HRT happy to get both cars at the finish
The European Grand Prix which took place today at the Valencia Street Circuit was positive for HRT Formula 1 Team who achieved its main objective of crossing the finish line with both F112’s in front of the home crowd. The day was satisfying overall because of the reliability of the cars and the performance of the drivers.
Pedro de la Rosa, who started in 21st position, gained up to 6 places to finish in 17th. The Spanish driver gave the fans a thrilling spectacle and held a beautiful battle with his rivals until his tyres said enough is enough. Narain Karthikeyan, also on a two-stop strategy, completed a consistent race, with a good rhythm, and put up a fight against his rivals but he was penalized with a drive-through for speeding in the pit lane.
The next event in the Championship will take place at the legendary British circuit of Silverstone from the 6th to the 8th of July.
Pedro de la Rosa, F112-02, #22, 17th:
"The truth is that I gave it my all in this race, I emptied myself, and I’m satisfied. It was a very long race and towards the end, right in the middle of a battle, my rear tyres went and all I could do was hold on until the end. To be honest I could have done without the last seven laps. It was the typical survival race where the cars with most degradation get the wrong end of the stick, but we knew beforehand that it would be tough. But the best thing is that we maintained a good rhythm and managed our brakes for them to last. Perhaps I should have been a bit more conservative when I had Pic behind but I preferred to risk. If the tyres held out, great, and if not, great too. I’m satisfied because we did well the entire weekend in front of our fans. They deserve the best and I think that they see us fight in every race and we’re improving, so I can only thank them for their support”.
Narain Karthikeyan, F112-03, #23, 18th:
"I got off to a good start and managed to hold my position. We had a tough battle for the first 15 laps and our car was going very well on the straights but the degradation of the rear tyres started affecting our performance. After the pitstop I was behind Pic and it wasn’t easy to drive so I was unable to catch him up. But we had a good last stint on the prime tyres which, unfortunately, got hampered by a drive-through penalty as a result of speeding in the pit lane. Had it not been for this then perhaps I could have finished in a better position but the important thing is that we made it to the finish line in very challenging conditions”.
Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Principal: "I’m happy because, after what happened in Montreal, we finished the race with both cars and didn’t encounter any problems. We fought the entire race and, although in the end we didn’t finish out on top, I’m very proud of the team because it’s the first time we’ve battled one-on-one in a race. Both drivers raced very well and we had no trouble with the pitstops either. We’re closer every race but we have to keep on working to continue like this. To finish off I would like to congratulate Alonso because he completed an excellent race, winning after starting in 11th position. This proves that nothing is impossible”.
