HRT Formula 1 Team
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HRT Formula 1 Team, formerly known as Campos Meta 1 and Hispania Racing, was a Spanish
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
team founded by former driver
Adrián Campos Adrián Campos Suñer (17 June 1960 – 27 January 2021) was a Spanish Formula One driver. He participated in 21 Grands Prix, debuting on 12 April 1987, without scoring a championship point. He later moved into team management, with more succes ...
. It was sold to José Ramón Carabante before its debut in
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
, and then to investment group Thesan Capital in July 2011. It was the first Spanish team to race in Formula One; a previous effort known as "
Bravo F1 Bravo F1 was a Spanish motor racing team that registered for the 1993 Formula One season, but ultimately did not compete. After the sudden death of Jean-Francois Mosnier, Bravo canceled the entry before the first race of the season. In 2010, Adri ...
" failed to enter the sport in . In November 2012, HRT's owners announced that they were looking to sell the team. When they were unable to find a buyer before the deadline of 30 November, the team was subsequently omitted from the entry list.


History


Formation

The team began as a collaboration between Adrián Campos of
Campos Racing Campos Racing is a Spanish motor racing team, founded by former Formula One driver Adrián Campos. The team has been successful in Formula Three and the GP2 Series. History After retiring from racing, Campos formed his own team at the end of 19 ...
and Enrique Rodríguez of Meta Image, under the name of Campos Meta. Campos Racing currently runs a team in the
European F3 Open Championship The Euroformula Open Championship (formerly the Spanish Formula Three Championship, European F3 Open Championship) is a junior formula racing series based in Spain. It was one of six national and international Formula Three championships in Europe ...
and used to run the
GP2 Series The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Eccle ...
team known as Addax Team. Campos was running the
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
operation in conjunction with Meta Image, a
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
-based sports agency, who managed one of Campos' F3 Open drivers at the time, Bruno Méndez. Campos and Rodríguez began looking at the possibility of creating Spain's first Formula One team in February 2009. In March, the team gained shareholders such as Spanish businessman José Ramón Carabante and basketball players
Pau Gasol Pau Gasol Sáez (, ; born July 6, 1980) is a Spanish former professional basketball player. He was a six-time NBA All-Star and a four-time All-NBA team selection, twice on the second team and twice on the third team. Gasol won two NBA champion ...
and
Jorge Garbajosa Jorge Garbajosa Chaparro (born December 19, 1977), also known as The Pornoplayer, is a Spanish former professional basketball player and the current president of the Spanish Basketball Federation. Standing at 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in), he p ...
. The team's headquarters were originally located at Meta Images's offices in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, housing marketing and administration, while its technical centre is located at Campos Racing's headquarters in
Alzira, Valencia Alzira ( es, Alcira) is a city and municipality of 45.088 inhabitants (62,094 floating population) in Valencia, eastern Spain. It is the capital of the ''comarca'' of Ribera Alta in the province of Valencia. The city is the heart of the second l ...
. In October 2009 the team completed a deal with the local government of the
Region of Murcia The Region of Murcia (, ; es, Región de Murcia ), is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain located in the southeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. The region is in ...
to build new facilities for the team at the Parque Tecnológico Fuente Álamo
science park A science park (also called a "university research park", "technology park”, "technopark", “technopole", or a "science and technology park" (STP)) is defined as being a property-based development that accommodates and fosters the growt ...
. Italian constructor
Dallara Dallara is an Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Gian Paolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' Melegari (Parma), Italy he created "D ...
built the 2010 cars in
Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
, which used
Cosworth Cosworth is a British automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in high-performance internal combustion engines, powertrain, and electronics for automobile racing (motorsport) and mainstream automotive industrie ...
engines. On 12 June, Campos Meta were named by the
FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backst ...
as one of three new teams granted entry to the 2010 season, along with
US F1 Team The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
and
Manor Grand Prix Manor Grand Prix Racing Limited, trading as Manor Racing MRT or Pertamina Manor Racing MRT, was a British Formula One racing team and constructor based in Banbury, Oxfordshire in the United Kingdom. The team originally started racing in 2010 ...
. On the weekend of the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Campos confirmed that
Bruno Senna Bruno Senna Lalli (, born 15 October 1983) is a Brazilian professional racing driver. He is the nephew of the late Ayrton Senna, three-time Formula One world champion. He is also the first man to win a race in every WEC class, and was the 2017 W ...
, the nephew of former world champion
Ayrton Senna Ayrton Senna da Silva (; 21 March 1960 – 1 May 1994) was a Brazilian racing driver who won the Formula One List of Formula One World Drivers' Champions, World Drivers' Championship in , , and . Senna is one of three Formula One drivers fro ...
, would be one of their racing drivers for 2010.


