I would wait and see what happens because it is some talk about some major "issues" with the AI. 
People on the official Codemasters forum are speculating that what the AI cars do on track does not have anything to do with the times being set.  
So basically the AI cars on track are there just as a blocker for you as the player. Some also think the AI cars on the track does not go around the circuit but is being spawned when you are nearing them.  
 
When i  have time i'm going to test out some stuff to see is these speculations are true.  
Anyway i just wanted to tell about this so you don't waste money on this before these issues are resolved or disproved. 
 
Here is the thread on the CM forum:  http://community.codemasters.com/forum/f1-2010-game-1316/431006-confirmed-race-ai-phoney.html

Was never going to buy this anyway, but that is pure absurdity. Hilarious.

Im a F1 fan and did buy it so i hope CM can fix this in some way but it probably not something they can patch since the problem is the way the game is made. I hope someone can take away the F1 licence and give it to someone that can make racing games, SimBin feks. 

Well, I was interested, but if it was made in a way that takes away from a race's realism, then there's no point in playing it as a sim racer. Stuff like that, if it's true would be about as bad as if they had included rubber banding for the AI to keep races artificially tight.

Lol, that car AI sounds alot like the AI(or lack of) in Big Rigs.

These speculations are so big that Codemasters HAS to respond in some way. This can really damage their reputation much. Hopefully there are crisis meeting going on over at the Codemasters HQ with ways to fix this. Because people can maybe get a refund on the basis that they have not gotten the product the are promised. 

I've heard there is an incredibly huge bug list.  It does seem like one of their biggest fuck ups in a long while.

"Because people can maybe get a refund on the basis that they have not gotten the product the are promised.  "

How long will it be before there's a standard set for good AI in a racing game? It's either this or rubberbanding.

this is just... absurd o-O 

Do all of the bugs hold true for the PC version as well?

" Im a F1 fan and did buy it so i hope CM can fix this in some way but it probably not something they can patch since the problem is the way the game is made. I hope someone can take away the F1 licence and give it to someone that can make racing games, SimBin feks.  "

That sounds like Pole Position and other old racing games.  
 
It's still messed up though.

 
damn it sucks if this is true.  

i was really hoping to follow a campaign for the AI drivers to see how they did. 
it stinks knowing that cars i cant see on the track aren't there. 
 
i also heard a nasty rumor that polygons not in my field of view aren't rendered. 
  
CM better be having a late night meeting about all this.

i bought it and i can barely play... crashes on 1 lap of a 49 lap race.. apparently the AI aren't like that but im not sure i think they where complaining about rubber banding not just place holders.

"  damn it sucks if this is true.  i was really hoping to follow a campaign for the AI drivers to see how they did. it stinks knowing that cars i cant see on the track aren't there.  i also heard a nasty rumor that polygons not in my field of view aren't rendered.   CM better be having a late night meeting about all this. "

I don't know if any of this is true or not, only just started playing the game, but I do find it interesting that the thread over at Codemasters is closed. If there is no such problem with the game and Codemasters have nothing to hide, then why would they close the thread, which in the end is totally speculation anyway. 
 
As for some of the comments over there, including one that says it's a great base to build on and we should be happy to pay just so they can get it better next time, well that is utter fucking rubbish. Games are expensive enough without happily paying for flawed titles, especially here in Australia where the game current retails for $110, despite the fact that the dollar here is almost 1:1 with USD. 
 
I really hope that this shit isn't true, I love Formula 1, and the last thing F1 needs is shit developers and games ruining their gaming reputation. It doesn't help that nimrods like Bernie Ecclestone are probably deciding who gets to make these games, and he probably doesn't even know what a fucking PS3 is. Shameful.

I suspect as with most things the thread was closed because things tend to get out of hand. It gets off to a bad start when the author claims in the title that this assertion is "confirmed" when nothing is confirmed at all. That said, Codemasters typically make awesome racing games but this is their first version of what is a tough game to make. On the one hand you've got the hardcore F1 crowd who, despite this being the first release of an F1 game on the Xbox 360 will insist on complete simulated accuracy - lap times that are totally realistic, driver styles that are totally realistic to those specific drivers, the bumps in exactly the right places on every circuit... and on the other hand they have to make a game that appeals to the mass market and make it "fun", which isn't always the same as completely realistic. It's a tough job but if anyone can pull it off, Codemasters can. Expectations will be high but for the first version of a game, it's a lot when you're building a game from the ground up. That said, I expect that we'll hear lots of complaints and criticisms from F1 diehards because of anything and everything that isn't 100% totally accurate to "real" F1 racing.

That's pretty messed up if it's true.

 
I'll probably go get on the PC. 
 
