HRT F1 team

HRT

Surname	HRT F1 team
Companies	Campos Meta 1 SL
Company headquarters	Madrid ( E )
Team boss	Colin Kolles Luis Pérez-Sala
statistics
First Grand Prix	Bahrain 2010
Last Grand Prix	Brazil 2012
Race driven	56
Constructors' championship	0 - best result: 11th ( 2010 , 2011 )
Drivers World Championship	0 - best result: 22nd ( 2010 )
Race wins	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
Points	0

The HRT F1 Team (initially: Hispania Racing F1 Team ) was a Spanish- licensed motorsport racing team that competed in Formula 1 from 2010 to 2012 . He emerged from the Campos Grand Prix team, which had failed due to financial problems , and, alongside Virgin and Lotus F1 Racing, was one of the three racing teams that established themselves in Formula 1 in 2010. The HRT team, which was closely linked to Colin Kolles for a year and a half and during which time its actual headquarters were in Germany, was the financially and organizationally weakest of the three new racing teams, and it was the first of them to fail: After three unsuccessful years, the team was no longer on the list of participants for the 2013 Formula 1 World Championship .

History of the racing team

The origins: Adrián Campos

The project was initiated in 2009 by Adrián Campos , a former Formula 1 driver who drove for Minardi in 1987 and 1988 and had had his own racing team based in Spain since 1998. The team initially called Adrián Campos Motorsport, later Campos Racing and since 2007 Campos Grand Prix initially competed in smaller classes and was active in the GP2 series until 2009 .

When the FIA ​​set a cost cut and budget cap in 2009, Grand Prix racing became a viable option again for new teams. Therefore, Adrián Campos applied with his racing team to participate in the 2010 Formula 1 season. In June 2009, the FIA ​​awarded two permanent starting positions to Campos. Campos did not have its own infrastructure that could have been used to develop its own chassis. Adrián Campos therefore commissioned the Italian designer Dallara to develop a chassis; the engines should be obtained from Cosworth .

As early as summer 2009 there were first reports of financial problems of the Spanish company, which intensified in autumn and winter. Since the turn of the year it has been reported repeatedly that Dallara had stopped developing the racing car because Campos had not paid the due installments. Adrián Campos first tried to get additional funds through new business partners and to maintain the operation of his racing team; but nothing came of it.

Rescue by Hispania Grupo and Colin Kolles

Headed the racing team for two years: Colin Kolles

On February 19, 2010, less than four weeks before the first race of the new season, the Spanish entrepreneur José Ramon Carabante, who works in the real estate sector in Spain and Latin America with his "Hispania Grupo", took over the team and appointed Colin Kolles as team manager a. At that time the operation at Campos was on the ground. Kolles was quoted as saying: "They had nothing, just chaos"

Kolles built up a business within a very short time using resources from his own racing teams and declared participation in the first race of the 2010 season his goal. On March 3, 2010, the team was renamed Hispania Racing F1 Team. In February 2010, Colin Kolles' DTM team in Greding in Central Franconia took over the operational business . This is where the Formula 1 cars were set up and racing was organized.

Carabante announced that the team's headquarters will be relocated to the Spanish city of Murcia in the medium term . In fact, however, there were no steps to do so; In 2011 the team was still managed from Greding.

Thesan Capital: Failed change of location

After the 2011 season started as difficult as the debut year, Carabante withdrew from the racing team in July 2011. He sold his stake in Thesan Capital , a Spanish investment company owned by the Japanese financial services company Nomura Holdings . After the takeover by Thesan Capital, Kolles initially managed the racing team. On December 14, 2011, however, the team announced that they would part ways with Colin Kolles with immediate effect. In January 2012, HRT relocated to Valencia. The new team boss was the former Formula 1 driver Luis Pérez-Sala , who had competed in several races for Minardi alongside Adrián Campos in 1988 and had been a consultant for HRT since the summer of 2011. The majority of the previous staff did not take part in the change of location, so that new employees had to be recruited.

