CONTENTS
Spacing and Length
Permissions
Introduction
Car Set-Ups
Grand Prix of Australia: Albert Park
Grand Prix of Brazil: Interlagos
Grand Prix of San Marino: Imola
Grand Prix of Great Britain: Silverstone
Grand Prix of Spain: Catalunya
Grand Prix of Europe: Nurburgring
Grand Prix of Monaco: Monte Carlo (Temporary Street Circuit)
Grand Prix of Canada: Gilles Villeneuve
Grand Prix of France: Nevers Magny-Cours
Grand Prix of Austria: A1-Ring
Grand Prix of Germany: Hockenheim
Grand Prix of Hungary: Hungaroring
Grand Prix of Belgium: Spa-Francorchamps
Grand Prix of Italy: Monza
Grand Prix of the United States: Indianapolis
Grand Prix of Japan: Suzuka
Grand Prix of Malaysia: Sepang
Contact Information
SPACING AND LENGTH
For optimum readability, this driving guide should be
viewed/printed using a monowidth font, such as Courier.
Check for font setting by making sure the numbers and letters
below line up:
PERMISSIONS
Permission is hereby granted for a user to download and/or
print out a copy of this driving guide for personal use.
However, due to the extreme length, printing this driving
guide may not be such a good idea.
This driving guide may only be posted on: FeatherGuides,
GameFAQs.com, f1gamers.com, PSXCodez.com, Cheatcc.com,
gamesover.com, Absolute-PlayStation.com, RedCoupe,
InsidePS2Games.com, CheatPlanet.com, The Cheat Empire, Games
Domain, a2zweblinks.com, Gameguru, cheatingplanet.com,
RobsGaming.com, neoseeker.com, ps2fantasy.com, and
vgstrategies.com. Please contact me for permission to post
elsewhere on the Internet.
Should anyone wish to translate this driving guide into other
languages (F1 Championship Season 2000 is also optimized for
French and Spanish), please contact me for permission(s) and
provide me with a copy when complete (especially important so
that I can improve my French and Spanish skills).
Remember: Plagiarism in ANY form is NOT tolerated!!!!!
INTRODUCTION
Most likely, if you play F1 Championship Season 2000, then
you are at least a casual fan of Formula 1 racing, and have
at least a basic knowledge of many or all of the currently-
used F1 courses. What this guide presents is a set of tuning
parameters for the various circuits which should provide a
good basis for car set-up for each circuit.
Please keep in mind that these suggested car set-ups are just
that: suggestions. These are designed with my personal
aggressive driving style in mind. Therefore, the set-ups
presented here will likely need to be tweaked for each
player's comfort level and driving style.
==============================================
CAR SET-UPS
First, these set-ups are for the PSX and PS2 versions of F1
Championship Season 2000. It has been brought to my
attention that the PC version of the game uses a different
set-up configuration. Unfortunately, I cannot provide any
assistance here, as I own a Mac, only use PCs on rare
occasions on campus, and do not have access to a PC on which
I can play games. Gomen nasai :-(
During the Test Day, Practice, and Qualifying sessions,
sitting in the Pits and pressing the Start button brings up
an options screen. Selecting 'Car Setup' brings up dialogues
to change Front Downforce, Rear Downforce, Gear Ratios,
Steering Lock, and other car settings (press the up, down,
and circle buttons to switch between these dialogues). For
convention, this driving guide will use the following system
to show these settings:
Ground Clearance: -1
These dialogues show seven small boxes. The centermost box
means a neutral (zero) setting. The three boxes to the left
mean progressively lower settings (negative), while the three
boxes to the right mean progressively higher settings
(positive). The number indicates how many boxes in each
direction the red square should move.
Each course will have suggested settings to help stabilize
the car chosen for that circuit. These are simply
suggestions, largely based upon my rather aggressive driving
style, with the car truly on the hair-thin edge of its
limits. Experiment and find the car set-up which works best
for your driving style for each course. I would assume that
the bulk of any individual player deviations will be made to
the Front Downforce, Rear Downforce, and Rear Diffuser
settings.
If this makes any difference, these car set-ups were all
specifically set playing as Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) in
Practice Mode, with dry weather, no damage, no flags, no tire
wear, and no failures. The car set-ups presented here are
essentially the same ones that I use in actual races, just
more fine-tuned with several laps in Practice Mode.
