HRT F111 Cosworth

[bhall]

A hearty congratulations to HRT!

Their result in qualifying was exactly the same as mine.

[bill shoe]

I find HRT credible and admirable in the tradition of Minardi, not incompetent and full of sh*t in the tradition of USF1.

HRT put functioning cars in qualifying and didn't make excuses.

USF1 spend a lot of time talking and spending money, but didn't come any closer to participating in a grand prix weekend than I did sitting on my couch.

I'll be happy to continue sitting on my couch watching races, but given a choice I'd rather be participating and struggling like HRT.

[marcush.]

It´s a hard world.
what i find unexplainable is why they went to Barcelona when the cars were not even ready here in Australia.
the working hours permitted at the race track are severely constrained now so even more impressive both cars made some laps but i guess they need to work all day and tomorrow to have something more raceworthy at least for the next race..

Are they allowed to introduce the new nosecone after using the old one? Missing side intrusion panels ..I thought the monocoque was new ? Could it be they revived the old tubs ?
Then they could have effectively run the HRT 110+ which did quite a few laps ..
But I guess you cannot split the homologation....running the rear crashbox for the williams box..

[nacho]

Apparently they broke the rule and worked all night, but it is allowed to be done 4 times during the season (I think).

[ecapox]

I find HRT credible and admirable in the tradition of Minardi, not incompetent and full of sh*t in the tradition of USF1.

HRT put functioning cars in qualifying and didn't make excuses.

USF1 spend a lot of time talking and spending money, but didn't come any closer to participating in a grand prix weekend than I did sitting on my couch.

I'll be happy to continue sitting on my couch watching races, but given a choice I'd rather be participating and struggling like HRT.

So what? USF1 was a joke from start to finish. If you dig up that thread you will see that we were all ridiculing them as well, so dont bring them up in this thread.

HRT put 2 cars into qualifying KNOWING that they wouldnt be within 107% and if for some miracle they did get to race, i would be a hefty sum on it that neither car would finish the race due to mechanical issues. What about not being able to test in Spain because their dampers were stuck in customs? Do you actually believe that? Because if you do, i'd then ask you why it took them 3 weeks to fit dampers on a car. They have tons of problems. Money being the largest.

If you are in F1 you should have a decent budget. I do not buy into this whole "F1 should be cheaper" philosophy. Should we cap spending? I would say Maybe.

Plain and simple: HRT is not an F1 caliber team and should never have been granted a spot on the grid. Period. I firmly believe that any new team in F1 should be mandatory that they spend a few years in GP2 or some other high caliber formula.

Anyone want to start a F1Tech NBA team?

[mclaren777]

Some facts to consider:
1. Luizzi's fastest lap was only his eighth timed lap in that car. Ever.
2. Luizzi's lap was only two seconds slower than d'Ambrosio's lap.
3. Virgin racked up 3709 kms of testing in their 2011 car--HRT had zero.

If anything, I think HRT could soon be faster than Lotus. They just need more time on track to better understand their car. Denying them permission to race only hinders that progress and I'm confident that both HRT drivers could turn race laps within 107% of the leader. They just need more time and confidence. I disagree with the claim that it would have been a safety issue to let them race.

[scuderiafan]

Looks like their decision to skip testing and go film at Monza really paid off!

[mep]

Is there any chance that they will be allowed to race despite not managing the 107%? As I remember in the past there was some way.
It can be the end of the team when they don't get this drive.

[Francesc]

[747heavy]

apparently the FIA rejected their inquiry and claim of "force majeure"
and rightly so - IMHO.As they did not proved to have the pace in FP as well.
All the other teams would have needed to agree, to let them start as well - unlikely to happen.

They actually "managed" to be ~2.4 sec slower then last year with their best car.
I think, that says a lot.

I have nothing against them, nor against any of the new teams - far from.
But this is F1 not a charity event.
In any other sport (like the Olympics) you need to qualify as well, so if you are not enough, you go home - simple as that, and try 4 years later again.
That´s much thougher. They have nobody elese to blame.
Nobody has put a gun on their head and said "you must do F1".
If you are not fit for F1, go and do a season o two GP2 and show that you are serious, and know what motor racing is about.

