The HRT thread

[tommykl]

On results, Narain is still the better, but wouldnt call that race a race...

On to Malaysia, I think if HRT get a two car finish they will be extremely delighted. One car finish they will be very happy with that too.

But you never know, if it does rain, may be a race of attrition, may get a decent result

It doesn't look as if the F112 will be any better then last years car .PDLR had a horrible race.

Then again, he also had to serve a drive-through penalty.

[Vassago]

Well, they both finished today which is more then I expected. Caterham had the most mechanical DNFs last season while HRT the least, but I guess it's partly down to Caterham actually trying to improve the car and throw in more new parts then Marussia and HRT. However it's all pretty similar to AGS in 1987, plodding around at the back with an above-par reliable car.

[cbbcisace]

Narain on the BBC Forum stating that upgrades at the Mugello tests and hopes to gain time until then onto the Marussias.

Also they are using the Mercedes Wind tunnel a lot (Im guessing the 2nd one)

[dr-baker]

Spent nearly an hour today in 10th position - shame it was a Marcus-Winklehock-esque performance...

[xxiiooiixx]

Is HRT's front wing made with razor blades?? LOL Vettel and Button collided with NK and the F112 still went on . That was pretty amazing stuff a shame we couldn't keep 10th.


The car is quite twitchy!

[Sunshine_Baby_[IT]]

HRT is great!
I didn't miss Chandhok today, watching Karthikeyan performance.

[Klon]

Lol, why u mad though?

[Mister Fungus]

I agree with Karthikeyan that this is pure bullying of the backmarkers. I mean they crash into him and still blame him for the problems. That's just arrogant. At least Button admitted it was his own fault (and he was fighting for position back then, not even lapping).

[Eryx]

Button honest answer and said it was My mistake....

Vettel am i the only one that thinks he literally turned into Narain? and that in turn was not his fault i mean Narain did exactly what he did with JB kept the racing line. . .Vettel just turned in on him. Poor guy

[Backmarker]

Seems a bit harsh, I may be a learner, but everyone has to start somewhere

[Valrys]

Having watched the replays some more, Narain actually did veer towards Vettel - but Vettel was also turning in to go back on the racing line, and Narain was apparently trying to not crash the car having gone out on the kerb/white line to give Vettel space, so definitely 50/50.

Vettel is still acting like a spoiled brat though.

[xxiiooiixx]

Having watched the replays some more, Narain actually did veer towards Vettel - but Vettel was also turning in to go back on the racing line, and Narain was apparently trying to not crash the car having gone out on the kerb/white line to give Vettel space, so definitely 50/50.

Vettel is still acting like a spoiled brat though.

For sure ! who out of the 2 is supposed to be the better driver with a better car that knows the limits of their car in the wet conditions? Vettel should have known to take extra care in wet conditions especially with back markers with very little down force and even less grip off the race line. Vettel chose to come so close to a twitchy back marker what does he expect! Bully a back marker until he evaporates instantly. Lol and call Narain a Cucumber after

I cant remember but I am sure I have heard this happen before in F1?

[xxiiooiixx]

HRT's new official mascot

[CoopsII]

All that gesturing and theres no way Narain could've seen it.

Like, duh.

[Svenko Wankerov]

It's one thing if it's a backmarker who is just slow but gets out of everyone's way, but KarTrollkeyan is both slow and does his best to get in everyone's way whenever he can. He doesn't seem to be particularly ashamed of that reputation either. Vettel is right about him being an idiot.

[CoopsII]

It's one thing if it's a backmarker who is just slow but gets out of everyone's way, but KarTrollkeyan is both slow and does his best to get in everyone's way whenever he can. He doesn't seem to be particularly ashamed of that reputation either. Vettel is right about him being an idiot.

I think you should remember the Prime Directive around this forum. I'll let you off as I think your surname is sensational. We're here to support the determined triers and as such Narain Karthikeyan is a shining example of that.

There are always two sides to every story, but sadly if you're a double world champion people often presume yours is the most valid. If anybodys interested here is Narains...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/in ... ds-newsxml

Finally, Vettels quote that he managed to "lose the race how I did is very frustrating." is hilarious. "Lose the race"? That was lost a long time before that incident my little fuzzy faced friend.

[mario]

Finally, Vettels quote that he managed to "lose the race how I did is very frustrating." is hilarious. "Lose the race"? That was lost a long time before that incident my little fuzzy faced friend.