In November 2012, Thesan Capital announced that it wanted to part with the racing team at short notice. A planned sale did not materialize, however. Most of the employees were laid off before the last race of the season in 2012. After HRT had not paid the registration fee for the coming season on time, the FIA published a registration list for 2013 on December 1, 2012, on which the team was no longer listed.

The individual years

The 2010 season

former logo for 2010

The team, which at that time consisted mainly of employees from Kolles' racing team, managed to get both cars to the start for the first race of the year. Due to time difficulties, it was not possible to do a shake down before the race. In the absence of sufficient technical data, the team initially had considerable difficulties in properly coordinating the cars. Incidentally, the HRT F110 developed by Dallara was problematic. Geoff Willis , the team's technical advisor, was quoted as saying that the HRT as a whole is not in line with Formula 1; Dallara has chosen simple, outdated solutions in many areas. In May 2010, HRT ended its collaboration with Dallara.

Bruno Senna in the HRT F110 at the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix

In the first race of the year, the HRT cars were hardly competitive. Bruno Senna's car was completed for the first time during the first free practice session of the Bahrain Grand Prix on Friday morning, while Karun Chandhok's car was only completed in the last few minutes before qualifying. Both drivers qualified for the last row of the grid with a clear gap to the best time. In the race, both retired shortly after the start of the race: Chandhok on the second lap after a driving error, Senna after 17 laps due to an engine failure. At the following race in Australia Chandhok managed the first finish; he finished the race five laps behind in 14th. In the third race of the year in Sepang , both HRT drivers crossed the finish line for the first time.

Sakon Yamamoto at the 2010 Japanese Grand Prix

In the summer of that year, the Japanese Sakon Yamamoto bought HRT for $ 5 million. His first outing was the Great Britain Grand Prix , where he replaced Bruno Senna. At the following German Grand Prix , Senna returned to the team; Yamamoto was in Karun Chandhok's car from now until the Italian Grand Prix. On the occasion of the Singapore, Brazil and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Yamamoto was replaced by Christian Klien.

Despite speculation to the contrary in the press, in which doubts were expressed about the long-term existence of the team, HRT managed to compete in every race of the 2010 Formula 1 season. HRT finished its first Formula 1 season thanks to three fourteenth places in eleventh place in the constructors' championship and thus performed better than the British team Virgin Racing.

The future of the racing team beyond the end of the season had also been the subject of much speculation. After Jacques Villeneuve's efforts to establish his own racing team failed in September 2010, HRT was repeatedly traded in the media as a candidate for a takeover by Villeneuve and the Italian racing team Durango . A takeover or even a collaboration did not materialize.

The 2011 season

former logo January 2011 to August 2011

"This could be you": (in vain) invitation to possible sponsors to advertise on the side pods of the HRT F111 (here at the Malaysian Grand Prix 2011). The paint is by Daniel Simon .

In 2011 HRT started its second season as an independent Formula 1 racing team. The annual budget was given as 50 million US dollars. No team had less money in the 2011 season.

In 2011, HRT announced the F111 model . It was a self-constructed vehicle that was developed under the direction of Geoff Willis and Paul White with the involvement of numerous suppliers. There was no technical relationship to earlier Toyota models. Although HRT had negotiated in 2010 after the termination of the alliance with the Cologne- based Toyota Motorsport GmbH about the use of the fully developed TF110, which was never used as a result of the Toyota withdrawal, an agreement could not be reached. In 2011, HRT also used the eight-cylinder Cosworth engine. The Indian Narain Karthikeyan was hired as a driver in January 2011 , who opened up sponsorship money for the team from the Indian company Tata . Vitantonio Liuzzi was announced as the second driver in March .

The HRT F111 at the 2011 Australian Grand Prix. The car here bears the nose of last year's HRT F110.

The start of the season was poorly prepared. Numerous new parts were only available very late, so that the new car could not be completed in time for a roll-out or test drives. On the occasion of the test drives held in Barcelona in February 2011, HRT presented a first copy of the F111; the car was not ready to drive there because u. a. the shock absorbers were missing. Ultimately, the first complete assembly of the new HRT F111 did not take place until the opening race in Australia . Here, too, essential parts such as B. an updated vehicle nose.

