energy that is recovered, however, this drains the battery. Once the battery is depleted, no more ERS energy can be deployed until it is partially recovered. This leads to drivers strategically deploying ERS as well as managing it to keep battery levels up during long race stints.

You will often see drivers deploying their ERS at its maximum output during a qualifying lap. Then the following lap, the driver will have to recover that energy.

During a race in F1 22, ERS is managed automatically, giving drivers the option to deploy additional power through a button press. In races, drivers won’t use as much ERS deployment as they do during qualifying. Instead, they will try to keep battery levels high by using ERS sparingly throughout the lap.

---

How ERS works in F1 22

In F1 22, Codemasters have tried to replicate how ERS works in real-world racing. They’ve included multiple ways to control your ERS deployment. This is different depending on which session you are participating in throughout a race weekend.

• During practice sessions, you have access to the following ERS modes – None, Medium, Hot Lap, Overtake
• During qualifying sessions, you have access to – None or Hot Lap
• During an F1 22 race, you have access to – Medium or Overtake

As you can see, depending on which session you are in, you get different levels of control over ERS in F1 22. This is designed to replicate how drivers in Formula 1 manage their ERS throughout a weekend.

F1 22 practice sessions

Practice sessions in F1 22 give you the most amount of control over your ERS management. This is because during practice sessions you will be trying multiple things. You’ll be practising qualifying laps, so will need access to the Hot Lap ERS mode.

You’ll also be driving in practice race runs, in which case you’ll be testing the Medium and Overtake ERS modes. Having all ERS options available to you during practice sessions allows drivers to run different practice programs.

Qualifying sessions

During a qualifying session, you will only need access to a single ERS mode. This is because you will only be doing one thing, and that is to put in laps that are as fast as you can. So you won’t need access to any lower ERS modes as no ERS management will be happening when qualifying.

During qualifying sessions in F1 22, you get the option of setting your ERS to hot lap mode to deliver maximum power. Or you can set your ERS to none. Turning ERS off will allow your car to recover energy and store it in your battery pack. No ERS will be deployed at all when it is set to none.

The hot lap ERS setting in F1 22 will drain almost all of your ERS throughout a single lap. It will be very hard to put in two back-to-back hot laps, as you will most likely run out of ERS during your second lap.

ERS in Races

During races in F1 22, you will have a lot to manage other than your ERS. You’ll need to be focusing on racing wheel to wheel with other drivers. You’ll have to manage your pit strategy and your tyres. This is why your ERS will be set to medium during a race.

The medium ERS setting in F1 22 is essentially an automatic deployment mode that should keep your ERS battery stores relatively level. You may notice they drain slightly with your ERS set to medium. If this does happen you can try to recover more energy by lifting and coasting into corners.

You also have access to an overtake ERS mode during a race. You enable this with a button press on your racing wheel or controller.

Check out the best racing wheels for F1 22.

When you press the overtake button during a race, you’ll receive an extra boost of power from your ERS. This will make your car faster when accelerating, perfect for overtaking a car ahead. However it will also drain your ERS at a faster rate.

---

How & when to use overtake ERS mode in F1 22

As mentioned above, the overtake ERS mode will give you more power at the expense of draining your ERS battery quicker. With that in mind, when is the best time to use overtake in F1 22?

How to use overtake in F1 22

Before looking at the best time to use the overtake button in F1 22, first I’ll show you how to activate overtake.

To use overtake ERS in F1 22, you don’t need to scroll through your MFD menu to enable it. You can simply enable it with a simple button press.

On an Xbox or PlayStation controller, this is mapped to the circle or B button by default. On a racing wheel, you can set whichever button you like to control the overtake mode.

Simply press the overtake button once to enable overtake mode. Then press the same button again to disable overtake.

If you are racing in one of the cockpit cameras, you will see your yellow ERS bar on the steering wheel depleting with overtake enabled. The bar will also turn green while overtake is active. This is also visible on your on-screen HUD.

When to use overtake ERS in F1 22

The reason that Formula 1 cars have an overtake ERS mode is to allow drivers to deploy an extra power burst during specific times in a race. These normally revolve around overtaking cars ahead, hence the name.

However, there are a few other key moments where the overtake ERS mode in F1 22 is very useful. I’ll run through when to use overtake in F1 22 below.

Overtaking

The first scenario for using the overtake ERS mode in F1 22 is when trying to overtake a car in front. Overtake mode will give you extra power compared to the medium ERS mode.

If you are approaching a car ahead, using overtake can give you a power advantage over them while accelerating. This will allow you to accelerate to a higher speed, making overtaking moves easier.

