F1 23 Crashes to Desktop, No Errors.

Okay, slowly there is a pattern.

This morning I started the PC, started F1 23 and went to the Settings to try deal with something else. Adjusted the controller settings. Then started the usual F1 World time trial and, like clockwork, on the 2nd lap it crashed. So I removed the hardware settings XML file again, started the game, started the F1 World time trial. Was running smoothly, no crash. Then again adjusted some controller settings under "Options", exited the game, restarted the game, started the F1 World time trial and again on the 2nd lap it crashed. Again removed the hardware settings XML file, started the game, started the F1 World time trials, and no crash (played for 15-20mins).

So it looks like each time you change some controller settings, it causes the game to crash later when racing (really, really weird) and removing the hardware settings XML file resolves the issue. As it is so clearly reproducable, I am curious why it is so difficult for the EA developers to identify the root cause and fix it.

As far as I can tell, after removing the hardware settings XML file, I only had to re-adjust the graphics settings (resolution, etc.). The drive assist settings and controller / buttons settings were kept, luckily. Can't say anything about other settings as I haven't changed them yet.