Ever since the GT7 game release back in March 2022, sim racing drivers have been debating about which game was better between F1 2021 and Gran Turismo 7.
While they both have their pros and cons, it can be tough to decide which one is the perfect racing game for you.
In this blog post, we’ll take a look at some of the key differences between these two popular racing games.
Our goal is to help you decide which one to pick by looking at few different factors including:
- Driving realism
- Variety of cars and tracks
- Graphics quality
- Car handling
- Compatibility
- Laser scanned tracks
- Prices and Download
So let’s now get started with our in depth comparison guide between GT7 and F1 2021.
Table of Contents
How realistic is it to drive?
F1 2021 is probably one of the most popular sim racing games that is frequently being used by pro sim racers to improve their speed and win eSports championships, such as the case of Jarno Opmeer.
Thus, it’s quite natural for F1 2021 to offer some of the most realistic driving experience for its users.
In fact after years of testing a variety of racing games, we can safely say that F1 2021 still stands as possibly one of the best in terms of combining all aspects of a realistic driving experience including handling, sound quality, force feedback, tyre grip model and much more.
Gran Turismo 7 is also another great racing simulator that has been around from March 2022.
Despite being known more as a game rather than a racing simulator as ACC and iRacing, the developers of Gran Turismo 7 are still prioritizing their simulation engine to be as realistic as possible to real-life racing.
In fact, the software itself was created based on real life racing physics!
Variety of cars and tracks
F1 2021 doesn’t have the most cars and race tracks option, but they are definitely the best racing game in the market when it comes to competitive F1 racing.
There are 10 different F1 car brands available for you to pick and a totsal of 20 drives.
In terms of tracks, we’re talking about a total of 21, which isn’t much compared to GT7 but it still realistically representing the entire F1 2021 licensed calendar.
On the other hand, Gran Turismo 7 features more than 520 cars from countless manufacturers around the world.
All in all, the car details and specs in Gran Turismo 7 are quite impressive, but they could definitely add more realism when it comes to car physics and handling.
As for the tracks, there are 35 venues with 25 extra different layouts for you to compete on.
Graphics quality
F1 2021 has a state of the art graphic quality that we can hardly find any flaws in.
Both the car exterior and interior are very detailed and you can clearly see how they pay high attention to every single detail including the racing cockpit environment.
As long as you are using a PC with reliable GPU and processor, be ready for the ultimate graphic experience!
Similarly, Gran Turismo 7 is also known for their outstanding graphic quality.
It’s been one of their strongest points since their first release, given that they’ve also got the officialy licensed Playstation version.
We would argue that the overall graphics in F1 2021 is just a tad better than Gran Turismo 7, but it’s very marginal and both games are definitely top-notch when it comes to this department.
Car handling
In term sof car handling, probably F1 2021 has the better feel to it.
The car responds very well to your inputs and you can definitely feel the different when you’re driving on the limit.
This makes F1 2021 an ideal game for those who want to improve their driving skills since it offers a great training ground for you to learn and master the art of racing.
Gran Turismo 7 ,on the other hand, is perhaps not as great as F1 2021, but it’s still a very decent racing game when it comes to car handling.T
he cars don’t feel as alive as in F1 2021 and they definitely need a bit of improvement in term of realistic car physics.
Compatibility (PC, Xbox, Playstation)
As you might know already, F1 2021 is available for PC, Xbox and Playstation consoles which means that you can play it with any devices that you have, though playing on PC usually tends to yield the best graphics experience thanks to powerful GPUs.
With that in mind, racing with consoles is not to be overlooked, especially when you are racing with Gran Turismo 7 which is only available on Playstation (PS4 & PS5).
In fact, especially for Playstation users, we highly recommend Gran Turismo 7 as it really is one of the best racing games that you can run on Playstation.
FOV (Field of view)
FOV is one of the most important factors that will determine the level of immersion of your overall racing experience.
As it applies with most high quality racing games, you can pretty often adjust your FOV in the settings menu.
In the case of F1 2021 and Gran Turismo 7, we believe that both games have excellent FOV even when used by default and so you won’t really have to change it that much.
having said that, make sure you check our free FOV calculator that we’ve recently released!
Are tracks laser scanned?
Laser scanning is something that will not directly affect your racing performance, but it is highly regarded by sim racers as one of the most important factors to get on point for professional sim racing games.
In F1 2021, it’s still quite unclear whether all or only a few of the F1 tracks ar elaser scanned or not.
Similarly, Gran Turismo 7 has only a few tracks that are based on real life venues, and some of these (but not all) are laser scanned to provide users with the most realistic details from the kerbs and bumps on the track.
The majority of tracks that are not laser scanned in Gran Turismo 7 are the ones based on fictional and historical racing venues.
Online multiplayer
F1 2021 is an online racing game that is primarily dedicated for online multiplayer races.
It’s in fact one of the most popular simulators where the best sim racers from around the world get to test out their skills against each other.
F1 2021 is supported with a sophisticated licensing system where you will be able to participate in racing events with racers of your skill level.
Thus, the races are always winnable yet still challenging at the same time.
Gran Turismo 7 applies similar measures to make sure their online races are kept competitive and fun for racers of all levels, though it’s nowhere near as competitive and professional as ACC, iRacing or F1 2021.
Force Feedback (FFB)
While F1 2021 and Gran Turismo 7 operate on different devices, it is safe to say that both developers have done a great job in maintaining a fairly precise and accurate force feedback system.
Some drivers would be fine racing with the default settings, but you can always adjust the in-game force feedback according to your own preference in the settings menu, to either make the wheel feel a bit “heavier” or “lighter”.
Prices and Downloads
F1 2021 prices
F1 2021 starts at $59.99 on Steam.
GT7 prices
Device |
Price |
Link |
Playstation |
$69.99 |
Playstation Download |
So which one is better for you?
Both Formula 1 2021 and Gran Turismo 7 are great choices depending on what you are looking for in a sim racing game.
If you’re looking for the most realistic experience with excellent FOV and laser scanned tracks, then F1 2021 is the perfect choice for you.
On the other hand, if you are looking for a simple GT online multiplayer experience that is fun and competitive for all skill levels, Gran Turismo 7 is probably better.
You should ideally give both of them a try and see which one suits you the best!
As always, happy sim racing!