7. F1 2016 Higher Difficulty RacesUpdate notes

HIGHER DIFFICULTY RACES

Finally you need to get through two more races at higher difficulties than previously needed in the game. Fortunately, you can exploit the flashback and/or mid-session save features to grind out these races that might otherwise be beyond your abilities.

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First up is a win of the 25% distance race against the toughest level of A.I. which will be done in Quick Race mode, and via manipulation of the chosen circuit and weather conditions can be made easier to keep the A.I. drivers behind out of the lead. So, from the main menu select Quick Race, and progress through the various selection screens, selecting Canada, then Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team, then Lewis Hamilton along the way. Now from within the loading screen options, you need to configure your race to be to your advantage.

For Session Setup, configure as follows:

  • Practice Type > None
  • Practice Length > None
  • Qualifying > None
  • Race Distance > 25%

For Preferences/Race Settings, configure as follows:

  • AI Driver Level > Ultimate
  • Flashbacks > On
  • Parc Ferme Rules > On
  • Vehicle Damage > Off
  • Safety Car > Off
  • Corner Cutting Stringency > Regular
  • Formation Lap > Off
  • Race Starts > Assisted

For Preferences/Assists, configure as follows (or you may override to your liking):

  • Driving Proficiency > Custom
  • Braking Assist > Off
  • Anti-Lock Brakes > On
  • Traction Control > Full
  • Dynamic Racing Line > Full
  • Dynamic Racing Line Type > 3D
  • Gearbox > Automatic
  • Pit Assist > On

For Weather & Time of Day, configure as follows:

  • Quick Weather > Heavy Rain
  • Session Start Time > Midday

Once all configuration is complete, select Start Session to continue to the race session. Having selected Lewis Hamilton as your driver and skipped qualifying, you should find yourself in pole position on the grid, and therefore your strategy for wining this race in to stay in front and block any overtaking attempts by the other drivers. The wet conditions will mean full wet tyres can stay equipped for the duration of the race (18 laps in the case of Canada), negating the need for a pit stop that might cost you the lead. There are two more things to check/change before starting the race, so select Race Strategy and verify that High Tyre Management (with zero pit stops) is the selected strategy. Next, toggle over to Car Settings and make Preset 4 - Increased Top Speed the current setup. This will give you a bit of extra speed on the straight sections of the circuit to help stay ahead of the pack. Select Exit to return to the grid and then select Start Race.

When the lights go out, you may not get a perfect start and the A.I. drivers might pull alongside or slightly in front of you. Don't panic yet - pole position gives you the inside line into the left hand turn at the first corner. In such scenarios, be brutal and bump into them to force them to slow down or off the track, your ultimate objective is to be leading as you exit the right hand turn of the second corner. You will most likely receive some warnings but it is unlikely that you will be disqualified. You must also make sure to avoid incurring any time penalties either now at the start or later on in the race (due to corner cutting, for example) - having these time penalties applied at the end of the race will probably cost you the win and the unlocking of the trophy. Make use of flashbacks if doing so can improve your driving through the first couple of corners to hold onto the lead. If you lose the lead and find that a flashback cannot help, your best option then is to open the Pause menu and select Restart Session.

Once you are through the first two corners in the lead and also in comfortable control of your car, consider making a mid-session save immediately, particularly if you struggled to maintain the lead off the start line. You can treat this save as a bit of an insurance policy in case you lose control and/or the lead that a flashback cannot fully correct. I would also suggest you make a mid-session save on the main straight after the final hairpin turn on each lap or every few laps to minimise the loss of race progress if disaster strikes.

For the remainder of the race, do your best to stay right on top of the dynamic racing line along the straight and through the corners. If you are not using either of the "chase" driving views, pay close attention to the proximity indicators and make minor adjustments to keep the closest driver directly behind you. In the wet conditions the A.I. drivers seem reluctant to deviate from the racing line too. They may pull away from it on straight to attempt an overtake, but if you maintain a good speed up to the next corner, they will most likely brake a bit earlier than you need to and fall back into line behind you for the corner. This also means you can be quite careful through the corners without risking losing the lead.

Maintaining enough speed across the entire lap to stay in front will have you setting lap times of around 1:33 and finishing all 18 laps in about 28 minutes total, and probably with the narrowest of leads. If you do this and stay penalty-free, you will have the win and will unlock...

