I keep wondering how Codemasters, and Sony/Psygnosis before them, obtained any kind of accurate info about F1 cars. Well, sure they have the license, but do the teams share numbers? Codemasters have mentioned on the forums that they have some real-life measurements that serve as basis for the game physics, so at least it's not pure fantasy (iirc the discussion was about the speed of gear shifting—players complained they can't click through five gears as fast as they want).

Could the rivals conceivably peek in the game at some behavior they can't really discern through binoculars at testing and races? The sport had its moments of hide-and-seek in the past, with both FIA and competitors—e.g. the chassis that changed its height after driving out of the pits.

Granted, the F1 series isn't spectacularly realistic, and Codies admitted some of the cars' behavior is softened relative to the reality, to not be too hard on the players (again, the gears).