HRT (Formula 1 Team)

The Campos team was created by the former Formula 1 driver Adrian Campos in 1998. Campos headquarters was located in Madrid, where there were marketing and administrative departments. The technical center of the team was based in Valencia , 25 km from the Autodrome. Ricardo Tormo ^[3] .

GP2 ( 2005 - 2008 )

Campos Grand Prix won the GP2 Series team standings in 2008 . In the photo: Vitaly Petrov , stage at Silverstone

In 2005 , Adrian Campos decided to participate in a new racing discipline, the GP2 series , which is positioned as the closest championship in Formula 1 . The name of the team changes to Campos Racing . The first season was unsuccessful for the team, it finished the championship in 12th and last place, and the riders who played for the team took 18th and 20th places ( Juan Cruz Alvarez and Sergio Hernandez respectively). The next year 2006 was a little better for the team: despite one quick lap, the team again finished the championship in last place, and its racers, Adrian Valles and Felix Porteiro took 18th and 22nd place.

In 2007 , Giorgio Pantano , a former driver of the Formula 1 Jordan team, and Vitaly Petrov played for the Adrian Campos team. The team changed its name to Campos Grand Prix . The invitation of an experienced rider, as well as personnel shifts in the team influenced the level of team performance: at the end of the championship, Campos GP took third place, ending the season with three wins (2 for Pantano and 1 for Petrov ), 7 podiums, 1 pole position and fast lap. Pantano became the bronze medalist of the championship, Petrov finished the season in 13th place.

In early 2008, the GP2 Asia Championship began to be held, the team took third place in it. Petrov with 1 victory becomes the bronze medalist of the championship, losing 4 points to vice champion Sebastien Buemi .

In 2008 , the Barwa International Campos Team won the main GP2 championship. Adrian Campos at the beginning of the season invited the British rider Ben Hanley to the place of Pantano, who left for Racing Engineering. The latter did not score a single point during the first 6 races, and from the fourth stage he was replaced by the Brazilian Lucas di Grassi . Despite the fact that the Brazilian participated in 14 of the 20 races of the championship, he took third place following its results, losing 1 point to vice champion Bruno Senna . At the end of the season, the team won 4 victories (3 for di Grassi and 1 for Petrov ). In the GP2 Asia Championship 2008-2009, Vitaly Petrov and Sergio Perez played for the Campos team. The team took third place in the championship, Petrov (1 victory) and Perez (2 victories) took 5th and 7th place in the individual competition, respectively.

At the end of the 2008 season, Adrian Campos sold his part of the team to the Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag , the team changed its name to Barwa Addax .

Application for participation in Formula 1

Campos Racing team has applied for participation in the 2010 Formula 1 World Cup on May 22, 2009 ^[4] . Adrian Campos announced that the new team will be called Campos Meta 1 (the Madrid company Meta Image, declared as the title sponsor of the team, is a sports agency engaged in conducting competitions and selecting sponsors, as well as working in the field of PR and marketing).

On June 12, 2009, the FIA published a preliminary list of participants in the 2010 World Cup - all existing teams remained, and the selection process went on for newcomers except Campos Grand Prix, US F1 and Manor Grand Prix ^[5] . At the same time, it became known that the Campos team entered into a three-year contract for the supply of engines with Cosworth , and Dallara Automobili and Xtrac ^[3] became its technical partners. According to Adrian Campos, to participate in the championship, both companies - Dallara and Campos Racing - formed a new joint venture Dallara - Campos. Gabriele Tedoci, who previously headed the technical department of Minardi , and Ben Agatangela, who previously worked as an aerodynamic specialist at Red Bull Racing and Honda, were also involved in the work on the machine. In total, it was planned to recruit about 200 employees. The Madrid- based team was supposed to be led by Adrian Campos and Jose Ramon Carabante , a Spanish entrepreneur who supported the CB Murcia basketball team and the entire Spanish basketball league.

