Rosberg at an all-time high with W04 car - MotorSportsTalk

Nico Rosberg has made no secret of his delight that, for the first time in his career, he is driving a car capable of challenging for pole positions and race wins on a regular basis.

Since joining Mercedes in 2010, Rosberg’s bid to become a front-runner has been stunted by a troublesome car and a lack of reliability. Thanks to an unseasonably-cool Chinese Grand Prix in 2012, the German driver managed to claim his first race win, but this failed to be backed up by any further victories. This season though, he has flourished alongside new teammate Lewis Hamilton, claiming three pole positions and two wins heading into this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix.

“In general I’ve really enjoyed it [this season],” Rosberg said during the drivers’ press conference on Thursday. “It’s the first time in my career that I’ve really had a car that on numerous occasions I can win races with.

“That’s a great feeling. To come to a race track knowing I can put it on pole, I can win the race, it’s really nice.”

Having struggled at the low downforce circuits such as Spa and Monza in recent weeks, Rosberg is hopeful of bouncing back in Singapore this weekend around the tight and twisty Marina Bay Street Circuit.

“I’m really looking forward to this race here. It’s back to high downforce package where Lewis won last with this package in Hungary, so I’m confident we can be very quick again this weekend.”

Rosberg has enjoyed some success in Singapore over the years, recording a best finish of second at the inaugural race back in 2008.

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.”