F1 22 VR setup and settings guide

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In this F1 22 VR setup guide, I aim to help you get the smoothest experience using the best settings, plus all supported headsets and other useful details.

With F1 22 VR officially supported, I thought it was time to blow the cobwebs off my trusty HP Reverb G2 Gen 1 to see if it is worth using. The answer is, based on two limited previews and a full copy, yes.

Racing games benefit from the extra immersion and it appears Codemasters has done a solid job of implementing VR in F1 2022. The sensation of speed, level of detail and handling all go well with that added depth perception and immersion.

Getting a smooth experience is not necessarily easy though. So I thought I would make a guide to the setup process and, having spoken to Codemasters, enlighten you on some of the preferred settings.

Many of my general tips will work for other VR games so stick around until the end, whether you are new to the process or having some issues. Timestamps in the description.

Bear in mind that what you see on screen is running at 60 frames per second because of YouTube limitations hence it being less smooth than what I see in the headset. You are also only seeing one eye, which means no depth perception.

For the best possible results, try to try out each F1 22 VR recommendation on its own and use a piece of software to keep tabs on the average frame-rate. The placebo effect can be strong.

Please note: This guide is currently being made into a video. Subscribe to A Tribe Called Cars to see when it is published.

F1 22 VR setup: What platforms are supported?

Currently F1 2022 VR is PC only. This may change in the future with PSVR2, for example, but for now it is not an option.

What about supported VR headsets?

Official Codemasters documentation says F1 2022 supports the Valve Index, Oculus (Meta) Quest 2 + Link Cable, Oculus Rift S, HTC Vive and HTC Vive Cosmos. All footage is from the HP Reverb G2 1st generation headset and I have seen the second-generation Reverb G2 works too.

What kind of PC do I need for VR?

For PC VR headsets such as the Valve Index, HP Reverb G2 and HTC Vive Pro 2, your PC does all the work. That means, depending on the resolution of the headset outputted to each eye, you will need a GPU, CPU, storage drive and memory up to the job.

There are many PC configurations and headsets available so take a look at the F1 22 minimum PC specs and start from there. The GPU is typically most important for VR, but a decent setup across the board will make a big difference.

Thankfully, PC components are cheaper than they used to be. I have seen graphics cards at, shock horror, the recommended retail price. So maybe now is the time to upgrade unless you want to wait for the next big thing (which will inevitably sell out in seconds).

Using the Oculus (Meta) Link Cable and third-party alternatives turns the Oculus Quest 2 and Rift S into PC VR headsets. Meaning they then rely on the hardware of your PC, as required by F1 22, and not the internal processing power of the headset.

The main aim for VR gaming is to get a stable frame-rate that matches your headset refresh rate. So for the HP Reverb G2 that is 90 frames per second. Older headsets can go as low as 60Hz, but 72Hz is a thing too and you can go beyond 90. The higher the refresh rate, the harder it is for a PC to run but the smoother it will be.

Why does frame-rate matter? Because studies show that motion sickness and nausea kick in at lower numbers. Somewhere below 90 frames, according to some sources, but obviously it varies from person to person.

Not only that, performance stutters and general inconsistency can impact enjoyment and immersion, not to mention affect your driving.

Installing the VR software

First up, we need the relevant software to run F1 2022 in VR. In the case of the HP Reverb G2 and other Windows Mixed Reality-based headsets, we need the Mixed Reality Portal software. All links in the description.

Run the software and connect your headset when told to. I would install software to the fastest storage device you have to maximise performance. Preferably an NVMe drive if you have one. I have a Samsung Evo 970 M2.

Headsets require a power source and a wire connection via USB. In my case there is a Type-C that plugs into the back of my PC. Type-C to Type-B adapters are a thing if necessary, but reduced data speeds can affect performance.

I am going to assume you already have Epic, Steam or Origin installed to launch F1 22. If not, download and install that too then buy the game.

Plugging in my HP Reverb G2 triggered Steam to download a VR-specific update. Once done, you may need to restart the software and your PC as F1 2022 said it did not recognise my headset until I did.

At this point, you should be able to load up and look around the Mixed Reality Portal world. Windows button + Y lets you jump between VR software control and normal PC operation.

If your VR headset is not showing up or you have other display issues, check you have the latest graphics card drivers and ensure all relevant software is up to date.

Check your USB port is working too. If not, try another. Issues with USB connectivity were a thing for the original HP Reverb G2. Hence why I bought a USB expansion card with a Type-C slot.

The best Windows settings?

Let us do some Windows settings first. These settings should help improve frame-rates in general – not just VR.

First up, in Windows 10 or 11 you may have the Xbox Game Bar. Press the Start button then click the cog for settings. Now select ‘Gaming’ and you will see an option to disable the Xbox Game Bar. I would switch it off. However, you can also use third-party software such as CCleaner to do the job. Or do it using PowerShell and a command.

Next, you can enable or disable the Game Mode built into Windows although this may not make much difference these days. In the search area type Game Mode and then click it when the option appears. Now disable or enable, depending on whether you have noticed any stuttering.

Now type ‘graphics’ into the Windows search bar and select Graphics Settings. Here you will see Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling. Disable it. While you are here, you could also try adding the F1 2022 executable as it could, in theory, help.

