Ricciardo thanks Red Bull for quick engine change (VIDEO) - MotorSportsTalk

Daniel Ricciardo has thanked the Red Bull mechanics for their quick turnaround with his new power unit that allowed him to get out during qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix on Saturday.

Ricciardo suffered a terminal failure on his new power unit – only fitted at the beginning of the weekend – that forced him to miss most of FP3 and the first part of Q1.

He finally got out of the garage with two minutes remaining in Q1, allowing him to get out on track and post a lap time quick enough to secure him a spot in Q2.

With a 50-place grid penalty hanging over his head due to the two new power units, Ricciardo opted not to run in Q2, leaving himself 15th in the final classification.

“We had a new engine in the car this morning that lasted a handful of laps,” Ricciardo explained.

“I think the boys in the garage did the world’s quickest engine change to get the car out for Q1. The previous best was about two hours and I think the boys have just done it in 1 hour and 40 minutes.

“To do one lap was already a victory – the boys are absolute legends. I think everyone cheered when I drove out of the box and I was pretty happy with the lap.”

Ricciardo remains upbeat despite being resigned to starting from the back row, and is relishing the challenge of overtaking at Monza.

“We’ll be starting from the back tomorrow and we’ll try to make up some places,” Ricciardo said.

“The positive aspect is I like overtaking and at this track you can do it, so I’m looking forward to the challenges tomorrow.”

The Italian Grand Prix is live on NBCSN and Live Extra from 7:30am ET on Sunday.

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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.”