While teams and cars are a huge part of Formula One®, they’d be going nowhere fast without drivers. In F1® Manager 2023, developing your drivers and scouting for the future are essential to success.

Driver Development

The Driver Development system has been completely revised in F1® Manager 2023. Instead of manually allocating stat points based on race performance, you’ll now instruct your drivers to focus on general areas of improvement. For example: ‘Driving Standards’ will develop skills such as Overtaking and Defending, while telling your drivers to focus on developing their ‘Wet Track’ skills will help improve their Control and Accuracy.

In addition to race weekend performance, several factors will affect your drivers and their development. Drivers will receive bonuses from various facilities, with your headquarters Race Simulator aiding weekly development, and your Team Hub providing a morale boost. The new Driver Confidence system during race weekends will also be affected by driver morale and affinity with their engineers. Ensure team morale is high and that your engineers and drivers have a strong bond to secure a confidence boost going into race weekend sessions, as poor confidence could cause costly mistakes.

Each driver also has a ‘Development rate’ that decreases with age. If your older drivers aren’t achieving results on track, you may even start to see their performance ratings decrease. You’ll receive email summaries of how your drivers are developing, so it’s up to you to decide how much leeway you give to an underperforming veteran, as it may be time to look to the future with younger, fast improving talent.

Recruitment

Speaking of which, Formula 2™ and Formula 3™ championships are now fully simulated alongside your F1® seasons. You’ll be able to see each individual session’s results from both feeder series, allowing you more insight into who the next rising star might be. Make sure to keep an eye on these details when it comes to scouting and hiring the next generational talent.

You can also now decide whether to offer a contract immediately or sign a driver for the next season, giving you more options when it comes to how you plan your team.

With refined development systems, deeper management and even more simulation, how you handle your star drivers is more important than ever in F1® Manager 2023.