Wehrlein releases photos of injury recovery after F1 comeback in Bahrain - MotorSportsTalk

Pascal Wehrlein has released three photos showing his recovery from neck and back injuries in the winter, calling it “history” after making a successful return to Formula 1 in Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix.

Wehrlein suffered three broken vertebra in an accident at the Race of Champions in January, forcing him to miss the opening two races of the new season.

After regaining fitness, Wehrlein returned with Sauber in Bahrain last weekend, enjoying an impressive charge to 11th in the race that saw him narrowly miss out on a debut point for the Swiss team.

Despite facing criticism from some corners for deciding to miss the races in Australia and China, Wehrlein hit back by releasing three pictures of his recovery, showing the extent of his injury that required him to remain in a brace.

That's history ✔️
Many thanks to those who worked so hard with me since my injury happened 🙏🏽 Especially @SauberF1Team and @MercedesAMGF1! pic.twitter.com/WK2dxYBLqt

— Pascal Wehrlein (@PWehrlein) April 17, 2017

“I am very satisfied with how the weekend went, being in P13 in qualifying and now finishing the race in P11,” Wehrlein said.

“It was a tough race, as we decided to only make one pit stop. The result is the maximum that we could have achieved today.

“It is obviously a pity that we have missed this point by only one position. Nevertheless, I am already looking forward to the next grand prix.”

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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.”