F1 25 review: a racing game that's all about the drama
Gaming
Narrative mode Braking Point returns along with Hollywood stars Skip 5 photos in the image carousel and continue reading
We're about a month away from Brad Pitt and his pals attempting to turn a sport that involves understanding the concept of tyre degradation into a gripping Hollywood blockbuster. But if you've been playing the official F1 games over the past five years, you'll know that mixing F1 with melodrama works brilliantly. Yes, Braking Point, the narrative story mode that began in F1 2021 , returns for a third time in F1 25 .
We'll confess to having a massive soft spot for Braking Point. Alright, some of the plotlines are cheesier than a three day fondue festival, but there's a lot to be said for having a more human off-track narrative pushing you along between race events. This storyline is a continuation of the arc that began in F1 2021 with even messier family drama this time around and, while you might be entirely lost if you've not played the previous two instalments, for long-time fans it's as involving and entertaining as it always was.
Advertisement - Page continues below
Away from the soap opera, the other significant update in F1 25 is My Team mode. Rather than the throwback concept of an owner-driver, this new version of My Team has you stepping into the branded trainers of the team principal of an 11th Formula One team, with all the additional responsibility that entails. While it's naturally not quite as in depth as the now cancelled F1 Manager series, it's most of the way there and streamlined, intuitive menus ensure it's never completely overwhelming.
Plus, unlike F1 Manager, you have the added bonus that when the race weekend arrives you aren't sitting on the sidelines fiddling with fuel strategies. In F1 25 you get to assume control of one of your two contracted drivers and clamber behind the wheel yourself. Oh and one of those drivers might be Brad Pitt. You might like
Yes, that upcoming F1 movie is also well represented in the official game. In My Team you can choose to play as the movie's own fictional 11th team, APX Grand Prix, with drivers Sonny Hayes (Pitt) and Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris) casually dropped into the driver mix. There's also a separate scenario mode which blends clips from the movie with in-game challenges in much the same way as Braking Point does.
There's only one small prologue challenge available so far, so as to avoid ruining the plot, with the rest only arriving as downloadable content once the movie is out in cinemas. We'd make a gag about spoilers, but on an F1 car it's actually a rear wing.
Advertisement - Page continues below
After a lacklustre seasonal update last year, whose main development focus appeared to be making the handling model undriveable, F1 25 is a return to form. Braking Point will keep you entertained for a good few hours, but it's the expansive new My Team mode that offers proper novelty and longevity to those who have loyally dropped their cash on the official game every year.
Newcomers and lapsed fans, meanwhile, will return to menus upon menus of modes and options in one of the most refined and feature rich racers available. And if your fantasy is just 'pretending you're handsome Hollywood star Brad Pitt', somehow it's now got that covered too...
Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Look out for your regular round-up of news, reviews and offers in your inbox.
Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
19 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Florian Wirtz transfer latest: Liverpool still £10m short of Bayer Leverkusen's asking price for Germany star as Bundesliga club hold out for British-record fee
Liverpool remain in negotiations with Bayer Leverkusen over a deal for Florian Wirtz. Bayer want £120million and Liverpool are at £109m but Wirtz has made it clear he wants the move. The Germany star has been convinced by Arne Slot 's clear plan of where he will play in Liverpool's set-up as a No 10. Should the Reds accede to Bayer's demands, Wirtz would become the most expensive signing in British football, overtaking the £115m Chelsea paid Brighton for Moises Caicedo. Richard Hughes, Liverpool's Sporting Director, has proposed a package to his Leverkusen counterpart Simon Rolfes with easily attainable performance-related bonuses, such as Champions League qualification but the clubs are yet to agree a final fee. Talks will continue on Tuesday as the club attempt to find a middle ground. There is also a possibility that Bayer could bring a Liverpool player to Germany as part of the deal. Harvey Elliott and Jarell Quansah are both admired by Leverkusen, and either could be proposed as makeweight. Liverpool have already successfully conducted business with Bayer this summer, signing Jeremie Frimpong for £29.5m last week. Further talks are expected to take place this week with Bournemouth also for £40m-rated left-back Milos Kerkez. Hughes was Bournemouth's technical director at the time the south coast club snapped up the Hungary international from Dutch side AZ two years ago. Liverpool have yet to receive an approach from Everton for Ben Doak despite the winger being of interest to manager David Moyes. The former Celtic youth, who has been capped six times by Scotland at senior international level, spent the 2024-25 season out on loan at Middlesbrough. Doak impressed at the Riverside, producing seven assists and three goals in 24 Championship appearances.
