HRT wants to continue to make progress despite the heat in Bahrain

After performances they deem encouraging in Malaysia and China, the HRT team is setting the objective of continuing this momentum, even though they expect to suffer from the heat during the race. Thus, Pedro de la Rosa already knows the challenges that will await the Spanish team at Sakhir: “The Bahrain International Circuit is a difficult track because there are big braking zones, and it’s very easy to miss the corner entry. The three things we need to work on there will be: ensuring the car brakes well, that it has a good level of grip, and a good top speed,” explains the Spaniard. “In Bahrain, the goal is to continue improving, which we clearly saw in China, as we made a good step forward. Now, we must maintain our level of reliability, but it will be hotter, and we must try to progress as much as we did in China,” continues the HRT driver.

Narain Karthikeyan agrees with his teammate and expects that the F112 may not be to their advantage, as ambient temperatures could reach 40°C: « What I know about the track is that the weather is going to be very hot, and we’ve been struggling a bit in these conditions this season so far due to the car’s cooling system, so we’re going to have to work very hard on that. »

Although Luis Pérez-Sala acknowledges that cooling is one of the team’s biggest weaknesses and will be the key factor in the race, the director of the Spanish team remains confident that they can continue on the momentum of the last races and be able to make further progress this weekend, even as the teams once again have only a week between events: Without having time to benefit from and analyze the Chinese Grand Prix, we already find ourselves in another country for another Grand Prix, so we have to work against the clock to study all the data collected in Shanghai and make the necessary adjustments in Bahrain.

If Pedro de la Rosa remembers making his debut for McLaren in Bahrain and shares that he has fond memories after setting his first fastest lap in a race there, for Narain Karthikeyan, the Bahraini circuit will be a completely new experience: « I don’t know the Bahrain circuit, so I’ll have to focus more and make the most of my track time. We have a rough idea of what the setup should be, so we’ll see if it works. We are going to try a few things in Bahrain, hopefully it will help us improve. After a good performance in Malaysia, we’ll be looking to close the gap a bit more with the group ahead of us. »