Sim racing and esports journalist. Occasional Motorsport photographer, eSports competitor and distinctly average cyclist.
F1 24 has divided the sim racing community since its release in May, with many hardcore enthusiasts disappointed by the game’s forgiving handling model.
However, the same physics changes that make the game less challenging for the minority of players also make it more approachable for those using a gamepad (which, let’s be honest, is how the vast majority of players will play F1 24).
Whichever side of the fence you’re on, you’ll likely need some advice regarding how to set up cars in F1 24, either to achieve faster lap times or to create a better-handling car. Below, we outline some tips and tricks on how to tweak your car for maximum pace and driveability.
F1 24’s car setups explained
In terms of car set-up, F1 24 covers a whole host of complicated-looking options. As with any sim, set-up creation usually boils down to finding a balance between several settings, however, there are a couple of key changes that can instantly find you more lap time.
We’ll review all the available options below, offering advice on each facet of F1 24’s set-up screen.
Aerodynamics
Front and Rear Wing Aero
A Formula 1 car’s aerodynamics are hugely important to how fast it can take high-speed corners, with a major influence on its top speed too. The balance between front and rear wing aero values is also crucial to making your car controllable in the quick stuff.
Wing levels can be adjusted between zero and 50 and thanks to F1 24’s forgiving handling model, it’s possible to adjust the rear wing level lower than the front and still retain a nice balance in the corners.
The key is to run as little wing as possible to maximise top speed without compromising the car’s grip and high-speed stability in turns. Wing levels are track-specific too: you’d run much less wing at Monza than you would at Monaco, for example.
Wing levels of 20-30 (front) and 10-20 (rear) will cover the needs of most tracks while retaining a solid and predictable handling balance.
Transmission
Differential Adjustment On Throttle
Higher figures lock the differential quicker in traction zones, causing oversteer, while lower values will prevent your car from getting loose.
Generally, higher settings (above 70%) will be the quickest way to go, but if you’re struggling to control the rear-end, aim for lower diff values.
Differential Adjustment Off Throttle
Lower figures allow the outside and inside wheels on the rear axle to turn at different speeds quicker, allowing the car to rotate more on corner entry at the expense of stability.
Increasing this setting provides more differential locking, creating a safer feeling into turns. The quickest way is to aim for lower figures (20-30%).
What is Engine Braking in F1 24?
A new feature in F1 24, Engine Braking can be adjusted in the car set-up screen under ‘Transmission’. Increasing this causes more oversteer on turn-in while off-throttle while decreasing it will make the car feel much more stable on corner entry.
Another side effect is that higher values will help regenerate your car’s battery via the MGU-H (the electric motor that harnesses heat generated by the turbocharger).
The consensus is that 100% engine braking is the fastest and most efficient way to proceed in F1 24.
Suspension Geometry
Camber
The camber angle refers to how much the wheel leans towards or away from the car’s vertical axis. Put simply, increasing negative camber introduces more of the tyre’s contact patch to the race track under heavy cornering loads, creating more grip.
Too much negative camber, however, can affect your car’s braking capabilities and increase tyre wear (although this isn’t such a huge factor in F1 24).
However, early signs point towards extreme negative camber settings being the fastest method in F1 24. If you have issues with stability under braking then run the camber across the front axle a couple of clicks towards neutral..
Also, if you continue to struggle in traction zones, reduce the negative camber on the rear by a larger chunk (say 1.0 degrees); this will ‘stand’ the tyre up more at lower speeds, ensuring more of its contact patch connects with the track.
Toe-In/Out
Adding toe-in (wheels on the same axle pointing towards each other viewed from above) to the front wheels can help your car turn into corners, offering quicker steering reactions.
Likewise, increasing the toe-out (wheels pointing away from each other as viewed from above) on the rear axle helps drag the car around.
However, too much toe-in or toe-out can negatively affect straight-line speed (due to increased drag) and potentially decrease the braking potential of your car.
In F1 24, toe-in/out doesn’t have as big an effect as in previous editions of the game, so default values work just fine. If anything, move these figures closer to zero to gain some top-speed advantage, as it doesn’t seem to affect braking too much.
Suspension
Suspension
The key to finding suspension settings in F1 24 is finding a balance between all its components: suspension, anti-roll bar and ride height. Suspension that is too soft, combined with a car that is too low, will make the car bottom out. Too stiff and high and the car can become unstable.
Running stiffer suspension at the front will help with initial turn-in, but can result in understeer mid-corner. Softer rear suspension will help with traction out of tight corners but will make the car less lively in turns.
