Everything you need to know about F1 2014

A new F1 game is on the way and it'll come with a whole host of improvements and features over previous iterations. F1 2014 will also mark the series' debut on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, however those versions of the racer (and the PC one) won't be arriving until 2015.

That's because Codemasters is trying to stay away from simply porting over the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game. In a recent blog post, community manager Luke Spring said the studio is going all out on the PS4, Xbox One and PC versions by using an entirely new engine.

"We are making a next gen game!" Spring wrote. "And most importantly we're writing a brand new engine to go with it.

"The entire game experience is being re-engineered from the ground up and that's why it wasn't possible to release this year. Rest assured though, in addition to improvements in the physics, AI, and graphics, the game will launch much earlier in the Formula One season, and will then go onto receive a number of digital updates throughout the year!"

Codemasters isn't quite ready to talk about the new-gen versions of F1 2014 yet, but we do know plenty of features heading to the older consoles. They include a refined career mode where you can play through a full F1 season or choose a shorter option instead, as well as an expanded scenario mode based on real-world challenges and moments from recent history.

Handling and physics has been altered to be more authentic and accessible, while a Driver Evaluation System replaces the Young Driver Test from last year. After loading up the game for the first time you'll be sent straight into a one-lap race, and upon completion the game will suggest an appropriate difficulty level for you.

Turbochargers have been added to cars for F1 2014 which increases the chances of overtaking and dramatically effects the way players should approach a race. Finally the Electronic Recovery System makes a debut, generating an extra 160bhp for around 33 seconds and making cars even more powerful.

Unfortunately one feature that has been cut is the classic content that allowed players to take part in storylines from decades gone by. "Last year we featured classic content as the sport itself hadn’t changed a great deal and we wanted to offer a different experience alongside the main 2013 content," added Spring.

"However, seeing as 2014 has seen masses of changes to the sport itself, which is providing a different F1 experience for this year’s game and the fact that we are also working on a new generation F1 game, we’ve had to take a break from classic content this year. Don’t despair though, classic content is something we’re still very interested in and will explore again later in the series."

Expect to hear much more on F1 2014 in the coming months, with screenshots, videos and hopefully a firm release date for all versions arriving in the near future.