Ferrari: No driver announcement at Monza - MotorSportsTalk

All hopes of Ferrari making an announcement regarding its driver line-up for next season at the Italian Grand Prix next weekend have been doused after the team dismissed the move on its official website.

Kimi Raikkonen has been frequently linked to the team in recent weeks, with the Finn thought to be in line to replace Felipe Massa for 2014. However, although such a move has not been denied by either party, the team did confirm that no announcement would be made at its home grand prix at Monza next weekend despite popular opinion being that this is a “custom” for the team.

“Often in Formula 1, these customs are created artificially, just because they sound nice or because they can be made to fit one’s theories about something,” the team explained in its Horse Whisperer blog. “One of these states that the Scuderia likes to announce its driver line-up for the following year at the Italian Grand Prix.

“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint all those with feverish imaginations, who are awaiting Monza in trepidation, but this particular presumed custom is a non-starter.”

Monza is thought to be the ideal location for any announcements from Ferrari, being the team’s home grand prix and playing host to thousands of fans – the Tifosi – who are draped in team colours for the weekend. However, history shows that making an announcement at the race is a rarity.

“All one needs to do is look at the facts,” the article stated. “From 1991, when the Maranello press office first began to put its official pronouncements down on paper, until now, only twice, in 2006 and 2008, has the team’s home grand prix provided the backdrop to an announcement regarding the drivers.”

Therefore, it is unlikely that we will see a conclusion to this part of ‘silly season’ any time soon.

Read NBC’s team-by-team guide to the driver market here.

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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.”