The AI is completely @#$%&! Petrov won the first race, possibly due to the "pitstop" bug but I don't know because the replay system is atrocious.
I started 24th in Melbourne, ended up 21st after passing the two Virgins and Senna. I was at about lap 9 when I noticed that my tyres were going off so I decided to stop early.
I should mention that I wasn't holding the latter three up, I was consistently about 3 secs ahead and my laps were always within a second each lap. I pitted on lap 9, Glock chose to do the same thing.
I beat Glock out the pits and ended up 23rd. Stayed there for a while until the pack started lapping me. Suddenly Senna and Di Grassi had managed to catch everyone up and put a lap on me. When they finally made their stops they ended up about 50 secs up the road despite the fact that my lap times were never more than a second off theirs and often, I was quicker.
So I finished 23rd, ahead of Glock, behind Senna and Di Grassi who I had been faster than the whole race? Right...
Obvs without all the data that GP4 spoiled us with, this is something which is difficult to prove. But fix it Codemasters, please.
Other issues I have is that it's WAY too easy to drive in the wet, in absolute wettest conditions you can put the wets on but go out and absolutely cane it, there's no lack of grip whatsoever. The damage model is far too forgiving, although given the erratic AI which seems to crash into me at the slightest provocation this might be a blessing. Can you even lose a rear wing??
Ignoring these big issues the game is very enjoyable to play, without a doubt the best thing since GP4. It just needs tweaking A LOT in future releases to make it a bit more believable, because at the minute it's a bit unfinished.