If you check their lap times Career Mode in Race Director i found AI with consistent lap times with hardly any time loss difference, If anything they were getting faster with only one or two slower laps which i put down to an error or overtaking. I Qualified 5th in the Sauber and held this position until my tires started to wear lap around lap 12. I could see the first 4 drivers for the first stint. After 1st round of stops i had lost 3 places and the leaders now out of sight were 2 or 3 seconds faster a lap for no apparent reason by lap 36 i was lapped. I was struggling to stay in the points. It needs fixing for sure !!
I also find that if i practice and qualify in one go then save the game and come back to the race at a later date then something has gone wrong with my setup and my car handles like a bar of soap on a tin tray, undriveable. If i practice, qualify and race in one go no problems. Its like i have to reload my setup again, but i can't as it goes straight to race... very odd!!