Codemasters’ latest Formula 1 game hasn’t changed a great deal when it comes to wet weather driving. Nevertheless, it’s difficult to master. With this wet driving tutorial, you’ll be winning in the rain in no time!
Image credit: Codemasters / EA
When the heavens open in Formula 1 races, the fans love it. The drivers, however, aren’t often so enthusiastic about the prospect of a wet race. This is because driving a Formula 1 car in rainy conditions is a very different challenge compared to driving in the dry, one which is a test to even the finest drivers in the world. This is true for players in F1 2021 as well. If you’re someone who struggles when the rain begins to fall, here are a few tips to help you to learn to love wet racing.
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An Ideal Setup
First things first, you need to make sure you’ve got a good setup for your car. Wet setups aren’t always too dissimilar from dry ones, but there are a few key changes you’ll need to make when setting up your car for the wet.
Most important are your ride height settings, which can be found in the suspension tab of the setup menu. Raising your car higher off of the ground, i.e. running higher ride height values, will help to give you a stable car which is less affected by changes in the surface beneath you. This way, your car won’t be threatening to fly out from under you the whole time!
It’s also a good idea to go for higher wing angles in the wet as well. Not only will this give you more aerodynamic grip when grip is at a premium, but the increased drag levels will make less of a difference too. This is partially due to the fact that drag has more of an effect the faster your car is going, and you will be going more slowly than usual in the wet conditions. The fact that it’s very hard to follow and overtake other cars in the wet in F1 2021 is also a factor here, as you won’t find yourself vulnerable to any cars behind despite your lower straight-line speed.
Steady as she goes
Once you get out onto the track, there are a few adaptations you can make to your driving style which will make a big difference to your comfort levels in the wet. If you are driving without ABS and traction control, you’ll need to be even more careful with your brake and throttle application than you usually would be.
Lower grip means more wheelspin in the traction zones, so being careful with your throttle pedal is of the utmost importance. Another way to limit wheelspin when accelerating out of slow corners is to rapidly shift up through the gearbox, keeping your engine at low revs until you’re out of the traction zone. This also has the happy side-effect of wearing out your rear tyres less than normal gear shifts would.
As for the brakes, try to err on the side of caution. Braking even a fraction too late into a corner in the wet will see you locking up and sliding off track, so braking a little bit earlier than you think you should is often a good idea. If it’s clear you’ve braked too early, you can always ease off of the brakes as you approach the apex of the corner. If you’re still struggling with lockups, try lowering your brake pressure setting in brakes page of the setup menu.
Make use of assists
Learning to drive well in the wet takes time, and if you aren’t careful it can become an overwhelmingly frustrating experience. Don’t throw yourself in at the deep end if you aren’t comfortable. Make sure you have flashbacks enabled while you are learning, so that you can go back and correct mistakes that you have made. Not only does this lead to a less punishing experience, it also helps you to learn what it was that you did wrong in the first place.
If you drive without assists such as traction control and ABS, consider turning them on if you find yourself all at sea in the rain. The medium traction control setting will help to guide you through the traction zones without doing all the work for you, while enabling ABS will let you focus on the throttle and steering inputs before you have to worry about perfect precision on the brakes. At the end of the day, F1 2021 is supposed to be a fun experience, don’t ruin it by trying to force yourself into situations you aren’t ready for.
How do you like driving in the wet in F1 2021? Tell us on Twitter at @overtake_gg or in the comments down below!
