Getting faster in F1 2021 is not about one secret. It is a short list of habits, and you work on them one at a time, in the right order.
This is the order I would use. Three things before you drive, four on the lap, four in the race.
1. Fix the camera and the controls first
A lot of players try to drive around a bad setup of the game itself. The default camera shakes and moves under braking. The default wheel and pad settings are not made for precision.
Spend twenty minutes here before anything else:
- Camera: lower field of view, shake and movement off. The values are in my F1 2021 camera settings.
- Controls: F1 2021 wheel settings or F1 2021 controller settings.
- Assists: start with the ones you need and take them off in order. See F1 2021 assists and AI difficulty.
After that, do not touch the settings for a week. If you change them every session, you never know if it is you or the game.
2. Learn the track at 80%
The mistake is to push on lap two. You go off, you restart, and after thirty minutes you still do not know the track.
Do ten laps slowly. Slow enough that you never miss an apex. You are not looking for speed. You are looking for where the track goes, which kerbs are flat and which corners lead onto a long straight.
Then add speed in small steps. When you make the same mistake twice in the same corner, you have found the next thing to work on.
3. Three references for every corner
Fast drivers do not drive by feeling alone. In every corner they have three fixed points:
- Where you brake. A distance board, the end of a kerb, a shadow, a change of tarmac.
- Where you turn in. Often the start of the inside kerb comes into view, or a mark on the outside.
- Where you go to full throttle. Usually the moment you see the exit kerb and the car is pointing at it.
Say them out loud for one lap if it helps. When a lap goes wrong, you can then say which of the three you missed. Without them, all you know is that the lap was slow.
This is also why I would switch the racing line to Corners Only early, and then off. The line shows you a colour. It does not give you a point you can repeat.
4. Brake hard, then release
An F1 car has the most grip at the highest speed, because the wings push it into the track. So the first hit on the brake pedal is the hardest one. 100%, right away.
As the car slows down, the downforce goes away. The same pressure now locks the front wheels. So you let the pedal come up as the speed drops, and you keep a little brake on while you start to turn. That last part is trail braking, and I explain it in full in my trail braking guide.
If you lock the fronts into every slow corner, you are not braking too hard. You are holding the pedal too long.
5. Stay off the high kerbs
These cars run very low and very stiff. A flat kerb is part of the track. A high one lifts a wheel, the floor touches, and the rear comes round before you can react.
On every new track, test the kerbs in practice, one at a time. Take a little more on each lap. You will find out fast which ones you can use.
Two rules that work nearly everywhere:
- Never be on the throttle hard with a rear wheel on a high exit kerb.
- In chicanes, a straighter line over a big kerb is often slower than the clean line around it, because the car lands unsettled for the second part.
6. Throttle by gear
Out of a slow corner the rear tyres cannot take full power in second or third gear. If you go from zero to full throttle in one move, you get wheelspin, or a spin.
Think of the throttle by gear:
- Second and third gear: squeeze. Half throttle first, then more as you open the steering.
- Fourth gear: nearly everything, if the wheel is close to straight.
- Fifth and up: flat.
Take the next gear early out of hairpins. Less torque reaches the rear wheels, so the car puts the power down better. It works even better in the rain.
Traction control on Medium hides part of this. That is fine while you learn, but practise the squeeze anyway. You will need it the day you turn it off.
7. Chase one ghost, one corner
Time trial is the best tool in the game. Same car, same grip, no fuel, no tyre wear.
Load a ghost that is about half a second faster than you. Not the fastest one in the world. You learn nothing from a car that is gone after three corners.
Follow it and find the one corner where it pulls away the most. Work on that corner only, for ten laps. Look at where it brakes and where it is on the throttle. Then pick the next corner.
Half a second comes from five corners with one tenth in each. It never comes from one big moment.
8. Learn manual starts
Race Starts has two options in the simulation settings: Assisted and Manual. With Assisted the game launches the car for you. With Manual you hold the clutch and the revs yourself.
Manual is worth learning, because a good start can give you two or three places for free.
- Hold the clutch and bring the revs up before the last light.
- Keep the revs steady. Do not sit on the limiter.
- Release the clutch when the lights go out, and feed the throttle in. You will get wheelspin if you go flat right away.
