HRT confident ahead of German Grand Prix

HRT are confident ahead of this weekend’s German Grand Prix, with the Hockenheimring allegedly more favorable to the Spanish team than Silverstone. The Madrid-based outfit completed their fifth double finish of the season, as both Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan finished the British Grand Prix 20th and 21st respectively.

With the high speed nature of the legendary Silverstone circuit, HRT anticipated a tough weekend. As it transpired the team enjoyed a relatively successful race weekend, as the car exceeded expectations. Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa is preparing for his sixth German Grand Prix, his first being in 1999 with Arrows. Since then, de la Rosa has raced for Jaguar, McLaren and Sauber with his personal best finish at the German Grand Prix being 6th in 2000.

"Hockenheim is a circuit which is a little bit more favorable for us than Silverstone because it’s made up almost entirely of slow corners, except for the first one which is quick.” Explained Pedro de la Rosa. “We haven’t brought any upgrades to this track so we’ll try to get the most out of the car with the different options at our disposal. In England we anticipated a tough weekend and we performed better than expected, which is positive. In Germany we will work to continue in this manner and try to take things one step further.”

Although HRT have yet to score their first World Championship point, the team have undeniably excelled with the reliability of their car. HRT have suffered only four retirements all season, and are looking to continue this reliability as the season enters its midway mark.

"We left Silverstone satisfied because we finished with both cars once more, proving a good reliability, and we performed better than expected.” Said HRT’s team principal, Luis Perez-Sala. “The F112 adapts better to the characteristics of the new Hockenheim, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be favorable for us. Our objective for this Grand Prix is to maintain our competitiveness and reliability so that we can continue to advance with the consolidation of the team.”

HRT suffered a rocky start to the 2012 season, initially failing to qualify for the season opener in Australia. However, it is abundantly clear that the Spanish outfit are improving every day as this unique season progresses.

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