F1 2018 First Look at Paul Ricard in new F1 2018 Trailer

Paul Jeffrey · Jun 21, 2018

France makes its long awaited return to the Formula One calendar next time up, and to celebrate Codemasters have revealed a brand new F1 2018 trailer...

Making use of French Formula One drivers Romain Grosjean, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly to showcase the still in development new Formula One game from Codemasters, this latest trailer for the new title also has something a bit special, in game footage of the beautiful Paul Ricard circuit that will be returning to the Grand Prix calendar for the first time in over 25 years next weekend, a historic moment for the sport as it returns to its roots in France.

The circuit, now under the ownership of one Bernard Charles Ecclestone has undergone considerable change since Grand Prix cars last raced on the circuit back in 1990. Remaining a feature of the track will be a billiard table smooth racing surface so famous from years gone by, however the circuit has now very much moved into the modern age, making use of many different technologies rarely seen in the racing world, including a full sprinkler system to simulate wet weather conditions... however these are unlikely to be used during the race next weekend...

Speaking of the new trailer made with seat time from current Grand Prix drivers, Codemasters F1 Game Director, Lee Mather had the following to say about their feedback:

"It is fantastic for us to get time with the real drivers. These are the guys who know what it is really like to drive these incredible cars and to have them give honest feedback is always extremely valuable. The fact that they were all positive about the game and the direction in which we are taking it is great to hear.”

Having rarely featured in racing simulations outside of a couple of high quality mods, Paul Ricard is an impressive and challenging circuit, even if the similar trackside furniture around the circuit isn't quite to everyone's taste...

So sit back, watch the trailer and enjoy some very impressive looking visuals from the upcoming Formula One 2018 racing game from Codemasters...

Formula One 2018 is scheduled to release for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC August 24th 2018.

Don't forget to check out the new F1 2018 sub forum for all the latest news, mods and racing events for F1 2018.. including our very first PlayStation 4 F1 league!

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Looking forward to F1 2018? What would you like to see included in the new title? Can F1 2018 improve over recent releases? Let us know in the comments section below!

Knoxstar · Jun 21, 2018

Can't wait for it!

tlsmikey · Jun 21, 2018

Wait, did they say they installed a sprinkler system to simulate wet weather?

Unfortunately, the flat terrain of this track makes it one of my least favorites. Still, looking forward to it being part of all sims as it is raced in many different series.

Andrew Harper · Jun 21, 2018

tlsmikey said:
Wait, did they say they installed a sprinkler system to simulate wet weather?

Unfortunately, the flat terrain of this track makes it one of my least favorites. Still, looking forward to it being part of all sims as it is raced in many different series.

Paul Ricard has quite an interesting history. Former home of the French Grand Prix and then when they went to Magny-Cours the track kind of became abandoned.

Bought by wealthy millionaire he removed all evidence of viewing and turned it into a state of the art test track. I seem to remember it's got something like 35 different layouts (or something crazy like that).

Increased all the run-off by 500% and added features like the chicane on the Mistral straight which is an exact copy of the chicane on the Mulsanne at Le Mans and yes they added a sprinker system so they could make the track wet on demand, or half wet, half dry to test intermediates, etc.

One video I've seen recently shows how different the pits are and why I think it's so popular for testing. Huge amount of room for parts and engineers to work on the cars under cover. Changing areas for each garage, kitchen facilities, showers and so on. I know that doesn't interest your average motorsport fan but as a team it must be pure luxury.

The original idea was to market the track purely for testing and nothing else (and it was a great success). Not sure about timing but about a year before Bernie bought it (I think) they slowly started to allow race events there again. ELMS and Blancpain were some of the first major ones I think. However as mentioned above the viewing was very basic. Basic grandstands, grass banks, etc.

So I will follow this Grand Prix with some interest. For a few reasons. To see if they've managed to make it lavish enough to please the F1 rich crowd and to see what the distances are like for viewing (apart from the main start/finish straight, you'll be miles away from any corner due to the huge amounts of runoff).

The Grand Prix itself may be quite good, I actually like the track. Yes it's flat but it's a classic, old school track with mighty fast corners, that's enough for me. The Blancpain races around here have always been excellent, although admittedly they tend to use the full back straight without a chicane. It's quite simple in layout I suppose but always fun to drive in a sim.

VirtuaIceMan · Jun 22, 2018

I read that Slavica Ecclestone now owns the track, as part of their divorce proceedings.

Short_Circut · Jun 22, 2018

I like how the drivers were avoiding directly answering questions like "Do you use this to practice?" and "How realistic do you think this is?"

gamer19 · Jun 22, 2018

C00l video.
They got me a bit more interested into the game than their last two now.

https://www.racedepartment.com/threads/e3-2018-formula-one-2018-game-footage-revealed.155377/
https://www.racedepartment.com/threads/f1-2018-brawn-bgp-001-and-williams-fw25-revealed-in-new-trailer.155474/
What whell they use ? Is that a G27 ?

Leonardo Chaves · Jun 22, 2018

gamer19 said:
C00l video.
They got me a bit more interested into the game than their last two now.
https://www.racedepartment.com/threads/e3-2018-formula-one-2018-game-footage-revealed.155377/
https://www.racedepartment.com/threads/f1-2018-brawn-bgp-001-and-williams-fw25-revealed-in-new-trailer.155474/
What whell they use ? Is that a G27 ?

G29/920 i think.