Financial struggles and rebranding

On 22 December 2009,
Bernie Ecclestone Bernard Charles Ecclestone (born 28 October 1930) is an English business magnate. He is the former chief executive of the Formula One Group, which manages Formula One motor racing and controls the commercial rights to the sport, and part-owns ...
voiced concerns about the team's ability to be on the grid for the first race of the 2010 F1 season. In January 2010,
A1 Grand Prix A1 Grand Prix (A1GP) was a "single-make" open-wheel auto racing series that ran from 2005 until 2009. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themselves or a team, the usual format in most for ...
principal
Tony Teixeira Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...
was one of several potential investors linked to the team in an effort to open up a revenue stream in the build-up to the 2010 testing season. Teixeira, who had previously been rumoured as a potential buyer of
Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
at the end of has stated his intentions to make Campos the Formula One "arm" of the struggling
A1 Grand Prix A1 Grand Prix (A1GP) was a "single-make" open-wheel auto racing series that ran from 2005 until 2009. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themselves or a team, the usual format in most for ...
series. On 27 January, the team admitted that they may not be able to participate in the 2010 winter testing season at all and that their second driver may not be announced until the eve of their first race. Despite this admission, Teixeira claimed the team was aiming to make the second test session and believed that they would "definitely" make the third session at
Jerez Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cádiz Mountains. , the c ...
. However, it was reported in early February that Teixeira's proposed buy-out of the team was being met with resistance from the established teams. On 5 February 2010, Campos boss
Adrián Campos Adrián Campos Suñer (17 June 1960 – 27 January 2021) was a Spanish Formula One driver. He participated in 21 Grands Prix, debuting on 12 April 1987, without scoring a championship point. He later moved into team management, with more succes ...
told
BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flag ...
that the team were struggling to find funding. It was paying the €7 million to
Dallara Dallara is an Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Gian Paolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' Melegari (Parma), Italy he created "D ...
stating that "sometime we have the money sometime we don't". He confirmed that the funding should be finalised and within place the following week. He also denied the fact that F1-hopefuls Stefan GP had taken the Campos' car stating that "we've got a contract and as long as we're paying the contract is valid". Later in February, speculation began to spread as to whether Campos would actually make the 2010 field, and the team admitted budgetary problems. On 19 February, it was announced that majority shareholder José Ramón Carabante had taken over full control of the team from Adrián Campos, who was also replaced as team principal by
Colin Kolles Colin Kolles (born Călin Colesnic 13 December 1967 in Timișoara) is a Romanian-German former team principal and managing director of the Hispania Racing F1 Team, previously holding a similar position at the team known under the names Jordan, ...
. The team was renamed to Hispania Racing F1 Team (HRT) ahead of their first race, with the name taken from Grupo Hispania, one of Carabante's companies. The team's headquarters were moved from Meta Image's offices in Madrid to Grupo Hispania's offices in
Murcia Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...
. On 4 March,
Karun Chandhok Karun Chandhok (born 19 January 1984) is an Indian racing driver and television presenter who last competed in Formula E for Mahindra Racing. Previously, Chandhok has competed for Hispania Racing in Formula One in . Before this, he drove in the ...
was confirmed as the team's second driver. The team launched their
Cosworth Cosworth is a British automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in high-performance internal combustion engines, powertrain, and electronics for automobile racing (motorsport) and mainstream automotive industrie ...
-powered,
Dallara Dallara is an Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Gian Paolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' Melegari (Parma), Italy he created "D ...
-designed car later the same day; it was called the F110.


