F1 2019 has been a superb hit. The visuals and gameplay are excellent, and as we explore the games new features it is becoming clear that Codemasters really put a lot of thought and consideration into what comes from their new multiplayer car.
One of the things you can use the car in is the new weekly events. These are an evolution from the scenarios in F1 2018 that were fun to play but very much a single player experience, even if you could compete for a higher score with your friends. So what have Codemasters changed, and why should you use this feature of F1 2019?
Weekly Events
These events provide a career mode style weekend within the multiplayer car and experience. It is a melting pot of F1 2019 and should provide a very exciting challenge for players at any level.
During the week practice is open, allowing you to get used to the way the multiplayer car behaves and giving you the career mode practice programs to run so you can best understand how the car works with your track setup to look after tyres and generate performance.
As you can see, completing the practice programs gives you a chance to win Competition Points. This currency can be used to unlock liveries, helmet designs, and other customisation options for your player. This is a nice reward for putting in the time, especially if you aren't going to jump into ranked lobbies and battle away for them.
It is important to complete the practice programs because you can't just attempt qualifying endlessly. You get one short qualifying session to set your time, with AI opponents on track meaning you have to get your timings right.
If you mess it up you can retry, but you'll incur a time penalty that will see you tumble down the leaderboards again, so knowing exactly how to extract lap time from the car and circuit is vital here as your time directly leads to points.
Weekly events race
The race itself is a 25 percent distance event with a custom scenario like a safety car or changeable weather that features other players and some AI to fill out the grid if need be. They start on the hour, every hour, on Saturday and Sunday so there is plenty of opportunity for you to jump in and play. The presence of other real players means that life can be difficult if you start in the middle of the pack. As any regular online player knows the first corner can be a horrific mess of broken front wings and terrible driving. Fortunately F1 2019 accounts for this by allowing you to race as many times as you want without penalty, so if you get spun out on the first lap you can try again an hour later.
What is the reward?
You get a few rewards for competing in the weekly events. Firstly the competition points, which let you unlock extras for your car. You also get trophies to display in your super license. These are dependent on where you come in the overall standings. Your points tally is made up of how many sessions you compete in, your qualifying time, the position you qualify and finish the race in, and the total time you take to finish the race. You also get points based on how many assists you use, with the max score only possible if all assists are off.
The top 5 percent of racers get an elite trophy, while those in the top 10 and 20 percent get another one. Each trophy comes with another nice chunk of competition points too.
This game mode is exceptionally fun, and can break the cycle of career mode grinding and the chaos of online lobbies. The blending of full race weekends with the new multiplayer car and all its customisation options really opens out the game in a way that was missing from previous F1 offerings by Codemasters.