The game includes all twenty-one circuits from the calendar, and all twenty drivers and ten teams competing in the season.

F1 2017 introduced a detailed progression system that allowed the player to focus on developing the engine, chassis and aerodynamics of their car.

This was simplified in F1 2018 as Codemasters' research demonstrated that players were losing interest in the game before completing the car's development cycle.

This function has a renewed importance in F1 2018 as teams are subject to rule changes at the end of each championship which can potentially compromise the car's performance.

Following widespread criticism of a qualifying format used in the opening rounds of the 2016 championship,[5][6][7] the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and commercial rights holder Liberty Media announced plans to trial regulation changes through the Formula One eSports Series,[8] which debuted in 2017 with the release of the F1 2017 video game.