_________________________________________________________________________ | | | F-1 World Grand Prix II Driving Guide | | for the Nintendo 64 system | | | | Version 1.0 - 8-12-2009 | | | | Written by Jordan Stopciati (superstar64) | | and | | Vinny Hamilton (VinnyVideo) | | ([email protected]) | |_________________________________________________________________________| This document is copyright (c) 2001-2009, Jordan Stopciati and Vinny Hamilton. ================================================== Table of Contents ================================================== Table of Contents Pre-Guide Notes 01. Game Introduction 02. Driving Guide Primary Concerns Options and Consequences Handling 800 Horsepower Car Settings 03. Teams and Drivers 04. Circuits 05. Challenge Mode 06. Extras 07. Questions 08. Version History 09. Copyrights 10. Closing Notes ================================================== Pre-Guide Notes ================================================== First of all, I should note that this guide consists mostly of the content of Jordan Stopciati's guide for the original F-1 World Grand Prix for the Nintendo 64. Vinny Hamilton has (with Jordan's permission) modified that guide to accommodate the changes that were made for F-1 World Grand Prix II. F-1 World Grand Prix II allows you to view your speed in either the imperial form (miles per hour) or the metric form (kilometers per hour). In this guide, however, all speeds and distances are indicated in the metric format. If you wish to use imperial measurement, use the following formula to convert from kilometers per hour to miles per hour (and KM to miles): Miles = KM * 0.621 You must employ some advanced strategies to get to the front of the field at the very highest levels of competition. Moreover, there are three difficulties - only two of which will get you superior times. The circuit guides will be written for players on the moderate difficulty level (Professional), as they aren't that different from Champion level except for the radically different car handling which I won't even touch on there. ================================================== 01. Game Introduction ================================================== -------------------------------------------------- The 1998 Formula 1 World Championship -------------------------------------------------- Formula 1 is considered the top motor racing series in the world - it is a sport of power, riches, and it is the series that has brought out some of the most famous names in motor racing: Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Juan-Manuel Fangio, just to name a few. F-1 World Grand Prix II is a racing game based on the Formula 1 World Championship of 1998. The 1998 F-1 season was dominated by Ferrari and the resurgent McLaren-Mercedes team, with the two combining to collect more than two-thirds of available points and winning every race except for one. Meanwhile, Williams, with Heinz- Harald Frentzen and defending champion Jacques Villeneuve, faltered, barely beating Benetton and Jordan for third place in the constructors' championship. Many teams had difficulty early in the season adjusting to the new technical regulations, which made the cars narrower (reducing downforce - something F1 WGP veterans may notice) and abolished "slick" tires. The season opened well for McLaren, with Mika Hakkinen winning at Australia and Brazil, and teammate David Coulthard coming in at second. After retiring in the season opener at Australia, things started looking up for Schumacher, with four podium finishes in a row, including a win in Argentina. The San Marino Grand Prix resulted in a rare win for McLaren #2 driver David Coulthard. After Hakkinen won again in Spain and Montreal, the pendulum swung back in favor of the fiery-red Italian cars, as Schumacher won three races in succession - Canada, France, and Britain. The most controversial event of the season was the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Hakkinen won the pole, and Schumacher qualified second. Rain had been falling the morning of the race, but the track had dried up - partially - by race start. Hakkinen got off to an early lead but eventually lost it to Schumacher. Several driving incidents required the safety car to come out onto the track. During the full-course caution, Schumacher lapped Alexander Wurz - definitely a no-no! With two laps left in the race, Schumacher was ordered to serve a stop-and-go penalty. On the final lap of the race, Schumacher went into the pits for the penalty, but during it he crossed the finish line before Hakkinen did on the track. McLaren team officials were not pleased, but Schumacher's win was upheld because of the dubious circumstances of which the team was notified of the penalty. By then, Hakkinen led Schumacher by just two points, and everyone else was way behind. Victories at Austria and Germany gave Hakkinen a 16-point lead in the championship standings, but another win for Schumacher at Hungary shrank the margin to seven. When the Formula 1 circus came to Belgium, however, things turned out a little differently from usual. A massive accident on the waterlogged first turn affected half of the cars in the field. Michael Schumacher crashed out of the race while trying to lap David Coulthard, paving the way for the first-ever victory for the Jordan team, with Damon Hill winning and teammate Ralf Schumacher coming in at second. Schumacher's win at the Italy Grand Prix, combined with Hakkinen's fourth-place finish, tied the championship with just two races remaining. However, Hakkinen's two wins at the Nurburgring and Japan wrapped up the first driver's championship for the Finn. Schumacher, however, went on to win five straight championships in dominant fashion from 2000 to 2004 with the Ferrari team, including clinching the championship only ten races through the season in 2002. As for the 1997 champion, Jacques Villeneuve had a difficult year with Williams in 1998 and moved on to a struggling (and two-sided) British-American Racing team in 1999. Since his most recent win at the Nurburgring in 1997, Villeneuve has only earned four podium places. Today he is driving in NASCAR. -------------------------------------------------- Controls -------------------------------------------------- Worth noting is the fact that F-1 World Grand Prix was the first Nintendo 64 game to "officially" support a wheel configuration. However, all configuration mentioned here uses the "standard" setting. The Start button pauses the game and brings up a menu. (We've grown used to that.) Press the A button to increase speed. Simple. Press the B button to brake (I think we're all aware of that configuration, aren't we?) The Control Stick controls the direction of your car by steering it to the left or right. For more acute turning, move the control stick down while steering in the direction you wish to go. The C-buttons have the following functions: C-Up - Switch between several different camera angles in race mode and replay mode. C-Down - Look directly behind you in race mode and replay mode. C-Left - Look at a rear-view mirror (slightly offset) in race mode and replay mode. C-Right - Look behind you (slightly offset the other way) in race mode and replay mode. The R button will shift the car up one gear with a manual transmission. With an automatic transmission, you can only shift between reverse, neutral, and drive. The Z and L buttons (either will work) shift the car down one gear with a manual transmission. Again, if you use an automatic transmission, you can only shift between reverse, neutral, and drive. ================================================== 02. Driving Guide ================================================== -------------------------------------------------- Primary Concerns -------------------------------------------------- There are two settings that will significantly affect your progress in the game. Read this first, as this will affect anything and everything that you learn in this game. Difficulty ~~~~~~~~~~~~ You have a choice of three difficulty settings in F1 WGP II. Rookie: Allows you to control your car rather rudimentarily. The computer intelligence is simple, the steering is very much "point and squirt", and you have the opportunity to use acceleration and braking assist features. Professional: The computer intelligence becomes more advanced and you lose the opportunity to use acceleration and braking assist. Otherwise, the car's handling does not change that much. Champion: Here's a challenge and a half. The computer intelligence is at its most challenging, and most significantly, the handling of the car seems to be thrown out of the window. The car becomes very unstable in the hands of an erratic amateur, and can very well lose grip and throw itself onto the grass. Requires a great deal of practice and patience to control properly, but it can be used to great benefit with its "drift" handling. Transmission ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As this is a racing game, you can shift up or shift down appropriately. If you wish, you can leave this off and let the computer shift for you automatically when you reach maximum revs in each gear, and downshift when you brake at the appropriate time. If you want control of shifting, select the manual transmission and use the Z and R buttons to do the shifting for you. I would recommend using the manual transmission as soon as possible for greater control over your cornering and speed, as just a simple downshift can reduce your speed by 10 or 20 km/h - enough to get through a corner perfectly - without needing to touch the brake. -------------------------------------------------- Options and Consequences -------------------------------------------------- Exhibition Mode ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Go up against 21 other drivers in a single race. Choose a driver and one of sixteen real-life Formula 1 circuits, and you're in business. Grand Prix Mode ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sixteen races and the opportunity to become the world champion. Select a driver and try to finish as high as possible on each circuit. The driver with the highest number of points at the end of 16 races wins.* Challenge Mode ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You've been stuck in a good or bad situation from the 1998 season, and you have to make the most of it. You start with one challenge in each of three categories: speed, tactics, and mechanical, and you score points for succeeding in each one. Time Trial Mode ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Take a test drive on any one of the Grand Prix circuits. It's just you and a ghost which appears if you set a new best time. This is the best mode for setting fast times and becoming experienced with the circuits in the game. 2 Player Mode ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Go head-to-head with another player with basically the same selections as the Exhibition mode (with one exception: there are no CPU players to race.) __________________________________________________ * The following describes the setup of Grand Prix mode. You may use two practice sessions, one on Friday, one on Saturday - you are allotted four laps in Rookie and Professional difficulties, and twenty laps in Champion difficulty. Qualifying will then take place. You will have twelve laps to use. Your objective is to try and take the "pole position". If you do, you will be able to start in first place at the beginning of the race. Put in your best lap, because you'll only get a few shots at it. If you fail the first time around, you'll have at least three more opportunities. Your ranking at the end of qualifying determines your grid position. In Champion mode, your best lap time must be 107% of the polesitter's time or better, or else you won't make the field because of the "107% Rule." On the race day, you'll get a warm-up session, and the same rules as practice will apply. At the end of the race duration, points will be distributed to the top six finishers, as follows: 1st - 10 points 2nd - 6 points 3rd - 4 points 4th - 3 points 5th - 2 points 6th - 