Financial Issues

When the new teams of US F1 , Manor and Campos applied for participation in the 2010 Formula 1 World Cup , FIA President Max Mosley lobbied for limiting team budgets by setting a cap on costs of £ 40 million. However, over the following weeks after the list of participants was published under a threat to the formation of an alternative championship, a number of agreements were concluded between the FOTA and the FIA , including those implying a rejection of budget restrictions ^[6] . The application submitted by Campos was accepted under a different version of the regulation, which provided technical advantages for the teams that agreed to limit the budget, and many assumed that the signing of the new Consent Agreement would mean the Spanish team refused to participate in the championship, however, at Campos, it was decided to continue preparations for debut season ^[7] .

November 18, 2010 it became known that the Campos Meta 1 team will receive government support in the debut season - a contract was signed with the authorities of the Spanish province of Murcia, located in the south-east of the country. The contract implied not only financial payments, but also assistance in the construction of the future headquarters of the team, including the design bureau, as well as a three-kilometer test line on which it was supposed to conduct aerodynamics tests ^[8] .

On October 31, 2009, a racing contract was signed with Brazilian Bruno Senna , the nephew of three-time Formula 1 World Champion Ayrton Senna ^[9] .

Subsequently, information appeared that the team was experiencing serious financial problems: in the context of the abolition of the budget constraint, it was difficult to find potential sponsors and investors to provide financing, and the existing preliminary agreements were on the verge of a gap. Campos Meta's financial scheme was based on possible work with Spanish sponsors who were not ready to pay large sums for cooperation with Fernando Alonso and Ferrari , however Adrian Campos's initial plan failed - not a single deal that Campos Meta 1 counted on was completed: Telefónica, the telecommunications concern mentioned among potential title sponsors Campos Meta, chose to sponsor two Grand Prix in the 2010 season ^[10] , the oil company Repsol decided to concentrate fully on the MotoGP championship , Sant Bank ander decided to limit himself to sponsorship of Ferrari and McLaren , and also ensured the transition of Pedro de la Rosa to BMW Sauber . Refused to become a sponsor and a large company Mutua Madrilena, a former personal sponsor of Fernando Alonso . Even the team’s main investor, Meta Image, announced financial problems and questioned the prospects of cooperation with the Spanish team ^[11] .

By the end of 2009, information appeared that the team did not have enough money to pay suppliers, the recruitment was suspended, and the sponsors brought by Bruno Senna refused to pay the promised money without guaranteeing the participation of the team in the championship ^[12] . Adrian Campos held a series of negotiations with Barry Walsh, who led the Ultimate team (competing in the Renault World Series and British Formula 3 ) and tried to buy back part of the Toro Rosso team in 2009. A series of meetings also took place with South African Tony Tesheira, the former owner of the A1GP series. Among potential investors, Nelson Piquet Sr. was also named, who thus wished to obtain a sufficient degree of influence in the team and put his son behind the wheel of one of the cars ^[13] . However, none of these potential partners decided to take on part of the financial burden of the team ^[14] .

The team was actually put up for sale. According to rumors, Adrian Campos asked Bernie Ecclestone to pay an advance from future television broadcasting prizes in order to compensate Dallara for the development of the chassis - the next installment was estimated at € 7 million. It came to the point that the question of Campos’s possible help and the team’s readiness to participate in the championship was discussed at a meeting of the Formula 1 Commission ^[15] . The situation became critical after it became known that Campos Meta 1 did not have the money to pay for the work of Dallara - the chassis was designed, manufactured and could be transferred to the customer, but the money was not received into the accounts of the Italian team. Zoran Stefanovich wanted to take advantage of this situation, leaving no hope for the debut of his own Stefan Grand Prix team in the 2010 season on the modified Toyota TF110 : buying a Dallara chassis would force Campos to withdraw its application for participation in the championship, which the Serb was going to use. Another team, US F1 , also showed interest in the chassis, but for a different reason: the American team did not have its own ^[16] . Also, in the Spanish press, there were periodic assumptions that before the start of the 2010 season, the team could be bought out by the co-owner of the team, Jose Ramon Karabante, so that in the next, 2011, it would be profitable to resell it.

