F1 2012 Career/Quick Race AI pace

[TMDoll]

On Quick Race I set the AI to Legend and can keep up no problem. With a Mclaren it's basically too easy and in most Q sessions I can get Pole with primes. WIth a slower car such as a Sauber or Force India I'm always competitive and in the top 10 at least. SO in a way it's too easy.

On Career it's a different story. I'm Force India season 1 and it's hard to get better than 17th- 15th in Q2 in Melbourne, Malaysia and China. I've removed all assists, and spent so long on setups that it's driving me mad, I use a wheel, I don't think I can be any faster. The races are a bit better but as many know, but sometimes the pace in the last stint is ridiculous, even if I save fuel and run options in that last stint.

How far have people gone in Career?
Is it like a beginner thing, like it's setup to be super hard early on?
Does it get easier as you progress through the seasons?
Can somebody who has reached a Mclaren on Career compare it to Quick Race and let me know what the difference is?

I've never gone further than Canada season 2, where I was still racing PRofessional at that stage, so I'm yet to try a faster car properly on Legend. I want to know if it's worth grinding through that first season or should I just finally give up on career mode?

 

[Reanimocio]

In Career (especially Melbourne) your car doesn't have all the updates while the AI has them. Lazy CM, the AI is not better, your car is just worse. I think it's the same with the AI's very fast pace compared to the player's in the last stint.

I have a little theory of mine about the last stint in career. I think under some (unknown to me) circumstances in the last stint your car stops losing fuel while the AI continues to do so, hence in the last 1-2-3 laps sometimes they are something like 2s+ faster. During the last lap go to race director and have a look at your last 6-10 laps, they are basically the same. Now take a look at the AI - they continue to improve their pace until the very last lap and unless you (and me) are completely destroying the tyres (which I don't believe is the case) the only other explanation is fuel.

Then you can try 50% or 100% race in Quick Race mode and check the times in your last sting and compare your pace to the AI. It's identical to the previous stints in terms of pace compared to the AI, so my guess is CM decided to limit your fuel loss in career or it's just a bug. Either way, great job, CM.