WATCH LIVE: Austrian GP on CNBC, NBC Sports app from 7:30am ET - MotorSportsTalk

The Formula 1 season nears its halfway point in Austria on Sunday with round nine of the 20-race season as the title fight continues to hot up between Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.

F1 AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX LIVE STREAM

After coming to blows two weeks ago in Baku, Vettel and Hamilton’s rivalry was the talk of the paddock in Spielberg, but the pair have apparently patched things up and cooled tensions.

Neither driver was able to bag pole position on Saturday, with that honor instead going to Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate, Valtteri Bottas, after edging out Vettel in the Q3 shootout.

Bottas heads into Sunday’s race chasing his second grand prix victory, while Hamilton has a fightback to complete after a penalty dropped him to eighth place on the grid.

With Vettel second for Ferrari and the likes of Kimi Raikkonen, Daniel Ricciardo, and Max Verstappen all lurking at the front, the stage is set for a close battle on Sunday.

You can watch the Austrian Grand Prix live on CNBC and the NBC Sports app from 7:30am ET on Sunday. CLICK HERE to watch via live stream.

Leigh Diffey, David Hobbs and Steve Matchett will be on the call for the race, with pit reporter Will Buxton providing updates and interviews throughout the race live from Spielberg.

Also be sure to follow the @F1onNBCSports Twitter account for live updates throughout the race.

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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.”