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How to drive with manual gears in F1 2023

Updated: Jul 31, 2023 10:21 pm
How to drive with manual gears in F1 2023

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F1 2023 allows players to drive as part of their favorite Formula One teams. McLaren, Alpine, Ferrari and Red Bull are all available, with drivers such as Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and others present. Players have a lot of control over how they drive, and not just with how fast they press the gas or the brakes.

This refers to whether or not gamers want to shift gears automatically or manually. There are benefits to either one. For manual, it’s a much more realistic and challenging experience. For automatic, it removes the struggle and allows you to focus on driving. Here’s how you can try out manual in F1 23. 

If you’re interested in reading more about F1 23, check out the best ways to make money, what the gameplay was like for last year’s game from Frontier Developments, and what the game is striving for

How do I use manual in F1 23?

Automatic is the default setting in F1 23, much like it is for most cars today. The vast majority of vehicles today are automatic, and most drivers in video games play that way as well. Therefore, you’ll need to turn that off before trying out manual driving. 

To do this, visit settings, assists and scroll down to gearbox. You can then switch it to manual gears from automatic or vice versa if you want to return to automatic gear shifting.

When you’re driving in manual mode, it’s imperative to check on your HUD. The gear shifting has to occur at the right times, and if you don’t shift while accelerating, an accident will happen. When your RPMs reach over 11,000, it’s a good time to shift up. There are also red lights that will flash. 

The engine will also be very loud at this time, so you can learn to change based on auditory clues. There’s a setting that will beep when it’s time to change gears if you want a more direct clue.

The red lights from before are key for downshifting as well. When they disappear, it’s a good time to shift back down a gear. This often has to happen when you are slowing down or braking. Once again, the engine will tell you when you need to shift, but it needs to happen at the right time or accidents, including a spin, can occur. 

Shifting up or down is attributed to the bumpers on the controller, so you can press one to go up and the other to go back down. At the braking point, this is paramount. Not downshifting when hitting the brakes can cause issues to the car in real life, so it’s bad practice virtually as well.


Zach is a professional writer with experience in a variety of areas. He has covered sports, video games, movies, television, music and more! At WePC, he's focusing on sports video games.

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