HRT F1 Team completes first 20 laps in race conditions

Race – Drivers started from the pitlane
Bruno Senna dnf (18 laps)
Karun Chandhok dnf (2 laps)

HRT F1 Team completes first 20 laps in race conditions

HRT F1 Team (Hispania Racing F1 Team) successfully competed in their first Grand Prix today at Bahrain after His Highness the King of Spain Juan Carlos visited the team garage in the morning. The team completed its first 20 laps in race conditions at the Bahrain Grand Prix in extremely hot conditions with air temperature at 35 Centigrade for the start of the 49 lap / 308.405km race. Karun Chandhok and Bruno Senna started from the pitlane, and Karun Chandhok’s race ended when he went off track two laps later. Bruno Senna had a trouble free first twelve laps, lapping consistently. Bruno Senna experienced his first pit stop in a race on lap 12 and thanks to the team’s swift work went very smoothly. On lap 18, a broken water fitting from the radiator caused the car to lose all its water and overheated the engine, forcing the Brazilian to retire.

Dr Colin Kolles, team principal, commented, “I am satisfied the way things went. Karun Chandhok stopped early in the race, but it was not a mechanical failure, he could not know that the bump was there having too few miles in his car and had just never experienced that the bump was where it was on this track. We will go home with lots of important data to make step forwards as the season moves into the second Grand Prix and continue making consistent improvements. The focus today for the team was to start the race and run both cars on track. I would like to thank everyone for their dedication and we have taken an historic first step.”
Bruno Senna (car nr 21) commented, “It was certainly a relief to have been in the race for so many laps. Everything was going well. I felt I had a little too much understeer. I had a good base set-up now after these laps and my engineers will have a better starting point to work from for next race. There was a vibration from the back of the car a lap earlier and then the car suddenly stopped. We’ll have to investigate what happened. But I am very happy for the whole team for their incredible hard work to ensure we are in a position to be racing again in Melbourne.”
Karun Chandhok (car nr 20) commented, “Sorry, this was my fifth lap on this track.  I hit a bump in the new part of the circuit, I was not that much experienced in that part of the track as I had driven  only 4 timed laps over the week-end. I was pushed on exit curb, trying to bring tyres in gently, I did not know that part of the circuit.
I want to thank my mechanics for accompanying my first laps on this track and the whole team for a great week-end and long sleepless hours. Now let’s look forward to start again in Melbourne.”

HRT F1 Team , “Hispania Racing F1 Team” – Both HRT F1 cars make grade in qualifying debut

Third  Free Practice Session
Karun Chandhok  F110-01 #20
Bruno Senna        F110-02 #21 11 laps – 2.04.001

Qualifying
Bruno Senna 2.03.240 (6 laps)
Karun Chandhok 2.04.904 (7 Laps)

HRT F1 Team (Hispania Racing F1 Team) successfully completed its first laps in qualifying at the Bahrain Grand Prix with six laps for Bruno Senna (2.03.240) and seven for Karun Chandhok (2.04.904).

In the morning during the third first practice session, Bruno Senna had clocked an additional 11 laps to yesterdays 20 as HRT F1 Team  covered its first ever miles with its debut car, compared to its rival teams who had covered over 4,000km of testing in February. Karun Chandhoks car suffered an additional hydraulic system failure and the team chose not to send him out in practice, instead focusing on making sure everything was in order for qualifying, when he successfully covered his first seven laps.

Having never run the car before this weekend, HRT F1 team was pleased to achieve its goal of covering mileage with both cars. The team will again be in action tomorrow for the race and start from the back of the grid as it bids to cover as many miles as possible.

Dr Colin Kolles commented, Our mechanics and engineers worked miracles and were  awake for 38 hours preparing for our first outing. Having never run the car before this weekend we have had the usual new car technical challenges which we would normally have solved during pre-season testing. But we are determined to work through this usual process as quickly as possible, even though it may well be in the public eye. In a way, we are treating this race as a test session and this is a great success for the entire team to even be here with both cars running. On Monday we will go home with lots of important data and valuable information which we will be using for big steps forwards as the season moves on and hope to make consistent improvements. The focus today for the team was to run both cars on track. We are focused on safety, reliability and then performance will come. I would like to thank everyone for their dedication we have taken an historic first step.

