Vettel apologizes to Red Bull team members - MotorSportsTalk

Sebastian Vettel has apologized to the entire Red Bull team, according to team principal Christian Horner.

After overtaking teammate Mark Webber against team orders during the Malaysian Grand Prix, Vettel has been criticized by many members of the paddock for making the move. During the race, Horner said that the move was “silly”, but the result stood as Vettel led Webber home for a Red Bull 1-2.

“He’s said he can’t turn back the clock but he’s accepted what he did was wrong,” Horner is quoted as saying by Reuters.

“He’s apologized to the team and to every single member of staff for his actions, because he recognizes the team is vitally important and being part of the team is a crucial aspect to being able to challenge for those championships.”

Despite apologizing, Vettel’s critics are still adamant that the Red Bull driver was well aware of what he was doing, even if the triple-champion claims that the move was not deliberate.

Mark Webber’s future with the team and in the sport has also been questioned, but Horner insists that he has no worries about the Australian driver seeing out the season with Red Bull.

“He’s big enough to know that there was no malice, no intent from the team to create any situation like that. I’ve got no doubt that Mark will see out the season with us,” Horner told Sky Sports.

The fall-out from Malaysia will take a while to die down, but in a recent interview, Sebastian Vettel stated that some of his most memorable overtakes happened “quite recently.” If the move was indeed intentional, Vettel’s reputation could be damaged heavily as he looks to claim a fourth consecutive championship in 2013.

An IndyCar executive said there is “absolutely” disappointment that its long-awaited video game recently was delayed beyond its target date, but the series remains optimistic about the new title.

“Well, I don’t know how quick it will be, but the whole situation is important to us,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said during a news conference Monday morning to announce IndyCar’s NTT title sponsorship. “Motorsport Games has spent a lot of money, a lot of effort to create an IndyCar title. What we’ve seen of that effort, which is not completely obvious, is very reassuring.

“I think it’s going to be outstanding. That’s our shared objective, that when it is released, it’s just widely accepted. A great credit both to IndyCar racing, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, something that our fans love.”

In June 2021, IndyCar announced a new partnership with Motorsport Games to create and distribute an IndyCar video game for the PC and Xbox and PlayStation consoles in 2023.

But during an earnings call last week, Motorsport Games said the IndyCar game had been delayed to 2024 to ensure high quality.

Somewhat compounding the delay is that IndyCar’s license for iRacing expired after the end of the 2022 season because of its exclusive agreement with Motorsport Games.

That’s resulted in significant changes for IndyCar on iRacing, which had provided a high-profile way for the series to stay visible during its 2020 shutdown from the pandemic. (Players still can race an unbranded car but don’t race on current IndyCar tracks, nor can they stream).

That’s helped ratchet up the attention on having a video game outlet for IndyCar.

“I wish we had an IndyCar title 10 years ago,” said Miles, who has been working with the organization since 2013. “We’ve been close, but we’ve had these I think speed bumps.”

IndyCar is hopeful the Motorsports Game edition will be ready at the start of 2024. Miles hinted that beta versions could be unveiled to reporters ahead of the time “to begin to show the progress in a narrow way to make sure we’ve got it right, to test the progress so that we’re ready when they’re ready.”

It’s been nearly 18 years since the release of the most recent IndyCar video game for console or PC.

“(We) better get it right,” Miles said. “It’s something we’re very close to and continue to think about what it is to make sure we get it over the line in due course.”