I'm not sure it's quite like that.
As a wheel user it takes a lot more effort, motion and rotation than 1cm of movement on the stick.
I get the smoothing the controller has but it's relative to the speed of the input.
So largely it's probably about the same as it takes wheel users.
Where the difference is (for me) is the fidelity I get with a wheel as it's way more manageable and adjustable just by the sheer range of motion available. Couple that with FFB and it can be a big difference.
Also wheel motion can exceed the hud indicated maximums left and right, I'm not sure but I don't think controllers can go beyond the left and right edges?