Daily Mail
19 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Mick Jagger, Leonardo DiCaprio and Madonna are dragged into Diddy trial as the case enters its fourth week
The fourth week of Diddy 's infamous sex trafficking trial kicked off with a bang as his former assistant took the stand and more A-list celebrities were named - only to face a relentless cross-examination by the disgraced mogul's attorney, Brian Steel. Hollywood heavyweights like Mick Jagger, Leonardo DiCaprio and Madonna were pulled into the spotlight as Diddy's legal team sifted through a trove of text messages between the disgraced rap mogul and his former assistant, aggressively questioning her about past employers and connections. 'Mia', a former personal assistant to the hip hop mogul, even revealed that she was once propositioned by the Rolling Stones singer while in Paris but 'ran away'. Mia, who testified under a pseudonym, said Diddy once mocked DiCaprio as 'that Titanic mother******' and said he won more money than the actor. In her testimony, Mia also revealed that after stopping working for Diddy she got a job with Madonna who didn't care that she had been 'blacklisted'. The testimony came as prosecutors continued mounting their case and Mia was subjected to an aggressive cross-examination by Diddy's lawyer Brian Steel. Steel accused Mia of being part of the 'MeToo money grab' but she claimed to have been 'brainwashed' during the decade she worked for Diddy until 2017. Mia is one of the prosecution's star witnesses and claimed that Diddy raped her once and sexually assaulted her numerous times. Steel relentlessly accused Mia of cashing into the MeToo movement, but she claimed to have been 'brainwashed' during the decade she worked for Diddy until 2017 At the court in New York, she was asked about the flattering and friendly messages she sent to Diddy after she stopped working for him. One of them was from March 2020, in which she said: 'Love you too and the only things to remember are the good times and those are the only memories I have.' Mia wrote: 'Ha ha ha like f****** HYSTERICAL ones…so many magical hilarious things like drinking 1942 (tequila) on the Parrot Cay beach (in Turks and Caicos) and champagne under the Eiffel Tower at Mick Jagger trying to take me home and I ran away.' In another part of the message, Mia referred to DiCaprio. Recalling other memories, Mia said: 'Leo grabbed my pink bedazzled blackberry and you (Diddy) said: 'That titanic mother****** doesn't know s*** he won 10K, I won 85k HAHAHAHAHAHA.' Mia did not explain the context of what she was referring to with DiCaprio, who attended Diddy's notorious 'White Parties' but has not been accused of wrongdoing. DiCaprio was photographed with Diddy at the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004. In 2019, DiCaprio was filmed dancing at Diddy's 50th birthday party. And in a video interview with Vogue in 2017, entitled '73 Questions with Sean 'Diddy' Combs', he said DiCaprio was the 'number one' person on the invite list for his then-upcoming White Party. When Diddy was arrested last September sources close to DiCaprio sought to put distance between them and said he has 'absolutely nothing to do with any of this'. The source said: 'He attended a few of his parties back in the early 2000s - but literally everyone did.' In her testimony, Mia told the court that after leaving Diddy's employment in March 2017, she got a job with Madonna in April the following year. Explaining her role, Mia said she did 'a myriad of things'. She said: 'I was hired to help lead her film division, but she also needed help restructuring her executive team. It morphed into multiple roles. I also operated in an assistant-esque capacity.' Mia confirmed she worked directly with Madonna and that she initially agreed to work for her for three months, but it extended to eight months. Combs' lawyer Brian Steel asked: 'To your knowledge did Mr. Combs assist you in getting that job?' Mia replied: 'Absolutely not.' Steel asked if there was 'any evidence to show you were somehow blacklisted?' Mia replied: 'Blacklisted? She (Madonna) didn't care about that. Of course not.' At times, Steel's cross-examination grew confrontational, and prosecutor Maurene Comey objected and called it 'humiliating'. She claimed that Steel had 'yelled' at Mia and been 'sarcastic' towards her. But Judge Subramanian disagreed and said that prosecutors could object if they heard something they didn't like. They did just that when Steel asked if Mia 'joined the MeToo money grab against Sean Combs?' Mia was not allowed to answer. Steel asked Mia about other messages she sent to Diddy after stopping working for him, focusing on a text on January 15, 2019, which read: 'Just thinking of you today and every day…. I had a nightmare I was trapped in an elevator with R. Kelly. I screamed and you came to rescue me.' Steel asked: 'The person who sexually assaulted you came to your rescue?' Mia said yes. Steel asked: 'You had that vision in your mind, but you expressed it to Mr. Combs?' Mia agreed. Steel said: 'You had to tell him he's your savior?' Mia said: 'Yes.' Steel asked: 'The person who you told the jury terrorized you and caused you PTSD you wrote to that