Also related to the suggested set-ups, I received an e-mail
>from a highly-observant player asking why I use a Gear Ratio
of -3 (fastest acceleration) on every circuit. While I
replied to him directly, I assumed others might also be
wondering about this consistent setting, to which I can only
reply in a two-part answer. First, this was originally an
unconscious 'holdover' from playing other racing games, such
as the Gran Turismo series. Most importantly, however, it
fits my aggressive driving style quite well, providing
quicker acceleration - which is especially useful for passing
in turns, or for recovering quickly when I brake too deep
into a corner. (For those wondering about this last
statement, the driving tips for each course are for more
'standard' driving styles, not for highly-aggressive driving
styles like mine.) While Gear Ratio of -3 produces fastest
acceleration, using the suggested car set-up for each course
(except perhaps for Monaco) will still allow players to drive
faster than any CPU-controlled vehicle on the track; on long
straightaways (such as at Monza and Indianapolis, and
especially at Hockenheim), speeds of well over 200MPH/320KPH
(even approaching 220MPH/350KPH) are quite commonŠ and isn't
that really fast enough!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
GRAND PRIX OF AUSTRALIA: ALBERT PARK
Suggested Car Set-up:
Gear Ratios: -3
Steering Lock: +3
Front Suspension: -2
Rear Suspension: -2
Brake Balance: -2
Engine RPM: +2
Side Pod Radiators: +3
Front Downforce: -3
Rear Downforce: -3
Ride Height: -3*
Rear Diffuser: +3
*This is an ABSOLUTELY FLAT circuit, so the only reason to
raise ride height is to slow the car for better cornering.
At Albert Park, this is really only an issue at Turns 3 and
15, and in the odd-formation Pit Lane Entry.
==============================================
GRAND PRIX OF BRAZIL: INTERLAGOS
Suggested Car Set-up:
Gear Ratios: -3
Steering Lock: +3
Front Suspension: -2
Rear Suspension: -2
Brake Balance: -2
Engine RPM: +2
Side Pod Radiators: +3
Front Downforce: +1
Rear Downforce: +1
Ride Height: -1
Rear Diffuser: +2
Note: This set-up is designed to take advantage of the lower
portion of the circuit.
==============================================
GRAND PRIX OF SAN MARINO: IMOLA
Suggested Car Set-up:
Gear Ratios: -3
Steering Lock: +3
Front Suspension: -2
Rear Suspension: -2
Brake Balance: -2
Engine RPM: +2
Side Pod Radiators: +3
Front Downforce: -3
Rear Downforce: -3
Ride Height: -1
Rear Diffuser: +3
==============================================
GRAND PRIX OF GREAT BRITAIN: SILVERSTONE
Suggested Car Set-up:
Gear Ratios: -3
Steering Lock: +3
Front Suspension: -2
Rear Suspension: -2
Brake Balance: -2
Engine RPM: +2
Side Pod Radiators: +3
Front Downforce: -2
Rear Downforce: -2
Ride Height: -2
Rear Diffuser: +3
==============================================
GRAND PRIX OF SPAIN: CATALUNYA
Suggested Car Set-up:
Gear Ratios: -3
Steering Lock: +3
Front Suspension: -2
Rear Suspension: -2
Brake Balance: -2
Engine RPM: +2
Side Pod Radiators: +3
Front Downforce: -3
Rear Downforce: -3
Ride Height: -2
Rear Diffuser: +3
==============================================
GRAND PRIX OF EUROPE: NURBURGRING
Suggested Car Set-up:
Gear Ratios: -3
Steering Lock: +3
Front Suspension: -2
Rear Suspension: -2
Brake Balance: -2
Engine RPM: +2
Side Pod Radiators: +3
Front Downforce: -2
Rear Downforce: -2
Ride Height: -1
Rear Diffuser: -3
==============================================
GRAND PRIX OF MONACO: MONTE CARLO (TEMPORARY STREET CIRCUIT)
Suggested Car Set-up:
Gear Ratios: -3
Steering Lock: +3
Front Suspension: -2
Rear Suspension: -2
Brake Balance: -2
Engine RPM: +3
Side Pod Radiators: +3
Front Downforce: +3*
Rear Downforce: +3*
Ride Height: -2
Rear Diffuser: +3
*The downforce options are purposely set much higher than at
other circuits to assist in cornering. The Monaco circuit
simply does not allow for a high-speed set-up.
GRAND PRIX OF CANADA: CIRCUIT GILLES VILLENEUVE
Suggested Car Set-up:
Gear Ratios: -3
Steering Lock: +3
Front Suspension: -2
Rear Suspension: -2
Brake Balance: -2
Engine RPM: +2
Side Pod Radiators: +3
Front Downforce: -2
Rear Downforce: -2
Ride Height: -3*
Rear Diffuser: +2
*The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is almost perfectly flat, so
the only reason to raise ride height is for better cornering
due to slower top-end speed.
