HRT wants to build on its recent progress at home

As the European Grand Prix approaches, held for the fifth consecutive year on the urban circuit of Valencia, the HRT team is moving forward with the ambition of realizing, at home, the progress glimpsed in Montreal: “In Canada, we were fast and performed well, but we couldn’t finish the race. In Valencia, we want to confirm these progress and achieve a good result; furthermore, doing this in front of the Spanish public would be even more special. I think the characteristics of the circuit suit our car well and I hope we will have good reliability and finish the race with a positive result,” says Luis Pérez-Sala, director of the Spanish team. Narain Karthikeyan shares the same ambition: “After the promises we showed in Canada, I’m looking forward to racing and hope that we can realize this time.”

Pedro de la Rosa, naturally impatient, as in Spain, to race in front of [the team’s fans], at home, believes that the Valencia track should be a new test for the HRT F112, just like the Gilles Villeneuve circuit: On the Valencia street circuit, we will encounter high temperatures in the air and on the track, so the brakes will be tested again, but we are confident we can make the necessary changes to avoid the problems we had in Canada.

The Spaniard also thinks that the Valencia circuit should suit the HRT F112: « Valencia has long straights, but overtaking is not easy and it’s a high downforce circuit. I think we can do quite well here – even though it’s not as favorable to our car as Canada, because there are a lot of braking zones and slow corners that are good for us. We hope to deliver a good performance in front of our fans and we want to continue our progress from the last few races, but here we want to confirm this improvement in the race. »

For his part, Narain Karthikeyan points out that Valencia will be the third consecutive Grand Prix to take place on a city circuit, after Monaco and Montreal, but for him, the comparison ends there: [The track] shares some characteristics with Montreal and Monaco, such as the importance of low-speed traction, so I expect our car to perform well here. Aside from that, it’s a beautiful location and the temperatures are relatively warm, like in India, but the track itself does not pose a significant challenge. Of course, the walls are close but the adrenaline is not equivalent to what Monaco or Montreal offers.