Restructuring

After Campos Meta missed the first pre-season test sessions, it became obvious that there is a high probability that the team will not make its debut in the 2010 Formula 1 World Cup. In order for the team to manage to deal with all issues, both financial and organizational, before the start of the championship, a restructuring was carried out. Full control over the team passed to the Spanish entrepreneur Jose Ramon Carabante, specialists such as ex-head of Force India Colin Colles and former technical director of Red Bull Racing Jeff Willis came to Campos ^[17] . According to rumors, in order to avoid damage to the image of Formula 1, Bernie Ecclestone personally intervened in the project - it was on his initiative that Colin Colles received the position of head of the Spanish project. As a source of funds, a contract was used with the Indian pilot Karun Chandhok ^[18]. In this situation, it was announced that the team’s car would first appear on the track only at the Bahrain Grand Prix - on Friday before the debut stage of the season.

On February 19, 2010, the team confirmed that the Spanish entrepreneur Jose Ramon Carabante received full control over the team, and Colin Kolles replaced Adrian Campos as the team leader. It was planned that the team will remain in Spain, although Dallara workshops will be used for the first races, while Kolles will assume the role of managing director and will be responsible for preparing the team for the first race of the championship ^[19] . At the same time, the founder of the team Adrian Campos and its managing director Daniele Audetto remained at a loss.

On March 3, 2010, it was officially announced the renaming of the Campos team - the team will perform in the 2010 season under the name HRT F1 - Hispania Racing F1 Team; The presentation of the HRT F110 team and car took place a day later, in Murcia , in the southeast of Spain . The official coloring was also presented there and the names of the riders were named - as expected, Karun Chandhok became the partner of Bruno Senna ^[20] .

The start of the season at the Bahrain Grand Prix for the team turned out to be very difficult. The just restructured team received the cars literally at the last moment. The mechanics managed to assemble the Bruno Senna car only at the end of the first practice, and Chandhok could not take part in either Friday or Saturday training. There was a very real threat that the rider of the Spanish team would be denied access to the start of the Grand Prix, but by the start of the qualification all the problems on the Indian rider's car had been eliminated, and he was able to drive several laps, which gave him the opportunity to go to the start of the Grand Prix as a rider who participated in one of the weekend’s practices, the FIA includes both free rides and qualifications in this concept ^[21] .

At the Australian Grand Prix in 2010, the first important achievement of the Spanish team was the first finish of the race. Karun Chandhok finished the Grand Prix, taking a high 14th position, while behind the leader by 5 laps. The result shown by the Indian riders in this race, and remained the best achievement of the team in the 2010 season ^[22] . In its third Grand Prix, HRT completed one of the key tasks announced before the start of the season: both cars reached the finish line without any problems. Karun Chandhok and Bruno Senna showed 15 and 16 results respectively.

After the Chinese Grand Prix, the team decided to invite experienced riders to participate in Friday training during the season so that they help to correctly assess the level of the chassis and contribute to improving results ^[23] . On April 17, it was announced that Sacon Yamamoto had signed a backup and test pilot contract with HRT F1 before the end of the 2010 season, and on May 5 it became known that Christian Klin ^{[24] [25] had} signed a similar contract.

At the British Grand Prix, Bruno Senna was replaced by the reserve racer of the team, Sakon Yamamoto . The Japanese during the season already appeared on the track at the wheel of HRT F110 - as part of a Friday training session before the Turkish Grand Prix. The replacement that took place was very unexpected, since on Thursday Bruno Senna participated in the team’s promotions and was preparing for the race. Initially, the replacement of the Brazilian was explained by the fact that the sponsors Bruno Senna and Karuna Chandhoka delayed the next payments to the team, and the team had previously considered the option of replacing one of the riders. But after the Grand Prix, other information appeared - the usual e-mail turned out to be the fault. Brunno Senna wrote a message in which he severely criticized the methods of leadership of Colin Kolles, and for unknown reasons sent him, including to Kolles himself. The latter decided to punish the Brazilian rider, removing him from participation in the Grand Prix ^[26] .