Bruno Senna (car nr 21) commented, It was certainly a relief to continue to add laps to this car when others have already completed thousands of miles in testing, we only have 26 laps on board. We have already learned a lot and will continue to do so with every lap we complete. I want to congratulate again my mechanics, engineers and the whole team for their incredible hard work to ensure we are in a position to be racing tomorrow.

Karun Chandhok (car nr 20) commented, , I still cant believe that we will be on the grid tomorrow. It was not looking good in the morning and I was not sure if we would make it to the qualifying session as well. I didnt expect to be driving the car for the first time in qualifying but as I have always said these are the circumstances and we made the best of it. For me it was just a string of installation laps and to finish just a second slower than Bruno is definitely a huge achievement. I think I might be the only driver in the history of F1 to go straight into a qualifying session of a race without even having done a shakedown of the car! Once again I think the team has done a brilliant job so am very grateful to them.

Bruno Meet Bahrain

A ten-part F1 Big Picture series celebrating the return of F1 in Bahrain. Bruno Senna tentatively takes to the track in his brand new Hispania Racing car. The team only had one half of their lineup representing, as Chandhok’s car was not ready, but Bruno made the most of the opportunity, despite finishing about four seconds off the pace.

Credit: Bridgestone Corporation

12-Mar-10: Sutil and Rosberg Lead the Way in Free Practice

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Welcome to F1 Minute, it’s the 12th March 2010.

F1 has finally returned and Free Practice 1 and 2 are complete. The drivers descended on the Bahrain International Track, well, most of them did. In FP1, Sutil topped the session, followed by Alonso and Kubica. Rosberg was 8th whilst Schumacher was 10th, amid suggestions that he was not at all comfortable in the car yet. Further back, neither di Grassi nor Senna set a time, although it was quite a moment when Senna began his installation lap, making both his and Hispania’s debut. Chandhok did not leave the garage at all, his car wasn’t ready. For FP2, his car still remained stuck in the garage, leaving the Indian with no laps completed at all. Rosberg was fastest at the end of the day, followed by Hamilton and Schumacher. We only had one major spin from Alguersuari who narrowly missed the barriers, but continued on his way unharmed.

That’s all for today. Don’t forget F1 Minute goes seven days a week now the season has begun, so I will be back tomorrow with all the news from qualifying.

HRT F1, “Hispania Racing F1 Team” makes history in Bahrain

First, second Free Practice Session
Karun Chandhok  F110-01 #20
Bruno Senna        F110-02 #21 17 laps – 2.06.968

HRT F1, “Hispania Racing F1 Team”   makes history in Bahrain

HRT F1 Team (Hispania Racing F1 Team) has made history and successfully completed its first laps and roll out on its debut at the Bahrain Grand Prix during the first practice session. In the second practice session the Brazilian covered 17 laps with a fastest time of 2.06.968 before losing a wheel nut on the way back to the pits, after the chequered flag had dropped. Despite the lack of pre-season testing, the team successfully fired up Bruno Senna’s car (nr 21) and he completed three installation laps in the morning free practice session and 17 laps in the second session. The fire up for Karun Chandhok’s car happened towards the end of the first free practice session.
Despite running 17 laps with Bruno Senna, the Indian driver’s car did not roll out during the two first free practice sessions in order to prepare for a successful weekend in Bahrain. It will be in action tomorrow.

Dr Colin Kolles commented, “I am proud that our mechanics and engineers managed to make history today in Bahrain. Everything is going to plan, except the lack of sleep for all of us who worked through the night! To make history is not a simple task. The focus today for the team was to be operational and run. We are taking things one step at a time, and building on our competitiveness as the weekend and season goes on. Everyone has produced an amazing effort to make it happen and I would like to thank everyone for their dedication.”

Bruno Senna (car nr 21) commented, “It was certainly a relief to make history this morning.
The car ran as planned and everyone is happy and proud. There is still a lot of work ahead of us.
Three laps this morning and seventeen this afternoon is a great start. Of course, we could not try the car at its limits. I am confident that we will be working ahead and I want to congratulate my mechanics, engineers and the whole team for their incredible hard work.”

Karun Chandhok (car nr 20) commented, “My car was fired up this morning. I was hoping that it would be in condition to run fully a bit later than my team mate’s. We know that all systems are working and with the third free practice still ahead of us we can still look positively at the start of our first weekend of racing.”

The HRT F1 Team, “Hispania Racing F1 Team” ready to join F1 Hall of Fame in Bahrain.

