Kobayashi told to stop car by Caterham management to save mileage (VIDEO) - MotorSportsTalk

Kamui Kobayashi has revealed that he was told to retire from today’s Russian Grand Prix by the management at Caterham F1 Team in a bid to save the mileage on his car.

The Japanese driver was one of just two drivers to not finish the race at the Sochi Autodrom today, but he revealed to NBCSN’s Will Buxton that he could have seen the checkered flag as there was nothing wrong with his car.

“I don’t know actually, nothing,” he said when asked what the problem was. “We could have done the race. Maybe I think management decided we’re not fighting with anyone, so we stop racing.

“I think we have limitations with the mileage and we want to save it. I don’t understand what happened, but this is what I get from the top management.”

Caterham is known to be struggling financially of late, having had some goods seized by bailiffs earlier this month. The team currently ranks last in the constructors’ championship, and is not expected to be on the grid in 2015.

Kobayashi has been racing at the back of the grid all year long for the team, and was asked by NBCSN if he regretted leaving a works drive with Ferrari in the World Endurance Championship to return to F1.

“I enjoy racing,” he said. “I had a chance to try this V6 engine with turbo, but I didn’t expect it to be so hard.”

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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.”