Stirling Moss doubts Rosberg will ever beat Hamilton - MotorSportsTalk

Formula 1 legend Stirling Moss does not believe that Nico Rosberg will ever beat Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton to the drivers’ championship so long as they are in the same car.

Moss raced for the German marque during its first stint in F1 back in 1955, racing as the teammate to five-time world champion Juan Manuel Fangio.

Although the Briton never won the drivers’ title in F1, he did finish second on four occasions and third a further three times, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers never to enjoy a championship victory.

Moss has recently spent some time with Hamilton, the defending world champion, driving his old Mercedes car as part of the launch for the annual Mille Miglia race in Italy.

Speaking to Reuters earlier this week, the 85-year-old said that he believes Hamilton will win the world title once again in 2015, and doubts Rosberg will ever get the better of him.

“I think he probably will,” Moss said. “He’s got the right engine. You’ve got to have a Mercedes to win. He’s got that, he’s got the skill.

“He has a lot of experience. He’s been around quite a while now. I don’t think Nico will ever beat him, actually.”

Rosberg did run Hamilton close for the drivers’ title in 2014, leading for most of the season before suffering a late-season dip in form, leaving him 67 points behind his teammate in the final standings.

Despite trying to regain focus over the winter, the German is yet to beat Hamilton in either qualifying or the race in 2015, leaving him with a 0-4 record in the intra-team battle.

Rosberg’s next opportunity to end his losing streak will come at next weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, where he finished in second place to Hamilton in 2014.

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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.”