All it takes is knowing that the throttle sensitivity feature is technically redundant and that pilot assist is the "I'm bad at racing games but driving around the track is fun and I don't care if I win" setting (similar to the assist mode in the latest Mario Kart game). That's not really much in the way of extra effort.
Also, neither of these things render the game unplayable if ignored.
Hell, you can still play the game at a high level even with throttle sensitivity left at 100%. You'll wear your controller out faster though (since leaving that setting at 100% means you have to hold the throttle button down pretty hard to accelerate at full capacity.). It's also not ideal if you are prone to getting hand cramps and what not.