From the next German Grand Prix, Sacon Yamamoto replaced Karun Chandhok . The Indian rider was replaced due to the activity of the sponsors of Sacon - the Japanese brought the team € 4.6 million for playing in the remaining races of the season, while the group of companies Jaypee Group, which financed the performances of Chandhok , found no funds (Chandhok contributed to the team’s accounts only € 2 million of eight stipulated by the contract) ^[27] . An option was also considered in which Sakon Yamamoto could take turns replacing Bruno Senna and Karuna Chandhoka , but this was hindered by the contract of the Brazilian rider ^[28] .

The changes in the composition of the racing team did not end there: Christian Klin replaced Sakon Yamamoto on all days of the Singapore weekend , as the Japanese rider had health problems (food poisoning) ^[29] . For Christian, this race was the first with the Italian Grand Prix in 2006. In the qualification for the Grand Prix, Christian Wedge showed 21 results, more than a second ahead of his team mate Bruno Sennu , but failed to finish in the race: a failure in the hydraulic system failed ^[30] . Since the replacement of the riders was temporary, already at the next Japanese Grand Prix, Sacon again got behind the wheel. At the Korean Grand Prix , held in difficult weather conditions, the team achieved the best result of the season: Bruno Senna finished 14th, his teammate Sakon Yamamoto became 15th. ^[31] In the last two Grand Prix of Brazil and Abu Dhabi, Christian Wedge again replaced Sakon Yamamoto .

As in the other two new championship teams, Hispania Racing racers did not earn points, so the place in the Constructors' Cup was determined by the best position at the finish. HRT was ahead of Virgin Racing in a larger number of 14 places (3 and 2, respectively), although the Spanish cars were the last in speed on the track, and ended the 2010 season in 11th place, losing to Lotus .

Partnership with Toyota Motorsport

The chassis for the 2010 championship commissioned by Campos Meta was built by the Italian company Dallara Automobili Sp A , but back in the offseason there were delays in fulfilling financial obligations, and then the team changed leadership. After the start of the season, it turned out that the characteristics of the cars built by Dallara did not meet the standards of modern Formula 1 , in addition, during the first six Grand Prix, Dallara did not modify the chassis. Therefore, after the Monaco Grand Prix, the collaboration of HRT and Dallara ceased by mutual decision of both parties ^[32] .

After announcing the termination of the contract with Dallara , HRT management announced negotiations with Toyota Motorsport on the production of cars for the Spanish team for the 2011 season ^[33] . After the factory team left Formula 1 at the end of 2009 , Toyota decided not to dissolve personnel and maintain the base; the Japanese company became an engineering services provider, and in 2010 worked with several Formula 1 teams, including HRT ^[34] , engaged in research and development related to motorsport. Toyota Motorsport also provided Pirelli with a TF109 car and a team of engineers for testing rubber, but the company was interested in selling the chassis until they were out of date. Thus, with adequate funding for the project, Toyota was ready to offer Hispania two TF110 non-racing chassis, converted to Cosworth engines, the services of its own specialists, as well as the developed infrastructure of the base in Cologne . The amount of the transaction remained unknown, according to some sources, it could amount to about $ 30 million ^[35] .

However, HRT did not make the payments stipulated by the contract, and Toyota Motorsport decided to terminate cooperation with the Spanish team ^[36] .

The season of 2011 , the team decided to start, completely changing the composition of the riders ^{[37] [38]} . Unexpectedly for everyone, the first racer was Narain Kartikeyan ^{[39] [40]} . Prior to this, the Indian driver spent only one full season for Jordan in 2005 , and on the eve of the first Indian Grand Prix he was able to secure sponsorship and raise the necessary budget for participating in Formula 1 driving an HRT; Kartikeyan paid about € 8 million for a place in the Spanish team, the Indian carmaker Tata provided the bulk of this budget ^[41] . It is noteworthy that the driver reported the signing of the contract in a personal mini-blog the day before the official confirmation by the team.