The construction work dragged on so much on the race weekend that the team in Australia missed the first free practice. In the second free practice Liuzzi managed to complete a first installation lap with the HRF 111, in the third he drove five and Karthikeyan one lap. In qualifying, both drivers failed because of the reintroduced 107 percent rule . In the races that followed, both drivers regularly qualified, and with increasing routine the team approached the level of performance of competitor Marussia Virgin . In qualifying for the Turkish Grand Prix , Liuzzi was able to position himself in front of a Virgin for the first time. In Canada , the team finally achieved the best result in its history when Liuzzi crossed the finish line in 13th - albeit under extraordinary circumstances. With this, HRT took 11th place in the intermediate ranking of the constructors' championship in mid-June 2011 and pushed the competitor Virgin to last place. At the Monaco Grand Prix, however, the team suffered from considerable difficulties. After Liuzzi had badly damaged his car in the third free practice and Karthikeyan's car could not be used due to suspension problems, neither of them were able to complete a timed lap in qualifying. Nonetheless, the FIA gave both drivers permission to start the race because they had achieved lap times in the third free practice session that were within 107 percent of the relevant time from the first section of the later qualifying session.

Team logo from the second half of the 2011 season

There were two changes in the team structure prior to the British Grand Prix . After Thesan Capital took over the racing team, Karthikeyan was replaced by Daniel Ricciardo . Ricciardo was a member of the Red Bull development program and previously completed Friday test drives for Scuderia Toro Rosso .

At the Italian Grand Prix , Liuzzi caused a mass collision shortly after the start when, spinning over the hard shoulder, his car in the del Rettifilio variant came across several vehicles in the midfield. Vitali Petrow and Nico Rosberg dropped out as a result of the collision; other drivers such as Rubens Barrichello and Liuzzi's team-mate Ricciardo were also affected, but were able to continue with some longer delays.

In September 2011, Geoff Willis left the team and moved to Mercedes Grand Prix , where he took on the role of technology manager. His successor was Jackie Eeckelart , who worked for the team until January 2012. Toni Cuquerella took over his position in spring 2012 .

The 2012 season

Again only a few sponsor stickers: The HRT F112 at the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix

Pedro de la Rosa at the Singapore Grand Prix

Bred the best result of the season for HRT with 15th place at the 2012 Monaco Grand Prix: Narain Karthikeyan

The 2012 Formula 1 season was a new start for HRT.

As a result of the separation from Colin Kolles in December 2011, the entire infrastructure that was required to operate a racing team was broken down. After moving to Spain, the team therefore had to build a completely new structure in the winter of 2011/2012. This also included the commitment of new staff. In view of the realignment and the simultaneous need to develop a new car, team boss Pérez Sala spoke of a "huge task" and saw the risk that the team's competitiveness could suffer as a result. In December 2011, he did not rule out that the HRT backlog in 2012 would be even greater than in 2011.

HRT was the smallest and financially weakest team in the 2012 season. HRT only had 80 employees during the year. As in previous years, many tasks were carried out by external service providers.

The new HRT F112 was designed by Jackie Eeckelart and Stephane Chosse. The development work for the HRT F112 took place partly in Munich and Bobingen near Augsburg at the Holzer company. The F112 initially failed the crash tests in the area of ​​the roll bar and the side panels; In view of the necessary improvements, the completion of the first chassis was delayed until the beginning of March 2012. As in the previous two years, the second chassis was assembled in the box for the first time on the night before the first free practice at the Australian Grand Prix .

On the Thursday before the first world championship run, there were reports of the use of non-compliant materials in the chassis area, so that the team's approval for the race was initially doubtful. The legality of the materials used could not be conclusively clarified on site; regardless of this, HRT received permission to start from the FIA ​​on Friday morning.

The team was not adequately prepared for the first race of the season. Apart from the late completion of the second chassis, some technical components were missing in Australia, such as the mechanism for adjusting the rear wing; the power steering was not working properly and the car was developing too little traction. In the free practice sessions, the HRT pilots were only able to cover a few laps due to hydraulic problems, the times of which were not within 107 percent of the fastest driver. In view of the technical problems and the lack of experience with the new car, both drivers ultimately missed qualifying in qualifying. The FIA ​​did not give the team a special permit that would have allowed them to participate in races despite the slow times.

