F1 2011 by Codemasters – first pictures

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F1 2011 – the official game of the 2011 Formula 1 season by Codemasters – will be released on September 23rd this year.

The sequel to F1 2010 will once again be available for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.

Here are the first pictures from the game:

F1 pictures

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Images © Codemasters

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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129 comments on “F1 2011 by Codemasters – first pictures”

  1. Will definitely by this time round, 100% game and platnium trophy on GT5, so time for a new challenge :)

  2. lets hope codemasters sort the tyre colour coding before Pirelli do ;)

    1. And lets hope the FIA has given codemasters the DRS locations for the races that take place after the game is released.

      1. Good point!

      2. Knowing FIA I think Codemasters will release an update patch with the correct zones – although obviously I hope they’re there in the first place.

        1. codemasters did almost nothing to fix the bugs in f1 2010. Really unimpressed with how they handled it. Of course i’ll be getting this, but I imagine it’ll be buggy and will require more patches than codemasters are prepared to give

          1. Totally agree with you about f1 2010. It was the most buggy game i’ve ever played in my life! Graphics and weather effects were great but apart from that I reckon it was the most disappointing game of all time. Played the game for a week, then got rid off it. Codemasters were incredibly lazy not to iron out the bugs before release and then when released they did nothing to fix the problems but were still more than happy to take peoples money for a half finished game.. Greedy and lazy beyond belief.. I won’t buy F1 2011 unless ALL bugs have been fixed and realistic crashes and a safety car is introduced.

          2. Codemasters did get rid of the bugs though, you just weren’t patient enough to wait for them to do so.

          3. Indeed 2010 had no business shipping the state it was in – The worst bug i came across was the reversed pit lane at Monaco!

            Coupled with the fake qualifying and no sector3 times was very, very disappointing.

          4. For what it’s worth, it was their first attempt, compared to the Sony games it was probably a good effort.

            At least it felt like f1, it had the atmosphere.

          5. It was the most buggy game i’ve ever played in my life!

            110% agree, and even with the patches it does weird things, but they are probably not bugs but shockingly bad game play. It was still the best F1 game for the last 3 – 4 years though ;-)

            This much be much better, surely.

        2. Think i’ll wait for F12012 in which DRS will have been dropped… for sure….

          1. reversed pit lane at Monaco!

            That’s the new pitlane layout sparky,you turn left when leaving the garage.. I agree with the missing sector 3 times, I can now add and subtract times like rainman though:)
            It was a super buggy game but they sorted it out on the whole.. A great mix between a friendly sim and a fun racer..

            I bought GT5 after and haven’t played it in months, still playin F1 2010 online though..

          2. It’s hardly “new”, it’s been like that since 2004!

            Changing tracks: Monte-Carlo

          3. Its not the correct exit though as you dont cut the first corner as you do now.

            But lack of sector 3 times was woeful, as was the AI which was sometimes too easy and at spain was 2 seconds a lap faster than you in every car. Also the AI would take corners slower but somehow miracuosly catch you on the straight.

            And the pre-patch puncture bug! RAGE!!!!

            It was a solid start so with little work to do on the engine and physics im looking forward to improved AI (i wasn’t too fussed about the “fake” AI in practice and quali)

    2. yeah the cars seem to have the thin gold stripes around the edges of the tyres, this was changed from turkey on.

      also the wet tyre has yellow, not orange wording in the pics. shock horror!

      1. It’s orange, have another look.

  3. Hope they put safety car in. And also mechanical failures. I really hated F1 2010, when there is a big crash and debris is cleared in 5 seconds. Also I hate when I abuse engine and there is no penalty.

    1. Codies said mechanical failures will be in the game and they are trying to find a way to include the SC.

      1. WHy is everyone so hell bent on having the safety car in the game. If I play a racing game, I play it to race, not to drive at half speed for several laps, weaving from left to right to keep my tyres warm.

        1. I agree!

          I understand why people want to see authentic race management – red flag scenarios and so on – but if there were real safety car periods it would probably be entertaining for one lap and then I’d want to fast-forward through the rest.