2010 season

With no pre-season testing, the F110 completed its first laps during the weekend of the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix. Senna's car was completed in time for him to complete three installation laps in the first free practice session. In the second session, he completed 17 laps, setting a best time over 11 seconds off the pace, but slid off the road after completing his final lap due to one of his car's wheels coming loose. Senna described the day's work as a "great start", considering the team's lack of preparation. By contrast, the mechanics were unable to make the clutch and gearbox on Chandhok's car work, and he did not complete any laps on Friday. In qualifying, Senna and Chandhok set the 23rd and 24th-quickest times to share the back row of the starting grid: Chandhok was finally able to complete his car's first laps in anger and set a time 1.7 seconds slower than his team-mate, who was in turn just over eight seconds behind polesitter
Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who competed in Formula One from 2007 to 2022 for BMW Sauber, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Toro Rosso, Red Bull Racing, Red Bull, Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari, and Aston Martin in Formula One ...
. For the race, both cars started from the pit lane; Chandhok crashed out on the second lap and Senna retired on lap 18 with an overheating engine. At the , the cars again occupied the back row of the grid, with Senna ahead of Chandhok. The F110s were both 6.6 seconds off the polesitter's time, but only 0.34 seconds behind the
Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...
of
Lucas di Grassi Lucas Tucci di Grassi (born 11 August 1984) is a Brazilian professional racing driver who competes in the FIA Formula E World Championship for Mahindra Racing. He became the FIA Formula E Champion in 2016–2017, achieved three overall podium ...
. Senna's car only lasted four laps of the race before retiring with a hydraulic failure, but Chandhok finished 14th and last for the car's first classified finish, albeit five laps adrift of winner
Jenson Button Jenson Alexander Lyons Button (born 19 January 1980) is a British racing driver. He won the 2009 Formula One World Championship when he drove for the Brawn GP team. After his F1 career, he became champion of the 2018 season of the Super GT ...
and three laps behind
Heikki Kovalainen Heikki Johannes Kovalainen (; born 19 October 1981) is a Finnish racing driver competing in the Japan Rally Championship for Rally Team AICELLO. He raced in Formula One between 2007 and 2013 for the Renault, McLaren, Team Lotus, Caterham and ...
's 13th-placed Lotus. This was partly due to a damaged floor caused by Chandhok coming off the track twice during the race. Hispania recorded its first double finish at the with Chandhok finishing in front of Senna, albeit 3 and 4 laps down respectively. The team repeated this feat at the with Senna in 16th and Chandhok 17th, the last of the cars still running. The fifth start in
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
wasn't so successful for both Hispania drivers. Senna retired in the first corner after an accident, Chandhok remained on the track for 30 laps, then retired with a broken suspension. However the team's new test driver
Christian Klien Christian Klien (born 7 February 1983) is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver. In total he has scored 14 points in Formula One. Klien currently competes full-time in the GT World Challenge Europe for JP Motorsport. Racing career Born ...
drove for the team in first practice. Hispania started well in
Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
, leapfrogging their rivals (Lotus and Virgin) at the start of the race. Senna later retired, but Chandhok was looking set to finish until he was involved in a frightening accident with
Jarno Trulli Jarno Trulli (; born 13 July 1974) is an Italian racing driver. He regularly competed in Formula One from 1997 to 2011, driving for Minardi, Prost, Jordan, Renault, Toyota, Lotus Racing and Team Lotus. His best result in the World Drivers' Cham ...
who, when trying to overtake Chandhok, hit the side of the Hispania car and was sent over the top of it and into the barrier. Both drivers were unhurt. The crash almost cost Mark Webber the race win as he was following the pair closely when the accident occurred. In
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, the team's other test driver
Sakon Yamamoto is a Japanese racing driver turned politician. He competed in 21 Formula One Grands Prix during the , 2007 and 2010 seasons. Before Formula One Yamamoto was born in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture. He began his racing career in 1994 at the Suzuka ...
completed the first practice session, setting the slowest time of the session. On the eve of the at Silverstone, Hispania announced that Bruno Senna had been dropped for the race, and that test driver Sakon Yamamoto would take his place. However, it was announced that Senna would race after Silverstone, saying that they "want to confirm that Bruno Senna has all the support of the Spanish team" and "that he remains one of the Hispania Racing HRT F1 team's official drivers and that he will be continuing to drive in the remaining races." Yamamoto replaced Chandhok for the next four races, before being replaced by
Christian Klien Christian Klien (born 7 February 1983) is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver. In total he has scored 14 points in Formula One. Klien currently competes full-time in the GT World Challenge Europe for JP Motorsport. Racing career Born ...
for the due to
food poisoning Foodborne illness (also foodborne disease and food poisoning) is any illness resulting from the spoilage of contaminated food by pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites that contaminate food, as well as prions (the agents of mad cow disease) ...
. Yamamoto returned for the following two races, but was again replaced by Klien for the final two races of the season. In 2020, Chandhok claimed that the battle between Campos and Dallara over the chassis payment led to the teams' display car being raced all season without any upgrades. As a result, the only alteration made to the cars all year was the movement of side-mirrors inboard ahead of a sidepod-mirror ban in China.