In the second race of the season, the Malaysian Grand Prix , both drivers qualified. They finished in the last two places. Karthikeyan came under criticism because he collided with both Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel . Karthikeyan was then given a time penalty at the end of the race.

In the following World Championship races, qualification was no longer a problem for the HRT pilots, but they only reached the finish line in the last places in the races. The team's best result was Karthikeyan's 15th place at the Monaco Grand Prix . These results were not enough to position themselves in front of Marussia in the constructors' championship as in previous years.

In the second half of the year the team got into an economic crisis. It prevented further development of the car and, according to consistent press reports, led to the fact that the drivers were repeatedly left on the track with outdated and unsafe material. Karthikeyan reported that his car's obsolete steering column broke at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix . In order to avoid a major accident, he braked in a high-speed curve and collided with Nico Rosberg's Mercedes , which was knocked off the track. According to press reports, the team management then considered withdrawing immediately from Formula 1 for safety reasons; With regard to the obligations from the Concorde agreement and to avoid contractual penalties, however, the decision was made to also compete in the last two races of the season. In the week leading up to the US Grand Prix, the entire team was laid off, apart from those on the racetrack. Regardless of this, the team also took part in the last races of the season and brought both cars to the finish in both the USA and Brazil . HRT finished the season in last place in the constructors' championship.

Resuscitation attempt in 2013

In January 2013, Canadian and US investors sought to take over the HRT team. According to media reports, they wanted to buy the F112 chassis and team equipment and bring the cars to the start in the 2013 season under the name Scorpion Racing from a headquarters in Silverstone . The project turned out to be problematic because the registration deadline for the new season had already expired two months. The plans came to nothing in mid-February 2013. The vehicles were eventually bought from an auto parts dealer.

Numbers and dates

Statistics in Formula 1

Status: end of season 2012

season	Team name	chassis	engine	tires	Grand Prix	Victories	Second	Third	Poles	nice Race laps	Points	World Cup rank
2010	Hispania Racing F1 Team	F110	Cosworth 2.4 V8	B.	19th	-	-	-	-	-	-	11.
2011	HRT F1 team	F111	Cosworth 2.4 V8	P	18th	-	-	-	-	-	-	11.
2012	HRT F1 team	F112	Cosworth 2.4 V8	P	19th	-	-	-	-	-	-	12.
total					56	-	-	-	-	-	-

All drivers

Status: end of season 2012

Surname	Years	Grand Prix	Points	Victories	Second	Third	Poles	nice Race laps	best WM-Pos.
Narain Karthikeyan	2011–2012	27	-	-	-	-	-	-	24. ( 2012 )
Pedro de la Rosa	2012	19th	-	-	-	-	-	-	25th ( 2012 )
Bruno Senna	2010	18th	-	-	-	-	-	-	23rd ( 2010 )
Vitantonio Liuzzi	2011	17th	-	-	-	-	-	-	23rd ( 2011 )
Daniel Ricciardo	2011	11	-	-	-	-	-	-	27. ( 2011 )
Karun Chandhok	2010	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	22. ( 2010 )
Sakon Yamamoto	2010	7th	-	-	-	-	-	-	26th ( 2010 )
Christian Klien	2010	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	27. ( 2010 )

Current drivers are shown in yellow.