That comment about losing the race is indeed exaggerated - Vettel would have had to overturn a 20 second deficit whilst getting past Hamilton, Perez and Alonso in order to take the lead. Considering that before that clash with Karthikeyan Perez was lapping around a second a lap or more than Vettel, realistically the best he could have hoped for would have been 3rd - and even then, Hamilton had around 3 seconds over Vettel at that point.

Back to HRT - interesting, in full wet conditions and when both Marussia and HRT were on wet tyres, HRT were not as far behind Marussia as they were in dry conditions. I wonder whether that suggests HRT had a slightly wet weather biased set up in Malaysia?

[Phoenix]

There are always two sides to every story, but sadly if you're a double world champion people often presume yours is the most valid. If anybodys interested here is Narains...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/in ... ds-newsxml

Finally, Vettels quote that he managed to "lose the race how I did is very frustrating." is hilarious. "Lose the race"? That was lost a long time before that incident my little fuzzy faced friend.

I love how the article hints Karthikeyan lost a potential top ten finish because of his collisions with Button and Vettel.

At any rate, the point is, Vettel had no right to insult another driver without even giving it a second thought. He may have felt gutted by losing 12 points, but Karthikeyan's explanation was pretty plausible. The fact both HRTs were clearly a nuisance to other drivers in qualifying at Australia made them a prime target for criticism.

And no, Perfect Seb, you had no chance of winning the race, perhaps not even a good chance of scoring a podium finish.

[xxiiooiixx]

All that gesturing and theres no way Narain could've seen it.

Like, duh.

So that's what it looks like when a Lapped back marker overtakes you !

[slowest_indian]

Seems to be some vague rumours that HRT have secured quite a large Spanish sponsorship deal to be announced relatively soon. Struggling to find out whether it is just rumour though.

Anyone know the details?

[cbbcisace]

Yes you are right... will be announced closer to Barcelona race though

If any sponsorships are announced before that it is not the same one!

I don't know a lot about this but it supposedly a title sponsor.

[slowest_indian]

I really hope this isn't just speculation.

If so the new management really must be doing its job well, even some of the more established teams don't currently have a title sponsor...

Cheers

[cbbcisace]

I really hope this isn't just speculation.

If so the new management really must be doing its job well, even some of the more established teams don't currently have a title sponsor...

Cheers

as i say i don't know a lot about it, all I know is that a new sponsor is secure, but is worth a lot of money to them!

[xxiiooiixx]

I really hope this isn't just speculation.

If so the new management really must be doing its job well, even some of the more established teams don't currently have a title sponsor...

Cheers

as i say i don't know a lot about it, all I know is that a new sponsor is secure, but is worth a lot of money to them!

I really hope this is true a title sponsor would really add credibility with the team who up till now has been ridiculed left right and center by the haters. I am a bit cautious as Carabantes said the same thing the last few years about major sponsors. The Barcelona race is quite a long wait, but if I was a Spanish sponsor then it would probably be the ideal place.

[cbbcisace]

I really hope this isn't just speculation.

If so the new management really must be doing its job well, even some of the more established teams don't currently have a title sponsor...

Cheers

as i say i don't know a lot about it, all I know is that a new sponsor is secure, but is worth a lot of money to them!

I really hope this is true a title sponsor would really add credibility with the team who up till now has been ridiculed left right and center by the haters. I am a bit cautious as Carabantes said the same thing the last few years about major sponsors. The Barcelona race is quite a long wait, but if I was a Spanish sponsor then it would probably be the ideal place.

Completley different management who have told everything true, so it is believable, Thesan have done more in the last 6 months than the other 2 owners did!

[xxiiooiixx]

Completley different management who have told everything true, so it is believable, Thesan have done more in the last 6 months than the other 2 owners did!

Yes I totally agree they have been honest even when things went wrong but they haven't announced anything about sponsors themselves. It is very plausible that they have a sponsor so it looks like we will have to wait and see.

[cbbcisace]

Completley different management who have told everything true, so it is believable, Thesan have done more in the last 6 months than the other 2 owners did!

Yes I totally agree they have been honest even when things went wrong but they haven't announced anything about sponsors themselves. It is very plausible that they have a sponsor so it looks like we will have to wait and see.

what about KH7? they announced that?

[xxiiooiixx]

No the new one .

[David AGS]

They announced KH-7 just before the car was launched.