          1. That’s exactly how the safety car worked in the Nascar games. It’s be good to have it in, with the option of skipping through.

          2. Mark Hitchcock
            9th June 2011, 8:49

            I’d guess it would probably only be out for one lap. Just to bunch up the field.
            That’s why I’d want the feature, to replicate the real effect a SC has on the race.

            It doesn’t really need to be something you have to play through either. Could just have yellow flags/SC boards, then have the computer take over your car when you cross the start/finish line. Then cut to when the SC goes in and you take control again as the race goes green.

        2. I do not play the game, but my thoughts on having a SC were exactly the same as soon as I saw people asking for it.

          What’s next, demand a real Red Flag mechanism as well, with waiting 50 minutes for the rain to stop included (Malaysia 2009 like)?

          1. Some of us sim nerds quite like the idea of the entire race strategy being changed positively or negatively by a safety car because it happens, not all the time, but for lack of a better word, fairly frequently.

            An example of this would be I have been running my engine at full tilt for a large part of the race whilst those behind me have not… my advantage would be wiped out during a safety car whilst they can ramp up the revs. I would have to defend like crazy and this is the kind of stuff that happens in real life.

            Your point about red flags is almost irrelevant by comparison, it happens so infrequently that it’s inclusion in the game should not be compared to a safety car.

    2. Mouse_Nightshirt
      7th June 2011, 18:24

      I read in an interview they were hoping to put the SC in.

      1. That means they wont find a way. I dont see this game being any different to the last one (which was flawed in many ways).

        1. (which was flawed in many ways)

          Understatement of the year :-)

  4. Is it me or have they only modeled the Red Bull, Lotus, Williams and Sauber so far? (Not that I’m complaining, that’s a lot of work since they were first released!)

    1. Probably they’re still working on the other cars in terms of liveries/shapes.

      1. As they are probably doing on the tracks as Turkey is the only one shown.

        1. Well I doubt they’re redoing all the tracks, most will just be ported over with maybe a few touches here and there. Two new tracks though, N’ring and Buddh. Really though, if F1 2010 had modding tools then a proper 2011 conversion would have been released already, including India!

          I guess that’s why they deliberately made the game hard to mod, otherwise they’d be losing out on easy sales from a 2011 release which offers little new.

          1. I’m still sceptical of the claim you can accurately model a circuit that hasn’t been built yet. Let’s see how much Korea changes compared to last year’s game now they’ve had some authentic data from the track to work with.

          2. I hope they change South Korea’s pit lane, in F1 2010, the exit went all they way around turn 1 and 2.

          3. I don’t think they made it deliberately hard to mod, I just think they didn’t make it deliberately easy to mod. They use the engine they created for racing games in the past and tweaked it to fit this game. That engine wasn’t made with modding in mind, it was made for ease of use on their end with translating what they want to the screen. So deliberately ignoring mods was likely never part of it.

          4. I’m sure there’s plenty of CAD data out there at the Tilke offices that they can pull accurate measurements from. As for the look and feel of the circuit, you’re never going to get that until after it is built. But the Indian circuit is on the 2011 calendar (albeit like a yoyo), so it has to be in the game. As long as they get the circuit correct, they can make it look proper for next year’s version, as I’m sure the Korean track will be this time round.

  5. Fred Schechter
    7th June 2011, 18:07

    No in car pics,
    No Peace!

    1. you know what would be good on an f1 game. 1st person walking around the paddock so then you accually get to walk through the back of the garage and into the paddock after qualy and then get surrounded by press and the media. Another good thing would be to have visual upgrades on the can duch as the front wing changing and maybe a few other bit elsewhere.

      1. I agree first person walking around would add a new element to the game. Maybe codemasters could put it in the 2034 edition, by then everything else should be fixed.

      2. Perhaps when racing as Sutil you can walk around with boxing gloves on… just in case you walk through the Renault Renault Renault garage.

  6. yeah hope we have kers and drs, along with safety car and mechanical failures. Just graphic enhancement is not what i want.

    1. Codies said KERS and DRS will be there.

  7. The sequel to F1 2010 will once again be available for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.

    And Nintendo 3DS.

