Despite having arguably the best driver pairing they've had in their one-and-a-half year history, Hispania Racing has still scrubbed the bottom of the table all year. Their best ever finish is 13th and their goal every race is STILL to get both cars to the end of the race. At the start of this year their goal was to score their first points but if they do that this year I'll sleep on the moon. The only good thing they're doing at the moment is allowing drivers like Ricciardo to gain some experience. Maybe Red Bull will do the same thing for future drivers like Eric-Vergne. But even if HRT wasn't here, RBR would probably find somewhere else to put newer drivers like Virgin or Lotus. Having made virtually zero progress in beating Virgin and Lotus (consistently) and having a car that, despite improved reliability, is still one of the most unreliable cars on the grid (just after Lotus), the question is should and (if so, when) HRT get out of F1?
Lotus are the only one of the three new teams who seem to be making real progress, they remind me of Force India a few years back. I'd have no complaints if HRT and Virgin went, they'll never offer anything to the sport in my opinion.
Sandwich, you have mentioned some positives about HRT. At what point should these positives be ignored? HRT are managing to qualify within the 107% rule and are far closer to the front runners than some historic teams managed back in the old days, which is why the rule was introduced. A 7% speed differential has already been settled upon as defining the transition between 'acceptably slow' and 'unacceptably slow'; a distinction made purely on the grounds of safety. Bearing in mind that in terms of competitiveness, HRT are in fact meeting the requirements of F1, surely we should be pleased that they continue to want to compete and increase the size of the grid, since ultimately, smaller grids make for less excitement and hence, less interest in general?
Well said Cosi. If we're going to go around with the argument of 'they're not good enough to race' then I guess you could level that argument at mostteams, Mercedes, Renault, Toro Rosso, Sauber, Force India etc aren't going to beat the red bull, so why should they race? They have improved vastly from last year IMO, the 'new' teams like Sauber, Force India, Toro Rosso, mercedes all hit the ground running as they bought existing teams. I think it was optimistic of them to think they'd score any points this year, but next year is a different story, maybe the idea of renting their seats tothe reserve drivers of other teams have some merit, but persoanlyy I'm not sure I like the idea, it seems to me the Red bull racing have 5 drivers on the grid atm.
Precisely Miggs: just where exactly does one draw a line? The answer is simple: draw a line at safety - and leave it at that.
I want to see HRT sell or leave. Fine, maybe it takes two or three years before you have a hope in hell of competing nowadays, but I don't see how they'll ever turn it around. On the other hand, it's plain to see that Lotus are catching up, and I believe a combination of Richard Branson and a Russian manufacturer eager to buy a reputation is a combination that will succeed in the long run.
The back markers used to be worse than HRT. In 2008 all the teams were very close on pace until the regs spaced them out again. It just takes time with these new regs for all the teams to just bunch up again. Possibly though I think the FIA and FOM should give a helping hand to the 3 new teams. I used to be amazed when thinking that a Minardi in 2005 was only 1 second slower than a Ferrari yet they were at the back of the grid. 1 bloody second!
I don't think you appreciate how hard it is to get to 107% of Seb Vettel in a redbull with his DRS acticated and full KERS applied, especially when they have a rather (sadly) lacklustre Cosworth engine, compared to Lotuses WDC winning engine. I'm quite happy to see them race, so long as they make the qualification cut-off.
There are times when I wonder if some of the HRT management are taking F1 entirely seriously ('this is a cool spot', sends out precisely the wrong message). I mean the departure of Geoff Willis isn't going to help the team progress- they've let a former title-winning team member go in a dispute over money. That's fairly typical of their 1 and a half years in F1, frankly.
I want to see them sell or leave because I don't want to watch them fail forever. Off the track, Virgin and Lotus appear capable of one day competing for points at worst. With HRT I see nothing but the back row when Virgin have sorted their acts out. Being the loveable losers is only romantic if your team believes that under the right circumstances it can nick a result. With the reliability and run-off areas in F1 nowadays, there is no way that the 23rd and 24th cars will be a tenth of the story that Minardi were.
Yes, but regardless of internal decisions Stephen, they are competing within the rules and bouy up the grid. They are also providing two extra seats in F1 cars, and even in the most cynical statistic sense, this helps provide extra, vitally important experience. And of course, it is not only the drivers but the whole team - Willis excepted!
A team only fails if it can no longer compete (take part in the event). For a weak team such as this, just finishing is succeeding, even if you don't want to watch them. And let's face it, they don't command a lot of TV time as far as I've seen, so you don't really have to watch them anyway. I have no interest in whether they are "lovable losers" and agree that it is unlikely they will be seen in the same light as Minardi. But the interesting thing is that Minardi are remembered primarily for their courage to fight on, in spite of being perennial back-markers!
I don't want to come across as someone who is against also-rans. I am a Watford fan after all. To me, sport is about one of three things. At the top end, it's about competing for victory. Further down, it's about the belief that you are gearing up for bigger things, or accepting that you are underdogs but believing you are nonetheless in a position to occasionally do something special. I can't see HRT ever doing any of those things. If the choice is between 22 and 24 cars then by all means keep them, but ideally I'd like to see HRT replaced by a team who can at least offer a prayer of things to come, as Minardi did.
Minardi rarely got within the 107% during their first seasons. The HRTs are not only starting, but finishing, that would've been good enough for 5th and 6th in the 96 monaco GP, which neither Minardi got passed the first lap in. Give them a chance, it's not like they are Andrea Moda, they just happen to be the worst of a pretty good bunch.
For fighting with the rest of the field, yes they need to go. Get in VW or something, they need the MONEY!!!!
If they manage to get a car together for next year BEFORE qualifying for the first race... HRT and (to a lesser extent) Virgin are an embarassment. At least Lotus manage to get close (ish) to the top 10, and beat Petrov at the weekend on merit! You'd have thought they'd be the new Minardi, but they can't get any sponsorship and their treatment of Chandhok was disappointing. Let them continue to pootle round at the back, but also re-open the 13th slot on the grid.