- Take second and third gear early.
Practise it. Start a short race, do the start, restart. Twenty starts in a row teach you more than a season of doing one per race.
9. Put the overtake button on Hold
The overtake button gives you extra electric power and drains the battery. The classic mistake is to press it out of a corner and forget it. Two laps later the battery is empty and you are slow on every straight.
F1 2021 has a setting for this. In the controls menu, Overtake ERS Mode can be Toggle or Hold. Toggle is the default. With Hold, the extra power is only there while your finger is on the button.
If you keep forgetting to switch it off, use Hold.
Where to use the battery:
- On the exit of a corner onto a long straight. The speed you gain stays with you all the way down.
- To attack or defend when the gap is under a second.
- Not in short bursts between corners. You burn battery for very little time.
In qualifying, start the lap with a full battery and use it on every real straight.
10. Keep the rear tyres cool
A race is not ten qualifying laps in a row. Every slide puts heat into the tyre, and a hot tyre wears faster and grips less.
Watch the tyre temperatures on the multi function display. If the rears climb lap after lap:
- Be softer with the throttle on exits.
- Take the next gear earlier out of slow corners.
- Stop sliding the car in fast corners. Lift a little earlier and keep it clean.
You can also change the car while you drive. Brake bias and on throttle differential are on the multi function display. A lower on throttle differential makes the rear calmer on exits when the tyres are old.
A setup made for the race helps too. Mine are track by track in the F1 2021 setups hub.
11. In the wet, brake earlier and stay smooth
Rain changes everything, and most players drive the dry lap on a wet track and then wonder why they spin.
- Brake earlier and softer. The first hit on the pedal cannot be 100% any more.
- Stay off the kerbs and the painted lines. They have much less grip when wet.
- Squeeze the throttle even more. Take the next gear early everywhere.
- Pick the right tyre. Intermediates for a damp or drying track, full wets for heavy rain. Watch the weather forecast on the multi function display and stop one lap early, not one lap late.
How the game handles rain is in my F1 2021 weather settings guide.
What to fix first
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| You lock the fronts into slow corners | You hold full brake too long | Release the pedal as the speed drops |
| You miss the apex | Braking too late | Brake 5 to 10 metres earlier |
| The car spins over kerbs | Too much kerb, or throttle on a high kerb | Use less kerb, wait with the throttle |
| You spin on the exit | Throttle too fast in a low gear | Squeeze, open the wheel, shift early |
| The battery is always empty | Overtake left on | Set Overtake ERS Mode to Hold |
| You lose places at the start | Wheelspin off the line | Steady revs, feed the throttle in |
| Fast for five laps, then slow | Rear tyres too hot | Softer exits, less sliding |
| Lap times all over the place | No fixed references | Three references per corner |
Next steps
- Not sure what AI level to race against? Use my F1 2021 AI difficulty for every track list.
- The same habits work in every sim. My general sim racing tips go deeper.
- Playing the older game too? Read my F1 2020 tips.
FAQ
How do you get faster in F1 2021?
Fix the camera and the controls, learn the track slowly, then work on braking and exits. Practise in time trial against a ghost that is a little faster than you, one corner at a time.
Is F1 2021 hard for beginners?
Not with the assists on. Start with anti lock brakes, Medium traction control and the racing line, then remove them one by one when the laps are clean.
Should I use manual gears in F1 2021?
Yes, once you know the tracks. You can take a higher gear early to stop wheelspin and use the downshifts to help the car turn. It is faster when it becomes a habit.
How do you use ERS in F1 2021?
With the overtake button. Use it on exits onto long straights and when you attack or defend. In the controls menu you can set Overtake ERS Mode to Toggle or Hold.
How do you do a good start in F1 2021?
Set Race Starts to Manual. Hold the clutch, keep the revs steady, release when the lights go out and feed the throttle in. Shift to second and third early.
Why do I keep spinning in F1 2021?
Mostly because of too much throttle in second or third gear with the steering still turned, or because of a high kerb. Squeeze the throttle, shift early and use less kerb.
What is the best way to practise in F1 2021?
Time trial for pure pace, with one ghost and one corner at a time. For races, the practice programmes in career mode teach you tyre, fuel and ERS management on the track you are about to race.