F1 Manager 2022 invites you to take control of a Formula 1 team as a team principal – but which racing team should you start with? Here you will find the answer.
There are more complex management games on the market, but no one comes close to the presentation and official licensing of F1 Manager 2022. If you are a die-hard fan of the racing series, then you are likely to start your career as an F1 boss with your favorite team.
However, if you haven’t yet decided which racing team you want to lead on your first run in the game, then you’ve come to the right place. This overview will show you the starting conditions of each team and briefly introduce you to the challenges the teams will have to deal with at the beginning.
F1 Manager 2022: Grand Prix winners
Do you want to be able to win races right at the start of the season? Then you’ll have no choice but to choose between Ferrari and Red Bull.
Ferrari
- Season goal: Constructors’ World Champion
- Long-term goal: Constructors’ World Champion
- Budget: High
- Car: 1 out of 10
- Headquarters: 3 out of 10
- Drivers: Charles Leclerc (88) and Carlos Sainz (87)
The Scuderia has high goals and brings the right conditions to fulfill them. They start the season with the best car of all, have plenty of money in the war chest for further development, and the headquarters in Maranello is also very well equipped. They also have one of the most solid driver pairings in the entire series.
Red Bull
- Season goal: Constructors’ World Champion
- Long-term goal: Constructors’ World Champion
- Budget: High
- Car compared: 2 out of 10
- Headquarters in comparison: 1 out of 10
- Drivers: Max Verstappen (90) and Sergio Perez (87)
Verstappen may enter the season as the defending drivers’ champion, but Red Bull hasn’t triumphed in the Constructors’ World Championship since the days of Sebastian Vettel. In the opening season of F1 Manager 2022, however, that is possible. While the red bulls from Milton Keynes aren’t as fast as the black horses from Italy, Max Verstappen is an ace Ferrari doesn’t have up its sleeve. In addition, Red Bull’s headquarters are second to none, which allows the team to invest its already high budget in the development race.
However, playing experience shows that Perez often lags behind the top trio of Verstappen, Leclerc, and Sainz, which doesn’t make the battle for the World Championship against Ferrari easy whatsoever.
F1 Manager 2022: Fighting for podium
In the upper midfield you won’t be fighting for victories right away, but on a good day and with the right investments you can aim for the podium. Be prepared for many exciting races, in which you’ll have to attack as well as defend, when you manage Mercedes or Alfa Romeo.
Mercedes
- Season goal: 3rd place
- Long-term goal: Constructors’ World Champion
- Budget: High
- Car: 3 out of 10
- Headquarters: 2 out of 10
- Drivers: Lewis Hamilton (90) and George Russell (86)
The perennial champions find themselves in an unfamiliar position and can’t count on wins at the start of the season. Instead, there are many battles with the Alfa Romeo cars for the places just behind the top dogs. Budget, HQ and drivers are all top-notch – the best conditions for catching up quickly.
Alfa Romeo
- Season goal: 5th place
- Long-term goal: Podium contender
- Budget: Low
- Car: 4 out of 10
- Headquarters: 9 out of 10
- Drivers: Valtteri Bottas (87) and Zhou Guanyu (79)
The Sauber team from Switzerland offers a great challenge – on the one hand, the budget and HQ facilities are not in the best shape, but on the other hand, you have a truly strong car at your disposal for the start of the season, which will allow you to score points on a regular basis. Since technical failures are limited compared to reality, with the right development you can maintain the strong form for a long time and possibly even quickly catch up with the leading group. Bottas and Zhou are also real machines in the game, and you should definitely retain them. Alfa Romeo is our recommendation for a really fun as well as challenging first campaign in F1 Manager 2022.
F1 Manager 2022: Remaining Field
The four teams already mentioned are the ones that can race for victory in the medium term. Behind them, entertaining options are also available, but be warned: as Williams or Aston Martin, the game is not much fun for a very long time, because all your decisions in races usually don’t have much impact – you won’t win anything even in the rain with these tractors. Of course, it is extremely satisfying to finally lead such a team to the points again. It just takes a lot of patience.
McLaren
- Season goal: 4th place
- Long-term goal: Constructors’ World Champion
- Budget: Medium
- Car: 7/8 out of 10
- Headquarters: 4 out of 10
- Drivers: Lando Norris (86) and Daniel Ricciardo (84)
McLaren has high ambitions, but a damn slow car to start with – so the board won’t be too happy with you. They need to put some work into development to get their first points, so your first season with them is going to be a rough one.
Alpine
- Season goal: 4th place
- Long-term goal: Constructors’ World Champion
- Budget: High
- Car: 5/6 out of 10
- Headquarters: 8 out of 10
- Drivers: Fernando Alonso (85) and Esteban Ocon (85)
The Alpines have what it takes to fight their way into the points on a regular basis. However, you need to invest some of your high budget in your HQ to catch up with the top teams.
Alpha Tauri
- Season goal: 6th place
- Long term goal: Podium contender
- Budget: Medium
- Car: 5/6 out of 10
- Headquarters: 6 out of 10
- Drivers: Pierre Gasly (84) and Yuki Tsunoda (77)
Alpha Tauri is probably the most midfield of midfield teams in the racing series’ lineup. Really all areas could use investment, so you have to make decisions about where to put your money. Regular points are no guarantee and you need smart strategies to maximize your chances.
Aston Martin
- Season goal: 8th place
- Long-term goal: Points contender
- Budget: High
- Car: 9 out of 10
- Headquarters: 4 out of 10
- Drivers: Sebastian Vettel (82) and Lance Stroll (79)
From pink Mercedes to green tractor – how the mighty have fallen. As your budget and HQ are not bad at least, you definitely have enough resources available at Aston Martin to turn things around. However, the car is so slow at the start of the season that you’ll be cruising around in no man’s land in front of Williams and in between everyone else in every race. Replace your subpar chief designers and start your car development quickly to start the hunt for points.
Williams
- Season goal: 9th place
- Long-term goal: Points contender
- Budget: Low
- Car: 10 out of 10
- Headquarters: 7 out of 10
- Drivers: Alexander Albon (81) and Nicholas Latifi (73)
The ultimate test of F1 Manager 2022 is to win the World Championship with Williams one day. The car is far behind in last place, the HQ is poorly developed, the budget low. Williams is only recommended for hardcore managers with a lot of patience.
Haas
- Season goal: 6th place
- Long-term goal: Podium candidate
- Budget: Low
- Car: 6 out of 10
- Headquarters: 10 out of 10
- Drivers: Kevin Magnussen (80) and Mick Schumacher (76)
Haas is in a similar situation to Williams, but at least it has a car with which the team can finish in the points under the right conditions. In some ways, the team offers the more interesting version of the Williams Challenge, as you’re involved in battles from the start and need clever strategies to grab points. Sixth place is doable, but a really tough target for the season.
Written by Marco Wutz on behalf of GLHF.
