Hey George,

Love your enthusiasm for the game. Bahrain is also one of my fav tracks, but I struggle with it as well. It is so hard to pass cleanly on that track. I am glad my article help give you some clarity around cornering. Understanding the early, mid, and late apex are keys to efficient turns and faster lap times.

-James

Hey George,

Thats awesome. Love crackin the AI up and creating a new challenge.

-James

Thank you for this wonderful help! I’ve read it all and I’m gonna try to apply on my 2nd trial on this game!

I’m a bit weird person! I like to challenge myself and I love realistic games! I hate doing things easily! So although I’m not a good driver at any means, I started my game with all assists OFF! I like to feel that I’m driving a Formula 1 car with all its challenges and frustrations! I’m also using a racing wheel!

I already started a career in a Mclaren Honda (I love Alonso 🙂 ) on Medium AI difficulty with all helps OFF as I said. I also drive only in cockpit view (wheel view; the same view a real F1 driver will see; not the camera above his head).

I drove Australia in practice with dynamic race line ON and restarted the session many times! I memorized the best trajectory and the circuit!
Then I turned dynamic race line OFF in qualifying and race.
I got a setup from the internet. I still suck badly in setups.
I got 3rd in qualifying and 2nd in the race. Although Vettel was all over me the whole race but I didn’t allow him to pass.

What really made me happy is that I was able to challenge and get good results without any assists. I never locked any wheels but yeah i missed some breaking points and on other instances I broke a bit early! So I still need to practice a lot!

I tried Bahrain for like 30min and I found it super hard! A very long track, hard to memorize, incredible to master, supr technical, impossible to not lock wheels… It’s very demanding and hard for me! This is why I’m looking forward to it! I love challenge!

Next time I’m gonna try to apply your tactics! I am especially interested in the apex/turn/curve/exit tactics since I wasn’t aware of all that! And I’ve always heard people talking about “I hit the Apex” without having any idea what they’re talking about!

Thanks again!

Hey Randy,

Yeah one thing at a time is what I would recommend. Thats actually a good way to approach a turn. First brake, then down shift, then turn in. Once you get good you can overlap some of the actions.

I would say though if you are struggling use automatic gearing and first learn how to brake with brake assist off and no ABS. Be deliberately slow coming into the corners so that your car is under control and then gently ease down on the throttle after the apex. Get good at braking and learning where your best braking points are for each turn after that later learn how to shift. The reason you want ABS is off is that while it does help prevent brake lock up, it increases your braking distances which counteracts what you told me your biggest problem might be…coming into turns too fast.
-James

Hey Randy,

That is correct it sounds like you have oversteer because you are approaching the corner to fast and possibly braking to late. One of the biggest things to wrap your head around is that its better to be slow into a corner and fast out than vise versa. If you are fairly new to racing with a wheel, try practicing threshold braking. The idea is that you apply all of your braking in a straight line and get in the proper gear. This will get your car under control pre turn and then you turn in. I would also advise as your practicing start braking earlier…it is better to brake too early than too late!

-James

Wow thanks for the reply and yes I turn into the corner and most of the time I end up sliding the front end straight ,instead of it turning I assume I’m coming in with to much speed? I think my issue is oversteer ?? I have the tmx wheel with stock pedals too. Thanks Randy

Hey Randy,

Thanks for leaving a comment. It sure takes a lot of practice to get good and believe me despite knowing how to apply a majority of these techniques I still make tons of mistakes mostly because I am overly aggressive in traffic.

My best advice is to start with time trials. Learn how to drive the tracks without cars to compete with. Follow the racing the line, learn the tracks, and work on beating your own lap times. The biggest thing I find is to slow everything down a little and move through the track with the intention of being present. For example I know going into a certain turn im gonna need to be in 3rd gear on turn in and on turn exit I need to be in 5th (slow in to the turn and fast out). Im processing that as I am approaching the corner…im not just approaching without a gameplan. Im consciously thinking about my gear, the type of turn, and how should I turn in to nail the late apex. Once you practice this alot and get familiar with the tracks you dont think about it so much any more you will notice you just start doing it.

Is there anything particular that is troubling you? example…starts, turn in, turn exit, passing…where do you think you are losing the most time on your laps? let me know and maybe I can drill up some specific pointers for you.

-James