F-1 Grand Prix (Arcade)

F-1 Grand Prix was probably the first officially licensed Formula One video game of any kind, thanks to Bernie Ecclestone noticing the success of MicroProse's Formula One Grand Prix (aka World Circuit, which was not an FIA/FOCA licensed product) which convinced him to start selling official Formula One video game licenses.

Cut-Off Song#

Only 55 seconds (out of 1:20) of the attract mode song ("Truth" by T-Square, the opening theme to Formula One broadcasts in Japan at the time) is heard, as the game cuts off the music when the high scores are displayed.

Revisional Differences#

To do: Document the other tracks. At this point, these might be as well be a full map rip.

As of version 0.227, MAME supports two versions of the game, labelled Set 1 (f1gp) and Set 2 (f1gpa; prior to 0.227, set 2 was the parent set). Per MAME labeling rules, Set 1 is assumed to be the latest revision (most likely the Mc O'River published version for the American market), given the changes to advertisements in some tracks, mostly to remove alcohol references. (A third set, named f1gpb - formerly the ROM name used by Playmark-produced bootleg - was added in version 0.254, which reportedly does not support arcade sticks/buttons, only steering wheels.)

Phoenix (United States Grand Prix)#

Home Straight-Turn 1

Set 2 (Early)	Set 1 (Later)

Turn 2-3

Set 2 (Early)	Set 1 (Later)

In Set 2, there are advertisements for Player's, a Canadian cigarette brand (the only one in-game, to boot, as the other brands are censored) and Michelin (which was not in Formula One at the time until 2002) on the left-hand side of the track's first three turns, as well on turns 9 and 10. Both were replaced with another Iceberg and Agip logos. On the right side, Magneti Marelli and Fiat logos were replaced with Goodyear and Ford, possibly due to location relevance (Fiat had left the United States car market in 1983).

Turn 5-6 (Hairpin)

Set 2 (Early)	Set 1 (Later)

In addition to what has been mentioned so far, the red Elf logo in the hairpin (turns 5-6) was replaced with Goodyear, while Braun replaces Agip. A Longines ad above the small Honda logo is replaced with Goodyear.

Turn 9-10

Set 2 (Early)	Set 1 (Later)

The Player's and Michelin ads are also replaced in turns 9-10, so does Magneti Marelli with Goodyear here.

Turn 15-Home Straight

Set 2 (Early)	Set 1 (Later)

On the start/finish straight after the final turn, the Braun ad on the left was replaced with Agip, while Longines and Champion on the right were replaced with Goodyear and Agip respectively.

Montreal (Canadian Grand Prix)#

Turn 17-Home Straight

Set 2 (Early)	Set 1 (Later)

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve has lots of alcohol ads (Fosters, Molson, and Campari) on the frontstretch in set 2, which were replaced by Longines, Goodyear, and Opel (which also replaces Iceberg on the tent before the pit)... which is ironic as the Opel brand is not sold in Canada. Additionally, the Mobil 1 logos are replaced with Magneti Marelli ones.

Turn 8-9 (Pont de la Concorde)

Set 2 (Early)	Set 1 (Later)

At the Pont de la Concorde section, in addition to what have been mentioned, the Player's cigarette ad is replaced with another Pirelli logo.

Silverstone (British Grand Prix)#

Becketts

Set 2 (Early)	Set 1 (Later)

The Foster's banner were replaced with Iceberg, while the red Pirelli and Magneti Marelli logos are all replaced with Opel, again a marque not sold in the United Kingdom (Vauxhall is used insetad).

Hangar Straight-Stowe

Set 2 (Early)	Set 1 (Later)

Magneti Marelli is replaced with Opel while Foster's is replaced with Goodyear in the grandstands... but the most notable one would the Foster's ads on the Hangar Straight, which is blanked out (with some wear effect) in Set 1.

Monza (Italian Grand Prix)#

Home Straight

Set 2 (Early)	Set 1 (Later)

Loto (France's national lottery, which was a sponsor of Ligier around this time) and Foster's were replaced with Longines and Agip, while the small "MC" (Million Card, a Japanese credit card brand) sponsor was blanked out. The yellow Iceberg tent was also replaced with Agip.

Variante de Rettifilo

Set 2 (Early)	Set 1 (Later)

At Rettifilo, Campari and Epson were replaced with Longines, Ford is replaced with Fiat (the opposite of the Phoenix change) and Budweiser(!) and Shell Oils were replaced with Pirelli and Coca-Cola respectively.

Adelaide (Australian Grand Prix)#

Turn 10-Brabham Straight

Set 2 (Early)	Set 1 (Later)

On the Brabham Straight, Foster's and Iceberg were replaced with Longines; notably, the Longines ads that replaced Iceberg are off-center. The Australia logo is also replaced with Philips Car Stereo, while the MC logos are blanked out again. The Coca-Cola and Mobil 1 ads are also replaced with Goodyear, while the Opel tent (again, a marque not sold in Australia) is rebranded to Agip.

Mistral Hairpin-Home Straight

Set 2 (Early)	Set 1 (Later)

The same changes also appear in the Mistral Hairpin (last turn), with Magneti Marelli replaced with Goodyear again.

Other Changes#

Set 2 (Early)	Set 1 (Later)

The order of the tracks were shuffled around in Set 1. This removes a sly reference to Tail to Nose (Video System's earlier, unlicensed F1 title) on the bottom row.

Set 2 (Early)	Set 1 (Later)

Set 2 (Early)	Set 1 (Later)

In Set 1's continue screen and multiplayer menu, the (obscured by the countdown/prompt) Foster's ad is removed, replaced with a plain concrete. The Foster's ad in the race results screen is also replaced with another Agip logo.

Oddities#

Imola Pit Lane#

Imola's (San Marino Grand Prix) pit lane, despite not being usable by the player, is placed on the left-hand side on the track, despite being placed on the right-hand side on the real track. This was fixed in the season update, which also changes the color of the track's grasses to be less of autumn colors (since it was held early in the season).

References#