[Review] Golden Lap opens the doors to management in Formula 1 with a minimalist system that works (perhaps) too well

While I firmly believe that the folks at Frontier Developments have proven their skills time and time again with the F1 Manager series of games, there is no doubt that the F1 Manager series can be a difficult challenge to learn and play master. When faced with tons of information, graphics, statistics, etc., it can be a nightmare trying to figure out what is relevant and useful and how you can use it to improve your game. It’s clear that Funselektor Labs has a similar mindset, as the independent developer has created a title that can best be described as Mini F1 Manager.

Known as “Golden Lap”, it’s effectively a no-fuss F1 management simulator. It is played from a top-down perspective similar to a track layout, showing each car as a number surrounded by a circle as it travels around the track. You must determine the perfect tire strategies and pit opportunities, deal with changing weather conditions, build and hire the right people to succeed and win races, and manage finances and overcome sponsorship challenges to get the money needed to keep your car running every day Upgrade season. Essentially all the expected extras are there, but they’ve been stripped down to the point where you can practically play with one hand off the wheel.

This is both a strength and a weakness, a double-edged sword so to speak. On the one hand, the simplicity makes playing Golden Lap an absolute pleasure. The minimalist structure takes the stress out of the simulation and thanks to the reduced design you can play through an entire season in around 90 minutes. For comparison, that could be the length of a career in an F1 manager title. However, the rudimentary structure also means that Golden Lap lacks some of the complexity and detail that is actually required to make it play smoothly and fluidly. First of all, the weather system is presented terribly. You know when rain is forecast for a race/qualifying so you can plan accordingly. What you can never really know, however, is the intensity of the rain. Yes, there is a meter that tries to indicate this, but what you perceive as a light rain where the intermediate tires excel could actually be a downpour where all the other teams switch to wet tires and get you in serious trouble . When you combine this with very basic racing strategy systems that don’t allow you to truly control the outcome of a race, and a financial package that is almost always impossible to get money from, you end up with an experience that is shaky the closer you look.

But that’s the thing, Golden Lap is at its best when you focus on the macro and not the micro. If you’re watching the race from afar, focusing on these parts and less on how it works If the simulation elements could really be refined and emphasized a bit to provide a more satisfying strategic experience, Golden Lap becomes an absolute joy to play.

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I also want to talk a little about the presentation, because Funselektor really nailed the concept in this game. The minimalist design with bright colors, as we have already seen in the latest project from the Art of Rally studio, really stands out. The tone and soundtrack fit perfectly with the theme of an F1 experience, especially one set in the sport’s golden age of the 70s and 80s. The interface is incredibly slick and pleasing to the eye, and honestly the whole thing reminds me of a lot of Mini Metro and the brilliant aesthetic that Dinosaur Polo Club created for this title.

But then again, Golden Lap is not a flawless game. It has some really competent and excellent strengths that make it a blast to play, but at the same time there are some areas that could have catapulted the game to an even higher level with a little improvement and refinement. If the stress and time commitment of F1 manager games puts you off, but you still want to feel the thrill of leading a racing team to victory on familiar tracks with familiar-sounding corners and sights and familiar teams and drivers, then Golden Lap does it good enough to make it the first choice.

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