The recent presentation of F1 24 didn't just cover the touted improvements to the game's physics and handling. It also covered a slew of changes being made to the career mode, including being able to play as one of the current drivers. You'll also have your own recognition amongst the paddock, built up by your success on the track and potentially affected by the new secret meetings you can have with other teams.

R&D teams are not new to the series, but there are now individual managers for each team. As you play through a season in career mode, you'll set targets with the managers to improve your relationship with them and with their teams. Meeting the targets will also unlock extra perks when it comes to new R&D projects, such as reduced failures or even unlocking secret upgrades. Beyond the first season, you can also pick R&D scenarios that keep each season feeling fresh.

Performing well on the track grows your recognition, but it is far from the only factor that can affect it. Staying loyal to your team also grows your recognition, but you can also choose to gamble by having secret meetings with other teams during the season. There's always a chance these meetings can be found out and cause a flurry of speculation and perhaps a negative impact to your own recognition. At the same time, what driver isn't shopping around to find the best seat on the grid?

Rivalries are expanded upon in F1 24 and can take place across one or multiple seasons. You have a rivalry with your teammate, with your closest rivals in the championship standings, or with another driver on the grid with a similar driver rating. Each of these rivalries can have three possible intensities: regular ones, which last a few races; heated ones, which can define the better part of a season; and career-defining ones, which can last a season or more.

The presentation also touched on the new "Challenge Career" mode, which is an episodic career mode in which all players compete against each other (albeit asynchronously; it's still you versus the AI). There are four difficulty levels for this mode, and each episode contains a "bite-sized" amount of content delivered via regular gameplay drops.

F1 24 will also continue to feature the "My Team" mode, although we were told that there were minimal changes to it other than some "refinements." The two-player career mode sees the same recognition/secret meeting features coming to it, and as before, it can only be played online (no split-screen support).

It's good that the career modes in F1 24 have received some attention in the off-season. I remain curious about the Challenge Career mode, and I like the idea of finally being able to play as one of the actual drivers and see if you can turn their fortunes around. If Danny can't get himself into that Red Bull seat this year, maybe I can do so in the game. Look for continued coverage of F1 24 as we get closer to its release date of late May 2024.