F1 2013 is the only game to offer you any team you desire straight from the top at the start of the 1st season, provided how well you do in the young drivers test.
I forgot about that, I wasn't sure if we were able to or not, I started out with Lotus-Renault, which I guess would be the highest team you could go for then.
I remember back in 2010, I started at Lotus (Caterham now), won the title and then went on to drive for McLaren. That first season I had on a real easy difficulty which I then put up once I got into McLaren.
In 2012 it was Torro Rosso I believe. Not sure about the previous two before that.
And yes, I was able to beat Grosjean in my 1st season at Lotus-Renault by only a few points, was a great season on the Expert difficulty. Gotten to grips with the game, I turned it on Legend for my 2nd and now my 3rd season of the game with Ferrari. The AI is just fantastic.