person and explained how that person saved you?' Diddy's sons Justin Combs (left) and Quincy Brown (right) - the disgraced rapper's adopted son from Kim Porter - were both at their father's trial today After an objection, Mia didn't answer. When asked about a March 18, 2019, text to Diddy in which she wrote about 'sending all the love in the world' to him with a heart emoji, Mia said that he 'used to be my protector'. That same day, she messaged Diddy: 'Speaking of, you should watch Love on Netflix,' referring to the 2016 comedy. Mia added: 'Judd Apatow created it. It's Superbad funny'. In August 2020, Mia messaged Diddy about the death of Chadwick Boseman, the Black Panther star who died at 43 from colon cancer. Mia wrote: 'Thinking about you because I was thinking about Chaz Boseman and our sick James Brown auditions'. In court, Mia said she was remembering Boseman for his auditioning for a biopic of James Brown and it was 'really intense'. During another tense exchange, Steel asked: 'Your testimony that you were the victim at the hands of Mr. Combs brutality and sexual assaults is not true?' Mia replied: 'I have never lied in this courtroom. I will never lie in this courtroom. Everything I said is true.' Asked why Mia didn't raise concerns about Diddy or speak out earlier, she claimed to have been 'brainwashed' by him. She said: 'I was in an environment where the highs were really high, and the lows were really low which created a huge confusion in me trusting my instincts. 'I was punished whenever Puff would be violent and I'd react, confusing me and making me believe I'd done something wrong. 'I'd try so hard to get back to that good space and work harder and be nicer and nobody around batted an eye. He was still praised by everyone around him and the public. 'I felt like I had done something horrifically like I'd betrayed him by going to mediation and I felt horrible about it. I'd done something wrong and was always constantly seeking his approval. He was my authority figure.' Steel said: 'Are you finished?' Mia said: 'Sure.' Mia also talked about her duties while working as a personal assistant to the actor and comedian Mike Myers, who she worked for before Diddy. The jury was shown Mia's resume which explained how she handled all 'unique requests' for Myers, who starred in the film Wayne's World. The resume read: 'E.g. set up a private and confidential tour of the CIA by corresponding with Secret Service agents and government officials.' According to reports from 2009, Myers addressed several hundred CIA officers and paid tribute to his mother who was in the British Royal Air Force in WWII.
Daily Mail
20 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Viktor Gyokeres has an incredible goal record and is a ready-made star, but Benjamin Sesko is proven in a major European league and has huge potential... so who should Arsenal sign this summer?
In an ideal world for Arsenal, Aston Villa would have beaten Man United on the final day of the season to edge Newcastle out of the picture in the race for the Champions League. There is no particular malice behind that thought, although a demoralising Carabao Cup semi-final defeat by the Magpies means Eddie Howe 's side aren't viewed particularly fondly by Gunners fans. But rather Toon striker Alexander Isak was viewed as a dream summer target for Mikel Arteta as he looks to reinforce his attacking options, yet given Champions League football will be returning to St James' Park, any move can now be ruled out. Nevertheless, it is still expected to be a big few months for Arsenal, boosted by a strong PSR position - and purse strings will be loosened as they try to strengthen across a variety of positions. There is no doubt that No 9 is the biggest priority though, with the lack of a quality option playing a big part in the third successive second place finish for Arteta's side as they drew 14 of their 38 Premier League games to finish 10 points adrift of Liverpool. Sporting Lisbon's Viktor Gyokeres and RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko are the two main contenders, but Arsenal fans and those inside the club are torn on who would be the better option. Both Gyokeres and Sesko are top class strikers in their own right and each have plenty of positives - and impressive goal records - to boost their case to Arsenal's recruitment team. On the one hand, a move for Sesko would make sense given the Slovenian star has been a long-term target. The Gunners have previously done much of the groundwork on a potential deal, having been close to signing him last summer before the player became unsure over how much game time he would get. Sesko has since netted 26 goals for club and country this season and at 21, the striker, who turns 22 on Saturday, presents an ideal profile for future growth. A transfer to Arsenal also feels like the perfect next step for Sesko, who has carefully constructed his career to date. After moving to Red Bull Salzburg at 16, he initially impressed on loan at their sister club FC Liefering who play in the Austrian second tier. Two strong seasons saw him score 22 goals in 44 games when he then made the step up to Salzburg's first team to fill the void left by Erling Haaland's