1 point __________________________________________________ Grid Position ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When you go into Exhibition mode exclusively, you can set the grid position you want to start in. You can choose to make it easy for yourself and start in first place, or give yourself a challenge and start from the back of the pack. Since you can't qualify in Exhibition mode, this is the only way you can set your grid position and the advantage (or disadvantage) that you have at the beginning of the race. 98 Events ~~~~~~~~~~~ If you turn 98 Events on, the occurrences of the 1998 season will be repeated during your race. Drivers will go out of the race at the same time, qualify in the same position, and so on. Only you can change the outcome of what happens; for example, if you qualify 15th when the driver you chose qualified 5th in 1998, the game will adjust accordingly and move everyone up one position. Pit In ~~~~~~~~ If you turn this on, you will have to worry about tire wear and fuel consumption - and having to stop to remedy these conditions (see "pit stops" in a later section.) Leave it off if you want to stay on the track, not worrying about stopping in the pits, and focus on the race. Damage ~~~~~~~~ Leaving this mode off will leave your car invincible to any contact with walls or other cars. If you turn it on, you'll notice the four damage indicators on the display on the right can go on at any time. Flags ~~~~~~~ The following flags can be displayed if you turn this option on. Yellow - An incident has occurred and you must slow down to a safe speed. You are not permitted to overtake while the yellow flag is waving. Green - You are clear of the hazard that the yellow flag warranted and free to resume racing and overtaking. Red - The race has been stopped due to a major incident - you will be returned to the starting grid immediately. This has never happened to me before in F-1 World Grand Prix II (I've seen it a couple of times in F-1 WGP, though, in rainy weather in an exhibition race at I believe Argentina). E-mail me with information if you can get a red flag. Black/white divided - A warning flag, shown if you have tried to run across a chicane, passed a car under a yellow flag zone, or driven the track backwards for extended periods of time. Eight of these in Rookie and Professional difficulties, or four in Champion, will result in the showing of a black flag. Black - Your car have been disqualified from the race for an excessive number of black flags, or you are unable to continue the race due to terminal damage to your car. Checkered black and white - Signals that the race will end when you cross the finish line on this lap. Acceleration/Braking Assist ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Indicated when you select your driver, this option will become available to you if you select Rookie mode. If you turn it on, the computer will select the optimum places to start accelerating and braking, and do all that work for you. All you have to worry about is keeping the car on track. Turn it off, on the other hand, and the A and B buttons are under your control. This is a good "tutor", but should not be used for longer than necessary, as you can take corners at much higher speeds without this hindrance. Distance ~~~~~~~~~~ Control the distance that you want to race. Four laps is the shortest distance, but it won't allow you much time to get a jump on the field if you're starting in last place, for example. The full race distance (the number of laps that actual Formula 1 racers race on that track, which is the lowest number of laps that total over 305 kilometers) may give you more time, but it'll take up quite a large block of your time, one hour and fifteen minutes at the least. You can select from 4, 8, 16, half, or full numbers of laps (you can also run a 2-lap race in head to head mode). -------------------------------------------------- Handling 800 Horsepower -------------------------------------------------- Perhaps the greatest challenge for any racer is the simulation game. Here's how you can drive just about a perfect race, beginning with the start, then cornering, then moving on to overtaking, pit stops, and trouble. This guide will wrap up with a discussion of Champion mode. It won't get you world records, but that's not what I'm here for. The Start ~~~~~~~~~~~ As a personal recommendation, I would go to Monza in Exhibition mode and start from 22nd on the grid. The wide start/finish straight there and comparatively long run down to the first corner allows you to practice your starts. In Exhibition and Grand Prix mode, you will have to begin the race from a standing start from somewhere on the starting grid (in Exhibition, you selected it at the options screen. In Grand Prix mode, it is the position in which you qualified). At the top of your screen, you'll see the starting lights. The red lights will come on, one at a time. The start of the race is signaled by all five red lights going off, plus an air horn as an audio cue. Let your car idle as the red lights come on. Once all five lights come on, wait about 2 to 2 1/2 seconds and then hit the A button and hold it. When the lights go off you'll have perfect acceleration. It's very critical to get proper engine RPM when the lights go off so that you can get an effective start. As a general guideline, the orange RPM light should be illuminated. If it's too low or you're not on the gas at all, you won't have a very good start and will probably lose a few places. It's preferable to have low RPM than high RPM though: if you do, your engine will burn out, causing you to smoke your tires and get virtually no acceleration off the line. This should NEVER happen, but if it does, ease off the throttle until the skid marks stop, then accelerate again. You'll almost certainly lose a few positions. If you have a manual transmission, press R to shift up to first gear right as the lights go off. With a little bit of practice you can time this perfectly. After you get off the line you want to get the best start you can into the first turn (this is ESPECIALLY critical if you are starting from far back). The first turns vary from track to track, but there are a lot of difficult ones that you have to deal with. When trying to get past cars on the start, try to get to the middle of the road as soon as possible, but this will almost certainly be impossible on some of the narrower circuits. Monza's wide pit straight allows for easy overtaking, but the narrow pit straights of Spa- Francorchamps and Monte Carlo do not allow for this. If it turns out that you can't get through, ease off just a little and wait for an opening. Watch out, however, because you need to make sure that you can get through the first corner... Cornering ~~~~~~~~~~~ Formula 1 racing has rarely run on oval tracks in its history (the most recent race being the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis, and even so, it only used turn one of the 2.5 mile oval!), so cornering on these circuits is a totally different breed for those of you used to, well, making left turns. The Suzuka circuit, with its wide variety of turns, is a good track to practice on here. The most important thing to remember, especially on the first turn, is to brake early and in advance of the turn. The CPU cars have a habit of doing the same, which, if you're going at your own pace, only increases the opportunity for you to slam right into the back of another car and almost certainly cause a few tears. The longer the distance before the first turn, though, the more likely you are to see cars in single file, thereby decreasing the chance for an accident. It's not a good idea to brake while turning, as that will cause you to lock up, and you'll have a good chance of running into the gravel traps. It's best to tap the B button to slow down, as slamming on the brakes increases the chance for you to lock up your wheels and inhibit turning. For most corners, 100 meters is considered the acceptable braking distance, and almost all tracks will have boards hanging around the track indicating this distance. It's best to run around on the track in Time Trial mode or use the Rookie mode with acceleration and braking assist to determine when it's appropriate to brake. Some corners may not even require braking. The "racing line" will usually be marked on the track, which helps indicate where you should be on the track in order to get through the turn perfectly. This is the route that MOST cars use and it's indicated on your screen as a broad line a little bit darker than the rest of the track. It's a good idea to use the curbs (or rumble strips) marked on the edges of the track, which give you slightly more room to turn through the curve and mark where you should be turning. ___________________________ o B | o | o | o | o | _______________A | | o | | o | | o | | o | | X | | o | In this diagram representing a 90-degree turn, you should be moving from point X to point A to point B following the "o" markers. Obviously experience is the best teacher, so running the tracks prior to actually racing on them will help you a lot and allow you to run some decent lap times. And then for the duration of the race you just have to keep on repeating that. Overtaking ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Making passes on the track is probably the best art possible, as you need to do it to make up positions. There are two basic ways to pass another car: slipstreaming and cornering. The first thing to acknowledge is that the intelligence in F1 WGP varies. For instance, you can probably sneak by Nakano or Rosset with less trouble because of their real-life inexperience, and you may very well end up getting by them because they make a big mistake and spin somewhere. However, drivers like Michael Schumacher, Villeneuve, and Hakkinen will all be a little bit more aggressive and will make life hard for you. Patience is the key with the latter. No matter WHAT method you have to use to get by another car, you will need to be very good at cornering and acceleration - and have the guts to be that little bit faster around the track. The first thing I'm going to mention is slipstreaming, which basically refers to getting up behind another car and driving past on the straight. The aerodynamics of Formula 1 cars require maximum airflow and minimum resistance along the contours of the car. As the car drives along at 300+ kp/h, there is a "vortex" effect created at the back of the car that pulls in any vehicle trailing behind, which is why you'll notice that vehicles traveling in groups will lap faster than single cars if you ever watch any sort of racing. If you get directly behind another car on a long straightaway you'll gain just a tiny speed boost which will be indicated on the speedometer, which may or may not help you get past. As always, it's important to get a good run out of the previous corner to ensure you can get close enough to use slipstreaming to its fullest. Cornering is the second method of passing a car and is the most hazardous. It is very difficult, but to do it, you must first try to brake later than the other car. Sometimes the other car will leave you room to go around the inside, and sometimes not, forcing you to duck to the outside (and if you need to do this, make sure you don't steer off into the gravel). Then get good leverage on the gas to ensure that you can get past. Most of the time, when cornering, your rival will get a VERY slow acceleration, which if you can get past without smashing into the back of him, will be a heck of a lot easier. Pit Stops ~~~~~~~~~~~ Pit lane is generally marked by "PIT" text on the circuit (just before the grid and start/finish line) as well as an arrow pointing in the direction of the pits. Generally you'll want to attack it as quickly as possible, but some of the pit straights will have some challenging curves thrown in to slow the cars down (augh, hate that.) When you actually reach the pit lane the car will automatically slow down to 88 km/h* (which is why I recommend hitting pit lane as fast as possible) and show a menu allowing you to change your fuel, tires, and wing angles. Refer to the "car settings" section coming up in the next section of this driving guide, but make sure you lock it in by moving down to "done" before the car stops at its pit box. The changes that you want will be made, any damage sustained will be repaired, and this should take about ten seconds (twelve only if you want a wing angle change). * This is limited to 54 km/h at the Monaco circuit and, for some odd reason, is set to 108 km/h on your way out of the pits. ** The only exception to the Paddock Computer menu being that you have the option to "keep" your tires. It's on the far right side of the "graph" you make your selection on. After service ends your car will move back onto the track (held back by the pit limiter once again), and just before the pit lane merges back onto the main track you will regain control of your car and be free to accelerate once again. On average, pit stops cause you to lose 25 to 30 seconds on the road, so you will rejoin in front of anybody farther back than that before you made your pit stop. NOTE ABOUT PIT STRATEGY: How frequently you should pit is dependent on the length of the race. Read the "car settings" subsection for more information on how you should treat these. As a general rule, however, make sure that your tires are wearing out (as indicated in "trouble" below) and you are almost out of fuel at roughly the same time, to avoid having to pit more times than necessary for different reasons. 