Caja Magica: the beginning of a new era for HRT

The HRT team officially inaugurated its new headquarters, located in Madrid, last Friday during a ceremony where all team members – except for Narain Karthikeyan – were present. The Mayor of Madrid, Ana Botella, as well as the President of the Spanish Automobile Federation, Carlos Gracia, who is also the Vice-President of the FIA, also decided to join the HRT team for this occasion.

Ana Botella, the mayor of the Spanish capital, expressed her delight that the Spanish team has chosen to settle in Madrid as it will contribute to the development of the city she is in charge of: « I would like to thank HRT for choosing Madrid to set up their headquarters. I congratulate them for being the first Spanish team to obtain a Formula 1 license; there are only 12 teams, and being here is very important for Spain. They have written a golden page in the history of Spanish motorsport, and for the people of Madrid, it is an honor and a privilege to have them here. With the Caja Magica, they have chosen the best facilities to become a sports and technological icon, and with this, they will help Madrid continue its progress to be an innovative city. »

Carlos Gracia, the president of the Spanish Automobile Federation, on his part, wanted to commend the efforts made by the team to be in F1, the most well-known car championship in the world: « Today is a very important day because we needed a Spanish Formula 1 team in Spain and we have it. A few weeks ago, I accompanied Jean Todt when he visited these premises and he was impressed by what he saw. They have accomplished this in record time, I have been by their side during this period, and the efforts made are impressive. »

This change of premises was initiated following the arrival of Thesan Capital at the helm of the HRT team at the end of 2011. This investment fund aimed to make the HRT team a 100% Spanish team, and bringing the entire team together in modern premises was one of the priorities—previously, the team was divided between Murcia in Spain and Cologne in Germany.

Luis Pérez-Sala, the director of the HRT team, expressed his delight that the team managed to put everything in place so quickly, and he hopes that HRT can use these new premises as a base to progress: « We are extremely proud to have finally opened our doors to everyone and to have shown what have been the premises of the HRT team for a few months now. There has been a lot of work, but it’s a dream that has finally become a reality, and it’s an exciting project. This is the present, but we continue to work looking towards the future to make these places a high-level sports and technology center, and surely, with everyone’s help, we will succeed. »

Pedro de la Rosa also believes that moving into the new facilities should allow the HRT team to lay the necessary foundations to progress and establish itself permanently in Formula 1 and more generally in the technological field in Spain: « It is a pleasure to share such an important moment for the team with all of you. We are satisfied because we have achieved one of our goals, which was to have modern and functional premises like those of Caja Magica. And we have succeeded. We are on the right path to consolidate and gain confidence and competitiveness. Settling in Caja Magica will clearly help us become faster every day. We have completed the first step, but we must tackle the next one and develop to become a leading center in sports and technology. »