WATCH LIVE: Spanish GP Race Day on NBCSN and Live Extra from 7:30am ET - MotorSportsTalk

MONTMELO – The stage is set for yet another thrilling battle between Mercedes teammates Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton in Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix after the Silver Arrows locked out the front row of the grid in qualifying.

However, for the first time in 2015, it was Rosberg who took pole position, outclassing Hamilton in the final stage of qualifying by posting two lap times that were good enough for pole.

After suffering defeat after defeat at the hands of Hamilton in 2015, Rosberg has finally ended the rut and knew that it was a big psychological victory on Saturday.

“Psychologically, yeah, it’s good,” Rosberg said after qualifying. “Feels great. I’m happy, so it’s good for tomorrow.”

With Hamilton hungry for a fourth win in five races though, Rosberg faces an immense challenge to convert pole position into his first victory of the year.

You can watch the Spanish Grand Prix live on NBCSN and Live Extra from 7:30am ET. CLICK HERE to watch via live stream.

Further back, Ferrari will be hoping to bring itself into the fight for the race win on Sunday with an alternative tire strategy. Sebastian Vettel looms large in the Mercedes’ mirrors in third place on the grid, and with Pirelli predicting either two or three stops, a repeat of Malaysia is not entirely out of the question.

However, a bad omen for Ferrari is that 92% of grands prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya have been won from the front row of the grid, suggesting that we are poised for an all-Mercedes fight for supremacy on Sunday.

Be sure to join us for all of the action on Sunday, starting with F1 Countdown at 7:30am ET. The race begins at 8am ET, and is followed by F1 Extra.

You can watch the Spanish Grand Prix live on NBCSN and Live Extra from 7:30am ET. CLICK HERE to watch via live stream.

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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.”