In the absence of our beloved Murray's musings, music by Garbage will provide atmospheric accompaniment as you get to grips with 16 tracks of the championship variety designed using GPS data for ultimate accuracy. Ubi Soft's previous flirtation with F1 came back in 1998 when F1 Simulation was lauded for its gameplay, but lambasted for a lack of horsepower in the engine department. 3D engine addresses this issue in grand style. No concerns about the graphics though. Nice touches abound including tyres peppered with grass and gravel after off-road excursions plus debris and smoke aplenty following major shunts.
Top marks go to the cockpit views, where the driver's fingers can be seen working the gear paddles.
But perhaps the most startling images within the game come when you peel off into the pit lane. If your car requires more radical surgery, they'll even fit a new nose cone while you wait. This feast of 3D also extends to the post-race podium ceremony, where the victorious drivers' sport appropriate overalls and digitised faces for the traditional wasting of perfectly good Moet. There's plenty on offer for grease monkeys and graduates alike. Multiple setup screens cover every conceivable aspect of car fettling, from bump rebound to pit strategies and telemetry analysis.