I got the clubsport 2.5 that is dual motor dual belt drive, but yes you can suffer wrist/finger damage on the direct drive models. They deliver an obscene amount of maximum torque. They deliver upwards of 20nm of torque or something like that.

Even with a lesser model, I would definitely recommend attaching the wheel to something. It's not the kind of thing you put in your lap generally. One of the reasons I'm not using mine right now. I had a decent setup and then I broke it down when I moved, and I've been to lazy to go set it up again just to play a game.