2011 end of term report – HRT Cosworth

HRT’s second season in Formula One was probably as tough as the first one and yielded the same result: eleventh in the standings ahead of Virgin.
It was a pretty satisfying result for the team, especially considering the challenges it had to overcome during the winter and also during the season itself.

Season review:

HRT did all its winter testing with the 2010-spec car, gathering data on the new Pirelli tyres. The Spanish team shipped its brand new car to Australia in pieces and the mechanics had to work frantically in the Melbourne paddock to build both cars. They got them ready for qualifying but, with virtually no mileage under their belt, neither Liuzzi nor Karthikeyan managed to qualify for the race.

The critics were harsh but the team, led by Colin Kolles, kept its head down and turned up in Malaysia with two 2011-spec cars and a few updates. Behind the scenes, HRT signed an agreement with Mercedes to use one of its windtunnels. This time both drivers qualified but none of them finished the race.
From then on, the team enjoyed good reliability and consistently brought both cars home. It suffered only eight mechanical retirements during the season.

Rain in Canada offered the team a rare opportunity to shine and Liuzzi grabbed it with both hands, finishing the race in 13th position. This result moved the team ahead of Virgin in the constructors’ standings.

Driver-wise, Narain Karthikeyan was replaced by Daniel Ricciardo from the British GP onwards. The Indian made a one-off return for his home race and drove Liuzzi’s car.

Most importantly for the team, it changed owners in July. Thesan Capital replaced José Ramon Carabante at the helm of the Spanish team and quickly implemented several changes.

Conclusion:

Apart from the Australian fiasco, HRT did pretty well in 2011. The team took a step forward and improved quite significantly, so much that it consistently performed better than rivals Virgin.

Expectations:

Under its new ownership, the team is taking a new direction. Jacky Eckelaert has been recruited to design the car while Stéphane Schosse is the newly appointed chief aerodynamicist. In addition to this, a technical partnership has been signed with Williams F1. Engine-wise, the team is expected to stick with Cosworth but hasn’t officially confirmed it yet.

Regarding its drivers, HRT has chosen to bet on the experience of Pedro de la Rosa. The former McLaren reserve driver signed for two years with the Spanish team. His teammate is still to be announced as the outfit ponders its options.

Highs :
—  Showed a decent level of performance, especially in the second part of the season
—  Finished ahead of Virgin in the standings
—  New ownership and technical partnership with Williams

Lows:
—  Australian Grand Prix fiasco
—  Cannot fight for points

Nextgen-Auto.com marks :

— Olivier Ferret : 8/20
— D.Thys : 9/20
— Sandrine Bouchard : 10/20
— Jean-Michel Setbon : 10/20
— Average mark on the forum Nextgen-Auto.com : 9/20

Total : 46/100