After the horrendous 'start' at the seasons opener, when they weren't allowed to take part in the race for safety reasons, followed some weeks late by Cucumber-gate, how well have they done? well their race pace isn't so bad (ok, it's bad, but...), looking through the results of Spanish GP I find the PDLR was lapping only around 3 secs a lap slower than the leaders, I was quite surprised by this as it is well within the 107%. Is this a sign that HRT are putting the experience of PDLR and the money of Karthikeyan to good use? Or just a bit of a fluke? I would really like to see someone decent have a go in the 2nd car, PDLR is smart enough to just drive his own race, using every lap as almost a test run, but I can't see him doing much even if the car is better than the Marussias, and Karthikeyan, well, there's no point in discussing his, er, 'talent'
PDLR is driving pretty sensible. HRT seem more stable and sponsorship is coming in from spain. They are slowly getting respectable. I expected more from Caterham and Marussia though
Hi Miggins, I've just responded to your point elsewhere about HRT's fastest lap being within 3 seconds of the fastest lap of the last race; which I was not previously aware of. I think it was this forum where, midway through last season, I tried to explain HRT's priorities: firstly of survival; and secondly of development. I also applauded the signing of PdlRosa, whose ability as a test-driver is unmatched by all drivers currently in F1 (although Schumacher would probably do a good job if he could swallow his ego). I am pleased they've survived thus far. And it would appear that the development phase is already underway, after (correctly in my view) shelving Kolles and moving to Spain. Congratulations HRT!
when they have enough money rolling in from elsewhere, or have caught up enough to afford it, they should drop karthikeyan immediately. he is being completely destroyed by pdlr, almost every lap as well, not just overall. any driver could do better than him. especially considering pdlr is a test driver (good at driving at a constant high speed) but not a top driver. bring in an exciting youngster when the car is good enough and see what he can do with it, whilst keeping pdlr for development
Yes, good point Drudeboy. Karthikeyan is not a worthy F1 driver in my opinion. (Incidentally, I disagree with your definition of a test driver's role, which involves far more than your simplification suggests).
HRT are going to be firmly cemented to the bottom for a while I'm afraid. Caterham threaten to get into Q2 every race now, so they are showing progress. I know they did this last season, but the whole midfield is much closer this season so relatively they've closed the gap. Marussia are the stop gap between Caterham and HRT, so not quite sure what they're doing
HRT are slowly getting it together. Hiring de la Rosa was a masterstroke; his feedback is extremely beneficial for the team. Before the Mugello test they were pretty much level on pace with Marussia. Of cuorse, there comes the issue of them missing the test... Karthikeyan on the other hand... just not quick enough. He used to be a Williams test driver briefly so he's clearly got feedback but equally everyone knows he's on that grid for his money and in which case I think everyone will agree he needs to be removed, preferably for a youngster. Wouldn't be surprised if Red Bull or Ferrari offered to loan them a young driver again.
Really wouldn't be a bad idea for either of those. Ferrari especially. Jules Bianchi is currently 3rd driver at Force India, but doesn't get a huge amount of track time. He would be better used racing, albeit at the back, but getting much more car time. Could become a long term deal such as the Sauber one, where young drivers go tot he team, and engines are provided on the cheap
Engines would be good too, because as much as they try to claim otherwise that Cosworth engine is not on the same level as the others. Long-term deal would make sense for all concerned, although that said it doesn't seem to have done Ricciardo much good...
Ricciardo isn't as good as some people rate him. Neither of the Toro Rosso drivers are IMO. Problem with the Red Bull driver program is once Red Bull have had enough, you get tossed aside. For example, Klien, Alguersuari, Buemi, Chandhok. All in the wilderness
If HRT are improving wouldn't it be sensible to retain their current driver line-up? I realise Karthikeyan's money may be running out but if Tata will reinvest or he can find additional sponsors then I don't think it's the driver line-up they need to be looking at. Improving the strength of their technical teams is more important, in my opinion, particularly in aerodynamics and particularly with (cheap) engineers maybe from outside F1 - university graduates and other formulae, for example.
If you have the necessary interest, quick mind, determination and ability to apply what you have so far learned; believe it or not; you, R92, could be just what they want. Why not go for it? Loads do. And some succeed in achieving provisional placement before taking their finals. Very often this is just what they're looking for. P.S. How's your Spanish coming along?
In contact will Williams at the moment, for my year in industry. Didn't take Spanish, German and Italian yes, Spanish no.
Well, there's a turn-up! The very best of luck with Williams. Spanish but it would be very useful with HRT, even if you only showed a willingness to learn. More irons in the fire, what… Every extra 'iron' strengthens the others in that it demonstrates a determination to get into one of the most coveted and innovative industries. They like – indeed, they prefer – candidates who are able to argue their case from a position of having other options available. I think HRT are going to be around for longer than some first thought, despite the Spanish economy.
With Alonso still doing well, F1 grows in Spain daily. Having a Spanish team is just the next logical step. If they start finding some form, they'll get more following, and crucially better sponsership, meaning more money, and even better chance of moving forward
Exactly. I also have a distinct feeling that the Spanish government see HRT as being a very important thing…
I'm glad someone mentioned Caterham, as, for me, they are the worst team if taken in context. They have a WDC winning engine, and look what a difference that has made to Williams. I wonder if Marussia and HRT both had Renaults if they would still be at the back, because it was quite obvious to me at certain tracks that the Williams car wasn't that bad, it was the engine that seemed to be causing them problems. Also, please ofrgive me Cosi, but I made a mistake, they were less than 3 seconds slower than race leading pace, but Kimi put in some extremely fast laps at the end and was himself over a second faster than that pace.
Caterham are going to be closer on the pace at low downforce circuits, it seems; was it Malaysia or China they got into Q2?
