This time it's Chandhok

doesn't really help that he's with the worst team since Lola in 1997 though... the sooner HRT run out of cash and disappear, the better

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Team Japan Owner - GPGNC

Chandhok's not going to be racing at Hungary either:

[www.autosport.com]

Hispania say he will return at some point but when exactly, who knows?

Let's hope he's in the commentary box then :p

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"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL

I was blindly infatuated with Hispania, their pluckiness, the way they somehow managed to get on the grid, and the driver pairing of Senna and Chandhok.

But it's gone wrong. Awful car, Kolles making dodgy decisions, and financial malaise. And Sakon Yamamoto. If Alan Partridge owned an F1 team...this would be it.

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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

I wasn't expecting HRT to set the world alight and they haven't. They did what I expected them to do. In fact, I expected all the new teams to have results like this, so some of them have exceeded my expectations. In the end, one of them had to be the slowest.
With all the rumours of a deal with the Toyota factory in Cologne Kolles is probably trying to get as many funds in as possible in order to pay them. If that requires putting in the tester, oh well. As Gav said, it's for the greater good.

If they're just as bad next year as they are now, then yes, people have a point. But it's their first year, cut them some slack.

Having this years TF will be a big bonus in the short term, but long term... well look at STR. They are slow. Their car is based on the fastest F1 car last year nad yet it is only faster than Lotus Virgin and HRT.

If HRT get the TF. They will be rear mid-field for a year, then when it comes to develop themselves, they'll be at the back again. Besides that this years TF is based on having a double-deck diffuser. So the whole design concept is optimized for that...

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"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL

AFAIK they're not just getting a Toyota car, but the factory will be developing it as well.

And if that's the case, putting Sakon in the seat for a few races instead of Karun is a pretty small price to pay IMO.

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Someone mentioned the Toyota engines at some point over the weekend too, but I think I'd prefer to stick to Cosworth to be honest - obviously cheaper and maybe even a touch quicker too. Reliability has been OK too.

You do wonder where all the funds for this are going to come from though... they scraped into the season, and sticking Yamamoto in for a few races isn't suddenly going to make things all rosy in the medium-term - this would be an expensive project.

After searching on Google News, this was the most recent article I found:

[www.f1sa.com]

Not sure quite how reliable the source is, but anyways, the indication is that they're heading towards a deal, if one hasn't been done already.

The concern I'd have, apart from the lack of funds, is the competitiveness of the car in any case. It would be at least a year old, there's no guarantee it would even have been competitive this season if it had raced, and I doubt Hispania would have the funds or resources to counter that and do any radical cutting-edge developments on it.
Still, if they can make their situation this year work like they have, the Toyota deal could move them up the grid if it comes off.

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Assuming that car would be in the midfield had it run, then it's still missing a full year of development. To put into context how much development that is, you only have to look at how far the new teams have fallen back (and Lotus in particular, with them concentrating on 2011).

Silverstone I thought was just a blip, being more dependant on aero than most tracks, and aero being where the new teams ought to be lacking. Yet at a very shot Hockenheim track, Trulli pulled out a stunning qualifying lap and was still 0.9 behind the slowest existing car. At Montreal Lotus were 0.2 behind the next slowest car. While other circumstances are undoubtedly influencing results, it's undeniable that Lotus have fallen be spectacularly while they've almost stopped development and other teams are pressing on.

Given that the Toyota didn't even do any testing, it's probably already 1.5-2.0 seconds slower than it would have been had it been developed... Hispania were only 2 seconds off the pace at Hockenheim.

Take ideas. Take a base. But relying too much on that car isn't going to move Hispania forward at all.

Hockenheim is a short track through so the gap will be smaller there.

I cant really see Toyota coming back to F1 in any capacity yet they only left at the end of last season.

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Waiting for March.

It isn't Toyota as in the company. It's the factory that was owned by Toyota. Apparently the factory and Toyota have split up or something, but most of the Toyota people are still working there.

