Hamilton wary of Ferrari’s Austria pace, believes Mercedes’ advantage has grown slimmer

By Jun 19, 2015, 12:15 PM EDT
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Lewis Hamilton believes that Ferrari has made a big step towards Mercedes ahead of this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, but says that the team is taking the threat very seriously and is working to stay on top.

Hamilton finished second behind teammate Nico Rosberg in the first free practice session on Friday, but failed to hook up a lap in FP2 and eventually faded to fourth place by the end of play.

The British driver is chasing his first win in Austria this weekend, and believes that Mercedes is making good progress with the car setup and developments.

“It’s been an okay start,” Hamilton said. “Not the best but not the worst either. I had a bit of oversteer here and there but generally the car feels great and we definitely made improvements from P1 to P2.

“There’s just not a lot of grip out there on track and I didn’t put a full lap together. I had some good sectors and was a few tenths up on a couple of laps, so the pace is there. I was pushing hard and learning with every lap. If you’re not making mistakes you’re not trying hard enough.”

The second practice session was topped by Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, and Hamilton believes that Italian team does have the pace to challenge Mercedes in Austria.

“I’m not sure how our pace looks relative to the others,” Hamilton said. “I haven’t seen the data but Ferrari looked quick and it’s definitely closer here than at other circuits.

“We’re always aware of the threat from our rivals and we take it seriously every race. Hopefully it’ll all come together tomorrow.”

Qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix is live on NBCSN and Live Extra from 8am ET on Sunday.

IndyCar disappointed by delay of video game but aiming to launch at start of 2024

By Mar 27, 2023, 3:00 PM EDT
IndyCar video game 2024
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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.”