HRT wants to confirm at Hockenheim, especially in the race

As Formula One returns to Hockenheim, two years after the 2010 German Grand Prix, the HRT team hopes to build on its recent performances and continue to improve in areas that are struggling: « In England, we expected a tough weekend, and we were better than expected, which is positive. In Germany, we are going to work to continue this path and try to take things one step at a time, » explains Pedro de la Rosa.

The same sentiment is shared by Luiz Perez-Sala, director of the Spanish team: « We left Silverstone satisfied because both of our cars finished the race again, demonstrating a good level of reliability, and we performed better than expected. The F112 adapts better to the characteristics of the new Hockenheim, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will be favorable to us. Our goal for this Grand Prix is to maintain our level of competitiveness and reliability so that we can further consolidate the team. I think this is something we are achieving, step by step, and it is evident in the effectiveness of our work. »

Narain Karthikeyan, for his part, emphasizes that special attention must be given to race performance: « In the last races, we have shown that our car was fast in qualifying, but we haven’t yet demonstrated it over the race distance. We are working on it, and in Germany, we aim to battle our main rivals throughout the race. »

Pedro de la Rosa also believes that the Hockenheim circuit should be more favorable to the F112 than Silverstone was because it is almost entirely composed of slow corners, with the exception of the first fast corner. And the Spaniard adds: We haven’t brought many novelties to this circuit, so we will try to make the most of the car with the different options we have at our disposal. For his part, Narain Karthikeyan is nostalgic about the old circuit: The new Hockenheim circuit is quite different from the old one, which was more exciting in my opinion. Before, it was fast, but now it’s a slower circuit with high downforce, it’s also quite short, not too complicated, and has a very acceleration/braking profile.

But the Indian will once again have to give up his seat to the Spaniard Dani Clos, the team’s third driver, who will once again take part in the Friday morning Free Practice after Spain and, more recently, Great Britain: « I couldn’t drive much at Silverstone because of the weather, but my feelings and the work I accomplished were very positive for me and for the team. We did a great job on the wet track and, although it was brief, it was very intense. Hockenheim will be a good opportunity to progress and cover more kilometers at the wheel of the F112. Furthermore, it’s a circuit I know and find enjoyable: it’s a place where I have good memories. I am confident and really looking forward to getting back on track. »