Hamilton wants more diversity in F1 - MotorSportsTalk

Being black made it harder to get a chance in Formula One, Lewis Hamilton admitted in an interview for the Hindustan Times.

“I think it was definitely the case,” said Hamilton when asked if his color was a barrier to reaching F1.

“My dad used to go and meet potential sponsors when I was younger and ask whether they would like to back a non-white driver and they used to laugh at him. Now that attitude has changed.

“I hope there will be many more non-white drivers on the grid now, including those from India.”

Hamilton got his F1 break courtesy of McLaren, who began backing him after he introduced himself to team principal Ron Dennis at an awards ceremony. Years later, Dennis contacts the Hamiltons to offer the young driver a deal.

“I came home from school and dad said Ron’s office had called and they wanted me to test,” said Hamilton. “I just went upstairs to do my homework. And then, during the entire process of studying with them, I realized what a huge opportunity it was to begin living my dream.”

When Hamilton won the world championship in 2008 he was the first non-white driver to do so and also the youngest driver to claim the crown – a record which has since been broken by Sebastian Vettel.

“I didn’t care that it came at a young age,” he said. “I was proud to have finally realized my dream. Just to get to F1 was an incredible achievement for my family and me.”

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.”