In my league, we decided to implement realistic settings this season so that things can change. Honestly, in these races, we've found that the mode simply doesn't work properly and makes no sense.
Tire pressure: Typically, in a realistic configuration, higher PSI means longer tire life and greater top speed, plus there is a loss of velocity on prominent curves. In the game, you can set a high PSI on each circuit and still gain more durability from the tire. But without losing out in corners, we tested cars with high PSI and low PSI; in corners, it was always the one with high PSI that won - which is contradictory to reality.
Wings: A higher angle generates more load, and it loses in the straight line; vice versa with a lower angle. But in iGP, you can't do that - you have to set up a high angle almost by force so as to achieve performance. This is where the biggest contradiction arises. In Monza, an aerodynamic low-load circuit actually results from a high-load setup, while in Monaco, a circuit with the highest aerodynamic load actually requires a low-air load setup. It makes no sense.
Gear ratio: The most decent, but its attribute isn't reflected in practice. It has logic and more speed; it consumes more gasoline. But since it doesn't reflect this in racing, less fuel is used, resulting in a short-run of the car.
Camber: In reality, a car with more negative camber should perform better in fast corners but have worse traction when leaving the corners, and vice versa with less negative change. In iGP, you always need a less negative camber to have more driving power; it's illogical.
Suspension: Just like with tire pressure, you need to set it to 100% at all times for better performance, even if there's no logic in the circuit.
Elevation of the single seat: It simply doesn't cause any damage; it will almost always be at 22, which is where it provides more driving power and better performance, regardless of the circuit.
Braking: Another one that must always be at maximum since it's the only way to see real performance, when in reality a single-seater usually doesn't exceed 62% braking forward. Convergence: It's completely useless; it can be set up as is and isn't noticeable.
And here is the biggest problem, the numbers it reflects. If we use logic, if the game says "+40 acceleration", obviously you think you're gaining 40 in acceleration on the car, but then at a track, someone comes with -5 acceleration and has a pace like Verstappen in 2023. What does that mean? I don't know how to translate those numbers; in the end, they're just decorations. Some of them aren't even reflected and cause problems, like fuel consumption - it always shows the same consumption during practice sessions. But if it comes back negative, the car consumes more power and you run short, without knowing the actual vehicle consumption.
We think the mode is an interesting proposal, but it's extremely poorly implemented. To be a payment option, there's still a lot of work to do, and we wouldn't pay again if it wasn't fixed. There's mainly no guide on how practice numbers are used or interpreted. Moreover, the settings aren't realistic at all; rather, they need to be configured in almost the same way across each circuit so as to be competitive. Because if you're looking for something realistic, you might end up with a slow car. If you want to be on the blue bar, the numbers confuse you - why would others give positive results? And if you make a meaningless setup, performance will suffer.
I think it's something that needs to be changed urgently; otherwise, there would be no point in continuing to pay to boost a league to the gold level if the most attractive option in the system - realistic configurations - is anything but realistic and makes no sense at all.