    1. It’ll be released at a different date I think. At least I hope and they haven’t gone back on it!

    2. Have you got a link on that? Not seen any reference to it in Codemasters’ material.

      1. I’m going by memory as a 3DS version was announced when the game itself was announced.

      2. http://www.gamepur.com/news/3192-f1-2011-release-date-announced-official-boxart-unveiled.html

        They did keep that pretty quiet. Hope this doesn’t mean it’s “on hold” (forever).

    3. The 3DS and PlayStation Vita version will be released at a later date which has yet to be confirmed.

    4. And Wii?? I got F1 ’09.. And that was it! It was like the old PS2 games, I really want them to release it on the wii so I don’t have to fork out £2-300 on a new console aswell…

      However, should that have to be the case… Anyone willing to buy a Wii off me?? XD

      1. You can pick up second hand x-boxs from Game/play/CEX for less than £100 (and im talknig about the ones with the hard drive and HDMI). By september i’d expect that to have a fallen a tad so you could probably pick one up and the game for about £100.

        Still not ideal, but hey.

      2. If F1 2011 does come out on the Wii can the nun-chuck be used to shake the drivers fist? You know, think Alonso vs Petrov at Abu Dhabi :P

    5. there isn’t a Wii version, like F1 2009?

      1. Yeah, but I was really excited by ’10 and all the modes..

        Hopefully this new Wii U should persuade Codemasters…

  8. Rumours are that the difficulty levels will be Easy, Medium, Hard and Mark Webber, where nothing on the car seems to work.

    1. haha true

    2. And Lewis Hamilton where you get to see the stewards every race?

      1. That’s what we have in F1 2010. :)

    3. That’s hilarious!

    4. Very good one! :-)

      Anyway I’ve never been more disappointed by any other game. The way the cars handle is just pathetic. Moreover, the game is buggy, car damage almost inexistant, and I won’t even mention the replay system.

      I definitely WON’T buy this game (in fact, I’ll sell my F1 2010 copy on Ebay) unless I read positive reviews from real sim fans (Rfactor and GP4 players).

      However, I admit the graphics and the weather system are great, but it’s not enough.

  9. All these photos look like they could have been taken in F1 2010.

    1. Mouse_Nightshirt
      7th June 2011, 18:26

      I’m playing 2010 at the moment and these graphics are definitely crisper. It’s using a whole new iteration of the “ego” engine.

    1. It would be great if they kept the marshals waving their flag when its released haven’t seen that since the EA versions and F1 04

      1. Gaston (@golarrazabal)
        7th June 2011, 23:49

        Marshals waving flags at the end of the race would be cool.

        1. Or additional hazards during the game with marshals periodically running out in front of Torro Rossos?

          1. loooooooooooooooooool XD

  10. I’m hoping for improved graphics, pit lane to be reworked, all those bugs ironed out, opponent AI made more difficult and more realistic, and dynamic head movement in cockpit view, so I can actually look towards the apex of the turn.

      1. Thanks, Fixy.

  11. looks arcade.stupid codemasters!

    1. Mouse_Nightshirt
      7th June 2011, 18:27

      How on earth can you judge that from the pictures?

      1. Because the previous one was like donkey kong racer.

        1. Mouse_Nightshirt
          7th June 2011, 23:16

          Oh it wasn’t that bad! Turn of all the assists and it becomes a much more realistic game. Granted, nothing like Live for Speed, but at the end of the day, they need to be able to appeal to less die-hard fans.

  12. BAD ERROR! Trulli has a red t-cam, but, being driver number 2, should have the yellow one!

    1. Wow. This changes everything! A absolutely mi nute livery mistake in essential beta pictures of a game. HOW DARE THEY!

      1. i know, i think i’ll miss this one this year. no thanks codies! lol

      2. It does make you question their attention to detail. If they are getting something as simple as a t-bar colour wrong, what other more complex things are also wrong?

        At the end of the day they are making a game for F1 fans, and F1 fan generally tend to pay attention to detail.