4 laps - No pit expected. 8 laps - 1 pit stop at lap 4. 16 laps - 2 pit stops at laps 5-6 and 10-11. Half - 1 pit stop at one-half of the calculated race distance. Full - 2 pit stops at 1/3 and 2/3 of the calculated race distance. Trouble ~~~~~~~~~ These things happen. Your car is damaged, or running out of fuel. What's the deal? First of all, keep an eye on the image of the car on the right side of the screen. If any part of your car lights up, you have some sort of problem with your car. A dim light illuminating means that you have a moderate problem in that section of your car. A bright light means that the problem has intensified to the point where a pit stop is recommended (your crew will voice this to you), and a flashing light means that the problem is severe enough to make a visit to pit lane mandatory. I'll state each problem and recommended steps. Suspension - The suspension can be damaged by numerous instances of contact with the retaining walls around the track or another car. The telltale effect of suspension failure is an inability to brake or corner as effectively as usual. Cautious driving can remedy that problem, but a visit to pit lane will resolve it immediately. Suspension problems are indicated by a red front axle on the graph. Tyres - Tires, as mentioned earlier, only have a certain lifespan, and will begin to wear out after certain periods of use, although going off onto the gravel traps or excessive turning will augment the process. Should you wait for one or two laps after the light is flashing, your tires will become VERY ineffective and result in a severe loss of grip while accelerating, braking, and cornering. Go to the pits immediately, and be a little more careful next time. Aerodynamics - Aerodynamics (more specifically, your front and rear wings) can fail with contact with other cars. This will have the most drastic effect, but they have different effects. A blatantly obvious front wing failure will give you a great deal less grip and a harder time steering, while a rear wing failure will force you to tiptoe around the track at the risk of spinning the car in fast corners. Both result in lower top speed as well. The front wing problem is driveable, but a rear wing failure should be repaired immediately. Gearbox - This is generally one of the last parts of a car to go, and is usually caused by excessive engine RPM (which is why I stress the importance of correct gear ratios). If you have your RPM at the "red" level for extended periods of time, your gearbox will eventually break down and you will be unable to use higher gears. Repair immediately. Problems with the gearbox are represented by the little box on the very back of the car. Engine - The engine can suffer from excessive periods on the gas, and sometimes even contact as well. Generally there is no real effect when the light is in its "dim" or "bright" stages, but a flashing light means that the engine is dangerously close to cutting out on you. If it does, boom, race over. This process generally happens quite slowly, so it's possible to wait until your pit stop. The engine light is located between the cockpit and gearbox. Fuel - Unfortunately, F-1 World Grand Prix II lacks a graphical fuel indicator but does have this light to (roughly) indicate the number of laps that you can run on your fuel load. Dim lights represent three laps, bright lights two. Once the light begins to flash, you only have an estimated one more lap to get to pit lane; otherwise you may find yourself stranded on course and out of fuel. In all likelihood you will not be able to get back. Stop as late as possible. An alternative problem could be a change of weather, in the name of rain (your pit crew will inform you of this over the radio). If this happens, you're generally better off to make a pit stop as soon as the rain begins, as staying out on dry tires will bring you no benefit and is more likely to kill your chances. Everybody else will be doing the same anyway. If you're close to a pit stop, it's best to merge the two. Should you have an 'off' and run off the boundaries of the track, it's generally not difficult to recover. You do, however, have to ensure that you can get back to the track as quickly as possible. Ease off the accelerator, shift down to first gear, then turn in the direction that will take you back to the circuit the fastest. It will be slow going (80 km/h), but you will get there. Champion Mode ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rookie and Professional modes are a lot different. But if you want to move to Champion, you'll have to acknowledge the differences. If you can, those differences can result in lap times that are five to six seconds faster than on Professional difficulty. The first thing to remember is that your car will now want to dominate you, instead of vice versa. But, with a little bit of tweaking, you can get it to drift through the corners at much higher speeds than on Professional by pushing the control stick rather hard in the direction you want to go (try it, you'll get the feel for a "drift" eventually). This is where the configuration of steering sensitivity becomes rather important, so in a time trial, don't be afraid to go back to the paddock rather frequently. Second note is with your racing line. You must make sure that you keep to it, as making a mistake in Champion mode is more likely to send you spinning into the gravel. This depends on the track though, and some circuits are more likely to throw you off than others. If this happens to you frequently, it's never a bad idea to throw caution to the wind. The final note I'm going to make about Champion difficulty is its rather problematic damage factor. If you drive smack into the wall, that sort of crash will do more damage on Champion than on Professional. It's VERY important to know the tracks at this stage, but more importantly, it's also very important to feel one with your car. It's like anything, really: if you let your adversary dominate, you'll never gain control. Good luck! -------------------------------------------------- Car Settings -------------------------------------------------- This MUST be emphasized before you go out onto the track, as if you fail to pay attention to this, you will have a very hard time keeping on the pace of the leaders. Read this carefully, and tweak your car appropriately. These can all be set in the "Paddock Computer" before you begin the race. Keep an eye on the four graphs (Acceleration, Top Speed, Cornering, and Braking) to see how the adjustments you are making are having an impact on your vehicle's performance. Front Wing Angle ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The wing angles are the primary determiner of the aerodynamic efficiency of your car (from 10 to 40 degrees in 5-degree increments). The lower the angle, the more top speed on the straights you will have. However, your braking performance will decrease and it will become harder to turn through the corners. On the other hand, the higher the angle, the lower your top speed. However, it allows better braking and better turning. I also refer to high wing angles as "high downforce", "more wing", or "more drag". Rear Wing Angle ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Like the front wing angle, the rear wing angle determines the aerodynamic efficiency of your car, and the setup is basically the same as the front wing. Note that if the front wing angle is lower than the rear wing angle, the car will have a tendency to understeer. Likewise, if the rear wing angle is higher than the front wing angle, the car will oversteer, so if you want to play around with that, you can. These two settings should be adjusted to the sort of track you are racing (and this is why you should look at the course maps!). As a general rule, on circuits with several high-speed straights, you are better off to lower the wing angles. Circuits with lots of cornering will require higher wing angles. Fuel ~~~~~~ I guess this is a pretty simple premise. The more fuel that you put in the car (from 5% to 100% in five percent intervals), the longer your car will be able to stay on track before going into the pits. However, you WILL sacrifice a bit of performance because of the added weight that a car with more fuel has. As the fuel burns off, this performance disadvantage will be negated. Keep in mind that this only determines when you have to make your first pit stop and you can put more fuel in during the race. The game also includes a number of laps while setting this: this is the distance you can expect to run before having to make a fuel pit stop. I find that this works for me in particular, but the car can run for two or three laps AFTER the amount indicated in the longer distance races. As such, you can put in just a little less fuel and still be able to stop on time. Generally I find this number is approximately around 45% to 50% of capacity, but it's up to you to figure out. Tires ~~~~~~~ You have two basic options, divided into five tires - dry and rain tires, of which you have five options total: soft and hard dry tires, intermediates, and rain and heavy rain tires. The latter three selections are only dependent on the weather at the time - if it is raining at the beginning of the race (and you'll know!) you should pick one of the two rain tires, depending on the intensity of the rain. Pick intermediates in cloudy conditions where rain is likely, as this promotes a balance between dry and wet weather. The soft dry tires and hard dry tires are the ones you'll be using most frequently. The soft tires are the best tire you can get, but they will break down rather quickly and could require you to make two or even three pit stops, generally positioned at around 1/3 the distance while running a full lap race. Hard slicks are slightly inferior, but you will not have to pit as frequently, perhaps at around half distance. Gear Ratios ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The gear ratios determine how frequently you must shift (especially important while using a manual transmission). Regretfully, you only have five general settings (low to high) while customizing your gear ratios, instead of being able to adjust them precisely. The higher these are set, the longer the engine will have to work in a certain gear to get it up to maximum speed and RPM for that gear, therefore causing the acceleration to suffer slightly. Of course, they also mean that the car will be able to reach some very impressive top speeds if the acceleration permits you to. As a general rule, adjust it proportionate to the wing angles, but watch your graphs. Suspension ~~~~~~~~~~~~ The impact that this has on your