Verstappen worried about sounding arrogant over F1 team radio - MotorSportsTalk

Max Verstappen says he will cut back on radio chatter during Formula 1 racers for fear of sounding arrogant in his messages to the Red Bull team.

Verstappen, 19, has been vocal on the radio throughout the 2016 season, offering gems such as “I’m driving like my grandma.”

During last weekend’s United States Grand Prix, Verstappen was warned about his pace by Red Bull over team radio as he closed down on Nico Rosberg in third place. Verstappen quipped back: “I’m not here to finish fourth!”

However, the Dutchman is fearful that the comment made him sound arrogant, as discussed with reporters ahead of this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix.

“I think I’m going to take my radio button off! No radio for me anymore!” Verstappen said, as quoted by F1i.

“As a driver, I always want to go forward. I want to win, so I was trying to get past.

“I did it with Kimi [Raikkonen], I arrived and got past, but with Nico it didn’t really work out.

“At the end of the day, I did damage my left front a bit but it was not that bad.

“All the time I press my radio button, it is broadcast, and sometimes it sounds a bit arrogant; especially the ‘I’m not here to finish fourth’. That is just what comes up in my mind.

“I am not there to finish fourth at the end of the day. I am there to win as a racer, but on the radio it sounds like I am arrogant and not listening to the team, but it’s not like that.”

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.”