Pirelli baffled by contract situation - MotorSportsTalk

Pirelli have pushed back a deadline for supplying information on next year’s tires to F1 teams as they are still awaiting a contract for the 2014 season.

“It’s the most bizarre situation we’re in really,” motorsport director Paul Hembery told ESPN.

“We’ve got our agreements in place with the vast majority of people involved; there’s not a clearly defined process but we’re going forward, getting the teams signed up, we’ve got the promoter signed up, we’re working on 2014.”

Pirelli returned to F1 as the sport’s official tire supplier in 2011 on a three-year contract. Although that is due to expire at the end of this season the FIA has yet to confirm its plans.

Rumours have linked Michelin to a return to F1 next year. Under FIA rules a tender would have to be put out for interested companies to offer their services.

Because of the delay Pirelli will no longer provide details on the new tires to the teams at the beginning of next month. “From the data we’ve given the teams we’re going to go for October 1st so we’ve got a few more weeks,” said Hembery. “That was done a few weeks ago back in Germany when we had a meeting.”

Pirelli have come in for criticism this year after a spate of tire failures during the British Grand Prix.

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.”