Excellent, challenging racing sim, short on some basics

User Rating: 8 | Formula One Championship Edition PS3
The game does a terrific job modeling the thrill of F1 racing, with a severe & unforgiving damage mode (which I think is pretty realistic with these cars), fairly engaging career mode, and passably impressive graphics and good sound.

Really lacks some basic info - impossible as far as I can tell to go back and see where you placed in an earlier race for instance. Best lap times are buried in a menu outside the career menus. Also no spotter in your ear to help you with cars coming up behind.

The game is fiendishly difficult at the normal level - one medium-sized mistake and your race is over. There's also no re-setting a race at that point: you have to setup & qualify all over again to re-do, which might put some people off. On the flip side, getting a podium finish feels like a true accomplishment.

Only includes tracks and drivers from the 2006 season, so no Spa, Valencia, etc. Would have been nice to race on some of the other historic tracks.