They have excited fans about the latest edition of the F1 game and F1 2021 is here! Bahrain Grand Prix has been in Formula 1 for over a decade. it's a very exciting but difficult track. If you are an F1 fan, then you remember the battle between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton this season. It went down to the very last lap! Where Lord Hamilton eventually won by the smallest of margins. There has never been a wet Bahrain Grand Prix ever. Why? Because they hold it in the desert.
There have been so many additions to the previous game like the new handling and physics model, and the downforce has been significantly reduced compared to the 2020 cars. However, the best setups are required for you to get the most out of the cars and to have a great overall driving experience.
The Bahrain Grand Prix focuses mostly on straight-line speed, as it offers a mix of power and downforce because of the track's tight section and quick corners in sector 3 and at the end of sector 2.
Aerodynamics
Here, we change the front and rear wing angles and the downforce the car generates. For Bahrain, we've gone with a 6-9, but a 6-8 can work as well. It all depends on how much control you can have with the car. The idea of a high rear wing is for specific turns on the track. The high-speed turns at turns 3, 11 and 12 will demand so much and it'd benefit you if you are running high rear wings.
Transmission
In this setting, we manipulate the traction of the car and in Bahrain; nail this to be quick. Because the track is in a desert, the weather is always hot, and the tyre wear can be pretty high. A good transmission setting allows you to preserve your tyres longer, which can become gold for you at the end of the race. Keeping the setup for the differential almost neutral means that you have good traction in both the fast and slow corners. We've gone with a 70% on the throttle and 55% off the throttle.
Suspension Geometry
Camber is the angle of the wheels to the ground. When you look at an F1 car from the front, you want a camber curve that keeps the tire straight when you are driving on a straight. For Bahrain, camber can be a bit of a headache, because of the high temperatures, you will not want to overheat those tyres at all. So, for this setting, you'd be using 2.50 on the front camber and full left on the rear. You can also add a bit of toe to help with turn-ins.
Suspension
This setting determines how your car will mechanically handle itself through corners and kerbs. In Bahrain, there are few or no bumps. The circuit's smooth nature ensures the car won't suffer during the race. So, you must have the suspension setup close to neutral. By lowering the rear ride height, you reduce the drag when driving on the main straight, which is the best overtaking zone in Bahrain. Also, increase the rear ride height just to keep the car stuck on the ground in faster corners. Try to keep a neutral anti-roll bar setup to allow you to get excellent control in and out of corners. For the suspension, we've gone with a 5-5, a 5-4 for the anti-roll bars and a 4-5 for the front and ride height, respectively.
Brakes
In Bahrain, brake pressures are something you have to be watchful about. The braking zone in turn 1 is heavy. In the past, drivers have either crashed into the car in front, locked up or spun around. To prevent this, lower the brake pressure from 100 to 95-96. This would reduce your chances of locking up. Leave the brake bias on about 58%, which is a good balance and also to prevent locking the rears.
Tyres
Like we already talked about because of the high temps in Bahrain, the tires suffer a lot. It is mostly a two-stop race, as Lewis Hamilton showed us this year. I've gone with 21.4 psi on the front and 22.3 psi on the rears. The rear pressure will add a boost to the straight-line speed of the car. In conclusion, this is how you set up your car for racing on the Bahrain circuit. It's a track that is incredibly harsh on the tyres but still very exciting to race, especially under the floodlights.
F1 2021 Monaco Grand Prix
The Monaco Grand Prix! One of my favourite tracks and by far one of the hardest tracks to race on. Most drivers skip this track, but with the right setup, you can completely enjoy the narrow streets of the principality. Because of the tight nature of Monaco, look to run a high downforce setup and not prioritise top speed, because there are no long straights for that in Monaco. That's why you must qualify higher up the field so that you can be able to control the race without worrying about being passed, as it is hard to overtake in Monaco. BUT, to enjoy this track very well, we have the best setup you can use right here.
Aerodynamics
Monaco is a track that is all about the downforce of the car. The two straights are not long enough for you to showcase the top speed of the car. So, most of what you would do is speeding up from very low speeds. You need to pile on the downforce, as all you need is the car sticking to the ground. We've gone for 10-11 wings to give you the best chances of getting the car through those tight corners as quickly as possible.
Transmission
Like we discussed, for Monaco in F1 2021, you don't have to worry about long corners at high speeds because most of the track demands slow to medium speed. So, lock the differential a lot more, about 80% on and off the throttle.
