The game introduces the story mode
Braking Point, set across three years (the end of the 2019 Formula 2 season, then the 2020 and 2021 Formula One seasons). According to a statement by Codemasters,
Braking Point "immerses players into the glamorous world of Formula One, giving a taste of the lifestyle both on and off the track: the rivalries, emotion and dedication needed to compete at the highest level". With the addition of
Braking Point, the
F1 series became the fourth
EA Sports title to have a story mode following
Fight Night Champion Champion Mode,
FIFA The Journey, and
Madden NFL Longshot. There are five selectable teams in the mode:
Racing Point (later
Aston Martin),
Scuderia AlphaTauri,
Alfa Romeo Racing (canon path as of
F1 23),
Haas and
Williams. The protagonist of the story is Aiden Jackson (voiced by Aiden Felgate), a British rising star ascending through the junior categories with accolades in the hopes of one day reaching Formula 1 and eventually becoming world champion. The story begins at the season finale of the 2019 FIA Formula 2 championship, where an intense title battle between Jackson in the Carlin and ART's
Nyck De Vries has gone down the wire in the final sprint race of the year. Jackson is crowned 2019 Formula 2 champion after making a late-game surge passing the DAMS of
Nicholas Latifi and Virtuosi of
Luca Ghiotto in the dying laps to win the Sprint whilst title rival De Vries struggles with tyre and car balance. After winning the title, Jackson graduates to Formula One for the 2020 season with a lot of pressure, weight and expectations placed upon him from having such a stellar junior career. Whilst he does put up a good front for the cameras, off the track he has a hard time making the transition to Formula One, competing against the best drivers in the world. In the intro to the story, the 2020 season portion of the story, and the final part of the final chapter, the player assumes the role of Jackson. Also in the story mode is Dutch driver Casper Akkerman (voiced by Christopher Dane), who serves as Jackson's teammate. As a veteran Formula One driver (sharing some of his characteristics and traits with
Kimi Räikkönen), he is more mature and experienced than Jackson. With a wave of a new generation of drivers bursting onto the Formula One scene, Akkerman is struggling to stay competitive in the twilight of his racing career. He is married to Zoe (voiced by Kerry Bennett), with whom he has a daughter named Lily (Zoe is the only one in Casper's family aside from himself who physically appears; his daughter Lily can be seen in a picture frame to the left of his laptop). Zoe is aware of the sacrifices her husband makes to stay competitive in Formula One. For most of the 2021 season portion of the story, the focus switches to Akkerman. Devon Butler (voiced by Adam Sanderson), who previously appeared in the driver career mode of
F1 2019 as the main rival in the F2 scenario and, canonically, the champion of the
2018 F2 season in that scenario, returns as Jackson's rival. Lukas Weber, also from
F1 2019, makes an off-screen appearance via e-mail, in which he surprisingly says his favourite film in the
Cars franchise is the
second film (where Lewis Hamilton also appeared). Butler retains his
F1 2019 race number 71, while Akkerman and Jackson use 54 and 89 respectively (the latter of which was coincidentally also used by
Jack Aitken during his stint for Williams at the
2020 Sakhir Grand Prix). Whichever team the player chooses, the character Brian Doyle (voiced by Jerry Anderson) appears as a direct liaison to the team principal.
Plot After winning the
2019 Formula 2 Championship with
Carlin, Aiden Jackson secures a drive with a Formula One team for the
2020 season. However, Jackson has a rocky start to his Formula One career as he makes contact with teammate Casper Akkerman in the season opener in
Australia. Jackson refuses to admit that the contact was his fault, angering Akkerman. Little did the two know that rival driver Devon Butler had indirectly caused that incident by making it three-wide in a turn. To add insult to injury, Butler himself stirs up tensions between Jackson and Akkerman, which start to mount during the
Chinese Grand Prix, where Akkerman forces Jackson off the track upon overtaking him. Going into the mid-season, the team finds itself struggling in the Constructors' Championship as Jackson is still unable to get along with Akkerman. Their relationship continues to worsen when Akkerman finds out that Jackson has been given the updated power unit instead of him. The team heads to
Mexico with the hope of scoring points to secure their place above the rest of the midfield teams, but their hopes are shattered when Jackson and Akkerman, unwilling to give up positions, collide and take each other out. After the race, Brian Doyle sternly reprimands the two, threatening to sack them both if they cause trouble with each other any further. The tensions carry over to the
2021 season. Akkerman is frustrated, feeling that the team seems to have started treating Jackson as the number one driver as he gets priorities on both qualifying and pit strategy. At the
Canadian Grand Prix, Akkerman refuses to let Jackson pass despite being told to do so. Right after the race, both Jackson and Akkerman have a heated argument in the paddock, during which Akkerman inadvertently declares his retirement to Jackson, although Akkerman later clarifies that he had already planned to retire at the start of the season and that the retirement has nothing to do with the incident as Jackson seemed to believe. The altercation goes viral on social media via a video, apparently recorded by Butler on his phone. As a result, Jackson loses a good chunk of his fans, who blame him for Akkerman's retirement. Akkerman's strong performances keep the team in the fight, but the tensions between him and Jackson still do not show any signs of resolution. At the team dinner, Doyle brings the two together to discuss their problems. They finally find out that their mutual hostility was actually fueled by false rumours and gossip spread by Devon Butler. Akkerman reveals to Jackson that he had blindly believed Butler's lies all along, leading him to throw a fit for his gullibility. With their differences sorted and their feud put behind them, Akkerman and Jackson work together to beat Butler's team and get their team to fourth in the Constructors' Championship. At the final race in
Abu Dhabi, Butler's teammate retires from the race due to mechanical issues. Taking advantage of this, Akkerman leads Butler into the final part of the race. While attempting an overtake, Butler collides with Akkerman, resulting in both sustaining major damage to their cars. Butler is out of the race, while Akkerman is still able to continue and gives up his position to Jackson, passing on a radio message telling him to finish the race on the podium. Jackson is eventually able to make it into third place. After the race, Jackson and Akkerman celebrate together at the podium ceremony. In a post-credits in-game message, Jackson begins his negotiation to race for one of the big teams (
Mercedes,
Red Bull Racing, or
Ferrari) while also receiving a good luck message from Zoe Akkerman. == Reception ==