With Formula 1 returning to the Miami Grand Prix and EA’s F1 24 game releasing imminently on May 31st, perhaps this sight was inevitable: The smooth operator himself, Carlos Sainz Jr., racing Miami Dolphins Jalen Ramsey and Jaylen Waddle, and F1 Academy’s Bianca Bustamante on the virtual track.
EA’s ‘Miami Search’ event brought the Ferrari driver to the kind of stylish industrial space where one might film a marketing video and challenged him to a battle for bragging rights with promising McLaren youngster Bustamante, and Dolphins teammates Ramsey and Waddle. Racers and NFL stars teamed up, the lights went out, and...
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And that really is the best synopsis we can give of the event, because once the racing in F1 24 began, chaos reigned. Even F1’s 2021 race control team would have had something to say about the ‘overtakes’ here.
In theory, Sainz and Bustamante were there to offer coaching and racing nous to the formidable NFL cornerback and wide receiver. In practice, Sainz shoved Bustamante into the wall on lap one, immediately dispelling the old adage of his childhood hero Fernando Alonso. Apparently, sometimes you don’t have to leave the space after all.
Watch: Sainz Jr., Bianca Bustamante, and Miami Dolphins race in F1 24
The racing only got more elbows out from there. It’s just a good job damage was off.
Never mind—onto the game itself. F1 24 brings a revamped career mode, improved handling physics, track updates, and new additions to its live service mode, F1 World. The engine sounds have been improved for authenticity, too, particularly in replay mode.
If you’re still plugging away at that WDC in F1 23, you’ve got mere weeks to secure it before the new game arrives on May 31st. Or you could stay put and keep racing with last year’s cars like some kind of Luddite.
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