    2. Are you sure it’s Trulli?

      1. Trulli has a red helmet, Kovalainen has a black and green helmet, so he’s right.

        1. It’s the number 20 car though.

          1. It’s Trulli in Heikki’s car. As in 2010 Trulli was first driver, they have left him there – I hope they’ll change it.

    3. sid_prasher (@)
      7th June 2011, 19:33

      They should get it beta tested by the Fanatics :)!

      1. I’ll quite happily drive around Spa for hours on end :)

      2. They get it Beta tested by the paying public…

        1. All big games do that nowadays though…

  13. Looks no different to last year’s game at this stage…

  14. Well, as long as they remove that damn fake arcade rubber-band-physics crap that makes the car behind you go faster just so it can catch up!

    Wait…

    1. lol! COTD for sure.

  15. The real sim enthusiasts know that for realism RFactor is king. I personally use it to learn tracks I havent been to, not for F1 sim (dont have time to do 100% distance grand prix, plus I make too many ambitious mistakes).

    Codies F1 2010/2011 is eye candy for people like me who enjoy racing, enjoy F1 and enjoy a bit of realism with a splash of arcadey fun.

    1. Don’t forget GTR2.

  16. Funny they should release pics of the cars at Istanbul Park even though it’s the track most likely to be dropped next year! I’m sure they didn’t put as much thought into that as I did though ;)

    Looks good!

    1. It’s 2011. So that race already happened. As I recall.

      1. You make a valid point!

        I’m ashamed :(

  17. so no new F1 games in years, now they want to 2 back to back. so does that mean i can get a refund when 2011 drops? i didn’t get far playin 2010, it just didn’t seem worth my time without a steering wheel and i didn’t wish to waste more money getting one.

    1. Refund? No refunds here, but you could always trade it in. Yearly updates are a part of videogames nowadays, especially sports… or Call of sodding Duty.

      And when official F1 games first started coming out for the consoles in 1995, there was a yearly update for 10 years running. The only reason there wern’t any from 2005-2008 is because Sony squandered the licence and did nothing with it.

      At least Codemasters have made a pretty big efford. Ok, F12010 was buggy, but it was their first effort (not including F12009, that was a completely different game). I’m sure F12011 will be a lot better.

      However, if Forza Motorsport 4 has single seaters, I don’t think I’ll be needing it.

  18. rfactor or iracing are surely the way to go…

    1. Yes, agreed. Iracing is a very authentic and competitive environment. If you want competition go there.

      1. Mark Hitchcock
        9th June 2011, 12:34

        And it had better be for the amount of money they sponge off you!

        1. For me, iRacing worth every penny and more…

          In fact I’m saving loads using iRacing. I no longer have a social life, don’t go away on holiday & eat/drink out much less. On average I’m about £100 a month better off and that’s factoring in the iRacing costs & equipment :)

  19. I agree with d3v0 and I P. F1 2010 is an arcade game and I’m sure F1 2011 is going to be that as well. Consumers just want the ‘easy’ part: getting right in the cockpit, and get zero wheelspin, multiplied downforce instantly.

    These games are nowhere near rFactor, iRacing or Grand Prix Legends in terms of physical engine.

    Of course it can be argued if this is a critic. It depends on what you appreciate: a sim or an arcade.

  20. Robert McKay
    7th June 2011, 23:11

    I don’t really like F1 2010. I’m not entirely sure why. I’ve not played it remotely enough to encounter any of the bugs, that’s the funny thing.

    It looks pretty but I just don’t like how it handles that much. Perhaps that’s just that it doesn’t translate to a pad much.

    So I’m not that excited about F1 2011.

    If I could just get a Geoff Crammond Grand Prix 5…

  21. I absolutely cannot wait for this game. I have a playseat A1GP with a Logitech G27 and I’m ranked in the top 2% globally on F1 2010, and i’m determined i will be up there again on this game.
    For anybody that says this is arcady, try switching traction control off putting it in manual and selecting tyre wear and fuel deg on, then chose 100% race distance at monaco with the AI selected as LEGEND, full damage and zero flashbacks, then choose to race as Senna or Chandhok, then, win the race. Come back and say the game is arcady when you can do that.
    (p.s. – i did this and got to lap 62 of 78, placed in 4th and battling for the podium when i Hamilton Style dived down the inside of JB only for it to go wrong and before i could react ended up with no front wing, consequently no downforce and no sight of the pit-lane. A devastating end to an epic display of skill and Stamina. Yes, i’m humble.

