Mercedes F1 team member robbed at gunpoint in Mexico - MotorSportsTalk

Mercedes has confirmed that a member of its Formula 1 team was left “shaken up” but without injury after being robbed at gunpoint in Mexico City ahead of this weekend’s grand prix.

The team member, who has not been named by Mercedes, was held at gunpoint while in a chaffeur-driven car that encountered heavy traffic in Mexico City on Wednesday.

“A team member was robbed while travelling from the airport towards the city on Wednesday when in heavy stationary traffic,” a Mercedes spokesperson said.

“Wallets and watches were taken and there were no physical injuries, but they were a little shaken up for obvious reasons.”

The team member has chosen to remain in Mexico for the remainder of the race weekend and carry out duties as normal.

UPDATE 11:45am ET: The Public Security Secretariat of Mexico City has confirmed it is working to find the gunmen responsible for the incident.

“Since the day before yesterday, CDMX police checked cameras and is working in an intensive investigation to find those responsible,” a tweet sent to NBC Sports reads.

@F1onNBCSports Desde anteayer policías CDMX revisan cámaras y trabajan en un intenso esquema de investigación para dar con los responsables

— SSP CDMX (@SSP_CDMX) October 29, 2016

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.”