On March 9, the team named the co-pilot of the team. The partner of Narain Kartikeyan was Vitantonio Luzzi . A few months earlier, Force India had confirmed the contract with Paul di Resta, and Vitantonio Luzzi, despite the current contract, was left without a place in the Indian team. At that time, the vacancy of the main rider remained only in HRT. It was also important that Force India paid the Italian a substantial monetary compensation for the early termination of the contract, and using these funds, Vitantonio was able to get the second HRT rider's place.

Before the last meeting of the FOTA ( Formula 1 Team Association), December 16, 2010, the Spanish team informed that they wanted to suspend membership in this organization (the Spanish team joined FOTA at the end of 2009 at the stage of preparation for the debut of the Campos Meta project ^[42] ) . FOTA representatives said the Spanish team was excluded from non-payment of annual contributions of € 100 thousand ^[43] : in the 2010 season, all teams, except HRT, paid their contribution back in February. According to a source close to the team, HRT paid FOTA € 25,000 each in 2009 and 2010 , but refused to pay the remaining amount due to disagreement with the organization’s policies aimed only at supporting large teams.

We left FOTA because it mainly protects the interests of large teams. We prefer to invest money in the development of the machine than to pay membership fees to the organization, from which we do not get any benefit ^[44] .

(HRT Director Colin Kolles in an interview with the Indian newspaper Hindustan Times)

Original Text (Eng.)

We left because FOTA defends mainly the interests of the big teams. We see no benefit in paying money for being part of it. We prefer investing our money in the car, instead of paying membership fees that don't benefit to us ^[45] .

On January 21, an agreement was signed and published with designer Daniel Simon on creating a new corporate image for the team ^[46] .

On February 1, in Valencia, Hispania Racing pre-season tests began with a transitional version of the car. Narain Kartikeyan was sitting behind the wheel - the only confirmed pilot of the team at that time.

On February 8, images of F111 , a new car, were presented on the team’s official website.

March 11, F111 was officially presented during the final pre-season tests on the track in Barcelona. The team itself created a new machine under the leadership of technical director Jeff Willis and chief designer Paul White. The design of the car was proposed by Daniel Simon. However, the team failed to take part in the tests. The leadership of the team explained this by problems with the Spanish customs, which did not miss the necessary details of the new car. Although another version was expressed: the real reason could be that the team simply did not have time to prepare all the details for the right time ^[47] .

Despite statements that the team was fully prepared for the new season, the assembly of two F111 chassis continued at the first Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne . ^[48] During the first session of the free rides on one of the HRT cars, the engine was started, but pretty soon it became clear that the riders would not be able to take part in the first Friday training. The team again lacked some components, in addition, the F111 front wing did not pass the mandatory FIA crash test, and the team was forced to use last year’s nose fairing. As a result, HRT mechanics on Friday managed to assemble only one car ^[49] : at the very end of the second session, the F111 still left the boxes, Vitantonio Luzzi drove a short installation circle and returned to the boxes, not showing time ^[50] . In total, for the entire training period, the team racers drove only five laps for two. In the qualifications, Luzzi and Kartikeyan did not exceed the 107% threshold and were not allowed to the race, but HRT asked the judges to allow the riders to start the Grand Prix, since the regulation provided for such an opportunity. However, the judges refused the team the right to participate in the Sunday race, arguing that the riders did not show relatively high results during the training ^[51] .

After the European Grand Prix, the Australian press reported for the first time that Red Bull protégé, Australian Renault World Series driver and Toro Rosso standby and test pilot Daniel Riccardo could debut at the British Grand Prix as part of the Spanish team displacing the main rider Narain Kartikeyan ^[52] . For a while, neither HRT, nor Red Bull and Toro Rosso made an official statement, but on June 30 Hispania officially confirmed the conclusion of a contract with Daniel Riccardo ^[53] . The leadership of the Spanish team did not immediately announce which pilot in the team he would replace. Only in practice before the British Grand Prix did it become known that Riccardo would take the place of Kartikeyan . Despite the rotation of the pilots during the season, the Indian rider later during the season performed at the first Indian Grand Prix as part of HRT. Information about the next change in the composition of the riders appeared at a press conference on the start of ticket sales for the first Indian Grand Prix ^[54] , and immediately before the start of the Grand Prix, it became known that Vitantonio had lost his place to this race ^[55] .

