Max Verstappen wins French GP as Charles Leclerc crashes; Lewis Hamilton 2nd

Associated PressJul 24, 2022, 1:00 PM EDT
Verstappen Leclerc France
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LE CASTELLET, France — Defending Formula One series champion Max Verstappen won the French Grand Prix on Sunday after Charles Leclerc crashed out as Ferrari’s woes resurfaced, falling 63 points behind the Red Bull driver in the championship.

Seven-time series champion Lewis Hamilton finished second in his 300th GP – securing a fourth consecutive podium – while George Russell overtook Sergio Perez’s Red Bull following a virtual safety car restart late in the race to give Mercedes its first podium double of the season.

Leclerc’s race ended on Lap 18 when he lost the rear of his car coming out of Turn 11, spinning 360 degrees before crashing into a tire wall.

Leclerc could not speak at first, breathing heavily in his helmet before telling his team the mishap was caused by another throttle problem, and then letting out a furious “Noooooooooo!” (which prompted a raft of Internet memes on social media).

It was the third time that Leclerc failed to finish a race this season – Ferrari’s seventh DNF in the past 12 races – and came two weeks after a throttle problem almost cost him victory at the Austrian GP.

Leclerc later said the crash was caused by his mistake.

“We’ll add things up at the end of the season, but if we’re 25 or 30 points short at the season I can only blame myself,” Leclerc said. “I couldn’t go into reverse, but those are small details. You just can’t put a car into the wall.”

Perez finished fourth ahead of Sainz, who took a bonus point for fastest lap.

Sainz had passed Russell and Perez when his team told him to pit for new tires with 10 laps left.

“Come on, guys, I can’t believe you told me to box then,” a frustrated Sainz said. “I don’t know why we boxed … I don’t understand.”

IndyCar disappointed by delay of video game but aiming to launch at start of 2024

By Mar 27, 2023, 3:00 PM EDT
IndyCar video game 2024
IndyCar
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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.”