Fucking RROD >:(

I'm playing thru the career mode and have so far done 6 grand prixs and can tell you that this problem does not exist. In that thread at codemasters, his proof is only evidence that he's not a very bright individual because lap times that are based on the 1st lap cannot be counted as an indicator of anything really due to the different grid slots/their distances to the start/finish line etc.
 
If you want "proof", you can often see the map of the race track and you can see the positions of all the cars, so they're not just spawning when you come near them. Perhaps they're spawning graphically, but that's normal for many games and doesn't have a bearing on gameplay. 
 
I'm playing with Force India and have had all sorts of finishes from 1st to 16th, doing 20-24 laps for each race playing on Hard or Expert and there has never been a problem with the AI timing, laps, spawns or any thing like that.
There are a few reasons to hate this game(spins, not having enough Rewinds) but this is definitely not one of them.

The biggest problem I've encountered with the game is coming into the pits first and leaving the pits last almost every time I pitted because my team was too cautious to let me out. I changed the pit strategy to counter the problem but really that shouldn't have to be done. I know it's probably because of the new regulations on releasing a car out of the pits but it still sucks. Punctures can be a pain in the ass too, specially when you get one as you are exiting the pits in 1st place and have to do a whole lap with a punture and end up last. I don't like coming first then ending up last through no fault of my own. 
 
On a side note. This game is awesome.

I wouldn't believe half of the stuff you read on the Codemasters forum, it's full of melodramatic idiots tbh. 
         

Never said this was true. Just said it was a rumor and people should wait to buy the game before CM responded to the speculations.  
Anyway there is lots of other problem that CM need to patch fast. The pitstop glitch is very annoying, and the penalty system is way to strict. The F1 stewards does not give out penalty for rubbing wheels and for other cars running into your car. 
There is also quite some more bugs. Just look in the bug thread:  http://community.codemasters.com/forum/f1-2010-game-1316/429298-unofficial-f1-2010-bugs-errors-list.html

If it came out in the summer I'd consider, but it's too close to GT5 and GT5 has F1 (not known to what extent), but it's still too damn close to GT5.

" If it came out in the summer I'd consider, but it's too close to GT5 and GT5 has F1 (not known to what extent), but it's still too damn close to GT5. "

" Do all of the bugs hold true for the PC version as well? "

I cancelled my order, mainly because of the timing bug/"feature" and "fake" AI (if it's true). Can't really see CM patching everything. But if they do, I'll order again.

"I cancelled my order, mainly because of the timing bug/"feature" and "fake" AI (if it's true). Can't really see CM patching everything. But if they do, I'll order again. "

" How long will it be before there's a standard set for good AI in a racing game? It's either this or rubberbanding. "

I have never reviewed a game before but felt compelled to after todays experience. I have been gaming for over twenty years and can't remember another game like it. 
  
http://www.giantbomb.com/f1-2010/61-25985/user-reviews/?review_id=16906    

I haven't encountered any of the bugs (PC version.) What I have noticed is the lap times the AI seems to manage in wet or how when I was racing in the heavy rain most of them all switched to the option tires and flew past me. The game does need an update, just hope they actually fix some of these things. Just hope my save game doesn't corrupt like it did in DIRT2, which will never be fixed it seems.

" @Chubbaluphigous said:

" Do all of the bugs hold true for the PC version as well? "

PC version is the worst. "

codemasters-not. 

" @m0nty said:

" @Chubbaluphigous said:

" Do all of the bugs hold true for the PC version as well? "

PC version is the worst. "

On what grounds do you base that claim? Are you actually playing the PC version? I have the PC version and have had zero bug encounters or issues of any kind. The game looks absolutely phenomenal on my two-year-old machine and runs at a constant 60 frames per second. I'd happily call this the best F1 experience in a game since the  F-1 World Gran Prix games on the N64. Having said that, I haven't touched the career mode nor studied the AI at any length, but any AI issues would be cross platform, so calling the PC version "the worst" in that sense would be completely illogical. "

Does the fuel/tyre bug affect if race distance is set at 100%?

What... I thought CM were verterans in the car game market, this seems like the result of some intern AI programmer. Anywho, bummer.

" @KaosAngel said:

" If it came out in the summer I'd consider, but it's too close to GT5 and GT5 has F1 (not known to what extent), but it's still too damn close to GT5. "

...but F1 2010 has Suzuka! :-P "

Isn't codemasters the guys that made the game genie back in the day?

" @teh_pwnzorer said:

" @KaosAngel said:

" If it came out in the summer I'd consider, but it's too close to GT5 and GT5 has F1 (not known to what extent), but it's still too damn close to GT5. "

...but F1 2010 has Suzuka! :-P "

GT5 has suzuka as well "

"If it came out in the summer I'd consider, but it's too close to GT5 and GT5 has F1 (not known to what extent), but it's still too damn close to GT5. "