Before the Brazilian Grand Prix, the HRT team announced ^[56] that there will be a replacement in its composition on Friday morning training: instead of Vitantonio Luzzi, the opportunity to sit behind the wheel of the F111 during the weekend was given to Jan Harouz , a member of the Gravity youth program. A week before the Grand Prix, the Czech rider already participated in the youth tests in Abu Dhabi for HRT ^{[57] [58]} . According to the results of the training, Harrows lost to Riccardo for half a second ^{[59] [60]} .

In the final qualification before the Brazilian Grand Prix, HRT racers achieved the best qualification result of the season, ahead of Marussia Virgin racers and taking 21st and 22nd places ( Vitantonio Luzzi ahead of his teammate, Daniel Riccardo ) ^[61] . After qualification, the team decided to change the engine in a Luzzi car, but the judges did not review the result of the Italian rider, as it was one of eight authorized engines ^[62] .

HRT racers failed to realize the advantage gained in qualification: at the start, both Marussia Virgin cars pulled ahead. On the Luzzi car, at the time of start, a system was activated that prevented the engine from stopping, and his car remained standing still at the moment when the rider threw the clutch. However, despite this, the Italian HRT driver stayed ahead of his partner: Riccardo missed his opponents through his own fault, reacting poorly to the starting lights. For the Australian HRT rider, the race was not too successful, Riccardo started the race on softer tires, but showed unstable results. In the second segment, the rider quickly used up rubber, which caused an earlier stop in the pits. Changing the rubber to a tougher one, Riccardo faced the problem of warming it up, and his closest rival, Marussia Virgin racer Jerome D'Ambrosio , was able to break away from his pursuer. As a result, Daniel Riccardo finished the race on the 20th, behind the winner of the race, Mark Webber ( Red Bull ) by 3 laps. Vitantonio Luzzi was able to impose a fight on the Marussia Virgin racers, however, he faced a technical problem (generator) and was forced to retire from the race in the last laps of the Grand Prix (62nd lap from 71st) ^{[63] [64]} .

Team Selling

Before the start of the 2011 season, Hispania was looking for a partner who could finance the team's performance for part of its shares. In particular, negotiations on cooperation were held with Convers Group, owned by Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov. The latter owns Spyker (the team of the same name participated in Formula 1 in 2007 ) and SAAB, and in the 2010 season its Snoras Bank was a sponsor of the Renault team. Therefore, the Convers Group needed a team that would not represent the interests of automotive brands such as Hispania. However, negotiations were delayed, and Antonov invested in other projects: Convers Group created a sports division and became the owner of the rights to the WRC rally world championship ^[65] .

В середине сезона у Hispania все же сменились владельцы: 4 июля 2011 году испанский фонд Thesan Capital приобрел контрольный 90% пакет акций Hispania Racing за €24 млн, выкупив их у прежнего владельца — бизнесмена Хосе-Рамона Карабанте . Новыми владельцами команды HRT стали два испанских бизнесмена: Хосе-Луис Мачо и Сантьяго Коррал ^{[66] [67]} . Смена руководства команды привела к кадровым перестановкам: уже бывший руководитель команды, Карабанте покинул руководящий пост, вместе с ним работы лишился Альба Саиз, возглавлявший службу коммуникаций ^[68] . Новые владельцы назначили советником компании Thesan Capital испанца Луиса Переса-Сала , бывшего гонщика Формулы-1 ( 1988 - 1989 , Minardi-Cosworth ) ^[69] . Также изменения произошли и в названии команды: было принято решение по-прежнему использовать аббревиатуру HRT, однако новые владельцы отказались от слова Hispania в официальном названии команды, поскольку оно совпадало с названием группы компаний, принадлежащих Карабанте.