With engines being frozen, could they get away using old Toyota engines? Rebranded, maybe? Cosworth would probably remain the best.
Anyway, I'd welcome such a deal. As it stands out of the three new teams it's Lotus and actually Hispania that I see progressing the most next year - I don't expect a meteoric rise up the grid by either but they both seem to me to be teams that have a real plan, even if Hispania is struggling to get there already. I'm just not getting that vibe from Virgin, it seems more a "Problem? Throw money at it. Money doesn't work? Okay, I'm off home then." situation. I respect the Manor side tremendously and I hope them all the best but they're the team I'm most worried about in the mid-to-long run. Unless Hispania simply runs out of money of course...

Quote
zulu_85
I'm just not getting that vibe from Virgin, it seems more a "Problem? Throw money at it. Money doesn't work? Okay, I'm off home then."

I'm fairly sure Virgin have got sod-all spare money. They look organised in the sense that their budget is carefully worked out and planned for the rest of the season/as long as Branson's contract is, but I'm fairly sure they're not a 'throw money at it' team. While Branson is clearly the main source of funds, everything I read earlier in the season was that he's not actually pumping much in.

They even pitched the CFD theory as a means of saving money as one of the key benefits.

The sole (presumably) expensive problem they did have to address was the fuel-tank issue, but there was little alternative.

By comparison I've no idea where Hispania are heading. They seem to be pimping this company and that one, yet with no obvious backing to fund any of them (hence Yamamoto in for as long as he keeps bringing the $$$).

Taking money out of the equation, while they seem to be heading to Toyota, you have to question why - as I've already demonstrated, the current car is actually on par with where I'd expect the Toyota to be if it were to take to the track now. Surely as a new team their own chassis (providing they have basic designs in their possession) and ideas taken forward to next year would give more potential than one which had been on the grid for nearly a decade without really moving forwards.

Yamamotos race was so bad that I'm amazed they are letting him back in, even with cash. Pit lane speed limiter activated on the grid, then set off the fire extinguisher when trying to change the brake bias. :-\

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gav Wrote:
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> > I'm just not getting that vibe from Virgin, it
> seems more a "Problem? Throw money at it. Money
> doesn't work? Okay, I'm off home then."
>
>
> I'm fairly sure Virgin have got sod-all spare
> money. They look organised in the sense that their
> budget is carefully worked out and planned for the
> rest of the season/as long as Branson's contract
> is, but I'm fairly sure they're not a 'throw money
> at it' team. While Branson is clearly the main
> source of funds, everything I read earlier in the
> season was that he's not actually pumping much
> in.
>
> They even pitched the CFD theory as a means of
> saving money as one of the key benefits.
>
> The sole (presumably) expensive problem they did
> have to address was the fuel-tank issue, but there
> was little alternative.
>
> By comparison I've no idea where Hispania are
> heading. They seem to be pimping this company and
> that one, yet with no obvious backing to fund any
> of them (hence Yamamoto in for as long as he keeps
> bringing the $$$).
>
> Taking money out of the equation, while they seem
> to be heading to Toyota, you have to question why
> - as I've already demonstrated, the current car is
> actually on par with where I'd expect the Toyota
> to be if it were to take to the track now. Surely
> as a new team their own chassis (providing they
> have basic designs in their possession) and ideas
> taken forward to next year would give more
> potential than one which had been on the grid for
> nearly a decade without really moving forwards.

Fair points well made - I guess I was thinking more along the lines of Branson's contract - or interest moreover. I doubt that longevity. That and I hear about the other teams' long term plans more than I do with Virgin.
I don't know what I'm thinking really though...

DaveEllis Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yamamotos race was so bad that I'm amazed they are
> letting him back in, even with cash. Pit lane
> speed limiter activated on the grid, then set off
> the fire extinguisher when trying to change the
> brake bias. :-\


I thought it was mad putting him in the car, but you convinced me otherwise the other week :p dont go back!

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"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL

Who did Karun bring? Him getting replaced constantly can't be a pleasant thing. I think I saw the Japanese sponsor on the HRT car, I cannot believe they charge so much for that little thing! Ferrari themselves made a proposal to a company that for US$10 million, they'd get the rear-wing sides from below the AMD all the way down, or an area on the front wings, or the cockpit sides, or a logo between Acer and the Shell on the sides. That isn't mentioning also the publicity on Ferrari events, or "M Driving Academy" banners on Ferrari go-kart events. Basically full use of the Ferrari F1 brand for just double of what Sakon brought in and HRT displayed in such minimalistic manner.