2011 season

Hispania parted company with Dallara in May 2010 after the partnership between the two companies had become tense due to the car's lack of performance. The team sought an alternative technical deal to assist in the construction of its chassis. When Hispania was still under the Campos name, team owner José Ramón Carabante said in an interview with
Autosport ''Autosport'' is a global motorsport publishing brand headquartered based in Richmond, London. It was established in 1950 at the same time as the origins of the Formula One World Championship. Autosport began life as a weekly magazine in 1950 ...
that Campos Meta F1/HRT were eyeing a
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
engine supply for the season. Colin Kolles said in an interview with
Diario AS ''Diario AS'' () is a Spanish daily sports newspaper that concentrates particularly on football. Profile ''Diario AS'' is part of PRISA which also owns '' El País'' and ''Cinco Días''. The paper particularly covers news of the Community of M ...
in July 2010, that talks about a partnership with
Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
was an option for 2011. Kolles confirmed in October that the team had enough financing to complete its maiden
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
campaign. Former chief executive officer of
Telefónica Telefónica, S.A. () is a Spanish multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Madrid, Spain. It is one of the largest telephone operators and mobile network providers in the world. It provides fixed and mobile telephony, broadba ...
,
Juan Villalonga Juan Villalonga Navarro (born April 8, 1953) is a Spanish businessman. He was a partner at McKinsey & Company in the 1980s, CEO for Credit Suisse First Boston and Bankers Trust in Spain in the early 1990s, and CEO of Telefónica from 1996 to 2000 ...
joined the team in November 2010. His main role is to help with communications, technology and sponsorship. It was later announced that the team would give a test to GP2 champion
Pastor Maldonado Pastor Rafael Maldonado Motta (; born 9 March 1985) is a Venezuelan professional racing driver, who competed in Formula One for the Williams (2011–2013) and Lotus (2014–2015) teams and as a Pirelli test driver until 2017. Before entering F ...
who later secured a drive with Williams. Fellow GP2 drivers
Josef Král Josef Král (born 15 June 1990 in Dvůr Králové nad Labem) is a professional racing driver from the Czech Republic. Career Karting & early career Král began his motorsport career in karting back in 1998, and during the following seven years h ...
and
Davide Valsecchi Davide Valsecchi (born 24 January 1987) is an Italian former racing driver and the 2012 GP2 Series champion. Career Formula Renault Valsecchi drove in Renault-based series from 2003 to 2007, rising from Italian Formula Renault and the Formula ...
will also test for the team in
Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...
. After the final race of the 2010 season, it emerged that Hispania had signed a deal in the summer of 2010 with Toyota Motorsport GmBH which would have seen it use Toyota's never-raced 2010 car, the
Toyota TF110 The Toyota TF110 was an un-raced, prototype Formula One car designed by Toyota Racing for the 2010 Formula One season. The car had been designed, and two chassis produced before Toyota officially decided to pull out of Formula One at the end of ...
, as the basis of its 2011 challenger as well as making use of Toyota Motorsport's technical resources. In November 2010, Toyota announced that they had cancelled the agreement because HRT failed to make payments. In December 2010 there were reports that the team has been placed up for sale, but had been denied by its owners. Hispania also left the
Formula One Teams Association The Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) was a group of Formula One teams that formed at a meeting in Maranello on 29 July 2008. The organisation was formed to give the teams a united voice in negotiations with the FIA and the Formula One Gro ...
at this point, blaming the organisation's bias against the smaller teams for its decision. The FOTA secretary-general, however, claimed that Hispania was expelled from the organisation because it did not pay its 2010 membership fee. On 6 January,
Narain Karthikeyan Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan (born 14 January 1977) is an Indian racing driver. He was the first Indian driver to compete in Formula One. He has previously competed in A1GP, and the Le Mans Series. He has won multiple races in A1GP, British F3, ...
announced that he would drive for Hispania in the 2011 season. He previously drove for the
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
team in . By February, it had emerged that the team was considering
Vitantonio Liuzzi Vitantonio "Tonio" Liuzzi (born 6 August 1980) is an Italian professional racing driver who formerly raced in Formula One for the Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Force India and HRT teams. Karting Born in Locorotondo, BA, Apulia, Liuzzi, like many au ...
as an option for their second driver. Liuzzi confirmed that it was in consideration and took part in the third pre-season test with the team, in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
. The team also tested former
Formula Renault V6 Eurocup Formula Renault V6 Eurocup is a former type of formula racing, active from 2003 to 2004, started by Renault as a support series in Eurosport's Super Racing Weekends ( ETCC and FIA GT Championship). It was a Formula Renault 3.5 that include also ...
