F1 2021 My Team: How's yours going?

[DarthRambo]

Re: F1 2021 My Team: How's yours going?

British Grand Prix on the F2 season is here as we reach the half way mark of the season.

Difficulty is 97 for this track. Always liked the track personally. Qualified 7th for the race. Definitely felt like I left some speed out there to be had so I think I can compete for the win in the race. Lungaard got the pole surprisingly.

No real drama this race. I gained top 5 on lap one, pit stop was solid. Tried to pit one lap later than the leaders but didn't help. I chased down Tsunoda and Sato and finished 3rd for the 15 lap race.

No changes in the top 5 of the driver standings. Huge surprise to me was to see my teammate Zhou finish 4th! That put us into 2nd in team standings but way behind the first place team PREMA. That team is Schumacher and Shwartzman, the two guys I am sandwiched between in the championship standings.

Hungary is next! A 19 lap race this time.

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[DarthRambo]

Re: F1 2021 My Team: How's yours going?

Here we go! Qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix in the F2 season. We landed on 88 AI difficulty for this track.

Got the pole by a slight margin. Needed the 4 bonus points as we are 2nd in the F2 championship.

The first 7 laps I was fighting to keep position from Matsu****a and then Drugovich. By lap 8 or 9 I finally started getting the hang of the track and turned some quicker laps. By lap 11 my lead was still only 4 tenths of a second after a poor sector 3 on lap 10. We pit on lap 13 of 19 to slap on soft tires. Hopefully we can stay in 1st after all the pit stops but I have a bad feeling based on previous races.

Lap 15 we just pass Drugovich as he was entering the track from pit lane. Still in 1st! However, bad news as our crew chief tells us we have a mechanical issue they're looking into. It's a good thing this track is very difficult to pass anyone on or I'd be done for.

After a few more turns the team tells me I have a major mechanical failure and must find a safe spot to park and retire from the race and finished 21st. Are you kidding me!? Lol

So there goes that race we were definitely going to win I have to assume. And of course Schumacher wins the freaking race so this could really take me out of a real chance to win the F2 driver championship unless I just start winning multiple races and grabbing poles.

We are now down a massive 40 points in the driver standings to Schumacher. Race number 8 of 12 is next in Belgium. After a very annoying retirement in Hungary we look to bounce back and somehow get some bad luck towards Schumacher who is pulling away for the championship.

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[DarthRambo]

Re: F1 2021 My Team: How's yours going?

For Belgium we land on 90 difficulty setting. Grabbed the pole for a second straight race! Just beat out Ticktum by .185 of a second.

At this point with the DNF last race, we are in must win mode. I plan to block super hard and stay in the lead the entire race. A 13 lap race here at Spa. Some long straights and some cool elevation changes. Plenty of places to pass so if I have to block I won't be able to very long. Just hope I can be quick and consistent.

After the first stint (5 laps on softs) we still hold the lead coming into the pits for medium tires to finish the race. After the pit cycle we somehow have a 3 second lead over now 2nd place Tictum. Piquet who actually took the lead for one turn dropped to 5th after pit stops.

Now this should be easy going from here so long as I race clean laps. After last race the team needs a win to get over the DNF last time. For some reason I had more speed through corners with medium tires and turned some fast laps. Had the lead over 4sec but as the tires wore out Ticktum was right behind me as I crossed the finish line in P1.

Schumacher finishes 3rd and his championship lead is down to 28 points. With four races to go Idk if I can catch him unless he has a race outside the top 10 or at least top 5.

Next race is in the Netherlands!

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[itsmb8]

Re: F1 2021 My Team: How's yours going?

Finished my F2 season last night with the championship win. Tsunoda was 2nd, Mick was 3rd. Mazepin, somehow, didn't score a single point. So naturally, as I'm an American too, I chose Haas with Mick as my teammate. Just now realized you had to choose "Expert" Game Style to get the player DNF settings and such so now I'm all set for the career to kick off. Off to Bahrain with a 96 difficulty setting, according to F1Laps.

[DarthRambo]

Re: F1 2021 My Team: How's yours going?

Round 9 of 12 is here for my driver career on F2. Dry qualifying but the race is looking to be a wet race. I have weather on approximate setting so it may or may not rain.

Landed on 91 difficulty for this track. Fun track to drive! Qualifying was disappointing sitting 7th on the grid to start. My teammate right beside me starting 8th. Track is dry to start the race for 19 laps. We will start on soft tires and a one stop for mediums on lap 9.

