Ricciardo: I expected to be faster today - MotorSportsTalk

Daniel Ricciardo may have secured his seventh podium finish of the 2014 Formula 1 season today in Singapore, but the Australian driver felt disappointed that Red Bull could not put up more of a sustained challenge to Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes at the front of the field.

A late safety car period brought both Ricciardo and teammate Sebastian Vettel into contention for the race win, only for Hamilton to find some pace and beat both of the Red Bull drivers to claim his seventh win of the season.

Speaking after the race, Ricciardo said that he was disappointed not to have been closer to Hamilton, but was still pleased with the points haul Red Bull had achieved.

“We were really close to the Mercedes in qualifying and we expected the race pace to be a bit faster today to be honest,” Ricciardo said. “We weren’t quick enough in the first stint and we had a few other issues going on, with brakes and some power issues that were coming and going, but in terms of points we still got a good handful to take away from here.

Ricciardo was cheered on by a number of Australian fans in Singapore who had made the trip over, and was boosted by this support.

“It actually feels a bit like a home race here,” he said. “Singapore to Perth is like Melbourne to Perth, so for West Australians it’s not too far.

“Suzuka is in two weeks and that’s another track we can be optimistic for, so I’m looking forward to that. All in all it was a solid weekend.”

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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.”