champion
Giorgio Mondini Giorgio Mondini (Born July 19, 1980) is an automobile racing driver from Geneva, Switzerland. Career Mondini began his competitive racing career at the age of 21, when he came 26th in the Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup series. In 2002 he made his ...
at Barcelona. Liuzzi was confirmed as Hispania's second driver on 9 March 2011. The team's 2011 car, the
Hispania F111 The Hispania F111, also known as the HRT F111, is a Formula One racing car developed for Hispania Racing. The car competed in the 2011 Formula One season and was the first Formula One car designed by the team as HRT's entry into the 2010 season, ...
made its debut during the second practice session of the , with Vitantonio Liuzzi completing an installation lap three minutes before the end of the session. The 2011 season saw the re-introduction of the 107% rule, and in qualifying, both drivers failed to score a time under the 107% of the pole. In
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, the team showed improved pace, with Liuzzi only half a second from the slowest of the Virgin cars. Both cars were within 107% of the polesitter's time, and were thus able to take the start of the race. However both cars retired with technical problems. In
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, Liuzzi and Karthikeyan qualified again, and completed the race as the last two classified finishers in 22nd and 23rd respectively. In
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, Liuzzi started the race in front of both Virgins, but finished 22nd thanks to brake problems, with Karthikeyan in 21st.
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
saw both cars starting ahead of
Jérôme d'Ambrosio Jérôme D’Ambrosio (born 27 December 1985) is a Belgian former professional racing driver, motorsport executive and former Team Principal of Venturi Racing in Formula E. He has previously driven for Marussia Virgin Racing and Lotus F1 in t ...
, but meanwhile Karthikeyan finished 21st, Liuzzi retired with gearbox problems; in
Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
, both drivers crashed in practice and did not enter qualifying, but were allowed to start the race by the stewards. Liuzzi finished 16th and Karthikeyan 17th, taking advantage of multiple retirements. In
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, the team achieved their best result with both drivers finishing in 13th and 14th positions, placing them ahead of Virgin in the Constructors' Championship. However, Karthikeyan was hit with a post race penalty for cutting a chicane during the race, which dropped him to 17th place. At
Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
, Liuzzi and Karthikeyan finished 23rd and 24th. On 4 July 2011, it was announced that Thesan Capital, a
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
-based investment company purchased a controlling stake in the team from owner Jose Ramon Carabante. Thesan Capital announced the team's operations would continue as they had before the purchase, and that they had no plans to change the team name or alter its operational structure. In a statement released to the media, Thesan Capital described their intentions as making the team "more Spanish" and settling the team within Spain. For the , Karthikeyan was replaced by Red Bull protégé
Daniel Ricciardo Daniel Joseph Ricciardo ( "Ricardo", ; born 1 July 1989) is an Italian-Australian racing driver who last raced in Formula One driving for McLaren, under the Australian flag. He made his debut at the 2011 British Grand Prix with the HRT ...
. He qualified 24th with Liuzzi in 23rd, and they finished 19th and 18th respectively. Ricciardo again finished 19th in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, while Liuzzi retired. In
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
, Liuzzi finished 20th and Ricciardo 18th. Despite not setting a time within 107% of the best time in Q1, both cars were allowed to race in
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. Liuzzi finished 19th and Ricciardo retired with a vibration in his car. In
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, Liuzzi lost control at the start after making contact with Kovalainen, slid across the grass, cut the first corner and slammed sideways in to
Vitaly Petrov Vitaly Aleksandrovich Petrov ( rus, Вита́лий Алекса́ндрович Петро́в, p=vʲɪˈtalʲɪj ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ pʲɪˈtrof; born 8 September 1984) is a Russian racing driver who drove in Formula One for Renault F1 ...
and
Nico Rosberg Nico Erik Rosberg (born 27 June 1985) is a German-Finnish former professional racing driver. He competed in Formula One from 2006 to 2016, winning the World Drivers' Championship in with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport. The only child of Fi ...
, taking all three out of the race. On 22 October 2011, a few days before the inaugural Indian Grand Prix, Hispania announced that Karthikeyan would drive in place of Liuzzi rather than Ricciardo. Despite picking up damage in the first lap of the race, Karthikeyan managed to beat Ricciardo by 31.8 seconds in the race to finish 17th. Liuzzi returned to replace Karthikeyan for the final two races. Hispania finished 11th in the World Constructors' Championship, ahead of Virgin.