After lap one we are up to 4th. On lap 3 we get a message that rain will begin in 5 minutes. Maybe gamble and stick with softs until it rains and see how it goes. I love the approximate weather setting in this years game. On lap 4 Armstrong spins around and causes a safety car.

On lap 5 we come into pit during the safety car. I fall back to 17th but most everyone else must pit still. I gain two spots on the restart on turn one.

It begins to rain on lap 7 but I have made my bed and have to stick with the mediums the rest of the way. I am feeling really good about my decision to pit now. With fresh tires I get up to 10th before everyone in front of me then pits at the end of lap 9. Tsunoda is right on top of me on lap 11 for 1st as I lose grip in the rain and the AI seemingly does not. Schumacher is 4th and I am losing time in this rain. On lap 16 we pit aga I to put on wet tires. We come out of the pits in 16th place with three laps to go.

Making our way through the field, up to 10th with two laps remaining. I passed Armstrong who spun out in the rain along with a few others. Some decided to stay on mediums in the wet and it cost them.

However for Jack Aitken it was a gamble that paid off. He was in 1st place on the final lap. I pass him on the very last turn into the back stretch and we win the race! Only .129 of a second.

What a weird race with rain and a safety car. What a fun race though and to win it was awesome! Schumacher finished 19th! I didn't even see him except for twice I think the entire race. Not sure what happened to him. But since he did not get any points I am now only 3 points back of him for the championship with three races to go!

Up next is Monza with the Italian Grand Prix. What a finish to the season we have in store as Schumacher and I battle for the driver championship.




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[DarthRambo]

Re: F1 2021 My Team: How's yours going?

For Italy I am just not very good at those chicanes so I landed on a fairly low 86 difficulty. Difficulty setting doesn't matter if it meets your skill level. Really like doing the test for each track. I've got a spreadsheet that I have my F2 lap times and difficulty setting for each track I've been at. When I get to F1 I'll track the same thing for each track. Difficulty will change from F1 and F2 for sure so important to re test again.


Anyways here we are only 3pts behind Schumacher in the championship standings. Full sunshine for qualifying and the race. So when I tested my fastest lap was 1:31.366 to get me at 86 setting. In my career for whatever reason I was much faster.Turned a 1:30.898 for the pole by .401sec!

I wish I could change difficulty to at least a 89 for the race but unfortunately the game locks you in once you begin the race weekend. In theory I should win and with the 4 bonus points from pole position I now have a one point lead in the championship as we begin the race. 154-153 are the points. Shwartzman is 3rd with 83pts.

It's a 15 lap race here at Monza. Tsunoda is 2nd and Schumacher starts 3rd. I believe the game updated F2 drivers because I am seeing different guys being fast now. One is my teammate Zhou. Aitken as well qualified 4th I don't feel like he has been that fast in my season until these last two races.

So not exactly sure why or what happened but to begin the race we are starting in 6th. On the starting lineup it showed my 1:30.898 time and said nothing about a grid penalty. Wtf?!?

I guess I can only chalk it up as a grid penalty idk. Not ever seen that! Regardless we lead the race as we pit two laps later than scheduled on lap 8. It took some time to catch up with the long straights and I was too far behind to get DRS. Forced me to really put down some good laps to gain positions.

After pit stop Tsunoda takes the lead and the chase is on with 7 laps to go. With fresher tires we chase him down and win our second straight race! Schumacher finished 4th and with only two races left we have a 16 point lead over Schumacher for the drivers championship. If not for the DNF we would all but clinched the championship by now.

Up next is Sochi in Russia!






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[DarthRambo]

Re: F1 2021 My Team: How's yours going?

Round 11 of 12 here in Russia. We landed on I feel will be a difficult 89 AI difficulty for this track. For qualifications I turned a 1:46.688 lap, which was almost 3 tenths quicker than my testing runs to set difficulty.

I was beat out for the pole by Giuliano Alesi by .054sec so a half second difference. My teammate Zhou qualified 6th with a 146.986 time.

A 14 lap race here in Sochi for the F2 Russian Gran Prix. Once again the game does not give me correct starting position. Instead of starting 2nd I am starting 11th!?

Idk what the patch did but this is near game breaking. Trying to gain that many positions is hard. And Schumacher ahead of me now. Alesi, the driver who got the pole is startibg 20th! What is going on with this game?

I am so upset this whole race. I have gained no spots with the long straights I can't get DRS. Boring race and should be running top 5 starting 2nd this race. After the pit stop we somehow come out in 10th position. That's where we finish so we get at least one point. Schumacher finished 3rd as Tsunoda wins the race.

