HRT F1
The HRT F1 Team (formerly Hispania Racing F1 Team ) was a traveling with Spanish license Motorsport team, who raced from 2010 to 2012 in Formula 1. He emerged from the failed financial problems to team Campos Grand Prix and was next to Virgin and Lotus F1 Racing to the three racing teams, the newly established in 2010 in Formula 1. The HRT team, which was one and a half years closely associated with Colin Kolles and in that time had its de facto headquarters in Germany, was the financial and organizational weakest established the three new racing stables, and it was the first of them, which failed: After three unsuccessful years, the team is no longer on the list of participants for the formula 1 World Championship in 2013.
- 2.1 The 2010 season
- 2.2 The 2011 season
- 2.3 The 2012 season
- 4.1 Statistics in Formula 1
- 4.2 All drivers
- 4.3 Results in Formula 1
History of the racing team
The origins: Adrián Campos
The project was initiated in 2009 by Adrián Campos, a former Formula 1 pilot, who was in 1987 and 1988 driving for Minardi and since 1998 has maintained its own resident in Spain team. The first Adrián Campos Motorsport, later Campos Racing and called since 2007, Campos Grand Prix team came initially in smaller classes and was active until 2009 in the GP2 Series.
When the FIA in 2009 on a reduction in fixed costs and a budget ceiling of Grand Prix racing for new teams again became a viable option. Therefore, Adrián Campos competed with his team to take part in the Formula 1 2010 season. In June 2009, the FIA agreed on two solid starting places to Campos. Campos did not have their own infrastructure, which could make the development of their own chassis. Adrián Campos therefore commissioned the Italian constructor Dallara with the development of a chassis; the motors should be available from Cosworth.
In the summer of 2009, there were the first reports of financial problems of the Spanish company, which intensified in the fall and winter. Since the turn of the year has been repeatedly reported, Dallara was the development of the race car set, as Campos had not paid the installments due. Adrián Campos first tried to get through new business partners with additional resources and maintain the operation of their achievements; nothing came of it, however.
Rescue by the Grupo Hispania Colin Kolles and
On February 19, 2010 less than four weeks before the first race of the new season, took over the Spanish entrepreneur José Ramon Carabante, of the real estate sector in Spain and Latin America has been working with his "Hispania Grupo ," the team and sat Colin Kolles as Team Manager one. The operation was at this time in Campos on the ground. Kolles was quoted as saying: " They had nothing, only chaos "
Kolles built within a very short time, drawing on resources from his own racing stables operation and declared to participate in the first race of the 2010 season to the destination. On 3 March 2010, a renaming of the team Hispania Racing F1 Team was announced. The operating business took over in February 2010 Colin Kolles ' DTM team in Middle Franconia Greding. Here is the Formula 1 cars were built and the racing organized.
Carabante announced plans to relocate the headquarters of the teams in the medium term in the Spanish city of Murcia. In fact, however, there were no pertinent steps; In 2011, the team was still out of Greding from.
Thesan Capital: Failed relocation
After the 2011 season had begun as difficult as the debut year, Carabante retired in July 2011 from the team. He sold his shares in Thesan Capital, a Spanish investment company, which is part of the Japanese Financial Services Nomura Holdings. After the takeover by Thesan Capital Kolles led the team on first. On 14 December 2011, the team was known, however, to part with immediate effect by Colin Kolles. In January 2012, HRT moved its headquarters to Valencia. New team manager was the former Formula 1 driver Luis Pérez- Sala, who had in 1988 alongside Adrián Campos couple of races for Minardi and since the summer of 2011 was a consultant for HRT. The essential part of the previous staff did not take place with the change of location, so that new employees had to be recruited.
In November 2012 Thesan Capital declared its intention to separate short-term from the team. However, a planned sale did not materialize. Even before the last race of the season 2012, the majority of the staff was laid off. After HRT had not paid the registration fee for the coming season due time, the FIA published on 1 December 2012 an entry list for 2013, on the Spanish team was no longer listed.
The individual annual
The 2010 season
He managed the team that was at that time mainly from employees of Kolles ' team to get both cars for the first race of the year at the start. Due to time difficulties had been able to complete before the race does not shake down more. The absence of sufficient technical data, the team first had considerable difficulties to match the car passable. In addition, the developed by Dallara F110 HRT was problematic. Geoff Willis, the technical adviser of the team had to quote the words that the HRT as a whole does not correspond to the state of Formula 1; Dallara have chosen simple, outdated solutions in many places. In May 2010, HRT finished working with Dallara.