2012 season

On 21 November 2011, it was announced that
Pedro de la Rosa Pedro Martínez de la Rosa (; born 24 February 1971) is a Spanish former Formula One driver who has participated in 107 Grands Prix for the Arrows, Jaguar, McLaren, Sauber and HRT teams. He made his Formula One debut on 7 March 1999, becoming ...
had signed for the team on a two-year contract. On 14 December 2011, the team announced that team principal Colin Kolles was leaving, effective from the following day, "due to the new direction that the team has taken and the decision of the new management to move the team headquarters to Spain". He was replaced by
Luis Pérez-Sala Luis Pérez-Sala Valls-Taberner (born 15 May 1959) is a Spanish former racing driver who competed in Formula One, Formula 3, Formula 3000 and Touring Cars. He was also the team principal of HRT Formula 1 Team during the 2012 F1 season. Pérez- ...
. In February 2012 it was announced that the team would move its operations to the
Caja Mágica La Caja Mágica ''( es, The Magic Box)'' (also known as the Manzanares Park Tennis Center) is a multi-purpose stadium located in Madrid, Spain. Since 2009, it has been the home of the Madrid Open tennis event, and as of 2019, the home of the Davi ...
complex in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, using 11,000 square metres. The team's car, the F112, was originally scheduled to complete its first running during the second pre-season test in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
in late February, but was delayed due to the car failing mandatory crash tests. At the , de la Rosa and Karthikeyan were not permitted to race, as both drivers failed to set a lap time within 107% of the fastest time in the first part of qualifying. On 12 November 2012, the team's owner Thesan Capital confirmed that they were in talks with several parties in regard to the sale of the Spanish outfit.


Team closure

In November 2012, the owners of HRT F1 announced that they were putting the team up for sale. The team needed to find a buyer by 30 November – the date by which entry fees for the 2013 were due to be paid – or else face closure and a departure from the sport. HRT failed to find a buyer in time, and the team was omitted from the 2013 entry list. They were later reported to be in
liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistrib ...
. Despite bids to purchase and revive the team under a new name, their assets were ultimately sold to Teo Martín, owner of a firm specialising in recycling automotive parts. Martín intends to race the cars in the
EuroBOSS Series The BOSS GP Series is a motor racing series in Europe. The category originated in 1995 as the BOSS Formula series and evolved into the EuroBOSS Series. BOSS is an acronym that stands for ''Big Open Single Seaters''. History The BOSS series w ...
. Czech driver
Josef Král Josef Král (born 15 June 1990 in Dvůr Králové nad Labem) is a professional racing driver from the Czech Republic. Career Karting & early career Král began his motorsport career in karting back in 1998, and during the following seven years h ...
later stated that he had signed a contract to race for the Spanish team if it had made the grid for
2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
.


Complete Formula One results

(
key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...
) (results in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ;Notes: * – The driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified, as he completed over 90% of the race distance.


References


External links


Official website
(Defunct link) {{Formula One constructors Formula One constructors Formula One entrants Spanish auto racing teams