Очередная смена владельца команды породила слухи о том, что частью новой стратегии команды будет приглашение испанского гонщика. Считалось, что наилучшие шансы были у 23-летнего Хавьера Вильи , бывшего гонщика GP2 и тест-пилота BMW.Sauber , который мог по примеру Даниэля Риккардо занять место Витантонио Льюцци до окончания сезона 2011 года ^[70] . Однако новое руководство команды впоследствии отказалось от этой идеи, не в последнюю очередь из-за того, что молодой гонщик не нашёл требуемой спонсорской поддержки ^[71] . В итоге, команда подписала двухлетний контракт с Педро де ла Росой ^[72] , в 2011 году являвшегося тест-пилотом McLaren ^{[73] [74]} , а также по ходу сезона участвовавшего в одной гонке за Sauber ^{[75] [76]} ( Гран-при Канады , 12 место ^{[77] [78]} ) . Испанский гонщик займет место основного гонщика команды в сезонах 2012 и 2013 годов.

По окончании сезона владельцы команды приняли решение расстаться с Колином Коллесом , занимавшем пост руководителя HRT на протяжении двух лет, с 2010 по 2011 год ^{[79] [80]} . Согласно пресс-релизу команды, увольнение Коллеса стало частью долгосрочной программы развития, принятой новыми владельцами после покупки команды у Хосе-Рамона Карабанте. Пост руководителя оставался вакантным только один день: 15 декабря стало известно, что преемником Коллеса стал Луис-Перес Сала , до этого занимавший на протяжении нескольких месяцев должность консультанта испанской команды ^[2] .

Подтвердив контракт только с Педро де ла Росой , HRT не стала называть имя его напарника. Формально у Витантонио Льюцци был действующий двухлетний контракт с испанской командой, однако, по словам гонщика, он мог быть расторгнут со стороны команды в случае, если найдется гонщик, имеющий серьёзную спонсорскую поддержку ^[81] . Помимо этого, контракт был подписан с прежним руководителем команды, Хосе-Рамоном Карабанте ^[82] .

Подписывая бумаги, мы говорили о долгосрочном будущем и развитии HRT, так что сейчас у меня есть контракт на 2012 -й, но под ним стоит подпись прежнего руководителя, поэтому моё будущее в команде весьма сомнительно.

Витантонио Льюцци ^[83]

Вакансия второго пилота в HRT оставалась незанятой до начала февраля, когда стало известно о подписании контракта с Нараином Картикеяном , решившим продолжить сотрудничество с испанской командой после восьми Гран-при в сезоне 2011 года ^[84] .

В межсезонье, в начале февраля , HRT покинули два ведущих инженера команды - глава производственного департамента Саймон Дженкинс и Жаки Экелярт , контролировавший процесс создания машины HRT F112 . Первого заменил Дэвид Кэмпбелл , а руководство над работой над новой машиной взял на себя главный конструктор Жан-Клод Мартенс , присоединившийся к испанскому коллективу в конце 2011 года ^[85] .

As in the 2011 season, HRT did not take part in the 2012 opening race ( Australian Grand Prix ). During the qualification, the team’s racers were not able to overcome the threshold of 107% of the time of the leader of the first session, and since HRT F112 did not show results exceeding the threshold of 107% during the free races, the Grand Prix stewards decided not to allow HRT racers to start the race ^{[86 ]} .

Unlike the race in Melbourne , where HRT racers could not get to the start, at the rain Malaysian Grand Prix, both Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Kartikeyan were able to get to the finish line ^[87] . Prior to stopping the race on lap 9 due to difficult weather conditions, the Indian HRT racer was in tenth position (the racer started on rain tires, while most riders chose an intermediate type of rubber). During the preparation for the Grand Prix restart, the HRT mechanics servicing the Pedro de la Rosa car were unable to leave the starting field on time, as a result of which the driver was punished with a penalty on the pit lane ^[88] .

