Mercedes winning streak ends due to car problems

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The winning streak that Mercedes has enjoyed at the beginning of the 2014 Formula 1 season has come to a shattering end after both Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton had problems on their cars today, allowing Daniel Ricciardo to claim his maiden grand prix victory.

The Australian driver managed to pass Rosberg with three laps remaining in Montreal to secure Red Bull’s first win of the season, and the first of his Formula 1 career.

Rosberg and Hamilton had locked out the front row of the grid in qualifying, and the German driver managed to hold onto the lead off the line. Hamilton dropped down to third after he was forced wide by his teammate, but managed to make his way back past Sebastian Vettel after a safety car period.

The two Mercedes drivers forged ahead into a 26 second lead, and looked set to battle each other once again for the race win. However, their pace began to drop off in the second stint of the race, and it was later diagnosed as being an ERS problem which affected the brakes on the car.

Hamilton was forced to retire with 22 laps remaining, such was the severity of his problem, but Rosberg managed to keep going and stay in the lead of the race. Sergio Perez kept closing in the final sector, only to lose a lot of time in the first two sectors to Rosberg as his tires began to fade. Ricciardo eventually found his way past the Force India driver, and then went on to reel in Rosberg and make the pass on the third to last lap.

This result ends Mercedes’ aspirations of a perfect season, something that has never been done before in Formula 1. Rosberg’s second place finish means that he does extend his championship lead to 22 points over Lewis Hamilton, and the Silver Arrows are unquestionably still the team to beat.

For today though, the spoils go to Daniel Ricciardo. He moves up to third place in the drivers’ championship behind the Mercedes drivers, and he has proven – if there was any lingering doubt – that he is a perfect replacement for Mark Webber at the champion team.

IndyCar disappointed by delay of video game but aiming to launch at start of 2024

IndyCar video game 2024
IndyCar
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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.”