    1. The simple fact that there’s any kind of possibility for a HRT to achieve better than 14th (AUS, 2010) is the definition of its ‘arcade’ style.

      Not doubting your amazing skeeeelllzzz at the wheel but why don’t you join in at iRacing to see how well they translate to a hard core simulation. They have the Williams FW31 on there and it’s as difficult as it should be (the computer isn’t helping you, at all!)

      1. iRacing is HARD. You have to work at every corner or every lap. I know I did, and even the the best place I ever got was a single 3rd position. And even then that was only in the MX5, I daren’t try any other car, it took me so long to get even semi-decent in the Mazda.

        But anyone can do a few laps in F12010 without putting a wheel wrong.

        1. I think Anthony Davidson commented, that actually driving a F1 car in iRacing is too hard compared to the real thing!

          That was last year commenting on his work for Codemasters.

    2. yup, still arcady.

  22. Yes f12010 had bugs but I still play it as often as I play cod black ops!

    That’s a big statement!!

  23. the one thing that annoyed me most about f12010 was the high pitch revving sound made when just leaving the bloomin’ pits! the engine sound is horrible anyway, a real life f1 engine sounds much better.

    1. Robert McKay
      8th June 2011, 11:11

      The engine overall sounds like a baby wailing its eyes out, which drives me crazy.

  24. Well, it looks nice. clap clap.

    But so did last years, and it’s not visuals I’m after to be honest.

  25. community based rfactor is better than this trash as far as online racing

  26. This game will probably have Lewis Hamilton or Vettel dressed up like Ken Block, saying “cool” things at every opportunity.

    It would be EXTREME

  27. Hate the hazy look the game has in dry conditions. The colouring could have been so much more improved to look realistic.

    1. And the shiny track surface. Has that been improved?

  28. In f12010 the graphics were good, the on track racing was good, but as a game in terms of replay value it was about as exciting as chasing a hoop with a stick. 2011 is basically the finished product that 2010 should have been. I’m not going to bother with it.

  29. Im amazed at all the negative comments on here about this, F1 2010 is a commercial game for the masses so of course its going to be easier than a hardcore sim, if you want close to real life physics then head for iRacing/NKpro/Rfactor/LFS bare in mind these can take a long time to master before the level of enjoyment you get from playing F12010 comes to equal? The beauty of F12010 is that is a very good balanced game that is actually suitable for both novice players using a pad and sim nuts using a wheel. Yes there were bugs in the release but it has been well publicised that it was rushed just to get it out on time and the majority of them were actually fixed anyway.

    I believe they are going to be doing this annually so it will evolve over time, but if I remember the decision was made to drop further development of 2010 to fix everything and improve the game but to instead concentrate on making 2011 that much better, a bit like what Ferarri did in real life. I for one cannot wait for the new release to come out but my only citicism is that they have opted to stay with 720p graphics and trade upto to full 1080p, I read somewhere that codies said 24 F1 cars online in HD would not work…………but then they say max 16players online (the same as GT5 which is full HD1080p) Whats the deal???!!!

    1. I saw an interview with one of the developers recently where he said online races could have up to 16 players plus eight computer opponents, to give a full grid of 24 cars.

    2. JK, I get your point but this is Formula 1. The worlds premier motor racing series. It/we deserve better than this superficial crap.

      Codemasters have some talent, certainly when it comes to making something look good. But also when it comes to fleecing cash out of as many wallets as possible.
      If the product wasn’t ready (F1 2010) it should not have been released in that state. Rather, have less features that work than more that don’t.

      The player is constantly nannied through the game. Never once are you actually in control. It’s always just an approximation of your inputs to what happens and then the computer adjusts the other variables to suit and give you an artificial advantage.
      Where is the sense of achievement in that? Oh yeah, I forgot, the puddles look great.