Suspension Geometry
For the suspension, look to increase your camber and toe as you would spend more time in corners than straights. Having higher camber would ensure your car has as much grip as possible. For the front and rear toe, you want to adjust it in a way that your car would respond quickly when going through corners. In Monaco, a lazy car does nobody any good. For the front and rear camber, we've gone for a 2.90 and 1.40 respectively, while for the front and rear toe we settled for a balanced 0.11 and 0.35.
Suspension
Quick tip, Monaco is a street track, so you would expect a lot of bumps. So, a softer suspension setup is important because the softer you go, the less unstable your car would be when going over bumps and kerbs. You also need to run slightly stiffer anti-roll bars as it would help your car respond well in corners. We've gone for a 6-6 for the front and rear roll bars. Your ride height should be lower, not too low else you'd scrape over some bumps and kerbs. We've gone for a 4-4 for the front and rear ride height.
Brakes
Monaco has short braking zones, so you must try to maximise the braking potential of the car. So, putting the brake pressure at 98 and not 100 is important and setting the front brake bias at a balanced 55%. This would help you keep your breaking force balanced. You mustn't add too much brake bias as this would lead to under-steer, and the worst thing you want on a track like Monaco is under-steer!
Tyres
Around Monaco, you must lower the tire pressure, as it would reduce tyre wear and loss of traction while accelerating. For this setting, I've taken out all the pressure from the tires, using 21.0psi on the front and 19.5psi on the rear.
The Monaco Grand Prix is one of the toughest tracks in the game, but with these setups, you'd be one step closer to mastering this beautiful street circuit in France.
F1 2021 British Grand Prix
Silverstone is the home of F1, as the venue hosts the British Grand Prix. I love this track because of how fast the cars travel around the circuit. Silverstone is the second-fastest track on the calendar, and it is extremely demanding as it requires a lot of commitment from the drivers. To help you take on this lovely track on F1 2021. This is our setup guide to the British Grand Prix.
Aerodynamics
Silverstone is a track that demands a lot of power because of its lengthy straights, but you won't be able to cope without a huge amount of downforce for quick corners like Corpse, Maggots and Becketts. Therefore, we recommend you set the aero at 7-8, as it would give you enough downforce to throw the car at any of these corners and not be lacking a lot in straight-line speed.
Transmission
For this setting, you need to know that Silverstone is tough on tires, especially during the British summer. The 2020 British Grand Prix was extremely harsh on the tyres, so to avoid this you should set a more open on-throttle differential and more closed off-throttle and this should keep your tyres in good condition, and, it would give you the needed traction for those fast corners. We've gone for 70% on-throttle and 55% off.
Suspension Geometry
There are a lot of long corners at Silverstone, like Stowe and Luffield. So, to help your car around these corners, we advise you to set your front camber at -2.70 and rear at -1.60. Negative camber is good for these corners but if you try to exceed it, you risk damaging your tyres. For this track, the toe setting is all about finding the balance and the best way to do that is by moving the front and rear toe to opposite ends of the spectrum! A max front toe enables the car to act sharply, giving you great control of the car. Leaving the rear at the lowest is fine as the rest of the setup balances it out, but if you struggle a bit, you can add a bit to the rear toe.
Suspension
Having a very firm front suspension is important to maintain a stable car while running a very soft rear to prevent the rear from snapping and taking over. Therefore, we recommend you use a 10-1 for your suspension stiffness. We've also carried the same philosophy to the anti-roll bars, as 9-1 is the best bet for you. If you try to run with a stiff rear end, the car will become difficult to drive. As for the ride height, you want to run the car as low as possible, so that you can maximise your aero power. We've concluded 2-6 to be a balanced setting.
Brakes
It is important that for Silverstone; you run a brake pressure of 100% as most of the circuit is at full throttle and there aren't too many harsh and aggressive braking zones. For the brake bias, keeping it on about 55-56% will stop you from locking up the rear and spinning out!
Tyres
This is an important aspect when trying to get the right setup for Silverstone. The tyres are easily burned, so you must get the right tyre pressures. We've gone with a 21.8 psi for the front tyres. This will keep the front tyre temperature down. For the rear, we've gone with 22.3psi, this should also balance the rear tyre temperatures. Any race around Silverstone is always exciting and one that surely spikes my heart rate each time I'm playing, especially in league races. Be mindful of the tires, because around this circuit it is so easy to overcook them. Once you've got these setups in your car and some practice under your belt, I ensure you'd start flying through the laps!
