F-1 Spirit is the first portable version of Konami's classic MSX top-down racer. It features three classes of open-wheel cars (which dub as difficulty levels), three game modes (practice, single race and championship) and 25 different tracks all around the world, with some of them only playable on the according championship, from the Japanese Formula 3 to the World F1 Grand Prix. On each class, tracks become longer (forcing pit stops), cars faster, and turns change from simple, low angle corners which require no more than a slight trajectory to elbow corners which require some skill to turn without losing speed.

Controls are simple, with the directional button steering the car and the B button used to throttle the car and A to change between high and low gear.