The Champions Edition of F1 24 has been released and, alongside the launch, EA Sports has announced the new driver ratings for this season’s F1 drivers. Unsurprisingly, Max Verstappen is leading the ratings after securing 19 out of 22 wins in 2023 and a further five so far this year.
The Dutchman scored his highest-ever rating for the Formula 1 driving game franchise and is one of just two drivers to score over 90 points. He’s previously had his score adjusted mid-season to 96 due to his season performances, but this is the first time he will have such a high score from the game’s launch.
The ratings include the start of the 2024 season, up to the Chinese Grand Prix. With the dynamic system, these ratings will update depending on their current performance. This means the scores are yet to be updated for Lando Norris’ maiden win in Miami or his second place at Imola and Charles Leclerc’s first home win in Monaco.
The drivers discovered their ratings in a new video on the F1 YouTube channel, where each of the team pairings were asked to guess each other’s scores before finding out how they had been rated. The results received mixed feedback from the drivers with Norris saying: “I think I got worse than three years ago” and Alex Albon telling his Williams team-mate Logan Sargeant: “they’ve done you dirty here”.
Oscar Piastri had the biggest score jump out of the 20 drivers, rising to 84 from a previous score of 74 in F1 23. However, some drivers have dropped in scores, with Valtteri Bottas losing six points from his previous score of 87 and Sargeant and Zhou Guanyu both losing a single point each.
Lee Mathers, senior creative director at the game’s developer Codemasters, said: “Our Driver Ratings have become a much-debated discussion both with our community and teams in the paddock, and it’s great that so many have a strong opinion on how they feel the 20 drivers rank.
“With this championship shaping up to be more competitive than last year, we expect considerable movement throughout the season as the contenders continue to chase down Max.”
Driver ratings can affect the new progression system in career mode, where players can now select one of the current F1 drivers and build on their existing stats and reputation. They are also a key part of the My Team game feature, where a player can run their own F1 team, including making team-mate signings, managing their team and developing their car.
F1 24 game
Photo by: EA Sports
How are the F1 24 driver ratings calculated?
F1 24 keeps the same driver rating calculation system as previous versions of the game series. Each driver is given a rating for four criteria alongside an overall score.
With the dynamic rating system in place, these scores could change throughout the season, based on a driver’s real-life performances on the track.
The following criteria are as follows:
1. Experience
Experience is calculated on the number of starts a driver has had over the course of their career. This has been amended this year and now is determined by the value of each race result and how that contributes to each driver’s experience.
For example, Fernando Alonso has scored the highest result a driver can obtain with a score of 99 with Lewis Hamilton close behind on 97, as both drivers have been on the grid for a number of years and therefore have a greater experience in F1 than the likes of Piastri and Sargeant.
2. Racecraft
Racecraft looks at a driver’s ability to work through the rest of the grid and finish in a higher position than where they started.
3. Awareness
Awareness scores are based on clean racing — if a driver has time penalties or is even called to the stewards, then this will impact their awareness rating. Those that can avoid any issues on track will be rewarded with a higher score.
4. Pace
Pace ratings will be determined on a mix of both qualifying and lap times. Drivers who are able to get closest to the fastest lap times in both sessions will be rewarded. Pace scores will also be determined on whether a driver can beat their team-mate in either session.
5. Overall rating
A driver’s overall rating is a combination of the four other scores and can change throughout the season based on each driver’s race performance.
F1 24 driver ratings
EA Sports has announced the following driver ratings for the launch of F1 24:
What is the release date for F1 24?
F1 24 Champions Edition is already available to players on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC. The standard edition of the game will launch 31 May.