Haas disappointed to leave first North American race empty handed - MotorSportsTalk

Team principal Guenther Steiner made no secret of his disappointment after Haas left its first Formula 1 race in North America empty handed on Sunday.

Haas arrived in Canada hopeful of picking up its first points since the Russian Grand Prix at the beginning of May, having struggled for pace in Spain and Monaco.

Drivers Esteban Gutierrez and Romain Grosjean looked well-placed to score points from 13th and 14th on the grid, but could only finish where they started as cold temperatures made warming tires a challenge for the American team in Montreal.

“It was a little bit of a disappointing race for us,” Steiner admitted.

“However, we finished with two cars, so that’s certainly a positive. We tried hard and had a few challenges and ended up 13th and 14th. Some races things just don’t go as smoothly as you’d hope they would.

“We struggled with tire management. We had to come in and change them, and then we ended up changing them again.

“We also had a problem with the front wing on Romain’s car near the start. However, we’re now focusing on the race next weekend at Baku.”

“We’re not far from the points. I was up to P11 or so, trying to fight hard and doing everything I could, and then the front wing went,” Grosjean said.

“That third pit stop definitely cost us everything we had been working for. We need to look more deeply into that issue to get it sorted.

“There are plenty of other areas where we can improve but, generally, the more we do, the more we understand the car and the better things get.

“Flying to Canada and not scoring any points is difficult. I’m sure the next race will be another step, and if we learn more, the better we’ll get.”

Gutierrez believes that Haas needs to focus on tire management in the coming races, having seen his F1 points drought extend once again.

“It wasn’t an easy race. I was struggling a lot to get the tires to work and then at the end of every stint it was difficult to keep the temperature in them, and once you start losing that the car starts to slide and it’s like driving on ice,” Gutierrez said.

“This weekend we knew it was going to be very tough with the cool weather, but now we need to analyze how we can compensate and try to put more emphasis into the tires to make them work to give us an easier race.

“I didn’t enjoy it too much as I’m not feeling very well, but the weekend is now over and I’m looking forward to Baku.”

Follow @LukeSmithF1

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.”