They are "stickier" this time. Not really like the "Forza glue" from FM7 really, but there is some impact absorption going on instead of the pinball effect of the early games where it feels like you just transfer all of your energy into them and send them flying.
You will get to experience the collision physics very quickly when you fire the game up because the AI is awful.
Just did a 6 lap race at Lime Rock, still with the AI setting on the highest difficulty. Multiple cars crashed going onto the back "straight" by understeering off into the wall... and not by a little bit, like a full 8 car widths off the track and face-first in the barriers, not even close to making the corner. At least 5 cars pitted as well, and one car I actually put 2 laps down. During a 6 lap, approximately 6 minute long race. Also, for some reason, on the last lap one of the AI was just stopped in the grass next to the track on the exit of turn 1, like they had just pulled up to park because they didn't want to drive anymore.
But hey, instead of finishing 5 seconds behind 1st place and 5 seconds ahead of 3rd, this time I won by a whopping 12 seconds.
Seriously, the AI is so bad that I'm wondering if they didn't screw up the day 1 patch and have reverted us to that preview-copy, early build AI.