Took a while for me to get used to wheels and pedals for sure, and it wasn't very fun at the beginning, suddenly being so bad.
Racing is quite different from driving a normal car, no matter the equipment. Use of brake especially is something that takes time to learn, especially in these formula cars where you often need to hit hard and the ease of gradually with the brake... which is oppositive to what I would do in my daily driving in real life, unless it's an emergency. If you still have ABS on, it's a lot easier though, as you don't lock you wheels, but still quite different. Those cheaper pedals in Logitech and Thrustmaster sets that measure the braking by distance and not by force, also feel very different from your normal real life brakes.. Takes time to get the muscle memory dialed in.
I would not drop assists suddenly myself, to learn how to drive with each assist can be really hard in itself, so first get used to the wheel and pedals well. Then start taking any remaining assits one by one.
Games like Assetto Corsa Compezione, Asetto Corsa and other similars sims can actually feel a bit easier when using a wheel and pedals in the beginning. If you use something like GT3 car, the slower speed and more familiar feel to normal cars (and longer braking distances) makes it much more natural to drive with a wheel.
After few months with a wheel and pedals, I cannot drive with a controller at all anymore (unless it's a arcade racer like Forza Horizon) and it's weird to think that I once could...