Starting 11th screwed me so badly. I can't play this game anymore until they fix this. Really pisses me off as my season up until these last three races have been so good. The last race coming up and I have a 2 point lead on Schumacher. Crazy finish to the F2 season. But until I figure out what is going on and it is fixed I can't play this game right now.



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[DarthRambo]

Re: F1 2021 My Team: How's yours going?

Final race of the F2 season at Abu Dhabi! Tested at an 89 difficulty here. Qualifying sucked. We start 14th! And Schumacher of course gers the pole and bonus 4pts.

You couldn't script it any better. To start the race Schumacher now leads me by 2 points. If I want to win the F2 championship I have to beat Schumacher. Him on the pole really hurts with me starting 14th. We will see what happens on race day!

A very long race honestly with 1:52sec+ laps and a total of 16. I'm going to need every bit of time I think if I'm going to catch Schumacher somehow.

There must be something in F2 or F1 racing I'm unaware of because Schumacher starts 6th now and I start 12th. Feel much better about beating him headed into the start now.

What a jump from start! We gain 5 positions out of turn one and now literally right behind Schumacher in 7th. After a few turns we get on his inside and pass him by for 6th place!

Ticktum is 5th and him and I trade positions a couple times in the next few laps with Schumacher right behind us. Then something incredible happens.

On lap 5 a yellow comes out. I look back and see Schumacher spinning! Replayed it and he completely by himself lost control off a turn and spun out. With Sato DNF Schumacher now in 21st position! The championship is ours for the taking now.

Nothing going on for several laps as I stay in 5th position. I come into pit on lap 12 and Schumacher still sitting 21st so I have definitely won the championship as long as we just finish the race.

The first 5 laps had all the action. From there it was rather boring. We pulled away here and there from 6th place car but the top 4 pulled away from me throughout the rest of the race.

Nonetheless we have won the F2 drivers championship! We win in with 192pts and Schumacher just 8 points behind in 2nd place. What a great season. Looking forward to choosing a F1 team (will be chosen randomly between a handful of teams). I will do the same for F1 races with testing each track for personal AI difficulty setting for each track in F1.



20211202_180611.jpeg20211202_180805.jpeg

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[DarthRambo]

Re: F1 2021 My Team: How's yours going?

Decided to choose the only team based in the USA. Unfortunately that is Haas F1 who are at the very bottom for vehicle performance. Have a long journey ahead of me to get them competitive!

And oh my! Guess who is my teammate? None other than Mick freaking Schumacher himself lol. The man who battled me for the F2 championship is now my teammate. Mazepin I assume will be relegated back to F2.

Holy cow am I pumped to get this going! Already started first upgrade to Aero side. To start Haas had four upgrades for general wear in durability which is nice. And three emgine upgrades. No aero or chassis upgrades to begin with.

Below is the car. Love the USA colors to match being based in Kannapolis, USA. 20211202_182406.jpeg

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[mercalnd]

Re: F1 2021 My Team: How's yours going?

Love the USA colors to match being based in Kannapolis, USA. [ATTACH]197518[/ATTACH]

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These are actually literally Russian flags and colors on the car. They switched to this look because Mazepin's father's Russian company is the main sponsor.

It just happens to match US colors.

[DarthRambo]

Re: F1 2021 My Team: How's yours going?

These are actually literally Russian flags and colors on the car. They switched to this look because Mazepin's father's Russian company is the main sponsor.

It just happens to match US colors.

Lol oh! Well that makes sense. Now knowing that I kinda feel bad about replacing Mazepin on the team now. But no way could I not pick Schumacher as my teammate.

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[DarthRambo]

Re: F1 2021 My Team: How's yours going?

Our first season in F1 in driver career mode. Bahrain it is and it will be a long 29 laps. During testing for difficulty I ran a 1:32.012 which got us to a 84 difficulty for this track in F1. Crazy but interesting for F2 I raced on a 93 AI difficulty.

Qualified with a 1:32.025 with Mick Schumacher my now teammate and former F2 rival ran a 1:31.965 so the difficulty of 84 is spot on for me this track. Unfortunately it landed us 19th and 20th on the grid lol.

Race begins and I am stuck in last struggling to keep pace with 19th place Latifi. Schumacher just ahead of him in 18th. On lap 4 I am able make the pass for 19th and by lap 5 I am catching Schumacher for 18th position.

