Sauber signs Felipe Nasr as second driver alongside Marcus Ericsson - MotorSportsTalk

What was a potential four-into-one for the second Sauber seat in 2015 has drawn a fifth name, instead, to fill the second seat alongside Marcus Ericsson.

Williams reserve driver Felipe Nasr has been named to the seat, the team announced late Wednesday. This leaves both incumbents – Adrian Sutil and Esteban Gutierrez – along with reserve Giedo van der Garde and second test driver Sergey Sirotkin on the outside looking in.

Nasr, who carries personal support from Banco de Brasil, is now announced on the heels of this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix. Team principal Monisha Kaltenborn highlighted Nasr’s potential in announcing the news.

“We have been following Felipe’s career path for some time now, and he fully deserves his position in Formula One having had a very successful career in junior categories,” she said in a team release. “We are happy that he will be driving for our team next year. This means that Brazil will have one more young and talented driver in the sport. Banco do Brasil has been an important partner for Felipe so far, and we are delighted that such a renowned company is contuing to support him during this important step. We look forward to this partnership.”

Nasr will now be the second Brazilian driver alongside Felipe Massa on the grid, Massa maintaining his place at Williams. Interestingly, Nasr will follow Massa as a driver making his debut with Sauber (2002).

“It is a very important step in my career to sign with the Sauber F1 Team for the 2015 Formula One World Championship,” he said. “This is an unforgettable moment that I owe to all of those who have supported me – my family, my friends, my sponsors, my teams and my country. Today the dream has come true.

“Sauber was responsible for the arrival in F1 of great names such as Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen, Robert Kubica and Sebastian Vettel. I am proud now to also be part of this racing family. I had a wonderful year at Williams Martini, where I learned a lot and prepared myself to be a race driver in Formula One.”

This now makes the final two Grands Prix all the more interesting for Sutil and Gutierrez, as they seek to prove themselves to other teams on the grid.

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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.”