F1 Manager 2024 is Frontier Developments' third official Formula 1 management game, released on 23 July 2024 with the full 2024 grid of ten teams and a 24 round calendar. The headline addition is Create A Team, the first time the series lets you build an eleventh outfit from scratch with your own livery, logo, race suits, staff and sponsor deals. Mechanical Failures also arrived, so pushing a car hard for a whole stint now carries a real chance of losing it, and temperature management moved from a background number to something you watch. Underneath that sit the systems the series is actually built on: twelve car performance attributes fed by six part types, ten driver attributes, a five slider setup you dial in during practice, and a mentality system where unhappy staff design worse parts. Steam reviews are Very Positive at around 81 percent and Metacritic lands on 81, which is roughly where the game deserves to be: strong race day, occasionally shallow between weekends.
Picking the right build determines how your experience plays out. These builds are ranked by overall effectiveness, factoring in damage, survivability, gear requirements, and how well they scale into endgame. New to the game? Start with our beginner's guide first.
Quick Rankings
| Build | Tier | Playstyle | Core Gear |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Bull Racing | A | Balanced | Best available |
| Ferrari | A | Balanced | Best available |
| McLaren | A | Balanced | Best available |
| Mercedes | A | Balanced | Best available |
| Williams | A | Balanced | Best available |
For detailed meta rankings, see our F1 Manager 2024 tier list.
A-Tier: Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing is a top-performing option in F1 Manager 2024.
Core Setup
| Slot | Choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Equipment | Front Wing | Drives low speed downforce and Airflow Front, and Airflow Front acts as a multiplier on low and medium speed cornering rather than adding pace by itself. |
| Core Gear | Best available for your level | Maximizes build potential |
| Stat Priority | Balanced offensive and defensive stats | Optimal scaling |
| Key Mechanic | Create A Team | New for 2024, this puts an eleventh team on the grid with your own name, livery, logo and race suits, then makes you fill it. |
How to Play Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing focuses on a balanced approach to content.
Why this build works: Front Wing does the damage and Create A Team keeps it running, which is why this sits at the top of the list. See our weapons guide for detailed equipment breakdowns.
Pros:
- Highest overall performance
- Straightforward gearing path
- Works in all content types
Cons:
- Popular pick, resources may be contested
- Needs specific gear to reach full potential
A-Tier: Ferrari
Ferrari is a strong option in F1 Manager 2024.
Core Setup
| Slot | Choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Equipment | Rear Wing | Handles drag reduction, DRS Delta and medium speed downforce. |
| Core Gear | Best available for your level | Maximizes build potential |
| Stat Priority | Balanced offensive and defensive stats | Optimal scaling |
| Key Mechanic | Mechanical Failures | Components now accumulate stress during a race weekend and can fail outright, ending a race that your strategy had won. |
How to Play Ferrari
Ferrari focuses on a balanced approach to content.
Why this build works: Pair Rear Wing with Mechanical Failures and the build stops depending on a good start, so it holds up across most content. See our weapons guide for detailed equipment breakdowns.
Pros:
- Most versatile option
- Straightforward gearing path
- Works in all content types
Cons:
- Lower peak damage than S-tier
- Needs specific gear to reach full potential
A-Tier: McLaren
McLaren is a strong option in F1 Manager 2024.
Core Setup
| Slot | Choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Equipment | Underfloor | The only part that contributes to low, medium and high speed downforce at once, which makes it the highest value single development target in the game. |
| Core Gear | Best available for your level | Maximizes build potential |
| Stat Priority | Balanced offensive and defensive stats | Optimal scaling |
| Key Mechanic | Car part design and research | Six part types each drive specific slices of the car's twelve attributes. |
How to Play McLaren
McLaren focuses on a balanced approach to content.
Why this build works: Car part design and research covers the gap Underfloor leaves open, so the build stays usable even when a fight goes badly. See our weapons guide for detailed equipment breakdowns.
Pros:
- Best survivability
- Straightforward gearing path
- Works in all content types
Cons:
- Slower clear speeds
- Needs specific gear to reach full potential
A-Tier: Mercedes
Mercedes is a specialized option in F1 Manager 2024.
Core Setup
| Slot | Choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Equipment | Sidepods | Provide engine cooling and Airflow Middle. |
| Core Gear | Best available for your level | Maximizes build potential |
| Stat Priority | Balanced offensive and defensive stats | Optimal scaling |
| Key Mechanic | Practice programmes and the five slider setup | Every session you run practice programmes to fill your setup knowledge, then adjust five sliders: Front Wing Angle, Rear Wing Angle, Anti-Roll Bar distribution, Tyre Camber and Toe-Out. |
How to Play Mercedes
Mercedes focuses on a balanced approach to content.
Why this build works: This one leans on Practice programmes and the five slider setup rather than raw numbers, and Sidepods is what makes that trade pay off. See our weapons guide for detailed equipment breakdowns.
Pros:
- Strong in group/team content
- Straightforward gearing path
- Excels in its niche
Cons:
- Weaker solo performance
- Requires deep game knowledge
A-Tier: Williams
Williams is a specialized option in F1 Manager 2024.
Core Setup
| Slot | Choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Equipment | Suspension | Covers drag reduction and tyre preservation. |
| Core Gear | Best available for your level | Maximizes build potential |
| Stat Priority | Balanced offensive and defensive stats | Optimal scaling |
| Key Mechanic | Mentality and team morale | Drivers and staff carry mentality states that shift with results, contract talks, team orders and how you treat their team mate. |
How to Play Williams
Williams focuses on a balanced approach to content.
Why this build works: Suspension and Mentality and team morale pull in the same direction here, which separates this from the safer picks above. See our weapons guide for detailed equipment breakdowns.
Pros:
- Unique, rewarding playstyle
- Straightforward gearing path
- Excels in its niche
Cons:
- High skill floor, punishing when misplayed
- Requires deep game knowledge
Build Progression Path
- Start with Ferrari: the most forgiving option for learning the game
- Transition to Red Bull Racing once you understand core mechanics and have access to Front Wing
- Keep a McLaren setup for content that keeps killing you
- Try Williams for a fresh experience once you've mastered the basics
Follow our walkthrough for the optimal progression path through each area.
Gearing Tips
- Invest in your primary equipment first, since it gives the biggest power spike. See our weapons guide for rankings.
- Reaching 100 percent setup knowledge before qualifying is usually worth more lap time than a single part upgrade, so spend practice running the programmes that fill your knowledge rather than chasing headline lap times.
- Driver setup feedback maps directly onto sliders: oversteer means Front Wing, braking complaints mean Rear Wing, cornering means Anti-Roll Bar distribution, traction means Tyre Camber and straight line pace means Toe-Out.
- Don't spread upgrade resources across multiple builds until endgame
More F1 Manager 2024 Guides
- F1 Manager 2024 F1 Manager 2024 Overview
- F1 Manager 2024 Tier List
- F1 Manager 2024 Walkthrough
- F1 Manager 2024 Beginner's Guide
- F1 Manager 2024 Tips & Tricks
- F1 Manager 2024 Weapons Guide
- F1 Manager 2024 Combat Guide
- F1 Manager 2024 Boss Guide
- F1 Manager 2024 Maps & Locations
- F1 Manager 2024 Crafting Guide
- F1 Manager 2024 Classes & Characters
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