APEX

Thirty-three real circuits, twenty-four cars, and air that decides the overtake.

APEX All games

APEX

Thirty-three real circuits, twenty-four cars, and air that decides the overtake.

Every circuit on the calendar and a good many that are not, each built from survey data of the real track, smoothed and checked against the published distance. The car makes its own grip out of air - about its own weight again in downforce by 200 km/h - so it corners harder the faster it is going, and the body heaves, pitches and rolls on four real springs rather than on a formula. Twelve teams, two cars each, and the air behind them matters: sit in somebody's tow down a straight and you gain on him, follow him through a corner and his wake takes downforce off your car. Tyres go off and get too hot, it rains and the road reflects it, the car breaks when you hit things, and the crew come over the wall to change four of them while you sit there. Drive on your own, set a time, run a single race, or take on the League, race by race with a championship table at the end of it.

What is in it: Motor racing. Cars crash and lose wheels; no people are shown hurt. More for parents

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Controls

  • W Sthrottle · brake
  • A Dsteer
  • E Qup a gear · down a gear
  • SpaceDRS
  • Cclutch
  • Pready the crew, then drive into the pit lane
  • 1 - 5choose tyres
  • Vcamera
  • Rback on track
  • Escpause
Get a tow down the straight before you commit to the move - in the corner behind him you have less grip than he does, not more. And a downshift too many will step the back out.

Tags

How to play

Pick a mode, a circuit and the weather, and go. Every car on the grid is the same car you drive, on the same physics. The other drivers get no extra grip and no catch-up help. They differ only in how close to the limit they drive.

Free Drive is the circuit to yourself. Time Attack starts you about 500 m before the line, already at speed, so every lap is a flying lap. It is split into three sectors: purple for a personal best, green for your session best, amber for slower. Put all four wheels over the white line, or press R, and the lap is struck off.

Race lets you choose 2, 3, 5 or 10 laps, 10, 16, 20 or 24 cars, easy, medium or hard opposition, and a start from the front, middle or back. Five red lights come on one a second and go out after a random wait. Moving before they go out adds five seconds to your finishing time. League is a season of 5, 10, 16 or 22 rounds on circuits drawn at random. At each round you get one qualifying lap to set your grid slot, then a 16-car race. Points go 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1, plus one for the fastest lap if you finish in the top ten. There are drivers' and constructors' tables.

Tips and strategy

  • The tow works when a car is within 55 m ahead of you and less than 4.5 m to one side. Right on his gearbox it takes up to a third of your drag away. The same air costs you downforce, so pass on the straight, not in the corner behind him.
  • In a race, DRS opens only from lap 2, within a second of the car ahead, and on a straight. Watch for the DRS light before you press Space.
  • League qualifying is one lap, and an invalid lap counts as no time, which puts you at the back. A tidy lap beats a fast one off the road.
  • Grass keeps 55% of your grip and gravel 42%, and gravel drags hard too. Cutting the infield costs time.
  • The pit limiter cuts power above 80 km/h, and speeding in a race costs five seconds. Stop in the yellow box. If you drive past it, the stop becomes a drive-through.
  • P warns the crew and 1 to 5 pick soft, medium, hard, inter or wet. Tyres take about 2.3 seconds plus the jacks. A front wing takes 5 seconds and a rear wing 7.
  • A medium lasts about six laps of Monza. Soft has more grip and a shorter life, and hard the opposite. On standing water, slicks aquaplane first.
  • R puts you back on track but does not mend the car. Only a pit stop does.

What's in it

There are 33 circuits: the 24 on the 2026 calendar in race order, plus nine former venues, among them Imola, Mugello, Sepang and Hockenheim. Suzuka keeps its real crossover bridge. Twelve invented teams run two cars each, and each team has its own pace, so the same teams are quick every week. You drive number 7 for APEX, with a team mate who races you like anyone else. There are five tyre compounds and four kinds of weather: dry, changeable (dry, then a shower, then clearing), light rain and heavy rain. Damage is physical: wings and endplates break off, tyres go flat and then down to the rim, and a hard enough hit takes a wheel off. There are four cameras: chase, cockpit, T-cam and trackside.

Questions

Does it save my times and my season?

Yes, in this browser. Time Attack keeps your five best laps for each circuit and races you against your best lap as a ghost. A League season is saved after every session, so closing the tab loses nothing.

Is the gearbox automatic?

No. It is an eight-speed manual: E or Shift to change up, Q or Ctrl to change down, and C for the clutch.

Can I play with a controller or on a phone?

There is no controller support. On a phone or tablet the site adds an on-screen pad with steering arrows, GEAR+ and GEAR- buttons and a pause button. A keyboard is still the most precise way to drive.

Why are lap times slower than real poles?

The handling is tuned for feel, not for real grip figures. Every rival has the same car, so the racing is still fair.

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