Red Bull vindicated over tires – Horner

By Aug 19, 2013, 11:00 AM EDT
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Red Bull’s position on F1’s tires in 2013 has been vindicated, according to team principal Christian Horner.

The team repeatedly criticized the softer tires introduced by Pirelli at the start of the year. They were eventually changed following a series of failures at the British Grand Prix.

“Our comments about the tires were consistent all the way from Melbourne to Silverstone,” Horner told Autosport.

“Nothing changed even though we’ve managed to win three races up to that point, we felt that they were too marginal and that it wasn’t right for the drivers to having to drive so far within themselves and there were issues with the tires sustaining damage.”

Pirelli made temporary revisions to the tires for the German Grand Prix then underwent more substantial revisions in time for the last race in Hungary. Horner believes the alterations have been for the good of the sport:

“I think with the changes that have been made recently, really since Montreal, we have seen the drivers being able to push much harder in the races and really test each other.”

Horner added other teams had privately expressed concerns about the tires before Silverstone but did not make the same criticisms in public. “We were just being honest; we weren’t hiding behind the issue and being politically correct,” he said.

IndyCar disappointed by delay of video game but aiming to launch at start of 2024

By Mar 27, 2023, 3:00 PM EDT
IndyCar video game 2024
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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.”