car is minimal, but suspension helps protect the vehicle and provide a bit of "flexibility", if you will, when going over bumps. The suspension on Formula 1 cars is VERY firm, which means that a gap in the road that, say, your SUV could take without a problem will probably damage an F1 car. Hard suspension reduces the "travel", thereby resulting in better aerodynamic efficiency but also increasing the potential for damage, especially when running over the curbs on the track. Soft suspension will have the exact opposite effect, but it is hard to determine which will be more beneficial without running the track a few times. Of course, sensible driving is the real way to escape damage... Steering Sensitivity ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This basically determines how quickly your car will turn. It's critical to get this right depending on the type of turns that the track is mostly made up of. If this is too low, the car may want to spin out on you from excessive steering. Steering sensitivity determines how sensitive your car is to steering. For tight turns, you might want to go with a larger steering sensitivity. For turns which are mostly sweeping, go for a smaller steering sensitivity. Be careful, however. If you get this wrong, your car may want to understeer (not want to turn as well as you want it to), or oversteer (turn too much, turning the car into the inside wall or getting it to turn the wrong way backwards into the outside wall). ================================================== 03. Teams and Drivers ================================================== All the teams are similar in performance, but you may want to note the following for each one. Included is a brief history of each team. This also doesn't matter, but Ferrari, Williams, Jordan, Sauber, and Tyrrell use Goodyear tires; all the others use Bridgestones. Williams Mecachrome ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (1) Driver Williams / Jacques Villeneuve (Canada) (2) Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Germany) Williams took over the ISO team at the end of the 1974 season and began to race for 1975. Since then, however, it has become one of the three most successful teams in Formula 1, competing with the much longer-running McLaren and Ferrari organizations and accruing over one hundred wins to their credit. 1997 was the final year of an unbelievable streak for the Williams team, with a long string of first- and second-place finishes in the constructor's championship. Williams won the 1996 world championship with Damon Hill, and managed to win again with Jacques Villeneuve in 1997, with new driver Frentzen finishing strongly with 42 points. Sadly, Renault withdrew as an engine manufacturer and left Williams struggling with only a third-place finish in 1998 as a series of new regulations came into place. An engine agreement with BMW in place from 2000 to 2005 led to some pretty good results, but the loss of BMW support and star driver Juan Montoya has sunk Williams to the middle of the pack lately. Ferrari ~~~~~~~~~ (3) Michael Schumacher (Germany) (4) Eddie Irvine (Britain) Note for manual transmission drivers: this car has seven gears (the only one in the game). Ferrari is a tradition-rich team that has been in existence since the inception of the World Championship in 1950, and because of its long history is the most successful team in Formula One. Despite all this, the team never registered a victory until the 1951 season at Silverstone. The Scuderia had been suffering with some lean years until 1996, when the team snapped up an impressive package including double world champion Michael Schumacher. It took several years, but the team finally won the constructor's championship in 1999 and followed it up with a driver's title in Schumacher's name one year later. This domination continued with five championships for the German from 2000 to 2004. In 2007, the Finn Kimi Raikkonen beat both Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso by one point each for the driver's championship, while in 2008 Kimi lost the title to Hamilton on the final turn of Brazilian Grand Prix. Benetton Playlife ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (5) Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) (6) Alexander Wurz (Austria) The Benetton clothes manufacturer officially entered Formula 1 in 1986 having bought out the Toleman team. Success was gradual in their early years, but the team eventually exploded to the forefront when team boss Flavio Briatore snapped up soon-to-be world champion Michael Schumacher after just one race in 1991. After a couple of years of difficult results, Schumacher won the world championship in 1994 amidst accusations that the team was cheating. The 1998 season was unremarkable, although Giancarlo Fisichella managed two second-place finishes and a pole. Benetton was eventually purchased by the Renault team, who made their return to F1 racing for 2002, winning championships with the brash but extremely talented Fernando Alonso in 2005 and 2006. McLaren Mercedes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (7) David Coulthard (Britain) (8) Mika Hakkinen (Finland) McLaren was established in the early 60's by racing driver Bruce McLaren, and holds the honor of one of the longest sponsorship deals in F1's history and also had one of its greatest movements with a dominant season like no one had seen before. In 1988, McLaren Honda's two drivers - Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna - combined for fifteen of sixteen race victories, with the championship eventually going to Senna. Mika Hakkinen joined the team in 1993, and despite sustaining a severe head injury in 1995, went on to win a world championship for the team in 1998 and again in 1999 before retiring after 2001. Coulthard joined the team in 1996 and showed himself as the faster driver numerous times throughout the season, winning at San Marino. Hakkinen was considered the #1 driver, however, winning the world championship and following up the next year with yet another. McLaren went through a down period early in the decade but won another world championship with Lewis Hamilton in 2008, the first black driver to win a driver's championship. Jordan Mugen-Honda ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (9) Damon Hill (Britain) (10) Ralf Schumacher (Germany) Jordan Grand Prix entered Formula 1 at the beginning of the 1991 season and signed Michael Schumacher for one race at the Belgian Grand Prix, where the soon-to-be world champion had a rather harsh start with a clutch failure coming out of the first corner. The team enjoyed relative success in its early years, with constantly fourth- and fifth-place finishes in the constructor's championship in the mid-90's. In 1997, Michael Schumacher's brother Ralf appeared out of the racing backwaters, and enjoyed a rather promising season with teammate Giancarlo Fisichella, both in their first full seasons of Formula 1. It was only a taste of what was to come, however, as Jordan earned a one-two finish at the Belgian Grand Prix in 1998, and then a third-place finish in constructor's in 1999. And in 2003, Jordan finally won a race with Giancarlo Fisichella at Brazil. Since then, however, the team has fallen back in performance and changed status several times, from Midland to Spyker to the present-day Force India name, getting good results with none of them. Prost Peugeot ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (11) Olivier Panis (France) (12) Jarno Trulli (Italy) Under the direction of ex-world champion Alain Prost, the French team known as Ligier was bought out after the 1996 season. Prost finished the 1997 season with a Ligier chassis that allowed the team to finish strongly in the championship with 21 points aggregate. It was a difficult year, however, with Olivier Panis crashing at the Canadian Grand Prix and breaking his legs (Jarno Trulli replaced him for the remainder of the season) and an unreliable Mugen- Honda engine sapping the team's efforts and costing Trulli an almost certain win in Austria. The succeeding years were very difficult for the team with few points-scoring finishes not helping their efforts, and unfortunately, mounting debts forced the team to fold just weeks before the start of the 2002 season. Sauber Petronas ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (14) Jean Alesi (France) (15) Johnny Herbert (Britain) Peter Sauber, fresh off numerous victories in sports car racing in the early 90's, moved into Formula 1 with the help of Mercedes-Benz in 1993 and took a points finish in its opening race. Prior to the 1997 season, Sauber was at risk of going out of business with the loss of a Ford engine and a driver in the name of Heinz-Harald Frentzen. However, investors stepped in before the start of the 1997 season and helped raise more sponsorship for the team, and also negotiated the supply of the previous year's Ferrari engine (an agreement which the team maintained until 2005, when BMW bought an 80% share in the team). In recent years, Sauber (now BMW-Sauber) has risen to become the third-strongest team in the series. They won their first race in 2008 with rising star Robert Kubica, who finished fourth in the drivers' championship. Arrows ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (16) Pedro Diniz (Brazil) (17) Mika Salo (Finland) Arrows Grand Prix was established in 1977 by disgruntled employees of the Shadow team. The team made its debut at the 1978 Brazilian Grand Prix and went on to take a second-place finish in the Swedish GP later that year, a record it would equal numerous times in its years of existence but never beat. The 1997 season was an optimistic one for Arrows with the signing of 1996 world champion Damon Hill, plus Pedro Diniz's impressive sponsorship opportunities, but swamped with an unreliable Yamaha engine, the team was unable to come into its own. An impressive second-place finish at Hungary in 1997 was bittersweet because of the massive 30-second lead Hill lost with a gearbox failure two laps before the finish. With poor results not helping the team's situation as well as legal problems, Arrows Grand Prix failed to attend Grand Prix midway through the 2002 season and was liquidated. Stewart Ford ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (18) Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) (19) Jos Verstappen (Holland) Another newer team, Stewart Grand Prix was founded by famous racing Scot Jackie Stewart and his son Paul for the 1997 season. The results during the season were poor, with the exception of a second-place for Rubens Barrichello at Monaco in 1997. Things weren't much better for the 1998 campaign, where Barrichello finished fifth twice, while the other car was occupied by both Jan Magnussen and Jos Verstappen, with little success for either. Magnussen lost his seat in midseason because of disappointing results for the Danish prospect. The team moved on, finally earning a well-deserved one-three for Johnny Herbert and Rubens Barrichello at the Nurburgring in 1999, in a topsy- turvy rain-affected race. Stewart was purchased by the Ford Motor Company at the end of 1999, and it was announced that the cars would be run as Jaguars. The "Leaping Cat" failed to win a race but did earn its first podium - in the hands of Eddie Irvine - in 2001. The Jaguar team was bought up by the Red Bull energy-drink maker in 2005 and became known as Red Bull. Tyrrell Ford ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (20) Ricardo Rosset (Brazil) (21) Tora Takagi (Japan) Brought into Formula 1 by businessman Ken Tyrrell in the early 70's, the team enjoyed early success with such successful drivers as Ronnie Peterson, Jackie Stewart, and Jody Scheckter among others, taking a constructor's championship in 1971. Tyrrell is known for its unique design innovations, including the 6- wheeler P34 in 1976 and 1977, and in 1997, the X-wing design that was featured in the original F1 WGP. Gradually, interest in the team waned, and Tyrrell was bought out by the emergent British American Racing (BAR) "super team" at the end of 1997, and competed for one final year before taking