HRT F1 Team, Hispania Racing F1 Team,  the team formerly known as Campos prior to its acquisition by Jose Ramon Carabante in February, is ready for its Formula One debut this weekend in Bahrain. The team joins the F1 paddock with ambitious, but realistic targets after a fight against time to be ready for the season opener at Sakhir, Bahrain. Team principal Dr Colin Kolles has a passion for motorsport and is back at the helm of a Formula One team and relieved to have conquered the first battle getting the team name approved by the FIA ahead of the launch on 4 March 2010. His second battle was to ensure that the entire team was ready and able to field two cars for the start of the season in Bahrain, despite the lack of pre-season testing while the outfit’s future was secured by Jose Ramon Carabante’s investment. Kolles is confident in the team’s potential for this season and is looking ahead to the team’s first race this weekend with ambitious, but realistic goals. “With our driver’s line up, we have all tools in hands to be one of the more successful new teams in the F1 paddock this year,” said Kolles. “We have identified two talented young drivers for our first season and combined with our passion and determination to learn with every lap, we feel ready to enter the F1 Hall of Fame this weekend. In a curious coincidence, our drivers are teammates for the second time, having partnered each other at iSport in 2008 – making them the first drivers to have been teammates in both GP2 and F1. Our drivers are already familiar with the Bahrain track layout, which will be a real benefit as our car takes to the track for the first time on Friday.”

Karun Chandhok comments, “I am really looking forward to my F1 debut this weekend. It will also be the first time I will be driving the new HRT F1 Team car so I can’t wait to get my hands on it. Fortunately I have driven in Bahrain before in GP2 so that will help the learning process a bit! I was on the front row in 2008 and was very competitive when I was back here in 2009, so I’ve got pretty good knowledge of the circuit. However, F1 is a completely different ballgame and we will have a tough challenge in front of us. I have spent time back in Europe with the guys in the factory and it is great to see that the whole team is very motivated about our first race together. Finishing the race will be a fantastic achievement for a team put together so late and the objective here will be to get as many miles under my belt as possible. I am overwhelmed by the support I have been getting back home in India and want to thank the media and the F1 fans. There are a lot of Indians who live in Bahrain and I hope to see some good support at the circuit over the weekend!”

Bruno Senna adds, “I’ve been to Bahrain twice, one time in GP2 in 2007 then in GP2 Asia in 2008. I had a great result in 2007 with Arden International, qualifying fifth and finishing fourth, which was great considering it was my first ever GP2 race. Bahrain is difficult because the track is usually very dirty to start with and improves all the time all the way to the end of the race, so the car se-up is very challenging. Also the sand in the air makes it very dry and the track can be quite slippery, which is another challenge when we are also dealing with the high temperatures. I hope that we can put the car on the track and sort out as many teething issues as possible during our first weekend, the car’s track debut. My goal is to do everything I can to bring the car home to the chequered flag and set a good benchmark for the rest of our season. We’ll certainly focus on the reliability side of things first and from then on, focus on performance.”

Karun Chandhok had his first professional motorsport breakthrough in 2000 when he won the Formula Maruti championship, dominating with seven wins out of ten rounds. The following year he went on to dominate the Formula 2000 Asia series before he graduated to the highly competitive British Formula 3 championship in 2002 finishing sixth overall on his debut. The following year he finished third with seven wins and 20 podiums to his name. By 2005 Karun had moved on up to the World Series by Renault and also represented his country in A1 Grand Prix. The following year he dominated the Formula Renault V6 Asia championship winning seven out of 12 races and in 2007 earned a test drive with Red Bull Racing after making his debut in the GP2 series. He continued in GP2 and GP2 Asia in 2008 and 2009, gaining plenty of international experience.
Bruno Senna Lalli was born October 15, 1983. To date, he has already competed competitive races in various formulae on his way up to GP2. He started his career in karting. One year before he died in 1993, Bruno’s uncle Ayrton told the world, “If you think I’m good, just wait until you see my nephew.” Bruno was just nine years old at the time and raced karts against  Ayrton on the family farm. It was clear that Ayrton regarded his nephew’s potential very highly. Bruno Senna’s familiar Brazilian colours helmet on the podium brings back vivid memories of a classic decade in motorsport history from 1984-1994. The basic colours on Bruno’s  helmet relate to the Brazilian flag.

04-Mar-10: HRT Confirm Chandhok and Reveal New Car

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This is F1 Minute and it’s the 4th March 2010.

