The loop of a grand prix
A season is a calendar of 3 to 16 grands prix on 8 circuits. Each grand prix follows the same cycle:
- Management in the office: check the finances, sign sponsors and drivers, order upgrades and spare parts.
- Preparation: choose the setup for the circuit, the tyre and pit-stop strategy and each driver’s starting aggression.
- Race on the pit wall: follow it in 3D and step in with orders when the plan is not enough.
- Results: collect prize money and bonuses, pay for damage and wear, and your drivers gain or lose morale and value.
The top ten score (25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1). There are drivers’ and constructors’ championships, and titles stay in your team’s record.
Economy
You start with €12M. Every movement goes into the ledger with its date, grand prix, concept and balance.
| Concept | Starting values |
|---|---|
| Prize per car and grand prix | From €4.0M (1st) to €0.15M (20th) |
| Constructors’ prize at the end of the season | From €30M (1st) to €5M (10th) |
| Logistics and staff | €0.5M per grand prix |
| A driver’s salary | €0.05M to €0.9M per grand prix |
| Sponsorship | €0.15M to €1.5M per grand prix, plus a €0.2M to €1.0M bonus per objective |
With a negative balance you cannot sign drivers or order upgrades or parts. Three grands prix in a row in the red and each sponsor has a 50% chance of breaking the contract.
The car and upgrades
The car has four areas from 1 to 100: engine, aerodynamics, chassis and reliability. Each circuit weighs the first three its own way; reliability only reduces failures.
| Upgrade per area | Cost | Expected gain | Arrives in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small package | €1.5M | +2 | 1 grand prix |
| Medium package | €3.5M | +4 | 2 grands prix |
| Large package | €7M | +7 | 3 grands prix |
The real result ranges from half to one and a half times the expected gain, with diminishing returns above 80 and 90. Three upgrades in progress at most.
An engine lasts about 4 grands prix and a gearbox 6; above 80% wear the risk of failure soars. Spare parts: engine €2.0M, gearbox €0.8M. Damage is paid after the race: front wing €0.3M, floor €0.6M, chassis €1.5M.
What you park in “Next season development” turns into levels when the next season starts (about €2M per level).
Drivers and the market
Each driver has pace, overtaking, defending, tyre management, consistency and wet skill, plus morale, age, value and contract. Young drivers improve at the end of the season and veterans lose a little.
- Sign a free agent paying a fee equal to one salary.
- Make a transfer offer for another team’s driver: the AI accepts from 115% of their value; a human has 48 hours to answer.
- Sell or release: releasing costs half of the remaining salary.
- Each driver demands a minimum reputation: the best ones do not sign for a small team.
In leagues the market is shared and has anti-cheat rules: a transfer between humans cannot go below 50% of the value, and accounts sharing a device or connection are reviewed.
Sponsors and reputation
You have one main slot and two secondary ones. Each sponsor pays a fixed amount per grand prix and a bonus if you meet their objective: both cars in the points, one car in the top 10 or top 5, a podium, both cars finishing or finishing ahead of a rival.
Reputation (0 to 100, you start at 25) rises with results and objectives met and falls with poor results and broken contracts. It opens the door to better sponsors and drivers.
Setup and strategy
Before each grand prix you set three values from 0 to 100: downforce, suspension stiffness and gear ratios. Each circuit has an ideal setup you cannot see; your drivers give you hints (“it lacks downforce in the slow corners”). Every 10% of setup missing costs about 0.15 s per lap.
The strategy sets the starting compound, the planned stops and each driver’s starting aggression. In the dry you must use two different compounds.
| Compound | Pace | Wear per lap |
|---|---|---|
| Soft | −0.6 s | 4.5% |
| Medium | Reference | 3% |
| Hard | +0.5 s | 2% |
| Intermediate | Best in light rain | Depends on the water |
| Wet | Best in heavy rain | Depends on the water |
The race from the pit wall
The server simulates the race and you watch it in 3D with a timing tower, telemetry and radio. If the plan works, let it run; if not, give orders to each driver:
- Aggression from 1 to 5: more pace in exchange for tyres, engine and incident risk.
- Fuel: save (−15% consumption, +0.25 s), normal or push.
- Tyres: save, normal or push.
- A pit stop with the compound you choose, or cancel it.
- Defend the position or let your team-mate through.
Things happen: rain starts in one sector and spreads, the safety car bunches the field and makes stops cheaper, there are yellow flags, spins, contacts and failures. Your engineer warns you on the radio with a number; the drivers talk too.
Online leagues
A league has 2 to 10 human teams; the AI runs the rest up to 10. Management is asynchronous and each grand prix runs live at its set time, at ×3 (about 20 minutes).
- Private: the creator chooses the name, seats, number of grands prix, days, time and start date, and shares a 6-character code.
- Public: join the queue of your division; every Monday leagues are formed that race on Thursdays at 21:00 (Madrid time) for 10 grands prix. The top two move up and the bottom two move down.
- The pit wall room opens 15 minutes before. If you are not there, the AI drives your cars with your strategy and you can join at any time.
Starting values: the PitStop team may adjust the balance between seasons.