a $30 million settlement and leaving F1 for good. Tyrrell's last season was not a successful one; Ricardo Rosset failed to qualify five times, and Tora Takagi was hardly any more successful. Ken Tyrrell died in 2001 after a battle with cancer. BAR, which finished second in the constructor's standings in 2004, was eventually purchased by Honda. On the verge of folding in early 2009, the Honda team was reborn as Brawn GP and has dominated the 2009 season. Minardi Ford ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (22) Shinji Nakano (Japan) (23) Esteban Tuero (Argentina) The Minardi team has traditionally made up the tail end of the grid, hardly ever managing to score many points in a World Championship season. The team made its debut inconspicuously in 1984. In 1991, Pierluigi Martini scored the team's best performance to date, with two fourth-place finishes during the season. During the 1997 season, the team struggled with poor results from both of its drivers and the loss of Jarno Trulli midway through the season to another team. An Italian tax investigation resulted in the selling of the team to businessman Paul Stoddart in 2002. In 2003 the team had a moment in the spotlight with a one-two in the Friday session at the French Grand Prix, which they would see slip away on Saturday. Before the 2006 season, the Red Bull energy-drink maker bought Minardi and renamed it Toro Rosso (Red Bull in Italian), despite popular protest. STR finally won a race in 2008 thanks to Sebastian Vettel. ================================================== 04. Circuits ================================================== I've included a description of some parts of the track (complete track descriptions would be ruinous). Be warned that the shortcuts that are stated in this guide will require a little less speed to ensure that you don't trigger the "anti-shortcut" which spins your car around as if it hits an invisible wall. I've also included a recommended car setup in the following form: (Front wing angle) - (Rear wing angle) : (Gear ratios) : (Steering) For instance, a proper way of designating setup would be 20-20 : SH : 16. Good times have also been stated, broken down into each time split on the track (when you pass over the time splits, you will receive gaps to the driver in front of you, or your time compared to the best lap in a session.) The times are accurate to a tenth of a second, and Jordan recorded them with Michael Schumacher on Professional difficulty with a manual transmission in the original F-1 World Grand Prix. These times are usually beatable in race modes. 01: Australia (Albert Park) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5.301 kilometers, 58 laps The Albert Park circuit winds around a lake in downtown Melbourne and uses some of the streets in the recreation area to make up the circuit. The track lacks any hairpin turns or real heavy braking areas. There are several fast and slow chicanes around the circuit, however, so it is important to have some good cornering skills around this track. Expect plenty of curving straights that allow you to build up your speed, and watch out for the trees which can obscure your view down the road. The courage to go as fast as possible through some of the quicker corners is a prerequisite here in Australia. Recommended car setup: 20-20 (or 15-15) : SH : 20 Good time: 28.3, 49.6, 1:19.1 02: Brazil (Interlagos) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4.292 kilometers, 72 laps The Interlagos ("Between the lakes") circuit is notable for its bumpy nature, fast sweeps and slow hairpins, among other difficulties, and the first turn (which resembles Laguna Seca's Corkscrew) makes it only too easy to run off into the gravel. The first half of the lap is made up of fast turns which should be taken flat-out without a doubt. Roughly halfway through the lap, however, you encounter a series of quick straights interrupted by some slow hairpins (right, then left, then right again). Brakes will suffer, and it's difficult to pick a setup because of the alternating fast straights and slow corners in different parts of the track. It's best to get as much grip as possible out of the car, though. Recommended car setup: 25-25 : MD : 20 Good time: 17.8, 51.7, 1:09.9 03: Argentina (Buenos Aires) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4.259 kilometers, 72 laps Until it disappeared after failing to secure a sponsor in 1999, this was one of the slowest circuits on the Formula 1 calendar, and cornering is definitely critical in order to win. Other than the front straight and the back straight, the circuit lacks any long period in which you can get on the throttle. The corners themselves tend to be rather long, and (especially in Champion difficulty) one must stick to the racing line like glue. It's important to take the circuit's variety of corners as carefully as possible to ensure that you remain on course. They vary a great deal, from a fast fourth- or fifth-gear chicane to a left-right sweep that immediately follows a chicane (therefore you must accelerate through it). None of the circuit is easy, so concentration is vital! Shortcut: As you exit the chicane in the later part of the track, enter pit lane and slow down to 1st gear. Just after the red and white wall to your left appears, you'll find a gap. Slowly go through it. Recommended car setup: 30-30 : MD : 22 Good time: 28.0, 53.0, 1:14.1 04: San Marino (Imola) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4.930 kilometers, 62 laps First of all, this circuit feels REALLY narrow, so it's somewhat difficult to keep the car on track. There are still plenty of passing opportunities, but the real challenge here is to get the correct line out of all the corners and not run off onto the grass on some of the faster flicks. One of these "faster flicks" (which astounds me, really) is the Villeneuve chicane - the second turn sequence on the track - which despite its profile that encourages a slower speed, can be taken almost flat out at the risk of putting your wheels on the grass. Hairpins are few and far between; most turns are made up of 90-degree sweepers. Braking at exactly the right point is important at most of the corners, and some of the circuit boundaries are dangerously close to the walls, most notably at the sixth turn sequence around the track (Variante Alta), where a tall green monster looms immediately to your right. Shortcut: At the Variante Alta (sixth turn sequence), as the wall to your right opens up just before the chicane, take it at speed to skip the chicane. Bonus: If you beat a time of 1:23 at San Marino, an early 90's McLaren (presumably Ayrton Senna) will appear as a ghost car. Recommended car setup: 20-20 : SH : 18 Good time: 14.3, 47.0, 1:22.4 05: Spain (Barcelona) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4.728 kilometers, 65 laps The Circuit de Catalunya, as it is formally known, possesses a 1,000-meter front straight before heavy braking for some very demanding turns throughout the circuit. Lots of fast sweeping corners (especially in the first section of the track) will demand a lot from the tires, so hard tires are not a bad idea here. Luckily, because of the very wide gravel traps it's easy to recover from an 'off', and you should, because if you sustain damage to your car from whacking the wall, this circuit will immediately become very difficult. Watch out for the turn sequence following the first hairpin turn, which is very easy to get wrong. Make sure that your last two corners are flawless, as they must be taken while on the throttle without error in order to ensure a good lap. Recommended car setup: 20-20 : SH : 22 Good time: 21.9, 50.5, 1:13.3 06: Monaco (Monte Carlo) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3.366 kilometers, 78 laps This track (notably reincarnated as Cote D'Azur in the Gran Turismo series) is a pain because of the Armco barrier on either side of you on the impossibly narrow track. There is no margin for error, and the run-off that you do find is hardly sufficient. It's easy to sustain damage because of contact with the barriers, and it's almost impossible to find a place to overtake in the narrow Monte Carlo streets (which is why qualifying is so critical). This is the slowest circuit out of any on the Formula 1 tour - my best lap ever here is only about 185 km/h. Two of the turns - Grand Hotel (a very tight 180-degree left hand hairpin after the first split time) and Rascasse (a tight 180-degree hairpin to the right after the chicane sequence) will certainly require first gear and turning while off the throttle. Good luck finishing here, let alone winning. Recommended car setup: 35-35 : SL : 22 Good time: 19.7, 39.5, 1:12.4 07: Canada (Montreal) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4.421 kilometers, 69 laps Since the Montreal circuit was built from access roads on an island used for Expo 67, you'll notice that this circuit is much like Australia in its love for chicanes. Unlike Albert Park, however, it also includes a couple of hairpins and will require a lot of practice with braking. Basically, the circuit is two long straights at both ends of the course, broken up by chicanes that range from second to fourth gear (perhaps fifth in the last chicane if you have the guts). Passing is a genuine possibility with good acceleration, but make sure not to ruin your tires - something that is very easy to do on a braking circuit. Keep an eye out for the final chicane (with the rather inappropriate "Bienvenue au Quebec" sign) which has had its victims in the past, and you could be next. Use the curbs judiciously to avoid an accident. Shortcut: Just before the hairpin at the far end of the track, brake prematurely and steer across the gap to the other side of the track just before the hairpin. Recommended car setup: 20-20 : SH : 20 Good time: 19.7, 42.2, 1:08.5 08: France (Magny-Cours) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4.247 kilometers, 72 laps France is much like Canada in its design but has a few other elements incorporated into it, such as a long 180-degree right turn (Estoril) right at the beginning of the course. There are two hairpins where you must pay attention to the racing line in order to take them properly, as well as a couple of extremely fast chicanes which fail to serve their purpose of slowing the cars down. Because of all the fast corners that you will find here, you have to make sure that your car remains undamaged. The first hairpin on the track (Estoril) is a great opportunity to overtake several cars in the opening laps. Watch out for pit lane, which opens up immediately after the final chicane, but just before the final right turn to the left of the track. Shortcut: As you approach the final chicane, you can take it flat-out and cut across the gravel. This will give you a slightly better approach to the start/ finish line instead of the final corner. Recommended car setup: 20-20 : MD : 18 Good time: 16.4, 29.9, 1:07.0 09: Britain (Silverstone) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5.140 kilometers, 59 laps With the exception of a few chicanes thrown in to slow the cars down and a complex in the final section of the track, Silverstone is a high-speed circuit with an opening section that can, with a little bit of practice, be taken with only the occasional lift of the throttle and downshifting. One should not need to use the brakes at Silverstone for at least 30 to 40 seconds of the lap. We then get into the section where the track designers seem to have realized the circuit is too fast, as then there are several chicanes attempting to break the high-speed sweeps, culminating in the final few hairpin turns (The Complex) which will require speeds of roughly 100 km/h and second gear to get around them. Tire wear will be an issue with the high speed cornering, and three stops may be a possibility. Overtaking is a relatively simple act thanks to the very wide roads. Shortcut: As you approach Stowe (the corner after the first few turns and long straight), drift off to the outside and you'll notice an access road on the outside on the track. Drive on it to be dropped off at the Club corner. Recommended