The best time to utilise this technique is coming out of a corner onto a long straight. Longer straights will allow you to use the overtake mode more efficiently and you’ll benefit from it more.

Try to plan when to use it by thinking about corners that are coming ahead. It is much easier to overtake cars after a long straight and into a slow corner. If you know a slow corner is ahead, you can use overtake to pull alongside the car ahead.

If you’re within a second of the car ahead during a dry race, you will also benefit from DRS, giving you even more straight-line speed. This combined with overtake mode should make overtaking much easier.

To conserve your ERS during a race, it is wise to disable overtake mode as soon as you know the overtaking move is complete.

Defending

However, you may find that you don’t gain as much speed on the car ahead if they are also using overtake. It is a good tactic to utilise overtake mode to also defend from cars behind.

You can use it in a similar way to when you overtake, so activate it coming out of a corner onto a straight where you think you may be vulnerable to cars behind.

Activating overtake can mitigate the speed advantage that a car behind you would have if they also used overtake. This will make it harder for cars behind to pull alongside you on a straight, as you’ll also be benefiting from the power boost.

In or out lap

If you are looking to overtake or defend a position during an overcut or undercut while pitting, you will want to put in the fastest laps you can on the way into and out of the pits.

It is wise to use overtake during laps on the way into the pits and out of the pits. Fast laps into and out of the pits will give you the best chance to overtake cars during pitstops.

I would recommend storing some ERS battery for your pitstops. Then activate overtake manually along straights on your in and out laps.

To catch cars ahead

If you have some fresh air ahead of you and you want to quickly close the gap to cars ahead, overtake mode can help. As mentioned, overtake will give you a power boost allowing you to put in faster lap times.

Using it when you have clear air ahead of you can allow you to put in faster lap times than cars ahead. This will help you close the gap quicker than if you were using the medium ERS mode.

In this situation, try to keep some ERS charge available to complete the overtake move. Don’t use all your ERS while catching the car ahead, as running out of ERS when overtaking can make the move harder.

---

When not to use overtake mode in F1 22

To close this F1 22 ERS guide, I’ll run through some scenarios where using the overtake mode isn’t a good idea. In these instances, it can be best to conserve your ERS for other periods during the race.

Limiting your usage

One of the easiest mistakes to make in F1 22 is running out of ERS during a race. If you are using the overtake too much, your ERS battery will drain faster. If you don’t allow it to recover during management phases, you can completely run out of ERS.

Running out of ERS will give you less weaponry when it comes to overtaking and defending mid-race. You won’t have access to your more powerful overtake mode, making you vulnerable during the race.

Also, if you are competing in a career mode or in My Team, depleting your battery completely will speed up how fast your MGU-K and MGU-H degrade. This can lead to having to replace these parts quicker during a season, which can incur grid penalties.

If your ERS battery is getting low, (which is indicated by the yellow ERS bar in your HUD and on your steering wheel depleting), it is wise to not use overtake mode. In these scenarios, try to conserve energy and recharge your battery.

A great way to recharge your ERS is to lift off of the throttle as you approach a corner. This is called lifting and coasting. By lifting off the throttle before you start to brake, your lap times will be slightly slower. But you will recharge your ERS battery quicker.

Don’t use overtake mode through corners

You only benefit from the additional ERS power that overtake delivers when accelerating. This means, that during corners or times where you are braking or coasting, you won’t be benefiting from the additional power.

This means, that enabling overtake mode in corners isn’t of any benefit. Instead, try to limit the use of the overtake mode on straights only. You can enable it if you are approaching a corner that requires you to get a good exit. As this will give you a power boost as you start to accelerate out of the corner.

This also applies to short straights. If there is a short straight between corners, using overtake won’t give you much advantage. You won’t be able to use it for very long, meaning you won’t feel the full benefit of it. Instead, save it for longer straights.

In the pitlane

Using overtake ERS mode in the pitlane is wasted energy. While pitting, you have to stick to a speed limit, so you won’t gain anything from having overtake enabled. Instead, this will simply be limiting your ERS recovery.

Always disable overtake mode on your way into the pits and any time that you are travelling through the pitlane.

---

Overview

Hopefully, these tips for using ERS in F1 22 efficiently will help you manage and use ERS to maximum effect. Using ERS is a crucial part of racing a Formula 1 car, and can be the difference between qualifying higher or making important overtaking moves.

If you are ever in doubt about when to use ERS modes, try to revert back to the medium setting. This acts as a baseline deployment mode, which will use and recover ERS equally.

---