I did some digging online and found that your place on the starting grid is a combination of PLAYER LEVEL and CAR PI, weighted to level.
Driver Level 1 - 4 start in 8th
Driver Level 5 - 9 start in 7th
Driver Level 10 - 14 start in 6th
Driver Level 15 - 19 start in 5th
Driver Level 20 - 24 start in 4th
Driver Level 25 - 29 start in 3rd
Driver Level 30 - 34 start in 2nd
Driver Level 35 - 50 start in 1st
I didn't notice if I was actually moving up in the grid when I hit 10. I had been checking the grid layout nearly every race and I was always last.
I'll look next race. I should start in 6th according to this, assuming I have the highest PI.
Why can't I just race a solo heat lap? Isn't this a sim?