Sainz handed Russian GP grid penalty for Stroll clash in Bahrain - MotorSportsTalk

Carlos Sainz Jr. will drop three places on the grid at the next Formula 1 race in Russia after being deemed responsible for a crash with Lance Stroll during Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix.

Sainz and Stroll crashed at Turn 1 on Lap 11 at the Bahrain International Circuit, with both drivers laying blame with one another for the collision.

Replays showed Sainz exiting the pit lane and taking to the inside of the corner, with Stroll trying to take his usual racing line before the pair came together.

After speaking to both drivers and analyzing the video footage of the clash, the stewards deemed Sainz to have been at fault, resulting in a three-place grid penalty for the Russian Grand Prix on April 30.

“The Stewards heard from Carlos Sainz, the driver of car 55, Lance Stroll, the driver of car 18 and the team representatives, reviewed the video evidence which showed that car 18 was on the normal racing line, car 55 left the pit lane and made a very optimistic attempt to pass car 18 into the corner,” a statement from the FIA stewards reads.

“The Stewards decided that the driver of car 55 was predominantly to blame for causing the collision in violation of Article 27.4 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations.”

The crash caused both Stroll and Sainz to retire from the race, and marked the third round in a row that the former had failed to see the finish.

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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.”