On lap 6 my crew chief notifies me of a problem they're looking into. Aaaaaand after a few more turns I am told we have a major mechanical failure with the engine and must retire. So our very first race ends rather abruptly with only 5 laps completed. We of course finish 20th with a DNF. Schumacher finished 17th and Vettel 19th with as the only other DNF.

A very long journey ahead of us here with the Haas F1 team lol

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[DarthRambo]

Re: F1 2021 My Team: How's yours going?

Race #2 of 27 in our first F1 season in our driver career here with the F1 Haas Racing Team.

Imola the new track on the game is here. The practice and race will be my first time on this track. Landed on a 81 AI difficulty for this track. For qualifications it looks like we may have some rain. After an engine failure last week we are already on our second MGU-kinetic unit. Our two Aero upgrades failed so we are off to a terrible start lol.

Idk if it was a good idea or not but I gave increases cash and resource points for the AI. Everything else on default. I thought about full 100% races but for now sticking with the 50% race. Imola is 32 laps so 64 feels like a ton even on a shorter track.

Qualifications in the wet for all three sessions. Intermediate tires for us. Getting out of Q1 feels like a long ways before we can do that. Right now I just want to beat out the Williams cars and my teammate Schumacher. But again we qualify last. The rain made it difficult as we had one lap at the very end on softs to qualify. Wasn't even close to qualifying 19th so this race could be a disaster with just driving around in the back by myself getting lapped.

After a couple grid penalties we start 19th. We will go 11 laps on the softs then finish the last 21 laps on hard tires for a one stop race.

On lap 5 Kimi Räikkönen (started 12th) makes contact with someone and spins around and make the pass dropping him to 20th. First stint I was behind Schumacher the entire time. Stroll started 18th made his way past me and Schumacher as he landed in last off of turn one.

After the pit stops I was right behind my teammate Schumacher. On lap 15 we finally get around him for 18th position. Räikkönen still sitting last and over 7sec behind Schumacher and I. Next lap Schumacher hits the high curb behind me and spins out up against the wall smh. Räikkönen comes up on him and makes light contact lol. Has to reverse and then go again. Now he and Schumacher will battle for 19th over 16sec behind me.

Rest of this race appears to be dull sitting by myself 5sec behind 17th place Latifi. Then on lap 22 everything is smooth sailing riding in 18th until our engineer tells us there is a problem yet again they're looking into. And yep a few more turns and the ICE goes up and I have to DNF my second straight race. My God lol.

Looks like we need to put some resources into durability. To start with Haas they had four upgrades already but all for general wear which doesn'thelp specificparts from failure. I already did one but definitely need at least one or two more. I'd like to finish a race at some point lol.

Bottas wins the race. Mercedes goes 1, 2. Pérez finished 3rd for Red Bull. Schumacher finished 19th one lap down and of course I again finish last with a DNF. I purchased ICE materials upgrade since that failed on me. Purchased engine cover chassis and Turbo materials upgrade as well.

Next race is Portugal where I now have three total Aero upgrades and one chassis upgrade so I look forward to that.




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[DarthRambo]

Re: F1 2021 My Team: How's yours going?

Race 3 of 23 of our first F1 season in our driver career. Portugal, another track I've never been on. Vietnam I guess was replaced for Portugal idk.

My testing I actually was pretty good on this track and landed at a 89 AI difficulty. 90 technically but rather not move up to Master difficulty and struggle a ton. 89 my teammate was typically 2-4 tenths slower than my fastest time which is fair enough. In race and probably qualifying I won't run my test time most likely.

For qualifications I ran a bit faster than my testing which makes sense of course with the R&D upgrades. However I am starting last in P19 beating Gasly. Rather annoying that I can't at least beat out my teammate Schumacher but it is what it is. I just want to finish a darn race without something breaking lol

Just something I do but when interviewing with the media I have a rule where I can never say no comment. I always thought it was odd there is an option for it with no penalty for doing so. I always give some answer even when I know it will affect something negatively.

Race day there is rain so it could be bad for us here trying to at least gain a 3-4 spots. Midway it might let up only to start up again later. The approximate weather setting is pretty neat feature they added this year and makes it much more of a challenge. 33 laps here for this race in Portugal! Intermediate tires the whole way with no pit stops here in the rain.

After two turns we pass Latifi and Schumacher for 17th. Headed into lap two we are up to 13th, our highest spot we have ran in this season. On lap 4 Stroll passes us for 13th which is fine. Our race is with the Williams cars and Schumacher. Räikkönen it seems like I could beat as well though.

In lap 10 the track has dried enough they want to change strategy and pit for mediums then softs later. Not really a fan at all but staying on Intermediates will have me stuck in mud for sure. But I know it's going to rain again soon after so I'm going to gamble and stay out.

