F1 2016 was my first Formula 1 game and the career mode was entertaining at first but seeing the same drivers in the same cars gets boring after the first 2 seasons. I don't know the overall plans for F1 2017 career mode is but I think there is a lot of room to improve and learn from other games.
Using Money or a Progress bar instead of resource points.
The first small thing I think would help the overall immersion in the game would be scrapping resource points and replacing them with a monetary value of the users choice or just a simple old progress bar towards researching. Just having this simple change can help immerse the player by just giving them something they understand which is money.
Implementing Salaries.
Another small change I'd recommend is to change is by implementing salaries. Once again this gives the users something to relate too but could also stem out into something more like allowing the driver to customize his helmet again or buy a different manager to help them land either better paying contracts or better rides.
New Tracks and Alternative layouts.
My next change is something I believe they are implementing in F1 2017 which is changes to the track layouts on the calendar. If I remember correctly they brought up different track layouts for F1 2017 which they haven't linked to career mode yet, but it would be an easy loophole to add variety to the calendar. I do believe that changing up the calendar every season in a career mode will benefit the overall career mode either by changing the order you go to the track or by changing a few layouts, but ultimately everyone wants new or old tracks on the calendar.
Team budget replaces preset performance caps.
My next change id recommend is a team budget which you can help improve by having clean races, finishing well, and impressing sponsors ,or decrease by crashing out, and finishing bad. This could ultimately reshape the way the current car performance is shaped by eliminating a predetermined performance capped for a team for the whole career this change could have the starting performance for each team at the start of each year increase or decrease in performance year to year and have a career mode that could keep someone wrapped up in career mode for many seasons trying to keep their team improving. I mean imagine having Mercedes and Red Bull become the two worst teams on the grid, but have Force India, Haas, and Ferrari have a equal fight for the constructors after a few years in career mode.
Driver Ratings and Transfers
My next suggestion is driver ratings and transfers I understand that their is some technicalities to doing this but it could make career mode change drastically by having the possibility of you racing with Kimi raikonnen at haas or racing with Fernando Alonso back at Renault. But tied in with my last suggested change you could have teams relive the past wit Fernando Alonso in a Renault Hamilton in a Mclaren and Vettel in a Red Bull fighting for a world championship. And rating the drivers could help you suggest driver transfers to your team and help your team improve.
Sponsor and Livery changes
My next suggestion would be implementing a sponsor/ livery change, so first off the sponsor change is almost a definite no but the livery change could be something that could be left up to the player or the developers having a few livery's per team.
F2 and F3
My next big change is introducing F2 and F3 to the game for a sense of progression in the game by working your way up the ladder and making it to F1. F1 is the top of open wheel racing but just getting a seat in the top flight of Motorsport doesn't seem all that realistic but adding F2 and F3 could add to the immersion and overall playability to the game once again.
Driver injuries (Hear me out)
My last change I'm suggesting is a bit morbid but hear me out theirs always the possibility a driver could get injured on track and needs a replacement driver for the start of a season like pascal wehrlein did. Adding rare injuries to your own driver and other drivers based on track accidents could open up an extreme set of circumstances that could make or break new drivers, ruin championship runs, or make an incredible world championship win.
Take a moment to imagine how fun a career mode with all these aspects would be. You could have a scenario where the 2019 F2 champion Sirgey Sirotkin comes into a struggling Mercedes next to Romain Grosjean to cover for the injured Valteri Bottas to race at Magny-Cours and the Silverstone bridge Grand Prix circuit which could give Sirgey an opportunity to sign for Williams next to Lewis Hamilton for the next season while you are trying to get a manager who can get you a job at Ferrari for the next season because your rating is decent but your Redbull equipment sucks. Imagine all of that in a career mode it would make anyone who likes racing games want to play it because that game would have all the different aspects of a racing game we've always wanted.
All of these changes are not entirely original and I know that's a lot of words but if you got this far thank you for reading my suggestions to this game if anyone has any questions about what I suggested hit me up on twitter @kg48fan