More or less the same is not the same. Funny how everyone mentions applying the power, without thinking about it. Honda increased power every year, only to have Doohan rip the engineers a new one. They would then reduce power for better delivery.
Your comments sound like someone who has read a lot of posts, but hasn't been to the track. If the Suzuki was that good, why isn't Gibernau competing? He was at least in the running of a few races last year, and this year he isn't even close.
Every setup changes when the weather changes, so you can't make too many assumptions based on previous races, or years. Note that Computer analysis doesn't exist for motorcycles to the same degree it does with cars. There is a correct way to drive a car, but there are so many variables on a bike, that the setup is different for each rider.
Spend some time at the track, adjust the settings to your liking, then come back a month later. If you ride hard, adjustments will have to be made. Same bike, same rider, same track, but on a different day. Now do that with different riders, different tracks and different weather. Not very simple, and more money (Honda, then Yamaha) makes a hugh difference. Slight improvements can mean all the difference. BTW, I think the comment too much power for the tires to handle is taken too literal. Too much at one point can still be too little at another. On a rain slicked road, a scooter can produce too much power if the suspension is terrible.