Vettel ‘quite happy’ with Raikkonen as Ferrari teammate

By Jun 16, 2016, 1:55 PM EDT
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Sebastian Vettel hopes that Kimi Raikkonen will still be his Ferrari teammate for the 2017 Formula 1 season, believing stability to be key to pushing the team forwards.

Vettel joined Raikkonen at Ferrari in 2015, but the Finn’s future was brought into question as he failed to match the German across the course of the season.

Ferrari opted to keep Raikkonen on for another year, and despite scoring three podium finishes in the opening seven rounds of 2016, his future has once again become the focus of ‘silly season’ speculation.

Raikkonen said in Canada last weekend that he wanted to stay at Ferrari for 2017, and Vettel hopes to continue with the Finn by his side at Maranello next year.

“I’m quite happy with Kimi because there’s no bullshit as he puts it going on, no funny games or anything like that,” Vettel told NBCSN.

“We’re both trying to work with the team, push the car forward and not putting ourselves in first place if you understand what I mean.

“In this regard, it would be great if he decides to keep going. If not, it’s not really in my hands.”

At 36, Raikkonen is one of the oldest drivers on the grid and even raced against current Red Bull racer Max Verstappen’s father, Jos, in the early part of his career.

He famously walked away from F1 in 2009 after a three-year stint at Ferrari, only to return in 2012 with Lotus and win two races before returning to Maranello.

Raikkonen has faced questions about his motivation throughout his career, but with his on-track fortunes continuing to improve, it appears Ferrari will have little reason to rock the boat and part company with him for next season.

Vettel’s contract is known to expire at the end of 2017, but the German is already rumored to be in talks with the team over a three-year extension that would take him to the end of 2020.

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.”