I think there will always be issues with Codemaster F1 games on the matter of difficulty and drivability of cars since the game is trying to approach two different segments of the market: those that want a full simulation and those that instead search a driving game, yes, but mostly arcade in its complexity. So inevitably when the devs will try to incorporate more realistic physics and handling models the group that likes less complexity will complain and viceversa.
If we lived in a world where devs had all the time and money at their disposal then I assume it would be possible for Codemasters to achieve a perfect balance by tying also driving model and physics to difficulty levels (along driving assists), but given that this is not the case there will always be things the two sides will complain about and push the devs to be changed.
I myself am more on the simulation side so I know I'm biased on the matter, but, apart from the problems of the AI for what it concerns speed out of corner exit (that I've explained in other threads where IMO the only issue resides) I find the handling and physics much more realistic this year and the only real complaint I have about it is the Force Feedback that really needs an upgrade at this point. If CM could bring the FFB on par to other driving sims I would do summersaults of joy, but even here I know that if they did so there would much probably be some people in the "arcade" group that will find such level of detail distracting.
All this rambling just to say that what CM is doing is problematic to balance and apart from bugs and technical issues I believe that concerning the driving model and/or difficulty there will always be a segment of the user base that will not be happy about certain changes. That's sadly a drawback of having a title trying to accomodate the most amount of users, especially when inside such a user base there are very different views of what constitutes a good product.
