F1 Race, released in 1990 in Japan and then the following year in Europe and North America, has bested many a good player over the years due to its tricky course layouts and brutal A.I. opponents. In this guide I'm going to give you the tools you need to fight your way to the front of the pack.
Being a skill based game there’s no easy answers or shortcuts on offer here but I’ve broken down what I think are the essential skills needed to finish each of the 9 courses in first place.
So without further ado here are some essential tips to help you beat the game.
Controls
Up - Hold to Boost
Left/Right – Steer
A - Accelerate
B - Brake
Pick the Right Car for the Right Track
Before each course you are given a choice to race as one of two cars, simply labelled as Type A and Type B. The Type A car has a natural top speed of 280km/h and a boost speed of 360km/h, while the Type B car has a top speed of 320km/h and a boost speed of 350km/h. Simply put the Type A car is slightly faster when boosting but is significantly slower when not.
On paper it might seem wise to always go with Type B as it seems to have the better stats overall but in reality this isn’t always the case. Firstly Type A’s slower top speed makes it possible to take on most bends without braking whereas the Type B car may need to slow down mid corner to avoid drifting off the track. Secondly each car has a unique fuel capacity. This is the stat measured in litres and it denotes how long the car can boost for in each course before running empty and it varies from course to course. In most instances the Type A car has the larger capacity of the two but there a couple of exceptions, namely Portugal and India.
To get to the point, the right car varies from track to track and probably to a small extent from person to person. Generally speaking though I find Type A to be the better of the two in most of the game's 9 courses. Boosting is hugely important in this game and in most cases Type A boosts faster and for longer making it the superior choice in tracks where there are several long straights. This makes it perfect for Australia, Canada, USA, Brazil, USSR, India and Egypt.
The two tracks where I find Type B to be the significantly better option is in Portugal and Japan. In Japan the curvy nature of the track makes the Type B’s top speed come into it’s own even if it does mean having to wrestle the steering wheel to keep the car on the track. Type A’s better boost speed and capacity is nigh on impossible to capitalise on in the turns and so ends up being the slower option as a result. In Portugal the Type A car’s smaller boost capacity makes winning pretty much unfeasible as you will likely run out of fuel long before the end of the race.
Boost Wherever and Whenever You Can
I can’t emphasise this one enough, if your wheels are pointing forward then you should be boosting and if you end the race with more than a quarter of your fuel left then you haven’t been boosting anywhere near enough. This on the face of may seem pretty straightforward but there are also some minor things you can do to improve your efficiency that will make a huge difference in the race.
Firstly learn to start boosting at the end of the turns rather than at the beginning of the straights. This might sound like a trivial thing and it is quite subtle but try it out you’ll see how much quicker you catch up to cars in front. To do this look ahead at the track layout of the turn and wait until you see the bend beginning to straighten out, as soon as you see this press up to boost and you'll find the car will stay planted to the track even though the angle makes it looks like it’s still turning. The other cars are generally much slower off the mark and so making them vulnerable on the start of the straights. It goes without saying of course that you should keep boosting until the very end of the straights only stopping when you’re ready to turn in.
Generally speaking boosting in the middle of a turn is a quick way to send the car crashing into a billboard but that doesn’t mean that you should only be looking to boost on the straights. In most tracks you can find short spaces between corners that give you an opportunity fire a short burst and gain vital ground on the cars in front. Make sure to find and exploit these as it can make the difference between success and failure.
Get Through Chicanes Without Crashing
The chicanes are the tight, double right hand bends that first appear in the USA course and are most prevalent in the Portugal course. They are by far the biggest hurdle to overcome in the game and though they may seem impossible to deal with when you first encounter them but they can, with practice, be cleared consistently. It took me a long time before I could deal with them comfortably but I will do my best to give you an insight into how to tackle these hellish turns.
The first thing to is to know when a chicane is coming so be sure to keep an eye on the map of each course and get ready when you know one is approaching.
I approach the corner at top speed and from the outside line. I then throw the car hard into the corner trying to hit the apex, I immediately tap the brake and let go of the accelerator and throw the car in the opposite direction. Once the car is alongside the final billboard of the turn I hit the accelerator along with the boost.
This all happens in a very short space of time so it’s difficult to convey everything in fine detail but the key points to take away are to enter the turn fast, turn in hard, brake quickly and stop accelerating, turn the opposite direction hard whilst coasting, accelerate and boost out of the turn. As long as you make sure to slow down between the first and last billboard you should be able to make the turn without crashing and once you get that down you are well on your way to beating the game.
Avoid Getting Stuck Behind Traffic
In an ideal world you’d be hitting the apex of every corner and boosting down the middle of every straight but in F1 Race there are 9 other cars on the track and their sole purpose is to get in your way. As you’ll be starting from the back of the grid each time you’re going to need to deal with each of the cars as quickly and efficiently as possible in order to make your way to the front.
The A.I. cars will hog the inside line on corners so you’ll often find the only way to overtake on a bend is on the outside. It’s rarely worth jostling for position on the track as collisions slow you down and rarely end up in your favour so it's always best to pick the path of least resistance even if it means having to take a slower line.
Occasionally this means backing off entirely, perhaps in a tricky turn, and waiting for straight to boost past and take the place.
Of course if you do find yourself unavoidably trading paint with another car then a subtle push into the nearest billboard can be an effective way of getting past quickly, but you didn’t hear that from me.
The Single Most Important Thing
Don’t give up! Games from the eighties and nineties were designed to keep the player entertained for a decent length of time and with limitations in cartridge memory size the only real way to achieve this was by making them as tough as nails. Of course this can often make them frustrating but it’s also what makes them so great and memorable. F1 Race is a perfect example of this as it forces the player to improve through a tough but fair challenge and overcoming it feels like a huge accomplishment. Just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, F1 Race won’t be completed on your first try but with unlimited continues and battery save you just need to stick with it and I guarantee that you’ll get there in the end! Good Luck!
