In order to do this, you need:
Text editor e.g Notepad, Notepad++
A file explorer
Windows (preferably W10/11 22H2 and above)


Before reading on, make sure your system meets the minimum specifications listed on the Steam store page. If your device does not meet these requirements, I suggest briefly trying the game starting from Ultra Low settings and work up to playable settings. If you cannot reach enjoyable settings, I suggest requesting a refund from Steam, playing on bad-looking settings or upgrading your system.

Open file explorer
Go to Home/Quick Access, then Documents
Then go to My Games\F1 25\hardwaresettings
open "hardware_settings_config.xml" with a text editor
Press CTRL+F (or go to Edit>Find) and type "rt_pathtrace"
Set rt_pathtrace and rt_ray_reconstruction enabled to "false"
Go to File\Save or press CTRL+S
Start game and check graphics settings, as this game bug can also reset your graphics preferences

Open Documents - My Games - F1 25 - hardwaresettings
Delete "hardware_settings_config.xml"
Restart the game and set up your graphics settings again.

If you have an NVIDIA GPU, roll back your drivers to a stable version. Last time I checked, 566.36[www.nvidia.com] is the last stable version across all Codies F1 Games.
Other stable versions for F1 23 and above are 572.83 and 576.28.

Do a clean installation of drivers to avoid conflicts.
If you have an AMD GPU, ensure your drivers are fully updated or try a clean reinstall if recent updates caused instability. I don't have one so I can't test a version.

Disable overlays from other softwares

Discord: User Settings > Game Overlay > Toggle off.
Steam: Settings > In-Game > Disable Overlay.
NVIDIA GeForce Experience: Settings > General > Disable In-Game Overlay.

If your GPU is overclocked (factory or manual), revert it to stock clocks.
For NVIDIA, enable Debug mode in the NVIDIA Control Panel under Help > Debug.
For AMD, reduce the GPU max frequency slightly via Adrenalin Software’s tuning settings.
For MSI Afterburner, look for the Reset button, usually in the bottom right on most themes.

Make a DxDiag report (this will work regardless of GPU manufacturer) Press the Windows key and enter 'dxdiag' in the search box.
Select the dxdiag app.
When DirectX Diagnostic Tool opens, select the Run 64-bit DxDiag button.
If that button doesn’t appear, move to step 6.
While the program is gathering information, a green progress bar will appear at the bottom left of the DirectX Diagnostic Tool window.
When the progress bar disappears, it means your report is ready.
Look in the Display tab for any notes that give you troubleshooting info and follow them


If all else fails, Create or modify the TdrLevel DWORD value in Windows Registry:
If on Windows, press Win+R and type "regedit"
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers.
Create a new DWORD (32-bit) called TdrLevel and set its value to 0.
Restart your PC.

Also report any persistent issues in the Discussions tab or at https://forums.ea.com/category/f1-25-en/ideas/f1-25-bug-reports-en

If you still find game crashes after this, seek help elsewhere, like Reddit, EA forums and other threads on Steam.
If you've spotted any mistakes or want to add something here, please comment so I can add it.