I don't think it's lame at all to race with cars wich have more advanced technique build in. It's still a car and you'll need different tricks and skill to become the fastest.
I once thought the same like you did, until I drove the f1 2006 in LFS. It's a blast to race, just like the FO8.
martin, I noticed after the race I could've. I didn't take tires only fuel. because I didn't think I could make it. I had 3% of fuel left (wasn't sure because of the long run)