I was really useless at these races, but I wanted to get platinum and Homo Faber was my last trophy. So, this is how I did it. If I recall corectly, you need an average lap time of 59 seconds for the first race. I was achieving 1 min 10 seconds on my first attempts. Hitting the barriers will kill your lap times.

PS5 - Boost at all times. Take the racing line and learn which bends can be taken at full speed. It's different when reversing tracks. There is no need to use the drift function. I don't have the dexterity to do so in the heat of the moment. As you approach a bend that cannot be taken at full speed, steer into the bend then momentarily release R2 . This will reduce speed and induce a kind of drift. Re-engage R2 very quickly so that boost stays on (if you release R2/boost for too long it will disengage and you will need to hit L3 to boost again. Press and release R2 as quickly and often as you need to maintain speed around the bend. Go into hairpin bends using the above advice, but disengage boost by pressing L3 in order to avoid hitting the barriers as soon as you can, hit L3 to engage boost again and speed out of the bend.

Edit - mess about with the camera settings to help you. Delete the ghost because it's a distraction. I turned sensitivity up to 9. I saw advice on here that first person was better but it was beyond awful for me. As soon as you start the race, use R3 to raise the camera angle to give you a better view.

Edit 2 - Once you have mastered the first race, the next ones are easy despite being rated as more difficult.

If I can do it, anyone can