When I first read that they signed on as a sponsor, I was surprised that they were only on the inside of the rear wing.

NOT SO, they have the rear wing from the back as well. Judging by the incident with Narain, they got some decent footage!

[S951]

HRT going to be interesting in the coming races to see how much they improve by as they will be learning much more on setup of the base then we have upgrades to come kers intergration new aero etc potentially if they get everything mentioned sorted and working right they could have a potential 1s-2.5s gain at a guess

[jackanderton]

The 3 weeks have come at a very good time for them. But whatever speed they make up will most likely be nullified by the fact they are behind the development race and with a smaller less able development team. By the last quarter of the season hopefully they'll be giving Marussia a battle.

I left Malaysia once again surprised that they had somehow qualified and both made the finish. Their pace although slow wasn't terrible enough to make entering the race a pointless exercise.

[IdeFan]

The 3 weeks have come at a very good time for them. But whatever speed they make up will most likely be nullified by the fact they are behind the development race and with a smaller less able development team. By the last quarter of the season hopefully they'll be giving Marussia a battle.

I left Malaysia once again surprised that they had somehow qualified and both made the finish. Their pace although slow wasn't terrible enough to make entering the race a pointless exercise.

The past two years HRT have closed noticeably on the Virgins in the latter half of the season, suggesting they have a better development team than them at least (or more potential in the car). Whether this speaks to the quality of HRT or the uselessness of Nick Wirth is anybody's guess.

[DanielPT]

The 3 weeks have come at a very good time for them. But whatever speed they make up will most likely be nullified by the fact they are behind the development race and with a smaller less able development team. By the last quarter of the season hopefully they'll be giving Marussia a battle.

I left Malaysia once again surprised that they had somehow qualified and both made the finish. Their pace although slow wasn't terrible enough to make entering the race a pointless exercise.

The past two years HRT have closed noticeably on the Virgins in the latter half of the season, suggesting they have a better development team than them at least (or more potential in the car). Whether this speaks to the quality of HRT or the uselessness of Nick Wirth is anybody's guess.

I think it is more the latter. HRT kept developing its known car (which until this year was always the same) while Marussia always focused early on a following year car (which turns out crap anyway). Perhaps this year we should see Marussia trying to improve during the season.

[slowest_indian]

Finger vs Cucumber...

http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/276570/karthikeyan-hits-back-at-vettel-remarks/

[DanielPT]

Finger vs Cucumber...

http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/276570/karthikeyan-hits-back-at-vettel-remarks/

Karthikeyan came out easily on top IMO. Vettel looked like a spoiled prat.

[Ataxia]

Good for Karthikeyan. Sometimes the top drivers forget, or take for granted, the scale of the job at the back.

These guys that coax a competitive lap out of a slow car or keep an ill-handling car on track are the real heroes in my book, rather than being given the tools to win from the start.

[JeremyMcClean]

Finger vs Cucumber...

http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/276570/karthikeyan-hits-back-at-vettel-remarks/

That was the biggest comeback I've seen from a backmarker in a long time.

[xxiiooiixx]

Finger vs Cucumber...

http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/276570/karthikeyan-hits-back-at-vettel-remarks/

Karthikeyan came out easily on top IMO. Vettel looked like a spoiled prat.

HRT fans need to start dressing up in cucumber suits and show Vettel his victory finger! HRT's mascot from last year already looked like a green cucumber like alien.

[AdrianSutil]

Finger vs Cucumber...

http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/276570/karthikeyan-hits-back-at-vettel-remarks/

Yeah he's pretty much echoed the interview he gave with the BBC after the race. Fair play to him. I can see him and HRT picking a few extra fans up now.

[dinizintheoven]

They announced KH-7 just before the car was launched.
When I first read that they signed on as a sponsor, I was surprised that they were only on the inside of the rear wing.
NOT SO, they have the rear wing from the back as well. Judging by the incident with Narain, they got some decent footage!

And from that footage, as well as qualifying, that's how I saw that the ugly orange and green splat inside the rear wing, which I'd only seen the briefest flash of in Australia and thought "what is that?" was the KH-7 logo. Did they get an art student to design it? It appears said art student went for an Indian takeaway, devoured too much chicken tikka masala and that weird day-glo unidentifiable green sauce in one go, far too quickly, and chundered the lot all over the HRT's rear wing. Next thing you know, the team have said "hey, I like it!" and it became the final design...

What were they thinking?