On lap 12 it begins to rain again and our engineer is saying it will get stronger over the next 15 minutes. My gamble appears to have paid off. I am in 9th place now as the AI goes back to intermediate tires! I have no idea where I'll finish, definitely not for points but a top 15 seems easy to keep. By lap 20 I am down to 13th place with Russell and Gasly around 8sec behind me. I suspect they will catch me but I think I can fend them off to keep 13th. If not I am completely fine with a 15th place finish.

Stroll with a DNF now from a mechanical failure. Praying I do not have one or I'm going to be pretty upset after the gamble and work I've put in this race.

We get lapped by about 5 or 6 guys and we do finish 15th with Schumacher right behind us. The old tires really hurt me with the AI on fresh inters. Hindsight I should've pitted and put on fresh inters at least. The AI all made two pit stops so I think I could've probably gained 2 or 3 more positions if I had fresh tires. The last 10 laps was standing water as well and by lap 25 or so full wet tires would've been faster. With no AI going to full wets though I had to stay out.

I'll take a 15th place finish though! Finally no DNF and we finish ahead of Gio, Räikkönen, Schumacher, Latifi, and Stroll (DNF).

Up next is Spain!



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[tc020791]

Re: F1 2021 My Team: How's yours going?

Race 3 of 23 of our first F1 season in our driver career. Portugal, another track I've never been on. Vietnam I guess was replaced for Portugal idk.

My testing I actually was pretty good on this track and landed at a 89 AI difficulty. 90 technically but rather not move up to Master difficulty and struggle a ton. 89 my teammate was typically 2-4 tenths slower than my fastest time which is fair enough. In race and probably qualifying I won't run my test time most likely.

For qualifications I ran a bit faster than my testing which makes sense of course with the R&D upgrades. However I am starting last in P19 beating Gasly. Rather annoying that I can't at least beat out my teammate Schumacher but it is what it is. I just want to finish a darn race without something breaking lol

Just something I do but when interviewing with the media I have a rule where I can never say no comment. I always thought it was odd there is an option for it with no penalty for doing so. I always give some answer even when I know it will affect something negatively.

Race day there is rain so it could be bad for us here trying to at least gain a 3-4 spots. Midway it might let up only to start up again later. The approximate weather setting is pretty neat feature they added this year and makes it much more of a challenge. 33 laps here for this race in Portugal! Intermediate tires the whole way with no pit stops here in the rain.

After two turns we pass Latifi and Schumacher for 17th. Headed into lap two we are up to 13th, our highest spot we have ran in this season. On lap 4 Stroll passes us for 13th which is fine. Our race is with the Williams cars and Schumacher. Räikkönen it seems like I could beat as well though.

In lap 10 the track has dried enough they want to change strategy and pit for mediums then softs later. Not really a fan at all but staying on Intermediates will have me stuck in mud for sure. But I know it's going to rain again soon after so I'm going to gamble and stay out.

On lap 12 it begins to rain again and our engineer is saying it will get stronger over the next 15 minutes. My gamble appears to have paid off. I am in 9th place now as the AI goes back to intermediate tires! I have no idea where I'll finish, definitely not for points but a top 15 seems easy to keep. By lap 20 I am down to 13th place with Russell and Gasly around 8sec behind me. I suspect they will catch me but I think I can fend them off to keep 13th. If not I am completely fine with a 15th place finish.

Stroll with a DNF now from a mechanical failure. Praying I do not have one or I'm going to be pretty upset after the gamble and work I've put in this race.

We get lapped by about 5 or 6 guys and we do finish 15th with Schumacher right behind us. The old tires really hurt me with the AI on fresh inters. Hindsight I should've pitted and put on fresh inters at least. The AI all made two pit stops so I think I could've probably gained 2 or 3 more positions if I had fresh tires. The last 10 laps was standing water as well and by lap 25 or so full wet tires would've been faster. With no AI going to full wets though I had to stay out.

I'll take a 15th place finish though! Finally no DNF and we finish ahead of Gio, Räikkönen, Schumacher, Latifi, and Stroll (DNF).

Up next is Spain!



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Really enjoy all your write ups. Glad to see someone is still enjoying this game as much as I am. Into season 3 now of my team, we’re the 5th best team on the R&D right now. I have Pierre Gasley as my teammate who is an absolute beast. Would you have any interest in doing a co-op career? Looks like a ton of fun and you’re the only person I’ve seen playing this game [emoji23]