Whether playing in MyTeam Career mode or F1 World events, upgrading car parts is crucial to keeping up with the competition in EA’sF1 23. Regardless of which game mode players are participating in, it can be helpful to have a general understanding of what the different areas of focus are and how they can aid performance during a race weekend. Much like realF1teams, players will be allowed to produce upgrades throughout the season, and at the end of the season, regulation changes may be introduced which require certain parts to be replaced.
There are four main areas that Research and Development (R&D) focus on, these areAerodynamics,Chassis,Powertrain, andDurability. Each of these areas affects performance in some way, and players can check to see how their cars stack up against their rivals in the chart on the right-hand side of the R&D panel inCareer Mode.
R&D Screen
In the R&D screen, which can be accessed from the main hub in Career mode or during a race weekend by navigating to the same icon, players can select which area of the car they would like to focus on upgrading. Once selected, players will then be shown a list of all the available upgrades in a given department, and it will be up to them tocustomize the development of their car.
Each upgrade will costResource Points,which can be earned in a variety of ways both during and in between race weekends. Players can also see the “Recommended Upgrade” if they are not sure where to begin. It is also possible to attempt to “Rush” development processes to get them ready in time for a certain upcoming event, though this will increase the chances of the part failing development completely and having to be started again.
Highlighting any chosen upgrade will also show how much of a performance gain this will give the carrelative to the other driverson the grid.
Facilities
To speed along the production process, ensure that parts fail less often, and generate more Resource Points each week, it is important that players spend some of their surplus income on improving the team’s facilities, which will have a direct correlation with the efficiency of producing upgrades.
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Each area of development will have its own special department, along with two additional departments for Personnel and Marketing. These departments are made up of four different parts which can be upgraded:Fabrication,Build Time,Quality Control, andResource Points Generation.
F1 World
As with most things, upgrading the car is slightly different in F1 World, and these upgrades will only be applied to cars used in F1 World events rather than other game modes. Instead of a more technical approach in which players can earn Resource Points and upgrade specific components, F1 World has an Ultimate Team formula similar to theFIFAgames.
“Components” will include team members such asteam principles and race engineers, and upgrades can provide unrealistic performance bonuses such as lighter fuel loads around European circuits or bonus engine power for 30 seconds upon leaving the pit lane.
While these upgrades may be irritating to purists who enjoy a morerealistic racing experience, it will be important to utilize them in order to stay ahead of the online competition.
F1 23is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