Anti-Roll Bars
Anti-roll bars prevent the chassis from rolling too much under heavy cornering, so on an F1 car, these will be very stiff. As it turns out there’s no real performance benefit to setting these to softer values in F1 24 – not even in wet weather – so keep them as stiff as possible.
If you find your car loses grip in slower corners then softening them a touch may help, but it’s worth persevering with higher values for the performance benefits. A generally balanced approach between front and rear values is preferred too.
Ride Height
In this era of Formula 1, ground effect aerodynamics take precedence over any downforce produced by the front and rear wings. As a result, running the car as low as possible will produce the most downforce and lower the car’s centre of gravity, improving its cornering ability.
Running a raked car (rear ride height much higher than the front) helps make the car turn and is the preferred option in most circumstances. If you feel your car is too unstable overall then adjusting this balance could help (raise the front ride height or lower the rear ride height to make handling more predictable).
As a general rule of thumb in F1 24, rear ride heights can be run very low compared to the front, perhaps due to the game’s more forgiving and rear-biased handling model.
Brakes
Brake pressure
Setting brake pressure up to 100% is the optimal way to improve your stopping distances. If you lock the brakes a lot, however (or struggle to modulate your braking without ABS and/or use a gamepad controller), you can lower this value to suit, or change your brake bias.
Front brake bias
The fastest option for brake bias (the balance of pressure between the front and rear brakes) is around 51% in F1 24. If you find this causes too much oversteer in braking zones then set it to 52-54%.
Tyres and Fuel Load
Tyre pressures
Now, tyre pressures are easy to set in F1 24. Much like in rFactor 2, where minimal tyre pressures gain lap time and grip, high tyre pressures in F1 24 are the fastest way to go, helping prevent your rubber from overheating.
The only exception to this rule is if you’re struggling to get heat into your tyres (on account of using harder compounds or driving on a low-speed or damp track), in which case lower the starting pressures all-round.
Fuel Load
Fuel load settings are pretty self-explanatory, but filling your car up to the brim with fuel will make it accelerate slower, increase braking distances and give a lower top speed. Run with the least amount of fuel possible, and bear in mind you can save a lot by using lift and coast.
How to download set-ups in F1 24
A massively handy feature in EA and Codemasters’ F1 games is the ability to download set-ups created by the fastest players in the world. If you head to the F1 World menu, then Time-Trial, you’ll be able to browse the leaderboards of your chosen track and car combination.
By selecting the position of the driver whose set-up you fancy trying, further options are selectable; one of which downloads their set-up.
The set-up will automatically be applied to your car, but if you want to keep it forever, remember to save it before you quit the game!
Take a look at the current fastest set-up in the world from Spa-Francorchamps, set by Otis Lawrence with a 1:39.744s for some insight on how the professionals make the most of F1 24’s set-up options:
Aerodynamics Settings
Front Wing Aero: 15 (on a scale from Min 0 to Max 50)
Rear Wing Aero: 0 (on a scale from Min 0 to Max 50)
Transmission Settings
Differential Adjustment On Throttle: 100% (Unlocked 10% – 100% Locked)
Differential Adjustment Off Throttle: 25% (Unlocked 10% – 100% Locked)
Engine Braking: 60% (Min 0% – 100% Max)
Suspension Geometry
Front Camber: -3.50° (Min -3.50° to -2.50° Max)
Rear Camber: -2.20° (Min -2.20° to -0.70° Max)
Front Toe-Out: 0.00° (Min 0.00° to 0.50° Max)
Rear Toe-In: 0.00° (Min 0.00° to 0.50° Max)
Suspension settings
Front Suspension: 41 (Soft 1 – 41 Firm)
Rear Suspension: 10 (Soft 1 – 41 Firm)
Front Anti-Roll Bar: 7 (Soft 1 – 21 Firm)
Rear Anti-Roll Bar: 8 (Soft 1 – 21 Firm)
Front Ride Height: 20 (Min 10 – 40 Max)
Rear Ride Height: 45 (Min 40 – 100 Max)
Brake settings
Brake Pressure: 100% (Min 80% – 100% Max)
Front Brake Bias: 53% (Front 70% – 50% Rear)
Tyre Pressure settings
Front Right Tyre Pressure: 29.5psi (recommended range: 22.5 – 29.5PSI)
Front Left Tyre Pressure: 29.5psi (recommended range: 22.5 – 29.5PSI)
Rear Right Tyre Pressure: 26.5psi (recommended range: 20.5 – 26.5PSI)
Rear Left Tyre Pressure: 26.5psi (recommended range: 20.5 – 26.5PSI)
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Topic: Sim Racing Games