==============================================
GRAND PRIX OF FRANCE: NEVERS MAGNY-COURS
Suggested Car Set-up:
Gear Ratios: -3
Steering Lock: +3
Front Suspension: -2
Rear Suspension: -2
Brake Balance: -2
Engine RPM: +2
Side Pod Radiators: +3
Front Downforce: -3
Rear Downforce: +3
Ride Height: -3
Rear Diffuser: -1
==============================================
GRAND PRIX OF AUSTRIA: A1-RING
Suggested Car Set-up:
Gear Ratios: -3
Steering Lock: +3
Front Suspension: -2
Rear Suspension: -2
Brake Balance: -2
Engine RPM: +2
Side Pod Radiators: +3
Front Downforce: -2
Rear Downforce: -2
Ride Height: -1
Rear Diffuser: +2
==============================================
GRAND PRIX OF GERMANY: HOCKENHEIM
Suggested Car Set-up:
Gear Ratios: -3
Steering Lock: +3
Front Suspension: -2
Rear Suspension: -2
Brake Balance: -2
Engine RPM: +3
Side Pod Radiators: +3
Front Downforce: -3
Rear Downforce: -3
Ride Height: -3*
Rear Diffuser: -1
*The Hockenheim circuit is almost perfectly flat, so the only
reason to raise the Rear Height is for better cornering due
to slower top-end speed.
==============================================
GRAND PRIX OF HUNGARY: HUNGARORING
Suggested Car Set-up:
Gear Ratios: -3
Steering Lock: +3
Front Suspension: -2
Rear Suspension: -2
Brake Balance: -2
Engine RPM: +2
Side Pod Radiators: +3
Front Downforce: -2
Rear Downforce: -2
Ride Height: -2
Rear Diffuser: +1
==============================================
GRAND PRIX OF BELGIUM: SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS
Suggested Car Set-up:
Gear Ratios: -3
Steering Lock: +3
Front Suspension: -2
Rear Suspension: -2
Brake Balance: -2
Engine RPM: +2
Side Pod Radiators: +3
Front Downforce: -2
Rear Downforce: -2
Ride Height: -2
Rear Diffuser: +1
==============================================
GRAND PRIX OF ITALY: MONZA
Suggested Car Set-up:
Gear Ratios: -3
Steering Lock: +3
Front Suspension: -2
Rear Suspension: -2
Brake Balance: -2
Engine RPM: +2
Side Pod Radiators: +3
Front Downforce: -3
Rear Downforce: -3
Ride Height: -3*
Rear Diffuser: -1
*The Monza circuit is absolutely flat, so the only reason to
raise the Ride Height is to sacrifice top-end speed for
better cornering.
==============================================
GRAND PRIX OF THE UNITED STATES: INDIANAPOLIS
Suggested Car Set-up:
Gear Ratios: -3
Steering Lock: -3
Front Suspension: -2
Rear Suspension: -2
Brake Balance: -2
Engine RPM: +2
Side Pod Radiators: +3
Front Downforce: -3
Rear Downforce: -3
Ride Height: -3
Rear Diffuser: +1
Note that this is a low-downforce set-up designed
specifically to take advantage of the Indy oval section of
the course. This set-up makes the infield segment rather
tricky, especially 'Mickey' and 'Mouse.' Extreme caution
must be taken in the infield portion of the circuit,
especially if playing with Tire Wear activated and/or in wet
conditions.
==============================================
GRAND PRIX OF JAPAN: SUZUKA
Suggested Car Set-up:
Gear Ratios: -3
Steering Lock: +3
Front Suspension: -2
Rear Suspension: -2
Brake Balance: -2
Engine RPM: +2
Side Pod Radiators: +3
Front Downforce: -2
Rear Downforce: -2
Ride Height: -3
Rear Diffuser: +2
==============================================
GRAND PRIX OF MALAYSIA: SEPANG
Suggested Car Set-up:
Gear Ratios: -3
Steering Lock: +3
Front Suspension: -2
Rear Suspension: -2
Brake Balance: -2
Engine RPM: +2
Side Pod Radiators: +3
Front Downforce: -2
Rear Downforce: -2
Ride Height: -2
Rear Diffuser: +2
CONTACT INFORMATION
For questions, rants, raves, comments of appreciation, etc.,
or to be added to my e-mail list for updates to this driving
guide, please contact me at: FEATHER7@IX.NETCOM.COM; also, if
you have enjoyed this guide and feel that it has been helpful
to you, I would certainly appreciate a small donation via
PayPal (http://www.paypal.com/) using the above e-mail
address.
To find the latest version of this and all my other PSX/PS2
game guides, please visit FeatherGuides
(http://www.angelcities.com/members/feathersites/). The
latest version will always be posted at FeatherGuides, while
other Web sites may lag behind by several days in their
regularly-scheduled posting updates.
=======================================================================
Wolf Feather Jamie Stafford
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Just as there are many parts needed to make a human a human, there's a
remarkable number of things needed to make an individual what they are.
- Major Kusanagi, _Ghost in the Shell_
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What isn't remembered never happened. - _Serial Experiments Lain_
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