Starting grid for the 2014 Singapore Grand Prix - MotorSportsTalk

0.007 seconds across a lap of over 100 seconds may not seem like a great amount, but it was all that Lewis Hamilton needed to secure his sixth pole position of the 2014 season in qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix yesterday.

The British driver pulled a great final flying lap out of the bag to deny teammate and championship rival Nico Rosberg pole at the last possible moment on Saturday. Rosberg was less than impressed, shouting “dammit!” very loudly over the radio back to his engineer after learning the news.

However, with an all-Mercedes front-row, the stage is set for a thrilling race under the lights in Singapore, and with Red Bull and Ferrari both waiting in the wings to capitalise on any mistakes or problems for the Silver Arrows, the result is by no means a foregone conclusion.

You can watch all of the action from Singapore live on NBCSN from 7.30am ET today.

FROM THE STEWARDS’ OFFICE

Nothing major of note this weekend from the stewards. Nico Hulkenberg was hit with a fine for speeding in the pit lane during FP2, although it’s unlikely €200 will burn a hole in Force India’s pocket.

STARTING GRID FOR THE 2014 SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX

1. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes
3. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull
4. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull
5. Fernando Alonso Ferrari
6. Felipe Massa Williams
7. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari
8. Valtteri Bottas Williams
9. Kevin Magnussen McLaren
10. Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso
11. Jenson Button McLaren
12. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso
13. Nico Hulkenberg Force India
14. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber
15. Sergio Perez Force India
16. Romain Grosjean Lotus
17. Adrian Sutil Sauber
18. Pastor Maldonado Lotus
19. Jules Bianchi Marussia
20. Kamui Kobayashi Caterham
21. Max Chilton Marussia
22. Marcus Ericsson Caterham

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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.”