Giovinazzi continues for Sauber in China, possibly Bahrain - MotorSportsTalk

Italian Antonio Giovinazzi will continue in Sauber F1 Team’s second car for this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix and possibly the Bahrain Grand Prix next week as well, as Pascal Wehrlein remains sidelined while he tries to get his physicality back in shape.

The team release said: “Pascal Wehrlein will again be replaced by Antonio Giovinazzi to ensure that the German will be back in the cockpit of the Sauber C36-Ferrari, in best physical shape, at the earliest possible opportunity – either the Bahrain Grand Prix or the Russian Grand Prix.”

Giovinazzi was called up to action on the Friday night of the Australian Grand Prix weekend after Wehrlein determined his fitness wasn’t on par to complete a full race distance at Albert Park. However, Giovinazzi didn’t actually see the team’s text to him until Saturday morning. He made his race weekend debut in FP3 and progressed quickly with learning the track and nearly outqualifying teammate Marcus Ericsson.

In the race, he brought the car home to a 12th place finish.

Today’s confirmation for China and with the short turnaround time to Bahrain will ensure Sauber has a plan either way.

“For me the most important is that I can train intensively to ensure a 100 percent performance from my side as soon as possible,” Wehrlein said in the team’s advance.

“I will then be well-prepared for my first complete Grand Prix weekend for the Sauber F1 Team. Hopefully this can be in Bahrain but, if not, then we will take the time it needs until Russia to make sure I am completely ready.”

Interestingly, this news came after Mercedes-Benz motorsport chief Toto Wolff said he was impressed by Wehrlein’s maturity to rule himself out of action for Melbourne.

Coverage of the Chinese Grand Prix weekend on NBCSN and the NBC Sports app online begins Thursday night.

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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.”