car setup: 15-15 : SH : 20 Good time: 25.1, 54.4, 1:11.8 10: Austria (A1-Ring) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4.323 kilometers, 71 laps The A1-Ring has only nine corners but still stands among all other circuits as one of the most exciting and challenging (at least until they tore it down). The first two turns (Castrol and Remus) serve as a great overtaking opportunity in the opening laps when the cars are bunched up into traffic jams, but the Remus curve will require first gear AND the loss of a LOT of speed. The middle section of the track has a lot of fast corners where you must attempt to remain on the black stuff in order to make sure you hold your position. Because of the difficulty in recovering, running off onto the gravel will almost certainly lose you time and positions. The basic lesson? Keep it on the track here, and you might have an opportunity to win the race. Recommended car setup: 20-20 : SH : 18 Good time: 31.0, 51.5, 1:01.6 11: Germany (Hockenheim) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6.823 kilometers, 45 laps Here's a true high-speed circuit for you. The Hockenheim circuit is mostly situated in the German forest and speeds exceed 350 km/h on the straights, broken only by three extremely demanding chicanes. It is paramount to use a high-speed, low-downforce setup here for maximum performance on the straights, but this means that the car's cornering and braking ability will suffer when you get into the chicanes and the stadium section in the final 25 to 30 seconds of the lap. As such, you should be able to adjust to the car's drastically different handling characteristics (the car will feel very "heavy"). Slipstreaming is usually possible on the high-speed straights. This old version of the circuit was used up to 2001, before being drastically modified for the 2002 race. Recommended car setup: 10-10 : HI : 18 Good time: 19.4, 1:08.6, 1:28.2 12: Hungary (Hungaroring) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3.968 kilometers, 77 laps At this ex-Eastern Bloc circuit, cornering and acceleration are the most important aspects of a successful race. The configuration is demanding, but includes a nice variety of fast and slow corners with some very short straights (which is one of the reasons that this is the second-slowest circuit on the calendar). As such, you may find that the circuit's layout is rather insane, but thankfully it does keep you on your toes so the race will not be extremely boring. The track is more suited to traffic jams than overtaking, so you may very well have to follow another car for a few laps before passing it. Try not to go off into the gravel, as this will have more of an effect on performance than on other tracks. Recommended car setup: 30-30 : MD : 18 Good time: 28.2, 54.1, 1:11.9 13: Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6.968 kilometers, 44 laps Spa belongs to a different era in racing: one where safety was less of a concern and the circuits were true challenges of driving. The Francorchamps circuit was one of them, and this revived circuit manages to maintain these challenges. The first corner (La Source) is a great overtaking opportunity and allows for the use of many racing lines, while the very next turn - Eau Rouge - is one of the most famous in Formula 1 with a left-right-left uphill configuration that requires a lot of faith in your abilities. The rest of the track is generally made up of reasonably fast turns but, regardless, is still quite demanding. Final note about the Bus Stop chicane (the final sequence on the track): take it cautiously, as it's not worth extra effort, and more likely you will damage your car on the curbs. Watch out for rain, especially in Grand Prix mode, where you will find that the wet stuff is frequent. Recommended car setup: 20-20 : SH : 18 Good time: 30.9, 1:10.7, 1:37.9 14: Italy (Monza) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5.770 kilometers, 53 laps Monza is one of the greatest tracks in F1, and also takes the title of the fastest. Juan Montoya set the fastest-ever qualifying lap at Monza in 2002, while Peter Gethin holds the record for the closest ever F1 race at Monza in 1971. Top speed is key here, and everything else must be sacrificed. Because of the chicanes that have been placed throughout the circuit, your performance will suffer in those parts, but in all other sections of the track, trust me, it will be phenomenal. Slipstreaming is basically the only way to overtake on this circuit, especially on the back straight. Watch out for the increasing- radius final turn (Parabolica), which is easy to miss and run wide in during the first part of the turn but then opens up onto a wonderfully wide pit straight. Recommended car setup: 10-10 : HI : 18 Good time: 33.5, 59.4, 1:12.6 15: Luxembourg (Nurburgring) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4.556 kilometers, 67 laps Sadly, a bit of a boring track, as the circuit (actually located in Germany) is a composite of chicanes and hairpins - a shadow of the original 14-mile circuit. It's certainly not simple, but lacks any real challenge to it. You'll have the hardest braking on the course for the Dunlop hairpin at the far end of the circuit, and the difficulty doesn't end there, as the track is banked to the inside. Overtaking is a distinct possibility on this circuit, but don't get your hopes up in the middle section where you are more likely to have an accident if attempting to pass. The final chicane (Veedol) is the best opportunity to overtake, as well as the start-finish straight. Running off the circuit is not that big of a deal - recovery is easy due to the massive run-off areas on the track. Recommended car setup: 20-20 : MD : 20 Good time: 25.5, 56.6, 1:07.6 16: Japan (Suzuka) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5.864 kilometers, 53 laps You may wonder if this is a motorcycle circuit with its figure-eight layout - the answer is yes. It's a challenge, but an exciting one nonetheless. The opening section of the track - a series of S-curves from the start/finish line to the underpass - is the most important part of the lap, as if your car is not set up properly, or damaged, or you simply don't have the courage, you can easily lose time in here. A good, clean run is everything, whether it be for setting up overtaking, or for getting a time to put you on pole position. Other than braking, you really should not have any problems with the remainder of this circuit, which incorporates some fast sweeps, hairpins, and a chicane just before the finish line. This track is a great circuit for learning effective cornering, as it seems like you're never going straight for any long period of time. Overtaking is easy with knowledge of the circuit! Recommended car setup: 25-25 : MD : 18 Good time: 36.8, 1:09.3, 1:27.4 Bonus: Europe (Jerez) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4.428 kilometers, 69 laps Jerez in Spain was the concluding event in the 1997 season, but it was removed from the 1998 calendar. In F-1 World Grand Prix II, Jerez is a hidden track accessible using a secret code. There are only two types of corners here - fast and slow. There is no middle ground. There are three long straights (excluding the front straight) that allow you to hit high speeds (most curving to the left), but all the same, slow turns are frequent. It's very important to have confidence in your car as you turn through these corners, as the speeds in some of the faster turns are sufficient to send you flying smack into the wall. Overtaking in the fast turns is possible, but will require a heck of a lot of courage to do so. Don't expect your opponents to give you a great deal of room! Recommended car setup: 20-20 : SH : 18 Good time: 21.0, 54.6, 1:10.8 ================================================== 05. Challenge Mode ================================================== Challenge Mode is a special feature of F-1 World Grand Prix II that allows you to jump into the closing laps of the race in a rush to get back into first place, or where you need to maintain a lead, or where you have to make the best of a bad situation. These scenarios are divided into the Speed, Tactics, and Mechanical categories. At first, only the first challenge in each of these three categories will be available. Earning at least one point in a challenge by completing some aspect of it successfully will open up the next challenge in that category. Earning points in all fifteen challenges unlocks the Ultimate Challenge. Points from all challenges are added together, and once you earn 100 points the credits will be shown. Note: These challenges all use Professional difficulty and an automatic transmission. You can't change that. Speed A ~~~~~~~~~~~ Mika Hakkinen (McLaren) Australia GP, Albert Park In the first race of the season, the McLaren cars of Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard surprised the field by separating quickly from the pack. While in the lead on lap 36, Hakkinen came into the pits unnecessarily. This was a costly error that was actually caused by mistaken pit communications. While Hakkinen was in the pits, Coulthard took the lead and began pursuing Eddie Irvine and Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who fought to remain on the lead lap. Try to recover from the pitting error and catch Coulthard. The McLaren team agreed to allow their driver with the best start to win the race. This challenge is pretty easy. With good driving, you can pass D.C. on your first lap. After that, lap Irvine and Frentzen and you'll receive the full five points at the conclusion of the third lap. I can't give you much help, but as Michael Schumacher said in 1999, "Drive fast and don't crash." Speed B ~~~~~~~~~~~ Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) Hungary GP, Hungaroring The McLaren cars held first and second for most of the Hungarian Grand Prix. Ferrari decided a change in tactics would help Michael Schumacher advance from third. Changing from a two pit strategy to a three pit one meant his car could run faster, since the other cars were carrying more fuel. Starting lap forty- three, Schumacher was low on fuel and needed to make a quick pit stop to get enough fuel to finish the race. Take on fuel quickly, then try to improve your position on the McLaren cars. Only take on as much fuel as needed to keep your car light. Your car is five to six seconds a lap quicker than all your competitors, so you can breeze by Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard early in the first lap of the challenge. At the end of the first lap, pull into the pits and add three laps' worth of fuel while keeping your old tires; they're still in fine condition. When you exit the pits, you'll probably be racing in fifth position. With three laps left in the race, you should be able to regain the lead and build enough of a gap ahead of everyone else to earn full points. Speed C ~~~~~~~~~~~ Eddie Irvine (Ferrari) Canadian GP, Montreal The beginning of the Canadian Grand Prix was marred by early accidents. Eddie Irvine had to pit on the first lap to replace a punctured right rear tyre. After the tyre was replaced, Irvine was forced to rejoin the race at the rear of the field. Advancing through the field would prove difficult. After a pit stop on lap thirty-eight, Irvine was in eighth place. He needed to gain several positions to earn any points in the race. Race as Irvine to see how many positions you can advance during the next four laps. You want the podium if you want to earn the maximum five points. You want nothing else. Once the challenge starts the ranking will be as follows: Fisichella, Schumacher, Panis, Hill, Wurz, Nakano, Salo, Irvine (you). Go on a passing frenzy! Just drive your rear end off around the track. By the end of the first lap you should be in fifth place, and by lap two you can get up to third. You won't be able to catch Michael Schumacher in second, but that's not necessary to get five points. Probably the easiest challenge in the game. Speed D ~~~~~~~~~~~ Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Williams) Brazilian GP, Interlagos The Brazilian Grand Prix was a decisive