Hamilton: Tough breaks only make me stronger - MotorSportsTalk

He may have suffered more than his fair share of bad luck so far this season, but Lewis Hamilton believes that it has only made him stronger as he chases his second Formula 1 world title in 2014.

The Mercedes driver currently trails teammate Nico Rosberg by eleven points at the top of the standings, but he has suffered one more retirement than the German in races this season. In the past two races, technical failures during qualifying have left Hamilton starting from the back of the grid: he finished on the podium in both Germany (from P20) and Hungary (from the pit lane).

“It’s been damage limitation for me in the last couple of races and we’ve had some difficult weekends throughout this season,” Hamilton explained in an interview on the team’s official website. “But if I’m honest, looking back at it now, I wouldn’t want it any other way.

“Sometimes it’s nice to have things easy, but I love a challenge and I love a fight. It’s not the times of ease that show who you are – it’s the times of adversity.

“I definitely feel like the tough breaks I’ve had this year have made me stronger, and hopefully I’ve shown that I’ve got heart.”

Hamilton appears to have the momentum heading into the summer break, with the next race coming at the end of August with the Belgian Grand Prix.

“To have taken two podiums from difficult weekends before the break has been really satisfying,” he said. “It allows me to smile and enjoy this time off knowing that I still have an opportunity to fight for this championship.”

With just eleven points separating the two championship protagonists and eight races to go, this title fight looks set to rage on until the final round in Abu Dhabi, where double points could settle things.

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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.”