IMHO - time to think about a "super licence" for teams, not just pay the ticket (FIA fee) to be on the grid.
Teams like Sauber (coming out of the Group C/sports car WC) and Jordan (coming out of F3000) have proved and shown, that it can be done.
If F1 is to be the pinnacle of car racing, you are better able to do the job, before you consider playing with the "big boys".

[N12ck]

Maybe a GP2 car might be faster than this car, but I am amazed by this team that they still exist and haven't quit or been kicked out yet, or even got handed an entry, maybe they should redesign the whole car apart from the tub that way it doesn't break homologation rules,

but something needs done to save this team.

[bot6]

Well, from the comments of Liuzzi and Kolles that I have read, they are quite gracious about it. "the rules are the rules", and they say that with full FPs at the next Grand Prix, they should brake the 107%.

So let's wait and see, but they seem pretty sure that they will be in Malaysia. With the new front wing, which is probably worth an extra second.

[cbbcisace]

Exactly Hispania have been very gratious.

I expect them to be comfortably with the 107% at Malasyia.

[ESPImperium]

I have nothing against them, nor against any of the new teams - far from.
But this is F1 not a charity event.
In any other sport (like the Olympics) you need to qualify as well, so if you are not enough, you go home - simple as that, and try 4 years later again.
That´s much thougher. They have nobody elese to blame.
Nobody has put a gun on their head and said "you must do F1".
If you are not fit for F1, go and do a season o two GP2 and show that you are serious, and know what motor racing is about.

IMHO - time to think about a "super licence" for teams, not just pay the ticket (FIA fee) to be on the grid.
Teams like Sauber (coming out of the Group C/sports car WC) and Jordan (coming out of F3000) have proved and shown, that it can be done.
If F1 is to be the pinnacle of car racing, you are better able to do the job, before you consider playing with the "big boys".

I do agree, id make it that a team should have some lower league experience before they enter. However this team did, as their roots are with the Campos GP2 team in effect. Virgin have their roots in LMP1/LMP2 with the Wirth designed Acura and with Manor GP, who have done many lower league formula.This is where id like to see lower teams being allowed to buy a spec chassis for a period of up to 2 years before constructing their own, i was thinking something like a GP2/11 chassis with a Cosworth CA2011 in the back with a Williams LG14 transmission, all on track for €15m would be more appealing.

As for this car, i think if they had time to at least do a couple days testing it could have done something. And this is where id like to see a rule similar to what (i think) MotoGP has, no entries for the main class can take place on the grid for the first race and all races there after unless they have had 4 days official testing for teams and drivers. This making sure all the smaller teams have to make a minimal effort to make sure their cars are not only built and safe and pass all tests, but also shaken down and not shedding nuts and bolts all over the place.

The F111 has more potential than the MVR/02 in my view, they are 2 seconds off the pace of Virgin, and virgin have around 3700km on their car and the F111 has now got less than 200 km on its clock. I thin k this says it all, once baselined and fully shaken down, i think the F111 will be up there with the Team Lotus cars.

One thing i have doubts over is the budget of the Hispania team, which is rumoured to be €36m to €40m. Virgin have almost €65m for the year, and Team Lotus budget is around €96. And this is another area that should also be looked into is the ability to make sure a smaller team can make it through the season, and pay their way accordingly.

F1 is a broken sport, in most respects it needs fixing, and theres too many voices. What is needed is some sensible heads to make a decision, and there just isnt enough of them now.

[747heavy]

As I said, I have nothing against any new team, everybody should be able to have a fair go - IMHO. Bring prequalifying back, if need be.

But it´s good to see the 107% rule back IMHO, to keep people honest.

I don´t like the idea a team being able to show up with a --- car X sec. off the pace, and run the team as a profit centre, by selling seat time to pay drivers.

It will hurt the price for a HRT seat/drive if the can´t make the race, so they better get there act together.
You can play the "new team" card only for so long - IMHO.
To show up to the, in effect second, race of the season with a container full of bit´s and pieces is below par. Nothing wrong with running an old car, if need be, if they don´t get there new car ready. ( I know, they would need to convert it to comply with some new rules)

I know, it´s not feasable with the current regs, but otherwise I would be in favour of a football/soccer like promotion system.
Giving the best (or best two) GP2 teams a slot in F1 and relegate the worse two F1 teams back to GP2 (or whatever you want to call the series).
That would keep everybody on there toes and motivated to perform.