victory for Team McLaren. Their ensuing first and second place performances left the rest of the field chasing them all day. The battle for third place became the primary struggle with many drivers contending. Among them was Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who held this position from the start. On lap twenty-eight, Frentzen fell four positions during a pit stop. Ahead of him were Wurz, Fisichella, and others racing for the victory podium. During the next three laps, race as Frentzen to regain the lost ground. Try to get to fourth position and prepare for a strong finish. You're in seventh, and you're trying to get up to fourth place. You can overtake Michael Schumacher quickly, and the Williams driver's (Jacques Villeneuve) pit stop on the next-to-last lap will propel you to fifth. However, you'll have to drive almost perfectly to reach Jarno Trulli in fourth. I can't give much advice other than that. To do so would just be useless. Follow the track strategy and you can do it. Speed E ~~~~~~~~~~~ David Coulthard (McLaren) Austrian GP, A1-Ring David Coulthard suffered contact with the Arrows cars in the second corner of the Austrian Grand Prix. As a result, he fell to seventeenth position in the first lap. During the remainder of the race, he steadily moved up through the field. In the end, he stood on the victory podium having earned second place. As Coulthard, try to gain as many positions as possible as quickly as you can. Be aggressive and try not to make a mistake. This is not the easiest challenge that you will ever have. You start off in ninth place in this five-lap challenge. Use slipstreaming to your advantage on the long straightaways. If you can overtake at least one car per lap, you may get up to third place for a podium finish and full points. Tactics A ~~~~~~~~~~~ Eddie Irvine (Ferrari) French GP, Magny-Cours Ferrari hoped that the French Grand Prix would be their chance to break the winning streak of McLaren. From the race start Ferrari retained the top two places. Michael Schumacher had a quick jump from the starting grid to take the lead. Tucking in behind him was Eddie Irvine in second. The McLaren cars were third and fourth. With this start, the Ferrari could now work as a team to enable Michael Schumacher to extend his first place lead. As Eddie Irvine, try to hold second place, keeping the McLaren cars behind you. This will allow Michael Schumacher to build a strong lead. In this challenge, you want to drive fast, but not TOO fast, and whatever you do, don't pass Schuey ("team orders"). The challenge lasts just two laps, and you shouldn't be bothered by any other cars. It's easy to earn four points for your performance, but it takes some care to get the full five. Tactics B ~~~~~~~~~~~ Giancarlo Fisichella (Benetton) Canadian GP, Montreal In the Canadian Grand Prix, Giancarlo Fisichella was in the chase for another podium finish following his second place in the Monaco Grand Prix. By the middle of the race, Fisichella had pulled to a modest lead over Michael Schumacher. Both drivers, however, would need to stop for fuel. Fisichella would need both a quick pit time and a series of fast laps to hold Schumacher back. Race as Fisichella and take on fuel quickly. Schumacher is running well, but try to take advantage of his last pit stop to regain the lead. Fizzy's in first place - but with a near-empty fuel tank and heavily worn tires. You'll have to take each turn slowly, but be careful not to lock up with very hard braking. Michael Schumacher may end up passing you near the end of the lap - if so, that's OK. Enter the pits at full speed and get new tires and enough gas to take you three more laps. Afterwards, you should find yourself around seventh place with new tires and a light tank. You have three laps to pass everyone and reach second place. Schumacher pits at the end of lap 46, so if there are no mistakes on your end, you will win! Tactics C ~~~~~~~~~~~ Rubens Barrichello (Stewart) Spanish Grand Prix, Circuit de Catalunya Rubens Barrichello had an effective race during the Spanish Grand Prix. He drove well, starting in seventh, and held this place for the first half of the race. On Lap 29, Barrichello moved into fifth when Irvine and Fisichella collided in front of him. Driver Williams then challenged Barrichello from behind. Barrichello would earn some points for the Stewart team if he could increase his lead and avoid attacks from the Williams driver. As Barrichello, try to maintain fifth place and increase your gap over the Williams driver. Advance to fourth position if you can. This one's more like a Speed challenge. It's hard to make much headway here; very skillful driving is required to catch up with Alexander Wurz in fourth. Your main threat comes from Villeneuve, who will be on your back bumper (at least, if you had a back bumper) through the whole duration of this challenge. You may have to settle for fifth place and three points. Tactics D ~~~~~~~~~~~ Alexander Wurz (Benetton) Monaco GP, Monte Carlo The Monaco Grand Prix is one of the most demanding tracks in the world. Twisting city roads make it difficult to pass slower cars. On Lap 37 of the race, Alexander Wurz was in second place holding Michael Schumacher to a close third. In front of Wurz was a group of trailing cars. Wurz would need to navigate through the slower cars to gain ground on the leader and keep Schumacher behind him. Race as Wurz and try to maintain second place while gaining on the leader. If you fall behind, try to stay close to be in position for driver points. At the start of the challenge, be careful not to damage your car lapping the pair of Jordans and the Williams car. Use caution, remembering that your car is superior to the opponents'. Hakkinen will pit on the first lap, so hang on for two more laps and you should win. Tactics E ~~~~~~~~~~~ Ralf Schumacher (Jordan) Belgian GP, Spa-Francorchamps The Belgian Grand Prix was plagued by a heavy rain, making track conditions difficult. This contributed to a huge crash at the start, causing many drivers to retire. Ralf Schumacher would start eighth on the grid for the restart. To have a chance for points, he would have to survive the heavy traffic on the early laps. Race as Ralf Schumacher and make a clean restart. Try to move up in the pack while avoiding all contact with barriers and other cars. Points aren't awarded based on avoiding damage, but do be careful to avoid ramming into someone in the hazardous rainy conditions. You're in eighth place on the first lap of the race, and fortunately you don't have to navigate the carnage of the first corner (La Source). Your car isn't very fast, so you absolutely have to use the draft effectively to avoid losing ground. This challenge is only two laps long, but they're slow laps at the longest circuit on the calendar. You must finish fourth to obtain the maximum number of points possible. Mechanical A ~~~~~~~~~~~ David Coulthard (McLaren) San Marino GP, Imola Starting from the pole position, David Coulthard ran a near perfect race, building a large lead over second place driver Michael Schumacher. However, David Coulthard developed a bad gearbox near the end of the race. This caused his engine to overheat at high RPMs, limiting his top speed. With a large lead Coulthard had to push his McLaren enough to hold Schumacher back while not allowing the gearbox to overheat. Race as Coulthard and hold off Schumacher. You will need to keep a steady eye on your RPMs. Driving the car too fast could result in disaster. VERY hard. It's safe to reach high speeds, but be sure to take your foot off the accelerator and coast a long distance before corners, giving your engine a chance to cool for a few seconds before accelerating again. You've got a fifteen-second lead over Michael Schumacher, but he'll close much of the gap if you drive conservatively enough to keep your engine from blowing. If only you could use a manual transmission in Challenge mode... Trouble B ~~~~~~~~~~~ Mika Hakkinen (McLaren) Italian GP, Monza Weather conditions were perfect for the Italian Grand Prix. On laps 35 through 45 Mika Hakkinen was running well in second place and closing in on Michael Schumacher. Approaching the second chicane on lap forty-six, Hakkinen suddenly went into a terrifying 175 MPH spin ending in the gravel pit. Not allowing his engine to stall, he got back on the track. However, his front brakes were almost totally gone, killing any chance for him to win. As Mika Hakkinen, do your best to manage the damaged car. Without front brakes, try to hold on for the best possible finish. Because your brakes are half as effective as usual, you must brake for corners early; often 100, 150, or even 200 meters before approaching the turn. Monza doesn't have a lot of corners, but the ones it does have necessitate hard braking from over 300 km/h. The light fuel load makes you go even faster. Eddie's three seconds back; you can hold him off with skillful driving. Michael Schumacher often spins out at the first chicane, allowing you to pass unhindered. He will come roaring back, however, if you drive too cautiously. With perfect driving, you can win by over ten seconds! That's better than what's necessary to collect five points. Trouble C ~~~~~~~~~~~ Alexander Wurz (Benetton) Spanish GP, Circuit de Catalunya At the Spanish Grand Prix, Alexander Wurz started the race with a good position on the grid. He kept up with the leaders hoping for a chance at points and the podium. In the final laps of the race, Wurz was in fourth just behind Michael Schumacher. The brakes on his Benetton began to show their wear and were slow to act. With weak brakes, it would be difficult for Wurz to overtake Schumacher. The safe thing to do would be to just try to hold on to fourth position. Race as Wurz and try to finish the race in the points. Remember the brakes are worn, so aggressive driving could be dangerous. If there was ever a place to have working brakes, this is it! Catalunya's long straights with sharp corners make this a difficult challenge, even with the relatively high-downforce setup. Initially, you're in fourth place, and Michael Schumacher has a comfortable lead over you. We're aiming for third place, which rewards you with five points. Be patient and don't do anything too aggressive. With good driving, you can catch up to Schumacher near the end, especially when the lapped cars start getting in the way. Trouble D ~~~~~~~~~~~ Jarno Trulli (Prost) Austrian GP, A1-Ring Jarno Trulli had a much needed opportunity to earn points in the Austrian Grand Prix for the Prost team. At lap thirty-three he was driving in fifth position. Chasing him was Driver Williams in sixth and Michael Schumacher in seventh. Both were battling back from tough starts and were making progress through the field. Unfortunately, Trulli's car suffered a broken rear shock absorber. The car's handling began to suffer, resulting in a lack of grip. Race as Trulli and try to hold off the attack drivers behind you. You will have to concentrate to secure your position in the field. The damaged suspension noticeably reduces grip. The poor handling makes the sharp uphill right-hander (the Remus Kurve) especially difficult; you may lose three positions right there. Be careful not to hit other cars and make your suspension problems even worse. You start the challenge in fifth place, and you're trying to hold off the opponents. If you lose a spot, you won't be getting it back (except for the two drivers who will pit). Survive four laps and finish in sixth or better to receive full points. Trouble E ~~~~~~~~~~~ Mika Hakkinen (McLaren) British GP, Silverstone A rain filled day left the Silverstone track drenched and treacherous. From his pole position, Mika Hakkinen led for most of the race. On Lap 41, he spun out in a turn and slid wildly across the gravel trap. The front wing was damaged and the car lost some of its aerodynamics. Hakkinen had built a large lead which he enjoyed until Lap 44. More rain brought the safety car and as the field condensed, his lead diminished. Drive as Hakkinen as the field resumes racing on Lap 50. Try to hold off Michael Schumacher, while driving the damaged