Results in Formula 1

season	chassis	driver	No.	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th	16	17th	18th	19th	20th	Points	rank
2010	F110																							-	11.
		K. Chandhok	20th	DNF	14th	15th	17th	DNF	14 *	20 *	18th	18th	19th
		S. Yamamoto												DNF	19th	20th	19th		16	15th
		C. Klien																DNF			22nd	20th
		B. Senna	21st	DNF	DNF	16	16	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	20th		19th	17th	DNF	DNF	DNF	15th	14th	21st	19th
		S. Yamamoto											20th
2011	F111																							-	11.
		N. Karthikeyan	22nd	DNQ	DNF	23	21st	21st	17th	17th	24									17th
		D. Ricciardo										19th	19th	18th	DNF	NC	19th	22nd	19th		DNF	20th
		V. Liuzzi	23	DNQ	DNF	22nd	22nd	DNF	16	13	23	18th	DNF	20th	19th	DNF	20th	23	21st		20th	DNF
		D. Ricciardo																		18th
2012	F112																							-	12.
		P. de la Rosa	22nd	DNQ	21st	21st	20th	19th	DNF	DNF	17th	20th	21st	22nd	18th	18th	17th	18th	DNF	DNF	17th	21st	17th
		N. Karthikeyan	23	DNQ	22nd	22nd	21st	DNF	15th	DNF	18th	21st	23	DNF	DNF	19th	DNF	DNF	20th	21st	DNF	22nd	18th

Legend
colour	abbreviation	meaning
gold	-	victory
silver	-	2nd place
bronze	-	3rd place
green	-	Placement in the points
blue	-	Classified outside the point ranks
violet	DNF	Race not finished (did not finish)
	NC	not classified
red	DNQ	did not qualify
	DNPQ	failed in pre-qualification (did not pre-qualify)
black	DSQ	disqualified
White	DNS	not at the start (did not start)
	WD	withdrawn
Light Blue	PO	only participated in the training (practiced only)
	TD	Friday test driver
without	DNP	did not participate in the training (did not practice)
	INJ	injured or sick
	EX	excluded
	DNA	did not arrive
	C.	Race canceled
		no participation in the World Cup
other	P / bold	Pole position
	SR / italic	Fastest race lap
	*	not at the finish, but counted due to the distance covered
	()	Streak results
	underlined	Leader in the overall standings

