Late braking
Every corner has a real braking zone, computed from its radius and the car’s grip. Lift a few metres too late and the fronts lock, the tyres smoke and you run wide. Brake at the right board and you dive past.
One-finger F1-style racing for iPhone
Arcade looks.
Real-world physics.
Pocket GP is a low-poly arcade racing game with the racecraft of real Formula 1: late braking, slipstream, crossing lines and grip, on faithful real circuits. Hold to accelerate, lift to brake, drag to change line.
Free · No ads · No sign-up · Monza & Barcelona
Built by F1 nerds
We wanted the real duels in your pocket.
We are Formula 1 fans and proper physics nerds. What we love about a Grand Prix is not the graphics: it is the duel. A driver closing up in the slipstream, the outbraking move at the end of the straight, the counter-attack on the exit, the car that locks a wheel and runs wide.
So we kept the look simple (low-poly, colourful, fast to read on a phone) and put the work where it matters: a real-world physics model with real grip, real drag and real braking distances. The controls are one finger. The skill is pure racecraft.
Slipstream
Tuck in behind a rival on the straight and the drag drops by up to 45% within 50 metres. Watch the tow build up, pull out at the right moment and slingshot past before the braking zone.
Crossing lines
Inside line, ideal line, late apex, outside line. Defend the inside, or counter-attack with a crossover: go wide, cut back under your rival on the exit and pass them on the next straight.
Grip
A friction circle shares the tyres’ grip between braking and cornering, just like on a real car. Ask for both at the limit and something has to give. Kerbs, run-off and the grass all have their own grip.
Wheel-to-wheel
Side by side into a corner, the inside car has the right of way unless the other one is half a car ahead. Leave the space, or take it. Contacts cost real speed: nobody uses a rival as a brake.
Lights out
Five red lights, then go. Put your finger down within 0.35 s of lights out for a perfect launch. Jump the start and you lose it. Races are won and lost at the first corner.
How to play
One finger. Zero compromises.
HoldFinger down: full throttle.
LiftShort lift, light brake. Long lift, full brake.
DragLeft or right: change racing line, kerbs included.
Steering follows the racing line. You decide when to brake, which line to take and when to attack.
Real circuits
Faithful tracks, real corners.
Every circuit is built from the real geometry, so lengths, corner sequences and braking zones match the ones you know from TV. Monza and Barcelona are on the grid today, and all the original circuits are coming, each one faithful to the real layout.
Autodromo Nazionale Monza
Italy · 5.793 km · 7 named corners
Prima Variante · Curva Grande · Roggia · Lesmo 1 · Lesmo 2 · Ascari · Parabolica
Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
Spain · 4.655 km · 10 named corners
Elf · Renault · Repsol · Seat · Turn 6 · Wurth · Campsa · La Caixa · Banc Sabadell · New Holland
Coming next: the whole calendar
Street circuits, high-speed temples and technical classics, all of them faithful to the real track and added with free updates.
Race real people
Your rivals drive like real players.
- Shadows: opponents that reproduce how real players drove each corner, mistakes included.
- Challenges: send a code, your friend races your shadow and tries to beat your time.
- Leaderboards: best lap and best race on every circuit.
- Team liveries: Scuderia, Silver Arrows, Papaya, French Alps, Weeyums and more.
- Real-time races with 2 to 4 friends: in development.
FAQ
Questions, answered.
What is Pocket GP?
Pocket GP is a free racing game for iPhone that mixes low-poly arcade graphics with real-world racing physics. You race open-wheel, Formula-style cars on faithful versions of real circuits such as Monza and Barcelona, using one finger: hold to accelerate, lift to brake, drag sideways to change line.
Is Pocket GP an official Formula 1 game?
No. Pocket GP is an independent game made by Formula 1 fans and is not affiliated with Formula 1, the FIA, any team or any circuit. The liveries use fan nicknames (Scuderia, Silver Arrows, Papaya, Weeyums, French Alps…) rather than official team names, and circuit layouts come from public, open-source track data.
Is Pocket GP free? Does it have ads or in-app purchases?
Pocket GP is free to download, with no ads, no in-app purchases and no sign-up. You can start racing a few seconds after opening the app.
Does Pocket GP have realistic physics if the graphics are arcade?
Yes. The look is low-poly and arcade, but the car runs on a real-world physics model: a friction circle that shares grip between braking and cornering, aerodynamic drag, slipstream, tyre lock-ups under heavy braking and speeds computed from the real corner radius. Braking too late or turning too hard costs time exactly like it does on a real track.
How do you overtake in Pocket GP?
The same way real Formula 1 drivers do. Close up in the slipstream on the straight (up to 45% less drag in the wake of the car ahead), then either dive down the inside under braking or set up a crossover: go wide into the corner, take a late apex and cut back underneath on the exit. In a side-by-side corner the car on the inside has priority unless the other one is at least half a car ahead.
Which circuits are in Pocket GP?
Pocket GP launches with Monza (Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Italy, 5.793 km) and Barcelona (Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain, 4.655 km). Both are built from the real circuit geometry, with the real corners: Prima Variante, Curva Grande, Lesmo, Ascari and Parabolica at Monza; Elf, Repsol, Campsa and La Caixa at Barcelona.
Will Pocket GP add all the real Formula 1 circuits?
Yes. The plan is to add every original circuit of the calendar, each one faithful to the real layout: same length, same corner sequence, same braking zones. New circuits arrive with app updates.
What makes Pocket GP different from other mobile racing games?
Most mobile racers are either pure arcade (nitro, drifting, no braking points) or heavy simulations that need precise steering. Pocket GP keeps the real racecraft of Formula 1 (braking zones, slipstream, racing lines, side-by-side battles and crossovers) and removes the hard part on a phone screen: steering. It is one-finger racing where the physics, not the controls, decides who wins.
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