Vettel splits Mercedes in Spa qualifying, thanks Raikkonen for tow - MotorSportsTalk

Sebastian Vettel was pleased to split Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas during Formula 1 qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday, making use of a tow from Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen to secure second place on the grid.

As title rival Hamilton charged to pole with a new lap record at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Vettel was able to finish just two-tenths of a second shy of the Mercedes driver after making significant gains on his final flying lap.

Vettel was aided at the end of Q3 by Raikkonen, who after making a mistake further ahead on-track opted to drop back and give his teammate a tow by running ahead in dirty air.

“I think I had a little bit of help from a friend. Kimi here obviously had to abort his lap and he was very generous in giving me a nice tow in the last sector which I think got me like two-tenths,” Vettel said.

“That helped and made it a little bit comfortable with Valtteri, looking at the result. In Q1 I was really happy, the car was amazing. In Q2, the main job was to get through and then Q3, first lap, I was missing a little bit the feel for the front.

“The second run in Q3 was better in that regard, so I was very happy with the last lap and as I said obviously a bit of a help.

“The pace has been good this weekend I think less for one lap but more so for long runs so let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”

The Belgian Grand Prix is live on NBCSN and the NBC Sports app from 7am ET on Sunday.

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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.”