With just a normal controller with manual or manual + clutch gearbox options, you get a 3-2-1 countdown and the game automatically selects 1st and starts you going on..
It used to be the same with a wheel + built in paddle shifters (but no external shifter).. the game would auto select 1st and you'd be off when the countdown completed..
Now, it counts down and leaves you on the line in neutral, so you have to manually select 1st after the countdown before you leave the line, this is with just manual gearbox selected, not manual + clutch..
I've heard that if you have an external shifter, you just leave that in 1st gear and don't touch it, then it auto selects first on countdown completion and off you go..
The issue is, I don't have an external shifter..
I've seen people with the TX Wheel and Fanatec wheels say the same, all have the same setup, a wheel + inbuilt paddle shifters only..
It's definitely not right and should be the easiest thing to fix, since it should mirror the behaviour of a controller when the gearbox is set to manual or manual + clutch.. But I suspect there is some gross assumption that if you have a wheel you must be using an external shifter, which I am led to believe reports it's in neutral if not connected..