Web links

Commons : HRT F1 Team  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ "Campos becomes Hispania" (Motorsport-Total on March 3, 2010)
2. ↑ Markus Lüttgens: FIA publishes list of participants without HRT . News from December 1, 2012 on the website www.motorsport-total.com
3. ↑ “Campos's team lodges F1 entry” (autosport.com on May 22, 2009)
4. ↑ "Campos with budget concerns: first test date is set" (Motorsport-Total.com on July 24, 2009)
5. ^ "Problems at Campos" message from Motorsport-total from January 14, 2010
6. ^ "Final end for Campos" message at Motorsport-total from January 13, 2010
7. ↑ "Campos saved: Kolles new team boss!" (Motorsport-Total.com on February 19, 2010)
8. ^ Message from Motorsport-total on February 22, 2010
9. ↑ Motorsport Aktuell, issue 12/2010, p. 4 (Swiss edition)
10. ↑ Motorsport aktuell, special issue "Season 2011: Everything about Formula 1", p. 24.
11. ^ "Campos becomes HRT F1": Article in auto-motor-und-sport.de from March 3, 2010
12. ↑ "Thesan Capital takes over majority of HRT" (Motorsport-Total.com on July 4, 2011)
13. ↑ Motorsport Aktuell, issue 30/2011, p. 14.
14. ^ "Carabantes are leaving the team": News from July 19, 2011 on the website www.motorsport-total.com .
15. ^ "Official: Team boss Kolles leaves HRT". News from December 14, 2011 on the website www.motorsport-total.com .
16. ↑ “Perez-Sala presented as the new HRT team boss”: Message from December 15, 2011 on the website www.motorsport-total.com .
17. ↑ Motorsport Aktuell, issue 32/2011, p. 10.
18. ↑ "HRT: Key professionals leave the team". News from February 6, 2012 on the website www.motorsport-total.com .
19. ^ Announcement from November 12, 2012 on the racing team's homepage ( Memento from November 15, 2012 in the Internet Archive ).
20. ↑ Markus Lüttgens: FIA publishes list of participants without HRT . News from December 1, 2012 on the website www.motorsport-total.com
21. ↑ Motorsport Aktuell Issue 13/2010, p. 19 (Swiss edition): 30 of the 45 team members at the Bahrain GP came from Kolles, four were former employees of the Toyota team and three were on loan from Dallara.
22. ↑ Motorsport Aktuell, issue 12/2010, p. 4 (Swiss edition)
23. ↑ cf. Motorsport Aktuell, issue 15/2010, p. 21
24. ↑ "Far from being a Formula 1 standard": Interview with Geoff Willis on www.motorsport-total.com
25. ↑ Eichberger: The heavy legacy of the modern money donkey. Paydriver in Formula 1 . In: Motorsport Aktuell, issue 23/2013, p. 7.
26. ↑ "HRT confirms Senna kicked out" (Motorsport-Total.com on July 9, 2010)
27. ↑ "HRT: Chandhok out, Senna in!" (Motorsport-Total.com on July 16, 2010)
28. ↑ Second chance: Klien replaces Yamamoto in Brazil. Message on www.motorsport-total.com . Retrieved November 4, 2010.
29. ↑ motorsport aktuell, issue 39/2010, p. 13.
30. ^ "HRT takeover last chance for Villeneuve": Message on www.motorsport-total.com from September 15, 2010.
31. ↑ http://danielsimon.com/formula-1-hrt-f111-project/
32. ^ "This could be you": Message from May 27, 2011 on the website www.motorsport-total.com .
33. ↑ Kolles confirms negotiations with Toyota. Message at www.motorsport-total.com from July 23, 2010.
34. ↑ First impressions of the new HRT F111: Message and pictures on the website www.motorsport-total.com (accessed on February 8, 2011).
35. ^ "HRT confirms Liuzzi for 2011" (Motorsport-Total.com on March 9, 2011)
36. ↑ HRT is missing at the start of training in Melbourne: Message on the website www.motorsport-total.com (accessed on March 25, 2011).
37. ↑ In the media, the world championship run, which was characterized by interruptions and safety car phases, was repeatedly referred to as the chaos race; Overview of the press releases on the website www.spiegel.de (accessed on June 14, 2011).
38. ^ "HRT damned to watch": Message on the website www.motorsport-total.com from May 28, 2011.
39. ↑ "FIA grants HRT starting permission": Message on the website www.motorsport-total.com from May 28, 2011.
40. ↑ Motorsport aktuell, issue 24/2011, p. 12.
41. ↑ "HRT and Ricciardo: The devil is in the details ..." (Motorsport-Total.com on June 30, 2011)
42. ↑ Official: Mercedes brings Costa and Willis. News from September 30, 2011 on the website www.motorsport-total.com
43. ↑ "HRT: Key professionals leave the team". News from February 6, 2012 on the website www.motorsport-total.com .
44. ↑ HRT officially appoints Cuquerella as technical director: message dated April 2, 2012 on the website www.motorsport-total.com .
45. ↑ Message from January 25, 2012 on the website www.motorsport-total.com .
46. ↑ "HRT's backlog in 2012 probably even bigger": Message from December 17, 2011 on the website www.motorsport-total.com
47. ^ "HRT before the end?" Message from November 23, 2012 on the website www.motorsport-total.com .
48. ^ "Premiere in the third year?" Message dated December 12, 2011 on the website www.motorsport-magazin.com (accessed on December 12, 2011).
49. ^ "De la Rosa is allowed to participate in the training": Message from March 16, 2012 on the website www.motorsport-total.com .
50. ^ "Chaos at HRT: Next attempt in Malaysia". News from March 22, 2012 on the website www.motorsport-total.com
51. ↑ "FIA remains tough: No starting permit for HRT." News from March 17th, 2012 on the website www.motorsport-total.com .
52. ↑ HRT sacks staff and seeks buyer to avoid closure: Message of November 14, 2012 on the website www.totalf1.com  ( page no longer available , search in web archives ).
53. ↑ "Can the Chinese still save HRT?" Message from November 14, 2012 on the website www.motorsport-total.com .
54. ↑ “HRT sacks staff and seeks buyer to avoid closure”: Message from November 14, 2012 on the website www.totalf1.com  ( page no longer available , search in web archives ).
55. ↑ "American Investors Before Takeover of HRT". News from January 29, 2013 on the website www.motorsport-total.com .
56. ^ "Out for HRT plans": Message dated February 14, 2013 on the website www.motorsport-total.com .