Driver Career Mode is back in F1 2021, and it’s got some sweet new improvements for you to try out. You’ll see a Real Season Start option, as well as a means of having two players progress. Naturally, you’ll also choose a team. Here’s our F1 2021 Driver Career Mode guide to help you with the best team selections and starting the season.
Note: For more information, check out our F1 2021 guides and features hub.
 F1 2021: Driver Career Mode guide – Choosing the best team and starting your season
First, let’s talk about the options that are available when you start F1 2021‘s Driver Career Mode. There’s solo play (as is usual), and two-player support. For the two-player mode, you’ve got these options:
- Co-op – You’ll both race for the same team as partners. When you negotiate with another team, the second driver always follows you.
- Contracts – You can select different teams and negotiate different contracts. If the stars align, you and your pal might end up on the same team eventually.
Next, there are the usual facets like season length and the full season. But, you can also try the Real Season Start. This allows you to choose a particular race weekend to begin your actual career. The total points that have been tallied will be active, and you’ll have to select a driver to replace.
As for the teams themselves, you have 10 to choose from. The ones with higher performance tend to expect better results. In a way, choosing the top teams will impact the challenges that you’ll face in each race.
| Top Tier | ||
| Team | Objective | Drivers |
| Mercedes-AMG Petronas | Lead the field | Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas |
| Red Bull Racing Honda | Fight for the championship | Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez |
| Aston Martin Cognizant | Push for podiums | Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel |
| McLaren | Push for podiums | Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris |
| Middle Tier | ||
| Team | Objective | Drivers |
| Scuderia Ferrari | Return to winning ways | Charles LeClerc and Carlos Sainz |
| Alpine | Control the midfield | Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon |
| Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | Consistent performance | Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda |
| Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN | Score regular points | Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovanazzi |
| Bottom Tier | ||
| Team | Objective | Drivers |
| Uralkali Haas | Claim position | Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher |
| Williams Racing | Consistent development | George Russell and Nicholas Latifi |
Remember, the driver that you select here will become your partner for the rest of the season. Try to perform admirably to improve your worth to the team. Personally, I would suggest AlphaTauri or Alfa Romeo as a decent start for those who are familiar with racing games (especially if you’ve made custom tweaks). Later, you can switch to Ferrari and, eventually, the top-tier teams once you’re consistently getting podium finishes.
F1 2021 is available via Steam. For more information, check out our guides and features hub.
