F1 2015: Codemasters' ever-excellent racing sim is gearing up to make its current-gen debut

Current-gen F1 has finally been unveiled and will be out on 12 June. That's really soon. Vroom. Interestingly, not only will all of 2015's cars, tracks and drivers be present, but also the 2014 year in its entirety. That's what happens when development straddles two seasons. We like it.

Of course, that extra time in the garage can only be good for the game, and the list of improvements is strong. For starters there's an all-new physics engine, complete with a handling model that Codemasters says has been improved in 20 different areas. Not least of these is the tyre simulation, which is completely new and features greatly improved feedback so you know when you're pushing too hard.

“There’s a new Pro season mode, designed to offer a more authentic level of difficulty”

There's also speech recognition via Kinect, PS Eye, or a compatible headset, which will allow you to communicate verbally with your pit crew over the radio. You'll be able to request different tyres, weather updates, race info, and even ask for front wing changes to be made at the next pit stop to counteract any problems with understeer. It may sound daft, but F1 fans demand as authentic an experience as possible, so this is all great news.

It's also been confirmed that broadcast-style presentation is being implemented, which will include grid sequences and podium scenes, too. Let's hope the champagne-spraying is interactive. And that someone's mo-capped Arnie for the interviews.

Season professionals
Online races will now have practice sessions, which was one of the most-requested features from everyone who wanted to do more online than just cause a massive pile-up at the first corner. Those same gamers will also be pleased to hear there's a new Pro Season mode, designed to offer a more authentic level of difficulty. There will be no auto brakes or racing lines available, and hopefully we’ll also see the damage and vulnerability of the cars being ramped up.

Naturally, the already great-looking visuals of last-gen are even more detailed now, with individual water droplets kicking up in the wet and some frankly scandalous detail on the grandstands and pit interiors.

F1 2015 is going to be kept updated for the remainder of the real-world season thanks to regular DLC drops. The best F1 game ever? We’d bet our Button dollar on it.