Norris extends F3 points lead with crushing Nurburgring victory - MotorSportsTalk

McLaren Formula 1 youngster Lando Norris extended his points lead at the top of the FIA European Formula 3 standings on Saturday by taking a dominant victory at the Nürburgring.

Norris, 17, moved into the lead of the F3 championship at the last round at Spa, and continued his good form in qualifying by grabbing pole for the opening race of the weekend.

Norris went wire-to-wire in the wet, eventually taking the checkered flag 17.5 seconds clear of compatriot Jake Hughes, pulling out the gap in just 20 laps.

The result saw Norris add to his lead over German rival Maximilian Günther, who by finishing a lowly 13th slipped to 36 points behind the Carlin racer.

“There isn’t too much to say about my race. My start was good, I managed to keep Jake and Callum [Ilott] at bay. After that, I was able to pull clear from the rest of the field and build up an advantage,” Norris said.

“On lap eight, I had a hairy moment when I briefly went off the track and lost a few seconds. Otherwise, everything went well and my car was great, so I can’t complain.”

Hughes and Ilott took pole position for races two and three, set to take place on Sunday, with Norris due to line up third and second in the respective races.

Despite enjoying a successful F1 test with McLaren in Hungary last month, Norris is set to be placed in Formula 2 next year by the British team.

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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.”