Why is suspension geometry so META?

There was a similar discussion here that should interest you. I'll copy and paste my main points there, but basically the physics are simplified and exploitable.

 I took OP as feeling frustrated by the "meta" scene still being all about those extreme LLRR or RRLL whatever setups.

What I was teasing at is pretty much what you covered. Setups work, adjustments to suspension geometry (and other parameters) have an impact on how the car handles.

The meta will hardly change though. In the sense that we will continue to see these extreme values in esports and youtube setups all around. That's due to the fact that the game physics are still very exploitable.

We've made strides in the right direction, with a more realistic tyre model, improvements to the aerodynamic systems, collisions and hitboxes, etc. But the simulation is still fragile and people can get away with setups that live on a knife-edge in a handling model that still accommodates wheel and controller users with relatively little separation between them. Plug a pad on your PC and launch iRacing, set a funky camber value and no toe in in a high powered RWD car and try to put a competitive lap time around the track.

F1 is a simcade. There's no demerit in it, actually. It is trying to reproduce the feeling we fans get from watching those cars going round and round apparent (but deceiving!) ease. Those cars look planted and mighty on the telly, so the game wants the majority of its player base too feel capable and mighty as Max and Lewis.

It's like on FIFA, how you need to go out of your way to fumble a cross. Press the button, fill the bar moderately and the ball will simply fly towards the target with considerable precision. We see players hitting those crosses left and right on the Premier League, so that's what the game is aiming for. Nevermind if you cannot even hit the box on a corner come Sunday match with your friends; the game will cater to a simplified simulation of physics, turning the whole kicking technique in black magic at a press of a button, so that anyone can hit a "simple" cross just like Salah or De Bruyne.

In summation, extreme setups (that the game doesn't even allow to be that extreme) will always be relatively accessible. However, most people will be missing out on the blessings of having a more balanced or thoughtful setups, and how it can help them put the power down when fumbling their way out of La Source, because the "meta" makes it look like anything but LLRR or RRLL just makes for a backmarker performance.