The cartoon racer grid is filling up with the unveiling of Codemasters’ F1 Race Stars. The game features official drivers, teams and courses from the 2012 FIA Formula One Championship, and offsets this real world influence with cartoon visuals and power-ups. Drivers such as Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, with his infamous finger waggling, have been recreated as caricatures and will square off across Championships, Time Trials and online modes for up to 12 players.


Codemasters hinted that it would be releasing a family-based F1 title when it announced that it was extending its license partnership with the official Formula One World Championship Limited. This is the first that we have seen from it, but it looks like a novel concept to say the least. While it will compete against titles such as LittleBigPlanet Karting and Mario Kart, the F1 license could be enough to see it take the top step of the podium.

Senior producer Chris Gray said that the idea of this game excited the team and allowed the Art and Design teams to run wild. He added, “It's the game we've wanted to create for a long time and, building on our strong relationship with Formula One Management Limited, we're now able to bring Codemasters' long-standing expertise in track design and AI to create a Formula One racing experience quite unlike any other.”

F1 Race Stars will be released in November on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC this November.