Mercedes confirms Paddy Lowe’s departure from team

By Jan 10, 2017, 12:13 PM EST
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Paddy Lowe, who had been Executive Director (Technical) at Mercedes AMG Petronas, had been rumored to leave the team for a couple months with news spreading in Europe this morning it was due to become official soon.

On Tuesday, Mercedes confirmed Lowe’s departure from the team in a release.

Now on gardening leave, Lowe’s eventual next move may well be to Williams Martini Racing before the start of the 2017 Formula 1 season.

“I have had a fantastically successful and enjoyable three and a half years at Mercedes working with an incredible team of people,” Lowe said in a release.

“I am now looking forward to a new challenge and wish everyone well at Mercedes.”

“Paddy has played an important part in our success during the past three and a half years and we thank him for his contribution to this significant chapter in Mercedes’ motorsport history,” said Mercedes-Benz Head of Motorsport Toto Wolff.

“Success in Formula 1 is not about single individuals but about the strength in depth and technical capability of an organization.

“We have the talent in place to continue our success of recent years and we plan to build upon it in 2017 and beyond.”

While Mercedes noted the technical group will continue to feature Aldo Costa (Engineering Director), Mark Ellis (Performance Director), Rob Thomas (Chief Operating Officer) and Geoff Willis (Technology Director), rumors have circulated that James Allison, formerly of Ferrari, could be on his way to Brackley and Brixworth to take up a role there.

Mercedes, of course, is also due to confirm Nico Rosberg’s replacement in the driving lineup. A formal confirmation of Valtteri Bottas’ expected move from Williams is due to arrive later this month.

IndyCar disappointed by delay of video game but aiming to launch at start of 2024

By Mar 27, 2023, 3:00 PM EDT
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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.”