Next up is completing a race in Pro Career mode. Assuming you have not made any previous progress in this mode, from the main menu select Career, then Pro Career, then you will be prompted to create a profile. Enter all of the details as desired, then accept them by selecting Register Details. On the Team Select screen you can select whichever team you wish, and then toggle to your preferred teammate and finally select Start Career. Within the loading screen, you will note that the only option that can be configured is the Weekend Tyre Allocation (and which can be ignored), everything else is locked by virtue of being in Pro Career mode. Select Start Session.

You will then need to go through the same initial steps as for your standard Career - receiving your contract, laptop introduction, after which you can go to Practice 1 in Australia. Unless you have a strong preference to complete your Pro Career race on a particular circuit and are willing to skip through all prior rounds to get there, my recommendation is to complete this race in Australia. On that basis, from the team garage, go to the Pause menu, then under Manage Session select Retire From Session and confirm by selecting Okay. Advance past the Practice 1 Results screen. You will then have your resource points introduction and receive your starting points allocation, meet the chief of vehicle development, after which you go to Practice 2. Again, retire from this session early, and repeat same to skip both Practice 3 (after which you will receive your driver rivalry introduction) and Qualifying (after which you will receive your team standings introduction) sessions too. From your laptop select Go To Race to get down to business. If you are unlucky and get a wet race, you may wish to restart your Pro Career, but if you will be driving slowly and carefully anyway, it may be bearable to proceed as is.

Once you are on the starting grid (in 22nd position), select Race Strategy and take note of (and even write down) the planned laps for your pit stops. You do not need to make any strategy changes though, so can return to the grid and select Start Race. A formation lap is required, so follow the manual start procedure - hold cn_X to engage the clutch, press and hold cn_R2 in approximately half-way for some engine revs, then release the clutch as you see the car in front start to pull away. Drive this formation lap carefully and get somewhat used to the manual gearbox (use cn_X to change up gears to increase speed, and use cn_O to change down gears accordingly as you reduce speed). You also need to ensure you accelerate smoothly and not while turning, otherwise the lack of assists will mean you spin out of control and possibly into a wall or other cars. If you stay in gears 4-6 you should be able to negotiate most corners without getting into trouble, and do same in the race itself. Just prior to reaching the main straight, the game will take control of your car again to line you up in position on the grid, and progresses immediately onto race start. Another manual start is required and then the race is on.

Given flashbacks are not available in Pro Career, your only option to recover from catastrophe is by making progressive mid-session saves, and reloading from the save if your race ends due to terminal damage or disqualification. Save as often as you feel you need to, but it is best to do so only on relatively straight sections when you are sure you are not about to be lapped by other cars. The worst thing you can do is make a mid-session save that traps you at a point of imminent disaster and forces you to start over.

As you are driving try to stay near the edge of the track and on the outside of corners, avoiding the racing line as best as you can. Keep an eye in your rear view mirrors for cars coming up to lap you, and if need be make a gentle turn to move off the track and onto the grass if necessary, particularly in heavy traffic. While on the grass try to at least keep moving forward slowly in 1st or 2nd gear, otherwise, completely stopping for more than a few seconds will cause you to risk being disqualified. You may get some time penalties worth a few seconds if your slow driving is judged to be illegal blocking, but as long as you don't get so many of those that you end up disqualified mid-race, you don't need to worry about them. Also pay attention to team radio when they call you in for a pit stop at the end of your current lap, you will probably finish enough laps to at least need to make your first planned pit stop. To help anticipate this, you can find out how many laps you have already completed by going to the Pause menu, then select Race Director, scroll down to highlight yourself on the Drivers screen, then select View Lap Times. Scroll down to the bottom of the list to find out your current lap. Remember that pit assistance is also disabled, so you will need to slow yourself down to under the speed limit as you approach pit lane on each pit stop.

This race is only going to last as long as it take the winner to finish plus as long as you need to finish your current lap from that point. In race time this will be a bit under 90 minutes. In real time it can be a bit longer, depending on how much saving and/or loading of mid-session saves you need to get yourself to the end. But do so, and you will rightfully unlock...

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