If your graphics card is from Nvidia, you can open up the GeForce Experience software by typing ‘GeForce’ and click on the correct result. At the top click ‘drivers’, then check for updates. Install the latest. Or if there is a known issue, consider jumping back to a previous version.

Now click the top right settings cog and select ‘general’ on the left. You can disable the in-game overlay and automatic driver updates, but the main thing here is to untick the ‘enable experimental features’ option. This can have a positive impact on the frame-rate.

On the left click ‘Games & Apps‘ and disable the option that says ‘automatically optimise newly added games and applications’. Again, this may not do much but reducing any background activity is a good thing for overall gaming performance.

For AMD graphics cards, I am less familiar with the process but it should be similar. Forums are a good place to see which drivers are best for a particular game.

Nvidia GPU owners can also open the Nvidia Control Panel by typing ‘Nvidia’ and click the option. Select ‘use the advanced 3D image settings option’. Then click ‘manage 3D settings’ on the left and basically turn everything off except anti-aliasing. Leave this as application-controlled.

You can select CUDA – GPUs as all, Power Management as ‘prefer maximum performance’, OpenGL rendering GPU as auto, Texture Filtering – Quality at ‘quality’, Negative LOD Bias to ‘clamp’ and Virtual Reality pre-rendered frames at ‘application-controlled’.

The default ‘1’ setting can cause stuttering. However increasing it too much will put strain on your CPU so if it is not up to scratch you will see the frame-rate drop. Check if your headset manufacturer has a recommendation for this.

The best SteamVR settings?

Next, we can ensure SteamVR is setup correctly. Load up SteamVR and use the correct controller button to bring up graphics settings. Click on the home button then ‘video settings’. Now ensure ‘manage video settings for’ is set to SteamVR.

Now go back to the main page, then click the Windows Mixed Reality settings for SteamVR on the left. Then go to ‘graphics’. Disable ‘motion vector’ or use motion vector. SteamVR ‘app choice’ and ‘auto’ are usually not so good.

Also set ‘overlay‘ to low and work your way up and ‘resolution‘ at half of your headset’s maximum as this is for each eye. My headset defaulted to the overall resolution per eye – givining my RTX 3080 a huge 8K workout and stutters aplenty. Absolutely check this if you are getting terrible performance with a decent PC specification.

As for the resolution scale, try to match your headset resolution for the most clarity. However, if performance is an issue you can decrease the slider. Your frame-rate should improve at the expense of visual quality.

What about the best F1 22 VR settings?

What about the settings within F1 22? Well, I emailed Codemasters for advice and was told to use TAA as opposed to DLSS, AMD FX etc for the best experience.

In addition, I was advised to use ‘dynamic resolution’, which lowers the resolution to ensure a smooth frame-rate during busier scenes. Such as the starting grid and in rainy conditions.

Selecting ‘aggressive’ for how effectively F1 22 changes the resolution will be best for weaker hardware. However you may want to lower it to ‘balanced’ or ‘lazy’ if you would rather keep detail higher more of the time.

There is also a slider for being precise with how effectively it works, which you may or may not want to experiment with.

Medium or high graphics settings overall seem best with my PC specs at 4K. Start as low as you can and run the benchmark mode then add detail back in. As mentioned before, a stable frame-rate that matches your headset is best.

With the HP Reverb G2 and potentially other headsets, I find too much detail can actually prove more mentally tiring and look less appealing anyway. As headset technologies improve this will become less of an issue.

In terms of what settings you should adjust, shadows was the most frame-rate intensive in F1 21 and that is likely to be the case in F1 22.

Screen space shadows, car and helmet reflections and ambient occlusion are also big-hitters, descending in that order based on performance impact.

One tip that I have seen mentioned as a way of reducing blur is to disable AMD FSR. So that may be worth a try too.

The best Windows Mixed Reality settings?

And lastly for my F1 22 VR setup guide, it can be beneficial to tweak some of the settings within the Windows Mixed Reality software necessary for some VR headsets.

Load it up, then click the three dots at the bottom left followed by ‘settings’. Using the tabs on the left, select ‘headset display‘ then choose either ‘best visual quality’ or ‘optimise for performance’, depending on what you want.

Below that is ‘adjust frame-rate‘. Set this to whatever your VR headset can manage. If in doubt, let Windows decide.

You can also tweak some other settings for how VR starts, which can improve convenience. If you do not always want SteamVR to load up when running Windows Mixed Reality because you have VR games from elsewhere, disable the last tick box.

Just a quick pointer: If you want to see what you are seeing in either the left or right eye, click the play button in the middle lower area of the Windows Mixed Reality app. Or press it again to disable the preview.

Closing thoughts

Now you have a load of things to try that could help make F1 22 run nicely. For me and my gaming PC, I just had to rectify the aforementioned 8K issue.

With lower resolution PC VR headsets or those with a superior graphics card, you may be able to push from medium and high to ultra. Use the benchmark mode after each change and note down the average frame rate. Eventually you should have some glorious F1 VR fun.

Please note that there or was a memory leak with some Fanatec gear. Unfortunately this and other issues not caused by Codemasters may require updates and fixes by whatever third-party is involved. So you may just have to be a bit patient or roll back the drivers.

Some Thrustmaster wheels also have a firmware update available that rectifies performance issues.

I also encountered a weird performance issue that meant F1 22 in VR got progressively more stuttery without any changes. I found the only way to solve this was to restart the game, which is annoying and I hope it gets fixed but there you go.