      The Codemasters F1 franchise isn’t even a patch on the previous official on the PC (F1 99-02) and it’s such a waste of what should be the driving game/sim equivalent to F1 itself.

      It’s embarrassingly bad.

      Come back Geoff Crammond, please!

  30. Not going to bother with this. F1 2010 was sooo laggy, never really got any enjoyment out of it. Sorry Codemasters, you’re not getting anymore of my cash.

  31. I can only agree that F1 2010 was a very-very buggy game. But the unacceptable part wasnt in itself the bugs, but the lack of support afterwards. Basically Codemasters went “screw you” and didnt do a thing about it.

    Horrible customer service aside: the feel of the game is awesome. On that alone F1 2011 might be a buy – but last years post-sale support failure will mean seeing rather than believing first.

    1. But the unacceptable part wasnt in itself the bugs, but the lack of support afterwards. Basically Codemasters went “screw you” and didnt do a thing about it.

      I think that’s very harsh. They had a patch out pretty quickly and addressed a lot of the criticisms at length:

      https://www.racefans.net/2010/09/30/codematers-statement-on-f1-2010-bugs-and-patch/

      1. Keith, no disrespect but me thinks you don’t deal with software/games very much?

        They did release a patch, it fixed a few things, it didn’t fix many other things and broke a few more things along the way.

        CM’s after sales is notoriously bad, it consists of a forum with what I can assume are automated responses to effect of ‘We’re sorry you are having problems. Please ensure your system is compatible and you have all the latest drivers installed… blah blah blah ad infinitum.’

        There are similar game stopping bugs with their recent DiRT 3 release (which just had a 500MB patch that didn’t address the single most common problem people are having.

        I’m just glad they don’t make real cars. They’d look like Lamborghini’s and be useful as a Trabant…

  32. Hi,

    Just to put my two pennys worth in …

    My single biggest criticism of F1 2010 is the awful framerate drops through swimming pool and Antony Knowes at Monaco. Anybody experiencing these issues will know that it point blank finishes the game for you, totally unplayable.

    Overall, I’d give the game a 6ish out of 10. Massive credit has to be given in terms of the aesthetic element of the game, but that’s the easy bit.

    My list of woes is as follows:

    Framerate drops as described, unacceptable

    Pit Lane limiter, just has to be fully manual, and when it says manual, it needs to mean manual, in all sessions!

    Sound upon changing gear isn’t crisp.

    Fix these, and i’ll buy 2011.

  33. I’m buying F1 2011 immediately..

    Even if I only play it for 2-3 weeks, I’m just happy to have an updated F1 game. Plus, I want to support codemasters for actually attempting to make this game (something nobody attempted since 2005/6ish?)

    Sure there are problems, like the drop in framerate, but that should* be an fairly simple fix in the new game. Drops in framerate is just a rendering problem becuase the demands are too high, I’m sure they’ll just reduce the amount of polygons/detail around the effected areas, and it will be smooth sailing from there.

    *absolutely no source!

  34. Midnightmundster
    2nd August 2011, 22:49

    I find that many of you have complained about bug’s in f1 2010, true i am gutted about the pit zone & some other minor stuff, but, as an F1 fan & have been for the last 30 yrs or so i must say that F1 2010 is the best f1 game out there, i sure am looking forward to 2011 game with the safety car DRS & kers. An online championship in conjunction with the actual race on tv would be amazing with announcements by jake humphries etc. Besides, being a biker of 30 yrs i found no bike game worthy of thier genre apart from TT SUBERBIKES on ps2 so being as f1 2010 was codemasters first attempt at it i give them a standing ovation.also i am 3 times world champ on pro mode with full laps. 2 drivers tittles with virgin,1 with redbull & now leading my 4th year in Mclaren (sorry lewis they chose me over you!!!!)
    BRING ON F1 2011!!!

    1. Ummm yeah, it’s best F1 game in a field of one.

      Glad it works for you and it is just a game after all…

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