Some links in this article are affiliate links and I may receive a small commission from purchases made of them at no extra cost to the reader.

F1 23 is a generally well received new addition to the official F1 game series, and I’ve covered on this blog how the handling in general has been massively improved from F1 22. But one way that sim racing gamers can take their experience and ability to the next level is to play with a steering wheel. But at the same time, some players are comfortable using a controller, and want to stick with that (wheels can be very expensive as well).

So what’s the deal with F1 23? Do you have to use a wheel to play it? Or can you still use a pad? Is it better to play the game with a wheel? That’s what we’re going to cover in this post.

A steering wheel is not necessary to play F1 23, since a controller is also supported on all platforms including PC. However, using a wheel can allow more precise steering and throttle inputs, and potentially deliver better lap times with practice.

Is A Steering Wheel Required To Play F1 23 On PC?

For console versions of the F1 games, it’s pretty obvious that controllers can be used, but we’ll just clarify a bit more for the PC, since it’s reasonable to assume many PC players are wheel users. But can you still use a controller even on the PC version if you want to?

It is possible to play F1 23 on PC using a controller; a wheel is not required. Although many PC players do use a wheel to play the F1 games, it’s not essential and pad users can also play on PC.

For PC players that still do want to use a pad, there are a couple of options:

• Xbox Controllers – All Xbox controllers can be made to work with Windows PCs, although not all of them are “plug and play” setup and some extra configuration and setup might be needed.
• PC Controllers – There are also specialised PC controllers you can buy, that should also work fine with all the F1 games as any other input device would. Just set them up as per the instructions, and you should be able to use them fine. See here for a good selection of popular PC controllers.

Bottom line – You don’t need to use a steering wheel to play F1 23 or any other game in the series. In fact, I’ve been using a pad for years and never switched to a wheel. But there are some potential benefits to using a wheel which we’ll turn to now.

The Benefits Of Using A Steering Wheel

Whilst a wheel is not necessary to play on F1 23, in many ways learning to use one can give you an advantage over the long run if you’re prepared to put some practice in and get used to it. Players that switch to using a wheel and put some determined practice in to master it, are usually faster than they were before, using a controller.

Traction/Braking – Most wheels generally come with pedals for throttle/braking, which generally have much more nuanced input than a trigger on a controller. This allows you to control your throttle much more gently and progressively, as well as braking. Great for learning to turn Traction Control (TC) and (Anti-lock Braking) ABS assists off.

Steering – Same with the steering input – a wheel allows much more nuance and precision with your inputs, plus endless calibration settings to get the right level of responsiveness for you.

Gears – Racing wheels always have levers/paddles to easily and quickly shift gears up/down, usually tucked right behind the wheel itself. This is a much better way to change gears than mashing buttons on a pad, and makes it a lot easier to turn automatic gears off and switch to manual gears (which, when mastered, arguably delivers the biggest boost in lap time).

Assists – If you’re going to turn off all assists like traction control, ABS and Auto gears, it’s best to do this on a wheel, where you’ve got more nuanced control of the throttle, braking and paddle shifting than on a controller, which is a lot more “fiddly” and awkward to use with no assists (though some players still do).

Car Setup – Links to the point about having more precise steering inputs. Using a wheel does allow you to run more aggressive setups than pad users, especially for qualifying. I’ve banged on and on on this blog about how I can’t actually use wheel setups where the rear wing is set lower than the front wing on my controller, and instead have to invert this and place the rear wing higher than the front wing for better stability. But wheel users have the luxury of being more aggressive because of the more nuanced handling inputs.

Immersion – Overall, once you get used to using a wheel to the point where you can turn off most or all assists, it is going to provide you with a more immersive racing experience versus using a controller. With the Force Feedback coming through the wheel, the precise tuning and calibration that’s possible, plus the use of the wheel simulating actually driving a real car somewhat, it’s just a more involved experience, which probably makes it more fun.

Bottom line – For sure, learning to use a wheel is probably harder at first as you get used to the inputs, and you’ll probably be slower than using a controller in the initial stages. But put a few weeks or months of practice in, and you’ll probably be faster than you were before, and possibly be able to turn assists off for even better pace and immersion.

Some Good Steering Wheels To Use With F1 23 (All Platforms)

I’ll preface this section by saying I’m not an expert on this as I’ve always stuck to a controller and never switched to a wheel.

But I’ll list here some very well known and generally well reviewed racing wheels interested readers can take a look at if they’re thinking about switching to using one (links to Amazon).

Entry Level Models ($/€/£ 80-100):

• Xbox One/X/S – Thrustmaster Ferrari 458 Racing Wheel
• PS4/PS5/PC – Thrustmaster T80 Ferrari Racing Wheel

Mid Level Models ($/€/£ 150-200):

• Xbox One/X/S/PC – Logitech G920 Racing Wheel
• PS4/PS5/PC – Thrustmaster T150 RS Racing Wheel

Higher End Models ($/€/£ 300+):

• Xbox One/X/S/PC – Thrustmaster T248X Wheel
• PS4/PS5/PC – Thrustmaster T300 RS-Wheel

See here for a superb guide on all the different racing wheels you can use with F1 23, with a detailed breakdown for each model.

Is Controller Handling Good On F1 23?

Despite all the benefits of using a wheel that we’ve covered above, I can tell you from my own experience that F1 23 is still very playable on a controller and you’re definitely not going to get left behind using one.

You can still race very consistently and competitively using a controller, though you may have to tweak car setups from those of wheel users and configure the right controller calibration settings to find your own “sweet spot” with the pad handling. In fact some skilled controller users can still race on the same level or faster than even experienced wheel users. I don’t know how they do it, but they somehow do.

Also, there is a kind of steering assist built into the pad handling anyway, whereby the turning input is somewhat controlled and limited, since the joystick on a pad doesn’t have the same range and precision as a wheel and therefore needs boosting a bit versus a wheel.

Also, I’ve noticed traction is very easy even on a controller on F1 23, even on medium Traction control. Getting the right calibration settings helps with this, but as long as you’ve got a good setup with an optimal level of turn in (not too little but not too much either), getting back on the traction out of corners is really easy on a pad on F1 23; the easiest it’s been for some years.

Therefore, you can definitely compete and have fun using a controller on F1 23, and don’t feel that you must get a racing wheel to be fast. It can help for sure, but it’s not essential.

Get links to check the current pricing of F1 23 in our Games Section