F1 Drift Racer

Summary

Most F1 games are about pinpoint precision, clean lines, and perfect braking zones. This one’s more about throwing the back end out through every corner and manji’ing your way down the straights, making it a great pick for any drifting fan.

F1 Drift Racer lets you pick your weapon of choice before heading to a selection of twisty circuits (viewed from a retro bird’s-eye angle), where you’re rewarded for throwing your formula racer sideways (while ensuring you still land pole position, of course).

Every car is tail-happy from the start. All you need to do is turn in, let the back end step out, then floor it to slide through the apex while smoke pours off the rears.

It’s a perfect option for those just getting started with drifting who are seeking a fast, no-grind pick-up-and-play hit. Win a quick (two lap) race to begin unlocking new tracks and cars. Then, before you know it, you’ll be throwing big angles through the hairpins while trying to convince the homies you’re the sideways equivalent of Lando Norris in the online multiplayer lobbies.

If you’ve ever wanted to drift an open-wheeler without the usual on-rails handling, F1 Drift Racer is one of the more unique entries in our ever-growing drifting games lineup, and one of the only opportunities you’ll get to do so.

F1 Drift Racer features

• Release date – January 2022
• Difficulty – Beginner
• Levels/environments – 20 tracks
• Number of vehicles – 7
• Vehicle customization/upgrades – No
• Multiplayer – Yes
• Mobile – Yes (iOS and Android)
• Developer – FreezeNova

Physics

The cars have smoke pouring out the back from the moment you turn the wheel. There’s no handbrake, but the cars are tail-happy enough that you don’t need one. Simply turn into a corner and the rear end steps straight out, holding a predictable, easy-to-read slide.

While it’s beginner-friendly, the speed builds up quickly, and given the lack of view ahead, or radar/minimap, you can easily overcook it going into the corners. Play around scrubbing off speed by confidently throwing the car in sideways, though I’d still tap the brakes briefly before the tighter corners so you don’t slide off onto the grass and crash. You don’t need to worry about damage, but it’ll slow you down and risk letting the competition play catch-up.

It’s a totally different feel from the grippy, on-rails handling of other F1-based games like Super Star Car, where it’s a struggle to get the back-end out, and you’re chasing clean racing lines instead of big angles. Here, you’re able to link up corners and slide your way through the entire lap if you want to.

Graphics

Don’t expect cutting-edge graphics. It’s intentionally fun, cartoony, and simple, which suits the arcade feel and helps it run smoothly on just about any device.

You view the action from a top-down angle that gives it an old-school arcade charm and also makes it deceivingly fast on the straights. You’ll also get satisfying puffs of smoke pouring off the rears every time you go sideways.

If you want a better-looking Formula racer set on real-world circuits like Monza and the drifter-favorite Long Beach street course, Grand Extreme Racing is the prettier, grippier, more realistic pick. It’s one of the sharper-looking browser racing games out there with far more to do, even if it won’t let you slide around as this one does.

F1 Drift Racer controls

PC/laptop/Chromebook

• W/Up arrow – Accelerate
• S/Down arrow – Brake/reverse
• A/Left arrow – Steer left
• D/Right arrow – Steer right

Mobile/tablet (iOS/Android)

• Press the on-screen buttons.

F1 Drift Racer is optimized for iOS and Android devices within your browser, so you can slide around on your phone when you want a quick fix. We’ve also got loads more touch-friendly options in our mobile games collection if you want to build out your portable library.

How to play F1 Drift Racer

Initial setup

The game opens on the main menu, where your free Formula 1 car is ready for some tire slayin’! You can also use the left and right arrows to scroll through the garage and see what’s on offer.

You won’t find any spec sheets or stat bars, just a price tag. You start with zero cash, so your only option is to jump into a race and start earning. We’ll cover the cars in more detail below.

There are 20 levels to work through, but only the first is unlocked at the start. I’d recommend getting comfortable there before venturing into the online multiplayer mode.

Getting started

Each level is just two laps, so as long as you’re ahead by the end of the second, you can mess around and have fun along the way. On the earlier levels, the other cars are slow, making it the perfect place to learn without much pressure.

Even the starter car is plenty quick enough (it is an F1 car, after all!), so you’ll quickly build real speed on the straights before a corner forces you to throw it sideways and attempt to scrub the speed off with big angles.

