F1 22: Car setups - are they worth changing? F1 22 guide, tips

One of the more advanced elements of the F1 22 game is the ability to change the configuration of the car (Setup). On this page of the guide you will learn how to change the configuration - choosing a generic setup or creating your own (Custom).

Last update: 12 July 2022

In F1 22, you can make changes to your car setup. This page of the guide contains basic information about the setups - you will learn, among other things, where is the setups menu and what can be gained or lost by modifying the car.

• Examples of ready-made setups
• Changing setups - where to find and is it important?
• General and custom setups
• Main setup categories
• Saving and loading setups
• Rivals (other players) setups
• Transferring setups from F1 2021 - is it possible?

Examples of ready-made setups

When setting up the car, you should consider your own preferences - for example, you can opt for more downforce or a different balance of the car. On the following pages of this chapter, you will find some examples of recommended setups. You can also make changes when preparing for races on other tracks in the calendar.

1. Setup example: Australia - you will find recommended car settings for the Albert Park circuit.
2. Setup example: Bahrain - a recommended setup for the Sakhir track.

Changing setups - where to find and is it important?

You can change the setup in the garage. You have to zoom in the screen (do not go to the track right away) and go to the tab with the key icon (the picture above). The optimal place for making major modifications is the Time Trials mode - you will be able to test all the changes made in stable weather conditions.

Setup modifications are not mandatory, but highly recommended. You can use them to significantly improve the cars' behavior and thus achieve better results. However, you have to remember that each setup you create will only work on a specific track. You cannot create one universal setup for every track, because those on the calendar are very different in terms of surface, layout of corners and straight segments, general weather conditions, etc.

General and custom setups

In the setups tab, you have two main options:

The first option is to select 1 out of 5 general presets. This is a good if you don't play with high realism settings and just want to have fun with some assists turned on.

1. The balanced setup is the most universal.
2. As for the other setups, you can choose between two of their types. Setups with an emphasis on increased downforce are useful on tracks where this stat is important for entering corners. Setups with an emphasis on increasing top speed are good for those tracks that have very long straight sections and few demanding turns.

The second option is the Custom Setup window. This will allow you to make very detailed changes to the car's setup, but you need to know what the all configuration options mean to avoid "breaking" something and worsening the car's performance. You should still consider it as something you have to do if you want to play on higher difficulty levels without the assists.

Main setup categories

You can make changes in 6 categories:

1. Aerodynamics - There are only 2 items in this category and they refer to changes to the front and rear wings of the car. You can increase the pitch of the wings to improve both downforce and traction, or you can choose to reduce aerodynamic drag and improve top speed at the expense of less downforce.
2. Transmission - This tab contains Differential Adjustment. This can affect the way power is transferred to the car's rear wheels. Choosing a more open differential setting reduces tire wear, while choosing a more closed setting improves the car's grip.
3. Suspension Geometry - In this group of options, you can modify the Toe and Camber. Selecting a more negative camber value improves grip on long turns. However, a too negative camber can lead to increased tire wear.
4. Suspension - The tab here allows you to adjust the stiffness of the suspension and ride height. Going for a stiffer suspension may improve the stability of the car, but it will wear out the tires more and make the car drive unstable on uneven surfaces (you will feel it on tracks like the one in Singapore). Choosing a soft suspension will improve performance on uneven ground, but the car can tilt when you brake or accelerate suddenly.
5. Brakes - In this category, you can set the Brake Pressure and Brake Bias. The default pressure is 100%, but with ABS turned off, this can cause them to lock up frequently with more sudden braking. Balance modifications allow you to better match the operation of the brakes to the specifics of the track.
6. Tires - This tab allows you to select individual pressure for each tire. Choosing soft tires improves traction at the expense of steering sensitivity, while choosing higher tire pressure improves speed on straights but makes tires heat up faster.

Saving and loading setups

It is worth saving each created setup so you can use it later - after loading a session from the same track, you can load the previously created setup in the garage. This will allow you to skip manually re-entering the same values. Try to give your setups a good name as you can e.g. create several different setups for the same track.

Rivals (other players) setups

While playing time trials, you can Use Rival Setup option that should appear in the pause menu. It allows you to load the setup from the lap time set by another player with a better result than yours. However, you need to be aware that the loaded setup can be based on the preferences and realism of the other player and will not necessarily make your car drive better.

Transferring setups from F1 2021 - is it possible?

The game does not have the setup transfer option -do not copy the configuration from previous F1 editions yourself. The 2022 Formula 1 season had revolutionary changes in the design of the cars, among others, the radical changes in aerodynamics. So you can't expect the settings for cars from previous seasons to work properly in the new game.