Haryanto’s F1 future unclear beyond Hungarian GP - MotorSportsTalk

Rio Haryanto’s future in Formula 1 with Manor remains unclear beyond this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, but the Indonesian driver is hopeful he will see out the season.

Haryanto became Indonesia’s first F1 driver at the beginning of the year in Australia, enjoying backing from state-owned oil company Pertamina.

Haryanto conceded over the Monaco Grand Prix weekend that he was unsure of seeing out the season due to a shortfall in funding that only secured his seat until after this weekend’s race in Hungary.

When asked if he will be racing in Germany weekend, Haryanto told reporters: “I think so. We will see.

“Obviously if you see me at Hockenheim, then I think that would secure the whole season.”

Haryanto’s manager Piers Hunnisett offered a similar verdict to Reuters.

“We’ve got to be positive and hope Rio will be in Germany,” he said.

“We’ve had many promises which haven’t come true. We keep working hard and it is our plan to be in Germany.”

Haryanto has recorded a best finish of 15th so far in F1, and has outqualified Manor teammate Pascal Wehrlein in half of their races together.

Besides its race drivers, Manor also enjoys ties with 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner Alexander Rossi and GP2’s Jordan King, both of whom enjoy junior roles with the team. Rossi is the team’s reserve driver.

Should Haryanto not race in Germany, Rossi would not be able to step in given the clash with the Honda Indy 200 IndyCar race at Mid-Ohio.

After Hungary, the next four F1 races clash with IndyCar weekends, including the season finale at Sonoma on September 18 that shares a date with the Singapore Grand Prix.

Rossi, for his part, addressed his own future in a recent USA Today Sports interview with Brant James.

“I’m definitely deciding between Formula 1 and IndyCar,” Rossi told James at the Toronto weekend.

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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.”