My favourite racing game is free for PS5 owners – and just in time

After a season when we all knew that Max Verstappen would end on the top step of the podium every Sunday, it's now time for the rest of the pack to please make things more interesting this year. The Bahrain Grand Prix kicked off the season this weekend, and the Red Bulls once again proved too slippery to catch, but at least you can spend your weekends racing around the world-famous circuits on your PlayStation for free. 

That's because included in the line-up of March's PlayStation Plus monthly games is F1 23. The latest instalment in the official F1 videogame series is free if you download it this month. All you need is any level of PlayStation Plus subscription and either a PS5 or a PS4 - you need to pick it up. 

More essential than downforce in Monaco, F123 is my go-to racing game. It features all the cars, drivers and tracks from the most recent season and features the first opportunity for gamers to drive the Las Vegas Grand Prix circuit. 

The best part of the game remains career mode, this lets you either join a specific team, start in F2 and earn a seat or even start and race for your own team. There's a lot of fun to be had designing the look of your car but you'll also have to choose a teammate and push the team to upgrade components between races. As an immersive experience, it's great fun, especially if you play the co-op campaign. I have a regular weekend session with a friend online and it's some of the most fun I've had on PS5.

If you're after a more crafted narrative experience then you should check out the Braking Point story mode which sets you some race-specific scenarios each time. It's a nice change of pace. 

Unsurprisingly, it's not easy driving an F1 car and I won't lie this can be a challenging game but that makes it all the more rewarding when you do succeed. Whether you use a controller or a top racing wheel, there are luckily plenty of assists that can be tweaked to offer a range of hands-on or more passive help. There is no shame in using assists, I once caught a stream of Lando Norris playing and he was using the racing line!