Since this is I guess the first time you have a FFB wheel, you're probably just not used to something fighting your inputs

The only challenging thing about AI is that they are wreckers. They don't know how to defend, are relatively predictable and take most corners ridiculously slow, especially when driving in a pack. No it's not "easy" as in I'm sure not everybody can do this, nor do I say this isn't can't be fun, but overtaking a human opponent that you've been battling for several laps is so much more satisfying.

Not only do you need racecraft (being able to race close but not crash / knowing instinctively what your opponent is going to do), skills (to be fast enough to not lose him) and nerves (enough concentration to keep the pressure on), you also have to play mindgames to trick your opponent into a wrong manoeuvre or make him lose his nerves and make an error. The AI is not and will never be comparable to this.

Maybe your ESC key is broken?

Just drive into one of the red-white barriers. Won't take you too long, I promise

LOL, now that you say it, it's actually very apparent. And I was wondering how good the server's connection was since there was no warping as usually seen in MP replays. :doh:

Depending on car and personal preference, a value between 25% and 60% ingame FF is good. Any less is too weak, any more and the wheel just becomes very heavy and kinda "on/off" because the forces max out early. Basically the lower you go (up to a certain point) the greater the range of forces you can feel, though small forces like rumblestrips or grass can feel very weak. The higher you go, the more pronounced the small forces around the centre of steering will be, but as soon as you overturn the wheel a bit and start fighting the tyres all you'll feel is a constant pull into one direction, since the FF motors will work at maximum power and all subtle changes or vibrations are lost due to clipping. With high FF strength you'll also have to make sure to never let go off your wheel, or it will very likely start oscillating around the centre, caused by the lag/slow reaction time of the FF motors.

To verify your FF is working correctly, do two things
1) Get the car into a slide (oversteer) and let go off the wheel - it should automatically try to countersteer and correct the slide.
2) Flip the car so you're lying on the roof - there should be no active resistance to turning whatsoever.

Nice overtakes - you're using a mouse, aren't you? Or maybe an extremely low lock wheel, because that are some impossibly fast wheel movements.