F1 2020: PC graphics performance benchmark review - Article - Guide - Review

Codemasters F1 2020
PC graphics performance review

Update: August 25, 2020. The latest patch brings DLSS performance towards F1 2020. We have updated the article with DLSS vs TAA results on a handful of GeForce RTX graphics cards. DLSS really is worth it when you seek a bit more performance.

Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari? We look at Codemasters F1 2020 in a PC graphics performance and PC gamer way. We'll test the game on the PC platform relative towards graphics card performance with the latest AMD Radeon and NVIDIA GeForce graphics cards. Many graphics cards are being tested and benchmarked. F1 2020 is an ongoing series in the racing video game developed and published by Codemasters. The game is based on the 2020 Formula One season. Due to COVID-19 this year we see limited races, however the game holds all of the circuits including new ones at Zandvoort iN the Netherlands and one in Vietnam. The most important new addition to the game is the introduction of a team management mode called 'My Team'. Here, gamers can enter a career mode and start their own team at the same time, which will be included as the eleventh race stable in career mode. As a gamer, you are responsible for sponsoring, building and managing the facilities of the team and hiring drivers and an engine supplier. It is also possible to play shorter seasons in career mode, which consist of not 22, but 10 or 16 races. 

There are twenty drivers and ten teams competing in the season. The game features an expanded team management mode, which offers players more control over research and development of car parts. Engine components and gearboxes are subject to wear and will ultimately fail, with players receiving grid penalties for exceeding their quota of components. The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body of international motorsport, has supported F1 as a platform for eSports, following similar moves by Formula E and the World Rally Championship. A variety of race formats are available to players after the sport's commercial holders expressed an interest in using gaming to trial potential race formats.

In addition to the regular edition, there will also be a special edition of F1 2020 on the market. In honor of 70 years of Formula 1 and Lewis Hamilton's pursuit of his seventh world title, putting him on par with Michael Schumacher, Codemasters is introducing the 'F1 2020 Deluxe Schumacher Edition'. With this edition four additional historic cars from Schumacher's career can be driven: the Jordan 191 in which he made his debut, the two Benetton cars with which he became world champion and the FerrariF1-2000, taking his first title on behalf of Ferrari. In addition, people who order the Schumacher edition can play F1 2020 three days earlier. Split-screen mode returns after a 5-year hiatus, while Formula 2 is retained for F1 2020.

Many graphics cards are being tested and benchmarked.  You are going to need a reasonably modern PC with at least a mainstream graphics card to run the game nicely.  This article will cover benchmarks in the sense of average framerates, we'll look at all popular resolutions scaling from Full HD (1920x1080), WQHD (2560x1440) and of course Ultra HD. UHDTV (3840x2160) pixels which is four times as many pixels as 1920x1080.  We test with the game based on the optimized and available AMD Radeon driver (download) and for Nvidia their GeForce WHQL driver (download). We'll test the game on the PC platform relative to graphics card performance with the AMD/NVIDIA graphics card drivers.

Circuit Zandvoort and the Hanoi Street Circuit, the new circuits that F1 will visit in 2020, are also included in the game.