Pirelli: Mercedes gained nothing from tire test - MotorSportsTalk

Following the confirmation that Mercedes took part in a secret tire test after the Spanish Grand Prix, Pirelli has acted quickly to defend itself over the matter, claiming that the German team did not benefit from the test.

In-season testing is banned, but Mercedes ran around 1000km at the Circuit de Catalunya two weeks ago, and despite an outcry from the other teams, Pirelli’s F1 chief Paul Hembery is confident that no rules have been broken.

“Absolutely not, no,” Hembery said when asked if Mercedes had benefited from the test by Autosport. “Because it’s no relevance to what’s happening here.

“It’s completely regular in that we are allowed to do 1000 kilometre of tire testing with any team.”

Hembery also revealed that plans were in place to do another test in the near future.

“We’ve done it before with another team and we’ve asked another team to do some work as well.”

This tire row looks set to continue throughout the weekend, but Mercedes will be keen on putting this controversy behind them to convert their front-row lockout into their first win in 2013. Pirelli are adamant that such a test is permitted by their contract with the sport, and Mercedes also maintain their innocence over the matter.

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.”