A better time in Monte Carlo for McLaren? - MotorSportsTalk

With aerodynamics not emphasized as much in the Monaco Grand Prix, former World Champion Jenson Button is anxious to have McLaren be more competitive in Monte Carlo this weekend.

“There’s far less of an aerodynamic influence here – it’s just about bolting as much to the car as possible in a bid to find grip – so I think the engine’s influence will be greater,” Button said.

“So, with less significance placed on aerodynamics, I hope we can enjoy a better race than our two previous outings in China and Spain.

“Monaco is such a special case – in every respect – I just hope we can string together a good weekend: We’ll need to get the absolute maximum from the car in qualifying and on the first lap to be in with a chance to put up a fair showing.”

He and rookie teammate Kevin Magnussen have been fighting to put the Woking gang back up front after their double-podium run behind Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg in the season opener at Australia.

Button and Magnussen followed that up with points runs in Malaysia, but have each put zeroes on the scoreboard in the last three Grand Prix at Bahrain, China, and Spain.

But Magnussen feels that his 12th place effort in Barcelona was still worthwhile for him in regards to coming to grips with the team’s 2014 car, the MP4-29. That has him optimistic for Monaco.

“I’m happier with the car, not just in terms of my own driving, but also with the way I work with my engineers to set it up,” he said. “We haven’t totally cracked it, but things are going in the right direction.”

Meanwhile, the development side of McLaren is doing all they can to squeeze more performance out of the cars.

“Obviously, we’ll be bringing a track-specific package to this race – and to Canada too – but, at the moment, we’re not targeting any particular race as the start of an overall turnaround,” said team racing director Eric Boullier.

“We’re simply working hard to deliver iterative improvements to the car – we’re confident in that process, and hope it will start to reap dividends in the future.”

NBC Sports coverage of the Monaco Grand Prix begins Thursday morning at 4 a.m. ET with Free Practice 1 streaming live on NBC Sports Live Extra for online/mobile devices.

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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.”