[2][3] It was released on the Wii and PlayStation Portable[4][5] in November 2009 for North America, PAL region and the United Kingdom.

[11][14] The game also offers the choices of playing through a whole Championship season, or taking part in a Grand Prix weekend.

[11] In August 2009, Codemasters released the first gameplay footage of F1 2009 showing the Wii version at the Valencia Street Circuit.

The graphics of the game were heavily criticised by reviewers: IGN said that the textures were "murky" and the models "half-hearted",[10] while the Official Nintendo Magazine said that "visually it's a dog's dinner".

[21] GameZone continued the theme, saying that "the graphics... are super plain and are often ugly", and also commenting that the game "looks like it should have been released for the PSone".

[19] GameSpot said that the physics were "not up to scratch", also commenting that the "car will bounce off walls and other vehicles with little regard for what would happen in the real world".

[23] The Official Nintendo Magazine praised the gameplay as well, saying that the "handling is perfect" and that the game with in-car cockpit view provides immersive racing experience on the Wii.

[10] VideoGamer.com looked forward to the game's sequel, F1 2010, to be released on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC, stating that "there's undoubtedly something better coming next year, on platforms that can do the sport justice".