At the first race of the year, the HRT cars were hardly competitive. Bruno Senna's car was first completed for the first free practice of the Grand Prix of Bahrain on Friday morning, Karun Chandhoks car, however, was not completed until the final minutes before the qualifying session. Both riders qualified by far the best time for the last row. In the race, both fell shortly after the race start from: Chandhok in the second round after a mistake, Senna after 17 laps due to an engine defect. At the next race in Australia Chandhok managed to finish first; He completed the race from five laps down in 14th. In the third race of the year at Sepang for the first time both HRT drivers finished the race.
In the summer of the Japanese Sakon Yamamoto bought a 5 million U.S. $ in HRT. His first assignment was the Grand Prix of Great Britain, in which he replaced Bruno Senna. At the following Grand Prix of Germany Senna returned to the team; Yamamoto sat from now until the Italian Grand Prix in the car Karun Chandhoks. At the Grand Prix in Singapore, Brazil and Abu Dhabi Yamamoto was replaced by Christian Klien.
Notwithstanding anything to speculation in the press, in which doubts about the continued existence of the team were expressed succeeded HRT to compete for every race of the Formula 1 2010 season. HRT finished his first Formula 1 season thanks to three fourteenth places to rank eleven of the constructors' championship and thus performed better than the British team Virgin Racing.
The future of the racing team on the end of the season also had also been the subject of much speculation. After the efforts of Jacques Villeneuve had failed to establish a team owner in September 2010, HRT was traded to the media repeatedly as a candidate for a takeover by Villeneuve and the Italian racing team Durango. An acquisition or even a collaboration did not materialize, however.
The 2011 season
HRT 2011 denied his second season as an independent Formula 1 racing team. The annual budget was reported to be 50 million U.S. dollars. No team possessed in the 2011 season on less money.
2011 reported the HRT F111 model. It was a self-constructed vehicle, which was developed under the leadership of Geoff Willis and Paul White involving numerous suppliers. Technical relationship to earlier Toyota models did not exist. Although HRT had negotiated after the termination of the alliance with the Cologne-based Toyota Motorsport GmbH on the use of the fully developed but never used due to the Toyota TF110 retreat in 2010, but an agreement could not be achieved. In 2011, the eight-cylinder engine used HRT Cosworth. As a driver of Indian Narain Karthikeyan was signed in January 2011, which the team opens sponsor funds from the Indian group Tata. The second driver was announced in March Vitantonio Liuzzi.
The start of the season was poorly prepared. Many new parts were available until very late, so that the new car could not be completed in time for a roll-out or for test drives. At the held in February 2011 Barcelona test HRT presented indeed a first copy of the F111; the car was there but not ready to drive, because, inter alia, lacked the shock absorber. Ultimately, was the first complete construction of the new HRT F111 only at the opening race in Australia. Again, still lacked essential parts, such as an updated vehicle nose.
The construction works continued during the race weekend so much in the length that the team in Australia missed the first free practice. In the second free practice Liuzzi managed to complete with the HRF 111, a first installation lap, in the third he drove five and Karthikeyan a round. In qualifying, both drivers failed due to the re-imported 107- percent rule. In the following race both drivers managed regularly qualification, and with increasing routine, the team approached the level of performance of competitors Marussia Virgin. In qualifying for the Grand Prix of Turkey Liuzzi was able to position the first time in front of a Virgin. In Canada, the team finally achieved the best result in its history, as Liuzzi - 13th crossed the finish line - even if under exceptional circumstances. This took HRT in the intermediate ranking the Constructors Championship mid-June 2011 ranked 11th and pushed the competitors Virgin on the last place. At the Monaco Grand Prix, however, the team suffered considerable difficulties. After Liuzzi had his car badly damaged in the third practice and Karthikeyans car was not used because of suspension problems, none of them was able to create a timed lap in qualifying. However, the FIA gave both drivers for the race start the permit because they had achieved lap times in the third free practice session, which were within 107 percent of the relevant time from the first section of the later qualifying session.
Before the Grand Prix of Great Britain, occurred two changes in the team structure. After the takeover of the racing team by Thesan Capital Karthikeyan was replaced by Daniel Ricciardo. Ricciardo is a member of the funding from Red Bull and completed before Friday test driving for Scuderia Toro Rosso.
