Force India squeezes out double points finish in Spain - MotorSportsTalk

Noticeable rates of tire degradation proved an obstacle to Sahara Force India’s efforts in the Spanish Grand Prix, but Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg’s ninth and tenth place finishes made sure the team left Barcelona with another double points result.

“There were few surprises in this afternoon’s race and our final result of ninth and tenth is a fair reflection of the pace we have shown during this weekend,” said team owner Vijay Mallya.

“As I said yesterday, this circuit was never going to play to our strengths and yet we still managed to secure a double points finish. It means we’ve scored points in every race so far this year and this keeps up our momentum in the championship.”

Hulkenberg, who finished in the same place he started, said that Sunday’s race was “a case of damage limitation” but felt like things worked out in the end for the team.

“We knew from the early practice sessions that this wasn’t going to be our strongest track so to get two cars in the points is a positive result,” he said. “The tire degradation was high and the car was not so easy to drive, but I think everybody was struggling in the final part of the race.

“I thought we would need to make a third stop, but fortunately the tires held on and I was able to score a point. We will use all the data we got over the weekend to improve for the next few races where we hope to be a bit more competitive.”

As for Perez, who jumped two spots from 11th on the grid, he thought that the tire degradation was fine enough to warrant a less conservative approach to the race.

“Maybe if we had stopped earlier, I could have jumped ahead of some more cars because my pace was good, but it was just so difficult to overtake,” he said of his day in Barcelona.

“We knew this track would be a tough test for us, so this result is more or less what we expected here. Maybe P7 or P8 was achievable today, but we should feel quite happy to keep up our run of points.”

Force India remains fourth in the Constructors’ Championship, nine points behind Ferrari for third (66-57) as the Monaco Grand Prix looms on the horizon.

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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.”