Today was all about the new HRT team, as they confirmed Karun Chandhok as second driver alongside Bruno Senna for the upcoming year. Talking about the former GP2 driver, team principal Colin Kolles said: “We have been very impressed with Karun’s performance in GP2. India is a great country. It will be great for the sport to have an Indian driver on the grid for the first Indian Grand Prix.” That’s not this year, of course, who knows what will have changed by then! Also today, the team revealed their 2010 car at an event in Murcia. The car is a murky grey and white, and with just a week to go before Bahrain, there’s little chance of seeing it out on track before Free Practice.

Talking of the first race of the year, with echoes of 2009, Red Bull have asked for clarification from the FIA regarding an aerodynamic part on a rival team. They’re asking about the legality of McLaren’s rear wing – where the shark fin joins the wing itself. Oh joy.

That’s all for now, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

Quotes Roundup – Week Ending 15th November

The very best from the mouths of those in the know.

New Team Preparations

Those new teams are beginning to get it together…

• “All four are professional setups that have impressed us a lot with their approach and you only need to look at what they have achieved in the past few months to realise that these are very serious teams.” Mike Gallagher, Cosworth
  
• “I want to score points for my new team and to be the best of all the new team. Long term I would like to be Formula 1 world champion, it’s not enough just to get there.” Bruno Senna
  
• “The teams I’ve been involved with before unquestionably benefited from Aerolab’s resources and know-how so it was an easy decision on my part to renew that relationship when it came to Lotus F1 Racing.” Mike Gascoyne
  

Young Driver Test

Teams sign up their young drivers for December…

• “It’s all my childhood dreams come true and, at the same time, it’s every racing driver’s ultimate goal. It’s thanks to Renault that I was able to get into single-seater racing, by winning a programme set up by Renault in Belgium to discover up-and-coming young talent from karting.” Bertrand Baguette
  
• “My target is to get to Formula 1 in the next few years so to be selected for this test is very important for my career. Of course, if I can get to F1 even sooner then that will be great, but first I must focus on Jerez.” Mirko Bortolotti
  
• “This is something I’ve dreamed about since I can remember, so I’m really looking forward to it. No way did I think I’d be getting this at the end of the year. I’m feeling very, very excited to be here and to see the seat’s getting done.” Daniel Ricciardo
  

The Shape of F1

The sport is going through some major changes…

• “It will take a while, it’s going to take a few years but Honda’s was their second or third involvement in Formula 1. Manufacturers look at the value to them of Formula 1, there’s no sentiment I’m afraid. So when it’s viable they come in, and when it’s not they don’t.” Ross Brawn
  
• “One of the things that wasn’t addressed in the 2009 rule changes was circuit design. If you look at tracks like Barcelona where nobody overtakes, and take exactly the same cars to tracks like Monza, Hockenheim etc, there’s plenty of overtaking. The difference is circuit layout.” Sam Michael
  
• “There has always been a core group. Ferrari have always been involved and Mercedes have a long history of being involved and riding the occasional storm. I think there are some manufacturers that take a day-to-day view and unfortunately those are leaving now but they are being filled up by a lot of private teams.” Ross Brawn
  

31-Oct-09: Hamilton Secures Pole Position in Abu Dhabi

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Welcome to F1 Minute for the 31st October 2009.

Lewis Hamilton took pole position in Abu Dhabi today, and it was not a surprise to anyone. The McLaren looked supreme all day, and he beat next place Vettel by over half a second. Teammate Kovalainen stopped out on track during qualifying with a gearbox problem, though, and although he finished the day 13th, he will take a five place grid drop for changing the gearbox, dropping him down to 18th.

Notably, both Renault and both Force India cars were out in Q1, along with Fisichella who qualified last. Raikkonen just missed out on the top ten and starts 11th.

Elsewhere, Campos META have confirmed that they’ve signed Bruno Senna to drive for them next year. The CEO of the team said: “We have followed him closely since his early days in minor series and testified how quickly he developed his speed and skills at GP2 to become one of the most promising up-and-coming drivers of his generation.”

That’s all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

Two Seater Testing

An F1 2 Seater navigates the brand new Yas Marina Circuit, at the opening ceremony of the track. Various journalists were invited to enjoy a few laps at the hands of Bruno Senna and Martin Brundle. They all seemed to enjoy it, which bodes well for the lap itself.

Credit: Yas Marina Circuit

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