Dear EA Sports F1 Team,
I have been buying the F1 games every single year because I genuinely love Formula 1. That is exactly why I am taking the time to write this message. Unfortunately, I have reached a point where the frustration outweighs the enjoyment.
The biggest issue is the penalty and steward system. It is one of the most frustrating systems I have ever experienced in a racing game, and in many situations it simply does not work correctly.
Here are just a few examples:
- A driver suddenly stops or spins across the track, leaving me with no realistic chance of avoiding the collision. I hit them because there is nowhere to go, yet I receive the penalty.
- During a Safety Car period, I paused the game. After resuming, I was suddenly given a 10-second penalty without any explanation.
- There are countless situations where another driver crashes into me, but I am the one who receives the penalty.
- I have received track limits penalties even after watching the replay and confirming that I never exceeded the track limits. Being penalized for something that clearly did not happen is unacceptable.
- There have been many races where I am already ahead or fully alongside another driver through a corner, they drive straight into the side of my car, spin me around, and somehow I receive the penalty.
At times, it genuinely feels as though penalties are being assigned randomly rather than based on what actually happened on track. That completely destroys the racing experience.
Another major issue is the online multiplayer experience.
Too many races are ruined by players who have no intention of racing fairly. As soon as they realize they are losing, they deliberately crash into other drivers just to ruin someone else’s race. It wastes the time of players who simply want to enjoy clean racing.
I believe there should be stronger systems to prevent intentional collisions.
For example, if a player is approaching another car at an unrealistic speed and it is obvious they are making no attempt to brake or avoid contact, the game should recognize this as intentional wrecking. In situations like these, the offending car—or both cars if necessary—could temporarily become ghosted so that the collision never happens. It is much better to prevent an obvious intentional crash than to ruin an innocent player’s race.
The current Safety Rating system also needs significant improvement. While the A, B, C and D ratings are a good idea in theory, they do not effectively separate clean racers from players who intentionally ruin races. Respectful drivers continue to be matched with people who have no respect for fair competition or for other players’ time.
Please introduce better matchmaking, more intelligent collision detection, stronger penalties for intentional wrecking, and better protection for clean drivers.
Formula 1 is supposed to be about precision, respect, strategy and skill. Instead, many online races become demolition derbies because there are too few consequences for players who intentionally destroy the race for others.
I am also disappointed by the amount of new content.
As someone who buys the game every year, I expected meaningful improvements and new experiences. Instead, it often feels like a seasonal update with very few substantial additions, while long-standing gameplay issues remain unresolved. Players continue paying full price, yet fundamental systems such as penalties and race stewarding still do not function reliably.
This is not only my opinion. Thousands of players have been reporting these same issues for years. The community wants cleaner racing, fairer penalties, and a game that rewards skill instead of punishing innocent drivers.
I truly want this series to succeed because I have supported it for years. However, if these problems continue without meaningful improvements, I will seriously reconsider buying future F1 titles. That would be disappointing because this has always been my favorite racing franchise.
Please listen to your community. We are not asking for perfection—we are asking for a fair, enjoyable, and polished racing experience.
Thank you for your time, and I sincerely hope this feedback reaches the development team.
Kind regards,
Krzzysztof