What went wrong for Rosberg in qualifying? (VIDEO) - MotorSportsTalk

It is proof of Mercedes’ devastating form at the beginning of the 2014 Formula 1 season that fourth place was considered to be disappointing for Nico Rosberg in qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix today. Whilst teammate Lewis Hamilton stormed through the spray to claim pole position, the German driver lost his final two efforts after making mistakes in a bid to secure back-to-back poles.

After qualifying, he made no secret of his disappointment when speaking to NBCSN’s Will Buxton.

“I just wasn’t quick enough today, mainly just struggling with the braking,” Rosberg explained. “That’s why I lost so much in the last sector or so, just because the two biggest braking events are in that last sector, just didn’t feel comfortable with that.

“Other than that, yeah, it was okay, but obviously fourth place is disappointing.”

Rosberg’s first mistake came at the hairpin on his second flying lap during Q3. Having made up time during the first two sectors, a big lock-up at the end of the straight ruined his lap, and forced him to back off and prepare for a final effort. This time around, he improved again, but spun at the final corner.

The German driver will be keen on bouncing back in the race tomorrow as he looks to hold onto his championship lead ahead of Hamilton.

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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.”