MicroProse Formula One Grand Prix - Game Guide
- Chris SIRA
- Aug 7
- 3 min read
MicroProse Formula One Grand Prix was Geoff Crammonds seminal 3D F1 simulation for the Amiga and Atari ST in 1991, and PC in 1992. The title unofficially represented the 1991 Formula One season and has a traceable lineage to Crammonds previous titles Revs (1985) and Stunt Car Racer (1989). More about Revs in a minute.
MicroProse Formula One Grand Prix employed 3D graphics at 25fps, something exceptional at the time and long before dedicated GPU's arrived. Papyrus' Indy 500 actually pipped GP1 to the post by 3 years as the first proper 3D polygonal racing sim, but in GP1's favour Indy 500 included just the 1 track whereas GP1 included 16.
Back to Revs briefly - that title is regarded by myself at SIRA as the first 'proper' Sim Racing title, featuring basic AI opponents, psuedo 3D graphics and five actual UK racetracks. It certainly paved the way for GP1 and I'm proud to still own an original boxed BBC-B copy with 5¼ Floppy Disk. GPLaps did a superb look at this title which I'll link at the bottom of this article, as Revs will have its own dedicated page on SIRA shortly.
Release Date
November 1991 (Amiga, Atari ST)
January 1992 (PC DOS)
Platform(s)
PC (DOS), Amiga, Atari ST
VR
No
Engine
In-house proprietary for both Graphics and Physics
Developer / Publisher
MicroProse
Screenshots (courtesy of MobyGames)
Tracks
The tracks themselves were surprisingly accurate - RaceSimCentral shared a brilliant side-by-side of a historic Monza onboard with GP1 shown below, aside from a lower density of trees the results from this early title are just incredible.
List of Tracks in MicroProse Formula One Grand Prix
Phoenix Street Circuit (United States)
Imola (San Marino)
Montreal (Canada)
Magny-Cours (France)
Hockenheimring (Germany)
Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium)
Estoril (Portugal)
Suzuka (Japan)
Interlagos (Brazil)
Monaco (Monaco)
Mexico City (Mexico)
Silverstone (Great Britain)
Hungaroring (Hungary)
Monza (Italy)
Catalunya (Spain)
Adelaide (Australia)
F1 Licensing
While the team liveries and helmets were actually accurate to that Formula One season, GP1 neatly sidestepped any FIA or F1 licensing by allowing editing of the default, fictional driver names - foreshadowing the current Sim Racing landscape with myriad third-party mods and liveries to provide F1 seasonal accuracy.
Driving Experience
As it wouldn't be until 1994 when Thrustmasters Formula T1 Steering Wheel would appear on the market, GP1 - at release - could not be played with a Wheel.
For PC users a keyboard was the (and my) weapon of choice for GP1. Back in the early 90's, Joysticks for PC were actually a rarety. Flighsticks for Flight Sims were the most common but still prohibitively expensive and proved unwieldy for something that requires nuanced accuracy like an F1 title. Gamepads were even rarer for PC. The incredible part of GP1 is that using a keyboard with Driving Aids disabled did genuinely result in faster lap times - such a great part of the games design, providing a well balanced learning curve.
For Amiga and ST users, Joysticks were readily available and provided a wider range of input options.
Pit Stops are simulated in the title, as too is Wet Weather - again real milestones for a Sim Racing title.
Driving Aids
SIRA always remembers how simply driving aids were implemented in the title - easily at reach using the PC's F-Key row, as shown below. I wish this approach was more commonplace in modern Sims!
F1-Auto gears
F2-Auto brakes
F3-Self-correcting spin
F4-Indestructable
F5-Ideal line
F6-Suggested gear
Fun Facts
Formula One Grand Prix was released as 'World Circuit' in the US
The introduction movie is based on that of Japan's Fuji Television F1 title sequence
The music is based on the guitar solo in Fleetwood Mac's The Chain. This was used by the BBC for the British F1 TV coverage at the time (via MobyGames)
To summarise, SIRA considers MicroProse Formula One Grand Prixto be one of the most seminal Sim Racing titles of all time - alongside the likes of the aforementioned Revs, Indy 500, Grand Prix Legends and Assetto Corsa.
So much of the incredible work in the title has helped form what we take for granted today, I have extremely fond memories of playing it in period - even if your fingers hurt after!
It is also very exciting to see the forthcoming revival of the title in the form of 'GCR1 Geoff Crammond' with GCR2, GCR3 and GCR4 titles from MicroProse all planned too.
Can't wait!
Chris SIRA
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