car on a slick track. No front wing + wet track = danger. This is like running a marathon while wearing a five-inch spike heel and a suit of armor. You'll be wingless throughout the four-lap challenge, and if you go into the pits to fix it, you won't be able to make up the loss of time. Thankfully, the other cars are driving slowly and cautiously, so don't expect them to make reckless challenges for position. The wide Silverstone roads help, too. Be sure to slow down for corners more than you normally would, and watch out for a lapped car in the way near the end. For full points, you must hold off the Ferraris and finish in first place. Ultimate ~~~~~~~~~~ Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) Japanese GP, Suzuka The Japanese Grand Prix was the last race of the season. Mika Hakkinen was the points leader in the driver championship, and Michael Schumacher was a close second. On the second start attempt, Schumacher stalled his Ferrari, forcing another restart. As punishment, he was forced from the pole to the back of the grid. In order to vie for the championship, he must move quickly through the field and get back up with the leaders. Beginning at the back of the grid, advance as many places as possible in the next twelve laps. You will need to be very aggressive to make up ground. The Ultimate challenge goes for twelve laps around Suzuka, which is more than twice as long as any of the other challenges. Thanks to the light fuel load, your car is several seconds a lap quicker than leader Mika Hakkinen. However, you begin in 21st place, so you must exercise a certain degree of caution in the terrible traffic (looks like where I live at rush hour). For the first turn, it's best passing on the inside, even if it means going into the grass. Try not to play too much Formula One pinball and damage your car, and try to take some care of your tires. After three to five laps, you should get up to first place. From here, your much-quicker car can pull away from the pack, even lapping some of the slower drivers you were passing just a few laps ago. Around Lap 9, however, the fuel light will come on. Plan on stopping on Lap 10. Remember that the pit entrance is immediately BEFORE the final chicane; it's easy to miss. In a real race, you would get about 25 laps' worth of gas and probably new tires; in the challenge, you only need enough gas to get you one or two extra laps. Win the race with a decent lead to get the full 25 points. That's what makes it the Ultimate challenge. ================================================== 06. Extras ================================================== You might be aware that you can change the Williams driver's name to whatever you want. If you name him DRIVER NOSTALGIA, you can unlock the Jerez circuit without having to win the championship. This cheat disappears when you change the name again or turn the game off. The following will earn you the game extras permanently: Defeat Rookie difficulty in Grand Prix mode - unlock Gallery and Credits Defeat Professional difficulty in Grand Prix mode - unlock Bonus Track (Jerez) ================================================== 07. Questions ================================================== Q: Who is the Williams driver, and why was he not mentioned? A: In 1998, Jacques Villeneuve was the top driver for the Williams team. He is known as "the Williams driver" or "Driver Williams" in this game. For some reason, most Formula 1 video games from 1996 to 1998 do not include Villeneuve. I have no means of knowing, although I suspect that he (or his agents) requested not to be included. However, all of Jacques' statistics (date of birth, nationality, etc.) are included in F1 WGP II. Q: Can you explain telemetry? A: Telemetry is information broadcast from the car to the pits giving information on the car's diagnostics. In its simplest form, it is a graph comparing distance to time. In this game, however, telemetry compares time against speed. This information helps calculate where one is accelerating and braking, and compared to a best lap telemetry graph, one can determine where and how you are gaining/losing time. You can then use that information to determine what you should do to gain that time back. It is an invaluable resource to the people who obsess over a "perfect lap". Q: Who is the best driver? A: All the cars have 3-liter V10 engines and are rather similar in performance. In terms of performance, I'd probably rank them in this order: McLaren, Ferrari, Benetton, Williams, Prost, Jordan, Arrows, Sauber, Stewart, Tyrrell, and Minardi. Any one of them will do, however. Q: In Grand Prix mode, do I have to run through all the warmup sessions? A: No. In fact, if you really want to, you can even skip qualifying (except in Champion difficulty) if you don't mind starting at the back. However, it's usually worthwhile to run at least a couple of practice laps at the Friday or Saturday sessions. And, of course, you should always participate in the main qualifying; I recommend using most of your 12-lap allotment unless you get a killer lap time. Q: What makes F-1 World Grand Prix II different from the first F-1 World Grand Prix? A: Here's what's been changed between the two games: * Drivers, teams, and car designs have been updated for the 1998 season * The calendar has also been updated to reflect changes for the 1998 season; a few dates have been switched around, and Jerez is gone from the schedule (it replaces the now-absent tropical island as the Bonus Track). * All the Challenges are new for the 1998 season; in general, they're slightly easier than in the original F-1 WGP * Graphics are just a little bit better * The on-screen music is different; more a Euro-pop feel to it * After a top-three finish, an image of the race's trophy is superimposed on the screen (these look just like the ones presented in real life, and they're usually abstract, weird, and/or tacky) * Cars have just a little less grip (reflecting changes made to the real-life technical configurations) * The hidden Silver and Gold Drivers are gone * The Driver Select screen works a little differently now * The Paddock screen design is laid out in a totally different way, and you can't pick the track's "default" setting any more * Damage is now indicated in a graphical fashion * The Challenges are now divided into Speed, Tactics, and Mechanical scenarios instead of Offense, Defense, and Trouble * The "A" in Mika Hakkinen's last name now has an umlaut over it (I won't use it in this guide because non-ASCII characters don't display properly on some browsers) * The pit crew voice (from Gordon Nichol) sounds a little different; some comments (notably "Go for it!") have a different feel Q: Why do some signboards say ridiculous things like "Moose Fly" or "Wild Sign?" A: Nintendo wouldn't put a "Nintendo Seal of Quality" on a game that contained advertisements for alcohol or tobacco products. But for your information: * "Wild Sign" is Mild Seven (cigarettes) * "F1" is Marlboro (cigarettes) * "Formula One" is Foster's (beer) * "Moose Fly" is Molson Ice (beer) They did not remove the Sony PlayStation ad on the Prost car. Also, "Buzzing Hornets" on the Jordans is a reference to team owner Eddie Jordan's old rock band. It appeared as a euphemism for "Benson & Hedges" in places where cigarette advertising was forbidden. Similar things are done for some of the other tobacco sponsors (like "Williams" instead of Winfield). Q: Where can I find more information on Formula 1 racing? A: The FIA (www.fia.com) is the governing body of Formula 1 racing, and you can get an official viewpoint - standings, regulations, and so forth - there. You can also find some good F-1 information at Wikipedia (www.en.wikipedia.org) and other places on the Internet. In the U.S., though, it's often hard to find much F-1 coverage in newspapers or books. ================================================== 08. Version History ================================================== Not extremely interesting, since I'm not planning on updating this guide very frequently (if at all). However, Jordan is working on expanding the track guides some. Date | Version | Size | ---------|---------|------|---------------------------------------------------- 9-20-01 | - | - | Jordan finished original F1 WGP guide, updating it | | | on 1/5/02 and 7/15/03. 12-22-08 | 0.25 | 91KB | Did a little. 12-24-08 | 0.3 | 94KB | Started adjusting guide for F1 WGP II. 12-26-08 | 0.35 | 91KB | Did most of the Drivers section. 12-27-08 | 0.4 | 90KB | Played Grand Prix through France. 12-28-08 | 0.42 | 88KB | Played Grand Prix through Austria. 12-31-08 | 0.45 | 88KB | Played Grand Prix through Germany, even with massive plumbing work going on. 1- 5-09 | 0.55 | 90KB | Finished Grand Prix mode on the Professional level. 1- 6-09 | 0.65 | 94KB | Completed Speed and Tactics challenges. 1- 7-09 | 0.8 | 99KB | Finished Challenge mode. 1- 8-09 | 0.9 | 96KB | Finished stuff up. 1-10-09 | 0.91 | 96KB | Added note on 107% Rule. 8-12-09 | 0.95 | 97KB | Things are basically finished. ================================================== 09. Copyrights ================================================== This FAQ is copyright (C) 2001-2009 by Jordan Stopciati and (C) 2008-2009 Vinny Hamilton. You can: * Print this guide out for your personal use. * Download this guide to your computer for your personal use. * Post this guide on your Web site as long as you ask permission, give proper credit AND you don't change a single letter, number, or symbol (not even a tilde). Remember that the latest version will always be available at GameFAQs.com, but don't count on there being frequent (if any) updates. You can't: * Post this guide on your Web site and then say you wrote the guide yourself. * Post this guide on Web sites that contain (or have links to sites that contain) pornography, racism, gambling, or flattery of totalitarian regimes. * Post this guide on your Web site if you're going to change anything in this guide that took me so many hours to write. All names and logos are trademarks of their respective owners. ================================================== 10. Closing Notes ================================================== Kudos must, first of all, go to the following people before anything else is stated. - Jordan, who wrote the guide for the original F-1 World Grand Prix and provided support for this one - Vinny, who adapted the F1 WGP guide for F-1 World Grand Prix II (with Jordan's approval) - Everyone on the F1 message board from way back in 2001: Mark and Erik in particular. Their support in the creation of the original F-1 World Grand Prix guide is greatly appreciated. - SBAllen, who maintains an awesome site and takes the time to post our FAQs without complaining. Not many people can lay claim to that. Let's not forget CJayC, too, the old head honcho of GameFAQs. - Paradigm Entertainment and Video System - the companies that made the game - You, the reader, knowing full well that if I fail to mention you, this will be a complete waste of time. Feel free to contact me at the following e-mail address: [email protected] (Vinny). We're open to suggestions for this guide, useful tips, compliments, questions, or usage requests. Please abstain from hate mail, disruptive, flaming, or trolling e-mails, questions to which the answer is clearly stated here, or unnecessarily personal e-mails, which will all be deleted without response. Check out our contributor pages at GameFAQs.com here: Jordan: http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/3848.html Vinny: http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/74793.html Once again, thanks for reading. This concludes the F-1 World Grand Prix II FAQ for the Nintendo 64, and I'll see you on the track. *** END DOCUMENT ***
© Web Media Network Limited, 1999 - 2024 This site is not affiliated in any way with Microsoft, Sony, Sega, Nintendo or any video game publishers.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Service.
Super Cheats is an unofficial resource with submissions provided by members of the public. These are not usually tested by us (because there are so many), so please use them at your own risk.