At the Grand Prix of Italy Liuzzi broke shortly after the start of a mass collision when he, turning over the side strips, with his car in the variant del Rettifilio came across several cars of the mean field. Vitaly Petrov and Nico Rosberg fell out as a result of collision; other drivers such as Rubens Barrichello and Liuzzi teammate Ricciardo were also affected, but were able to continue with some larger delay.
In September 2011, Geoff Willis left the team and moved to Mercedes Grand Prix, where he took over the function of the technology leader. His successor was Jackie Eeckelart, who worked for the team until January 2012. Its function took over in spring 2012 Toni Cuquerella.
The 2012 season
The Formula 1 2012 season was a new start for HRT.
Due to the separation completed in December 2011 by Colin Kolles the entire infrastructure was broken, which was necessary for the operation of a racing team. After moving to Spain, the team therefore had to build in the winter 2011/2012 a completely new structure. This also included the commitment of new staff. Team boss Pérez Sala said in view of the reorganization and the simultaneous need to develop a new car from a " huge task" and saw the danger that could suffer under the competitiveness of the team. In December 2011, he did not rule out that the residue of HRT in 2012 will be even greater than in 2011.
HRT was the smallest and finanzschwächste Team of the Season 2012. During HRT had only 80 employees. As before, in the years, many tasks have been done by external service providers.
The new HRT F112 was designed by Jackie Eeckelart and Stephane Chosse. The development work for the HRT F112 was partially in Munich and Bobingen near Augsburg at the firm Holzer instead. The F112 did not pass the crash tests in the area of the roll bar and the first side panel; given the necessary improvements to the completion of the first chassis delayed until the beginning of March 2012. The second chassis was assembled as in the past two years in the night before the first free practice session for the Australian Grand Prix in the box for the first time.
On the Thursday before the first world championship race, there were reports concerning use of regulated materials in the chassis area so that approval of the team for the race was initially doubtful. The legality of the materials used could not be fully understood on the ground; regardless of HRT was given permission to start on Friday morning by the FIA .
The team was not sufficiently prepared for the first race of the season. Apart from the late finishing of the second chassis missing in Australia some technical components such as the adjustment mechanism for the rear wings; the power steering was not working correctly, and the car became little traction. In the free practice sessions, the HRT drivers were able to cover only a few laps due to hydraulic problems whose times were respectively not been collected within 107 percent of the fastest drivers. Given the technical problems and the lack of experience with the new car missed both drivers at Zeitraining finally the qualification. The FIA gave the team an exemption certificate, with a race entry would have been possible to despite slower times.
In the second race of the season, the Malaysian Grand Prix both drivers after qualifying. They came on the last two ranks to the finish. Karthikeyan got it in for criticism because it clashed with both Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel with. Karthikeyan was then occupied after the race with a time penalty.
In the following World Cup runs the qualification was no longer a problem for the HRT drivers, but they reached in the race only target arrivals to the last places. The best result of the team was 15th place Karthikeyans at the Grand Prix of Monaco. These results were not sufficient to position itself as in previous years in the constructors' standings ahead of Marussia.
In the second half the team fell into an economic crisis. It prevented a further development of the car and led by matching to press reports that the drivers were allowed repeated outdated and unsafe material on the track. Karthikeyan reported that the Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi the outdated steering column of his car broke. To avoid a major accident, he slowed down in a high speed corner and came together with the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg, who was pushed off the track. According to press reports, the team management had responded initially considered to pull out immediately for safety in Formula 1; with regard to the obligations under the Concorde Agreement and to avoid penalties you have, however, decided to to compete well with the last two races of the season. Was apart of the staff employed at the track the entire team workforce laid off in the week before the Grand Prix of the United States. Despite this, the team also took part in the last race of the season and brought both cars in both the U.S. and Brazil to the finish. HRT finished the season in last place in the constructors' standings.
Resuscitation 2013
In January 2013, Canadian and U.S. investors sought a takeover of the HRT team. According to media reports, they wanted to buy the F112 chassis and the team equipment and bring the cars in the 2013 season under the name Scorpion Racing at Silverstone from a place of headquarters from the start. The project proved to be problematic, because the enrollment was up for the new season for the past two months. The plans were dashed in mid-February 2013. The vehicles were bought by an auto parts dealer.
Facts and Figures
Statistics in Formula 1
As of end of 2012 season
All the drivers
As of end of 2012 season
Current drivers are shown in yellow.