Maybe I'm old. I didn't grow up in the 21st century where games started to come out 50% finished.
Most other games don't alter the core gameplay mechanics after release. If the physics were broken on release day, the game shouldn't have been released, period.
No offense, but this is an erroneous and naive belief.
First, games TOTALLY came out unfinished. You simply didn't know any better because there wasn't an update to compare against.
Missing a release date is a big deal. Remember how some games were delayed for months or even years (or never released at all)? That doesn't happen anymore because the costs are so incredibly high now.
Since the release of GT5, we have been playing a live game. There was stuff in GT5 that was intended to be a feature in GT6. GT6 was a test bed for GT Sport features. Now, GT Sport is seeing features for whatever comes next. The game was released a year ago, so only the hard core are left playing. What better time to test changes for the next game without having to go to the hassle of an open Beta?
I don't grasp the idea that a poor implementation, or a problematic one, should be left alone because some people don't like a change.
Here is a shocking revelation for some of you. This change is very much akin to a change of tire brand. If you go from, say Michelin, to something like a Pirelli the behaviour will change. Different tires communicate differently. Some snap, some are progressive, some are good cold, some suck cold. So, again, comments on how this is a poor change seem to be coming from position of ignorance about the frame of reference.
One thing that has improved immensely is the difference between the compounds, especially on the race tires. Now, the wear to grip relationship makes complete sense whereas before 1.32, it made no sense. Before, the wear was different, but the grip dropped at the same rate, so if you had hards, yes they would wear somewhat more slowly, but the grip dropped off in such a way that using a different tire compound in a race was of little benefit. Now, if you have a different compound, the deterioration is different and the consistency is different, as it should be, so you can run hards and be more consistent across your laps from start to finish in the race, or you can run soft and have a few really fast laps. And, maybe most importantly, the lap time difference is not so great as to nullify the choice.