The in game scenes would have looked like a lot more real if the environments felt alive. And by saying this, I mean adding elements of atmosphere, movement and population, time and more physics.
Example of atmosphere:
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The further to the distance the more dusty it looks and there is the element of heat haze. Thats the element of atmosphere.
The element of time is how dust has been collected on the track. Certain areas like edges collect more dust than others.
This gives the impression of time/movement/change as an always stale/clean road feels dead. It communicates the passage of time. If this element is dynamic (i.e getting dirtier as you race or wind carrying dust) it adds even more aliveness.
This is one of the many reasons that dynamic rainy tracks feel more real.
We need more subtle physics of particles and grass moving or flying and laying on the track as the cars come into contact.
We need more subtle physics movement on the cars. In real life racers the smallest bump on the road surface adds to the car movement.
In games the car's feel like they are gliding. Also small parts on cars need their own physics.
We also need to populate the world with more humans and non human elements that have independent motion.
Trees need more motion from wind and be realistically affected by different wind strengths.
We got the car models, the lighting, the textures and the materials in general but they need an additional layer of dynamic elements or at least touches that imply those dynamic elements