departure to Borussia Dortmund in 2020. Sesko thrived and in the summer of 2023 he had interest from several teams across Europe, before he ultimately chose to join RB Leipzig to stay within the Red Bull network. Sesko almost joined Arsenal last summer and the Gunners have done due diligence on him In Germany, Sesko has gained crucial experience in a major European league and performed well despite Leipzig enduring two difficult campaigns. In 2024-25 he netted 21 times in 45 games, even though Leipzig crashed out in the League Phase of the Champions League following seven defeats in eight games and finished seventh in the Bundesliga. Sesko's variety of goals are also an added positive for potential suitors, with the 21-year-old having netted just six times from the penalty spot this season. Sesko is strong with both feet and has scored multiple headers - and overall he has an impressive career record of 90 goals and 25 assists in 210 matches. His experience of the Champions League would also be useful to Arsenal, although he is yet to enjoy any real success in the competition. Across four seasons, Sesko has scored just six goals in 28 games. However, it must be noted that the 21-year-old has generally played for teams that have struggled in the Champions League and he did manage to net four times in eight matches this time around. But when Arsenal are weighing up whether or not to go for Sesko, who is valued at £92.5m, there are also several factors that may encourage them to go for Gyokeres. The Swedish forward has enjoyed an incredible two years at Sporting and he is widely expected to leave Portugal this summer. In fact, it is understood that Sporting are currently searching for a new striker to replace the former Brighton and Coventry frontman. The Portuguese side are demanding in excess of £70m, meaning the Swede's options are limited to a few clubs with the financial power and willingness to spend that on a player. But Arsenal are one such team, and new sporting director Andrea Berta is said to admire Gyokeres from his time working at Atletico Madrid. And you can see why, with Gyokeres possessing an superb record of 97 goals in 102 games since joining Sporting for a bargain £20.2m fee. A 2024-25 campaign that saw the Swede net 54 goals and add 13 assists in 52 games has meant Gyokeres' profile has risen exponentially, something that was particularly boosted by his Champions League form. On what was his first experience of the competition, Gyokeres scored six goals in eight games, included a superb hat-trick against Man City in November. His rise has been less serene than Sesko's, with the 26-year-old, whose birthday is next week, failing to make the grade at Brighton during a four-year spell that also saw him struggle on loan at Swansea. However, a flame was lit once he joined Coventry and 40 goals across two seasons as a permanent player earned Gyokeres a move to Sporting. Despite his incredible record, there are a few concerns surrounding Gyokeres, including the fact that he will be 27 at the start of next season, five years senior to Sesko. His struggles at Brighton, although they now seem irrelevant, do raise some questions given he has never played in a top five European league, something Sesko has done with the Bundesliga. Mail Sport has previously reported how this is a view echoed internally at Arsenal, with figures torn on whether the striker can hit the ground running in the Premier League. There is also the fact that 20 of his 54 goals this season were penalties, although given Gyokeres scored every spot kick, perhaps that is something to be viewed positively. He also struggled to assert himself during Sporting's 5-1 thrashing by Arsenal in the Champions League. Nevertheless, the Swede's international record is impressive, with Gyokeres having netted 15 times in 26 games in comparison to Sesko's 16 in 41 for Slovenia, although again the standard of their respective teams should be taken into account. Whatever they decide, it feels as if Arsenal will be getting a top quality striker this summer and one that they hope will take them to a trophy after more than five years. Both strikers have their qualities, with Gyokeres possessing an incredible goal record over the past two years. In fact, in 2024-25, the 26-year-old averaged a goal every 79 minutes and converted 56 per cent of his chances. This outperformed Sesko, whose goal-per-minute ratio is 156, while he has a conversation rate of 47.1 per cent. A caveat to that is the quality of their leagues and the fact Gyokeres had 3.9 shots per game compared to Sesko's 2.31. He also averaged 9.16 touches in the opposition box, almost three times that of the Slovenian's 3.29. Overall, it feels like although Sesko has a poorer goal record than his striking rival, the fact that he is proven in a major European league and on an upward curve is extremely appealing. Arsenal have also done plenty of due diligence on him as a target and they have been tracking the 21-year-old for a long-time. The Gunners have plenty of money to spend this summer and although Sesko is likely to be more expensive than Gyokeres, his physicality, age and potential mean Mail Sport favours him narrowly as the better option.
