Ferrucci set to continue as Haas development driver in 2017 - MotorSportsTalk

American youngster Santino Ferrucci is set to continue as Haas’ Formula 1 development driver through the 2017 season, according to team chief Guenther Steiner.

Ferrucci, 18, joined up with Haas for the 2016 season, as well as racing in the GP3 Series where he finished the season 12th in the standings with one podium to his name.

The native of Woodbury, CT, is poised to continue with Haas for next season, as confirmed by team principal Steiner when speaking to Autosport.

“He will stay as the development driver,” Steiner said.

“It’s a long-term project, we don’t exactly what we’re going to do next year with him because as you know testing is still up in the air.

“We know the tests we are doing but we still need to decide when we use the rookie days and who we put in it.

“We also need to decide if we are going to do some FP1s with him or not. Over the winter, we’re going to sit down with him and see what we’re doing.”

Haas also worked with Ferrari junior Charles Leclerc through its debut F1 season, with the Monegasque driver taking part in a number of practice sessions for the team.

Leclerc will move up to GP2 with Prema Racing next year, having won the GP3 title in 2016, and could be set to continue with Haas given Ferrari’s technical partnership with the American team.

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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.”