There’s no minimap or radar, so every new track is a blind run the first time through, and they’re all unique. Be sensible and don’t just floor it the whole way, or you’ll go flying straight off the track.

Going onto the grass kills your speed and makes it feel like you’re driving through sand. Watch out for the AI rivals, too, as they’ll happily ram you into the trees, tires, or trackside buildings. You’ll just bounce off and get back to drifting, but it’ll be a setback, especially if you’re nearing the end of the race.

Game modes

There are two ways to play, starting with the single-player levels. You work through all 20 tracks one at a time, beating the AI to the finish to bag around $250 and unlock the next track. Coming second still earns you a good chunk of cash (around $200), but only a win lets you unlock the next level and advance, so it’s always worth pushing for first when you can.

The track layout is unique, but after the first handful, they start to look a little samey, and the single-player won’t trouble anyone who’s spent a decent amount of time playing drifting or racing games. If you’re after an alternative with far more on offer, Top Speed Racing 3D packs a selection of drift events, time trials, speed traps, and parkour challenges into a huge open city.

Once you’ve unlocked a car you’re happy with, the online multiplayer is where you can head to show off by racing friends or heading into public lobbies to find talented drivers.

F1 Drift Racer comes from FreezeNova, the same studio that released two of the best multiplayer drifting games around in recent years. So make sure you check out Drift King for supercar tandem lobbies and drift trains on a giant mountain touge, and Drift Hunters Pro if you’re a bigger fan of 90s JDM legends like the Toyota Supra MKIV, and Nissan 350Z than fancy supercars.

Car list

There are seven formula racers to unlock, and you buy them with the cash you earn from racing. After the free starter vehicle, the prices climb through 500, 1,000, and 1,500, with the three priciest rides sitting at 2,000 each.

Each one resembles real-world F1 machines, and you’ll spot a few you recognize, including an orange McLaren-style car and a Ferrari-esque one.

The pricier rides look a bit cooler and pack slightly more power, making them more tail-happy and able to hold longer slides. They’re not wildly different from the cheaper cars, though, so there’s no rush to start saving.

Because every car is earned by winning races, it’ll feel familiar if you’ve played Slippery Drift Racing, where you snatch your rival’s ride by beating them in a pink-slip-style showdown

If the seven-car garage feels a little thin, our car games collection is stacked with options that’ll let you build something much bigger. Escape Road 3, for instance, offers a whopping 90-car roster, along with similar top-down action and much more craziness!

Tuning, upgrades, and customization

You won’t find any tuning, performance upgrades, or visual customization here, which keeps the focus squarely on the driving and the quick-hit progression.

If you’re itching to tweak your ride, Drift Hunters MAX sits at the opposite end of the scale. You can dial in your suspension setup to perfection and pile on performance upgrades across a roster of 39 realistic-looking drift cars, though it’s a much bigger time sink than the fast-hitting laps you’ll be throwing down here.

For something closer to what this offers, Formula Traffic Racer is one of the few games that lets you upgrade an open-wheeler, improving the engine and handling as you weave through high-speed highway traffic.

Advanced tips & tricks

Tap the brakes before you commit to a corner

You can scrub off plenty of speed just by going sideways, but a quick dab of the brakes before the tighter corners stops you from sailing off onto the grass. Lose traction at the wrong moment, and you’ll spin out, so a little caution goes a long way on the faster sections.

Use the manji technique to master the handling

Manji (also known as choku-dori) is an advanced drifting technique where you flick the car side to side on the straights, swinging from one side to the other to fill the width of the track.

It’s great fun, and it’s the quickest way to understand how the weight of the vehicle transitions and holds the slides. Set yourself a challenge to stay sideways for an entire lap without ever straightening up. If you want to sharpen the real-world theory behind it, our how-to-drift guide explains everything you need to know.

Try to avoid fighting with the AI if you’re looking to secure the win

Expect the AI to box you in, or ram you off-track without a second thought, but they’ll also happily drift along with you if you pull alongside and follow their line.

Since there’s no penalty for nudging them, it’s a fun way to practice your proximity and tandem runs. If door-to-door drift trains are your thing, Arcade Car Drift delivers a super similar experience in a top-down sideways package, but with AI cars (rather than open-wheelers) to link up with.

F1 Drift Racer FAQ