On the 15th lap in a real dispute over the position, Jenson Button ( McLaren ), who made his way after his pit stop, lost control, his car was demolished and it hit HRT Narain Kartikeyan : the front wing of the MP4-27 was damaged, after which the rider McLaren had to go to the pits for a new nose cone ^[88] .

I could not manage to warm up the tires, so it was completely my fault. I hit the brakes, the back of the car suffered, and it was difficult for me to slow down. I tried to overcome the turn, but already could not do anything and crashed into Kartikeyan

Jenson Button ^[89]

At the 48th lap of the Grand Prix, an incident occurred between Narain Kartikeyan and Sebastian Vettel ( Red Bull ): after a pit stop, Vettel was behind Narain Kartikeyan , who was losing 1 lap to the German rider ^[88] . Kartikeyan held back several turns of Vettel , and when overtaking, contact occurred between them. In addition to the puncture of the left rear tire, as a result of contact on the Red Bull racer's car, the air duct of the rear left brake cooling system was damaged. After the incident, Vettel showed Kartikeyan his middle finger several times, and in the post-racing comments he called the Indian rider an “idiot” ^[90] .

Vettel is trying to blame me for his failures. I think he is upset about how this season develops after domination last year, but blaming another driver, putting him in a bad light, is unprofessional [...] Those lagging behind must pass the leader’s car when they are shown the blue flag, but that’s not means that in doing so I have to go off the track. You should not call others idiots simply because they act on slower machines

Narain Kartikeyan ^[90]

Having examined the circumstances of the collision with Sebastian Vettel , the Grand Prix stewards blamed the incident on Narain Kartikeyan and fined him with an addition of twenty seconds to the result at the finish (the equivalent of a fine with a pit lane fare). As a result, HRT racers changed positions: Pedro de la Rosa was classified in 21st position, and Kartikeyan in 22nd. ^[91]

Thesan Capital was not competent in matters of Formula 1 and invested money in the team for its subsequent quick sale, however, the lack of results on the track and organizational infrastructure led to the fact that during the season the buyer could not be found, and the current owner was disappointed in his asset.

A sign that the Spanish team may stop participating in the championship was the information voiced by Bernie Ecclestone during the 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix . Then it became known that HRT remained the only team that did not sign the Consent Agreement ^[92] . Subsequently, on the eve of the US Grand Prix , Thesan Capital investment company published an official statement on negotiations with potential buyers on the team’s website, and the team received a notice of possible dismissal in December ^[93] . According to information in the press, the owners went to sell the team because of the difficult financial situation and hoped to receive an amount of about € 40 million to pay off debts to Barco Popular, including loans taken by past owners ^[94] . Objectively, the cost of the team was overstated, since it did not have serious assets, except for a license to participate in the championship, old chassis and racing equipment, and since the team needed to invest about $ 30 million more in order to spend the 2013 season on previous level, the team could not find a new owner.

Upon returning from the final Grand Prix in Brazil, the team owners did not allow employees to leave the base in Madrid until they agreed to sign a termination contract with HRT ^[95] . After the team did not get on the application form for participation in the 2013 season, it became clear that HRT was the first team to leave the championship after Toyota left in late 2009 .

The team’s activities were discontinued on November 30, 2012, as Tony Kukerella, the team’s technical director, said in his microblog

HRT's assets were acquired by Teo Martin, a car recycling company. Teo Martin became the owner of the chassis of 2011 and 2012 , a show car, trailers, tools, equipment, furniture and other property ^[96] . Subsequently, Theo Martin and Carlos Molla (a Spanish entrepreneur) reached an agreement with the organizers of the BOSS GP racing series, and two F111 cars will be put up for the start of this championship ^[97] (old cars with open wheels of different years of production and built for different formulas participate in the series , including for Formula 1 ).

Race Performance Statistics

This table provides statistics on the performance of riders who played for Hispania / HRT in qualifications and Grand Prix races. The best achievement is highlighted in each column. The column “In the team” shows the relative qualification results of the racers of one team. The last column shows the percentage of the Grand Prix distance in which the rider participated.

Team Performance Statistics