Sergey Sirotkin joins Sauber as 2014 test driver - MotorSportsTalk

Sauber has completed its roster for the 2014 Formula One World Championship, as Russian racer Sergey Sirotkin has been announced as the team’s test driver alongside race drivers Adrian Sutil and Esteban Gutierrez.

Sirotkin, who finished ninth in this year’s Formula Renault 3.5 championship with podium finishes at Aragon, Spain and the Hungaroring, became a development driver for Sauber this summer as part of an initiative by Russian investors to help ease the Swiss team’s financial problems.

The original plan was to install Sirotkin in a Sauber race seat, but instead, the 18-year-old will look to gain more experience through his testing role and another season of FR3.5.

“It’s a big chance for me to become the test driver for the Sauber F1 Team,” Sirotkin said in a statement. “I will work hard to improve myself and to extract the maximum out of this opportunity. Formula One is very complex, so it is important to get an opportunity like this.

“My main focus next year, however, will be the World Series by Renault [Formula Renault 3.5], which is very competitive. This will give me the chance to prepare even better in order to be ready for the next big step.”

Team principal Monisha Kaltenborn said that Sirotkin would have the team’s full backing as he progresses toward F1.

“We have been working with Sergey since August, and he has been able to gain more and more insight into Formula One,” she said. “Now he is taking the next step towards the top level of motorsport in his new role as a test driver.

“Our experience of him is as a very focused, calm and talented driver. Now we will continue to support him, including obtaining his [FIA] super license. Our goal remains to prepare him for a debut in Formula One.”

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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.”