Obituary: HRT

Obituary: HRT
Date: November 15, 2012 08:24PM
Posted by: Incident 2k9

Registered: 15 years ago

"Hold on!" some members will be thinking. "They're not dead yet!".

Very true, but they've only got until December 2nd before they're given their last words and their last meal. And despite the turnaround in fortunes the F1 team has had (comparatively speaking) there's a good chance this season will be their last.

Hard to believe, but HRT barely owned a thing when Kolles was given his marching orders. They used his trucks, his design office, and several of his employees. He had to go though; he had planned to use the same tub as the year before for 2012. He was responsible for outsourcing the manufacture of the 2012 car to Holzer, and although the build was cheaper it lacked the quality of the chassis that Carbotech had given for the 2011 car (hence explaining some of the issues the car has experienced). And, of course, he wasn't renowned for keeping a stable outfit. 2010 and 2011 saw multiple driver changes; 7 different drivers were 'employed' in those two seasons alone.

Hiring Luis Perez-Sala was a step in the right direction. He had experience of a tail-end outfit before - competing with Minardi in 1988 and 1989. However, he had the full backing of Thesan Capital and the regeneration that they brought the team was much-welcomed. Firstly, they hired Pedro de la Rosa who as we all know is a vastly experienced development driver having worked for multiple teams up and down the grid. Secondly, they built a rather attractive HQ at Caja Magica in Madrid which had an air of professionalism about it. This enabled them to have a proper home, and brought them closer to Marussia and Caterham.

However, the team is now officially up for sale. Arguably, Thesan have done all they can do on a shoestring budget and that's certainly commendable. Although linked with investment from Abu Dhabi, Qatar or India it looks like the Spanish outfit might close it's doors before 2013. No real potential investors have declared interest, and the fact that the team is located away from the traditional proximity to Silverstone might be another point against it. But why should that put people off? It's an opportunity to skip the hefty entry bond and all of the bureaucracy of starting a team from scratch. A car's apparently been designed for next year, and it's a team that can be moulded into a midfield runner at the very least with the right amount of funding.

Unfortunately, that's most likely all wishful thinking. Some people won't care that HRT will eventually run down the curtain and join the choir invisible as they might feel they were living on borrowed time anyway. But I disagree. I think they're the closest thing we've had to the glory days of the early 90's. The chaos, the paydrivers, the DNQs, the shuffling of drivers, and the name-changes.

They may still find a buyer in time, and they may still live to fight another day. But should they ever meet their demise, I will miss them; the minnows, the plucky little Spanish team.

GPGSL: S6 - TafuroGP Tester (14th) /// S7 - ART Tester (6th) /// S8 - Demon Driver (13th) /// S9 - Demon/Snake Driver (13th) /// S10 - Snake Driver (???) ///]
"My ambition is handicapped by laziness" - Charles Bukowski

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/15/2012 08:25PM by Incident 2k9.