Awesome - but very demanding
When you start the game, select simulation mode, chose a car and track, and go out on the track, the first thing you are going to do is ... spin. After a while, you will be able to reach the first corner and will ... leave the track. After some serious tries you will be able to finish a lap and realize, that all the A.I. racers are far off concerning lap times and if you compare yourself to others online ... you will see, you don't stand a chance.
So now comes the hard part ... learn the tracks and practice them. ... get a feeling for the controls of the game. If you use a FF Wheel you soon start to feel the track, not only the bumps (that's easy), but also when and where the car looses traction, and slowly ... very slowly, you will find the limit. The Force Feedback effects are just great. You feel the engine in the wheel, bumps, the scrubbing of the tires on the track. You fell the line and when you leave it, and just like in real racing, you will realize that off the line there is almost no grip (and you will crash again).
The physics of the game are so realistic, that is just pain as hell. This is for 2 reasons: 1st ... you must understand some of the physics of a racecar, and 2nd ... you only see the consequences (the car dips and hops), but you don't feel it, like in the real racecar. The physics in the game are as unforgiving than the real thing, but you are limited in the feedback you get by the screen and the FF wheel. So (at least from my perspective) the game appears to be much harder to race, than a real racecar. If you would sit in a real F550 in Spa, you won't crash as easily (but maybe you wouldn't be so fast either). Whatever ... this game is the closest to real racing, that a game ever has got.
This game is only for race addicts who want to have something realistic. If you are willing to spend a lot of your spare time in acutally training a PC game, this is the right thing. You will improve and get faster, and step by step you will understand why. For example you have to learn, that for getting Blanchimont right in Spa, you have to understand, that you need to brake while steering in, in order to shift weight to the front wheels, so its not so much important, to brake late and hard, to get the corner, but to brake in a swift way, while steering in ... this will make you fast.
All these experiences will help you improve, and you can also learn somthing by watching other racers online or talking to them in the chat.
The online gaming is a bit jumpy, but OK. However, on the public server the races often don't last longer than 5 laps, because the game is so unforgiving, that until then even the fast guys have crashed and are out of the race. In the leagues, this seems to be better, but I haven't tried one, because I don't have enough time.
Besides the racing, there is lot of realistical tuning and setup work you can do with each car. Setting up the car corretcly can approve lap times, but usually training will help more (at least at the beginning). The standard setups, that come with the game are OK, but a bit conservative, so you can go fast, but don't crash to easily (riding height is the major factor here ... lower makes you faster, but if you hit the gas to much on a bump ... you'll spin)
Summary:
If you are race addict and have a lot of time, this thing is right for you. If you want to play a game ... stay away ... and better game NFSMW. (I play both). This the 1st game I bought for a very long time and it is worth the money.